Summer School

Summer has been wonderful. Sure it has rained here, but I still have had my sun and pool time as much as possible. I am enjoying my back patio as I type this!

I have been working in the summer program and it has been nice to teach without all the common core rules. It reminds me of my younger teacher days when we could choose read alouds and were trusted to do what was right for the kids. Sure - having accountability is good - BUT there are a lot of good teaching practices that no longer exist in the classroom. SO SAD! 

Reading aloud is crucial and a lot of teachers in NY are no longer allowed to even do that ! Lucky for me, I have been able to do it a lot in summer school!!

Here are a few cute pictures from my summer school lessons:

I love these books: 

After a read aloud, the kidos did some writing with a prompt: 

 Here is a cute example from one of the kidos: 

 

Here is the second read aloud from last week: 

 

I just love how this kidos added a disco ball! 

 

More read alouds from summer school:

    

Here is a sample of a kidos response. 

So cute ! 

 

 I also teach math. This coming week we are working on the word "greater." Both of my groups - the K kids and the first graders need the practice. Here are two pictures from the chart I made last week:

 

I also have to work on solving word problems with the kids. Each kido was given a word problem on a 1/2 sheet of paper. The kids a great job with addition, so I moved onto subtraction. We read it aloud and then circled the important parts - the numbers and the word "left." We also talked about the label for the number sentence. It floors me that you have to use the word equation with first grades! Here is my example: 

There has been a lot going on in summer school and I am loving it!

Happy Reading!

Many people know I love a certain author. I try to use her books as much as possible. Yes, it's another Laura Numeroff book!! 

I was looking through this book and a new idea jumped out at me!
There are several compound words in this story:

pancake, suitcase, homesick, something
tap shoes, mailbox, backyard, tree house
wallpaper, maple syrup

I am teaching a student to chunk words. I think showing her these compound words will be another strategy she can use to read multi- syllabic words. I am going to make some cut apart index cards to practice putting compound words together. 

I am looking forward to tutoring this week with this book! 

Holiday Book

I was at my favorite store, Barnes and Nobles, and I saw this book on the holiday display. I fell in love with the illustrations! It is a cute story, too!


Santa is left by his reindeer and needs to deliver the rest of his gifts. With some Santa magic, he has the farm animals help him deliver presents!

After reading this book, I plan to have students write their own version/ending. The possibilities are endless: zoo animals, desert animals, Arctic animals, puppies, or even some Australian animals.

I love holiday books.
Happy Reading!

Read Aloud

Dear Mr. Blueberry by Simon James is a cute story about a girl named Emily who finds a whale in her backyard. She writes letters to her teacher asking him questions about whales.

I love using this book to teach facts and fiction.  After reading aloud the book a few times, I gave students a sheet of paper that had sentences from the text. For example:

There is a whale in my backyard pond.

I fed him cornflakes.

Whales live in salt water.

Students work with a partner to cut out the sentences and put them in a chart which is labelled Facts and Fiction. I check students' answers before I let them glue the sentence stripes. 

Another lesson I teach with this book is letter writing. Students pretend they are Emily and they want to find out another new fact about whales. We go over the rules of a friendly letter and then the students write to Mr. Blueberry. I give the letters to a different student. Then, they research the question and write a follow up letter. The students really love doing this activity!

Hello January

Preparing for a MLK Read Aloud! 

Books and ideas I have used in the past when I taught 4th grade. Below are two of my favorite books I share with my students:

Title: Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Title: Who is Martin Luther King, Jr.?

The first thing we did in my classroom was sign a peace pact. I think I found the copy from my January books or Mailbox.com. I would then hang them on our classroom door.

A few different things I did over the years are listed below:

1. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in solving disagreements without violence. Write about a time you solved a disagreement in a peaceful way.


2. Make a poster with the heading :I Have a Dream" and have the children draw a picture of what their dream is for themselves.

3. Make copies of small doves. Anytime a student did something peaceful during the month, a student or myself would write it down and add it to a bulletin board with the title, "Keeping Peace in Room ____ "

I hope there is something you can use in your classroom.

Happy Reading!

December Book Break!

Snowmen Everywhere !!

I was at Barnes and Nobles today browsing the holiday books at 50% off and was THRILLED to find this book!

I have Snowmen at Night which I LOVE!!

Snowmen All Year tells the tale of a boy wishing his snowman was magical. He wishes he could take him to the zoo, camping, to see fireworks, out on Halloween night and to other fun seasonal events.

The text is short and could be written on chart paper for a variety of reading aloud or cloze activities. Certain text could be covered up and a new story could be written. Then students could each have a line to illustrate for a class book.

This story also makes me want to cut out white circles for the students to make their own snowman. Then draw a snowman in a different seasons doing something fun (that is not in the book). I would love to see a snowman in a Hawaiian shirt or on a surfboard.

Here's to another great read aloud for a snow theme!

Happy Reading!

