Teaching Language Arts to Elementary Students

BOOKS FOR GRADE K-3

1 . Aunt Harriet 's Underground Railroad in the Sky by Faith Ringgold Illustrated by Faith Ringgold . Dragonfly Books (December 12 , 1995

The Invisible Princess

The Invisible Princess is an original fairy tale that is set in the days of slavery . Through the use of the element of magic , the good (the slaves ) win over evil (the slavedrivers Tar Beach and Aunt Harriet 's Underground Railroad in the Sky

8-year-old Cassie Lightfoot leads the story of Tar Beach and Aunt Harriet 's Underground Railroad in the Sky where

she takes the readers on a journey through time and present to them important people and events in American history . In Tar Beach , Cassie helped her fanily survive the Great Depression . And then one night , while flying among the stars , she and her brother Be Be , met Harriet Tubman and learn about slavery in Aunt Harriet 's Underground Railroad in the Sky

My Dream of Martin Luther King

In this book , there are boycotts , sit-ins , demonstrations , marches , and the 1968 assassination of Dr . Martin Luther King , Jr

Talking to Faith Ringgold

This is the author 's biography and here , she reveals the inspiration behind her writing and her art The Performing Arts and the Social Sciences

Music Storytelling : When all of the slaves were freed in The Invisible Princess , there was "music and dancing and storytelling

Visual Art : Faith Ringgold says that "art is about more than just technique and style . It 's about ideas ( Talking to Faith Ringgold ,

br 23 . She gets her ideas from events that are happening around her (Refer to the painting on pp . 23-24

Creative Drama : Martin Luther King , Jr . is famous for his "I Have a Dream " speech . The class can spin ideas from the book and research other African Americans who made a big impact on the freedom of their race From here , the class can stage a production play

Language Arts : The Invisible Princess is an original fairy tale . The conflict in most fairy tales is good vs . evil . Fairy tales originated from dreams

Social Studies : The location of the terminals on the Underground Railroad are all across the United States . Tar Beach is set in Harlem during the Great Depression . Science -- Cotton was grown on most of the large plantations in the South . The students can learn about the production of cotton and the other industries related to it

2 . Harry Sue by Sue Stauffacher , Illustrated by Sue Stauffacher Yearling (April 10 , 2007

Harry Sue is the moving , heartfelt , and sometimes funny story of a girl desperate for her mother 's love , and how compassion , resilience , and friendship can help a person survive just about any hardship that life can dish out

The Performing Arts and the Social Sciences Language Arts : Early on in the book , Harry Sue says , Everybody has a back story , Fish . Garnett , Mary Bell , Homer , me . Remember that when you 're eyeballing a new con . The real story starts somewhere in the past (p . 23...