it's monday!

from Mandy:
Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead: When You Reach Me is one of my all-time favorite books.  My students tease me that I say this about all the books, but this one really is!  I was so excited to read Stead's latest book.  I felt that, like her other books, there were little hints for the reader that really got me wondering more about the characters.  Here are some of my favorite quotes:
"Because I would rather be a jerk's victim than a jerk's friend."
"Life is really just a bunch of nows, one after the other."
"She said she felt full of whatever it was that was about to happen to her."

Capture the Flag by Kate Messner: What a fun story!  I'm a huge fan of the National Treasure movies and loved how this book had a similar vibe.  Kate did an amazing job of developing the 3 main characters.  This book will provide the opportunity of lots of great conversations in my classroom.

My first book order arrived today!  The TBR pile just keeps growing!

from Cheryl:
The Dot by Peter Reynold: Our school celebrated National Dot Day in many ways. Thanks to our amazing literacy team, we all got copies of The Dot. Middle school students decided to "make their mark" by writing their goals and signing their name. What a powerful message for kids.

The Fault in our Stars by John Green: Once I got started, I couldn't put it down. I loved the poetic language, the honesty, the inside look, the metaphors, the repeating lines, books that change our life, the characters we want to be...Hazel Grace. May we all find someone to love us that much.

it's monday

From Mandy:

The Unusual Suspects (The Sisters Grimm #2) by Michael Buckley:  I was finally able to finish this one!  I have really enjoyed this series & have several students interested in them.

Explorer: The Mystery Boxes edited by Kazu Kibuishi:  This collection of short comic stories all answer the same question, "What's in the box?"  This would be a perfect book to prompt students to write their own story answering the question.  It will also expose them to several authors & illustrators in this genre.

Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms by Lissa Evans:  What a fun book!  I knew I would like it as soon as I saw that the endpapers were maps, one of my favorite features!  I'd read several reviews & tweets about this book & was excited to finally read it.  I wasn't disappointed!  The length will be very manageable for my readers & the exposure to quirky vocabulary is a definite plus.

Capture the Flag by Kate Messner:  I just started this one yesterday & I already know my students will love it! 

The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha:  One of my friends told me about this book.  Whenever something awesome would happen she would say, "That should be in the book of awesome."  It took me a few times to realize it was an actual book!  The book contains everyday occurrences that should be celebrated, like flipping the pillow to the cool side before going back to sleep.  Awesome.  The pieces are short... sometimes a few paragraphs, sometimes a few sentences.  I can't wait to integrate this book into my writer's workshop!  Finding an unexpected book that makes for perfect mini lessons?  Awesome.

From Cheryl:

The Recess Queen by Alexis O'Neill: Sixth graders used this book to examine character motivation, then to write summaries. After quickly identifying what the characters want, they were able to think about the characters in their chapter books in a new way.

We looked at ways setting impacts character, plot, and theme using The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Brian Selznick, The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland, and Sister Anne's Hands by Marybeth Lorbiecki. Students were only provided with text on the first page (where setting is described) of these picture books, then they had to predict what the characters would be like, what possible event they could predict to see in the text, the conflict that may arise, and the possible theme of the text.

The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner: I'm including this book on my "great leads" list. This story takes place in Paris during King Louis XVI's reign. Paris is getting ready to turn upside-down, and the writer builds this tension on the very first page..."This is Paris; here the winds of change are blowing, whispering their discontent into the very hearts of her citizens..."

Schools That Work by Richard Allington: This text explores the situation of reading programs today and the impact of NCLB. It provides qualities of successful reading programs, as well as, ways to develop school in which all kids read and write. Allington emphasizes the need for effective teaching and getting books into the hands of our students. It makes me think of ways to increase opportunities for my students to read and write.

made

I always try to make sure my classroom is welcoming with little pockets of my personality.  I'm sure that most of you have heard of the great new time-waster... Pinterest.  I've gotten some great ideas for my classroom on Pinterest!  It's like going to a great conference, collaborating with other teachers from across the country, even taking a peek into their classrooms, but all from the comfort of your own couch!  Genius.  Here are some projects I had ready for the beginning of school.  Some are from Pinterest.  Some are just from my brain.  Enjoy.

I love all the cute pennant banners!  I made this one to hang over my classroom door in the hallway.  Each pennant is a different type of print: R is an excerpt from Bridge to Terabithia from an old short story anthology, E is from the comic page, A is an "a" page from a vintage school dictionary I rescued from the free pile at a library sale, & D is from an old atlas.  I sewed the pompom fringe (which just makes everything happier) onto cardstock pennants, then attached the page to the pennants and drew on the letters.

