Whatcha Readin' Wednesday

I had the delight to receive and read an Advance Reading Copy of Weekends With Max and His Dad by Linda Urban this week! It is what I call an "early chapter book," recommended for ages 6-9. The story dives right into Max staying with his dad in his dad's new apartment. The focus of the book is not on Max's feelings about his parents' recent separation or the issue of his dad's new home, but simply what happens in the weekends Max spends with his dad. In the first weekend, Max and his dad are spies figuring out what's going on in the neighborhood. Only when testing out whether a stuffed walrus can keep secrets does Max tell his dad the secret that he doesn't like football curtains and helmet lamps, like the ones his dad picked out for Max's bedroom. Dad smiles at this secret and makes sure there is nothing else that Max, aka Agent Cheese, needs to relay to him. In realistic moments like these, we see the close relationship between Max and his dad. There are a few bumps along the way, but after a few weekends with Dad, Max begins to see the apartment as his home too.

This book will be published on April 5, 2016, with another one in the series coming in Spring of 2017. I can't wait to share this title with my students!

Five Halloween-y Read Alouds That are Not Too Halloween-y

Here are a few of my favorite read alouds for October that are a little bit scary but not actually a Halloween story.



Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown
The carrots that grow in Crackenhopper Field are the fattest and crispiest around and Jasper Rabbit cannot resist pulling some to eat each time he passes by, until he begins hearing and seeing creepy carrots wherever he goes. Black and gray illustrations allude to 50's horror films. I have had a few first graders that were scared of this book but most of them love it.

 
The Dark by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Jon Klassen
This story is about a boy name Laszlo. He’s afraid of the dark, and the dark lives in the basement. The conflict between dark and light comes center stage in this personified version, and it is the dark itself that helps Laszlo overcome his fear.  



Leo: A Ghost Story by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Christian Robinson
Leo is a friendly house ghost--but when a family moves into his house, and tries to get rid of him, he leaves and roams the city looking for a friend. This one is adorable and my students are loving it!

 
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams, illustrated by Megan Lloyd
Several items of clothing are chasing the little old lady, but she isn't afraid. She eventually finds a clever use for them as well! This one has been around for a while and is another one that is great for story-telling, since there are lots of motions/sound effects.


 The Squeaky Door retold by Margaret Read MacDonald, illustrated by Mary Newell DePalma
When Little Boy is frightened by a squeaky bedroom door, his grandmother brings in animals to help him feel secure enough to sleep. It's great for interactive story-telling since there are lots of sound effects and repetition.

Whatcha Readin' Wednesday

I've read a bunch of books recently, and a lot of them were winners!

These are four I recently finished:

The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
First sentence: "A jellyfish, if you watch it long enough, begins to look like a heart beating." This kind of beautiful writing continued throughout the book. The main character, Suzy, is dealing with the death of her former best friend. You feel her sadness and pain as well as her curiosity, intelligence, and determination. It reminds me of Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff and A Dog Called Homeless by Sarah Lean with a bit of The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm.
This one is on the National Book Award Shortlist for Young People's Literature. I'd be thrilled if it wins. (Bone Gap would be great too). 
I MUST add this to my school library collection.

The Ugly One by Leanne Statland Ellis 
I was given a copy of this book at the beginning of this school year by a middle school librarian, after telling her about my trip to Peru this summer. I have no idea why I waited so long to read it. It is about an Incan girl named Micay, who has a scar down the right side of her face that makes her hide from the people of her village. She accepts that she will be teased and bullied for the rest of her life. A stranger from the jungle passes through on the way to Machu Picchu and gives her a runty baby macaw. Micay doesn’t realize it, but this gift is the start of a whole new life for her.
I loved this book especially because there were so many things that reminded me of my trip to Peru. I also really enjoy reading about other cultures and places. The author has certainly taken some liberties as there is a lot we don't know about the Incan culture in general and specifically Machu Picchu, but as a narrative, it works together very well. I'd love to read more books like this.
I think this will make a good addition to my library collection.
 
Reread Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
I reread this because my fifth graders are reading it for Global Read Aloud, and even though I read it in March and knew I loved it, I have a horrible "book memory." Still loved it, and of course its already part of my library.

The Marvels by Brian Selznick
I finished The Marvels last week. It is a masterpiece, like Hugo and Wonderstruck. I honestly think I liked the other two a teeny bit better but, The Marvels is still marvelous!
Definitely adding to my library.

