George the Shark

Last week, I was contacted with an awesome opportunity! I was asked to review the book, George the Shark by teacher/author, Mary Dave. I was very flattered!

I read the book a few times just for fun, and then read it with my specific class in mind. Given the vocabulary level and length of the text, I would most likely George the Shark as a quick expository text read aloud (a great way to link science and reading) and then add it to my classroom library.  That whole train of thought set my brain spinning, so I began making a list (is that just me? Or do all teachers love lists?!) of...

 Reasons I Would Use George the Shark In My Classroom:

-It contains high level vocabulary, which I especially appreciate when teaching my students who are ELLs. There are plenty of words that are related to shark-specific content, but also generally useful, but interesting words for students to learn ("blotches", "tourists", "enormous", "social", and "cooperative" were some of my faves) use in and out of our science curriculum.

-The book provided lots of interesting details about a wide variety of shark breeds, so if you happen to do an animal research project or have a friend who has an obsession is very interested in sharks, this would be a fun resource!

- Each shark described had at least one "I am different because..." sentence. I love a book that celebrates the differences, especially in a classroom where we all VERY different! I could also see myself using this do to a little compare/contrast work (maybe even with a triple Venn for some differentiation?)

-At the end of the book, there are dry erase activities. One requires students to connect each shark to the type of hat it was wearing in the illustrations of the book. I could see this being a lead up to the "look back in the text to prove your answers" skill (something my third graders sometimes struggle with).

-The illustrations and layout are simple, which could encourage my students to be authors and illustrators.

If you'd like a copy of George the Shark, or want to check out some Mary Dave's other fun books you can check out her website here!

To be clear: I was contacted to do a review of this book and provided with a digital copy of the book to review. HOWEVER, the above review/opinions are MINE and they are honest!