Around the World: An Amazing World

Around the World: An Amazing World
   written by Heather E. Schwartz and Tammi Salzano

REVIEW.
I love this little interactive, 3-D Travel Book I found on one of the shelves of our fall bookfair at only $4.99! I see so many uses for this book in the classroom and Library Media Center! The photos are simple and iconic.

Put on your 3-D glasses included in this book and take a quick journey around the world learning some trivia about amazing landmarks we all hope to be able to see sometime in our lives face to face!

Teacher Note: The book is written for younger readers but I will use this book K-6 and believe the true power of the book is in the higher grades. There is just enough information and beautiful photographs to peak interest to pursue more information. Each student can pursue content knowledge that appeals to them, while learning access and internet skills I introduce to them... differentiated instructional lessons. Even my most reluctant readers will become involved with partners or small group investigations. I will use this book and several others in this blog as a "text" along with important WebTools that assist learners to locate, organize, and synthesize information using content selected to release motivation.

I plan to use this book as a project launch with my upper grades to learn and utilize Google Earth to develop an online travel map for younger students to experience later on, addressing social studies standards both lower and upper grades, 21st century skills, and Library/Media Center standards, all within one project.
Authentic projects researched, developed, and published by older students as a learning tool for younger students is a favorite learning process I use through my Library/Media Center program to maximize learning experiences.

Watch for the project to appear on our Media Center webpages at some point. It will be an ongoing and constantly evolving project building collective intelligence as it grows.

ISBN: 978-0-545-17229-5

101 places You Gotta See Before You're 12

This "Bucket List" book for  tweens is one of the hottest books in our 900 section! It is designed as an interactive scavenger hunt including stickers to use as a rating scale when checking off items from the lists within the book, ranking them "Top 20, Loved it, Yawn Fest, No Way, Awesome, Way Strange, Been There", etc. There's a map to help guide exploring and planning, and a note section to add additional ideas and comments. Also included are some websites and links to support the listed items with directories, organizations, and other resources.

Book circulation increases with additional Book Talks and discussions to stimulate uses for this book, as well as potential lessons/activities:

• Google Earth Trips...even better, develop tours based on choices selected individually to share with others
• Keep it local...Take it National...use with social studies units exploring city, state, and country.
• Take a virtual trip...if you can't actually go to a farm...is there a website with a virtual tour?
• When traveling with the family develop a game to play with the list to see if you can name a site that fits the list... name "a very big thing", "a peaceful place" then read what the book has to say about it.
• Make a personal list of the "10 Things I most want to see this year"...share with family
• Find your 10 favorite places using Google Earth and show your friends.

Sullivan, Joanne. 101 Places You Gotta See Before You're 12. New York: Lark Books, 2006.
ISBN: 978-1-60059-147-1