I'm currently reading:

Five, Six, Seven, Nate by Tim Federle
I read Better Nate Than Ever a few months ago and have no idea why I waited so long to start this one. I just started reading it while eating dinner tonight and can't wait to get back to it. See, it's sitting right here next to me, just waiting for me. These books sparkle and shine like the lights of Broadway. The voice of Nate is great and makes it so easy to root for him.
These books are in my school library!

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead (audio)
I've loved, truly loved every Rebecca Stead book I've ever read and this is no exception. Pure magic. The story alternates among three seventh grade friends including Bridge, who should have died in an accident when she was 8, and her two best friends, as well as Sherm, a new friend of Bridge's who is a boy, and an unnamed girl a few years older whose story takes place a few months later.  I started listening to this when I was getting over a migraine yesterday, and I listened for over three hours. The problem with this Axis 360 ereader app I'm using is I have no idea where I am in this book and I'm afraid it is going to end before I'm ready. But, I think I still have a long ways to go.
Sadly, this one deals with more middle school stuff than I think I can safely put in my K-5 library, although I would definitely recommend it to some 5th graders. For a much more comprehensive review, check out this one from SLJ.

I'm also rereading Wonder by R.J. Palacio (audio on my commute).
One of the teachers in my school asked for an audio version, and when they were done I realized it has been a few years since I read Wonder and I could handle rereading it. I'm loving it. I definitely need to read Auggie and Me soon!

Finally, I recently finished a few adult books. I'm on a Jojo Moyes kick after reading Me Before You and so I listened to One Plus One, which I loved, and Night Music, which took me a while to get into (I didn't sympathize with any of the characters at first, especially Isabelle.) But the story grew on me.
I also read The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, which is a quick, fun read that my book club is reading this month. I read with the voice of Sheldon from Big Bang Theory in my head.

Phew! I told you I've been reading some awesome books lately! What about you? Whatcha readin'? Have you enjoyed any of these winners?

3rd grade bat research

October is a great month to learn a little bit more about an often misunderstood creature...the bat! Doing research about bats fits along with the sound unit my third graders are doing in science right now.
I have several goals for my third graders in doing this research:

1. Read  information from books, using tables of contents and indexes
2. Read for information from websites
3. Find and write information that fits their topic
4. Write their findings in their own words
5. Synthesize their writing into an audiovisual project
6. Reflect on their work

When I look at that list, it is a lot for an eight-year-old!
I do give them many supports. I introduced the topic to them by reading Hello, Bumblebee Bat by Darrin Lynde and Patricia Wynne. It has a question and answer format, which gets students thinking about questions they have about bats. I also tell them that it gives answers specifically about Bumblebee bats, so there is still plenty to wonder about for other types of bats. After we finish reading, I write down questions that the students have. I use the questions from all three classes to create a list of broader topics for them (bat's bodies, different types of bats, families and life cycles, habitats, etc.).

I go to my public library and check out about 50 books about bats with different focuses and reading levels. I also use a LibGuide to collect some appropriate websites and organize these by the broad topic. I have students start by researching with books for at least a total of an hour, and then they can switch to websites if they want. Later in the year, I will be much more flexible about allowing them to choose, but to start I want them to have some experience with both.

I am trying something new with note-taking for these students. I modified a note-taking sheet from a taking notes without copying strategy from Teachers Pay Teachers. It gave

give me a different way to teach students about taking notes. On one side of the sheet, when students are reading, they write down important words. Once they finish reading that section and have at least 3-5 important words, they choose three words that they think are the most important, and put them in boxes on the back. Then, they write sentences that explain those words.

All the classes have done some research with books and have started to use websites too. So far it is going well! My next step will be to help them take their sentences and combine and revise them to make a script for their presentation.


I'm curious to hear about other examples for teaching research skills. Is this too much guidance? Not enough? What do you think?

Global Read Aloud

Fifth graders and first graders at Prospect are participating in the Global Read Aloud. This is my first year participating. If you aren't familiar with it, check it out! It was started by teacher Pernille Ripp five years ago, and has grown ever since. Books have been chosen for classes to read together over a 6-week time period. During that time, they not only read in the classroom but also make connections to other groups and classes that are reading the same book, and even the authors!

There are different books for different age levels. Our fifth graders are participating by having a class read-aloud of Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. In addition to having class discussions and reading responses, they are also connecting with others outside of our school. They connected with other classes in a "Mystery Skype," in which they had to ask yes and no questions to figure out where the other class was. They will be connecting with these classes again later after they finish the book to discuss the story. They also have email penpals with students from The Lane school and are chatting about their thoughts, theories, and predictions about the story. In the library, we are enjoying the videos Lynda Mullaly Hunt posts on her blog, and hope she will answer the question we tweeted her!

