Eight Secrets of Class Design

Does the thought of that bare classroom awaiting you give you an anxiety attack? Do you envy the teacher whose room is always the first stop on a school tour? If so, make this the year you conquer your insecurities about classroom design. Any teacher can create an attractive, fun learning space by following this advice from colleagues across the country.

1. First Things First

Have a pen and clipboard in hand when you first set foot in your room. Stand at the door and draw a floor plan, including board and display places, outlets, sinks, closets, cupboards, and windows, before you physically begin moving objects. Draw out your plan or use cutout shapes that you can move around on the floor plan. Establish flow patterns, allowing room for art tables, listening centers, and group-discussion areas. Try moving between desks, and sit down in student chairs to check overhead and board visibility from different areas of the room. Use your at-school time efficiently to work on tasks that must be done on location; use your off hours at home to create bulletin board elements, set up student folders, and so on.

Doris Dillon
Williams Elementary/Graystone Elementary
San Jose, California

2. Color Magic

Colors define the look of your classroom. Choose a color scheme that appeals to you and reflects what you want the class atmosphere to be: Calm and soothing? (Think blues and greens.) Wacky and creative? (Try tropical colors.) Warm and homey? (Earth tones or primary colors work well.) Use this color scheme for your bulletin board backings, storage containers, and rug and pillows. Then let kids' work do the rest.

Judy Vowels
Hazelwood Elementary
Lousiville, Kentucky

3. Opt for Versatility

I section my classroom write-on/wipe-off board into three equal sections, and create construction-paper frames for each. For example, I might put up a pink scalloped border to create a birthday space, and then invite kids to write or draw something there on their special day. The frames can invite kids to create a story or announce a special event. This board is the focal point of my room.

Judy Meagher
Emily Dickinson School
Bozeman, Montana

4. Try Something Different

One of my most versatile (and striking) classroom touches is my pipe tree. I bought some PVC pipe and used brackets to mount it upright on a plywood base. Then I drilled holes in it and slid dowel rods through the holes to extend on either side, like branches. I hang small plastic bags on the rods with games, activities, and books in them. It also works well for displaying things like masks, kids' published books, and other 3-D projects. Last year, I covered the tree with brown crinkly paper and added palm leaves. The kids made coconuts by stuffing brown construction paper, then added a bit of artificial grass, and we had a palm tree to go with our ocean theme.

Judy Vowels

5. Share the Challenge

Whether design is your strong suit or not, it's best not to decorate your classroom all by yourself. Invite the kids to help choose colors, decide where furniture goes, and help solve storage dilemmas. It helps them take ownership and pride in their room, and it's also a great lesson in problem solving and cooperation. Best of all, they can be very creative!

In my classroom last year, we decided together on an ocean theme. As a finishing touch, the kids and some parent volunteers painted the window shades. We used the overhead to draw pictures on the shades, then used acrylic paint to fill in all the details. It was quite an undertaking, but the result was an ocean mural with a humpback whale that covered three windows! Everyone loved it, and it changed the whole atmosphere of the room.

Judy Vowels

6. Eye-Catching Time-Savers

I have a card holder on my classroom wall that stores cards with each student's name on them. When kids arrive in the morning, they turn their cards over. That helps me take attendance by simply seeing the one or two names that are not turned over. I also place a motivational sticker on the back so that when they turn the card over they see messages like "Glad you're here," "You're special," and so on.

Judy Vowels

7. Use Center Logic

Color-coding has saved my sanity when it comes to learning centers. I find what I need in local grocery and discount stores. For self-contained games, small laundry baskets are effective; games can be stacked neatly in each basket. I use larger laundry caskets for high-volume centers, such as math and language arts. A color-matched dish drainer holds thin games and flash cards. Small plastic tubs and boxes hold spinners, number cubes, and markers.

Colored clothespins (or plain clothespins whose tips you color with markers) effectively manage traffic flow for each center. Figure out how many students each center can handle, and put that number of appropriately colored clothespins in a central container at the front of the room. As students choose a center, have them each take a clothespin to clip to a sleeve or collar. When finished, they return the clothespins to the bin.

Donna Rice
Highland Village Elementary
Lewisville, TX

8. Focus on Kids

For a get-to-know-me bulletin board that spotlights my primary-grade kids and lasts all year, I create a page-sized template of a house, photocopy it, and give one to every child. During the first week, they decorate their houses to represent themselves and their own homes with snapshots and/or drawings. They write or dictate one sentence about themselves to add to the house. Then, as the year goes on, I use the houses as an anchor point for displaying children's work, adding their writing and drawings, and watching the houses grow!

Judy Meagher

Article reprinted from Scholastic Website: http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/classmgmt/classdesign.htm
^TM & © 2006-1996 Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved.

