The Brainstorm Vol 36: Books that can be used in multiple classrooms

I was away on school trips the past two Fridays, so the posting schedule has been a little out of whack. My plan is to do a new post this week and another new one next to make up for the missed week.

Next week, I'll have three titles in honor of Black History month, Chinese New Year, and Ash Wednesday. I know, they might be more fitting this week. But this week I wanted to share three titles that will help students in this tropical climate sympathize with family members and friends back in Canada and the United States buried under loads of snow and can also be used as lesson tie-ins.

Picture Book Resource

Blizzard by John Rocco

After a snow storm that dumps mountains of snow in one day, a little boy and his family at first enjoy the winter wonderland and break from school and work. But after several days with no plows, they start to worry about food. Thankfully, the little boy has thoroughly studied up on arctic survival so he knows how to put together snow shoes and save the day for his family and several neighbors by forging through the snow to the store.
This is a fun adventure, that is all the more exciting since it is based on the author's real life experiences from childhood. I love the illustrations, so bright and cheery and wintery, and Rocco is very clever in how he keeps readers up on what day it is in the story.

Lesson tie-ins:

• Acts of kindness. The little boy in the story turns out to be very helpful to his neighbors. You could talk with students about what other things the boy could have done in the time he spent helping others. Was it worth it? Have students brainstorm ways they could help others in their free time.
• Emergency plans. The little boy turns out to have been quite prepared for this emergency situation. We don't have snowstorms here in Thailand, but what are some other events that it might be good to have plans for? A good segue into safety for natural disasters, such as flood days or thunderstorms.
• Debate. Along the same lines, students could debate how much prep is a waste of time. Should John's family have stockpiled loads and loads of food? Should he have studied all those winter survival books or was he maybe neglecting other important things? Is it better to be surprised or over prepared or is there a happy medium?
• Water. Since snow is a main topic, this can easily tie-in with a study of water, the properties of water, water molecules, and why the design of the solid form of water is so important to life on earth. (It is miraculous that ice floats, it's the only solid that is less dense in solid form than liquid, and if it were more dense all water creatures would freeze solid every winter.)
• Friction. Ice and snow provide a great demonstration of low friction. Tie this story in with a lesson on friction, and have students brainstorm activities that would be easier with lower friction (like on ice) or easier with higher friction.
• History and current events tie-in. Have students research the Blizzard of 1978 that inspired this story. Where did it happen? How did it affect people? (You can find stories online, I even found entire websites dedicated to stories and events of this particular blizzard in one simple search.) Currently, there are several places that have had recent snow storms. Have students research current events and find out where someone might be having a similar experience to John Rocco this week.
• Seasons. The town John grew up in gets 4 seasons. Thailand does not get the same seasons. Tie this story in with a discussion of seasons, how the sun's position relates, and what are the various seasons for different places on the earth.
• Physics. Take a closer look at snow shoes. Have fun working out how and why snow shoes allow people to walk on top of the snow and why normal shoes wouldn't work as well.
• Writing. Have students imagine they are stuck in their house for five whole days with their family and not able to get out. What kinds of activities would they do?

Nonfiction Resource

Blizzard by Jim Murphy

Murphy tells the tale of the 1888 blizzard that evaded prediction as it was caused by not one but two storms sweeping in to create a unique and extreme weather event. Murphy tells the story by focusing on people of all ages and social standings in the city who lived (and a few who died) during this event. The readable text is accompanied by historic pictures and illustrations of the events, and Murphy works in many firsthand accounts of the blizzard. What I never realized before reading this book, and what really makes this tale stand out is how this storm helped spur legislation to clean up cities, bury wires, build the subway, encourage cities to have workers on staff, and to have disaster plans in place. (Click the link on the title to see my full review on GoodReads.com if you're concerned about content and which students this would be appropriate for.)

