Concept Books
Genre Definition
A concept book is a book that introduces a concept or idea. They don't usually contain a plot or storyline. Examples: alphabet books, books about numbers, shapes, colors, etc.
Classroom Use
Concept books work great in preschools and kindergarten classrooms. Use them anytime you are going to introduce a brand new skill or concept.
Reading skills: Use alphabet books to introduce the letters of the alphabet and teach students the sounds that each letter makes.
Math Skills: concept books cover a variety of early math skills. Use concept books so your students can learn about counting, shapes, telling time, money, and so many more.
Social Skills: Oftentimes, kids come into school without knowing the rules of how school works and how to communicate with teachers and peers. Use concept books about manners, feelings, apologizing, etc. to help students learn these skills. They are great to use for character building.
Selection Process
When selecting concept books to use within your classroom, it’s best to look for simplicity. You don’t want to overwhelm your students with a lot of information all at once. Good concept books have very few words on each page. You’ll want to make sure that the concept is clearly explained and can be easily understood. Pictures should help aid in the comprehension of the concept, rather than confuse students. Use these books to help set a solid foundation for further learning to occur.
Texts that I Recommend
Summary: This book introduces the concept of measurement. It starts by explaining the egyptian method of using hands and feet to measure things, then it goes on to explain the US standard system and the metric system.
Text Features: This book is a fun and interactive book. It has bright and bold fonts used throughout the book. The illustrations are helpful in comprehending the text.
APA citation: Adler, D., & Tobin, N. (1999). How tall, how short, how far away. New York, NY: Holiday House.
Lexile: 850L
Text Complexity grade band: 4-5
Read aloud grade band: 2-3
Support: Break the book into different sections. For example, the Egyptian measurement system, the US standard system, and the metric system. In between each section do an activity so that students can discover for themselves why some systems are more accurate forms of measurement.
Summary: This book introduces the alphabet, numbers from 1 to 99 and coin values.
Text Features: This book is two books in one. Read it one way and learn about letters. Flip the book over and read it the opposite way to learn about coins and numbers. It contains large, kid-friendly font that is easy to read. It uses images of real coins to get students used to the way coins actually look and compare in size to one another.
Book Reviews: "Teachers and parents can extend counting and grouping activities by creating additional coin combinations. Children will enjoy manipulating money, numbers, and letters to correspond to the photographs in this book. The combination of unique design, distinguished photographs, and superb layout adds up to a winner!" -- School Library Journal
APA citation: Hoban, T. (1987). 26 letters and 99 cents. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.
Grade Level: Prek-3
Read aloud grade band: Prek-1
Support: As you read this book to your class, allow each student to have a set of coins and try to come up with other ways to make coin combinations like the ones shown in the book. This book may contain too much information about different concepts to be used as an introductory book to the alphabet. It'd be better to use it with the counting and money concepts.