We have wonderful candidates running for office. Please take a moment to find out about our candidates.

Treasurer - Linda Danford
I have worked in the field of Early Care and Education for seventeen years in a variety of roles from classroom teacher to director. I have worked at 4C for 10 years, as an accreditation specialist and Infant/Toddler Specialist. I have been actively involved in CAEYC for the last six years serving on the Accreditation Committee, Conference committee, and the Strategic Planning Committee, and I am currently treasurer.

Vice President of Services - Megan Sprigg
I am originally from New York City. I have lived in Cincinnati for 8 years. I was a classroom teacher for 8 years in both New York and Ohio. I taught 3's and 4's and Kindergarten most recently before taking my current position as Director of Pleasant Ridge Presbyterian Nursery School 5 years ago. I have a 5 year old son and a 1 year old daughter.

Membership Secretary - Hayley Gunter
I have worked at U.C. Child Care for several years, and enjoyed being in the early childhood field. I'm looking forward to working with CAEYC.

Member at Large - Jean Johns
I've been in the early childhood education field since 1991. I am the director for The Goddard School of Landen, and have been at The Goddard School since 1999. I have taught all age groups. I received my C.D.A in 1995. I achieved accreditation for The Goddard School and maintained it since 2002. We live in Goshen Twp. I like to garden, read, play scrabble, spend time with my family and travel.

Student Member at Large - Christine Schweppe
I'm graduating at Cincinnati State with my Associates Degree in Early Childhood Education. I just started up again at Xavier (August 28), and will continue here to receive my bachelors, and possibly masters in the field of Special Education/Developmental Specialist/Intervention Specialist and those related areas. It was February this year (2006) when I started working at my current job site, YMCA Northside Child Development Center. I would be thrilled to be student representative, as it would enable me to help connect the Early Childhood Professionals that are currently already out in the field, with the local Early Childhood Students

Jo Louis will be appointed to the vacant position of Recording Secretary.
I have been a teacher at Hyde Park Methodist Preschool for 16 years. I assisted the Director in preparing for Accreditation and the Step Up To Quality. I have also been a member of NAEYC for 13 Years and have presented twice at the National Conference and the Ohio State Conference on areas of children and fine art and how to get adults excited about process art. Most recently, this year I was Co-Chair of the Week of the Young Child and will continue to hold that position this upcoming year.

Science Experiences and Math Picture Books
Assist in Achieving Standards

"The early learning content standards describe essential concepts and skills for young children. Based on research, these achievable indicators emerge as the result of quality early learning experiences regardless of the setting. The standards are the expectations for the end of the preschool years…" excerpt from Early Learning Content Standards, ODE.

The following resources were gathered from www.funology.com

Science: From the Laboratory at www.funology.com

The Laboratory has experiments in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Weather. Here are a few of the most popular ones.

• Volcanic Eruption (http://www.funology.com/laboratory/lab004.htm)
  Create your own lava eruption, right in your kitchen!
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  Turn a white flower into a pink one, or a green one!
• Speed Boat (http://www.funology.com/laboratory/lab007.htm)
  Turn an empty soda bottle into a speed boat.

Math: Picture Books for Patterns

Aardema, Verna. Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears. Illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. Penguin USA, 1975. ISBN 0-8037-6087-6 Audiocassette from Weston Woods.
This African tale uses the cumulative format. A mosquito says something foolish to the iguana who puts sticks in his ears so that he will hear no more such foolishness, causing a chain of events.

Allen, Pamela. Who Sank the Boat? Putnam, 1990. ISBN 0-698-20679-7 ¿Quién hundió el bote? SRA, 1995. Available in Big Book and Small Book formats.
A cow, a pig, a sheep, and a mouse enter a boat from biggest to smallest. Each passenger tips the boat and causes it to sit lower in the water. The question is repeated and answered after each animal gets into the boat.

Brett, Jan. Town Mouse, Country Mouse. Putnam, 1994. ISBN 0-399-22622-2
This rendition of the common folktale contrasts two lifestyles and the pattern is clear.

Brown, Margaret Wise. Goodnight Moon. Illustrated by Clement Hurd. HarperCollins, 1947. ISBN 0-06-020706-X Audiocassette from Live Oak. Buenas noches luna. Spanish from Lectorum.
This classic has been around so long that we tend to take it for granted, but the repetitive text that exactly fits the pictures makes it an ideal pattern book. Many of the children will already know the words.

Brown, Margaret Wise. The Important Book. Illustrated by Leonard Weisgard. HarperCollins, 1949. ISBN 0-06-020721-3
The pattern of attributes is the same throughout the book.

