Andrea Knight

Teacher · Learner · Author

Famous Inventors: Biographies for Kids

In my last post, I wrote that we'd take a look at some amazing children's books about inventions, but then I decided to go with famous inventors first. To me, it makes more sense to talk about the identity we create when we live a curious life before we talk about the outcome of such a life. People who are curious observe the world. They ask a lot of questions and tend to notice problems. Often, … [Read more...]

National Poetry Month: Books for Children

April is National Poetry Month, which I think scares the heck out of a lot of teachers. Not me. Or at least not anymore. I think most people have a deep-rooted fear of poetry. I'm guessing you're already remembering some horrible class you had in high school where you were forced to read and understand a bunch of poems you thought were dumb. Been there. Oh, and another confession? I used to … [Read more...]

Dr. Seuss Biography Project

Whose childhood was not impacted in some way by the work of Theodor Geisel, or Dr. Seuss? I loved going to my grandmother's house because she had a small collection of his books on a shelf upstairs and I would just sit on her soft carpet and read book after book while the adults were doing who-knows-what downstairs. I loved how silly they were, with creative nonsensical words that rhymed with … [Read more...]

Mae Among the Stars

Little Mae was a dreamer. She dreamed of dancing in space, surrounded by billions of sparkling stars.✨ Encouraged by her parents' words, Mae dug in and began the work of making it happen. "If you can dream it, if you believe it and work hard for it, anything is possible," they said. Mae became NASA's first African American female astronaut. And on September 12, 1992, she became the first African … [Read more...]

A Crankenstein Valentine – Book Activities

Do you have a Crankenstein valentine in your classroom? If you're like us, you probably have at least one or two or ten. They're the kids who think Valentine's Day is a gross, disgusting waste of time. They hate it all... the hearts, the flowers, the syrupy sentimentality of dumb valentines... it's torture. They hate when the day starts and they can't wait for it to end. Or can they?? Take … [Read more...]