Introduction

My friend LuAnn introduced me to the Magic Tree House books about 10 years ago. She used them in her Listening Center. I didn't do much with them for a year or so, but when I finally sat down and read one, I began to see the potential. So for the next 2-3 years, I began organizing my curriculum as much as I could around the series. I feel strongly that it should be enjoyed in order, but I know plenty of children who have enjoyed the books in random order as well. I use the books as read aloud and springboard in my classroom. We read a book every week or two and squeeze all the learning out of it we can. My children LOVE our Magic Tree House time, and they learn so much content, tons about reading, magnitudes about writing -- we even work in math and science through our Magic Tree House books. This series is a great tool to get boys interested in reading and in books. While some of my girls are great fans as well, the boys adore the books! Because of these books, I've had second graders in low SES, rural schools who knew the date the Titanic sank, who began the Red Cross, how mummies are created, which army wore blue and which wore gray in the Civil War, etc. Their vocabulary skills grow, their comprehension skills increase, their motivation skyrockets, they want to "take notes". . . It is the single tool in my reading/content area toolbox that I absolutely refuse to give up. I may change it, adapt it, slow it down, postpone it, but I will continue to keep coming back to it, because it works!

Spinning Through Your Day with the Magic Tree House
 * Using the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne to help you teach the standards across content areas, promote research skills and an insatiable love for reading for all your students, especially for boys who are reluctant readers – sound like a tall order?? Check out below for all the content that you can teach using these simple, but exciting books! **
 * Must-have resources: **
 * __ Teaching with Favorite Magic Tree House Books __**** published by Scholastic **
 * http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/magictreehouse/ **
 * __ Social Studies __**
 * Map skills **
 * Geography **
 * Timelines **
 * Technology **
 * Change over time **
 * Compare/contrast cultures **
 * Habitats/Interdependence **
 * Settlement patterns **
 * Transportation **
 * History **
 * __ Math __**
 * Solid shapes **
 * Graphing/Charts **
 * Telling time **
 * Days of the Week **
 * Timeline **
 * __ Science __**
 * Weather **
 * Life cycles **
 * Habitats **
 * __ Extensions in Science __**
 * Dinosaurs **
 * Space **
 * __ Reading __**
 * Vocabulary **
 * Fluency (Repeated text, songs, etc.) **
 * Features of text **
 * Reality/Fantasy **
 * Research skills **
 * Characterization **
 * Setting **
 * Plot **
 * Cause/Effect **
 * Fact/opninion **
 * Compare/contrast **
 * ~Across texts **
 * ~Characters **
 * ~Time/setting **
 * __ Writing __**
 * Taking notes/research skills **
 * Reader response log/journal **
 * Riddles **
 * Letters **
 * Graphic organizers **
 * __ Language __**
 * Dialogue **