Brown, Ruth. A Dark Dark Tale. Penguin USA, 1981. ISBN 0-8037-0093-8 Audiocassette from Weston Woods.
This is a funny tale of a dark, dark night and a dark, dark visitor to a dark, dark house. Read it aloud in your spookiest voice - but whisper or squeak the ending.

Bulloch, Ivan. Patterns. Thomson, 1994. ISBN 1-56847-230-7
This book is one of a series called "Action Math" and presents activities for young children who are investigating patterns.

Butler, Stephen. The Mouse and the Apple. Morrow, 1994. ISBN 0-688-12811-4
A mouse is joined by other animals as he sits under a tree waiting for an apple to drop. The pattern of moving animals is obvious.

Carle, Eric. Rooster's Off to See the World. Picture Book Studios, 1991. ISBN 0-88708-042-1
The pattern of animals joining and leaving the procession is similar to that in many folktales.

Carle, Eric. The Tiny Seed. Picture Book Studio, 1991. ISBN 0-88708-015-4
It's fall and the seeds are being blown along by the wind. One tiny seed survives to flower and scatter its seeds to the wind.

Carle, Eric. The Very Busy Spider. Putnam, 1989. ISBN 0-399-21592-1
This delightfully simple book is as pleasant to touch as it is to view. The spider's web and the fly are raised from the page. This, combined with its repetitive text, should make it a favorite with the very young.

Carle, Eric. The Very Quiet Cricket. Putnam, 1990. ISBN 0 399-21885-8
As other insects pass him, making their unique sounds, a very small cricket tries again and again to chirp by rubbing his wings together. Each time a patterned sequence follows.

Carlstrom, Nancy. Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? Illustrated by Bruce Degen. Simon and Schuster, 1986. ISBN 0-02-717350-X
This favorite is a rhyming text of repeated questions and phrases and is full of exuberant silliness.

Cooney, Barbara. Miss Rumphius. Penguin USA, 1982. ISBN 0-670-47958-6 Audiocassette from Kimbo. La Señorita Emilia. Spanish from Lectorum.
Patterning her life after her grandfather's, Miss Rumphius has three goals: to travel the world, to retire by the sea, and to leave the world more beautiful.

de Regniers, Beatrice Schenk. So Many Cats! Illustrated by Ellen Weiss. Houghton, 1985. ISBN 0-89919-700-0
As each cat becomes part of the household, we recount the others. The repetitive text is charming.

Emberley, Ed and Emberley, Barbara. Drummer Hoff. Simon and Schuster, 1985. ISBN 0-671-66682-7
Soldiers build a cannon and fire it, whereupon it explodes. Rhythmic text and rhyme with striking woodcuts tell the story.

Fox, Mem. Hattie and the Fox. Illustrated by Patricia Mullins. Simon and Schuster, 1988. ISBN 0-02-735470-9
This is a little bit like "The Little Red Hen" in that no one cares what a hen does or, in this case, what she sees. Each animal has a suitably disdainful reply to each observation she makes - until the fox springs out. These remarks form the basis for the predictable repetition.

Fox, Mem. Shoes from Grandpa. Illustrated by Patricia Mullins. Orchard, 1990. ISBN 0-531-08448-5
In this cumulative tale, each of Jessie's relatives buys her an article of clothing to go with the shoes her Grandpa bought her. Illustrated with cut-paper collage, the book is light and playful as Jessie's costume gets more and more elaborate.

Guiberson, Brenda. Cactus Hotel. Illustrated by Megan Lloyd. Henry Holt, 1991. ISBN 0-8050-1333-4
We examine the ecology of a desert by observing the life cycle of a giant cactus. (

Heller, Ruth. Chickens Aren't the Only Ones. Putnam, 1981. ISBN 0-448-01872-1 Las gallinas no son las únicas. Spanish from Lectorum.
In this strikingly illustrated nonfiction book about egglayers, we see domestic birds, wild birds, insects, and dinosaurs.

Henkes, Kevin. Chester's Way. Morrow, 1988. ISBN 0-688-07608-4 Chester, un tipo con personalidad. SRA, 1995. Available in Lap Book and Small Book formats.
Chester and Wilson are good friends and very much alike. The story pattern stresses their likenesses.

Hoban, Tana. Dots, Spots, Speckles, and Stripes. Morrow, 1987. ISBN 0-688-06862-6
Vivid photographs wordlessly illustrate patterns in feathers, flowers, people, and animals.

Hoban, Tana. Exactly the Opposite. Morrow, 1990. ISBN 0-688-08862-7
As in other opposite books, the ABAB pattern is clear. From Hoban's typically vivid photographs we learn vocabulary as well as pattern.

Hoberman, Mary Ann. A House Is a House for Me. Illustrated by Betty Fraser. Penguin USA, 1978. ISBN 0-670-38016-4 Audiocassette from Live Oak.
A rhythmic text matches creatures with homes, starting out logically and getting a little zanier. The title is the repeated phrase.

