










































Georgia Journal of Literacy 
2024, Vol. 46(1), pp. 78–100 
https://doi.org/10.56887/galiteracy.132 
ISSN: 2833-7611 

Practitioner Article  

 
 

 

CONTACT Dr. William P. Bintz, Professor of Literacy Education; College of Education, Health, and Human Services; 
School of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum; Kent State University, Kent, OH; email wbintz@kent.edu. Dr. Lisa 
Parker, Associate Professor of Language and Literacy Education; School of Humanities & Social Sciences; Penn State, 
The Behrend College, Erie, PA; email lmc61@psu.edu. 
 

Using Companion Texts to Widen Student 
Perspective Across the Curriculum 
 
William P. Bintz 
School of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum; Kent State University, Kent, OH 

Lisa Parker 
School of Humanities & Social Sciences; Penn State, The Behrend College, Erie, PA 

 
ABSTRACT 

This article is based on an unexpected experience between a grandfather (William 
Bintz, the first author) and his six-year-old granddaughter. This experience sparked 
a collaborative inquiry project that explored companion texts as a new way to 
develop paired texts. The purpose of this article is to share examples of companion 
texts and instructional strategies to use across the curriculum. We begin by 
describing four theoretical frameworks underpinning the notion of companion texts. 
These include the concept of paired text, the benefits of paired text, the process of 
intertextuality, and reader response theory. Next, we describe companion texts as a 
new way to pair texts and include a rationale for the development and use of 
companion texts across the curriculum. Then, we share samples of instructional 
strategies that teachers can use with companion texts to widen student perspectives 
and enrich knowledge across the curriculum. We end with concluding thoughts. 

KEYWORDS 

literature; paired 
text; companion 
texts; 
intertextuality 

 
Teachers can be bearers of gifts . . . We have the privilege of introducing  

good literature to young, imaginative minds. (Cullum, 1967, p. 23) 
 

his article introduces the notion of companion texts as a new way to develop paired texts 
and shares examples of instructional strategies teachers can use with these texts to widen 
student perspective and learning across the curriculum. We begin with a vignette between 

a granddaughter and grandfather (William) that sparked our interest in developing and using 
companion texts in the classroom. We situate companion texts within four major theoretical 
frameworks: (a) the concept of paired text, (b) the benefits of paired text, (c) the process of 
intertextuality, and (d) reader response theory. Next, we describe companion texts as one way to 
pair texts, include a rationale for the development and use of companion texts, and share examples 
of companion texts across the curriculum. Then, we share samples of instructional strategies 
teachers can use with companion texts to widen student perspectives across the curriculum. We 
end with concluding thoughts.   
 
Vignette  
One of us (William) has a six-year-old granddaughter who just finished kindergarten at the time. 
Since preschool, she and I have practiced a tradition of visiting a local bookstore to browse and 

T 

mailto:wbintz@kent.edu
mailto:lmc61@psu.edu


Bintz & Parker 79 
 

purchase picturebooks. Afterward, we went to an ice cream parlor to enjoy some ice cream while 
we read a few of the picturebooks we bought together.  

Recently, she and I visited one bookstore, sat on the floor, and started browsing the 
picturebooks. At one point, my granddaughter showed me the front cover of a book and stated, 
“Grandpa, look at this one. I like it.” The book was The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster. 
(Juster, 2005). Here is a precis: 

This story describes and illustrates the loving relationship between Nanna, Poppy, 
and their granddaughter. When the granddaughter visits, she must pass a large 
kitchen window. The window is important to the little girl because this is how she 
first sees Nanna and Poppy when she visits them. Sometimes, they play peek-a-boo 
with her or make funny faces through the window. Once inside the house, other fun 
and games continue. The colorful illustrations of Nanna and Poppy suggest a 
multicultural family and interracial marriage and thus have much power and 
potential to address the topic of diversity. 
I asked my granddaughter, “Why do you like that book?” She responded, “It has pretty 

colors, and a little girl like me is in the story.” I asked, “How is she like you?” She started flipping 
through the pages of the book, stopped at one point, and stated:  

See, here’s the little girl, and here’s her grandma and grandpa. They are playing 
with the little girl inside their house. I like it because it’s like you, grandma, and 
me. You and grandma play with me when I come to your house. Let’s buy it. 

I bought it and we read the story while later sharing a delicious chocolate sundae. 
 
Reflection 
Afterward, I reflected on this experience as a grandfather and a literacy teacher educator. As a 
grandfather, reading this picturebook to my granddaughter at the ice cream parlor was an enjoyable 
experience. While eating her chocolate sundae, she stopped periodically and made many personal 
connections to the little girl and her grandparents. For example, she stated, “See, Grandpa, the little 
girl is playing with her grandma and grandpa, just like you and me when we play with my dolls.”  

As a literacy teacher educator, I was not surprised but intrigued by the personal connections 
she made to the text. I read the picturebook again by myself, and, like her, also made several 
personal connections to the text. For example, the picturebooks reminded me of the fun times I 
had when I visited my own grandparents as a child. It also reminded me of two friends who, like 
the grandma and grandpa in the story, enjoy a happy, interracial marriage. At the same time, I also 
made professional connections between the picturebook, The Hello, Goodbye Window and another 
one of my favorite picturebooks, The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage by 
Selina Alko. Here’s a precis: 

The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage (Alko, 2015) tells the 
story of a remarkable but little-known family consisting of Mildred Loving, her 
husband Richard Perry Loving, and their three children. Mildred and Richard fell 
in love and were married in Washington, D.C. It was an interracial marriage. When 
they relocated back to their hometown in Virginia, they were arrested because of a 
state law that prohibited interracial marriage. Mildred and Richard were determined 
not to allow their children or themselves to consider their marriage was wrong. For 
years, they fought the unfair law, eventually bringing their case before the highest 



80 Georgia Journal of Literacy 46(1)  
 

court in the land. In 1967, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Loving vs. 
Virginia, in favor of Mildred and Richard Loving.   

 I shared this whole experience with a colleague who is also a literacy teacher educator 
(Author 2). At one level, we saw these two picturebooks as a traditional paired text that shares a 
variety of intertextual connections. For example, both picturebooks address the topic of cultural 
diversity and interracial marriage. Both involve happy families, one with married grandparents 
from different cultures and a granddaughter, and the other with married parents from different 
races and three children. Both include illustrations that beautifully complement the text. 

At another level, we saw important differences between this paired text. These differences 
included genre, narration, tone, time, and purpose. The Hello, Goodbye Window is realistic fiction, 
whereas The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage is nonfiction and includes an 
author’s note, bibliographic references, and suggestions for further reading. The Hello, Goodbye 
Window is told through first-person narration by the little girl, whereas The Case for Loving: The 
Fight for Interracial Marriage is told through third-person narration. The tone of The Hello, 
Goodbye Window is evocative. It indirectly suggests, rather than directly states, through 
illustrations that Nana and Poppy are in an interracial marriage. The tone of The Case for Loving: 
The Fight for Interracial Marriage is not suggestive, but direct and factual. The Hello, Goodbye 
Window is told as a contemporary story, one that is occurring in present time, whereas The Case 
for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage is a historical story, one that occurred in 1958. 
Lastly the purpose of The Hello, Goodbye Window is to entertain, whereas the purpose of The Case 
for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage is to inform.  

In the end, we continue to see these two picturebooks as a traditional paired text. At the 
same time, we see this pair of picturebooks as a different way to conceptualize and a new way to 
develop paired text. Specifically, we view these picturebooks as companion texts. 
 
Companion Texts  
The word companion is defined as “one of a pair of things intended to complement or match each 
other” (Google Dictionary, n.d.). Typically, this definition of “things” often refers to two people, 
be they companions, friends, colleagues, significant others, married couples, etc. While a pair, 
companions are also independent people who live their own lives in their own ways. At the same 
time, companions enjoy each other’s company and spend much time together. In the process, they 
enrich their own life as well as the life of their companion.  

Here, we refer to two texts, not as human companions, but as companion texts. They are a 
paired text on a particular topic in which each text complements and enriches the other in unique 
ways. Here, we focus on one way; namely, companion texts complement each other by working 
together to widen student perspective and enrich knowledge across the curriculum. 

We believe that widening student perspective is essential. For some time now, Carolyn 
Burke (1995), an internationally recognized reading and curriculum theorist, has stated that a 
significant goal of curriculum and curriculum development is to widen student perspective. One 
way to widen student perspective is to provide multiple and different perspectives on a particular 
topic or theme. Companion texts do just that.  

For example, reading The Hello, Goodbye Window first provides not only a heartwarming 
and entertaining story but also an excellent introduction to the notion of cultural diversity and 
interracial marriage. Among other things, this introduction can provide some initial background 
knowledge for students unfamiliar with interracial marriage, as well as extend existing background 
knowledge for students who are already familiar with interracial marriage. 