Lesson tie-ins:

• Government. This is a great discussion starter for government classes on what kinds of things cities have to think for in disaster planning measures. The history of having workers employed by the city is also interesting, and students could further research how it developed from this point. If students were to set up their own city, have them brainstorm some of the things they'd have to have at least a written plan for or would have to think through as the city was created. 
• Meteorology. Weather men often get teased, but this is a great book to talk about what kind of impact they can have. Also, you could discuss the history of meteorology and what kinds of tools and science are used now to predict such storms.
• Homeostasis & First aid. Several people in the story were in danger from extreme cold. You can talk about how the body regulates temperature and the dangers of extreme temperatures. Go over first aid steps for someone experiencing hyperthermia or hypothermia.
• Sibert Award. This book won a Sibert Honor, an award given to books for being excellent nonfiction for kids (K-12). Have students find other Sibert Award and Sibert Honor books, they tend to nonfiction books that read more like an exciting fiction story than a dry boring textbook.
• Writing. Have students write a fictional story of someone caught in this blizzard or journal entries as if they were there.
• See all the ice/snow suggestions above for the other blizzard book.
• Research/Bibliography & Indexes. Sibert books almost always have great notes in the back from the authors on how they went about doing the research for the book. They also usually have good exemplary bibliographies and indexes. This one doesn't have a superb bibliography, but it does have an interesting, multi-page note on research from Mr. Murphy, and an extensive index that could be used to teach students how to use such things.
• Author. Jim Murphy is an excellent nonfiction writer who occasionally delves into fiction writing too and has actually won several Sibert and Newbery awards for his books. Encourage kids to research this successful author or hunt down some of his other interesting historical books.

Chapter Book Fiction Resource

Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson

If you're looking for an exciting read aloud or an adventurous book for a reader 3rd-12th grade, this might be just the thing. Victoria Secord is a teen musher, a sled dog racer. She grew up doing with this her dad and she's determined to win a race in his honor since he isn't around to win his own this year. When Victoria hears that Mr. Cook is possibly going to sell his sled dogs, she decides she can't miss the opportunity to snatch up some of his champions. Her mom won't drive her over, so she quickly decides to take a small team of dogs on some back trails. She throws in basic stuff she might need for an afternoon run and is off. Her plans for a quick trip are thrown for a loop when she comes across a teen guy who just wrapped his snowmobile around a tree and obviously needs help. She hauls him into the sled and listens to his directions to his place, only to be stopped by a blizzard bearing down on them quickly. Victoria gets them squared away to weather out the snow storm, figuring they'll be able to find Chris's place in the morning. But come morning, she finds out that Chris just moved to Alaska from Ontario yesterday, he couldn't find his way without blazing lights, oh, and he managed to get her only map caught on fire last night. Obviously Chris isn't going to be any help, so it's all up to Victoria to get them back to warmth and shelter. Without the map and in an area with no cell phone reception, though, that is going to be tricky. It'll be a battle against all the Alaskan winter wilderness can throw their way to see if they can survive. (And no, it doesn't get very mushy or gritty, this is a pretty safe and clean survival story.)

Lesson tie-ins:

• People's worth. Chris starts off in the story as pretty much dead weight and nothing but trouble. It takes a while for Victoria to see that he also has things to contribute to their little survival team. Have readers discuss what lack of skills might turn them off to a person (sports, arts, quick wits) and how to root out and value other talents.
• Sled dogs. Obviously, this book just screams to be tied in with more info on sled dog racing and the premier sled dog race, the Iditarod (which starts next month, March 7). Also, there are lots of parts of sled dog racing that Chris (and most readers) never would think of; have readers discuss what parts surprised them and if they'd like to try sled dog racing after reading this book, why or why not.
• Transportation. Transportation methods can vary a lot by location, biome, and culture. Students could brainstorm other methods of transportation, compare and contrast them, or even categorize them (animal/machine, water/land/air, etc.).
• Guilt/Grief. Victoria has to process some grief issues she has after her father's death. Have students discuss whether or not Victoria's guilt was justified, and whether they've experienced anything similar. It's a good book to use as a discussion starter for the myriad of ways different people grieve.
• Alaska. This little adventure is just a small peak into what life is like in Alaska. Students could do further research on the area and write about whether they'd like to live there or visit or neither based on what they learned.
• First Aid. Victoria's first aid training comes in very handy in this story. Encourage students to get first aid training and discuss why it can be important even if you don't race sled dogs.
• Dogs in literature. Numerous books have dogs in the stories. Have students compare and contrast different dogs they've read about and discuss why people might like dogs in stories. 
• Adventure/Survival stories. Have students discuss or write about why readers like adventures like this one in stories and even crave them, but maybe not be so happy if it happened in real life. What does that say about people?
• Virtual travel. This story takes readers where many of them will never go. What are some other stories that transport you to a new and different place or time? What may be some of the benefits of reading about places very different from where you live? Are there hazards?