Who Was Helen Keller? by Gare Thompson is a chapter book that follows the life of Helen Keller, a woman who was deaf and blind, and how she succeeded in reading, writing, speaking, and becoming such an influential person.  The book discusses how Helen Keller got her disability, how she was taught to read and write, and what Helen accomplished after she graduated from college.  Within the book there are small inserts about braille and important people Helen came across in more detail.  Who Was Helen Keller? would be great for a history lesson, but also for broadening students views of the different people around them and what challenges they have to face in life.  One activity to go with this book would be to have students write in braille using the six dot braille alphabet.  Teachers could also have the students try to relate to Helen Keller and others with a similar situation by putting on a blind fold and ear plugs and have students see what life would be like from their point of view.  Who was Helen Keller? has a Developmental Reading Assessment Level of 40, which ranges from Grade 3 to 4.

Who is Barack Obama? by Roberta Edwards is a chapter book that explores the background of the 44th President of the United Sates, Barack Obama.  The book states where Barack Obama grew up and how he came to become one of our presidents.  Within the book are short inserts of information vaguely mentioned within the main storyline of the book.  These sections give more details to help readers understand the content.  For example, there were short inserts in the book that discussed Jim Crow Laws and different countries Barack Obama visited, like Indonesia.  Who is Barack Obama? gives many opportunities for different history lessons to teach about, like Civil Rights, the U.S. Constitution, and a state students may be unfamiliar with in specific details (Hawaii).  An activity that could be done with this book is to have the students act out the three branches of government and the roles of the three in the constitution.  Who is Barack Obama? has a Lexile reading level of 740L, which is Grades 3 to 4.       

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson is a chapter book that follows two fifth graders, one a boy named Jess (from his point of view) and the other a girl named Leslie, who form a friendship with each other and create the world of Terabithia in a secret spot in the woods.  At the beginning of the novel, Jess doubts himself and is full of fear about life, but Leslie helps Jess let go of those fears and pushes him to live his life how he wants to, especially when Leslie suddenly tragically dies.  One way teachers could use this book in the classroom is to have students share fears they have had and how they have faced them or plan to face them.  Bridge to Terabithia could also be used as a Literature Circle novel for students to read and discuss with their peers.  Bridge to Terabithia has a Lexile reading level of 810L, which is Grades 3 to 4.  

Amelia Bedelia Unleashed by Herman Parish is a chapter book that follows a girl names Amelia Bedelia and she is trying to figure out what type of dog she wants to have.  To solve her question, Amelia starts to help her friends walk their dogs and she tries to help one dog win a dog show.  Through many ups and downs, Amelia finally finds the dog she wants and names it Finally.  This book is great because it shows the struggle children and many people can have with differentiating between figurative and literal language and words with multiple meanings.  An activity that would work with Amelia Bedelia Unleashed is having a discussion about the homonyms and finding those mentioned in the book and discovering the multiple meanings of the words.  Students could create a foldable to help them remember these words.  The Lexile level of Amelia Bedelia Unleashed is 580L (Grades 2 to 3).    

Mr. Docker Is Off His Rocker! by Dan Gutman is a chapter book all about science.  The book focuses on a boy named AJ who thinks science is for nerds.  When AJ gets a new science teacher named Mr. Docker and sees all the amazing things that relate to science, AJ realizes that science can be fun and interesting and that science answers many questions of how the world works.  Mr. Docker Is Off His Rocker! emphasizes the importance of students having inquiries and testing theories out.  In the book, there are mentions of prisms, pendulums, and energy from potatoes.  With Mr. Docker Is Off His Rocker, teachers could introduce many science topics and try some of the experiments included in this book, like combining water with the chemicals citric acid and sodium bicarbonate and seeing what happens.  Mr. Docker Is Off His Rocker has a Lexile Reading Level of 580L (Grades 2-3).