As a child, the authors father was fascinated by rocks.This interest consumed the young boy as he collected them in all of his spare time. People told him that he had rocks in his pockets and in his head. But he never allowed their criticism to detour him. Finally, a museum offers him a great job because a man with "rocks in his head" was just what they needed.

Rosie is a Tibetan terrier whose friendly nature makes her a perfect visiting dog. After a lot of training, she brings comfort to people in nursing homes and hospitals.

In this realistic fiction story, young childrens powers of imagination create the town of Roxaboxen filled with houses, buildings, and stores. Years later, these friends reflect on the memories of their special town.

Ruby wants to fit in with her new class, so she imitates everything her friend Angela does. The teacher, Miss Hart, encourages Ruby to just be herself. At first, Ruby struggles with this idea, but then discovers that she has a special gift to share.

This nonfiction text discusses how a fourth grade class at Union Avenue School worked hard to protect the New Jersey shoreline by planting recycled Christmas trees in the sand. The trees prevent high tides from flooding sand dunes, which serve as animal habitats and also protect peoples homes.

This informational, nonfiction selection describes how schools are different in various parts of the world and includes ŕamazing factsĚŇ about these schools. Even though schools are different there is one common thread: school is a place to learn.

A third grade girl named Beany creates a science fair project with her partner, Kevin. Beany is not confident that their project is the best since it does not include flashy props. Beany learns that good science is enough to win the science fair, and she regains her self-esteem through winning.

Ben goes to the beach and watches a seal being born. Over the next few seasons, Ben develops a special bond with this seal, a bond that Ben knows will last the rest of his life.

This folktale is about three monks who visit a village filled with unhappy people. The villagers do not welcome the monks, so the three monks decide to make stone soup to teach the villagers a lesson in happiness.

Julian meets Gloria, a new girl in his neighborhood. Together they make a wish kite, with wishes fastened to its tail; both wish for lasting friendship.

This African folk tale explains how many African tales came to be known as ŕSpider stories.ĚŇ In this tale, Ananse, the Spider man, travels up to the sky to offer to buy Nyame, the Sky Gods, stories. Nyame asks Ananse to bring him Osebo the leopard-of-the-terrible-teeth, Mmboro the hornets-who-sting-like-fire, and Mmoatia the fairy-whom-men-never-see. Ananse agrees to the price but Nyame believes that Ananse is too small and weak to accomplish such a task. Ananse uses his intelligence and cunning to trick all three creatures. He returns to Nyame with payment for his stories. Nyame calls his court together to sing the praises of Ananse and declares his stories ŕSpider stories.ĚŇ

Glashka uses her innate connection and intuition with nature to help bring together the community in hopes of trying to save the lives of the trapped Beluga whales, who have swam into the freezing channel

Benny is nervous about the upcoming talent show. After a talk with her parents, Beany realizes that the most important thing is doing what makes her feel happy and not letting herself get pressured by her friend.

In this trickster tale, Bear and Hare are involved in a gardening partnership. Industrious, clever Hare makes a deal with BearÄ Hare and his family work Bear's land and split the crops in half. In the end, Bear learns that he has to do hard work to be rewarded.

Author: Lucille Burr GrignonCurrently teaching from my Indigenous Homestead/Gardens. Ancient Roots Homestead in Bowler, WisconsinAncient Roots Homestead collaborates with students, elders, community members in the surrounding Tribal Nations– both Menominee and Stockbridge-Munsee and beyond. We recognize all students learn in different ways. Some students join us in person, while others join us virtually. People of all ages are invited to tell stories, garden, connect and reconnect, preserve food, make music, create art, and learn different Indigenous life skills, and more.Maple Sugar season is a beautiful time for learning. So much is happening in the world around us, all we have to do to learn is observe. The seasons change, the trees grow and develop. From the tapping of the trees, boiling down, canning, educating, and processing. It is very beautiful from beginning to end. The lessons learned while working with maple trees can be directly applied and used in our own lives.The culturally-relevant text sets offer different perspectives for students to see as well as wonderful conversation starters. Students learn of different careers within the Indigenous World. Some of those careers being: Traditional Seed Keepers, Gardeners, Knowledge Keepers, Storytellers, and More!

A crew of sailors captained by Sir Ernest Shackleton is trying to reach the South Poles ice cap when their ship, Endurance, is blocked by the ice and is crushed by moving ice a month later. The crew camps on the ice and then Shack decides they should travel in lifeboats to Elephant Island and from there to the whaling station on South Georgia Island.

A boy named Taro helps Jiro-San, a wise old man, clean up the beach for the giant sea turtles that swim ashore to lay their eggs. While he waits, he learns about the rewards that come from being calm and observing the world around you.

Two ants, along with others from their nest, set out to gather crystals for their queen. Initially staying and keeping crystals for themselves, the two ants eventually learn to be happy in their familiar nest.

Despite obstacles in his life such as a family illness and the Great Depression, Uncle Jed achieved his dream of opening a barbershop at age 79.

Volcanoes show us how the earth changes. Volcanoes can be made of lava, gases, hot steam, ground-up rocks and melted rock called lava. Scientists study volcanoes and the earths movement and try to understand how they erupt.