Children's+Book

Trade Book



Jenna Seibert TCH 347 October 12, 2009 Dr. Liu Introduction of the book

· Title: __My Teacher for President__ · Author: Kay Winters · Illustrator: Denise Brunkus · Publisher: Dutton Children’s Books · Copyright date: 2004 What is it about?

__My Teacher for President__ is a heart-warming story about a student Oliver who writes a note to Channel 39 including all of the great reasons his teacher would make a good president. From one page to the next, Oliver includes a statement as to why his teacher would be best with a drawing to match which illustrates his teacher at the school, and on the opposite side there is a picture of the teacher in the presidential setting. The author includes many aspects of the president’s daily life both informally and formally. Through the use of humor included in the pictures as well as validity within the context, students will be sure to gain a better insight as to what the president really does.

What subject areas, content vocabulary, or concepts does it cover?


 * President’s Day
 * Election Day
 * Social Studies
 * Presidency
 * White House
 * Health care
 * Media
 * President
 * Peace


 * What NCSS themes and Pennsylvania social studies standards does it cover? **
 * Individuals, Groups, and Institutions **
 * Power, Authority, and Governance **
 * Global Connections **
 * 8.2.3. C – Identify and describe how continuity and change have influenced **


 * Which grade level is it appropriate for? **
 * __ My Teacher for President __**** would be most appropriate for 2nd and 3rd graders as far as grade appropriateness with the curriculum. Students at this grade level would be able to grasp the different aspects of a president’s job and would be able to make connections between the two. Students in first grade however would still enjoy listening to this story and may be able to make text-self or text-world connections, however they may not understand every aspect of the story without help from the teacher. **
 * What is your suggested method to use this book in the classroom? **
 * For this book to be most effective, personally, I would choose to use the story as a read aloud or as a guided reading text. Although students may gain knowledge by reading it by themselves or in paired or buddy reading, having the teacher read the text to the class as a whole and model questioning and comprehension techniques would be more helpful to the students. After using the text as a read aloud, the teacher can then have the student’s work independently focusing on theme from the story through a narrative or informational writing piece. This would be a great story to use with students around the time of an election or President’s Day. **