The Hindenburg

Title: The Hindenburg
Author: Patrick O'Brien
Illustrator:

Type: realistic fiction
Approximate Interest Level: 5th-12th
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. 

Date of Publication: 2000
ISBN: 978-0805064155

Synopsis: This book details the early history of airships, including their use during World Wars I and II and their use as passenger vehicles.  The story concludes with the explosion of the Hindenburg on May 6, 1937.  The book has vivid, eye-catching illustrations throughout.

 

Possible Teaching Points: 1) history of flight, 2) airships, 3) the Hindenburg

Elizabeth Leads the Way

Title: Elizabeth Leads the Way: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Right to Vote
Author: Tanya Lee Stone

Illustrator: Rebecca Gibbon
Type: Historical Fiction
Approximate Interest Level: 3rd-5th
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.

Date of Publication: 2008
ISBN: 978-0805079036

Synopsis: Details the life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the times she lived in, and her struggle to gain the vote for women in the United States.  The text is in a simple, easy-to-read format.  The book also contains an author's note on the life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and sources for more information.

Lesson Plan link

Possible Teaching Points: 1) Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 2) famous American women, 3) women's suffrage, 4) voting rights in the United States

O, Say Can You See?

Title: O, Say Can You See: America's Symbols, Landmarks, and Inspiring Words
Author: Sheila Keenan

Illustrator: Ann Boyajian
Type: Non-Fiction
Approximate Interest Level: 5th-12th
Publisher: Scholastic

Date of Publication: 2004
ISBN: 978-0439424509

Synopsis: A nonfiction compilation of the important places, interesting objects, inspiring words, and holidays that contribute to, or comprise American culture.  Each item is explained in detail using student-friendly language and illustrations.  The book includes a glossary, an index, and suggestions for further reading.

Lesson Plan link

Possible Teaching Points: 1) American symbols, 2) American history, 3) American holidays

Lives

Title: Lives: Poems about Famous Americans
Author: various (selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins)

Illustrator: Leslie Staub
Type: Poetry
Approximate Interest Level: 3rd-12th
Publisher: Harper Collins

Date of Publication: 1999
ISBN: 978-80060277673

Synopsis: A collection of poems about famous Americans.  Poems include: This Bell Rings for Liberty (Paul Revere), A Song for Sacagawea, Abe (Abraham Lincoln), Walt Whitman, The Whippoorwill Calls (Harriet Tubman), American Wizard (Thomas Edison), Till (Helen Keller/Annie Sullivan), Eleanor Roosevelt, When Babe Ruth His His Last Home Run, Dreamer (Langston Hughes), The Many and the Few (Rosa Parks), JFK, Martin Luther King Day, First Men on the Moon (Neil Armstrong/Buzz Aldrin).

Possible Teaching Points: 1) poetry, 2) famous Americans: Paul Revere, Sacagawea, Abraham Lincoln, Walt Whitman, Harriet Tubman, Thomas Edison, Helen Keller/Annie Sullivan, Eleanor Roosevelt, Babe Ruth, Langston Hughes, Rosa Parks, John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin

America: A Patriotic Primer

Title: America: A Patriotic Primer
Author: Lynne Cheney

Illustrator: Robin Preiss Glasser
Type: Non-Fiction
Approximate Interest Level: 3rd-8th
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Date of Publication: 2002
ISBN: 978-0689851926

Synopsis: An alphabet book with American symbols, history, and trivia for each letter.  A wide range of topics are covered including, but not limited to, the Constitution, American heroes, Native Americans, rights, suffrage, and patriotism.

Lesson plan links

Possible Teaching Points: 1) civics, 2) American history, 3) American symbols 

America the Beautiful

Title: America the Beautiful
Author: Katharine Lee Bates & Wendell Minor

Illustrator: Wendell Minor
Type: Non-Fiction
Approximate Interest Level: 1st-12th
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons

Date of Publication: 2003
ISBN: 978-0399238857

Synopsis: The text to the Song America the Beautiful accompanied by beautiful paintings of what each line in the song means.  The book also includes a short biography of Katharine Lee Bates and Samuel Augustus Ward, the sheet music for the song, and an explanation of what each painting in the book represents.

Lesson plan links

Possible Teaching Points: 1) poetry, 2) American civics

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere

 

Title: The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
Author: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Illustrator: Jeffrey Thompson
Type: Narrative Poem
Approximate Interest Level: 4th-12th
Publisher:National Geographic

Date of Publication: 2000
ISBN: 978-0792265580

Synopsis: "Listen my children, and you shall hear, of the midnight ride of Paul Revere."  This book is a retelling of the famous narrative poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow accompanied by woodcut illustrations.

Possible Teaching Points: 1) American Revolution, 2) Paul Revere