Mr. Tiffin's Classroom
7 total works
How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? (Mr. Tiffin's Classroom Series)
by Margaret McNamara
Mr. Tiffin and his students explore skip counting and estimation in a fun pumpkin-themed classroom experiment! This book makes a wonderful read-aloud companion to any math or science curriculum, and it's a fun way to reinforce counting skills at home.
"How many seeds are in a pumpkin?" Mr. Tiffin asks his class as they gather around the big, medium, and small pumpkins on his desk. Robert, the biggest kid, guesses that the largest one has a million seeds; Elinor, sounding like she knows what she's talking about, guesses the medium one has 500 seeds; and Anna, who likes even numbers better than odd ones, guesses that the little one has 22. Charlie, the smallest boy in the class, doesn't have a guess.
Counting pumpkin seeds is messy business, but once the slimy job is done, to everyone's surprise, the smallest pumpkin has the most seeds! As Charlie happily exclaims, "Small things have a lot going on inside of them."
And don’t miss the newest addition to the Mr. Tiffin series, The Dinosaur Expert!
In this playful, humorous, and child-friendly classroom story, the students learn a lot about apples and apple orchards—including how apples are harvested, how cider is made, and what the different varieties of apples are—while trying to solve a riddle. The book also celebrates how some children learn differently than others.
Margaret McNamara and illustrator G. Brian Karas bring us another fun and educational picture book.
Everyone in Mr. Tiffin's class couldn't be more excited that the new school library has finally opened. Everyone except Jake. Jake is a slow and careful reader. Sometimes he reads the same page more than once to figure everything out. And he often feels left behind on class Library Day. All that changes when Librarian Beck notices Jake running his fingers across the grooves of a brand-new bookshelf and offers him an old, worn book: Woodworking for Young Hands. Jake checks the book out, studies the pictures and instructions, and renews the book again and again. When the school year comes to an end, Jake has the perfect gift idea for the librarian who changed his life--and he makes it with his own two hands.
Mr. Tiffin and his students are back in another picture book, and this time the focus is on dinosaur-loving Kimmy. During a field trip to the natural history museum, Kimmy is thrilled to share what she knows about the Stegosaurus and the Archaeopteryx and even the ginormous Titanosaurus. That changes when one of her classmates questions whether girls can be paleontologists. Kimmy starts to feel shy. What if they can't? What if no one wants to hear what she has to say? It will take some help from Mr. Tiffin--and from a famous scientist--for Kimmy to find her voice again.
Join Mr. Tiffin's class as they learn about dinosaurs big and small, feathered and scaly, winged and ocean-dwelling. And root for Kimmy, the dinosaur expert . . . who might just learn something about herself.
A Poem in Your Pocket (Mr. Tiffin's Classroom Series)
by Margaret McNamara
Once again, Margaret McNamara sets her playful, child-friendly story in the classroom, and this time, poetry—from metaphors to acrostics to haiku—is the name of the game. The focus here is on Elinor, whose confidence falters as she tries to write something "perfect" for Poem in Your Pocket Day and impress a visiting poet. G. Brian Karas's accessible, adorable illustrations add to the fun.
Includes a list of Mr. Tiffin's tips for celebrating Poem in Your Pocket Day.
"A nimble introduction to poetry as well as a sensitive look at the perils of perfectionism." —The New York Times
"Pair this book with the works of Shel Silverstein, Paul B. Janeczko, Jack Prelutsky, Douglas Florian, or Robert Louis Stevenson." —School Library Journal, Starred
Mr. Tiffin’s students are learning how a bill can become a law and are eagerly brainstorming ideas to make their state a better place. Mr. Tiffin announces that whoever has the best idea will have the opportunity to present their bill to Representative Noor during their class trip to the state capitol. Jeremy believes that they should name an official state cookie. At first it seems like a brilliant idea – until his classmates begin to argue over cookie flavors and pick sides! The only way to settle this debate is with a class vote. When the students visit the capitol the following week to present their bill, Jeremy realizes that even the best ideas require a bit of compromise and often yield surprising – and delicious! – results.