The Rocky Mountains by: Charles W. Maynard (nonfiction)

This book describes all of the characteristics and history of the Rocky Mountains. It has very rich vocabulary and explains a lot of different things about these ranges. The book begins by talking about which states the Rocky Mountains are located in. Then the book talks about how the Rockies were built (volcanoes, erosion, etc.), and the different climates of the Rocky Mountains (how they can be hot and cold). The author goes onto explain the types of animals and plants that live in the Rockies, and the people that use to live there hundreds of years ago. To conclude the book, the author talks about ways that we can preserve and protect the Rockies.

I would use this book to introduce a social studies unit on the Rocky Mountains. It has a lot of information in it, so I would most likely read 2 or 3 pages a day, and have a discussion with the class on that information. After reading the whole book, I would assess students on how well they absorbed the information by telling them to write a story pretending that they were visiting the Rocky Mountains, and explain what they saw, felt, experienced, etc while they were there.