Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday 11.26.14

We know that a big part of the CCSS is to include more informational texts into ourstudents' reading.  I quickly discovered I had a "gap" in my reading diet - the genre of informational texts!  To help me fill the gap this year, I am going to participate in Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesdays!  This is a great link-up hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy.  Please visit this website to see other educator's link-ups.  My goal is to read at least one informational text each week and post information on the blog.  The more books and subjects I read, the more I can encourage (my #OLW for 2014) other teachers to use in their classroom! 

We are gearing up for our first NGSS unit in 1st grade, studying Space Systems: Patterns and Cycles.  This unit looks specifically at using observations of the sun, moon, stars and daylight to make predictions and look for patterns.

Maybe you are studying that or something similar.  Maybe you're looking at how seasons change.  

Here are some great books to add to that unit of study!

Light is All Around Us by Wendy Pfeffer


Secrets of the Seasons: Orbiting the Sun in Our Backyard by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld


Every Planet Has a Place by Becky Baines


Flicker Flash by Joan Bransfield Graham


Fall Leaves by Loretta Holland


Autumn Across America by Seymour Simon (and other seasons in this series)


How Do You Know It's Winter? by Ruth Owen (and other seasons in this series)

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday 11.19.14

We know that a big part of the CCSS is to include more informational texts into ourstudents' reading.  I quickly discovered I had a "gap" in my reading diet - the genre of informational texts!  To help me fill the gap this year, I am going to participate in Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesdays!  This is a great link-up hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy.  Please visit this website to see other educator's link-ups.  My goal is to read at least one informational text each week and post information on the blog.  The more books and subjects I read, the more I can encourage (my #OLW for 2014) other teachers to use in their classroom! 

I'm always thrilled to find new books to read and add to my collection to use with students.  The books I am showing today are not new.  You probably saw them reviewed on another blog earlier this year.  But just in case you forgot about them, here's a quick reminder about these fantastic books!

Mr. Ferris and His Wheel by Kathryn Gibbs Davis

I absolutely loved this book.  The soft, muted colors used in the illustrations only enhance this narrative informational text.  I love how the information is presented like a story but has captions to add to the learning.  Our 4th grade students go on a "road trip" every year, and I know this will be a great book to use when they are studying the midwest.  And since we're a suburb of Chicago, they'll be studying hometown history!  I loved this blog entry by Sunday Cummins about this fantastic book HERE

Sequoia by Tony Johnston
Johnston has written such beautiful prose and I love that the story is told from the sequoia's point of view.  With the beautiful illustrations of the talented Wendell Minor, the sequoias' magnificence comes to life.  Johnston has included information about the difference between the sequoia and the redwood, a different famous California tree.  Another great text to use on our 4th graders road trip - to California!


Born in the Wild: Baby Mammals and Their Parents by Lita Judge
Organized by headings ("The baby needs protection", "The baby is part of a family", "The baby learns"), readers learn how different animal babies grow up and learn how to do the same things we do when growing up.  Read in a day, or enjoyed over several days, kids will be captivated by learning about what these animal babies do.  I love how Judge introduces new vocabulary to her readers - "nurturing", meerkat family is called a "mob", "regurgitate".  So much to learn in this book!

SoLSC Trying our hand at the Mocks this year! 11.18.14

 

Slice of Life is a weekly event hosted by Two Writing Teachers.