Bintz & Parker 81 
 

The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage is a companion text because it 
widens the perspective on and enriches the knowledge of cultural diversity and interracial 
marriage. This picturebook provides an important historical perspective on cultural diversity and 
interracial marriage, a perspective missing in The Hello, Goodbye Window. For instance, Nanna 
and Poppy are depicted as happy, loving, and healthy grandparents in The Hello, Goodbye 
Window. However, there is no information included, in text or illustration, that directly states or 
indirectly suggests, that Nanna and Poppy may have experienced challenges before, during, or 
after their interracial marriage.  

Moreover, The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage widens the historical 
perspective on interracial marriage. Unlike Nanna and Poppy, it describes the many significant 
challenges Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter faced before, during, and after their interracial 
marriage in 1958. One challenge was that they lived and wished to marry in Virginia; however, 
Virginia, and many other states at the time, was a segregated state. Therefore, mixing of races was 
strictly prohibited. 

Another challenge was the fact that interracial marriage was illegal at the time. Laws at the 
time, existed to prosecute and punish people who married interracially. Nevertheless, Richard and 
Mildred married. Soon after, however, they were arrested, charged with “Unlawful Cohabitation”, 
and imprisoned in jail. Several days later, were given an ultimatum by law enforcement: leave 
Virginia or stay in jail. Reluctantly, they moved to Washington, D.C. After six years, however, 
they moved back to Virginia in 1966, vowing to overturn the law. Ultimately, they did just that. 
They won their case in the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, they also continued to encounter and 
overcome many challenges that continued in the state.  

Since then, of course, increasing numbers of people have engaged in interracial marriages 
in Virginia, across the United States, and around the world. Fortunately, many of these marriages 
did not have to face challenges like segregation and the threat of incarceration. However, Richard 
Loving and Mildred Jeter did face both and, although it wasn’t documented in this picturebook, 
continued to face other challenges and threats, even though they won their case in court.   

Ultimately, we see this paired text as an example of a companion text. Individually, each 
addresses cultural diversity and interracial marriage in different ways. Together, they both 
introduce and widen student perspective on cultural diversity and interracial marriage. In the next 
section, we describe the theoretical framework underpinning the notion of companion texts. 
 
Theoretical Framework  

Paired Text. Paired text is not a new concept. Much research has been conducted and much 
professional literature has been published on the development and implementation of paired text 
(Ciecierski et al., 2016, 2017; Lupo et al., 2019). Historically, paired text have been defined 
conceptually as two texts that are related in some way, e.g. genre, theme, topic, etc. (Short et al., 
1988). It is primarily a curricular resource that is based on a multiple-text mentality. This mentality 
posits that multiple, interrelated texts help students read broadly and deeply, make intertextual 
connections between texts, and learn new information from, about, and through books. 
Instructionally, paired text is grounded in a theory that posits learning is a matter of creating 
patterns that connect (Bateson, 2000). In other words, students learn something new when they 
can make connections to something they already know.  

Benefits of Paired Text. Benefits of Paired Text. When thinking about the benefits of 
paired text, we find it helpful to remember the words of Plotinus (The Six Enneads, n.d.), who 
stated, “It is a wise man who can learn about one thing from another.” From this perspective, we 



82 Georgia Journal of Literacy 46(1)  
 

believe that paired text has several benefits. Among others, these include: 1) they enable students 
to learn about one book from the other and reading and sharing understandings of paired text can 
contribute to learning across all subjects (Neufeld, 2005, p. 302), 2) they enable students to share 
and extend understandings of each text differently than if only one text had been read and discussed 
(Short et al., 1996, p. 537), 3) they enable students to read one text and in the process build 
background knowledge for reading a second, related text (Soalt, 2005, p. 680), 4) they provide 
experiences with multiple genres and content areas, 5) they demonstrate how different genres 
provide students with different lenses for interpreting text (Murray, 1985, p. 122) and therefore 
different ways of knowing about texts (Paretti, 1999), 6) they increase vocabulary by seeing exact 
words in different contexts, and 7) they increase motivation to explore topics students are not 
initially interested in (Soalt, 2005, p. 681).  

Intertextuality. Intertextuality is a term first coined in the 1960s by Julia Kristeva (Allen, 
2000) and essentially means “to weave together” (King-Shaver, 2005, p. 1). Since then, much 
professional literature continues to focus on the concept of intertextuality. Today, it is commonly 
referred to as making connections between texts (Harvey & Goudvis, 2017).     
Intertextuality refers to the “personal connections students make between the books they are 
currently reading and their past experiences” (Short et al., 1988, p. 358). Paired text is based on 
the notion of intertextuality. Reading paired text invites and supports the making of intertextual 
connections across texts. In the process, students develop both an expectation for connections and 
strategies for searching for connections more productive and wide-ranging (Short et al., 1996, p. 
537). 

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS, 2010) does not explicitly use the term 
intertextuality. However, the CCSS does provide a rationale for developing and using paired text 
in the classroom. One standard states that students will “Analyze how two or more texts address 
similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors 
take” (CCSS, 2010). Operationally, paired text is a curricular resource that helps teachers at all 
grade levels and all content areas to put intertextuality into action and address this CCSS standard 
in the classroom at the same time.  

Reader Response Theory. Historically, reader response theory, also known as the 
transactional theory of literature, gained international attention based on the work of Louise 
Rosenblatt (1994). Fundamentally, this theory posits that a literary text picturebook, short story, 
novel, poem, etc.) does not inherently possess a fixed, correct, or final meaning. In fact, it posits 
that a literary text has multiple meanings, what Van Leeuwen (2015; see also, Halliday, 1978) 
characterizes as meaning potentials, depending on the reader, the context, the purpose for reading, 
etc. The meaning(s) of a literary text is the result of “the two-way transactional relationship 
between the reader and the text” (Rosenblatt, 1978, p. 21). Simply stated, reader response theory 
posits that a literary text does not have a predetermined meaning and the role of the reader is to 
discover that single meaning; rather, a literary text has meaning potentials, and the role of the 
reader is to create personal meanings depending on personal interest, background knowledge, 
purpose and context for reading, opportunities for discussion, etc. 

Finally, this theory posits that reader response of personal meanings can be viewed along 
a continuum ranging from aesthetic at one end and efferent at the other end (Rosenblatt, 1995; see 
also, Rosenblatt, 1994; 2005). Aesthetic refers to a personal response and is commonly referred to 
as making connections to self and others. Efferent refers to a response that is information and 
commonly referred to as making connections to similar books, topics, and themes. Making 
aesthetic or efferent, or both, depends on the reader's stance and the purpose of the reading. 



Bintz & Parker 83 
 

Example of Reader Response Theory. The vignette described earlier is an example of 
reader response theory at work. For example, my granddaughter and I responded very differently 
to The Hello, Goodbye Window. Essentially, and of course, without knowing it (she’s five years 
old), my granddaughter took an aesthetic stance to The Hello, Goodbye Window. During and after 
reading aloud the picturebook to her, she made personal responses and connections to the text. For 
example, she made connections to herself and the girl in the story. She made connections to her 
grandparents. Like the girl, she has two grandparents. She made connections to her parents. Like 
the girl, her parents drop her off at her grandparents’ house so they can spend time together. She 
made connections to games. Like the girl, her grandparents play games with her in their house. 
Lastly, like the girl, she finds it hard to say goodbye but knows she will visit her grandparents 
again soon. 

I, too, took an aesthetic stance to The Hello, Goodbye Window. During and after reading it 
aloud to my granddaughter, I made personal connections to the text. For example, I made 
connections to the times I visited with my own grandparents, and I also played games with them 
in their house. I also made connections to friends of mine who are involved in interracial marriages. 

Afterward, however, I reread the picturebook. I did so because I wanted to take an efferent 
stance on the text. Specifically, I wanted to read the text from the perspective of a teacher and 
reading educator to explore how I might be able to use it in my graduate courses. In other words, 
I wanted to make professional, not just personal, connections to the text. 

One efferent connection was that I saw this paired text as an opportunity to illustrate the 
power and potential of taking a contemporary and historical perspective on an important historical 
event, in this case, interracial marriage. Another connection was that I saw this paired text as a 
different way to pair text. I already knew that there are a variety of ways to pair text. One way is 
to pair contradictory texts, e.g., two texts tell the same story but in contradictory, and 
corresponding texts, e.g., two texts address the same theme but in different ways. I saw this paired 
text as another way to pair companion texts. 
 
Examples of Companion Texts Across the Curriculum 
In this section, we share examples of companion texts across the curriculum, specifically in 
English Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, and Math. 
 
English Language Arts 

Cycling: Lance Armstrong’s Impossible Ride (Sandler, 2006) and Cycling: Lance Armstrong’s 
Impossible Ride (Sandler, 2006) are companion texts on the topic of famous and little-known 
professional cyclists.  

Cycling: Lance Armstrong’s Impossible Ride (Sandler, 2006). This picturebook is an 
inspirational and illustrated biography of cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong. He is 
regarded as one of the greatest cyclists in sports history at both the amateur and professional levels. 
In 1991 he was the National Amateur Cycling Champion. He went on to win six consecutive Tour 
de France races. Afterward, he was diagnosed with cancer and courageously survived. Lance 
Armstrong’s accomplishments in the sport of cycling are unparalleled in the 20th century.  

