Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday 9.03.14

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! 

"Long ago Peter had discovered the power of words.  Now he believed that everyone should have this power - everyone should be able to find the right word whenever they needed it."

Jen Bryant's (author) and Melissa Sweet's (illustrator) most recent collaboration, The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus is simply put, brilliant.  Each time these two get together, every reader is taken on a journey - a journey that helps us take in new knowledge and enjoy a visual experience like no other.

Everyone has used a thesaurus at some point or the other.  But what is the story behind this "list of words"?  For most of us, it's a question we probably don't ponder as we use this book to help us write or speak a bit more eloquently.  What is the story of the man behind these lists?  The Right Word helps us understand how this book came about as well as the story of the man who began collecting his word lists at age eight.

Giving us just the right amount of back story to Mr. Roget, Bryant crafts her words into a story that Mr. Roget would be proud of.  It was interesting to see Mr. Roget's quirks and the way his mind thought and made sense of the world around him.  Bryant includes a fantastic timeline that gives further information about the inventions and other contributions Mr. Roget made during his lifetime.

A page that stood out to me to go back and read closely for writer's craft was the page that Bryant talks about how his lists weren't scribbles.  She writes, "And when he put them in long, neat rows, he felt as if the world itself clicked into order."  That sentence is powerful, but it is printed one to two words per line, similar to a list.  Having students think about how Roget thought in this manner, in lists, and how the words are so powerful would be an interesting discussion to be had in class!

Sweet's illustrations, as always, are a visual treat because there are so many layers to go through on every page.  From the intricate endpages to the borders and outsides of each main picture.  There is always a central illustration to each page, but then she includes smaller details set on the side of the main illustration to add additional learning and understanding to compliment Bryant's words.

Both Bryant and Sweet include a note in the back giving insight to their research and process in putting this book together.  Sweet also includes a visual of materials used in her illustrations, including paper, watercolors, miscellaneous tools, brush, pen and pencil.

After reading this book, you can't help but have a new appreciation for the thesaurus.  Next time I pick one up or use a digital version, I'll think of the man with his book of lists.

SoLSC Reflections on whole class novels 9.02.14

 

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

Over the summer I read Linda Rief's professional book Read Write Teach.  It is full of information about the reading-writing workshop, with a lot of information about writing.  Written with the middle grade class in mind, I was still able to think of ways it pertained to grades 1-4.

One chapter was devoted to whole class novels.  I know there seems to be some controversy about this topic.  Coming from a 100% guided reading focus school, last year was our first year using whole class novels.  The reason why we even started using whole group novels is because in the PARCC frameworks, it recommends using 3-4 each year, 1 per trimester.  We only ended up averaging 2 per grade level.  I was surprised at the outcomes.  We found:

• classrooms formed amazing reading communities
• students who were often pulled for reading support services such as reading resource, ELL and students with IEP's were able to participate in whole group discussions, and often had some of the most profound thoughts to add
• students talked, discussed, argued and learned from the conversations they had with each other
• this gave a grade level a common language, they were all reading the same book and could all talk about it
• students who were not always excited about the book and/or genre found they often enjoyed the experience, especially when reading and discussing together as a group

I participated in an online reading group this summer where we read Read Write Teach and shared thoughts.  Tara Smith pulled these quotes from the author, Linda Rief.  I think they sum up our school's experience with whole class novels quite well:

• “It’s because of the struggling readers, who don’t really read on their own when given the choice, that I must find time to read the stories together aloud.” (p.160)

• “For the sake of all our students, I am suggesting we read at least two novels and/or a play a year as a whole class, so we can engage all of our kids in the process of real reading - thinking about the meaning of those words on the page, even as we are teaching some of them how to pronounce the words.”(161)

• “In addition, by reading aloud in class, we can help kids take apart the layers of meaning through class discussion and questions that kids often miss when reading a book on their own.” (p. 162)

There are many ways classrooms can build reading communities, have shared book reading opportunities, and be able to share books with each other.  This is just one way, once each trimester, that we will read together.  The outcome was surprising and we learned from it.  I'm sure we'll continue to tweak things as we go but so far, the learning is good!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 9.01.14

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.

Happy September!  Oh, I felt my reading get interrupted this week!  This was our first full week of school and my reading was really interrupted.  I quick read 4 books on release days this week, but the rest of my reading happened over the long weekend.  I crammed it in!

Picture Books


Uni the Unicorn by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
3/5 stars
My initial reaction is where was the story?  I felt like the entire story was a buildup to the main story.  The main story just never happened.  But if you go back to the tagline of the book "a story about believing", then you think a little bit more and realize that's what it's about.  Believing.  There is no other story needed.  The standout of this book for me was the illustrations.  Very reminiscent of the artwork of Mary Blair (Disney's it's a small world).  Stunning.