When you talk to the students at our school, there is a vague understanding of book awards.  They all know by the shiny sticker that the book won an award.  Knowing the different awards, what they stand for, the idea, much less the criteria, behind them remains an unknown.
I watched my first ALA Book Awards webcast live last year.  I was so excited, it felt like I was watching the Emmy's.  I want that excitement to be felt by students.
I've read and seen Mock Awards happen at other schools and bookstores.  This year we are going to dip our feet into the Mock arena!  Since this is new, not only for our school, but also our teachers, we're starting small.  My hope is teachers see the value in this and the kids have an understanding of the awards and will have been exposed to some amazing books that were published that year.
I work with another fantastic reading specialist, and she was quickly on board to try the Mock craziness!
We started with our 4th graders, which are the oldest kids at school.  Traditionally, Newbery Awards are given to more "lengthier" books, and we knew we needed to allow time for the kids to read the books.
In October, we announced to the 4th graders that they would have the opportunity to participate in the Mock Newbery.  We told them we would choose 4 books.  They would read 1 each month and then meet to discuss the book the following month.  The chosen books all have some Newbery "buzz" about them and are appropriate for 4th grade readers.  Here's our list:
October - Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
November - The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
December - The 14th Goldfish by Jennifer Holms
January - El Deafo by Cece Bell
The students who chose to read the first book, ordered their copies (or got them on their own) last month, and had the month to finish the book on their own.  It was exciting to see the kids start to get excited about the book and talk to each other about it.  
We met this past week for lunch to discuss the book.  I posted the Newbery Award criteria and after talking about the book, we went through the criteria and talked about how it was important and what Graff did in the story to develop that area.  The kids really wanted to talk about the characters and what was right/wrong.  We determined this book was really driven by the characters - they moved the story forward.  We had around 30 kids participate and I loved seeing the kids talk, discuss, argue and agree about so many discussion points.
We've passed out the order forms for our next book, The Night Gardener, and it's interesting to see who is ordering the book - there are some changes from the first go round.  Is it the fact that it's such a different story or is it they saw their peers reading and talking about a book and they want to join in?  Whatever it may be, we have had a great start and I can't wait to see where this goes!
I will post again in February to sum up our journey and the kids' reactions when the awards are handed out.
Our Kg-3rd graders are also participating in Mock rounds.  But I'll save that for another post!
I know there are many ways to run Mock awards, and this is just a start for us.  After we've completed year 1, it will be interesting to see what we change for the next year.  I'll keep reading what other people are doing and tweak ours where and when it's needed. I'm excited for our journey!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 11.17.14

This weekly post comes from Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers.  It's a great source to find new books to use with your students.

I have a feeling reading may slow down just a bit as I get ready to travel to D.C. for NCTE!  This is my first NCTE and I'm really excited!  Time to talk books and reading!
Looking back at my Goodreads page, I rated all of these books as 4 stars.  Loved them all, nothing outstanding, but great book love!

Picture Books


Is There a Dog in This Book by Viviane Schwarz
Very cute story - much funnier than I thought it would be.  The cats in the book discover there is a dog in the book, but (contrast and contradiction) they actually want to be friends with the dog (well, one cat needed some convincing).  With interactive and perfectly placed flaps, young kids will really enjoy this book.


Pirate, Viking and Scientist by Jared Chapman
Another book took me by surprise.  I thought it was a nonfiction book when I saw the title, but it's actually a story.  The Scientist in the book tries out various hypotheses to test if he can get his friends, Pirate and Viking, to be friends.  Love how the author uses the scientific method and vocabulary in the book.


Herman's Letter by Tom Percival
I loved the letters that were actually lift the flaps in this sweet story.  The ending fell a bit short for me, it almost seemed a bit abrupt, but kids will love this story of friendship.



H.O.R.S.E. by Christopher Myers
Loved this trash-talking, back and forth banter between the 2 basketball players playing a game of H.O.R.S.E.  Very reminiscent of the 1990s Michael Jordan-Larry Bird McDonalds commercials!

Informational Texts


Who Needs a Prairie? by Karen Patkau
Great accessible text to teach the prairie ecosystem.  Great photographs and well organized.


The Iridescence of Birds by Patricia McLachlan
Great introduction to Henri Matisse.  I loved reading about where his inspiration came from and how he evolved from being a child who experimented with colors with his mom, to the artist he became.

Middle Grade


The Witch's Boy by Kelly Barnhill
It took me more than half of the book to get into it.  I'm not sure why, because when I reflect on the book, it really is well written, the characters developed, and the story unfolds just right.  For some reason, I couldn't get into it for awhile.  I can see why this book has landed on many Newbery lists.

Currently Reading and On Deck


The Land of Stories: A Grimm Warning by Chris Colfer

Next up will be Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin.