Major Taylor: Champion Cyclist (Cline-Ransome, 2004) is a companion text because it 
widens the perspective not only on the life of Lance Armstrong and the sport of international 
cycling but also on important but little-known accomplished cyclists who preceded him. This 
picturebook tells the remarkable story of Marshall Taylor, an internationally recognized and 
accomplished cyclist who preceded Lance Armstrong by almost a century. Taylor grew up in 



84 Georgia Journal of Literacy 46(1)  
 

Indiana, and by 1891, people in his community were amazed at this thirteen-year-old black boy 
who could perform amazing stunts on his bicycle. Over the years, people began to call this teenager 
Major Taylor because of the red military uniform he wore while riding his bicycle. At the age of 
eighteen, he became a professional cyclist. Later, Major Taylor became an American hero by 
winning the world cycling title at the age of twenty-one, while also encountering and battling 
racism all along the way.  

This companion text can broaden the perspective on the history of international cycling. 
One text can be used to introduce Lance Armstrong as a famous international cyclist. It can also 
extend understanding for students already familiar with Lance Armstrong. At the same time, this 
companion text can introduce Major Taylor as an accomplished but little-known international 
cyclist, as well as spark student curiosity about other little-known sports figures who have not 
received their well-deserved recognition.   

Figure 1 illustrates an instructional strategy in the form of a graphic organizer that students 
can use to record and discuss intertextual connections between a companion text. We used it with 
companion texts on Lance Armstrong and Major Taylor. In addition, Table 1 illustrates other 
companion texts on the topic of sports and sports figures. 
 
Figure 1: Interwoven Companion Texts  

 
Lance 

Armstrong 

Started riding bike at 7 
years old, rode everywhere, 
hills, city, countryside 
throughout Texas 
competing in state bike 
races. Turned pro in 1992. 

Was diagnosed with cancer 
at age 25. Received 
treatments and was cured 
of cancer. Beating cancer 
made him stronger. 

Mom bought Lance first 
bike. She encouraged & 
supported him throughout 
his career and life, 
especially while he was 
surviving cancer. 

Won the 1993 World 
Championships. Created 
the Lance Armstrong 
Foundation for cancer 
survivors. Won Tour de 
France seven straight 
years. Retired in 2005. 

 

          History Challenges and 
Struggles 

Support and 
Mentorship Victories 

Major 
Taylor 

Humble beginnings. 
Marshall Taylor road a bike 
to deliver papers and 
became a “crackerjack 
cyclist.” Gained notoriety 
from working at a local 
bicycle shop cleaning and 
doing bike tricks wearing a 
military uniform, thus 
became known as Major 
Taylor. Became a 
professional at the age of 
18. Press called him “The 
Black Whirlwind.” 

Encountered challenges off 
track, including segregated 
restaurants, turned away 
because races were “For 
Whites Only,” interfered 
with, and harassed by white 
cyclists during races.   

Local bike shop owners 
hired Marshall to work in 
the shop. The Southard 
family provided him with a 
new bike. Mr. Hay 
introduced Marshall to 
racing and encouraged him 
to win bicycle races. Louis 
Monger mentored him as a 
racer.   

Won his 1st race at age of 
13. Won the 1899 World 
Cycling Championship and 
the 1900 World 
Championship in France. In 
the end, Major Taylor finally 
received the respect and 
recognition he earned, 
deserved, and wanted.   

 
Social Studies 

A Picture Book of Lewis and Clark (Adler, 2003) and My Name is York (Steenwyk, 1997) are 
companion texts based on the topic of the Lewis and Clark expedition. 
  A Picture Book of Lewis and Clark (Adler, 2003) provides an informative and colorful 
introduction to Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and their famous journey into unknown 
territory. It provides a historical account of the “Corps of Discovery” led by Lewis and Clark, as 
they set out in 1804 on a journey for American expansion. The explorers overcame many 



Bintz & Parker 85 
 

difficulties along the way, such as bitter cold winters, dangerous snakes, troublesome mosquitoes, 
grizzly bears, and endless rain and snowstorms. Ultimately, Lewis and Clark were triumphant, 
reaching the Pacific Ocean in November 1805.   

While informative and enjoyable, this picturebook focuses the narrative almost exclusively 
on Lewis and Clark. For example, the “Corps of Discovery” consisted of a total of thirty American 
explorers, but little, if any, information was provided on any of the other explorers. One of the 
explorers, however, was a man named York. He was Captain Clark’s enslaved person and 
accompanied Clark on this journey westward in hopes of becoming a free man. 

My Name is York (Steenwyk, 1997) is a companion text to A Picture Book of Lewis and 
Clark (Adler, 2003) because it provides a broader perspective to this historical event and the people 
involved in it. Unlike A Picture Book of Lewis and Clark, which is told in 3rd person narration, 
My Name is York is told by York in first person narration. Throughout the story, York invites 
readers into his world and in the end reveals his secret. Unlike Captain Clark, York seeks freedom, 
not the “Western Waterway.” He also reveals pride when Captain Clark carved the names of all 
“Corps of Discovery” members on a pine tree after reaching the Pacific Ocean, including the name 
of York.  

This companion text can broaden the perspective on the famous Lewis and Clark 
expedition. A Picture Book of Lewis and Clark can be used to introduce students to Lewis and 
Clark and the adventure of Western Expansion. It can also be used to extend understanding of 
students who already possess some understanding about the expedition. My Name is York widens 
the perspective by introducing and acknowledging York, a famous but little known African 
American historical character who was a valuable member of the expedition.   

Figure 2 illustrates an instructional strategy in the form of a graphic organizer that students 
can use to record and discuss intertextual connections between a companion text. Here, we use it 
with the companion texts A Picture Book of Lewis and Clark and My Name is York. 
 
Figure 2: Complimentary Companion Texts 

• Both texts identify York as the lifelong enslaved person of Captain William Clark and 
accompanied Clark on the journey westward.

York 

• Both texts identify Sacagawea as a North American Indian woman and wife of Canadian 
interpreter Toussaint Charbonneau, also a member of the Corps of Discovery and describe her 
importance to the expedition by helping Lewis & Clark befriend potential hostile Indians.

Sacagawea

• Both texts identify dangers on the journey including snakes, mosquitoes, large gnats, grizzly 
bears, freezing weather, water rapids, as well as discoveries including immense herds of feeding 
buffalo, unknown species of plants & flowers, native forests & high mountain ranges.

Dangers & Discoveries

• Both texts identify and describe the ultimate triumph of the Lewis & Clark expedition, namely, 
they successfully found a Northwest Passage and in the process journeyed back and forth 
acrossthe vast American continent.

Triumphs



86 Georgia Journal of Literacy 46(1)  
 

 
 
Table 2 presents companion texts on the Lewis and Clark expedition, while Table 3 features 
additional companion texts covering various Social Studies topics. 
 
Science 

Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos (Sisson, 2014) and Look Up! Henrietta 
Leavitt, Pioneering Woman Astronomer (Burleigh, 2013) are companion texts on the topic of 
astronomers and astronomy.  

Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos is a biography of the famous 
astronomer. As a boy, Carl Sagan was an imaginative child, curious about everything. The 1939 
World’s Fair fascinated him. There, he saw a mechanical man and a time capsule filled with 
messages to the future. Carl Sagan, however, was fascinated by stars; he spent many hours at the 
library reading books about stars and astronomers who studied planets. Over time, he became Dr. 
Carl Sagan and, with other scientists, used mechanical explorers to study planets. These explorers 
collected and sent data back to Earth. Based on these data, he and his team prepared to launch 
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, carrying greetings from Earth to space.  

Look Up! Henrietta Leavitt, Pioneering Woman Astronomer, tells the story of Henrietta 
Leavitt, a pioneering astronomer who was amazed by the brilliance of stars and the vastness of the 
sky. How high is the sky? is the question she asked as a young girl. She used the position of stars 
to help her answer the question. Later, as an astronomy student, she was fascinated with vast 
distances and the notion of light years. After graduation, she worked at an observatory, peering 
through a magnifying glass to measure tiny star dots on photographs of the night sky. Day after 
day, she studied new photographs of the stars. One day, she saw a pattern in the blinking of stars. 
This pattern allowed her to determine how far the star is from the Earth. Her discovery allowed 
other astronomers to make new discoveries about the Milky Way and the existence and distance 
of other galaxies.  

This companion text can broaden the perspective on the history of astronomers and 
astronomy, as well as understanding famous and little-known pioneers of space. Star Stuff: Carl 
Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos can introduce or extend understanding of the valuable 
contributions made to science and astronomy by the famous scientist Carl Sagan. It reminds 
readers of the valuable contributions he made during his life, as well as the significant influence 
he has had on astronomers today and in the future. Look Up! Henrietta Leavitt, a Pioneering 
Woman Astronomer, can introduce and extend understanding of the famous but little-known 
female astronomer Henrietta Levitt.  