Little Elliot, Big City by Mike Curato
5/5 stars
I'm in love with Elliot.  Beautiful story about friendship, helping each other, and how sometimes you can feel really small.  Loved it.


Fly Guy's Amazing Tricks by Ted Arnold
4/5 stars
Fly Guy is such a great hit for younger readers.  And this one includes the word Booger in it, you know kids will love it!


Zero by Kathryn Otoshi
4/5 stars
I actually thought this would be a great picture book to use in an older classroom.  I think the concept of self-worth could be explored with an older group of students.

Wordless Picture Books


Quest by Aaron Becker
5/5 stars
Yeah, he really is that good.
Love this book for questioning, figuring out what the whole story is about (don't let kids get wrapped up on each page, they miss the whole picture!).

Informational Texts


A Baby Elephant in the Wild by Caitlin O'Connell
5/5 stars
I wish there were more and more informational texts like this one.  Written by the Elephant Scientist author, this book zeroes in on a baby elephant and gives important information about her life and how she survives but is written on a level for primary students.  I love the "Scientists in the Field" series and wish there were more like this book for the younger students.  Authors like Jenkins and Bishop have written books for younger grades and we need more like them to make science come alive for young readers.

Middle Grade


The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner
5/5 stars
What a great read to finish on Labor Day weekend, the close out weekend of summer!  I loved the story of Frankie and Frankie.  The book explored such tough topics - the feelings of failure and of hope.  Not knowing the future, not knowing what isn't being said.  This is a book my middle grade/teenage self would have loved reading.  This is a book that is full of soul and hope.

Currently Reading


A Million Ways Home by Dianna Winget
I'm more than halfway done with this book and love it.  I think middle graders will really enjoy Poppy's story!


The Time of the Fireflies by Kimberley Griffiths Little
It's a mystery and a ghost story.  Kids are going to love it!


Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
This book is beautiful.  Absolutely savoring it.  I'm reading it just pages each day because I don't want it to end.  It's not full of action and adventure, it's not plot driven.  It's driven by the soulful and beautiful verse.  Love it.


The Literacy Teacher's Playbook, grades 3-6 by Jennifer Seravallo
After reading Seravallo's Small Groups in Reading book, I thought this would be a natural progression.  I think having a strong repertoire of assessments that can be used to drive small group instruction is important.  I am excited about reading this because I am reading this version and my reading counterpart is reading the K-2 version and we're comparing notes via google docs.  Here's to more learning!

Celebrate This Week! 8.30.14 Making Reading Visible

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

This week I'm going to celebrate making reading VISIBLE!  Sometimes we think students "get" reading and what it means to be a reader, but they don't.  Sometimes they need to see it.  I'm a reading specialist in a K-4 building, and the past couple of years, it's been my mission to do this - to show kids books and make them want to get their hands on books.  I get the "itchy finger syndrome" any time I walk into a bookstore.  It's when my fingers are just itching to pick up and look through all the books that are there.  I want kids to feel that!  I think the "itchy fingers" start for me because I know what I'm about to find when I get into a bookstore.  We need to teach kids what lays ahead for them when they walk into their classroom library or school library.  It can be overwhelming and sometimes they need direction.  Or maybe they need a challenge, a new direction.  I try to make that direction visible by constantly putting up new bulletin boards and posters.

A new picture book and chapter book are highlighted each month.

The book cover is posted along with a description of the book,

what type of reader would like the book and a little

book teaser.

All students who read the book are invited to

review the book and rate how many 

stars they would give the book.

We knew Billy Miller was going to be a great book!

Introducing kids to the idea of a TBR pile!

I show what I'm reading, but then also give 

a quick review so students get an 

idea about the book.

My 2014 TBR pile.  I just posted my new one this week!

These posters are from last year.  I've already started adding some new ones this year and have ideas for other posters.

* my colleague and I already have our new "what is Mrs. ___ reading?" signs.  For the record, I'm reading The Time of the Fireflies and Mrs. Fornero is reading Life on Mars.

* we both put up "What did Mrs. ___ read this summer" posters with book covers on them

* we both put up posters showing our TBR lists.  I shaped mine like a bookmark and left space to write the date I finished the book and room for a brief review

* the next poster that is going up is going to spotlight the previous month's new releases.  Going up soon include covers of The Fourteenth Goldfish, Dash, 365 Days of Wonder, Quest, Little Elliot Big City, Always Abigail, Flashlight and many more.  What a month August was for new releases!

