The benefit of books is amazing. Including themed books in our curriculum and studies helps to enhance learning on any concept. Below you will find a list of great books for students in grades Pre-K through 5^th.

Pre-K- Kindergarten:

Dinosaurs Alive and Well: A Guide to Good Health by Marc Tolon Brown and Laurene Krasny Brown

How do plants grow?  By Julie K. Lundgren

Zoo by Gail Gibbons

Chicks & Chickens by Gail Gibbons

1^st- 2^nd grade:

The Three R's: Reuse, Reduce, Recycle by Nuria Roca, illustrated by Rosa M. Curto (Barron's Educational Series, 2007).

The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle: A Story About Recycling by Alison Inches, illustrated by Pete Whitehead (Little Simon, 2009)

A Cool Drink of Water by Barbara Kerley (National Geographic Children's Books, 2002).

Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel, illustrated by Alexandra Colombo (Worthwhile Books, 2008).

The Berry Book by Gail Gibbons

Seeds, Bees and Pollen by Julie K. Lundgren

     It is very important in considering the education of our students to create our own philosophy of education and design our own curriculums to fit the needs of our particular students.  As educators we need to develop a personal education plan for our students allowing for individual differences, interests and learning styles that each student possesses.  Further, there is a dire need to examine how we have been conditioned by our own “schooling” in our approaches to the education of our students. Our own experiences, particularly those of us who were conditioned and indoctrinated by public school standards and curriculums, have affected us all and shaped our thinking in more ways than we may realize. It is never too late to make changes and look critically at our own attitudes and methods so that our students will grow up to be creative, imaginative and critical thinking adults who will be the future leaders, trend setters and change agents.