Have a great reading week!  Hope to see many of you at NCTE!

Celebrate This Week! 11.15.14

It's always good to end the week on a positive note.  Sometimes we concentrate on the negatives.  We have a choice.  Choose positive.  Choose to celebrate.  I will be joining Ruth Ayres and her weekly link-up, Celebrate This Week.  Check out all the other celebrations HERE

1.  My back is getting better, but wow, it's been a slow recovery.  I work out 6-7 days a week, so this not being active thing is killing me!  I did go for a 30 min. walk today and I was glad to be moving.  That's about all I can handle right now. 

2.  We continued Picture Book Month with a couple of my intervention groups.  I wrapped the books up in butcher paper, and even though it wasn't pretty wrapping paper, the kids said, "it's just like Christmas when we do this!"  Love it :)  This week we shared:  Press Here, The Most Marvelous Thing, My Teacher is a Monster and The Watermelon Seed!

3.  Yesterday we had our first Mock Newbery meeting with 4th graders.  It was amazing!  I'll write more about it on Tuesday.

4.  Yesterday I also did a book talk with our 4th grade reading students about some of the new books that I've recently brought in to school.  I had to hold a raffle for Amulet and Diary of a Wimpy Kid:  The Long Haul.  Keeping in mind these kids are kids where reading is hard for them, and it's generally not the first thing they choose to do.  The fact that I had to hold a raffle is awesome!  But it was the excitement in their faces and the jumping up and down when their name was called that will stick to me.  One student who is so very quiet, never usually talks - when her name was picked second for Wimpy Kid, turned around and said in a very loud voice to the boy who won (who already had his nose in the book), "READ FAST!!"  I love that it was a book that made her use her voice so forcefully!  Another boy who was waiting and waiting to hear his name pulled for Amulet was dying to see who was next, let out a "chimichunga!!!"  I just cracked up because again, here was a boy who never really read until this year and now they can't wait to get their hands on a book!  It was amazing.  So happy to see this change!

5.  Don't know what to read next?  Have 500 books waiting for you to read?  You may or may not want to visit this link.  Especially the middle grade section!!!  Oh the books I need to read.... Check out Scholastic's spring releases via Mr. Schu's website HERE

Have a fantastic weekend!

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday 11.12.15

We know that a big part of the CCSS is to include more informational texts into ourstudents' reading.  I quickly discovered I had a "gap" in my reading diet - the genre of informational texts!  To help me fill the gap this year, I am going to participate in Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesdays!  This is a great link-up hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy.  Please visit this website to see other educator's link-ups.  My goal is to read at least one informational text each week and post information on the blog.  The more books and subjects I read, the more I can encourage (my #OLW for 2014) other teachers to use in their classroom! 

I have posted about the series for early readers, Seedlings, HERE
I really enjoy this series and own many copies in the animals series.  The books are easy to read, have highly engaging photographs, and there is a wide range of animals for everyone to find something they like.  In February and March 2015 there are even more books being published.  More animals books, but even books about different forms of transportation - bullet trains anyone?  Most of these books are being republished under the Seedlings series name, and definitely have a new look to them. 

I love having accessible nonfiction texts that young children can get excited about!

I was thrilled to find during a recent trip to my public library, a new insect series, published by Bullfrog Books.  This series, like the Seedlings series, has highly engaging photos, accessible texts, but also includes nonfiction text features, such as labels, cutaways, index, and picture glossary.  I look forward to reading more in this series!

      

Another series I have found is the "Scholastic Discover More" series.  This series is written on a variety of levels, but they all share similar layouts and text features.  Each book has eye appealing photographs and text features such as graphs, captions, cutaways, headings, glossary and index.  A great book for the primary reader is Dolphins.  There are many other animal books in the series and they all range in different readability levels.  The series includes a variety of topics, covering different science and social studies themes.  Two other books in the primary level include Planets by Gail Tuchman and Where in the World? by Laaren Brown.

     

SoLSC Those Nerdy posts got it right! 11.11.14

 

Slice of Life is a weekly event hosted by Two Writing Teachers.