First graders are participating in the Global Read Aloud with an author study of Amy Krouse Rosenthal. We just started this week with the book Chopsticks. In Chopsticks, two chopsticks are always doing things together, until one gets hurt and needs to rest for over a week. The hurt chopstick encourages his buddy to go out and try new things, which in the end, helped strengthen them both. After reading, the first graders gave some ideas of what they like to do alone and what they like to do together with someone else.

We shared these ideas online in three Padlets:

1G's ideas
1M's ideas
1T's ideas

After book checkout, some of the first graders tried out using chopsticks to pick up erasers. We are looking forward to reading more of Amy Krouse Rosenthal's books in the next few weeks in the library!

Aaron Reynolds and Brian Selznick (in one day!)

Yesterday was another one of those days that I realized how awesome my job is. (It's good to remember those days in the middle of MAP or PARCC testing or when I'm overwhelmed by work!) I had an amazing author visit with Aaron Reynolds! He is probably tied with Henry Cole as the most energetic and engaging author/illustrator visit I have ever seen. He was goofy and keep the kids interested and learning. Everyone, teachers included, loved the book Nerdy Birdy and we completely sold out of it.



That evening I went to see Brian Selznick at the Tivoli movie theater, which was built in the 1920s. It couldn't have been a more perfect setting for Brian Selznick's presentation about The Marvels, which follows five generations of a family of actors, as well as his stories about all his books and the making of the movie Hugo. Each of Brian Selznick's recent books he created took about 3-4 years for him to make, and as he showed us some of his process, it is easy to see why. He sketches the whole story out in a miniature storyboard, assembles the tiny pictures into little books for each scene, researches, edits, and revises and then spends over a year actually drawing (that's a lot of cross-hatching). The research he did for The Marvels included moving to London for a few months, becoming friends with the person in charge of the Dennis Severs House as well as the Theatre Royal Haymarket, on which the Royal Theatre in The Marvels is based. He even got a dog from a shelter to model for the dog Tar in the story. Additionally, Brian spent a few months making an incredible stop-motion/puppet-style trailer for The Marvels, which can be seen on his The Marvels website.

So, what I'm reading this Wednesday is, of course, The Marvels. I'm about two-thirds of the way through and thoroughly enjoying it. It is one of those books that wraps you up in another world, just like Hugo and Wonderstruck.  In fact, that world is calling me back right now, so if you'll excuse me...

P.S. I'd love to hear what you thought of The Marvels in the comments!

What's Popular At Prospect

I always find it interesting to see what is going out frequently in my library. Here's my top ten circulated items so far this year!

Number 1 - The Watermelon Seed by Greg Pizzoli

This surprised me a bit! It is on the Monarch Award, Illinois' Readers' Choice Award for younger students and it has really taken off!

 Number 2 - Minecraft Construction Handbook by Matthew Needler

Not a surprise. Every day kids ask whether there are any Minecraft books in.


Number 3 - Barbie: Surf Princess by Chelsea Eberly

 Number 4 - The Pigeon Needs a Bath! by Mo Willems

Number 5 - The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt

Number 6 - Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds

This renewed interest in Creepy Carrots is spurred by the month AND the fact that we are having Aaron Reynolds visit next week!

Number 7 - Weird But True! 3: 300 Outrageous Facts

Number 8 - This is a Moose by Richard Morris

This is another one on our Monarch list.

Number 9 - The Stonekeeper's Curse by Kazu Kibuishi

Yay for graphic novels rounding out the end of the top ten!

Number 10 - Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

The statistics from my catalog are a little hard to sort through because if I have multiple copies of a title, it lists them separately...so actually, The Watermelon Seed is number 1, 11 and 12 on my list. :)  And of course, items that take longer to read do not get checked out as often, so there aren't any (non-graphic novel) chapter books on the list (which I view as a good thing, since it means kids are keeping the books long enough to read them)!

So, I also looked up what students are searching for the most in the catalog. Here's where some of the chapter books popped up:

Number 1: The 13-Story Treehouse

Number 2: Swindle

Number 3:  Minecraft

Number 4: Hatchet

Tied for Number 5: A Snicker of Magic, Clementine, Harry Potter, Weird But True, and Wonder

Overall, I think my students have pretty good taste in reading! What's popular at your library?

