The Magic of Wordless Picture Books

Wordless books are pure magic! They are great for igniting students' imaginations. Students can have loads of fun writing down the words that the illustrators have left silent.

Favorite Things: Read Alouds for MLK

The Favorite Things Linky is a great way to share your 3 favorite anythings! Grab the template and button and link up below! If this is your first time linking up, check out our Favorite Things page for more details!

This month, I am sharing my three favorite read alouds for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! I love teaching about MLK and I know this is one of my students' favorite units as well. See if your local library has any of these books (or quick, go order them on Amazon!). You won't regret it!

Can't wait to see what some of your favorite things are! Link up below. :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Favorite Things: Holiday Edition

The Favorite Things Linky is a great way to share your 3 favorite anythings! Grab the template and button and link up below! If this is your first time linking up, check out our Favorite Things page for more details!

This month the Favorite Things Template has a fun Holiday theme! Make sure you download the new template to use when you link up! 

With the fun new template, you can link up any of your favorite... holiday anythings! It could be holiday recipes, crafts, activities you do with your students, books, songs, movies, etc. Have fun with it!! Here are a few of my favorite fun holiday read alouds! 

How Santa Got His Job is a fun read aloud and you can do a cute writing project with it! Sneezy the Snowman is just hilarious and my students always are laughing pretty hard by the end of it. Last but not least, A Chick 'n' Pug Christmas is my all-time favorite. I am partial to pugs (considering I have two of them) but the story teaches a wonderful lesson on giving to others and friendships. So sweet! 

Grab the template up above and link up below! Can't wait to see some of your favorite Holiday Anythings! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Sunday Scoop {10.11.15}

The Sunday Scoop is based on the popular 3-2-1 graphic organizers so many of us use with our students. Tell us three things you HAVE to do, two things you HOPE to do, and one thing you're HAPPY to do. If this is your first time linking up, check out all the details on our Sunday Scoop page, then link up below!

Here's the Scoop on my week...

Have to Do:
* We spent yesterday sheet-rocking (spelling? verb?) our garage. It looks great, we only have a few small spots to finish up and then clean up! We got a doggie door in so now our main man (Crosby) can go in and out as he pleases... he is one happy kid!

* I am so excited to teach about Christopher Columbus this week. We have only a three day week (no school on Thursday or Friday) so we are taking a break from our reading series. Instead, we will be focusing on Christopher Columbus and the truth behind the explorer that he was. I will be doing a few different things including reading a picture book that is written from the point of view of a Taino Indian, the first group of people that Columbus encountered after landing on the island of San Salvador. The picture book shows the truth behind Columbus and teaches students about how his arrival caused destruction to the people and culture.

After reading a the picture book, we are going to use a bunch of activities from Beth's {Adventure of a Schoolmarm} amazing Columbus Day Unit. Beth literally thought of everything for this unit. She included a reader's theater play, non-fiction text passages with comprehension questions, KWL charts,  full color vocabulary posters, and SO MUCH more. Here are some pics of her unit:

* So with all of that excitement happening in just three days... Today I will relax. :)

Hope to Do:
* I have a group of about 5 students that are consistently finishing their work earlier than the rest of the class. It can be as much as 10 minutes early! They are seriously some speedy little devils. I have a few challenge activities that they work on but I need some more for them to choose from... so that is on my hope-to-do list today.
* I got a few (errr... 5) new packs of scrapbooking paper the other day and now I desperately need to clean up my scrapbooking paper stash.

Happy to Do:
* The hubs is home all day with no plans to go anywhere... so that means he GETS to spend the whole day with me. Lucky him!! ;)

Happy Sunday Friends. Can't wait to hear what you have going on this week or today! Grab the images and link up below.

An InLinkz Link-up

Five for Fraturday

Hi there! I'm just popping in to share a little about my week... it's Five for Friday time - a little late!

1 - We had a great Easter/Little Guy's Birthday with my parents on Sunday! Little man loved egg hunting, although he didn't understand why they weren't getting refilled with candy every time :) It's so hard to believe he's already three. I am blessed beyond belief!

2 - We've been reading The Westing Game at school, and everyone is hooked! It's such a great mystery, and is pushing my higher readers to really think critically and make lots of inferences as they try to solve the crime. I'm using a great novel study guide from Courtney Schermerhorn, which my class is loving!

