Who Would Win?

Jerry Pallotta, children's book author, is coming to our school during our Reading Week in April. In preparation for his visit, I introduced students in K-5 to some of his books. By far, the most popular set were the Who Would Win books. In this series, Jerry chooses two animals that are similarly matched, gives facts about each animal, and creates a fight scene at the end to tell who would win if the two animals met. Students in grades K-5 loved this format. As we went through different facts, students were thinking about how different body parts would give an advantage to that animal in a fight. Younger students as well as old were thinking critically - comparing, synthesizing, and drawing conclusions. At the end of the fight scenarios, students who guessed correctly cheered wildly. I love them all but my top three read-alouds were the Lion vs. Tiger, Whale vs. Giant Squid, and Scorpion vs. Tarantula. The facts in these three were straightforward, easy to compare and the fight scenarios were filled with suspense and dramatic endings. If you are ever in need of a nonfiction book for one school, one book initiatives, the Who Would Win books are surely winners. They also cover the Informational Text Common Core Standards for grades K-5. We can't wait for Jerry's visit!