* I am going to put posters up of the books that are on our state Monarch and Bluestem Nominee lists.  

* Last year I followed along with Mr. Schu and Mr. Sharp as they reread the Geisel winners and Honor books.  I posted those books with the year they won the award.  It was a great way to shed light on an award most kids had not heard of before.  I'd like to continue to bring awareness to all the different award winners.  Some ideas are brewing.

I know students look at these lists and it makes them think.  Teachers tell us that kids talk about the books that we've posted and I've seen other kids write down the titles on TBR lists.  

How do you make reading and books visible?  Share any ideas in the comments!

Making an impact.  Something to celebrate!

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday 8.27.14

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! 

This is a new series that is perfect for a primary classroom to use as a brief introduction to genres and other literary formats.  Of course, there is no better explanation than using real pieces of work, but sometimes you need to show something quickly to help students wrap their thoughts around something.

Two of the books deal with fiction and nonfiction.  They both give quick overviews but list all important factors kids need to know.  Standard 5 for both kindergarten and first grade is about students being able to determine the difference between fiction and informational texts.  These two books are excellent tools to help teach and demonstrate this standard.  I love them because not only do they give quick-to-the-point-overviews, but they also go into the different genres.  The fiction book includes realistic fiction, adventure, scary, fantasy, historical fiction and science fiction genres.  Some of the genres in the nonfiction book include current events, opinion papers/reviews, how to books, and books that explain.  Our first grade team is using both of these books in short, mini-lessons, reading just a few pages at a time and creating anchor charts for students to refer to throughout the year.


       
What Are Fiction Genres? by Valerie Bodden
What Are Nonfiction Genres? by Valerie Bodden

The books in this series use bright photographs to keep the young readers engaged.  When showing a genre or a specific example of a format, the books include the explanation on the left side and an excerpt demonstrating the genre on the other side.

Some of the other books in the series include:


What is Poetry? by Trudi Strain Trueit


What Are Legends, Foldtales, and other Classic Stories? by Lisa Owings

I think these books are great teaching tools for the classroom.  They lay the information out in a very accessible way and make it easy for kids to understand the difference between the genres.

SoLSC Feeding My Soul 8.26.14

 

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

I read a blog post by Donalyn Miller the other day and something really stuck out to me.  The post was called Why I'm Not Answering Your Email Today and while it wasn't the subject or topic of the post that stuck out to me, it was some of the smaller points in the text that did.

She says, "I need to read for both my sanity and my soul."  After reading that, my brain was saying 'yes'.  My heart said 'YES'.  I need to read for my soul.  For me, that's when you finish that good book, and there is something inside you that has just filled up.  You don't want to put that book down, you want to talk about it, and you want to go back and read it again.  I feel sad for anyone who doesn't know what that feels like.  It's one of the most complete feelings you can feel.  It moves the inside of you, the thinking and connecting part of you, like nothing else. It feeds your soul.
Donalyn continues on in her post talking about reading children's literature.  She talks about reading in order to talk about books to students, both past and present.  Books connect her to them.  I'm lucky that as a reading specialist, I get to work with many students K-4th grade.  I get to read a wide variety of books that allows me to connect with them and share with them.  However, I see former students all the time.  I love that I have other books I can tell them to read - upper middle grade, young adult.  I can stay connected.
Donalyn also talks about adult books vs. children's literature.  I've read a lot of books for adults.  This past year I've read more children's literature than I ever have before.  The more I read, the more I prefer kid's books.  I still have my favorite books written for adults.  There are still authors that I will continue to read every book they publish.  But you know what I've found?  Adult books are long so they are more drawn out.  They take chapters and chapters to say something that ends up being so long, I've lost interest.  The characters aren't as developed even though they've had 200+ more pages to do so!  Not all of them, but I see it the more and more I read.  Children's literature is shorter, so they have a smaller amount of pages to work with.  Authors of kid's books seem to understand they have a shorter story to work with and therefore they make everything that much more sharp.  The characters are sharp.  The details are sharp.  Not all of them, but the books I pay attention to, the ones I hear buzz about, those are the good ones.  Those are the books I want to get lost in.
I'm looking forward to my soul having its fill of books today.  What a lucky book birthday it is.  Quest, Sisters, The 14th Goldfish, Leroy Ninker, 365 Days of Wonder and in two days Brown Girl Dreaming.  Soul filled.  Happy reading.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 8.25.14

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.

One week of school down!  Although my reading was slowed, I got to it when I could!  I definitely felt the loss of the lazier days of summer when there was a chunk of time I could spend reading!