Nerdy Birdy!

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about the book Nerdy Birdy by Aaron Reynolds and Matt Davies. I have been reading a lot of Aaron Reynolds' books to my students because he is coming for an author visit next week, thanks to Anderson's Bookshops! I've really really really wanted to read Nerdy Birdy to some students but I thought I should let him read it. There's been a few classes where I think, maybe I'll just read it to this one class and they won't spill the beans to everyone else when he visits...but I resisted.

I do want to share it with you though!
Nerdy Birdy realizes he doesn't fit in with the really cool birds like Eagle, Robin, and Cardinal. He is happy reading, playing video games, and reading about video games, but sometimes, being a nerdy birdy is a bit lonely.
Then, he finds other nerdy birds!
They invite him to join them..."After all, there's always room for another nerdy birdy!" Matt Davies illustrations are hysterical.  These nerdy birds have shirts with  "I ♥ <p> Code </p>" and "Life of π," they've got light sabers and beanies...it is amazing.
Of course, Nerdy Birdy gets along with them! They are his tribe!
When Vulture comes along, Nerdy Birdy welcomes him to join the gang, but the other nerdy birdies aren't so sure.  Have you seen what Vulture eats? She doesn't fit in! Luckily, Nerdy Birdy has taken to heart the lesson that there is always room for another friend.  Friends are all around, you just have to open to the possibilities. 

What are you waiting for? Go check this book out now!

Whatcha Readin' Wednesday?

I finished Little Dog Lost, which is on our state Bluestem Award list. I know not everyone may feel the poetic language added to the story but I loved it. It is a sweet story rich with vocabulary and imagery:

“Little black dog with brown paws
and a brown mask
and a sweet ruffle of brown fur on her bum
just beneath her black whip of a tail.
Satiny coat.
Ears like airplane wings
that drop
just at the tips.” 

I would recommend it for any one who loves dogs. There is a cute book trailer on Marion Dane Bauer's website.
Another animal book I'm reading now is on our Battle of the Books list: Animals Welcome by Peg Kehret. I think Little Dog Lost would have a wider appeal for more readers. Animals Welcome has interesting stories about different animals Peg and her husband rescued from different situations, and her connections to her pets. Children who love animals will enjoy it but others might lose interest.

Skyping with Students

Have you used Skype with students? If not, try it! It's easy and a great way to connect with others. At Prospect, we have used Skype to connect with authors for several years, and have also Skyped with a service woman in Afghanistan. We had very positive experiences with both! If you are looking to connect with authors, I have found Twitter to be a great place to connect - just tweet an author and ask if they will do a short Skype with your students. Author Kate Messner also has a list of Authors who Skype on her website.
This year we tried a Mystery Skype for the first time. If you are not familiar with Mystery Skype, it is a simple but powerful activity: classes from two different locations ask each other questions to identify where the other class is located. This basic framework gives students a purpose during a Skype. It is a great way to get your feet wet with global (or national) connections. It helps students think critically while using listening and thinking skills, gives an authentic purpose for research, and helps students' geography skills. You can connect to other educators looking to do a Mystery Skype at https://education.skype.com/mysteryskype. At certain times, such as during Dot Day (September 15ish) and the Global Read Aloud (October - November), many teachers are looking to connect their classes to discuss these books and ideas.
Doing a Skype for the first time? You will need a Skype account, which is completely free. Make sure to test out your connection and all of your technology set up before the Skype. I simply use my laptop's camera and built-in microphone to record students. I set my computer up near my projector screen so students can look at the screen and be on camera at the same time. I use Photobooth before the Skype to make sure students can be seen, and see what area they need to sit in. Also test out your audio connections.
You will want a place for a few students to sit or stand in front of your computer to greet the people

you are Skyping, and ask and answer questions. For a Mystery Skype, some teachers give their students many different jobs to do, such as Answerers, Google Mappers, Closers, etc. For more examples, see Pernille Ripp's blog post, So You Want to Do Mystery Skype. When I Skyped with a class of 3rd graders, I was not this organized! We had some greeters and I just picked students with their hands up to give clues and make guesses. You will want to think about having resources, whether on paper or on devices, for students to look at maps to help them rule out possibilities and make educated guesses.
In addition to Mystery Skypes and Skyping with authors, there are many possibilities for making connections with Skype that Skype In the Classroom provides it has never been easier to bring in experts to help students learn as well as share their learning in an authentic way. Ask the students for ideas, let them lead, and see where it takes you.