Hopkinson, Deborah. Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. Illustrated by James Ransome. Random, 1993. ISBN 0-679-82311-5
A young slave stitches a quilt with a map pattern that will lead her to freedom.

Hutchins, Pat. Don't Forget the Bacon! Morrow, 1978. ISBN 0-688-06788-3 Audiocassette from Live Oak.
His mother sends him to the store for "Six farm eggs,/a cake for tea,/a pound of pears,/and don't forget the bacon." Chanting as he goes it becomes "Six clothes pegs,/a rake for leaves,/and a pile of chairs," but he forgets the bacon. Following his chant and making your own by changing the shopping list are pattern activities.

Hutchins, Pat. The Doorbell Rang. Morrow, 1986. ISBN 0-688-05252-5 Llaman a la puerta. Spanish from Lectorum.
The story doesn't tell us how many cookies there are at the beginning, but it does tell us how many there are for each child as more and more children arrive. The patterned text repeats throughout the book.

Hutchins, Pat. Rosie's Walk. Simon and Schuster, 1968. ISBN 0-02-745850-4 Audiocassette from Weston Woods.
Rosie, the hen, takes a leisurely walk around the barnyard, not heeding the fox whom she foils at every turn. The words are easy to read because they are all prepositional phrases that detail Rosie's walk while completely ignoring the fox who is never mentioned in the text. The illustrations are full of unusual patterns, and predicting what will happen next to the fox brings students to the plot's pattern.

Jonas, Ann. Reflections. Morrow, 1987. ISBN 0-688-06141-9
We go through a day, looking at the illustrations from two directions.

Kalan, Robert. Jump, Frog, Jump! Illustrated by Byron Barton. Morrow, 1981. ISBN 0-688-09241-1 ¡Salta, ranita, salta! Spanish from Lectorum.
A cumulative tale that starts with a fly and ends with a frog nearly being caught by some boys. Each new event becomes part of the repeated pattern.

Koscielniak, Bruce. Bear and Bunny Grow Tomatoes. Random, 1993. ISBN 0-679-93687-4
Bear and Bunny both start gardens. Bear is careful to do everything right - preparing the soil and tending the plants. Bunny throws the seeds on the ground and then sits back to watch. Bunny's antics as he waits for his tomatoes are silly and make this book wonderful in spite of the standard plot. The book emphasizes sequencing.

Lillegard, Dee. Sitting in My Box. Illustrated by Jon Agee. Penguin USA, 1989. ISBN 0-525-44528-5
A little boy starts out alone in his box. One by one other animals first join and then leave him.

Lobel, Arnold. The Rose in My Garden. Illustrated by Anita Lobel. Morrow, 1984. ISBN 0-688-02587-0
Using their combined skills , Arnold and Anita Lobel tell of a simple incident in a garden. The words will stretch the imagination and the illustrations will delight the eye.

Martin, Bill Jr and Archambault, John. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Illustrated by Lois Ehlert. Simon & Schuster, 1989. ISBN 0-671-67949-X Big Book, Small Book, and audiocassette formats available from SRA.
Animated letters climb the tree in alphabetical order. The pattern is in the rhythmic chant and in the alphabetical order.

McFarlane, Sheryl. Waiting for the Whales. Illustrated by Ron Lighburn. Putnam, 1993. ISBN 0-399-22515-3
A grandfather imparts his love of whale watching to his granddaughter as they wait for the yearly migration of the whales.

McMillan, Bruce. Becca Backward, Becca Frontward: A Book of Concept Pairs. Morrow, 1986. ISBN 0-688-06283-0
The ABAB pattern is clear in this book of colored photographs in which a dozen pairs of opposites are pointed out in the actions and reactions of a little girl.

McMillan, Bruce. Step by Step. Morrow, 1987. ISBN 0-688-07233-X
We watch a little boy moving around from the time he is four months until fourteen months old. He goes from wiggler to walker in color photographs.

Neitzel, Shirley. The Jacket I Wear in the Snow. Illustrated by Nancy Winslow Parker. Morrow, 1989. ISBN 0-688-08030-8
Using a "This Is the House That Jack Built" pattern, every piece of clothing is placed on the boy who can then do everything but walk.

Numeroff, Laura Joffe. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. HarperCollins, 1985. Illustrated by Felicia Bond. ISBN 0-06-024587-5
Each action causes another until we're back to the beginning cookie and mouse.

Ringgold, Faith. Tar Beach. Random, 1991. ISBN 0-517-58031-4
The pattern here is in the quilts.

