Annotated Bibliography Genre 6: How to books

Genre Study

      The book genre that I decided upon this week is that of How to books. The How to books genre has been around for a long time. There are many different types of How to books on the market such as How to plant certain veggies, to How to play a certain type of sport. I would say that the books of this genre are harder to put down as decent informational text. Anyone can write a book on how to do something, but that doesn't mean that their methods are worthwhile, and even if they are, they may not work for everyone. Regardless, these books need to have some factual backing, and should be in the realm of actual completion provided one wishes to follow through. These can be of varying difficulties as far as the reading goes, and many provide pictures and/or illustrations to help along with working out how to complete the given task. I don't think that How to books are used often in most schools, and I can understand why. Unless the book is related to a specific topic it is essentially useless save for maybe a fun book to have around. I could see some How to books used in certain units, such as a book on how to plant carrots, which could be used for a plant science unit. I could see some used as part of a classroom library as well. Some books have simple activities that can be done with little to no supplies.

Selected Titles

1. 50 Ways to Have Fun With Old Newspapers 

      Could not find a Lexile on this book, but could probably be used with 3rd-6th grade classrooms. This book has a table of contents. The book shows ways that students can use old newspapers to create some pretty fun outfits and objects. I would wager that students as low as 1st grade could figure out some of these configurations, mainly due to the excellent illustrations. This could be read aloud and done with a class. This would be a fun way to play with a social studies lesson. Discussing current events usually requires newspapers, so after the key activity is finished, one could have the students make some of the creations from this book for fun before recycling the newspapers. Certainly more of a fun book than anything else.

References:

 Severn, B. (1978). Fifty ways to have fun with old newspapers. McKay.

2. How to Beat Your Dad at Chess 

      Couldn't find a Lexile level for this book, but it seems to be fairly high because of writing and the complex topic. I would say it is around 5th to 6th grade, and could certainly be used for higher grade levels as well. The book does have a table of contents, but lacks a glossary which is odd considering some of the complex words to describe some of the plays. This book uses some simple illustrations that go through the different plays bit by bit, while using text to further describe what is going on. This book is actually pretty serious business, and I can't see this being used in too many classes. This seems like more of a fun book to have around the classroom, provided you also have a chess set as well.

References:

 Chandler, M. (1998). How to beat your dad at chess. London: Gambit. 

Annotated Bibliography Genre 5: Magazines

Genre Study

      The book genre that I chose this week is that of magazines. I suppose magazines are one of the more difficult texts to put into an informational text set. There are many different types of magazines, and many play host to current events throughout the world to science and nature magazines that discuss they workings and business of animals. To determine if a magazine is usable for informational text it should be from a fairly reputable publishing company, and the information within should be based on factual evidence. Magazines can be a range of reading levels, with some being college level and others being for grade school children. Magazines tend to have many articles and information that can be useful for research like work. Magazines also have the benefit of having quite a number of pictures. This isn't always the case, but most magazines typically have a healthy amount of pictures, which is important for use in elementary classrooms in my opinion. I see no reason teachers the world over should not subscribe to a few magazines to have in their respective classrooms. They not only have quite a bit of great information, but they are often highly entertaining as well.

Selected Titles

1. Animal Tales

      No exact Lexile on this magazine, but Animal Tales would probably be in the 2nd to 5th grade range of reading. There are some sections that are far easier to read than others, though there is nothing that is incredibly dense. This is magazine is definitely not a serious one, as it is mainly working with fun animal stories that are true, but a little bit on the goofy side. There are a number of write ups on animals, and facts are presented on these as animals. There are a number of fun activities and even posters to hang up. There are numerous pictures, and they really make up the majority of the magazine. I could see segments of this being read aloud, but not the whole thing. This is really a magazine that should just be present for reading during downtime in class.

References:

Animal Tales- June, 2016-Volume 3, Issue 3

2. National Geographic Kids

      No exact Lexile level on this magazine could be found, but I would say that it sits somewhere between 3rd and 6th grade, though I think it could even be used a few grades higher. This magazine has a varying degree of difficulty laced throughout with some articles being lower level reading and some being higher. The magazine very much covers animal topics, but there are some environmental topics covered as well. I could see this magazine being used as a research tool for many grades because of the great information held within. The magazine could be read aloud in bits and pieces, but shouldn't be read as a whole. Lots of great pictures in these magazines, though they don't take up the whole magazine. The nice thing about this magazine is that it is fairly current with the events that it covers compared to Animal Tales.

References:

National Geographic Kids-June/July, 2016.

Annotated Bibliography Genre 4: Almanac/Atlas

Genre Study

      The book genre that I chose for this week is that of Almanac/Atlas. The Almanac genre is considerably different than that of the Atlas genre. The almanacs tend to be focused on statistics and are published annually. They focus on weather forecasts and tide tables for the coming year, among other statistics. The atlas on the other is more focused on certain areas of the earth and details those inhabit the area and what makes up the given area, such as key monuments and the flora and fauna. These books can be based on a range of reading levels. Often they will have plenty of pictures and/or illustrations, so even certain books that are over a child's given reading level can still be accessible to a certain extent. This genre for the most part lends itself to social studies, but with what the almanac and atlas cover they could be used for science as well. I always see almanacs and atlases as books that teachers of any content area can have in their respective classroom libraries. I'm more into social studies so I would use these to supplement given lessons, but have a few of these for leisurely reading as well.

Selected Titles

1. The Children's Atlas of Exploration

      I couldn't find an exact Lexile level for this book but from what I gathered reading through it, I would wager it is somewhere in the 5th to 6th grade reading level. This books fits into the atlas genre, and is a pretty dense book to be honest. This is not a book that is read aloud cover to cover, but is something that certain segments can be taken from for class reading. This book in particular investigates places that are known to many explorers. This is a great book to just have around the classroom for children to look through, or to use as a possible reference. The book contains an index, table of contents, and a time line of discoveries.

References:

 Mason, A., & Lye, K. (1993). The children's atlas of exploration: Follow in the footsteps of the great explorers. Brookfield, Ct.: Millbrook Press.

2. My First Atlas 

      

      Again, I couldn't find an exact Lexile level for this book, but it would probably fit best for 3rd and 4th graders, and could really extend to later grades as well. This book is based in the atlas genre if that wasn't already obvious by the title. This book has a table of contents and an index. It contains mostly illustrations, but there are some photographs as well. A far more simple book than the previous one, but still should not be read aloud cover to cover. This is more of a book that covers countries throughout the world by giving a slight overview on each that is listed. I would use this in social studies class without question, and it would be a great library book as well.

References:

 Boyle, B., & Hopkins, D. (1994). My first atlas. London: Dorling Kindersley.