Figure 3 illustrates an instructional strategy in the form of a graphic organizer that students 
can use to record and discuss intertextual connections between companion texts. Here, we used it 
with Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos and Look Up! Henrietta Leavitt, 
Pioneering Woman Astronomer. 

• Both texts refer to the Corps of Discovery as a group of more than 30 American explorers who 
accompanied Lewis & Clark on a journey west of the Mississippi River.

Corps of Discovery

• Both texts describe personal dreams. Lewis & Clark dreamed of finding the Northwest Passage 
to the Pacific Ocean. York dreamed about the passage, but also dreamed about finding 
freedom. 

Dreams



Bintz & Parker 87 
 

 
Figure 3: New Understandings, Ways of Thinking, Inquiry Questions 

 

Table 4 illustrates other companion texts on different topics in science. 
 
Mathematics 

What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras? (Ellis, 2004) and Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of 
Angleland (Neuschwander, 2001) are companion texts on the topic of angles and the Pythagorean 
theorem.  

What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras? tells the story of a young, curious boy named Pythagoras 
who loved solving problems. He helps two builders balance crooked columns on a temple and 
finds a quicker route for his father to deliver his tiles to Crete. One day, while on a trip with his 
father to Egypt, Pythagoras meets Nef, a master builder, who uses a rope to teach him a special 
number pattern. Pythagoras uses this pattern to solve problems involving right angles. This pattern 
is the Pythagorean theorem.  
 Sir Cumference and the Great Knight of Angleland uses clever and informative wordplay 
to tell the story of Radius, a young boy who is a squire but wants to be a knight. He is the son of 
Sir Cumference and Lady Di of Ameter, and his teacher is Sir D’Grees, who teaches him to ride 
his horse at specific angles – right angles and straight angles. To be a knight, Radius must undergo 
a quest. He must find King Lell, who has mysteriously disappeared. To help, his parents give him 
a medallion in the shape of a perfect circle, and Sir D’Grees reminds him to remember right angles. 
Radius encounters a village with rooftops pointing in steep angles and calls them “cute.” Then, he 
travels to the Mountains of Obtuse and eventually to a walled castle, where he finds a note from 
the brothers Zig and Zag about how to find King Zell. Radius follows the instructions and uses the 
medallion to follow which paths to take. Eventually, he finds and frees King Lell.  

This companion text can widen the perspective on introducing or extending the 
understanding of the mathematical importance of the Pythagorean theorem. It can also introduce 
or extend our understanding of Pythagoras, the famous mathematician who developed and applied 
the theorem in real life. In many ways, this companion text can introduce or extend the 
mathematician behind the man and the man in front of the math.  

Figure 4 illustrates an instructional strategy in the form of a graphic organizer that students 
can use to record and discuss intertextual connections between companion texts. Here, we used it 

My new understanding 
about these famous 

scientists
• Carl Sagan was curious and 
imaginative about everything, 
especially the cosmos, 
throughout his life. He asked 
questions, sought answers, 
studied diligently, and read 
profusely. He developed the 
idea of sending mechanical 
explorers to gather data about 
planets, e.g. Voyager 1 and 
Voyager 2. Henrietta Leavitt 
was curious, too, about stars, 
specifically the distance of 
stars from earth. 

My new way of thinking 
differently about this tipic 

(universe) 
• From Sagan, I am thinking 
differently about stars, e.g 
each star is a sun, stars made 
the ingredients of life,and 
interstellar space. and the 
vastness of the universe. 
From Leavitt, I am thinking 
differently about vast 
distances, the importance of 
astronomy, and how the tiniest 
discovery can lead to 
important findings. 

My new inquiry question

• How did Carl Sagan become 
such a popular TV personality 
in the 1960's? How is the 
scientific work of Sagan and 
Leavitt interconnected with the 
work of Stephen Hawking? 
What are asteroids and 
cosmic dust? Why do some 
stars blink? How far away is 
the Milky Way? How high is 
the sky?



88 Georgia Journal of Literacy 46(1)  
 

with What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras? A Math Adventure and Sir Cumference and the Great Knight 
of Angleland: A Math Adventure. 
 
Figure 4: Intertextual Connections Chart 

Book Title Mathematical 
Names 

Mathematical 
Concepts Journey Discovery 

Sir 
Cumference 

and the Great 
Knight of 
Angleland 

Main characters 
include Radius, 
son of Sir 
Cumference & 
Lady Di of Ameter, 
and squire to Sir 
D’Grees, King 
Lell’s pet dragons, 
Zig & Zag.   

Locations include 
the Kingdom of 
Angleland, the 
a(cute) rooftops, 
and the Mountains 
of Obtuse,  

Radius takes a 
knightly angle (a 
right angle) to the 
castle. 

Circumference, 
diameter, acute, 
obtuse, and right 
angles, degrees,   

King Lell of Angleland 
has mysteriously 
disappeared. Radius 
must find him. On horse, 
he travels through the 
kingdom to the King’s 
castle. Using a medallion 
to make knightly right 
angles, he enters the 
castle only to find two 
fire-breathing dragons. 
The dragons are King 
Lell’s pets and help 
Radius rescue the King 
who proclaims Radius as 
Sir Radius.   

At one level, Radius 
successfully discovered 
the whereabouts of King 
Lell and saved him from 
harm. At another level, 
Radius discovered 
power and potential of 
angles, especially the 
Knightly right angle, to 
solve real-life problems. 
He also discovered 
differences between 
acute and obtuse angles 
in terms of degrees.   

What’s Your 
Angle, 

Pythagoras? 

Main characters 
include Pythagoras, 
Saltos (salt) and 
Pepros (pepper), 
Leapus and 
Boundus  

Balance vs. 
imbalance, vertically 
and horizontally 
straight, column, 
relationship between 
distance & time, right 
angles, base, 
triangles, right 
triangles, squares, 
length, squaring, 
sides. Pythagorean 
Theorem.    

Pythagoras’s father is a 
merchant who sells tiles. 
He and Pythagoras set 
sail for Egypt and arrive 
in Alexandria. There, 
they meet Nef, a builder 
of buildings. Nef shows 
Pythagoras the secret of 
his buildings, a knotted 
roper in the shape of a 
right triangle. Pythagoras 
uses this triangle to 
solve problems with 
leaning buildings, and  a 
quicker route for his 
father to sail to Crete.   

Historically, Pythagoras 
became a philosopher, 
musician, and 
astronomer. However, 
his legacy is as a 
mathematician who 
made a famous 
discovered. Today his 
discovery is commonly 
referred to as the 
pythagoreum theorem.  

a2 + b2 = c2 

when a and b are two 
legs of a right triangle, 
and c is the side 
opposite the right angle.   

 
Table 5 illustrates other companion texts on different topics in mathematics. 
 
Concluding Thoughts  
We began this article with a vignette about a reading experience between Author 1 and his six-
year-old granddaughter. This vignette sparked a collaborative inquiry project that explored a new 
way to develop and use companion texts across the curriculum. The results of this inquiry project 
raise several implications for curriculum, instruction, and assessment.  



Bintz & Parker 89 
 

 Regarding curriculum, we believe national and/or state academic standards are the driving 
force behind curriculum and curriculum development. From a blended genres perspective, one 
implication is that teachers become curriculum developers. Teachers use academic standards as a 
starting point to develop blended genres that address these standards.   
 A blended genres perspective also raises implications for instruction. One implication is 
that teachers move from a single-text to a multi-text view of reading and reading instruction. Like 
paired text in general, a blended genre consists of two texts or readings designed to be read together 
in a single reading and learning experience. Reading instruction is not viewed as reading single 
but multiple texts.      
 Lastly, a blended genres perspective raises implications assessment. In general, much 
reading assessment is based on a single text, uses text-based and objective instruments like a fill-
in-the-blank worksheets, multiple choices questions, and summaries/retellings of the text, and 
focuses on text-based elements like main idea, character, setting, problem, solution, etc. One 
implication is that assessment of blended genres focuses not on each text, but on the reader creating 
intertextual connections between the two texts. Intertextual connections can, and often do, differ 
from reader to reader. From this perspective, creating and sharing intertextual connections offer 
readers to not only create personal meanings, but also learn multiple meanings from others.     
In the end, we hope this article will do for readers what a granddaughter did for her grandfather 
and his colleague. It allowed them to start new conversations and spark new thinking about the 
untapped and unlimited potential of companion texts. 
 
