Zoo Countdown / I Can Use a Calendar

Fiction and nonfiction pairs provide opportunities for students to analyze and compare different perspectives. This pairing supports thinking across texts by illustrating how different authors treat a similar topic. Excitingly, this pairing contrasts craft and structure of fiction with craft and structure of informational texts. In the fictional narrative, Zoo Countdown, the thrilling and anticipated trip to the zoo teaches children how to count and use calendars. This fiction book is paired with the nonfiction book, I Can Use a Calendar, for connecting across texts and comprehension through connection strategies. In this nonfiction book, the first-person account demonstrates the student's mastery of an age-appropriate life skill, using a calendar. Some information on diverse cultures is provided. Help your readers bridge the skills learned in the classroom to the outside world through this theme set about numbers and calendars.