Special Collections
Grade 2-3 Common Core Text Exemplars
Description: These books exemplify the level of complexity that Common Core State Standards require students to engage with. While the choices serve to help educators select texts of similar complexity, quality, and range, this not a required reading list. #teachers
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So You Want to be President
by Judith St. George
That's a big job, and getting bigger But why not? Presidents have come in just about every variety They've been generals like George Washington and actors like Ronald Reagan; big like William Howard Taft, and small like James Madison; handsome like Franklin Pierce and homely like Abraham Lincoln; They've been born in log cabins like Andrew Jackson and mansions like William Harrison.
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 2-3 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
Winner of the 2000 Caldecott Medal
The Stories Julian Tells
by Ann Cameron and Ann StrugnellJulian is a quick fibber and a wishful thinker. And he is great at telling stories. He can make people--especially his younger brother, Huey--believe just about anything. Like the story about the cats that come in the mail. Or the fig leaves that make you grow tall if you eat them off the tree. But some stories can lead to a heap of trouble, and that's exactly where Julian and Huey end up!
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts for grades 2-3 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
The Storm
by Cynthia Rylant and Preston McdanielsLife with only the sea can be lonely. Just ask Pandora and Seabold.They've lived most of their lives with the sea--Pandora in a lighthouse and Seabold on a boat--and they're each quite used to being alone. Or they were. But one day, the sea did something extraordinary: It brought Pandora and Seabold together! And even better, the sea gave them the ingredients for an adventure that neither of them had considered before-an adventure called "family."
The Story of Ruby Bridges
by Robert ColesThe inspirational true story of Ruby Bridges.The year is 1960, and six-year-old Ruby Bridges and her family have recently moved from Mississippi to New Orleans in search of a better life. When a judge orders Ruby to attend first grade at William Frantz Elementary, an all-white school, Ruby must face angry mobs of parents who refuse to send their children to school with her. Told with Robert Coles' powerful narrative and dramatically illustrated by George Ford, Ruby's story of courage, faith, and hope continues to resonate more than 60 years later.
Tales from the Odyssey
by Mary Pope OsborneOdysseus is far from home, tossed by stormy seas and cursed by an angry one-eyed giant. After twenty years of fighting monsters, angering gods and goddesses, and surviving against the odds, Odysseus returns home and faces more dangerous enemies.
The Thirteen Clocks
by James ThurberIn a cold gloomy castle where all the clocks have stopped, a wicked Duke amuses himself by finding new and fiendish ways of rejecting the suitors for his niece, the good and beautiful Princess Saralinda. Includes descriptions of illustrations.
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 2-3 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
Throw Your Tooth On The Roof
by Selby B. BeelerWhat do you do when you lose a tooth? Do you put it under your pillow and wait for the tooth fairy? Not if you live in Botswana! In Botswana, children throw their teeth onto the roof. In Afghanistan they drop their teeth down mouse holes, and in Egypt they fling their teeth at the sun! Travel around the world and discover the surprising things children do when they lose a tooth.
Selby B. Beeler spent years collecting traditions from every corner of the globe for this whimsical book, and illustrator G. Brian Karas adds to the fun, filling every page with humorous detail. He perfectly captures the excitement and pride that children experience when a tooth falls out.
This title has been selected as a Common Core Text Exemplar (Grades 2-3, Informational Texts)
Tops & Bottoms
by Janet StevensHare solves his family’s problems by tricking rich and lazy Bear in this funny, energetic version of an old slave story. With roots in American slave tales, Tops & Bottoms celebrates the trickster tradition of using one’s wits to overcome hardship.
This ebook was designed to be read vertically. For optimum reading experience, please adjust the orientation on your ereader.
This title has been selected as a Common Core Text Exemplar (Grades 2-3, Stories)
The Treasure
by Uri ShulevitzA poor man, inspired by a recurring dream, journeys to a far city to look for a treasure, only to be told to go home and find it.
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts for grades 2-3 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
What the World Eats
by Faith D'Aluisio and Peter MenzelSitting down to a daily family meal has long been a tradition for billions of people. But in every corner of the world this age-old custom is rapidly changing. From increased trade between countries to the expansion of global food corporations like Kraft and Nestle, current events are having a tremendous impact on our eating habits. Chances are your supermarket is stocking a variety of international foods, and American fast food chains like McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken are popping up all over the planet. For the first time in history, more people are overfed than underfed. And while some people still have barely enough to eat, others overeat to the point of illness.
To find out how mealtime is changing in real homes, authors Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio visited families around the world to observe and photograph what they eat during the course of one week. They joined parents while they shopped at mega grocery stores and outdoor markets, and participated in a feast where a single goat was shared among many families. They watched moms making dinner in kitchens and over cooking fires, and they sat down to eat with twenty-five families in twenty-one countries--if you're keeping track, that's about 525 meals!
The foods dished up ranged from hunted seal and spit-roasted guinea pig to U. N. -rationed grains and gallons of Coca-Cola. As Peter and Faith ate and talked with families, they learned firsthand about food consumption around the world and its corresponding causes and effects. The resulting family portraits offer a fascinating glimpse into the cultural similarities and differences served on dinner plates around the globe.
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 2-3 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
Where Do Polar Bears Live?
by Sarah L. ThomsonLet's-Read-and-Find-Out about Polar Bears. The Arctic might be a bit too chilly for you or me to live there, but it is the perfect home for polar bears. The fur between the pads of their paws keeps them from slipping on the ice. Their skin and blubber are like a warm blanket. But the earth is getting warmer and the ice is melting. Where will the polar bears live? How can we help protect their home? Read and find out!
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 2-3 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
Wild Tracks!
by Jim ArnoskyWhen children learn to recognize and read animal tracks they're actually mastering an ancient language of shapes and patterns--and gaining knowledge of the natural world.
This is the perfect gift for a budding naturalist, animal lover, or artist. Jim Arnosky has been honored for his overall contribution to literature for children by the Eva L. Gordon Award and the Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award for nonfiction. Many of his books have been chosen as ALA Notable Books, including Drawing from Nature, a Christopher Award-winner. Wild Tracks! is Jim's 100th book for children. Image descriptions present.