References 
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Ciecierski, L., & Bintz, W. (2016). Paired text: A way into the content areas. Middle School 

Journal, 47(4), 32–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/00940771.2016.1202659 
Ciecierski, L., & Bintz, W. (2017). Tri-texts: A potential next step for paired texts. The Reading 

Teacher, 71(4), 479–483. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1649 
Burke, C. (1995). Personal correspondence.  
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School 

Officers (CCSS). (2010). https://corestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ELA_
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Cullum, A. (1967). Push back the desks. Citation Press.  
Google Dictionary. (n.d.). https://www.google.com/search?q=companions 
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Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2017). Strategies that work. Stenhouse. 
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support knowledge building and interdisciplinary learning. The Reading Teacher, 73(4), 
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Neufeld, P. (2005). Comprehension instruction in content area classes. The Reading Teacher, 
59(4), 302–312. https://doi.org/10.1598/rt.59.4.1 

Paretti, M. C. (1999). Intertextuality, genre, and beginning writers: Mining your own texts. In K. 
L. Weese, S. L. Fox, & S. Greene (Eds.), Teaching academic literacy: The uses of teacher-
research in developing a writing program. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410
601421-14 

Plotinus. (n.d.) The six enneads. http://classics.mit.edu/Plotinus/enneads.html 
Rosenblatt, L. (2005). Making meaning with texts. Heinemann.  
Rosenblatt, L. (1995). Literature as exploration. Modern Language Association of America. 
Rosenblatt, L. (1994). The reader, the text, the poem: The transactional theory of the literary work. 

Southern Illinois University.  
Short, K. G., Harste, J. C., & Burke, C. (1996). Creating classrooms for authors and inquirers. 

Heinemann. 
Short, K. G., Harste, J. C., & Burke, C. (1988). Creating classrooms for authors. Heinemann. 
Soalt, J. (2005). Bringing together fictional and informational texts to improve  comprehension. 

The Reading Teacher, 58(7), 680–683. https://doi.org/10.1598/rt.58.7.8 
Van Leeuwen, T. (2015). Multimodal meaning potential. In N. Nørgaard (Ed.), Key terms in 

multimodality: Definitions, issues, and discussions. https://multimodalkeyterms.wordpress
.com/?s=Multimodal+meaning+potential 

 
Literature Cited 
Adler, D.A. (2003). A picture book of Lewis and Clark. Holiday House. 
Alko, S. (2015). The case for loving: The fight for interracial marriage. Arthur A. Levine  

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Juster, N. (2005). The hello, goodbye window. Scholastic. 
Ellis, J. (2004). What’s your angle, Pythagoras? Charlesbridge.  
Neuschwander, C. (2001). Sir cumference and the great knight of angleland: A math adventure. 

Charlesbridge. 
Sandler, M. (2006). Cycling: Lance Armstrong’s impossible ride. Bearport.  
Sisson, S. R. (2014). Star stuff: Carl Sagan and the mysteries of the cosmos. Roaring Book Press.    
Burleigh, R. (2013). Look up!: Henrietta Leavitt, pioneering woman astronomer. Simon & 

Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books. 
  

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Bintz & Parker 91 
 

Table 1: Sports and Sports Figures 

Topic Text #1 Text #2 

Golf: These companion texts widen the perspective on 
the sport of golf by introducing/extending understanding 
about a little known, but famous, character named 
William Powell 

Golf Course Aerial 
Photobook: 30 Best 
Selected Images of 
Most Beautiful Golf 
Courses in the World 
(Cooper Photo Gallery, 
2022) 

Twice as Good: The Story 
of William Powell and 
Clearview, the Only Golf 
Course Designed, Built, 
and Owned by an African 
American (Michelson, 
2012) 

Little League Baseball: These companion texts widen 
the perspective on the history of the Little League 
Baseball World Series by introducing/extending 
understanding about the Cannon Street YMCA All-
Stars. 

Baseball for Kids: A 
Young Fan’s Guide to 
the History of the Game 
(MacKinnon, 2020) 

Let Them Play (Raven, 
2005) 

Professional Baseball: These companion texts widen 
the perspective on professional baseball by 
introducing/extending understanding about a little 
known, but famous, deaf baseball player named William 
Hoy. 

Baseball’s Greatest 
Players: 10 Baseball 
Biographies for New 
Readers (Martin, 2022) 

The William Hoy Story: 
How a Deaf Baseball 
Player Changed the Game 
(Churnin, 2016) 

Japanese Internment Camps: These companion texts 
widen the perspective on Japanese internment camps 
by introducing/extending understanding of day-to-day 
life of Japanese Americans during World War II. 

Write to Me: Letters 
from Japanese 
American Children to 
the Librarian They Left 
Behind (Grady, 2019) 

Baseball Saved Us 
(Mochizuki, 1993) 

Women’s Professional Baseball Team: These 
companion texts widen the perspective on professional 
baseball by introducing/extending understanding of 
women as professional baseball players and 
highlighting Marcenia Lyle, the 1st woman to play for a 
professional baseball team.  

Meet the Philadelphia 
Dolly Vardens: Inspired 
by the First African 
American Women’s 
Professional Baseball 
Team (Brinson, 2020) 

Catching the Moon: The 
Story of a Young Girl’s 
Baseball Dream (Hubbard, 
2005) 

Women’s Olympics: These companion texts widen the 
perspective on women’s Olympics by 
introducing/extending understanding of two, historic 
women Olympians: Lucille Godbold and Wilma 
Rudolph. 

Wilma Unlimited: How 
Wilma Rudolph Became 
the World’s Fastest 
Woman (Krull, 2000) 

Long-Armed Ludy and the 
First Women’s Olympics 
(Patrick, 2019) 

Professional Baseball: These companion texts widen 
the perspective on professional baseball by 
introducing/extending understanding of one famous 
player, Joe DiMaggio, and one little known, female 
player, Jackie Mitchell. 

The Streak: How Joe 
DiMaggio Became 
America’s Hero 
(Rosenstock, 2014) 

Mighty Jackie: The Strike-
Out Queen (Moss, 2004) 

Baseball: These companion texts widen the 
perspective on baseball by introducing/extending 
understanding about Josh Gibson, a famous, African 
American home run hitter and Bunny Taliaferro, a little 
known, but famous African American little boy named 
Bunny Taliaferro. 

Coming Home: A True 
Story of Josh Gibson, 
Baseball’s Greatest 
Home Run Hitter 
(Mellage, 1999) 

A Home Run for Bunny 
(2013) 

Negro Baseball Leagues: These companion texts 
widen the perspective by introducing/extending 
understanding on the differences between the Negro 
Baseball Leagues and the Major Leagues. 

A Negro League 
Scrapbook (Weatherford, 
2022) 

Leagues Apart: The Men 
and Times of the Negro 
Baseball Leagues (Ritter, 
1995) 



92 Georgia Journal of Literacy 46(1)  
 

Professional Baseball: These companion texts widen 
the perspective on professional baseball by 
introducing/extending understanding of two little known, 
but famous, historic stories. One story is about the All-
American Girls Professional Baseball League, and the 
other about a spy for the United States during World 
War II and played professional baseball after the war.   

Players in Pigtails 
(Corey, 2003) 

The Spy Who Played 
Baseball (Jones, 2018) 

Girls in Baseball: These companion texts widen the 
perspective on girls in baseball by introducing/extending 
understanding two girls who are famous, but little 
known, for their groundbreaking athletic achievements. 

Anybody’s Game: 
Kathryn Johnston, the 
First Girl to Play Little 
League Baseball (Lang, 
2018) 

Girl Wonder: A Baseball 
Story in Nine Innings 
(Hopkinson, 2003) 

 
Table 2: Lewis and Clark 

Topic Text #1 Text #2 

Lewis & Clark Expedition: These companion texts 
widen the perspective by introducing/extending 
understanding about the important historical 
characters on the Lewis & Clark expedition. 

The Lewis & Clark 
Expedition (Houk, 1999) 

The Journey of York: The 
Unsung Hero of the Lewis 
and Clark Expedition (Davis, 
2019) 

How We Crossed the 
West: The Adventures 
of Lewis and Clark 
(Schanzer, 2002) 

York’s Adventures with 
Lewis and Clark: An African 
American’s Part in the Great 
Expedition (Blumberg, 2003 

I Am Sacajawea, I Am 
York: Our Journey 
West with Lewis and 
Clark (Murphy, 2005) 

American Slave, American 
Hero: York of the Lewis and 
Clark Expedition (Pringle, 
2006) 

Lewis & Clark Expedition: These companion texts 
widen the perspective by introducing/extending 
understanding about the important historical 
characters on the Lewis & Clark expedition, both 
human and non-human. 

The Lewis and Clark 
Expedition (Peritano, 
2010) 

SeaMan: The Dog Who 
Explored the West with 
Lewis and Clark (Karwoski, 
2003) 

Lewis & Clark (Mulhall, 
2017) 

Seaman’s Journal: On the 
Trail with Lewis and Clark 
(Eubank, 2010) 

The Lewis and Clark 
Trail: Now and Then 
(Patent, 2002) 

Lewis and Clark and Me: A 
Dog’s Tale (Myers, 2002) 

Lewis & Clark Expedition: These companion texts 
widen the perspective by introducing/extending 
understanding about the day-to-day life on the Lewis 
& Clark expedition. 

Plants on the Trail with 
Lewis and Clark 
(Patent, 2003) 

Cooking on the Lewis and 
Clark Expedition (Gunderson, 
2000) 

Explorers & Exploratory Tools: These companion 
texts widen the perspective by introducing/extending 
understanding about the explorers and the tools they 
used on the Lewis & Clark expedition.  