Thanksgiving Read Alouds

Two Fun Books!

Bring on turkey this month! 

HaWhen Amelia Bedelia helps out with the school Thanksgiving play, she causes quite a scene. Let's all give thanks for another funny new Amelia Bedelia story!

10 Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnston is a counting story.

Happy Reading! 

Halloween Read Alouds

It is that time of year for my favorite Halloween books!!! 

Scaredy-Cat, Splat!by: Rob Scotton

First graders love this cat! I love they way they giggle when Splat is a scaredy cat! Here is another clever story about Splat! He wants to be the scariest cat on Halloween, but when the teacher tells a ghost story in the dark, Splat isn't so brave.

We are teaching text to self connections right now. This books lends itself well to talking about what scares kids. It also gets them talking about Halloween and their costumes.

Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Cuyler is a cute story!
A skeleton is bothered by hiccups and his friend Ghost tries to help him get rid of them.

One way I use this book with my students is to go on a word hunt because there are a lot of sight words in this book.

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson is a cute story about some helpful animals who find "room on the broom" of a generous witch. This clever story has rhyme, repetitive text, the theme of cooperation, and beautiful illustrations.

Happy Reading! 

Back to School Read Alouds

It is that time again! Some teachers are already back in the classroom! I hope their first day was FABULOUS!

Here are some first week read alouds, I have used in the past. Give them a try!

The Teacher from the Black Lagoon by: Mike Thaler 

In 4th grade I read this to my students and we discussed how anxious the main character was to meet his new teacher. We made a chart of character traits that described the teacher. I used this chart as a jumping point for the students to write their own version of story. 

Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

A great book for kindergarten and first grade. After reading the book, talk about how she worries about school. Have each student draw a picture of what they were worried about before school started. Have them write a sentence to go with the picture. 

Tiffany's Weird. Totally True Summer Vacation 

Tiffany did not do anything exciting during summer vacation. She had a boring summer and is not looking forward to going back to school. When her teacher calls on her to talk about summer, she begins to tell a tall tale.

Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School
by Herman Parish

Amelia confuses a lot of directions on the first day of school. This is a funny story on a favorite character. Make a list after reading this book and save this list for tomorrow's part two of this lesson.



Amelia Bedelia Goes Back to School 
by: Herman Parish 

Compare the cover before the read aloud to yesterday's book. Predict what kinds of things Amelia (the adult) may misunderstand. After the read aloud add to the chart paper from yesterday. 

How I Survived My Summer Vacation 

Thirteen-year-old Jackie wants to write a novel the summer before he starts high school. There's just one problem - he can't get past the first sentence. His friends are no help! Before the summer is over, everything Jackie has counted on to stay the same has changed!



Happy Back to School Reading !!

Favorite Read Alouds

I spent five years in 4th grade and two years in 5th grade. These wee some of my favorites!

Sideways Stories from WaySide School by Louis Sachar

Each chapter is a story about a different student in this school! My 4th graders loved the silly tales of each book so much, I would read the next two in the series.




Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

There are two stories going on in this book. This story is has a mystery, with a friendship theme, and a story about family. My students are hooked every year and always surprised by the ending! I have used this in book club book in grade five and six! 

Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech

This book is similar to Walk Two Moons. There are some characters in this book from Walk Two Moons, too, but it is a completely different story.

*** Please note there is some sensitive material in Chaos that I skip over when I read it aloud. ***

I love picture books, too!

I have a slight addiction and I have been resisting the urge to buy them! Here are a few of my favorites I use in the classroom. 

Stellaluna by Janelle Cannon
This is such a sweet story about a baby bat. It teaches us about friendship and family! This illustrations are just as beautiful as the story.





The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
A great first day or first week of school read aloud! It's a story of friendship and sharing. I have used this book in 4th grade on the first day of school with a poetry writing activity.





Click, Clack, MOO: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
A funny story about cows who go on strike with a surprise ending. The first graders just love it because of the repetitive text and the funny ending!

Lilly's Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
Lilly loves everything about school until her most prized possession is taken by her teacher. This is a cute book that teaches some valuable lessons.








Happy Reading!

Summer Reading

Arthur's Family Vacation by March Brown

A perfect book to read during the summer time because goes on a vacation with his family. He turns a rainy vacation in to different daily field trips for the whole family to enjoy!




Here are some fun activities to do with this book:

• There are sample postcards on page 20 of this book. Write postcards from different points of view of the characters. Use the illustrations in the book to make the cover of your postcard.

• Make a T-chart and compare what Arthur does on his vacation to what types of activities you have done on your summer vacation.

• Make a book called "______________ summer/family vacation" Take some pictures of fun places you visit and add them to your book.

• There are several compound words in this book. Go on a word hunt for compound words.

Happy Reading !

End f the Year Read Alouds

Here are a few of my favorite books I have shared with students during the last week of school. I hope those teachers still working can find something they want to share!

Enjoy!

