Must Read Monday: Cooperation

The Kindergarten Connection and Kindergarten Planet are hosting a great summer linky called Must Read Monday! 

I love finding new books that other teachers use in their own classroom so I am here today to share with you three books I love to use when teaching my students about cooperation and team work. I believe that cooperative learning should be incorporated into all subjects because it infused social skills into academic curriculum. Through cooperative learning students can develop important social skills such as effective communication, eye contact, active listening, and so much more. To help my students learn about effective cooperation we start the school year off with many picture books that display the importance of cooperation. 
Here are a few of my classes favorites:
First up...Swimmy by Leo Lionni

This story is about a little fish named Swimmy. The ocean can be a scary place full of danger until one day Swimmy teaches the other fish how they can all work together to keep danger away! It is an adorable story that really illustrates how a group of fish can accomplish something great when they call "school up"! 
Next up...Stick by Steve Breen

Stick is a frog who gets carried away by a dragonfly one day and he ends up far away from home. It takes the cooperation of many animals to help him make his way back. This book is great for young readers because the whimsical illustrations tell the story with limited text.

Finally...Duck & Goose by Tad Hills

Duck and Goose come across an extraordinary discovery (or so they think)! They both want to take care of an egg but there is a problem..Duck doesn't really care for Goose and Goose isn't too fond of Duck. As they begin to take care of the so called egg, they begin to work together and find out that they might just really like being friends. 

If you enjoy teaching your students about cooperation, stay tuned!!! I am working on something BIG for the beginning of the school year that will focus on collaboration and your students are sure to love the story that I have in store for this big surprise!