Jennifer Johnston (2) (1930–)

I really enjoy how The Magic School Bus series takes the reader on an adventure as they read and discover new things. This book was specifically about sharks and it told the story in the point of view of Arnold (one of the students). I strongly believe this book is a great read for second or third graders because there are aspects of the book that are informational and pieces that are fun such as the diagrams or the short paragraphs describing the most important detail of that chapter. In show more addition, the diagrams label everything, for example, comparing a sharks size (50 ft) to the size of an elephant (11 ft). show less

This book is a great tool to use with students! Throughout this book, different sharks are presented to the reader. This is great because teachers can engage ELL readers in the reading by encouraging them to find/identify differences between the different sharks. This book pushes readers to use their critical thinking skills and grasp new knowledge. The book also contains illustrations that help the reader understand what is being described for each shark. Students who may not speak the show more English language can enjoy and interact with the illustrations shown in this book. The book also follows a story-line format, by having different characters present the different sharks and their features. By having this combination of story-line format and facts it encourages the reader to follow the storyline, but also grasp the new information at the same time. I tried this book with one of my students and she loved it! She was very surprised to learn new things about sharks and was very excited to share the new information with her friend once she returned to class. show less

I gave this book a 4/5 star review. I think this is a book that I would use with an older student. Since this is a chapter book I would have to be sure that my student was able to read it. There is a lot of good information in the book that will allow you to see what your student is understanding. Since there are still pictures in the book, students are able to still grasp the concept of the text by looking at the picture. I like that there are pictures and diagrams in the book that allow show more you to see this. This book allows the student to think critically and grasp the knowledge that they are learning. This makes it so you can create discussion questions. show less

Adventure