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First Biographies
Clara Barton
Simple text and photographs present the life of Clara Barton, who worked as a nurse during the Civil War and founded the American Red Cross Society in 1881 to help people hurt by war or disasters.
- GenresBiography
24 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 2000
About the author
Lola M. Schaefer
326 books45 followersLola M. Schaefer is an educator, writer, and gardener, and the author of many acclaimed books for children about math, art, science, technology, animals, and nature. She uses shovels, hoes, rakes, and scissors when she works in her garden. Lola M. Shaefer grew up in Indiana, and now lives in northern Georgia.
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November 20, 2015Title: Clara Barton
Author: Lola M. Schaefer
Genre: Biography (K-2 Grade Level)
Theme(s): Red Cross, nursing, juvenile literature, medical
Opening line/sentence:
"Clara Barton was born
in Massachusetts in 1821."
Brief Book Summary:
Paired with photographs, the details of Schaefer's book describe Clara Barton's life and how she came to find a passion in the medical field. Beginning with her first exposure to nursing as she aided her brother's injury from a bad fall, learners understand how Clara's interests for medicine and nursing developed and eventually led to the creation of the Red Cross society. Moreover, readers learn of Clara's help in evolving medical attention for soldiers during wartimes and how her advancements shaped the current practices of military health care.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Hornbook Guide Online
Very short texts capture significant events in these famous Americans' lives. A timeline runs along the bottom of each page, correlating with the event featured. However, transitions are often unclear and young readers may be confused about the subject's age at the time of the events. Illustrated with black-and-white photos, the books in this series offer simplistic introductions to well-known figures.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Marilyn Wells -- Children's Literature
Clara Barton always wanted to help other people; she was a caregiver and a teacher for many years before she moved to Washington, D.C. During the Civil War and Reconstruction, she helped soldiers and their families. In 1881, she created the American Red Cross with the goal of helping people in wars and disasters. This work is still continued through the Red Cross organization. Photographs taken during Clara Barton's life add to the reality of the story and will help readers make the connection to historical events. A timeline on each page reminds students of the chronological sequence of events. Seeing the timeline on every page assists students in remembering the time period during which Clara Barton lived and worked. They should be able to easily understand her connection to the Civil War and the beginning of organized disaster relief. The staff of the Clara Barton National Historical Site in Glen Echo, Maryland authenticated facts and photos in this book. Gail Saunders-Smith served as consulting editor. Added features include a glossary, a short bibliography, suggested complementary Internet sites, and an index. This is a highly recommended book from the "First Biographies" series. Beginning readers who want information about Clara Barton certainly will check it out, and teachers who want to introduce events of the late 1800s or who want to reinforce concepts needed for state standardized testing also may use it.
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
In accordance with the Children's Literature review of Schaefer's title, the illustrations and real-time photographic elements included in this book provide for an additional learning dimension -- students have opportunity to understand and familiarize with the occurrences in Clara Barton's life. Moreover, the timeline provides for an interesting and helpful learning tool for the students. Because the timeline graphic is cumulative, students can refer back to past experiences and events of the book without having to reference the actual page. Because of this, students will read fluidly through the piece.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The big and bold text within Schaefer's book provides for obvious legibility and students will have ample opportunity to decode the reading. Moreover, the text is placed on the same area and space of each page, so students should not have any trouble figuring out the organization of the piece. Furthermore, Schaefer also included several appendices in the book -- these added factual pieces allow students to understand the nonfiction components of the piece, emphasizing nonfiction material. Additionally, the glossary provides clarity for any confusion regarding proper nouns or titles of the piece. Ergo, students can focus their comprehension on the content rather than the conventions.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
Using the book as a reference, students can create their own life-event timelines to describe their own experiences. Within the timelines, encourage students to not only use and incorporate important and monumental experiences, but also things that happened to them that are more minute, maybe getting a new bike, a big ice cream cone, etc. In doing so, students can trace their emotional experiences and reactions to life events in addition to tangible experiences.
Author: Lola M. Schaefer
Genre: Biography (K-2 Grade Level)
Theme(s): Red Cross, nursing, juvenile literature, medical
Opening line/sentence:
"Clara Barton was born
in Massachusetts in 1821."
Brief Book Summary:
Paired with photographs, the details of Schaefer's book describe Clara Barton's life and how she came to find a passion in the medical field. Beginning with her first exposure to nursing as she aided her brother's injury from a bad fall, learners understand how Clara's interests for medicine and nursing developed and eventually led to the creation of the Red Cross society. Moreover, readers learn of Clara's help in evolving medical attention for soldiers during wartimes and how her advancements shaped the current practices of military health care.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Hornbook Guide Online
Very short texts capture significant events in these famous Americans' lives. A timeline runs along the bottom of each page, correlating with the event featured. However, transitions are often unclear and young readers may be confused about the subject's age at the time of the events. Illustrated with black-and-white photos, the books in this series offer simplistic introductions to well-known figures.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Marilyn Wells -- Children's Literature
Clara Barton always wanted to help other people; she was a caregiver and a teacher for many years before she moved to Washington, D.C. During the Civil War and Reconstruction, she helped soldiers and their families. In 1881, she created the American Red Cross with the goal of helping people in wars and disasters. This work is still continued through the Red Cross organization. Photographs taken during Clara Barton's life add to the reality of the story and will help readers make the connection to historical events. A timeline on each page reminds students of the chronological sequence of events. Seeing the timeline on every page assists students in remembering the time period during which Clara Barton lived and worked. They should be able to easily understand her connection to the Civil War and the beginning of organized disaster relief. The staff of the Clara Barton National Historical Site in Glen Echo, Maryland authenticated facts and photos in this book. Gail Saunders-Smith served as consulting editor. Added features include a glossary, a short bibliography, suggested complementary Internet sites, and an index. This is a highly recommended book from the "First Biographies" series. Beginning readers who want information about Clara Barton certainly will check it out, and teachers who want to introduce events of the late 1800s or who want to reinforce concepts needed for state standardized testing also may use it.
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
In accordance with the Children's Literature review of Schaefer's title, the illustrations and real-time photographic elements included in this book provide for an additional learning dimension -- students have opportunity to understand and familiarize with the occurrences in Clara Barton's life. Moreover, the timeline provides for an interesting and helpful learning tool for the students. Because the timeline graphic is cumulative, students can refer back to past experiences and events of the book without having to reference the actual page. Because of this, students will read fluidly through the piece.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The big and bold text within Schaefer's book provides for obvious legibility and students will have ample opportunity to decode the reading. Moreover, the text is placed on the same area and space of each page, so students should not have any trouble figuring out the organization of the piece. Furthermore, Schaefer also included several appendices in the book -- these added factual pieces allow students to understand the nonfiction components of the piece, emphasizing nonfiction material. Additionally, the glossary provides clarity for any confusion regarding proper nouns or titles of the piece. Ergo, students can focus their comprehension on the content rather than the conventions.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
Using the book as a reference, students can create their own life-event timelines to describe their own experiences. Within the timelines, encourage students to not only use and incorporate important and monumental experiences, but also things that happened to them that are more minute, maybe getting a new bike, a big ice cream cone, etc. In doing so, students can trace their emotional experiences and reactions to life events in addition to tangible experiences.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review