Tag Archives: teacher’s guide

Educator Resources, Interviews with Authors and Illustrators

What makes a Lee & Low Teacher’s Guide special?

Our Literacy team of former classroom educators develops teacher’s guides for each and every book we publish. That’s more than 900 free, high-quality resources, offering extensive teaching ideas, curricular connections, and activities that can be adapted to many different educational settings.

We also bring our authors & illustrators into the process. Their feedback is vital to ensure that the content included is the best it can be. Check out their rave reviews, then download the guides to use with your readers!

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Activities and Events, Educator Resources, Holidays and Celebrations

Activities and Books to Celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science

February 11 is The International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Build excitement about science for young girls and women in your life with these activities and books!

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Diversity, Diversity, Race, and Representation, Educator Resources, Holidays and Celebrations

EVERY MONTH IS A NEW YEAR Teacher’s Guide

Every Month Is a New YearHere at Lee & Low, we are incredibly excited about the release of Every Month is a New Year, an amazing picture book from beloved author, Marilyn Singer, and illustrator, Susan L. Roth. This book has a wealth of curricular opportunities, and offers chances for students, teachers, librarians, and families alike to learn all about new year celebrations around the world and share their own cultural and familial celebrations. All of the celebrations have deep-rooted traditions and treasured customs. The collection of sixteen lively poems introduce readers to some of the most fascinating festivities, some well-known and less familiar (depending on the reader!) Continue reading →

Diversity, Educator Resources

Confucius: Great Teacher of China Teacher’s Guide

confucius January marked the release of Confucius: Great Teacher of China by renowned children’s book author and illustrator, Demi. This beautifully illustrated biography pays homage to a man whose philosophy shaped the course of Chinese history. In this previous blog post, Demi speaks about the sources that served as inspiration for Confucius.

The Confucius Teacher’s Guide offers resources and tips on how to guide discussions about Confucius and his work in the classroom. This title and teacher’s guide is perfect for a unit on biographies, China, ancient civilizations, philosophers, and more. Our teacher’s guide also features summary and background information, prereading and discussion questions, ideas for reader’s response and writing activities, strategies for ELL/ESL, and interdisciplinary activities and connections. Below we’ve shared a few activities and resources from the Confucius Teacher’s Guide. Continue reading →

Diversity, Diversity, Race, and Representation, Educator Resources

Teacher’s Guide for Ahimsa Now Available

Ahimsa Cover ImageLast October was the release of Ahimsa by New Visions Award winner Supriya Kelkar. Inspired by her great-grandmother’s experience working with Gandhi, Kelkar shines a light on the Indian freedom movement in this poignant middle grade novel.

In 1942, after Mahatma Gandhi asks Indians to give one family member to the freedom movement, ten-year-old Anjali is devastated to think of her father risking his life for the freedom struggle. But it turns out he isn’t the one joining. Anjali’s mother is. And with this change comes many more adjustments designed to improve their country and use “ahimsa”—non-violent resistance—to stand up to the British government.

Accompanying this title is the Ahimsa Teacher’s Guide, which offers resources and tips on how to guide discussions on the Indian freedom movement, colonialism, civil disobedience, and the connection to the civil rights movement in the United States. Our teacher’s guide also features summary and background information, prereading and discussion questions, ideas for reader’s response and writing activities, strategies for ESL/ELL, and interdisciplinary activities and connections. Below we’ve shared a few prereading questions, discussion questions, and resources from the Ahimsa teacher’s guide. Continue reading →

Activities and Events, Diversity

Martí’s Song for Freedom Teacher’s Guide

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Our release and popularity of the Social Activism Diverse Reading List has got us thinking over here at LEE & LOW about the importance of sharing Social Activism resources with educators. Social Activism, especially in this volatile political climate, is necessary in inspiring students to enact change in their own communities. Read-alouds and mentor texts are also crucial in showing students historical figures who fought for justice and equality.

marti's song for freedom teacher's guideWith Social Activism in mind, we are proud to release the Martí’s Song for Freedom/Martí y sus versos por la libertad Teacher’s Guide! José Martí was certainly an activist as well as a brilliant political writer and courageous fighter of freedom for all people. We wanted to highlight a few specific Social Activism activities that can be done with students in the classroom. Here are a few activities directed towards Social Activism that can be found in the full Guide here: Continue reading →

Diversity, Diversity, Race, and Representation, Educator Resources, General

Classroom Guide for I Am Alfonso Jones

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I Am Alfonso JonesLast month was the release of I Am Alfonso Jones written by Tony Medina and illustrated by Stacey Robinson and John Jennings. In this book, Alfonso Jones can’t wait to play the role of Hamlet in his school’s hip-hop rendition of the classic Shakespearean play. He also wants to let his best friend, Danetta, know how he really feels about her. But as he is buying his first suit, an off-duty police officer mistakes a clothes hanger for a gun, and he shoots Alfonso.

When Alfonso wakes up in the afterlife, he’s on a ghost train guided by well-known victims of police shootings, who teach him what he needs to know about this subterranean spiritual world. Meanwhile, Alfonso’s family and friends struggle with their grief and seek justice for Alfonso in the streets. As they confront their new realities, both Alfonso and those he loves realize the work that lies ahead in the fight for justice.

Accompanying our title is the I Am Alfonso Jones teacher’s guide, which offers resources and tips on how to guide discussions of race, racism, and social justice in the classroom. Our teacher’s guide also features summary and background information, prereading and discussion questions, ideas for reader’s response and writing activities, strategies for ESL/ELL, and interdisciplinary activities and connections. Below we’ve gathered a few prereading questions, discussion questions, activities, and resources from the I Am Alfonso Jones teacher’s guide.

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Educator Resources, General

4 Mentor Texts and Activities for National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month. With so many forms of poetry to explore and share with students, what will you choose? Here are 4 ideas for using mentor texts to guide students in poetry study. And an additional bonus: a letter to teachers from author and poet, Pat Mora, on the power of poetry.

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Diversity, Diversity, Race, and Representation, Educator Resources

10 Black History Month Books for Grades 3-6

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February is Black History Month and while we think it’s great to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions made by African Americans, we also believe that Black history is American history and should be celebrated and taught all year long. But this month can be a great time to shine a spotlight on favorite books or freshen up a dated collection with new titles. Here are ten of our favorite Black History Month Books for third grade through sixth grade: Continue reading →

Educator Resources

STEM Connections and the Human Heart: Tiny Stitches Teacher’s Guide

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Help your students become scientists like medical pioneer Vivien tiny stit
Thomas and explore the mysteries of the human heart with the
FREE Tiny Stitches Teacher’s Guide.

Background information

From the time he was a teenager, Vivien Thomas dreamed of going to medical school and becoming a doctor. But after the stock market crashed in 1929, Vivien lost all his savings and had to put his dream on hold. Then he heard about a job opening in a research lab at Vanderbilt University medical school under the supervision of Dr. Alfred Blalock. When Dr. Blalock was invited to become Chief of Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, he accepted with one condition: his research technician, Vivien Thomas, must be invited too. Continue reading →