What's In A Box by Kelly Bovine

Book Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Children's Press, (30 pages)

Summary:
This book is about boxes and containers and the many things we find in them. From sand, new shoes, mail, lunch, music, toys, and jewelry, boxes offer offer many surprises. Boxes are also shown in many shapes such as square, round, tall, small, and cylindrical. Tissues, presents, vegetables, and best of all kids may be found in boxes. The book offers a quick overview of all the ways boxes and containers are used in our lives


Personal rating and reason for rating: *** Good. The colorful illustrations of everyday uses of boxes would be interesting to little children. The element of surprise as to what is in the box would be a fun read for the children.

Reading level: 1.9
Interest level: K-1

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:

Math: students could study shapes by observing boxes collected from home. Also, you could practice estimating by placing marbles in several different sizes and having a guessing contest. In addition, you could show how a short, wide, round container could hold the same amount as a tall square container, teaching the students about volume.

Writing- You could place letters in different boxes for each student and let them pick letters out of the boxes to make words. Also, you could place something in the box like a stuffed animal and use this as a writing prompt for a short story such as, The brown dog in the box is...

Art: The students could bring boxes from home like oatmeal containers, shirt boxes, cereal boxes, and hat boxes, decorate them according to a holiday and let them place Valentine or Halloween cards in them. The boxes could be used to collect small toys, supplies, crayons, all sorts of things needed for classroom use. An empty box is a catalyst for a child to build things, stack, and even climb inside if big enough.

Home economics: A large box could be decorated and designed to be used as a small house. A trash box, recycle box, garden box, and old clothes box could represent how they can make their own homes eco-friendly.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: none that I could foresee.

Beverly Ross