Sendak, Maurice. Chicken Soup with Rice. HarperCollins, 1962. ISBN 0-06-025535-8 Audiocassette from Weston Woods.
Sendak's ode to the seasons far precedes the current interest in pattern books, but it certainly fits the criteria.

Shulevitz, Uri. One Monday Morning. Simon and Schuster, 1974. ISBN 0-684-13195-1
This is a delicate story of a lonely little boy and a chain of distinguished visitors. The story also emphasizes the days of the week.

Wood, Audrey. The Napping House. Illustrated by Don Wood. Harcourt, 1991. ISBN 0-15-256708-9 Audiocassette from Weston Woods.
This tale builds a pile of sleeping creatures and then puts a wakeful flea at the top. The humor, vocabulary, and color make this an outstanding book.

Picture Books for Data Gathering and Analyzing

Anno, Mitsumasa. Anno's Flea Market. Putnam, 1984. ISBN 0-399-21031-8
At this flea market, items are grouped by categories; however, it is sometimes a puzzle to figure out the sorting rule.

Baylor, Byrd. Everybody Needs a Rock. Illustrated by Peter Parnall. Simon and Schuster, 1974. ISBN 0-684-13899-9
In beautiful prose the author enumerates ten rules for choosing your own personal rock. In so doing, she shows us many attributes of rocks.

Baylor, Byrd. Guess Who My Favorite Person Is. Illustrated by Robert Andrew Parker. Simon and Schuster, 1992. ISBN 0-684-19514-3
The narrator joins a girl in her game called "tell-what-your-favorite-thing-is." Playing the game can become a data gathering and analyzing activity about everyone's favorite things.

Blake, Jon. Daley B. Illustrated by Axel Scheffter. Candlewick Press, 1992. ISBN 1-56402-078-9
Daley B., who doesn't know he's a rabbit, collects data from the animals around him so he can decide where to live, what to eat, and what to do with his big feet

Brett, Jan. Town Mouse, Country Mouse. Putnam, 1994. ISBN 0-399-22622-2
There are a couple of twists in Brett's version of the well-known tale. This time it is mouse couples who exchange dwellings.

Brown, Ruth. The Picnic. Dutton, 1993. ISBN 0-525-45012-2
A human family goes on a picnic, and we see the events from the point of view of the animals they unwittingly frighten and disturb. The family dog is the main threat to the animals. Take surveys on people's opinions about dogs.

Browne, Eileen. No Problem. Illustrated by David Parkins. Candlewick, 1993. ISBN 1-56402-176-9
Mouse gets a disassembled kit from Rat.

Carle, Eric. The Grouchy Ladybug. HarperCollins, 1977. ISBN 0-690-013292-2 La mariquita malhumorada. Spanish from Hispanic Book Distributors.
A grouchy ladybug challenges ever bigger animals to a fight.

DeFelice, Cynthia. Mule Eggs. Illustrated by Mike Shenon. Orchard, 1994. ISBN 00531-06843-9
When Patrick, a city slicker, buys a farm, his neighbor decides to take advantage of his naiveté. It takes Patrick a while to discover the trick his neighbor has played on him, but he gets his revenge.

de Regniers, Beatrice Schenk. So Many Cats! Illustrated by Ellen Weiss. Houghton, 1985. ISBN 0-89919-700-0
They started with one cat and then there were more. Each cat becomes part of the household and is described in full.

Derby, Sally. The Mouse Who Owned the Sun. Illustrated by Friso Henstra. Simon and Schuster, 1993. ISBN 0-02-766965-3
Mouse lives alone in the deep, dark woods. He's content with his existence because he believes he owns the sun. He thinks so because when he gets up early every morning and asks the sun to rise, it does. At night, when he is sleepy, he gets into bed and asks the sun to set, and it follows his orders. Here's a clear case of data analyzing gone awry.

Dunrea, Olivier. Eppie M. Says . . .. Simon and Schuster, 1990. ISBN 0-02-733205-5 Ana B. dice . . . . SRA, 1995. Available in Big Book and Small Book formats from SRA.
Ben Salem tries each thing his sister Eppie M. says. Sometimes he proves her right, other times wrong, and still other times he decides he's not sure whether she's right or wrong.

Fox, Mem. Hattie and the Fox. Illustrated by Patricia Mullins. Simon and Schuster, 1988. ISBN 0-02-735470-9
As Hattie, a hen, sees something in the bushes, she identifies the "something" one part at a time until we all know what it is.

