The book I pick this week correlates perfectly with GPS’s standard for First Grade (SSH1a). The story is Thomas Jefferson: A Picture Book Biography by James Cross Giblin. It tells the story of Thomas Jefferson was a small child growing up Virginia. It describes his life as he moves from his boyhood farm Shadwell to Tuckahoe and when he was nine he move back home to Shadwell. The whole book is a story of his life, from when he studied law in Williamsburg, but when he heard a speaker attach the policies of Great Britain, and from that moment on is when his thought of his country began. In 1776, Thomas attended the Second Continental Congress and authored the Declaration of Independence. It also described his life after the war, he was ambassador to Paris and Vice President to John Adams and in 1801 he was elected President. He died on July 4, 1826, and he was determined he would not die before it so he could see the nations’ 50th anniversary.
This is a great book to teach about the life of Thomas Jefferson, and the fact that the book is a picture book biography, it makes it a very effective book for first grade. The Plot is easy to follow, because it follows a chronological flow of events. I feel a book like this should be a must have for any classroom.
