Genre Title of Literacy Brief description Strategy/ies

Text
Picture books The giving tree The book • Modeling
follows the lives • Literacy
of an apple tree Response
and a boy, who
develop a
relationship
with one
another. The
tree is very
"giving" and the
boy evolves into
a "taking"
teenager, a
middle-aged
man, and finally
an elderly man.
Despite the fact
that the boy
ages in the
story, the tree
addresses the
boy as "Boy" his
entire life.
Storybooks The ugly This story raises • Modeling
duckling questions about • Literacy
bullying, Response
discrimination,
and the
importance of
being true to
yourself. The
Ugly Duckling
looked very
different from
his siblings, who
made fun of him
and treated him
horribly because
he didn't look
like them. He
wished he was
beautiful like
the swans he
saw flying in the
sky. In the end,
the swans show
him that he is
not a duck; he
is, in fact, a
beautiful swan.
One of the
important
themes of this
story is that
personal
transformation
takes time.
Traditional Literature Little Red Riding "Little Red • Independent
Hood by Charles Riding Hood" by Reading
Perrault Charles Perrault • Modeling
tells of a young
girl who comes
across a cunning
wolf on the way
to her
grandmother's
home. The wolf
deceives both
her and her
grandmother
and eats them,
a grim ending
for the
protagonist of
the story. This
version, by
Charles
Perrault, was
first published
in France in
1697.
Historical Fiction ESPERANZA When • Cooperative
RISING BY PAM Esperanza and Learning
MUNOZ RYAN her family are • Literacy
forced to flee Response
their privileged
lives on a ranch
in Mexico to a
farm camp in
California
during the Great
Depression,
Esperanza must
adapt to a new
life of hard work
and rise to meet
the challenges
of her new
home.
Modern Fantasy The Borrowers The Borrowers • Independent
tells the story of Reading
a family of little • Literacy
people who live Response
beneath the
kitchen floor of
a deteriorating
English country
home. Pod and
Homily Clock
care for their
adventurous
daughter
Arrietty by
borrowing what
they need, and
a little more,
from the human
“beans” who
live up above.
Realistic Fiction The Fault in Our The Fault in Our • Modeling
Stars Stars is a • Independent
fabulous book Reading
about a young • Literacy
teenage girl Response
who has been
diagnosed with
lung cancer and
attends a cancer
support group.
The Fault in Our
Stars not only
explores the
ways in which
cancer affects
those who are
diagnosed, but
also shows the
ways in which
their families
and friends
react to their
diagnoses. The
parents of the
young people
living with
cancer react to
the loss of their
children in
different ways.
Nonfiction/informational Muddy A celebration of • Cooperative
books the indomitable Learning
Muddy Waters, • Independent
a blues musician Reading
whose fierce
and electric
sound laid the
 groundwork for
what would
become rock
and roll.
Poetry Don't quit Don't quit • Modeling
poetry It's all • Cooperative
about Learning
perseverance, • Independent
tenacity, Reading
determination • Literacy
and will-power Response
to not to give up
- especially
when the things
are going
wrong, and
when one is
seemingly
swimming
against the tide.
This poem
reminds us that
there are seeds
of success in
every failure,
and that's why
we mustn't quit.
Drama Harry Potter "Harry Potter • Modeling
and The Cursed and the Cursed • Cooperative
Child Child” is about Learning
the journey • Independent
Albus takes Reading
while growing • Literacy
up, and the Response
roles he and his
best friend,
Scorpius (Draco
Malfoy's son),
play when dark
forces, perhaps
in league with
Voldemort,
once again
threaten the
fate of the
planet.