Gammell, Stephen. Once Upon MacDonald's Farm. Simon and Schuster, 1984. ISBN 0-02-737210-3 Erasé una vez, en la granja del señor MacDonald. SRA, 1995. Available in Big Book and Small Book formats.
MacDonald's farm had no animals. So he bought an elephant, a baboon, and a lion. Here's an opportunity to collect information about farm animals and their agricultural uses

Guiberson, Brenda. Cactus Hotel. Illustrated by Megan Lloyd. Henry Holt, 1991. ISBN 0-8050-1333-4
We examine the ecology of a desert by observing the life cycle of a giant cactus. The children can gather data about life cycles of various plants and animals

Heine, Helme. The Most Wonderful Egg in the World. Simon and Schuster, 1983. ISBN 0-689-50280-X
Three chickens vie to produce the world's most beautiful egg.

Heller, Ruth. Chickens Aren't the Only Ones. Putnam, 1981. ISBN 0-448-01872-1 Las gallinas no son las únicas. Spanish from Lectorum.
In this strikingly illustrated nonfiction book about egg layers, we see domestic birds, wild birds, insects, and dinosaurs. Collect data from the text or from reference books about the various animals.

Henkes, Kevin. Chester's Way. Morrow, 1988. ISBN 0-688-07608-4 Chester, un tipo con personalidad. SRA, 1995. Available in Lap Book and Small Book formats.
Chester and Wilson have so many things in common that they can be hard to tell apart. They cut their sandwiches the same way, they wear matching Halloween costumes, and they always carry a first aid kit, "just in case."

Hill, Elizabeth Starr. Evan's Corner. Illustrated by Sandra Speidel. Penguin USA, 1991. ISBN 0-670-82830-0
In the apartment where Evan lives with his family, there are only two rooms. Evan longs for a place of his own, so his mother gives him his own corner to decorate and make his own. This is a fine opportunity to investigate types of housing and their availability.

Hirst, Robin and Hirst, Sally. My Place in Space. Illustrated by Roland Harvey and Joe Levine. Orchard Books, 1990. ISBN 0-531-08459-0
Henry gives his address as 12 Main Street, Gumbridge, Australia, Southern Hemisphere, Earth, solar system, solar neighborhood, Orion Arm, Milky Way Galaxy, local group of galaxies, Virgo Supercluster, the universe. There are numerous opportunities in the study of space to collect and compare data about celestial objects.

Hoberman, Mary Ann. A House Is a House for Me. Illustrated by Betty Fraser. Penguin USA, 1978. ISBN 0-670-38016-4
Audiocassette from Live Oak. A rhythmic text matches creatures with homes, starting out logically and then getting a little zanier.

Hughes, Shirley. Alfie Gets in First. Morrow, 1982. ISBN 0-688-00849-6
Alfie, a boy of two or three, gets into the row house and slams the door, leaving his mother and baby sister outside without a key.

Hurd, Edith Thacher. Wilson's World. Illustrated by Clement Hurd. HarperCollins, 1994. ISBN0-06-443359-5
Wilson paints a beautiful globe. Step by step he paints the evolution of life and civilization and ends up with an overpopulated and polluted mess. He starts over, but this time he paints people who take care of the Earth.

Inkpen, Mick. One Bear at Bedtime. Little, 1988. ISBN 0-316-41889-7
We count all the items on each page, but eventually we search the pages for missing caterpillars.

Johnston, Tony. Farmer Mack Measures His Pig. Illustrated by Megan Lloyd. HarperCollins, 1986. ISBN 0-06-023018-5
The book describes a competition between two pigs to find out which is fatter and the better jumper.

Johnston, Tony. Yonder. Illustrations by Lloyd Bloom. Penguin USA, 1988. ISBN 0-8037-0278-7
This lyrical book tells of a farmer and his wife who build a home and farm, plant a plum tree, and start their family. We watch the seasons pass as the family grows and prospers.

Kalan, Robert. Jump, Frog, Jump! Illustrated by Byron Barton. Morrow, 1981. ISBN 0-688-09241-1 ¡Salta, ranita, salta! Spanish from Lectorum.
This cumulative tale starts with a fly and ends with a frog nearly being caught by some boys. Each new event becomes part of the pattern. (

Koller, Jackie French. Fish Fry Tonight. Illustrated by Catharine O'Neill. Random, 1992. ISBN 0-517-57815-8.
When Mouse catches a fish, she declares it to be as big as she. She invites Squirrel and tells him to bring a friend or two for a fish fry. Unfortunately, each animal declares the fish to be as big as it is.

McMillan, Bruce. Mouse Views: What the Class Pet Saw. Holiday House, 1993. ISBN 0-8234-1008-0
The items in a classroom are seen from the perspective of a very small mouse.

McMillan, Bruce. Step by Step. Morrow, 1987. ISBN 0-688-07233-X
We watch a little boy getting around from the time he is four months old until he is fourteen months old, and he goes from wiggler to walker in color photographs. The pictures can be used to gather and analyze information on the stages of child development.