I Can Be Anything by Jerry Spinelli
The boy sees himself as a “puddle stomper, or a apple chomper. He sees himself as a mixing-bowl licker and a tin-can kicker,” among numerous other “professions." It is a nice story to read to any elementary classroom!




Who doesn's love Dr. Seuss at the end of the year??
Oh, the Places You'll Go! is a fun book that I use to read to my 5th graders before they left school and headed off to middle school. I read it on the last day every year and it always made me feel a little teary!







Arthur Goes to Camp by Marc Brown
This is a cute story about my favorite aardvark who is homesick at summer camp until a mystery arrives. My first graders love this lovable character and it is a nice way to kick off the summer and share camping stories!







Summer Beat by Betty Franco
The sounds of summer sizzle and pop in this bouncing,swinging tribute to the best sound of every child's favorite season. There is a lot of fun words in here that students just love. This book works well in any K to grade 3 class!


Happy Reading! Summer is just around the corner !!

Earth Day

Celebrate Earth Day !

Earth Day is April 22 !! I love to be green everyday. Here is a fun book to share with any elementary classroom!

The Earth Book by Todd Parr
A story of environmental protection and conservation in this eco-friendly picture book. I love that this book has a circular die-cut Earth on the cover, and is printed entirely with recycled materials and nontoxic soy inks. The book includes lots of easy, smart ideas on how we can all work together to make the Earth feel good by planting a tree, using both sides of the paper, and reusing old things in new ways

Bears! Bears! Bears! A Read Aloud

I blogged about this author once before (here). Since then I have been searching for more of Karma Wilson's books.


Bear Wants More (2003)
Bear wakes up in spring hungry as can be, so he searches for food while meeting friends on the way. This story has a cute twist and a funny ending!

Teaching Ideas:

1. There is rhyming text which lends itself to a lesson about how words can rhyme without being spelled with the same patterns.

2. Themes of friendship, helping one another, bears, springtime, sharing.

3. There are wonderful illustrations to use for making inferences. Cover up the words and discuss what could possibly be happening in those pictures. Make a class chart or have kids write their own inferences before reading the book. Then read the story and discuss if the inferences
were correct.

4. There are great descriptive verbs in this book: waddles, nibbles, scampers, tromp, shuffles,romps, gobbles, snuggles. Go on a verb hunt and then talk about how these words help you visualize the story.

Happy reading!

Friendship Books

I read online somewhere that February is the month to celebrate friendship. With that in mind here are a few books to read and use to discuss friendship.

Day one: Make a list of character traits on chart paper that describe a good friend. Read aloud The Rainbow Fish and discuss how Rainbow Fish became a good friend.
Day two: I have students trace a huge heart and write their name in the middle. We then pass them around the classroom and each student writes a positive comment on the heart about why that person is a great friend. I have kids write on both sides and we hang them around the room for all to read.
*** I have only done this in 4th grade, so you may have to modify this idea for young kids! Maybe choose a student a day and write the comments on chart paper.
Day Three: Poetry Writing. Discuss what friends do together and make a huge list. Keep in the back of your mind the ideas and words that begin with the letters for your acrostic poem. Then, have students write an acrostic poem using the word 'friends' or 'friendship.' In the past I have put these poems on paper with a Rainbow Fish for the students to decorate.
More books to read and discuss:








Happy Reading! 

Read Aloud

I went to a book store this weekend that is closing. I found three beautiful hard covered children's books for the price of one. Teachers (especially ME) LOVE a great DEAL! Here is one of my great finds!!!

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson was one of my fabulous finds! Beautiful illustrations and a fun story! It is a cold snowy night and various animals find their way into Bear's den. They begin to share food and a potluck begins. Then the bear wakes up to find their was a party without him. He begins to cry because he was sleeping though it! But don't worry, bear joins the fun!

Teaching Ideas
1. This is a great book for a reader's theater!
2. Great for cause and effect lessons.
3. The text has a rhyming pattern.
4. The language also has examples of onomatopoeia.
5. There is also two great websites with more ideas to use with this book:

BearSnoresOn 
karmawilson 

Happy Reading!!

Winter Books

Here are some more of my favorite books about snow and winter:


Owl Moon has beautiful pictures. This is a wonderful story that lends itself to a visualization lesson. Read aloud the book twice without showing the pictures. Have students return to their seats and draw a scene from the book.


There is nothing better than a snow day. Snow is all about a boy and his dog as they watch the snow continue to fall, piling on the streets and houses, until the entire city is blanketed in white. Have students write about what they love to do on a snow day!

Thomas Snowsuit is a humorous story about a boy who does not want to wear his snowsuit. His mother, teacher and principal try to get him to wear it, but this stubborn child will not listen to them! This is a great book to discuss how the little boy behaves.

The Snow Bear is a sweet story about a polar bear who loses his Mom. His snow friends help him make a snow blanket so he can stay warm. This story has the themes of teamwork and friendship, as well as family!

Happy Reading!