Book 1: Time Travel in Fourth Grade by: Jenny Hogan
Book Level: Grave level, 4th grade
Standard: 4.5: The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, literary
nonfiction, and poetry.
b) Identify the theme(s).
Summary Response: In the book “Time Travel in Fourth Grade” by Jenny Hogan is a story
narrated by a fourth grade boy who is in the science fair at school. His original project was to
make a volcano but days before the fair it was broken into pieces. After seeing the weather
outside the narrator determines that it is perfect conditions for time travel, so that that becomes
the new project. Once he travels he meets his teenage self and is told to remake the volcano in
order to get a scholarship. The boy learns to complete the volcano by himself in hopes to win
the science upcoming science fair.
Personal Response:I enjoy this book because of the lesson that it could teach to students that
read it. It teaches perseverance in a time where students might not have it because of the
current ways of the world. The narrator in this story has faced several challenges that many
kids encounter in real life that make them feel as if they have made mistakes. When the boy
tries to run from the science fair his older self teaches that you have to keep moving forward
and overcome your obstacles. I think this age group of students can benefit from this lesson
because of new challenges they are facing.
Pedagogical Response: Overall this book is rather easy for fourth graders to be able to
understand because they can make several connections with the narrator. They can identify
with the narrator because of his age, and the list of "mistakes" that he has made are very
common of all kids. The fact that he has a big project for the upcoming science fair and then it
gets ruined so his response to runaway seems to be a typical reaction from kids that age. This
book will benefit students because they will be able to understand the meaning of
perseverance in a way that is easy for fourth graders to grasp.
Explanation and Sample: The teacher will introduce the passage to the students, and pass out
individual copies for each student to read independently. During their reading the student will
use highlighters to underline evidence to prove what they believe the theme of the passage is.
Once they are done reading, each student will share their theme, and their reasoning.
Book 2: MOON Rain by: Tiare Solorzano
Book Level: Guided Reading (4th grade)
Standards: 4.5 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of fictional texts, literary
nonfiction, and poetry.
e) Identify the narrator of a story and the speaker of a poem.
f) Identify the conflict and resolution.
Summary Response: The setting of this story is a brother and sister, Collin and Carina that are
living on the moon, getting ready to celebrate Carina's birthday.Carina was feeling very sad
about not being with her friends she had back on Earth for her birthday, and adjusting to life
on the moon. When Collin realized that his sister was not going to be able to have a birthday
party, he starts to come up with ideas for a gift he can give his sister. He made a bamboo stick
for his sister to remind her of home and completely turn her day around.
Personal Response: I believe that this passage has a lot to bring to students because of the
theme or lesson that it teaches, but also the interest that it can bring them. When students hear
they are going to read a passage about people living on a moon that would spark their interest
because of how out of the ordinary it is. When a student is interested and focused in the
reading then they will learn a lot more from it. This passage teaches kindness to students
because of the effort that Collin goes to in order to make his sister's birthday special.
Pedagogical Response: Fourth grade students will be able to identify with these characters
mostly because they are kids just like the class is. Specific students can also relate if they have
siblings, or if they have moved somewhere that was far from home. This first thing that this
book will teach the kids is the theme of kindness from Collin making such a large effort to
make his sister happy. The second thing that is demonstrated here is conflict and resolution.
Collin sees a problem that his sister is not enjoying her birthday, and he creates a solution by
bringing her a gift that reminds her of home.
Explanation and Sample: During guided reading groups the students will read this book to the
teacher as a group to see that they are able to understand the text. While the group is reading
the teacher will stop and ask questions about the characters of the story. Then after reading the
teacher will ask the students to identify the theme, conflict, and resolution.
Book 3: Lewis and Clark American Explorers by: Barbra Radner
Book Level: Grade Level (4th)
Standards: 4.6 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts.
b) Explain the author’s purpose.
Summary Response: The text starts by introducing Lewis and Clark as explorers in the year
1804 and their plan to map the Missouri River to see where it led to. There were over 40
people with them on their journey and they carried many supplies with hopes of also
encountering some food. They were only able to travel a few miles at a time because they had
to row their boats with themselves which made the journey difficult. The Native Americans
were very helpful to them during their year long journey. The maps they created helped many
people settle in America.
Personal Response: This passage has a lot of information that is helpful to fourth grade
students, and as an educator I think it would be great to use in a classroom. The information is
written very well and in a way that students would be able to understand and grasp. Raden
does a good job painting an image for the students to be able to understand what Lewis and
Clark were trying to accomplish. I also think it is a good book because of the connections that
it had to maps which students also learn a lot about. Overall the text is very educational.
Pedagogical Response: Students will have the ability to take a lot away from this book
because they will be able to understand the text clearly. This passage is worded in ways that
fourth grade students are able to understand and identify. With the text being so clear, they will
be able to understand the main idea that the author is trying to convey. The text gives a lot of
facts, but it is also kept interesting for the students to want to find out what happened. From
the ending they will be able to see that the author wrote this to share the impact Lewis and
Clark had on America.
Explanation and Sample: Each student will be given a copy if the text to read for themselves
and while reading they can highlight parts of the passage that help then identify the main idea.
After reading they will write a paragraph stating what the main idea of the story is, and how
they were able to find it.
