Fiction Book: Aaron’s Awful Allergies

General Information

• Authors: Troon Harrison and Eugenie Fernandes
• Publisher: by Kids Can Press
• Publication Date: January 3, 2002

Summary

Aaron’s Awful Allergies is a children’s story book about a boy named Aaron who loves animals more than anything else in the world. He spends hours playing with his dogs, guinea pig and cats at home. After spending countless hours around these pets he begins to have headaches, itchy eyes and general irritation of the nose. His mother than take him to the doctor because his symptoms are not improving. He is diagnosed with allergies and the doctor tells him that his pets — a dog, a cat, six kittens and six guinea pigs — have got to go. After Aaron reluctantly finds each pet a new home, he discovers other ways to make animals a part of his life. It was difficult to find a children’s fiction book about allergies, but this was the best option at the Western library.

Nonfiction Book: The Way We Work: Getting to Know the Amazing Human Body

General Information

• Author: David MaCaulay
• Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
• Publication Date: October 7, 2008

Summary

The Way We Work is a children’s encyclopedia focused on the human body. The detailed illustrations are paired with comprehensive descriptions of the many systems interacting within the human body, explained clearly and with examples for young readers’ deeper comprehension. There are several pages describing allergies, specifically focused on what happens in our lungs (from cells to blood flow to bronchi) when we breathe in allergens. This is one of the best non-fiction books about the human body for its detailed illustrations by world-renowned illustrator David Macaulay, and because it can be easily used as a resource with a thorough glossary and index for students to peruse while researching and studying. The Way We Work could be integrated into core curriculum with fifth grade in science research, learning about the systems and cells within the human body as well as how to quote and explain ideas from informational texts.

Core Integration

Even though Aaron’s Awful Allergies book is simple, the messages are good about a certain kind of allergy: being allergic to certain animals and what to do. Since students in the classroom will most likely have animals or allergies it will be an easy way for them to relate with this book. The book could be a good transition into talking more about the different types of allergies and how to be aware of them in schools, and could be a good transition into talking more about the different types of allergies and how to be aware of them in schools.

The Way We Work is a children’s encyclopedia focused on the human body and can be used in conjunction with Aaron’s Awful Allergies to scientifically explain the animal allergy that Aaron experiences. The detailed illustrations are paired with comprehensive descriptions of the many systems interacting within the human body, explained clearly and with examples for young readers’ deeper comprehension. There are several pages describing allergies, specifically focused on what happens in our lungs (from cells to blood flow to bronchi) when we breathe in allergens. This is one of the best non-fiction books about the human body for its detailed illustrations by world-renowned illustrator David Macaulay, and because it can be easily used as a resource with a thorough glossary and index for students to peruse while researching and studying.

The Way We Work could also be integrated into core curriculum with fifth grade in science research, learning about the systems and cells within the human body as well as how to quote and explain ideas from informational texts. Students can also practice comparing ideas between The Way We Work and Aaron’s Awful Allergies, using scientific knowledge of human body systems to discuss events.

Standards

National Health Education Standards

• PHW1.5.11 Describe symptoms that occur when a person is sick.
  • HBO 6: Practice behaviors that prevent infectious diseases.
  • HBO 7: Practice behaviors that prevent chronic illnesses.
• PHW1.5.15 Identify health problems associated with common childhood chronic diseases such as asthma, allergies, diabetes, and epilepsy.
  • HBO 7: Practice behaviors that prevent chronic illnesses.
  • HBO 8: Prevent serious health problems that result from common chronic diseases and conditions among youth, such as asthma, allergies, diabetes, and epilepsy.
• PHW7.5.1 Describe practices and behaviors that reduce or prevent personal health and wellness risks.
• NHES 7: Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and avoid or reduce health risks.

Common Core Standards

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1: Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.2: Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.3 Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing references from the text.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.3 Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.

Next Generation Science Standards

• MS-LS1-2 Use argument supported by evidence for how the body is a system of interacting subsystems composed of groups of cells.