Lewis and Clark: 
Explorers of the 
American West (Kroll, 
1994) 

Lewis and Clark’s Compass: 
What an Artifact Can Tell Us 
About the Historic 
Expedition (Micklos, 2021) 

Sacagawea: These companion texts widen the 
perspective on one of the most important historical 
characters involved in the Lewis & Clark expedition. 

The Lewis & Clark 
Expedition (Domnauer, 
2012) 

What’s So Great About 
Sacagawea? (Rogers, 2014) 



Bintz & Parker 93 
 

Sacagawea: Journey 
into the West 
(Gunderson, 2006) 

Sacagawea (Erdrich, 2003) 

 
Table 3: Social Studies 

Topic Text #1 Text #2 

Japanese Internment Camps: These 
companion texts introduce/extend understanding 
about Japanese Internment Camps in America 
during WWII.  

So Far from the Sea 
(Bunting, 2009) 

Home of the Brave (Say, 2002) 

Winnie the Pooh: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about the true 
story behind the famous teddy bear created by 
A.A. Milne. 

Finding Winnie: The True 
Story of the World’s 
Famous Bear (Mattick, 
2015) 

Winnie: The True Story of the 
Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-
Pooh (Walker, 2015) 

Civil Rights Figures: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about two civil 
rights figures, one famous, Malcolm X, and one 
famous but little-known figure, Fannie Lou 
Hamer. 

Voice of Freedom, Fannie 
Lou Hamer: Spirt of the 
Civil Rights Movement 
(Weatherford, 2015) 

Malcolm X: A Fire Burning 
Brightly (Myers, 2003) 

Holocaust: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about the 
holocaust from two children’s perspectives. 

Rose Blanche (Innocenti, 
2011)  

A Picture Book of Anne Frank 
(Adler, 1993) 

Migrant Workers: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about migrant 
workers, one famous, Cesar Chavez, and one 
famous, but little-known, Dolores Huerta.  

Dolores Huerta: A Hero to 
Migrant Workers (Warren, 
2012) 

Harvesting Hope: The Story of 
Cesar Chavez (Krull, 2003) 

Decoders: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about codes 
and coding during WWII. 

Alan Turing: The Power 
of Curiosity (Valenti, 2021)  

The Unbreakable Code (Hunter, 
2007) 

Nazi Resistance: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about Nazi 
resistance during WWII from two different 
European countries. 

The Yellow Star (Deedy  The Whispering Town (Elvgren, 
2014) 

Boston Tea Party: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about the 
Boston Tea Party and one famous child in the 
Boston Tea Party. 

The Boston Tea Party 
(Freedman, 2013)  

 

Crispus Atticks: Hero of the 
Boston Massacre (Beier, 2003) 

Civil War: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about warfare in 
the water during the Civil War by a battleship, 
The Monitor, and a submarine, H.L. Hunley. 

The Monitor: Civil War 
Battleship (Thompson, 
2003) 

 

Secrets of a Civil War 
Submarine: Solving the 
Mystery of the H.L. Hunley 
(Walker, 2023 

Civil Rights: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about the 
actions of a famous person, Harriet Tubman, 
and a famous but little-known person, Henry 
Brown, to gain freedom.  

Moses: When Harriet 
Tubman Led Her People 
to Freedom (Weatherford, 
2006  

Box: Henry Brown Mails 
Himself to Freedom 
(Weatherford, 2020) 

Pirates: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about a famous 
male pirate, Blackbeard, and a famous but little-
known female pirate, Zheng Yi Sao. 

Blackbeard the Pirate 
King (Lewis, 2006)  

 

Pirate Queen: A Story of Zheng 
Yi Sao (Becker, 2020) 



94 Georgia Journal of Literacy 46(1)  
 

Revolutionary Spies: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about famous 
female spies during the Revolutionary War. 

Culpers, Codes, and 
Quakers: Female Spies of 
the Revolutionary War 
(Ryan, 2016) 

The Scarlet Stockings Spy 
(Noble, 2004) 

American Revolution Heroes: These 
companion texts introduce/extend understanding 
about famous American Revolution female 
spies, and one famous but little-known spy, 
Sarah Edmonds. 

Great Women of the 
American Revolution 
(Hall, 2012) 

Nurse, Soldier, Spy: The Story 
of Sarah Edmonds, a War Hero 
(Moss, 2016) 

Buffalo Soldiers: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about Buffalo 
Soldiers. 

From Slave to Soldier 
(Hopkinson, 2007)  

 

Buffalo Soldiers: Heroes of the 
American West (Baker, 2015) 

Abraham Lincoln: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about the life 
and times of Abraham Lincoln. 

Young Abe Lincoln: The 
Frontier Days 1809-1837 
(Harness, 2008) 

My Best Friend Abe Lincoln: A 
Tale of Two Boys from Indiana 
(Bloch, 2011) 

American Civil War: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about two 
famous but little known child soldiers during the 
Civil War.  

Johnny Reb: The 
Confederate Soldier in 
the Civil War (Books, 
1993)  

Johnny Clem’s Civil War Story 
(Marsico, 2018) 

American Revolution: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about warfare in 
water during the Revolutionary War, one a 
battleship, one a submarine. 

The Monitor vs. The 
Merrimac: Ironclads at 
War (Abnett, 2006)  

American Turtle Submarine: 
The Best-Kept Secret of the 
American Revolution 
(Lefkowitz, 2012) 

World War II: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about the 
bravery and patriotism of WWII pilots, especially 
The Tuskegee Airmen. 

You Wouldn’t Want to Be 
a World War II Pilot 
(Graham, 2009)  

The Tuskegee Airmen Story 
(Homan, 2002) 

Animals Soldiers: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about two 
famous but little-known animal soldiers, one a 
horse and one a donkey.   

Bunny the Brave War 
Horse (Macleod, 2014)  

 

The Donkey of Gallipoli: A True 
Story of Courage in World War 
I (Greenwood, 2008) 

Animal Soldiers: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about two 
famous but little-known animal soldiers, one a 
dog and one a horse.  

Stubby: The Dog Soldier 
and World War I Hero 
(Hoena, 2014) 

Sgt. Reckless the War Horse: 
Korean War Hero (Higgins, 
2014) 

Animal Soldiers: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about two 
famous but little-known animal soldiers, one a 
pigeon and one a dog.  

Cher Ami: Based on the 
World War I Legend of the 
Fearless Pigeon (Potter, 
2022)  

Rags: Hero Dog of WWI: A 
True Story (Raven, 2014) 

Statue of Liberty: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about the statue 
of liberty from two different but complimentary 
perspectives. 

The Story of the Statue of 
Liberty (Maestro & 
Maestro, 1989)  

Emma’s Poem (Glaser & Nivola, 
2013) 

American Revolutionary War Soldiers: These 
companion texts introduce/extend understanding 
about the life of an American Revolutionary war 
soldier and one famous but little-known female 
war soldier, Deborah Sampson.  

How to Be a 
Revolutionary War 
Soldier (Ratliff, 2006)  

Cloaked in Courage: 
Uncovering Deborah Sampson, 
Patriot Soldier (Anderson, 2022) 

Martin Luther King: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about the life, 
work, and funeral of Martin Luther King.  

Belle, the Last Mule at 
Gee’s Bend (Ramsey & 
Stroud, 2016)  

The Cart That Carried Martin 
(Bunting, 2018) 



Bintz & Parker 95 
 

Black Enslaved Heroes: These companion 
texts introduce/extend understanding about the 
history of black enslaved heroes and one 
famous but little-known hero, Ona Judge. 

Black Heroes of the 
American Revolution 
(Davis, 1992) 

 

Never Caught, the Story of Ona 
Judge: George Washington’s 
Courageous /Slave Who Dared 
to Run Away (Dunbar, 2020) 

Underground Railroad: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about the 
underground railroad and about a famous figure, 
Harriet Tubman and a famous but little-known 
figure, Henry “Box” Brown. 

Aunt Harriet’s 
Underground Railroad in 
the Sky (Ringgold, 1995)  

Henry’s Freedom Box: A True 
Story from the Underground 
Railroad (Levine, 2007) 

Civil Rights: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about civil rights 
and a about a famous figure, Rosa Parks, and a 
famous but little-known figure, Claudia Colvin. 

Rosa (Giovanni, 2007)  

 

Claudia Colvin: Twice Toward 
Justice (Hoose, 2010) 

World War I: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about the life 
and challenges of soldiers in WWI and how the 
war changed modern warfare. 

How WWI Changed 
Modern Warfare 
(Professor, 2021)  

The Letter Home (Decker, 2009) 

Historic Aviators: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about historic 
aviators, two famous, Wilbur and Orville Wright, 
and one famous but little known, Katherine 
Stinson Otero. 

First to Fly: How Wilbur & 
Orville Wright Invented 
the Airplane (Busby, 2002) 

Katherine Stinson Otero: High 
Flyer (Petrick, 2006) 

Historic Women Aviators: These companion 
texts introduce/extend understanding about two 
famous but little-known women aviators, Ruth 
Law and Harriet Quimby. 