3 - We came back from spring break to new laptops that replaced our desktop student computers. I am loving being able to allow my students to work at their seats instead of at the "wall-o-computers" that we had before. Their behavior has even improved... something about not having your back to the teacher...

4 - We've been working this week on our Geometrocity projects from Digital Divide & Conquer. My class is working in groups of three to create the best city plan. The "coop-etition" is great, and they are working so hard! I can't wait to see their final products.

5 - When we got our new laptops, I was more than ready to get rid of my bulky computer tables and store the laptops on top of a few bookshelves I already had. The only problem was that the bookshelves are way too cluttered! Here's my easy, at school on my planning period fix. I made these quick bookshelf curtains using some leftover fabric from another classroom project, hot glue, and my flat iron!

Hop over to Doodlebugs Teaching to see what everyone else has been up to this week!

Favorite Things: Newly Discovered Picture Books

The Favorite Things Linky is a great way to share your 3 favorite anythings! Grab the template and button and link up below! If this is your first time linking up, check out our Linky Parties page for more details!

Here are a few of my favorite newly discovered picture books. I admit it... I am a book hoarder and am always searching for more books to add to my growing collection.  I love discovering new books to read to my students!

The Book With No Pictures is an absolute hit with my students.  Some of my kiddos asked for it on their Christmas list. No joke! They beg me to read it again and again.  The book is written by B. J. Novak, a humorist and actor.  The whole book is a cosmic joke on the adult reading it, and the kids love it!

Kathryn Otoshi has a great series of books titled Zero, One, and Two.  These are fabulous for the beginning of school.  The books deal with social lessons such as bullying, being yourself, and getting along with others.  They are simply brilliant! 

Arrggghh! You don't need a pirate project to read this book!  No Pirates Allowed! Said Library Lou is by Rhonda Gowler Greene. I fell in love with this book because Library Lou is a teacher at heart- she sneakily (I think that is a word?) teaches a rough and tumble pirate to read without him knowing. He soon discovers that READING is the treasure! (Read in a pirate voice.) Arrggghh, it does this here teacher's heart good!

What are a few of your favorite picture books that you have recently discovered?  I am always on the lookout for more!

An InLinkz Link-up

Favorite Things Linky {February}

The Favorite Things Linky is a great way to share your 3 favorite anythings! Grab the template and button and link up below! If this is your first time linking up, check out our Linky Parties page for more details!

Do you teach theme? My students struggle with it every year. This year, I approached it a bit different. Instead of just talking about different themes, I read specific books with specific themes. We then charted out the themes as we went. That way, my students had a book to reflect on while thinking about the theme of their books and future books that we will read. So here goes... 

Let me break down the picture books and the themes that I use them for in my classroom...

This book is a fabulous book for teaching the theme of Courage. Molly Lou Melon is extremely short. She constantly gets teased by Ronald Durkin. She has some very special talents that help her overcome this bullying and stand out. Throughout the whole story, Molly Lou Melon has the courage to show her friends and classmates her talents. Ronald Durkin realizes his mistakes and the two of them actually become friends! We find out at the end where all of Molly Lou's courage comes from. This book is one of my favorites and one of my students' too! 

I chose to focus on Compassion for this book. You could easily choose the theme of friendship or empathy. In this story, Champ dislikes Walter an awful lot. For a fundraiser, the person who raises the most money will win a truckload of potato chips. After Champ breaks his leg in a game, he is unable to play baseball for the rest of the season and he misses the "big game". Walter scores the winning run and everything seems to be going his way. He wins the truckload of chips too! Throughout the story, we find out that Walter's mom is a single parent. They don't have much money and he has to ride his rusty bike everywhere. In the end, Walter shows Champ that it isn't all about having the best of everything. Sometimes it is so much more than that! {Spoiler Alert: They become friends!!!}

This book is a super cute. It is the story of, "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" only it has Bigfoot in it. Oh, and it is told from the point of view of Bigfoot. I think it gives the story an interesting perspective. Throughout the story, Ben keeps telling everyone in the town that he just saw Bigfoot. At one point, he even uses a prop to make gigantic footprints. Eventually, everyone decides that he isn't being honest and that he is lying. Then, Bigfoot actually appears! He says that he is intrigued by this tenacious little fellow. When Ben tries to tell everyone that Bigfoot is there and he is "stealing" his bike and his dog, no one believes him so no one comes to see. It wraps up by showing readers, that always telling the truth is so important! 

