Becoming Critically Literate

  Publisher's Description: " Molly and her mom don’t always have enough food, so one Saturday they visit their local food pantry. Molly’s happy to get food to eat until she sees her classmate Caitlin, who’s embarrassed to be at the food pantry. Can Molly help Caitlin realize that everyone needs help sometimes?" Text Features:  Informational picture book. Additional back matter about the topic of food insecurity. Critical Literacy Suggestions: Read & Discuss:   BEFORE reading: discuss what students might know already about food pantries (what are they? where are they? who goes to them? why do people go to food pantries?) DURING reading: ask students to listen out for reasons why people go to the food pantry and how they feel about it.  AFTER reading:       Discuss with students what feelings they noticed different characters having and why they think they were experiencing those feelings. For example: What did Caitlin feel when she saw Molly? W...

From The Publisher: " With lush illustrations, poems, and accessible scientific information,   The Wisdom of Trees  by Lita Judge is a fascinating exploration of the hidden communities trees create to strengthen themselves and others. We clean the air and seed the clouds, we drench the thirsty land with rain.  We are like wizards. The story of a tree is a story of community, communication, and cooperation. Although trees may seem like silent, independent organisms, they form a network buzzing with life: they talk, share food, raise their young, and offer protection. Trees thrive on diversity, learn from their ancestors, and give back to their communities. Trees not only sustain life on our planet—they can also teach us important lessons about patience, survival, and teamwork." Text Features:  Poetry Hybrid text (poetry is accompanied by expository sidebars providing more information about the topic of the poem on each page) Personification and shifting point of view...