Fearless Flyer: Ruth Law 
and Her Flying Machine 
(2016) 

Brave Harriet: The First 
Woman to Fly the English 
Channel (Moss, 2001) 

Civil War: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 

Drummer Boy (Turner, 
1998) 

Red Legs: A Drummer Boy of 
the Civil War (Lewin, 2001) 

Niagara Falls: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about two 
famous, but little-known women who went over 
Niagara Falls in barrels. 

Maggie’s Adventure: I’m 
Going Over Niagara Falls 
(D’Arcangelo & Kirchmyer, 
2018) 

Queen of the Falls (van 
Allsburg, 2010) 

American Revolutionary War:  These 
companion texts introduce/extend understanding 
about the American Revolutionary War and 
about a famous, but little-known female soldier 
who fought bravely during the war. 

Molly Pitcher: Young 
American Patriot (Glaser, 
2006) 

They Called Her Molly Pitcher 
(Rockwell, 2002) 

Martin Luther King: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about the life, 
times, and funeral of Martin Luther King. 

Belle, The Last Mule at 
Gee’s Bend: A Civil 
Rights Story (Ramsey & 
Stroud, 2016)  

That Cart That Carried Martin 
(Bunting, 2013) 

Musicians: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about two 
internationally recognized musicians, one 
famous, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and one 
famous, but little-known, Chevalier de Saint-
George.  

That’s My Piano, Sir!: 
Wolfgang Amadeus 
Mozart (Gerhard, 2021) 

The Other Mozart: The Life of 
the Famous Chevalier de Saint-
George (Brewster, 2007) 

 
 
 
 



96 Georgia Journal of Literacy 46(1)  
 

Table 4: Science  

Topic Text #1 Text #2 

Galileo: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about 
Galileo and his inventions and discoveries.  

Starry Messenger: A Book 
Depicting the Life of a Famous 
Scientist, Mathematician, 
Astronomer, Philosopher, 
Physicist (Sis, 1996) 

Galileo’s Treasure Box 
(Brighton, 1987) 

Stars: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about the 
stars. One text is non-fiction, the other 
fiction, highlighting the story of Hypatia and 
her work on numbers and stars. 

Stars (Simon, 2006) Of Numbers and Stars: The 
Story of Hypatia (Love, 2006) 

Archimedes: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about 
Archimedes and experimental design. 

Archimedes: Ancient Greek 
Mathematician (Keating, 2002) 

Mr. Archimedes Bath (Allen, 
2001) 

Big Bang: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about the 
Big Bang 

It Started with a Big Bang: The 
Origin of Earth, You, and 
Everything Else (Bal, 2019) 

Born with a Bang: The 
Universe Tells Our Cosmic 
Story (Morgan, 2002) 

Oceanographers: These companion texts 
can introduce/extend understanding about 
one famous oceanographer, Jacques 
Cousteau, and famous, but little-known 
oceanographer, Sylvia Earle. 

Manfish: A Story of Jacques 
Cousteau (Berne, 2015) 

Life in the Ocean: The Story 
of Oceanographer Sylvia 
Earle (Nivola, 2012) 

Astronauts: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about 
women astrounauts, one famous, Sally Ride, 
and one famous, but little-known, Mae 
Jemison. 

Astronaut and Physicist Sally 
Ride (Goldstein, 2018) 

Mae C. Jemison (Pincus, 2019) 

Astronaut: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about 
famous women scientists, and one famous, 
but little-known astronaut, Ellen Ochoa. 

She Persisted in Science: 
Brilliant Women Who Made a 
Difference (Clinton, 2022) 

The Astronaut with a Song for 
the Stars: The Story of Dr. 
Ellen Ochoa (Mosca, 2019) 

Plate Tectonics: These companion texts 
can introduce/extend understanding about 
plate tectonics and a famous pioneer of plate 
tectonics, Alfred Wegener. 

The Island That Moved: How 
Sifting Forces Shape Our 
Earth (Hooper, 2004) 

Alfred Wegener: Pioneer of 
Plate Tectonics (Young, 2010) 

DNA: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about DNA, 
Gregor Mendel, and experimental design.  

Grow: Secrets of Our DNA 
(Davies,  

Gregor Mendel: The Friar 
Who Grew Peas (Bardoe, 
2006) 

Albert Einstein: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about 

Albert Einstein (Inspired Inner 
Genius, 2021) 

Alfie’s First Word: A Tale 
Inspired by Albert Einstein’s 
Childhood (Tourville, 2014) 

Inventors: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about the 
accomplishments and the competitions 
between two famous inventors, Thomas 
Edison and Nikola Tesla. 

A Wizard from the Start: The 
Incredible Boyhood and 
Amazing Inventions of 
Thomas Edison (Brown, 2010) 

Electrical Wizard: How Nikola 
Tesla Lit Up the World (Rusch, 
2013) 

Wireless Communication: These 
companion texts can introduce/extend 
understanding about wireless 
communication.  

Making Contact!: Marconi 
Goes Wireless (Kulling, 2013) 

Radio Boy (Denslow, 1995) 



Bintz & Parker 97 
 

Butterflies and Metamorphosis: These 
companion texts can introduce/extend 
understanding about butterflies, 
metamorphosis, and the famous, but little-
known, scientist, Maria Merian. 

Butterfly Boy (Kroll, 2002) Summer Birds: The 
Butterflies of Maria Merian 
(Engle, 2010) 

Comets: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about 
comets, and the famous, but little known, 
female astronomer, Maria Mitchell. 

Famous Comets and Asteroids 
in Our Solar System (Pfiffikus, 
2016) 

Maria’s Comet (Hopkinson, 
1999) 

Lunar Landing: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about the 
first lunar landing, and Margaret Hamilton, 
the scientist who saved the first lunar 
landing. 

The First Lunar Landing 
(Fradin, 2010) 

Margaret and the Moon: How 
Margaret Hamilton Saved the 
First Lunar Landing (Robbins, 
2017)  

Atomic Bomb: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about the 
development and use of the atomic bomb in 
World War II. 

The Secret Project (Winter, 
2017) 

Faithful Elephants (Tsuchiya, 
1997) 

Nuclear Fission: These companion texts 
can introduce/extend understanding about 
nuclear fission, one famous nuclear scientist, 
Albert Einstein, and one famous, but little-
known nuclear scientist, Lise Meitner. 

The Story of Albert Einstein: A 
Biography Book for New 
Readers (Katz, 2020)  

Lise Meitner: Had the Right 
Vision about Nuclear 
(Venezia, 2010) 

Fossils: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about fossils 
and one famous, but little-known 
paleontologist, Mary Anning. 

All About Fossils: Discovering 
Dinosaurs and Other Clues to 
the Past (Crane, 2021) 

The Fossil Girl (Brighton, 
1999) 

Fossils: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about the 
science of fossils, and a famous, but little-
known paleontologist, Mary Leakey. 

Where Do Fossils Come 
From? How Do We Find 
Them? Archaeology for Kids 
(Bobo’s Little Brainiac Book, 
2016) 

Fossil Huntress: Mary 
Leakey, Paleontologist  

(Diehn, 2019) 

Charles Darwin: These companion texts 
can introduce/extend understanding about 
Charles Darwin, Theory of Evolution, and 
Natural Selection. 

Animals Charles Darwin Saw 
(Markle, 2009) 

The Mystery of Darwin’s Frog 
(Crump, 2013) 

Charles Darwin: These companion texts 
can introduce/extend understanding about 
Charles Darwin, scientist and father. 

The Tree of Life: Charles 
Darwin (Sis, 2003) 

The Bumblebee Hunter: 
Inspired by the Life & 
Experiments of Charles 
Darwin and His Children 
(Hopkinson, 2010) 

Moon: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about the 
moon and science as evidence not belief.  

When We Walked on the Moon 
(Long, 2019) 

No One Walks on My Father’s 
Moon (1996) 

Pluto: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about the 
discovery of Pluto. 

The Man Who Discovered 
Pluto (Dubowski  

Pluto’s Secret: An Icy World’s 
Tale of Discovery (Weitekamp 
& DeVorkin 

DNA: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about DNA 
and the scientists who discovered the 
phenomenon.  

James Watson and Fricis 
Crick (Anniss)  

Masterminds: Rosalind 
Franklin (Howell) 



98 Georgia Journal of Literacy 46(1)  
 

Imprinting: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about 
Konrad Lorenz, the scientist who pioneered 
the concept of imprinting in animal behavior. 

Goose Family Book (Kalas, 
1991) 

The Goose Man: The Story of 
Konrad Lorenz (Greenstein, 
2009) 

Gravity: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about the 
concept of gravity. 

The Day Gravity Goes Loco 
(Maloney, 2016) 

Gravity (Chin, 2014) 

Katherine Johnson: These companion 
texts can introduce/extend understanding 
about the life and work of Katherine 
Johnson, the scientist and mathematician 
who put astronauts on the moon. 

One Step Further: My Story of 
Math, the Moon, and a Lifelong 
Mission (Johnson, 2021) 

Counting on Katherine: How 
Katherine Johnson Put 
Astronauts on the Moon 
(Becker, 2018) 

Galileo: These companion texts can 
introduce/extend understanding about 
Galileo and his inventions and discoveries.  