Pulver, Robin. Mrs. Toggle's Zipper. Illustrated by Robert W. Alley. Simon and Schuster, 1990. ISBN 0-02-775451-0
Mrs. Toggle, the teacher, got a new winter jacket for Christmas. She put it on and the zipper stuck. Not only that, but the thing-a-ma-jig that you use to open the zipper is missing. Everybody at school gets into the act of extricating Mrs. Toggle.

Rylant, Cynthia. The Relatives Came. Illustrated by Stephen Gammell. Simon and Schuster, 1986. ISBN 0-02-777210-1 Vinieron los parients. SRA, 1995. Available in Big Book and Small Book formats.
This is an old-fashioned family reunion where the relatives come from far away and stay for days, giving us ample opportunity to view them and their antics

Stevenson, James. The Mud Flat Olympics. Morrow, 1994. ISBN 0-688-12823-4
The animals are having their own Olympics and, in four short chapters, plus a preface and epilogue, Stevenson presents their efforts in a mock serious tone.

Van Allsburg, Chris. The Garden of Abdul Gasazi. Houghton, 1979. ISBN 0-395-27804-X
A dog, Fritz, and a boy enter the garden of a mysterious magician who might have turned Fritz into a duck. There is evidence to support both sides of that argument.

Van Leeuwen, Jean. Emma Bean. Illustrated by Juan Wijngaard. Penguin USA, 1993. ISBN 0-8037-1393-2
Emma is a stuffed animal that watches Molly from birth to adolescence.

Wiesner, David. Tuesday. Houghton, 1991. ISBN 0-395-55113-7
Frogs flying on lily pads invade the village during the night. Police and other investigators find no evidence, except lily pads all over the place

Young, Ed. Seven Blind Mice. Putnam, 1992. ISBN 0-399-22261-8
Each of seven blind mice sees one part of an elephant and, based on that limited information, identifies it incorrectly.

Zemach, Harve. The Judge: An Untrue Tale. Illustrated by Margot Zemach. Farrar, 1969. ISBN 0-374-33960-0
In this rhyming book, one after another witness is brought before the judge. Each prisoner adds another detail to the description of a monster who is heading their way.

Picture Books for Computation

Anno, Mitsumasa. Anno's Counting Book. HarperCollins, 1977. ISBN 0-690-01288-8
Against a barren landscape, Anno presents sets of numbers and their numerals, the months and seasons, and even builds us a village. There is so much to count and examine here that one look through is not enough.

Anno, Mitsumasa. Anno's Math Games I, II, and III. Putnam, 1991.
These are three separate picture books in which various functions of math are required in order to solve the puzzles or play the games. Many primary children will be confused or frustrated with these three math games books, but those who can follow the games should find them delightful. The puzzles increase in difficulty throughout each book.

Anno, Mitsumasa. Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar. Putnam, 1983. ISBN 0-399-20951-4
Anno explores the factors of ten, but he does so in a playful way that tends to delight and instruct rather than frustrate the young reader.

Barry, David. The Rajah's Rice. Illustrated by Donna Perrone. Freeman, 1994. ISBN 0-7167-6568-3
Subtitled "A Mathematical Folktale from India," this book is just that. A young girl gets the Rajah to promise her rice as calculated on a chess board, doubling the previous amount on each square of the board.

Brisson, Pat. Benny's Pennies. Illustrated by Bob Barner. Doubleday, 1993. ISBN 0-385-41602-4
Benny has five new pennies, but he's got lots of family members telling him what they want him to buy with the money. When he returns from his shopping trip, he discovers that he has satisfied them all. Furthermore, his purchases make sense and could conceivably be bought with the money.

Cleveland, David. The April Rabbits. Illustrated by Nurit Karlin. Scholastic, 1986. ISBN 0-590-42369-X
Each day of April, David discovers that number of rabbits in his life. This is a good counting book because the story is funny and it combines ordinal and cardinal numbers.

de Regniers, Beatrice Schenk. So Many Cats! Illustrated by Ellen Weiss. Houghton, 1985. ISBN 0-89919-700-0
They started with one lone and rather lonely cat and then there were more. They come singly and in groups.

Fox, Mem. Shoes from Grandpa. Illustrated by Patricia Mullins. Orchard, 1990. ISBN 0-531-08448-5
In this cumulative tale, each of Jessie's relatives buys her clothing to go with the shoes her Grandpa bought her. Illustrated with cut-paper collage, the book is light and playful as Jessie's costume becomes more and more elaborate.

Giganti, Paul. Each Orange Had 8 Slices: A Counting Book. Illustrated by Donald Crews. Morrow, 1992. ISBN 0-688-10429-0
Children can count or multiply with this book of sets and numbers.