Can't wait to see what your Three Favorite... Anythings are! Make sure you grab the graphic/button above and link up below.

An InLinkz Link-up

Why We Should be Reading Picture Books

Today I am linking up with Teach Mentor Texts for What Are You Reading?.

What are your favorite books for the beginning of the school year?  I love showing my 3rd graders that reading is fun and exciting.  

Picture books can still be a great gateway into the world of reading for our young students.  Many teachers give up on picture books too early.  I believe picture books still have much to offer our aging students. 

1. They give us an opportunity to share a complete story in a short amount of time.  
2. They are numerous and offer a huge variety of books for every genre.  
3. Most 3rd- 5th graders are already reading chapters books so they breeze on by the picture section of the library.  Since they are reading chapter books on their own, why not read picture books to them in class?  
4. I love the way picture books give us an opportunity to show off how to use expression correctly.  Make the books come alive for your kiddos!
5. They also allow us teachers to involve students with shared reading when we read books that have patterns or are well known. I always tell students which part is theirs when we start a book like this.  They love joining in on the reading.
6. I also enjoy the intimate way I can share picture books with my students.  I have a carpet area  and rocking chair for just this reason.
7. Picture books have a rich language too!  Thinking that all picture books are stripped down literary pieces is just plain wrong.
8. Since I still enjoy reading some of these books over and over, why wouldn't my students enjoy hearing them again?  There is something wonderful about coming home to a dearly loved book.
9. Many picture books are multi-layered just like novels.  Students can gleam different things each time they read the book.  Have you ever looked at the size of the illustrations in Where the Wild Things Are?  Why do they get bigger and then decrease in size?
10. Picture books give us a great opportunity to compare examples of an author's work!  It is so fun to read all of my favorite Audrey Woods books and compare and contrast them with the students.

Here are a few of my favorite back to school picture books!  What are your favorites?

Spark Student Motivation 6/14/14

Spark Student Motivation Saturdays!  

Blessing Books: Motivating Students to Read!

Years ago, when I was teaching Pre-K, a teacher trainer was brought in for professional development.  I can't tell you her name or most of the content that she taught us, but one concept stuck with me.  A concept called "Bless the Book" has never left me or my classroom.  I don't even know if the trainer noticed this turn of phrase or if she has used the "Bless the Book" phrasing since that day.  But I have used it; I have adopted it and never forgotten it.  And when I tell you about it, I bet you won't ever forget it either.

What is Bless the Book?  

The concept simply involves a teacher giving his/her "blessing" for a particular book thus motivating a student to read the book.

Have you ever read a book and then had students want to read that same book? Did you read one book in a series aloud and have the students want to hear another? Or have students go to the library and come back with identical books?  Maybe you have had students bring in books  or check books out about your current science topic.  All of these are examples of books that have been "blessed".  Students have been motivated to read these books because the books have been blessed by the teacher or even another student.

To bless a book means to speak well of it, to show favor upon it, and to praise it.  You are actually endowing the book - giving it as a gift- to your students for them to enjoy.

What are some ways to actually bless books?

1. Read books aloud!
2. Read a portion of the book aloud- a chapter, a paragraph, a phrase, some dialogue.
3. Discuss the jacket cover of a book.
4. Read a summary of a book.
5. Read a review of the book.
6. Read the back cover of a book to your students.
7. Read just the title aloud and wonder (aloud) what the book is about.
8. Reference a particular book in a discussion you have with your students.
9. Look at just the pictures in a book.
10. During silent reading time, read the book yourself (model).
11. When covering topics, wonder aloud about what kind of books have been written on the subject, how many, and what point of view.
12. Have students review and recommend books aloud.
13. Have students review and recommend books in writing.
14. Pick up the book, simply say you have read it, and that you like it!

I have found that is not enough to just display a book.  You have to do something more.  You have to really draw the students' attention to the book and get them to focus on it for that moment in time to spark their interest.

We, as teachers, cannot underestimate the powerful positions we hold as readers in our rocking chairs on our classroom carpets. BLESS THE BOOKS!

Thanks to Head Over Heels for Teaching for starting this cool linky: Spark Student Motivation Saturdays!