How to Use Shelf Markers - in Spanish!

One of the 1st grade teachers helped me make this video for our younger bilingual students.  I used the app Puppet to take the photos and then Mrs G recorded her voice on it. 

What we read Jan 19-23

Here is what we read this week:

PreK: Fortunately, by Remy Charlip and The 3 Bears and Goldilocks by Margaret Willey.  Last week we read Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Paul Galdone.  This week I read the same story, but with a few differences.  They really enjoyed the book, Fortunately, and were so glad the little boy made it to the surprise birthday  party!

Kindergarten:  We continued to read books by Eric Carle, including The Very Quiet Cricket and Rooster's Off to See the World.  We discussed how Carle had problems learning math as a young child and how he likes to include counting and numbers in his books as a result.

1st Grade:  We read I Dare You NOT to Yawn by Helene Boudrea.  This is on the current Texas 2x2 Reading List.  So many of them DID yawn while I was reading this book!

2nd Grade:  We read Mustache! by Mac Barnett.  The students noticed so many details in the illustrations, such as the court jester juggling different items on each page.  

3rd Grade:  We read Sam and Dave Dig A Hole by Mac Barnett.  The kids loved the story and couldn't believe Sam and Dave came SO close to finding diamonds...but then missed them.  They also pointed out to me that the picture of the house on the front and last pages looked similar, but had small differences in them.  We're also working on dictionary skills with third grade.

The book trailer:

What we read Jan 12-16

Just a few of the books we read this week in the library!  The Kindergarteners are learning about Eric Carle.  The 2nd graders were studying books that were Caldecott Medal winners (A Sick Day for Amos McGee) and 1st and 3rd heard books that author Mac Barnett has written.  What a fun week in the library!

Why Students Should Choose Their Own Books

According to the book, Reading in the Wild, by Donalyn Miller:

It is important for students to self-select their own reading material because it:

• Allows students to value their decision-making ability
• Fosters their capacity to choose appropriate literature
• Gives them confidence and a feeling of ownership
• Improves reading achievement
• Encourages them in becoming lifelong readers  

page 46.

The First Week Back

We had a great first week back from Break.  We kept it slow this week and reminded the students of library procedures and allowed plenty of time for them to browse and check out books.

For the month of January, Kindergarten  classes will be studying author and illustrator Eric Carle.  We discussed his use of collage in his books and read Have You Seen My Cat? and then watched (and sang!) this video:




1st and 2nd are reviewing library procedures.  Second grade is also starting to study Caldecott Award winning books.  We'll be comparing and contrasting illustration in books that have won the award over the years.

3rd - 5th grade will be voting on their favorite Texas Bluebonnet book at the end of this month so we are discussing those books.   We are also discussing what it means to be a "wild reader" (based on Donalyn Miller's book, Reading in the Wild) and how we can become "wild readers".

Glad to be Back!

It sure was nice to have a few weeks off for Christmas Break.  My family and I went to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.  We spent several days there and thoroughly explored the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  It truly felt like we had stepped into the pages of the novels; Diagon Alley was amazing.  My daughters went to Ollivander's Wand Shop and were chosen to participate and have their wands CHOOSE THEM.  They got to try out several different wands before the right one chose them.  It makes me want to reread the Harry Potter series, and I am putting that on my "To Be Read" list for this summer.

This is a picture of me and my girls in Diagon Alley; Gringotts is behind us.

I also surfed the internet a lot over Break and read up on my Professional Literature.  I found a few things I want to share with you:

This website lists 100 Books Every Boy Should Read.

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On a totally different note, I saw this and thought it was worth posting to generate conversation:

Thoughts?  Feedback?

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I follow Kid President on YouTube (SoulPancake).  He made this video about  #BookItForward.  The idea is simple: share your favorite book with someone.