I'm always looking for great storage ideas & bookshelves.  I love the 9-cube shelves that are made to hold those fabric organizer cubes.  I had the idea to get one of those to face into a cubbyhole reading area and attach a whiteboard to the back.  I thought the whiteboard would be a place where I could do small groups or students could work in pairs.  This picture shows the aftermath of our how to pick a good fit book lesson, thus the bag of shoes!

I LOVE these seats, but my students love them even more than I do!  I had seen a few different versions of these on Pinterest, but modified them to fit my needs.  The top lifts up for more storage.  One of them has clipboards, and I'm planning on putting stations in them once those are up & running.  My dad helped me make them.  I made sure to buy crates that had an inside edge made for hanging folders, then we cut a piece of board to nestle inside the crate.  I cut 3 pieces of foam... the bottom piece was a pre-made foam seat cushion from a fabric store that was just a little bigger than the board, the top two pieces were from an "eggcrate" foam mattress cover that were cut a little smaller than the board.  I used spray adhesive to attach all that together and to the board.  I stretched the fabric (I used fat quarters) around the foam & board, then stapled it.

Fun pencils!!  As soon as I saw this post linked on Pinterest I knew it may be the solution to the on- going case of the missing pencils.  It may backfire if students really like them, but hopefully not!  I modified the original directions, found here, for pencils. 

Hope you've enjoyed this peek into my classroom!

it's monday!

from Mandy:

Woolbur by Leslie Helakoski: Do you know Woolbur?  I do!  Isn't he great?!  I really do adore this book.  I always use it the first few weeks of school during our genre study, and also as an example of characters that "keep on & don't give up".

The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco:  This is one of those books that makes me emotional!  Not only because of the events that take place, but also the very last page... it makes me think of those childhood connections.  This is another book I use during our beginning of year genre study and those characters that keep on.

A Writer's Notebook by Ralph Fletcher: I read the first chapter from this to my students today as one way of introducing writer's notebooks.  Then,  I shared some of my personal notebooks... one of my favorite parts of the year

Wonder by R.J. Palacio: I chose this book as my first read aloud for my 6th graders.  This is the first group of students I've shard this book with & I couldn't wait to experience this book with them.  So far, so good!  Tomorrow begins the Halloween section.  Here we go, friends...

Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper: I chose this book as my first read aloud for my 5th graders, and again, they are the first group of students I've shared this book with.  It's one of those books that kids beg to hear more of everyday when I close it... just like I knew it would be!

from Cheryl:

Giant Steps that Changed the World by Spike Lee & Tonya Lee Lewis: I love the poetic language that draws the reader in on the first page. This book describes people who have changed the world in some way: Neil Armstrong, Mother Theresa, and Jesse Owens. It provokes the reader to fill the big shoes left by these people from the past.

Enemy Pie by Derek Munson: Love this take on getting rid of enemies! Kids write about a time that their parents have played a trick on them to get them to do something.

All the Places to Love by Patricia McLaughlan: Need I say more? Sixth graders wrote about all their favorite places using the great descriptions provided by the author.

Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein: We used this as one of the texts to develop our classroom guidelines. Seventh graders came up with, "Being an interrupting chicken might cause you to miss out on the best parts."

it's monday!

from Mandy:
Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind: Thoughts on Teacherhood by Phillip Done - I loved his first book 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny.  I was so excited when I saw this at our local used bookstore.  It was a quick read & so true to life in a classroom. 

Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller - The first day of class I ask students to help me come up with some guidelines for class.  After that discussion I read them this book.  There are so many cute plays on words... & I love it when my new students get them!

The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee by Tom Angleberger - I really liked the message of the book & loved how Angleberger ended it.  I put it out for my students first thing last week & held a drawing for who would get to be the first to read it.  The excited looks on there faces were precious & the winner yelled & jumped out of his seat when I pulled his name out of the basket. 

from Cheryl:
This is the Tree by Miriam Moss - I found out about this book from Aimee Buckner's Non-fiction Mentor Texts session at the Choice Literacy Conference in Michigan this summer. It is a great model for writing. I had the students follow the pattern "This is the tree..." and make their own introduction poem beginning with, "This is the class that..." We posted our poems on big sticky notes.

The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco - We used this as one of the texts to help us write our class guidelines. We noticed that we are all smart in different ways, and if we work together we can create something bigger than ourselves.

Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes - by Eric Litwin - Text and audio. We like singing along with this predictable book, but love the moral at the end. Seventh graders think that this text teaches us that it's okay to make mistakes as long as we progress and not regress.
Insurgent by Veronica Roth - I'm really into the characters in this series. Tris is a strong female character that is trying to find out who she is. Roth does a great job with plot development and building suspense.

ready... set... go!

