Ezra Jack Keats Literature Activities Dreams

These quick activities help students enjoy the influential literature of Ezra Jack Keats. Here, students focus on the story Dreams. Before-, during-, and after-reading activities are provided for a comprehensive study of the story.

A celebration of the extraordinary life of Ezra Jack Keats, creator of The Snowy Day. The story of The Snowy Day begins more than one hundred years ago, when Ezra Jack Keats was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. The family were struggling Polish immigrants, and despite Keats’s obvious talent, his father worried that Ezra’s dream of being an artist was an unrealistic one. But Ezra was determined. By high school he was winning prizes and scholarships. Later, jobs followed with the WPA and Marvel comics. But it was many years before Keats’s greatest dream was realized and he had the opportunity to write and illustrate his own book. For more than two decades, Ezra had kept pinned to his wall a series of photographs of an adorable African American child. In Keats’s hands, the boy morphed into Peter, a boy in a red snowsuit, out enjoying the pristine snow; the book became The Snowy Day, winner of the Caldecott Medal, the first mainstream book to feature an African American child. It was also the first of many books featuring Peter and the children of his — and Keats’s — neighborhood. Andrea Davis Pinkney’s lyrical narrative tells the inspiring story of a boy who pursued a dream, and who, in turn, inspired generations of other dreamers.

Winner of the 1963 Caldecott Medal! No book has captured the magic and sense of possibility of the first snowfall better than The Snowy Day. Universal in its appeal, the story has become a favorite of millions, as it reveals a child's wonder at a new world, and the hope of capturing and keeping that wonder forever. The adventures of a little boy in the city on a very snowy day. "Keats's sparse collage illustrations capture the wonder and beauty a snowy day can bring to a small child."—Barnes & Noble "Ezra Jack Keats's classic The Snowy Day, winner of the 1963 Caldecott Medal, pays homage to the wonder and pure pleasure a child experiences when the world is blanketed in snow."—Publisher's Weekly "The book is notable not only for its lovely artwork and tone, but also for its importance as a trailblazer. According to Horn Book magazine, The Snowy Day was "the very first full-color picture book to feature a small black hero"—yet another reason to add this classic to your shelves. It's as unique and special as a snowflake."—Amazon.com

An illuminating resource to help parents foster a love of writing in their child's life--filled with writing prompts, engaging home learning activities, and more. New educational research reveals that writing is as fundamental to a child's development as reading. But though there are books that promote literacy, no book guides parents in helping their child cultivate a love of writing. In this book, Pam Allyn, a nationally recognized educator and literacy expert, reminds us that writing is not only a key skill but also an essential part of self-discovery and critical to success later in life. Allyn offers the "the five keys" to help kids WRITE-Word Power, Ritual, Independence, Time, and Environment-along with fun, imaginative prompts to inspire and empower children to put their thoughts on the page. A groundbreaking blueprint for developing every child's abilities, Your Child's Writing Life teaches parents how to give a gift that will last a lifetime.

Every day in your classroom will be a special day when you use the creative ideas in this book. Like the other excellent books in this series, a reason to celebrate every day in the month is included with fun activity ideas to be plugged into your regular curriculum: language arts, social studies, writing, math, science and health, music and drama, physical fitness, art, etc. Special days in August include: Friendship Day, This Is Your Life Day, International Left-Handers' Day, Desert Day and Career Day, just to name a few. Your students will look forward to every day of the school year when you make it a constant celebration. And they'll learn while they have fun! Included are fun patterns for writing assignments and art projects as well as lists of correlated books, recipes, reproducibles and bulletin board ideas.

Build attitudes of respect and caring, reduce problem behaviors, empower students to solve problems, and educate the whole child with this flexible, user-friendly activity guide. The lessons' literature-based connections allow teachers to "build in" rather than "add on" social-emotional learning (SEL) throughout the day. Field-tested in classrooms across the United States, these activities when fully implemented have resulted in improved school climate, greater parent engagement, increased academic achievement, and reduction in discipline referrals. Features of the book include: 100+ easy-to-implement year-round activities that integrate info the daily curriculum in all subject areas Monthly themes focused on empathy, bullying prevention, teamwork, decision-making, and more Concise lesson formats (Read, Discuss, Do, Relate) Discussion and writing prompts Built-in assessments Digital content includes all of the book's reproducible forms.

Tight: Lately, Bryan's been feeling it in all kinds of ways . . . Bryan knows what's tight for him--reading comics, drawing superheroes, and hanging out with no drama. But drama is every day where he's from, and that gets him tight, wound up. And now Bryan's friend Mike pressures him with ideas of fun that are crazy risky. At first, it's a rush following Mike, hopping turnstiles, subway surfing, and getting into all kinds of trouble. But Bryan never really feels right acting so wrong, and drama really isn't him. So which way will he go, especially when his dad tells him it's better to be hard and feared than liked? But if there's one thing Bryan's gotten from his comic heroes, it's that he has power--to stand up for what he feels . . . Torrey Maldonado delivers a fast-paced, insightful, dynamic story capturing urban community life. Readers will connect with Bryan's journey as he navigates a tough world with a heartfelt desire for a different life.

This book synthesizes current literature and research on scientific inquiry and the nature of science in K-12 instruction. Its presentation of the distinctions and overlaps of inquiry and nature of science as instructional outcomes are unique in contemporary literature. Researchers and teachers will find the text interesting as it carefully explores the subtleties and challenges of designing curriculum and instruction for integrating inquiry and nature of science.