Picture Books


A is for Musk Ox by Erin Cabatingan
4/5 stars
This book is very very similar to Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham, which I adore, but I think this one is ever snarkier!  And I love my snarky books!  Although this book was in my library's "concept books" section, this book goes beyond your typical A-Z book.  You have to understand sarcasm, play on words and humor to get this book!  I was laughing out loud as I read it and I think there is probably a lot you can teach kids about writing using this "concept book"!  Thank you, Linda Baie, for mentioning it last week!

Favorite part: 
"T is for headache"
Zebra:  What?  I don't get it.
Musk Ox:  Two male musk oxen,
twenty-five miles per hour
headbutts, ten, twelve,
sometimes twenty times?
Yeah, that's a headache.
Zebra:  Why do you do that?
Musk Ox:  It's all for the ladies.

I laughed so hard on that last line!

Informational Texts


Wild About Bears by Jeannie Brett
4/5 stars
I really enjoyed this book about bears - it covers the 8 different species in a very accessible way for young students.  Each page features a main section of information along with a beautiful illustration with additional captions for more information.  Thanks, Carrie Gelson, for this title!

Middle Grade


Dash by Kirby Larson
4/5 stars
My goodreads review:  I love that Kirby Larson is introducing historical fiction to kids that normally don't read that genre. She makes historical fiction accessible! 
The story centers around Mitsi, who is Japanese American, living on the west coast during the time of Japanese Internment, right after Pearl Harbor. Mitsi and her family are forced to leave their home, but the hardest part for Mitsi is leaving her dog, Dash. Readers feel for young Mitsi who because of the time and circumstance, feels racial prejudices and grows closer to Dash as a result of her friends turning their back on her.
The second part of the story is the history - young readers learn about what happened in the United States during this time period and the history of our own internment camps. More and more children's books are being published to shed light on an area of World War II that wasn't always discussed. Readers are introduced to the living conditions and what families had to go through when leaving their homes and being forced to relocate.
Thank you to Net Galley and Scholastic for this early read. Check out Dash tomorrow, it's Book Birthday!


Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson
5/5 stars
This is when I'm so grateful to have found Twitter because it constantly shows me new books to read - not just the current and up and coming books, but the books I've missed along the way.  Feathers is one of those books.  I'm grateful for Mr. Schu's and Mr. Sharp's Newbery challenge since they are the ones that introduced me to this book.  
Feathers is a beautiful read set during the 1970s when Black Panthers and afros and jive talk were in, but having to live on the other side of the tracks was also still prevalent.  This is Frannie's story and her trying to make sense of that in her world.  
Woodson creates real characters that come to life in her beautiful telling of their story. 

Some examples:
pg. 18 "Like Sean.  He can't hear, so you have to use sign language with him.  He can talk a little bit, but most people don't understand what he's saying.  I guess that's because you have to listen real hard and most people don't want to spend a lot of energy on listening to people."
pg. 72 "You just remember there's a time when each one of us is the different one and when it's our turn, we're always wishing and hoping it was somebody else.  You be that somebody else when you see that boy.  You be the one to remember."
pg. 80 "I guess the writer was thinking about how light feathers are and they can just float everywhere.  And I guess that's how hope is too - all light and everywhere like that."

I went back and looked at Ms. Woodson's website, and she wrote a little bit of background info about each of her books.  Here's a couple of snippets of what she said about this one:
Where it takes place:  "I never name the place but was imagining this point between the Brooklyn and Queens border - right near Kennedy Airport.
Why I wrote it:  "'Feathers' is a book I wrote because I wanted to write about the many ways people find Hope in the world."
I'm really looking forward to Brown Girl Dreaming now!

Adult Read


Big, Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
4/5 stars
I always enjoy Moriarty's books.  This one was no exception.  I laughed because with it taking place in a school, the snark-iness that comes from certain moms... It was funny!  The book was surprising, yet predictable at times.  It also dealt with a couple of hot, and very serious topics, bullying and physical abuse.  Entertaining read.

Currently Reading


The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner
Ok, Beth and Carrie, I've officially started this one but have barely cracked the spine!  Too many library books to get through!  This is my week for this book!


A Million Ways Home by Dianna Dorisi Winget
I have this book on my iPad from net galley and I'm really enjoying it.  Definitely a book for middle grade.  This book will be released this Tuesday.


Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
I'm receiving this book in the mail this week from Leigh Anne Eck and I CANNOT wait to start it!  


Park Scientists: Gila Monsters, Geysers, and Grizzly Bears in America's Own Backyard by Mary Kay Carson
I'm reading this book just a chapter a day on the days that I'm not running from place to place, so it's taking me awhile.  I'm getting there slowly!  I love the Scientists in the Field series, but they do take me a bit longer to read.

Hope you've found some good reads to share!