One of my favorite parts of the back-to-school season (other than new school supplies, of course) is getting my classroom ready for the new year.  A few years ago I started displaying a "biography of me" displayed through books.  I thought this would be a fun way to, not only start sharing my love of books with students, but also let them learn more about me in a unique format.  Some books stay the same from year to year and some are new.  Here is this year's version:

• ish by Peter Reynolds: Who doesn't love his books and messages?  And, I love adding -ish on the ends of words.
• The Wonder Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal:  I love her.  Love.  So quirky & fun!  I added this book because it is just a hodgepodge of quirky & fun stuff.  I also like it from a design standpoint... black & white line drawings.
• Our Day with Louise Borden by me:  We've been fortunate to have an author visit our classrooms every year for the past several years.  Louise Borden was one of my favorites!  I took lots of pictures from the day and put together a photo book for the classroom library.  I would really like to go back and do this for all the visits we've had. 
• Bodies From the Ash by James M. Deem: A cool non-fiction book.  Love the use of actual photgraphs.  And, I got to visit there last summer when I went to Europe with an amazing group of friends!
• The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg: Do I even have to explain this choice?  I do like to use this choice to start talking with my students about noticing & thinking outside the box.
• Someday by Eileen Spinelli: This is another title that helps students think about possibilities.  I also adore Rosie Winstead's illustrations.
• Skippyjon Jones Class Action by Judy Schachner:  Skippyjon is one of my favorite book characters.
• All Kinds of Families by Mary Ann Hoberman, illustrated by Marc Boutavant: Another book that gets students thinking about our classroom as a "family".  And objects with cute faces make me happy :)  These illustrations are probably my favorite of any book.
• All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon: Again, another title that gets us thinking about expanding our horizons.
• Penguins by Liz Pichon: I like that this book lets me share with students my love of photography in a fun way.  It also has a cute interactive feature at the end, and I like books with fun surprises at the end.  It was also a gift from one of my dearest friends... which goes to show that people that love books get & give books as gifts.
• The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Brian Selznick:  Author's notes are my favorite book feature.  I love to read about what made an author want to write about a particular topic or more facts they uncovered during research.  Brian Selznick is one of my favorite illustrators and I love that his illustrator note is also included.  When we visited Europe last year my request for London was to go to Crystal Palace & see the actual dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins.  They were beyond amazing.  When you love books you seek out the places that make special books come alive.
• The Flim-Flam Fairies by Alan Katz:  Basically I put this up to show kids I'm not afraid to read gross books about boogers & bodily functions to them.
• Encounter by Jane Yolen: Another one of my favorites!  I think I put it out to share that there are two sides to every story.
• Henry's Freedom Box by Ellen Levine, illustrated by Kadir Nelson: Kadir Nelson is another one of my favorite illustrators.  This also shares that I love lesser known stories from history.  Cheryl & I visited the Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio on our way home from the Choice Literacy workshops in Michigan this summer & saw a display about Henry "Box" Brown!
• The Incredible Book-Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers: I love how Oliver Jeffers uses mixed media & old books to create his illustrations.  This story is also hysterical!
• Mammoth Cave: one of my hobbies is visiting National Parks & collecting National Park Passport stamp cancellations.
• Olivia Goes to Vencie by Ian Falconer: Olivia is another one of my favorite characters.  She cracks me up!  This book helps me share how I like to share stories about things that happen to me when I travel. 

I can't wait to start sharing these books (& many more!) with my students this week!  Happy back-to-school!

it's monday!

From Mandy:

This past week (while cruising to Key West & Nassau, which was fabulous!!), I finished:

Matched by Ally Condie - I wasn't sure if I would like this or not, but really enjoyed it once I got going!  I'm thinking my students may be a little young for this book. 

Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner (adult book) - The cover of this book didn't match this story at all for me!  I did enjoy the story and was glad the book ended the way it did.

Currently reading:

Notes I've made all summer on things I want to do in my classroom!  We go back to school on Thursday and our students join us a week from tomorrow!

The Unusual Suspects (The Sisters Grimm #2) by Michael Buckley  - I have already fallen  in LOVE with this series and can't wait to share it with my students.

I think this is my shortest book post all summer!  I still think I have vacation brain.  I've spent the last 2 days working in my classroom.  I've taken lots of pictures of new projects and can't wait to share them in the coming weeks!

From Cheryl:

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand (author of Seabiscuit). This is my second audiobook this summer! Mandy had recommended this book last year, so I got the sample for my Kindle. I traveled last week to visit family ten hours away by myself, so I decided to try it in audio. First, I must say that I have never known anyone to have lived through what the main character had to experience. Next, Hillenbrand is such a suspenseful writer...I literally was sitting at the edge of my seat. At times I had to take a break, the story was so intense.