Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting

Summary: A touching story about a young boy and his father living in an airport. As they move from terminal to terminal to avoid being caught, the boy spots a bird that has been trapped inside the airport. One day, he sees the bird escape through an open door, providing the boy with a sense of hope.

2nd Grade: How can citizens help those in need?

After reading the book, have a discussion about homelessness and the importance of not turning to crime to get out of homelessness. Discuss how people have different living situations and that does not make those who are different wrong or bad people. Post-discussion, have students research, with partners or small groups, about the resources for homeless people in the area they reside in. Allow students to share their findings, creating a list of some of the resources they found. Next, create a new list of things they can do, personally, to help those in need. (Examples: canned food/clothing drives, donating their unwanted belongings to thrift stores, writing letters, sharing information about how to help others, etc.) The students can put one or more of these items into action. This is a great way to teach them about acts of kindness and it can become a service learning/ community service project.

When looking into placing one of these ideas into action, it is a great time to pull in cross-curricular lessons/activities!

Blizzard by John Rocco

Summary: When the blizzard of 1978 brought fifty-three inches of snow to a town in Rhode Island, John Rocco wanted to share his experiences with others around him. The young boy is ecstatic to see that first snowflake fall. However, by the end of the story, the neighborhood could not be more relieved to see the snow plow breakthrough to their street.

3rd Grade Physical Systems Unit

This book talks about a historical event that devastated many lives. Students can research and learn more about this blizzard and weather patterns that impact different parts of the country.

Unit Overview: In this unit, students will learn about the infamous blizzard of 1978 by reading a story written by John Rocco. After reading, students will research a little more about the blizzard with their classmates in small groups. Students will then explore different regions of the United States and talk about the major climate regions throughout the country.

After working together in small groups, the students can present their information about their region and how the climate is there. The teacher can then lead a discussion to review what the students learned about the regions.

Essential Question: How do the major climate regions differ throughout the country?