Reading Ideas and Book Finds

What's in a Name? 

I love books! As a reading  teacher, I love it even more when a student surprises me with an astute observation!

I am reading Winn Dixie with my 5th graders. The students were reading independently and a new character was introduced. The character's name is "Gloria Dump." One of my students said to me, "Wow, look at this character's name. The words don't belong together, but they really describe the character." 
I actually did a double take as my book geek teacher-self yelled "YES! " inside my head! We had a great discussion about the character, her personality, and how they relate to her name! 

So Many Books.... So Little Time !

The Pout Pout Fish 
By: Deborah Diesen


A cute, rhyming picture book about a gloomy fish who discovers that being glum isn't really his destiny. I love the beautiful, engaging illustrations in this book!



I love this book as a read aloud! Of course there are many teachable attributes. There are rhyming patterns, the ocean habitat, or the theme of friendship. There is also a variety of emotions on the other sea creatures in the story.

A Poetry Read Aloud

Here is a fun story written by Andrew Clements. I fell in love with this book when I saw it at my school book fair last week!

Dogku has a haiku on every page, but is also a clever little story about a stray dog who finds a home. I can read it to my first graders and then have them write their own little dog stories. I can read it to my 5th graders and then have them write their own haiku books. The text also lends itself to making inferences.

Making Inferences

One of my followers mentioned she loves finding new books for teaching the comprehension strategy of making inferences.
I struggled with this concept year after year. When I started using picture books to introduce inferences, it started to click more for me and the kidos!

Here are a few of my favorite books to teach inference:
The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg
The Three Pigs by David Wiesner
Flotsam by David Wiesner
Big Al by Andrew Clements
                                                 Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague

To teach inference I sometimes cover up the text of a picture book and making inferences about the pictures. I then go back to read the story. We compare our visual interpretations with the text. We also talk about how we may have made predictions instead of inferences. 

Happy Reading!

Poetry Fun!

Poems are a wonderful resource for literacy instruction. I introduce two new poems a week with the students I tutor.

One fun activity students  love is what I call "The Mixed Up Poem"

During my introduction of the poem, I use a form of choral reading. I read a line and I have the student repeat the same line while tracking each word with a pointer. Then I read the poem a second time so the student can stop me when he/she hears any rhyming words. During the rest of the week, we reread the poem and work on "The Mixed Up Poem" Activity.

I provide the student with a bag full of words. The student works to reassemble the mixed up poem. I have even timed the student, so each day he/she can play "Beat the Clock" when reassembling the poem. It is possible to even make this a center or activity with a timer so students can track their own progress.

As the year progresses and the students improve, I give longer poems! I make sure to use this activity every other week, so students look forward to it and it never becomes boring for them!

Happy Reading!

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

Happy April

April... So Many Possibilities !

Two of my favorite things about April:

Poetry Month!! Take some time and have a random "Poetry Break" in your classroom. Read aloud some funny Shel Silverstein poems or spend some time writing and publishing a poem! One of my favorite website for funny poems is Giggle Poetry


D.E.A.R. Day on April 12! Take some time to drop everything and read on this day! This can be a classroom activity, a reading buddy activity, or even a school wide event!

Happy Reading!!

The 2.00 Summary

I took a workshop last week and one of the ideas presented was so neat. It can be adapted in many different ways! I plan to use it in my book clubs in the upcoming weeks!

The $2.00 Summary:
A way to retell a lesson or write a summary in a quick and short manner using words and a little math. You have to use specific details because each word is worth money. You cannot go over $2.00!

Each word is worth 5 cents!
Free words: the, and, of, is, a, an

Example:Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny used to live in a boxcar, but now they live with their grandfather. He takes them on a cruise in the Caribbean and suddenly a mystery begins. The children work together to solve the mystery.

The total summary is $1.60.

This can be used in a lot of classes! In reading, children could write after reading a short story or various chapters in a book. Have partners write one together the first few times!

Happy Reading and Writing!