Giganti, Paul. How Many Snails? Illustrated by Donald Crews. Morrow, 1988. ISBN 0-688-06370-5
As we view different sites, we are asked to count a variety of items. Then we count subsets.

Hill, Elizabeth Starr. Evan's Corner. Illustrated by Sandra Speidel. Penguin USA, 1991. ISBN 0-670-82830-0
In the apartment where Evan lives with his family, there are only two rooms for eight people. Evan longs for a place of his own and is given a corner.

Hirst, Robin and Hirst, Sally. My Place in Space. Illustrated by Roland Harvey and Joe Levine. Orchard Books, 1990. ISBN 0-531-08459-0
Henry gives his address as 12 Main Street, Gumbridge, Australia, Southern Hemisphere, Earth, solar system, solar neighborhood, Orion Arm, Milky Way Galaxy, local group of galaxies, Virgo Supercluster, the universe. Computation can be used to create scale models of the address as well as to convert many of the measurements to familiar forms of reference.

Hoban, Tana. Twenty-Six Letters and Ninety-Nine Cents. Morrow, 1987. ISBN 0-688-06362-4
Photographs show us letters, which seem to be the plastic raised letters on magnets commonly used on refrigerators, and coins. The book is divided into two parts to show the letters and money separately. As a nice touch, an amount of money is shown in two or three combinations of coins.

Hutchins, Pat. The Doorbell Rang. Morrow, 1986. ISBN 0-688-05252-5 Llaman a la puerta. Spanish from Lectorum.
A brother and sister sit down to share a plate of cookies. Every time the doorbell rings, however, there are more friends to share the cookies with. How many cookies will they each get now? How many more friends can come before they run out of cookies?

Lillegard, Dee. Sitting in My Box. Illustrated by Jon Agee. Penguin USA, 1989. ISBN 0-525-44528-5
A little boy is sitting in a big cardboard box when someone knocks. It's a giraffe who is followed by an elephant, a baboon, a lion, a hippopotamus, and a flea.

O'Keefe, Susan Heyboer. One Hungry Monster: A Counting Book in Rhyme. Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. Little, 1989. ISBN 0-316-63385-2
Not only is this house infested with monsters, they are rude, boisterous, and noisy monsters. More importantly, they are hungry and after they are assembled, the boy gets the food for them.

Pinczes, Elinor. One Hundred Hungry Ants. Houghton, 1993. ISBN 0-395-63116-5
One hundred ants are rushing off to a picnic. Unfortunately, there's one ant who insists on regrouping them.

Pulver, Robin. Mrs. Toggle's Zipper. Illustrated by Robert W. Alley. Simon and Schuster, 1990. ISBN 0-02-775451-0
Mrs. Toggle, the teacher, got a new winter jacket for Christmas. She puts it on one cold winter morning and can't get it off because the zipper's stuck. Not only that, but the thing-a-ma-jig that you use to open the zipper is missing. Everybody at school gets into the act of trying to extricate Mrs. Toggle, but it's the custodian who finally does it

Rylant, Cynthia. The Relatives Came. Illustrated by Stephen Gammell. Simon and Schuster, 1986. ISBN 0-02-777210-1 Vinieron los parients. SRA, 1995. Available in Big Book and Small Book formats.
Here is a beautiful book about an old-fashioned family reunion in which the relatives come from far across the mountains and pile into and around the house with love and exuberance.

Schwartz, David M. How Much Is a Million? Illustrated by Steven Kellogg. Morrow, 1985. ISBN 0-688-04049-7
Not only a million, but a billion and a trillion are shown in graphic ways that help children understand these difficult concepts.

Schwartz, David M. If You Made a Million. Morrow, 1989. ISBN 0-688-07018-3
Starting with one dollar and proceeding to a million, this is a wonderful book involving much more than counting.

Sloat, Teri. From One to One Hundred. Dutton, 1991. ISBN 0-525-44764-4
In this book, we count sets. The pages are crowded and, at times, confusing, but the target sets are placed in isolation at the bottom of the page.

Stevenson, James. The Mud Flat Olympics. Morrow, 1994. ISBN 0-688-12823-4
The animals are having their own Olympic games and, in four short chapters plus a preface and epilogue, Stevenson presents their efforts and results in a mock serious tone Many of the math activities in this delightful book are obvious and they should be kept at the same level of enjoyment as the book projects.

Viorst, Judith. Alexander, Who Used to Be Rich Last Sunday. Illustrated by Ray Cruz. Simon and Schuster, 1978. ISBN 0-689-30602-4 Alexander, Que ere rico el dominogo pasado. Simon and Schuster, 1989. ISBN 0-689-31590-2
Alexander and his two older brothers get a dollar each from their grandparents on Sunday. Alexander falls victim to temptation and accidents and we watch him as his money goes.