Twin Text Set #1:
Pilcher, S. (2014). Over there. Los Angeles: Disney Press.
Over There, by Steve Pilcher, is about a shrew who lives in the forest. He loves the forest, but does not have anyone to share it with, so he sets out on an adventure to explore new places. Along the way, he encounters new and different, sometimes scary things. Just when he thinks he is in trouble, he is rescued by a friend, a mole. Together, he and the mole head back to the forest and live there as friends. This is a great fictional text to introduce the concept of exploring, and highlights a reason that people might initially go exploring.
I paired Over There with the nonfiction text Exploring. In this book, Alain Gree uses questioning techniques to get the reader to think about what you could explore at home, in your community, around the world, and even in space. Gree uses many pictures and diagrams in the text, along with headings to classify the area being explored. He describes different areas, but also poses questions about what the reader can see, how they might have traveled to the area, and so on. The text structure of this book combines description and question and answer, with the audience giving the answers from picture clues.
I would use a K-W-L chart to introduce the topic of exploring and these two books, along with other specific nonfiction text about explorers of all kinds. I would ask students to think about what they know about exploring or explorers and discuss those ideas with a shoulder partner. We would then share some of those ideas with the whole group and record them on a class chart that would be displayed throughout the unit on exploring. I would also have students share some questions they might have about exploring or explorers and record those as well. The chart would be updated throughout the unit as we learned more about exploring.