I was very moved by the Nerdy posts the last two days.

Adam Shaffer wrote this post about why he reads kids books.  Wow.  I could relate.  Anybody that is a card-carrying member of NBC knows "the look" you get when you explain what you're reading.  Most people that know me are used to my habits.  It makes me sad when I talk to fellow educators and they express how they don't have time for reading.  I wish I could explain the joy it brings me when I find "that" book.  You know, the one that sucks you in. The one that you want to talk about for days and days.  Adam also brings up in his post the topic of adult reads and kid lit.  I still read adult books.  Not nearly as often.  And rarely am I so engrossed in it do I not want to put it down.  Usually I'm thinking, that while it's good, it's taking too long to wrap up.  A good kid lit book is so sharp, so quick, so precise, you never feel that way.

Today, Jonathan Werner wrote here about having that teacher that makes you fall in love with reading.  You know how that is, have you ever heard Donalyn or Mr. Schu book talk a book?  You know how it immediately goes on your TBR list!  If only we all could be that way for our students.  Be so enthusiastic that you reach down into the heart of every student, and reach them where their book loving soul is... make them want that book!  As I've heard Donalyn point out many times, "they read what we bless."  We really need to bless more!

These posts really struck a chord with me.  Whether you read them the last few days or they are new, read them.  Soak the message in.  Then go teach.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading 11.10.14

This weekly post comes from Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers.  It's a great source to find new books to use with your students.

With a back injury comes lots of reading!  Really would have preferred to read these books without the injury....  Here are some standouts.  The others that I read this week are on my Goodreads page.

Picture Books


You Are (Not) Small by Anna Kang
3/5 stars
Cute story - each animal thinks the other is bigger... or smaller than the other.  Until some other animals come!  I would use this for point of view.


Edie's Ensembles by Ashley Spires
4/5 stars
Edie, the fashionista, goes a little overboard with accessorizing and picking out the perfect ensembles.  First she gets lots of attention and popularity, but how quickly that can all change!  Good lesson.  The digital illustrations are beautiful.  I'm pretty sure I've seen some of the dress designs in People magazine before!  Young fashionistas will love this book!


Sebastian and the Balloon by Philip C. Stead
3/5 stars
Cute story, but I thought it was lacking just a bit.  I needed more of a closure.  But the illustrations are beautiful - especially the gorgeous balloon!  The colorful afghans that make up the balloon are amazing.  What does the balloon stand for?  Imagination?  Adventure?  Would be fun to ponder with kids!

Graphic Novels


Benny and Penny in Lost and Found by Geoffrey Hayes
3/5 stars
If you teach 1st or 2nd grade, I think the Benny and Penny series would be perfect for that age level student.  It has a graphic novel format and is longer than a picture book graphic novel and more advanced with the number of frames on each page.  But it has relevant content, whereas the next step up in graphic novels doesn't always have for this age group.


Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hartke
3/5 stars
I guess I've read too many really good graphic novels lately.  Or maybe this one just didn't speak to me like the others.  My daughter really enjoyed it.  I thought it was good, just not as good as others.  This one seemed to model itself after a more traditional "comic" - more onomatopoeia, more of the story really told through the picture.  I'm interested in seeing who this appeals to at school!

Transitional Chapter Books


Leroy Ninker Saddles Up by Kate DiCamillo
5/5 stars
This book just kept getting pushed off.  I don't know why.  I love Kate DiCamillo's work.  I love the Mercy Watson series.  It took a back injury to get me to finally sit down and read it.  And oh my, how much I loved it.  I love the way the Great Kate can string together words, whether real or slightly invented, and they are just perfect for that part.  It warms my heart.  I hope she has plans to write many more for this series.  I'd really like to see Officer Tomilello again...


Dory Phantasmagory by Abby Hanlon
3/5 stars
The writing was a bit strange.  The plot was thin, at best.  I loved Hanlon's illustrations.  The "bad guy" character reminded me a lot of Viola Swamp.  This book would work great as a read aloud in a 1st or 2nd grade class.  It's a great transitional chapter book for kids in 1st -3rd grades.