Starry Messenger: A Book 
Depicting the Life of a Famous 
Scientist, Mathematician, 
Astronomer, Philosopher, 
Physicist (Sis, 1996) 

Galileo’s Treasure Box 
(Brighton, 1987) 

 
Table 5: Mathematics 

Topic Text #1 Text #2 

International Mathematicians: These 
companion texts introduce/extend 
understanding about two famous, but little 
known, mathematicians. 

Nothing Stopped Sophie: The 
Story of Unshakable 
Mathematician Sophie Germain 
(Bardoe, 2018) 

Maryam’s Magic: The Story of 
Mathematician Maryam 
Mirzakhani (Reid, 2021) 

International Mathematicians: These 
companion texts introduce/extend 
understanding about two international 
mathematics, one famous, the other little 
known. 

Pythagoras (Klepis, 2017) The Boy Who Loved Math: The 
Improbable Life of Paul Erdos 
(Heiligman, 2013)  

International Coders: These companion 
texts introduce/extend understanding 
about coding and two famous international 
code breakers. 

Alan Turing and the Power of 
Curiosity (Valenti, 2021) 

Grace Hopper: Queen of 
Computer Code (Wallmark, 
2017) 

Measurement: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
measurement. 

The Know-Nonsense Guide to 
Measurements: An Awesomely 
Fun Guide to How Things are 
Measured (Fiedler, 2017) 

The Librarian Who Measured 
the Earth (Hawkes, 1994) 

Computer Programming: These 
companion texts introduce/extend 
understanding about computer 
programming, highlighting a famous, but 
little, known computer programmer. 

Computer Coding: An 
Introduction to Computer 
Programming (DK, 2014) 

Ada Byron Lovelace and the 
Thinking Machine (Wallmark, 
2015) 

Tangrams: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
tangrams based on a traditional fairy tale. 

The Three Pigs (Weisner, 2012) Three Pigs, One Wolf, and 
Seven Magic Shapes 
(Maccarone, 1997) 

Counting: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
counting. 

The History of Counting 
(Schmandt-Besserat, 1999) 

Counting with an Abacus: 
Learning the Place Value of 
Ones, Tens, and Hundreds 
(Murphy, 2004) 



Bintz & Parker 99 
 

Math Squares: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
Benjamin Franklin and math squares. 

A Picturebook of Benjamin 
Franklin (Adler, 2018) 

Ben Franklin and the Magic 
Squares (Murphy, 2001) 

Cartesian Coordinate System: These 
companion texts introduce/extend 
understanding about the Cartesian 
Coordinate System. 

Mister Descartes and His Evil 
Genius (Mongin, 2016) 

The Fly on the Ceiling (Glass, 
1998) 

Dimensionality: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
dimensionality. 

The Flatland Dialogues (Sayre, 
2018) 

Flatland (Sayre & Emberley, 
2013) 

Fibonacci: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
Fibonacci and the Fibonacci number 
system. 

Blockhead: The Life of 
Fibonacci (D’Agnese, 2010) 

The Rabbit Problem (Gravett, 
2009) 

Fibonacci: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
Fibonacci and the Fibonacci number 
system. 

Growing Patterns: Fibonacci 
Numbers in Science (Campbell, 
2010) 

Wild Fibonacci: Nature’s Secret 
Code Revealed (Hulme, 2010) 

Problem Solving: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
problem solving. 

M.C. Escher Pop-Ups 
(McCarthy, 2011) 

Palazzo Inverso (Johnson, 2010) 

Probability: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
probability. 

That’s a Possibility!: A Book 
About What Might Happen 
(Goldstone, 2013) 

Probably Pistachio (Murphy, 
2001) 

Probability: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
probability. 

Bad Luck Brad: Probability 
(Herman, 2006) 

A Very Improbably Story 
(Edward Einhorn, 2008) 

Graphing: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
graphing. 

Groovy Graphing: Quadrant 
One and Beyond (Arias, 2019) 

Tiger Math: Learning to Graph 
From a Baby Tiger (Nagda & 
Bickel, 2000) 

Graphing: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
graphing. 

Lemonade for Sale (Murphy, 
1998) 

The Great Graph Contest 
(Leedy, 2005) 

Tessellations: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
tessellations. 

Giraffe Pattern and Others Like 
It: Tessellations in Nature 
(Bine-Stock, 2021) 

Toads and Tessellations: A 
Math Adventure (Morrisette, 
2012) 

Fractions: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
fractions. 

Fractions in Disguise (Einhorn, 
2014) 

Polar Bear Math: Learning 
about Fractions from Klondike 
and Snow (Nagda & Bickel, 
2004) 

Multiplication: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
multiplication. 

The Best of Times: Math 
Strategies That Multiply (Tang, 
2002) 

Multiplying Menace: The 
Revenge of Rumpelstiltskin 
(Calvert, 2006) 

Division: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
division. 

The Great Divide (Dodds, 1999) Cheetah Math: Learning about 
Division from Baby Cheetahs 
(Nagda, 2004) 

Doubling: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
doubling. 

The King’s Chessboard (Birch, 
1988) 

One Grain of Rice: A 
Mathematical Folktale (Demi, 
1997)  



100 Georgia Journal of Literacy 46(1)  
 

Polygons: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
polygons. 

The Greedy Triangle (Burns, 
1994) 

Shape Up! Fun with Triangles 
and Other Polygons (Adler, 
1998) 

Estimation: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
estimation. 

Great Estimations (Goldstone, 
2010) 

Jellybeans for Sale (1996) 

Pi: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about Pi. 

Happy Pi Day to You (Worth, 
2020) 

Sir Cumference and the Dragon 
of Pi: A Math Adventure 
(Neuschwander, 1999) 

Perimeter: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
perimeter. 

Perimeter, Area, and Volume: 
A Monster Book of Dimensions 
(Adler, 2013) 

Spaghetti and Meatballs for All! 
A Mathematical Story (Burns, 
1997) 

Circles: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
circles and circumference as a 
measurement of an attribute of a circle. 

Circles (Adler, 2016) Sir Cumference and the First 
Round Table (Neuschwander, 
1997) 

Multiplication: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
multiplication. 

Minnie’s Diner: A Multiplying 
Menu (Dodds, 2007) 

Amanda Bean’s Amazing 
Dream: A Mathematical Story 
(Neuschwander, 1998) 

Angles: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
different kinds of mathematical angles. 

Right, Acute and Obtuse 
Angles: Geometry for Kids 
(Professor, 2017) 

The Great Knight of Angleland: 
A Math Adventure 
(Neuschwander, 2001) 

Code Breaking: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about two 
famous, but little known, code breakers. 

Code Breaker and 
Mathematician Alan Turing 
(Schwartz, 2018)   

 

Code Breaker, Spy Hunter: 
How Elizabeth Friedman 
Changed the Course of Two 
World Wars (Wallmark, 2021) 

Mathematics and Wartime: These 
companion texts introduce/extend 
understanding about the use of 
mathematics during wartime. 

The H.L. Hunley Submarine: 
History and Mystery from the 
Civil War (Hawk, 2017) 

The Girl with a Mind for Math: 
The Story of Raye Montague 
(Mosca, 2020) 

Algebra: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
algebra. 

Algebra and Geometry: 
Anything but Square (Green, 
2011) 

Mystery Math: A First Book of 
Algebra (Adler, 2011) 

Metric System: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about the 
metric system. 

Caveman Teach Children 
Metric System (Rammage, 
2022) 

The Metric System (Adler, 2022) 

Pythagoras: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
Pythagoras. 

The Encounter with 
Pythagoras (dos Santos, 2020) 

Pythagoras and the Ratios: A 
Math Adventure (Ellis, 2010) 

Measurement: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about 
measurement. 

The Know-Nonsense Guide to 
Measurements: An Awesomely 
Fun Guide to How Things are 
Measured (Fiedler, 2017) 

How Long or How Wide: A 
Measuring Guide (Cleary, 2009) 

Big Numbers: These companion texts 
introduce/extend understanding about big 
numbers. 

Millions, Billions, and Trillions: 
Understanding Big Numbers 
(Adler, 2013) 

Mind-Boggling Numbers 
(Rosen, 2016) 

 
 
Received: December 9, 2023 | Accepted: January 30, 2024 | Published: May 15, 2024 


	Vignette
	Reflection
	Companion Texts
	Theoretical Framework

	Examples of Companion Texts Across the Curriculum
	English Language Arts
	Figure 1: Interwoven Companion Texts

	Social Studies
	Figure 2: Complimentary Companion Texts

	Science
	Figure 3: New Understandings, Ways of Thinking, Inquiry Questions

	Mathematics
	Figure 4: Intertextual Connections Chart


	Concluding Thoughts
	References
	Literature Cited
	Table 1: Sports and Sports Figures
	Table 2: Lewis and Clark
	Table 3: Social Studies
	Table 4: Science
	Table 5: Mathematics


