Freddy’s Favorites compile TextProject’s recommendations for read-aloud books for struggling and beginning readers. The Common Core State Standards bring increased focus to what it is that students are learning in schools and what they need to know. Through read-alouds, students can be introduced to topics and genres that they might otherwise not be able to read independently. Our list of Read-Aloud Favorites can be searched by grade level, genre, format and subject.
To read more about the importance of reading aloud in a classroom, please read this blog entry in Frankly Freddy.
Red Scarf Girl
History has shown that during a time of political revolution, many innocent and not-so-innocent people are persecuted for being against the revolution, their voices silenced forever or for the time being. This was particularly the case when Mao Ze Dong took over as the leader of China: he began several initiatives or revolutions. One of these was the Cultural Revolution. Many of China’s people were caught up in the excitement in moving their nation towards a better future. However, there were some who criticized the initiatives and found themselves persecuted for their opinions. As more and more people sought to rid China of the counter-revolutionists, they found that the path toward the perfect soldier of China was a slippery slope.
This is a memoir of the author as a 12-year-old girl. Like many of her peers, the author wanted to join the Cultural Revolution. But her deceased grandfather, whom she barely remembered, was a landlord and thus her family was considered “black,” or against the Cultural Revolution.
This book is based on the two-year timeframe during which the author struggled to fit in, when she was a social outcast, and when she tried to reconcile current political ideology with her loyalty to her family. This is a fascinating book that zips along, but the fear and confusion is palpable; at times it is a bit overwhelming. This is a good look at what happens when a family is caught on the other side of a revolution, as many Loyalists found themselves during the American Revolution.
Mary On Horseback
Mary Breckinridge was the daughter of a well-to-do family with strong political ties to the US government. Her father was the US ambassador to Czar Nicholas II of Russia; her grandfather was the US Vice President. There were also other family members in the US Congress and state governments. While a daughter of a wealthy family in the early 1900s usually had hobbies like needlework or skills like tending to animals, they rarely had careers that took them in the deep woods of the Appalachian Mountains. What took Mary there was a series of unfortunate losses in her life. After the loss of her son and her divorce from her second husband, Mary made the decision to study nursing. When WWI began, Mary traveled to Europe to work as a nurse. After the war ended, Mary remembered the families that lived in the hard-to-reach areas of the Appalachian Mountains without a nearby nurse or doctor. She returned to the United States to help these families. Over time, Mary built clinics and brought in nurses and doctors from all over the world. She later established the Frontier Nursing Service, an organization that is still helping people in less accessible areas.
This book is a collection of three stories about the families Mary helped. They are snapshots of Mary’s entire career. These true stories are heartfelt and provide powerful lessons of how one person can change the lives of an entire community.
Landed
There are many books out there depicting the experience of immigration into the United States. But this one had details I was unfamiliar with. Landed is a story about a boy named Lee Sun Chor who travels with his father from his village in China to the United States. Since Sun’s father is a returning merchant, he is able to land at San Francisco. Sun, however, has to go to Angel Island by himself. There, Sun meets other boys that are in the same situation, waiting for their turn to pass the examinations and be granted permission to land on US soil.
This book is based on the experiences of Lee Sun Chor, the author’s father-in-law. The unique perspective of preparing for the examination at Angel Island and the look into the day-to-day life of a boy living there make this book stand out.
The author has also written other interesting books of historical fiction. Earthquake is about the author’s mother’s experiences during the 1902 earthquake in San Francisco, CA. Nim and the War Effort is about the author’s experiences collecting paper for the WWII war effort. Both are worth taking a look at too.
Chains (Seeds of America #1)
Isabel and Ruth’s mistress has just died. They were promised their freedom when their mistress died. But their mistress’s nephew needs money, so he sells them to a couple from New England. From here Isabel and Ruth’s story really picks up and things go from bad to worse. The couple they were sold to are Loyalists and it is 1776.
While the United States is fighting for independence from England, Isabel and her sister fight for their independence from slavery. Along the way Isabel meets a former slave boy who is fighting for the Patriots, and she spies for both sides. Isabel is willing to help anyone who promises to help her gain her freedom.
This book is the first in a trilogy and is followed by Forge (Book 2) and Ashes (Book 3). This book tells a fascinating combination of a slave fighting for her personal freedom and a nation fighting for their political freedom.
Folding for Fun
This book has all the basic origami designs with patterns for a box, a plane, and a boat. But there are also some that are different and fun to try outside. This book is advertised for ages 4 and up, which is perfect for kindergarten or as an introduction to origami for older kids. The number of steps ranges from 15 for the box to only four steps for a noisemaker.
The large pictures and clear instructions are great to help ELLs practice their directional vocabulary. Unlike a more complicated origami book, Boursin limits the number of symbols used to seven. Boursin also uses four types of folds throughout the book.