The Quirks in Circus Quirkus by Erin Soderberg
4/5 stars
I so love this series.  I think the characters appeal to a wide variety of readers.  The escapades are something little kids will really enjoy reading about.  I love that the author talks to her kids at the dinner table to come up with what will happen to the Quirks kids next.  Maybe that's why these books are so relatable to kids - the ideas came from kids!


The Princess in Black by Shannon and Dean Hale
5/5 stars
Another great transitional chapter book series!  I love the full color photos by LeUyen Pham.  This book reminds me a lot of the Mercy Watson series - great story, accessible text, full color layouts.  Girls will love Princess Magnolia and boys will love her horse/unicorn, Blacky.  And the monsters (which in this first book look a little like the Monsters Inc. monsters!).

Adult Read


Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
I really appreciate the thoroughness that Picoult puts into her research on the topic she writes about.  This time it was about elephants.  Similar to her book Lone Wolf, you almost feel like the information you are reading about the animals could be from a "Scientists in the Field" book.  I liked the storyline and got into it more and more as the book went on.  As always, there was a huge twist at the end, and this time I really didn't see it coming.

On Deck

I am going to try and quickly get through the Disaster Strikes series.  I think this is a series many of my reading students will like, so I want to read them and get them into their hands.  I also have The Witch's Boy or the third Land of Stories to read next.  I'll give The Witch's Boy a try and if it doesn't capture my attention right away, move on to the next one!

Celebrate This Week 11.08.14

It's always good to end the week on a positive note.  Sometimes we concentrate on the negatives.  We have a choice.  Choose positive.  Choose to celebrate.  I will be joining Ruth Ayres and her weekly link-up, Celebrate This Week.  Check out all the other celebrations HERE

I've heard how quickly life can change.  i found that out this morning.  In the grand scheme of things, it's not a big deal.  It's a back injury.  Just a really really badly pulled? strained? muscle.  It happened this morning at the gym.  It's amazing how fast you can be moving around like always and how fast you can't.  I can hardly move right now and when I do it's very painful.  I'll get better, but it's going to take some time.  I'm just hoping I can move around enough to be at school next week!  
I'm going to celebrate that this injury was not worse than what it could have been.  Not a life changing injury, thank God.  A bump, albeit a painful one, in the road.
And while I couldn't be at work today, I did get a lot of reading done.  I'm so behind, and while I won't catch up, it was nice having a quiet house and time to read.

But before all this, I was celebrating Picture Book Month!  I had not heard of this celebration before, but definitely wanted to honor it in some way.  I work with a group of children where the act of reading is a challenge.  I don't want them to lose a love for it, so I figured reading some fantastic books to them would be a great idea.  I started this week by telling them what we were celebrating and bringing in 5 books.  Each day, one student would select the book we would read and then they would take turns bringing them home to read and share with their families.  They were thrilled and excited for each day.  Books I shared this week:

            
I think next week I am going to surprise them and wrap the books up.  I'll let you know next week what books we celebrate!

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday 11.05.14

We know that a big part of the CCSS is to include more informational texts into ourstudents' reading.  I quickly discovered I had a "gap" in my reading diet - the genre of informational texts!  To help me fill the gap this year, I am going to participate in Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesdays!  This is a great link-up hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy.  Please visit this website to see other educator's link-ups.  My goal is to read at least one informational text each week and post information on the blog.  The more books and subjects I read, the more I can encourage (my #OLW for 2014) other teachers to use in their classroom! 


A few weeks ago I wrote about a beautiful fall book, Fall Leaves by Loretta Holland.  As we start heading (inevitably) towards winter, a beautiful book to include would be Who Was Here? by Mia Posada.

This book concentrates on animals and the clues they leave behind to help us know they walked before us.  The first 2 page layout is a close up of the animal's tracks and a written clue.  The second 2 pages is a beautiful illustration of the animal, as well as additional facts about the animal.  So much to learn from this wonderful and engaging text.

A great fiction text to use with this book would be Winter is Coming by Tony Johnston.

Happy Reading!