Reading is Fun... and Educational!
What is Five in a Row?
So, just what is Five in a Row? It's a way to open up a simple story and turn it into a lesson on art, math, science or geography. And it can be adapted for children of any age!Five in a Row was created by Jane Claire Lambert who is a homeschooling mom. She has selected 55 wonderful children's stories and over the course of three volumes of books, she gives a lesson plan for studying each story more in depth. Here's how it works:
You will read one of the selected stories aloud to your child once a day for five days. Then, you can use the lesson plans and suggestions to teach a different subject each day. For example, you can begin with a math lesson from The Story about Ping by counting the ducks in his family. The next day, you can talk to your child about the Yangtze River in China and how many people depend on the river to travel. You'll study the art of the illustrator or talk about literary devices with your child. And every lesson is taken directly from the story you've just read! The repetition over the course of five days helps your child to sink deeper and deeper into the story. My daughter will probably never forget Ping!
Are you beginning to see how this book can change the way you read a story for the rest of your life? Five in a Row makes learning a fun adventure and will teach your child to be an active listener and observer... and someone who adores a good story!
Below you will find Volume One of Five in a Row, along with a listing of all 19 stories that are included in the lesson plans for this book.
Five in a Row (Five in a Row): Volume 1
Amazon Price: (as of 12/04/2009) 
Used Price: $30.50
Links to Five in a Row
- Introduction to Five in a Row
- Read the introduction to Five in a Row from Volume One.
- Before Five in a Row
- Twenty-three mini-studies on books for children ages 2-4 years.
- Beyond Five in a Row
- Five in a Row for children ages 8-12 that uses chapter books rather than picture books.
- Above and Beyond Five in a Row
- More information on Five in a Row for children ages 12 and up that's aimed at the student, not the teacher.
- The Five in a Row Message Board
- Have questions? There are over 2,000 members here to answer them for you!
The Books from Volume One, #1-5
The Story about Ping (Viking Kestrel picture books)
A little duck finds adventure on the Yangtze River when he is too late to board his master's houseboat one evening.
Amazon Price: $10.87 (as of 12/04/2009)
Lentil (Picture Puffins)
Lentil's harmonica playing saves the day when calamity threatens the homecoming celebration for the leading citizen of Alto, Ohio.
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
Madeline
Madeline, smallest and naughtiest of the twelve little charges of Miss Clavel, wakes up one night with an attack of appendicitis.
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
A Pair of Red Clogs
A little Japanese girl tries to hide the fact that she has cracked her new red clogs.
Amazon Price: $12.21 (as of 12/04/2009)
The Rag Coat
Minna proudly wears her new coat made of clothing scraps to school, where the other children laugh at her until she tells them the stories behind the scraps.
Amazon Price: $11.55 (as of 12/04/2009)
The Books from Volume One, #6-10
Who Owns the Sun?
Having learned from the father he admires so much that the world is filled with things too special for any one person to own, a boy is upset to hear that he and his father are owned by the man in the big house where they work.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/04/2009)
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Mike Mulligan proves that, although dated, his steam shovel is still useful.
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot July 25, 1909 (Picture Puffins)
A biography of the man whose fascination with flying machines produced the Bleriot XI, which in 1909 became the first heavier-than-air machine to fly the English Channel.
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World (Dragonfly Books)
An apple pie is easy to make...if the market is open. But if the market is closed, the world becomes your grocery store. This deliciously silly recipe for apple pie takes readers around the globe to gather ingredients.
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
Grandfather's Journey (Caldecott Medal Book)
Through compelling reminiscences of his grandfather's life in America and Japan, Allen Say gives us a poignant acount of a family's unique cross-cultural experience. He warmly conveys his own love for his two countries, and the strong and constant desire to be in both places at once.
Amazon Price: $11.53 (as of 12/04/2009)
The Books from Volume One, #11-15
Cranberry Thanksgiving
Grandmother almost loses her secret recipe for cranberry bread to one of the guests she and Maggie invite for Thanksgiving dinner. Includes the secret recipe.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/04/2009)
Another Celebrated Dancing Bear (Charles Scribner's Sons Books for Young Readers)
Boris receives dancing lessons from his friend Max, a dancing bear with the Moscow Circus.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/04/2009)
Papa Piccolo
Piccolo leads a life full of adventure and possibilities. And then two homeless kittens decide to adopt the free-spirited Piccolo. "I'm not a Papa cat," objects Piccolo. "I'm a tomcat." Children will delight in seeing how the kittens help Piccolo discover his own tender heart and a new kind of adventure.
Amazon Price: $12.21 (as of 12/04/2009)
Very Last First Time
When the tide recedes, a young Eskimo girl living in northern Canada, journeys alone for the first time under the ice, walking on the seabed floor to gather mussels.
Amazon Price: $12.89 (as of 12/04/2009)
The Clown of God
A once-famous Italian juggler, now old and a beggar, gives one final performance before a statue of Our Lady and the Holy Child.
Amazon Price: $7.00 (as of 12/04/2009)
The Books from Volume One, #16-19
Storm in the Night
Too early to go to bed, and with only flashes of lightning to see by, Thomas and his grandfather happily find themselves re-discovering the half-forgotten scents and sounds of their world, and having a wonderful time learning important, new things about each other in a spirited conversation sparked by darkness.
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
Katy and the Big Snow (Vol 2)
Katy, a brave and untiring tractor, who pushes a bulldozer in the summer and a snowplow in the winter, makes it possible for the townspeople to do their jobs.
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
Night of the Moonjellies
Seven-year-old Mark helps his grandmother and other family members run their seaside hot dog stand and then has a surprise at the end of the day.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/04/2009)
Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening
Ever since it was published in 1978, the picture-book presentation of Robert Frost's poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" has been an enduring favorite.
Amazon Price: $11.55 (as of 12/04/2009)
Use Your Local Library!
Using your local library to find all the suggested books for Five in a Row is highly encouraged. Unless of course you think that purchasing these stories for your home is a good investment for all of your kids-which it is! I did notice while I was browsing the titles in Volume One below that many are candidates for Amazon's "4-for-3 promotion" (buy 3 books and get a 4th for free!).My local library does not carry all these titles. I actually became frustrated last school year and gave up looking for the Red Clogs and Rag Coat books. The good news is that Amazon carries everything... even books that are out of print! You can also go on a hunt for books at your local thrift or used book store, too.
So, one way or another you'll want to start collecting these books. You just need to decide what's right for your budget!
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The Guestbook
Are you a fan of Five in a Row? Did you just discover what this book is all about? Say hello!
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Reply
- hearthealth hearthealth Jun 5, 2008 @ 1:32 am
- Reminds me of my Reading book when I was in grad school. Things like those dont seem to be around anymore. snif snif. 5 flamin' and favin'!
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Reply
- CLB CLB Dec 21, 2007 @ 12:16 am
- Hi there, I also rowed vol. 1 and part of vol. 2 with my girls. Right now I am in the process of rowing through Before FIAR with my youngest boy, and getting ready to go through vol. 1 one again with my other boy. The fun never ends and they learn so much!
And ALL the books are prime quality.
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I'm a wife and mother of three who loves digital scrapbooking, rubber stamping, homey goodness, blogging oh--and Jesus, too! I'm married to lensmaster...
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