What? You didn't read your book!!!

I had an unusual week. I barely read anything. GASP. This book lady didn't read. Much. Sometimes life happens. It all started over the holiday weekend when my sixteen year old got really sick. I thought it was just a nasty summer virus. YEAH. Well it was a BAD virus. We were the lucky winners of a two night stay at our local children's hospital! It could have been a lot worse. He's fine now. I've been teasing him about needing extra attention. In between hospital visits and trips back to the doctors office I did manage to read a few.

Smells Like Dog by Suzanne Selfors

I'll be honest. I wasn't too sure about this one when I got it. Then I started reading it. It was really a good read. Probably best in 3-6 grade range. In a nut shell twelve year old Homer Pudding inherits a dog and a mystery from his uncle, Drake. Uncle Drake was a treasure hunter and one of his maps is missing. Homer sets off for "the city" and has to find the missing map. Along the way meets some very odd people. Recommend this one! Accelerated Reading level - 4.3 Lexile level - 670

I did squeeze in some nonfiction books:
Swordfish by Deborah Coldiron
Sea Urchins by Simon Rose
Leeches: Waiting in the Water by Barbara A. Somervill
Kraits by Ellen Frazel
Death Adder by Lincoln James
Black Mamba by Angelo Gangemi
Fighting Dinosaurs by Monica Hughes
Diplodocus by Joanne Mattern
Snowy Owls by Roman Patrick
Hunting With Bald Eagles by Paige Thurnherr
Stock Cars by Lisa Bullard
Custer's Last Stand by Joeming Dunn

I was looking to add to some of the animal books and other topics missing in our library. I really wanted some that would make good centers to do an activity on text features.  These were good beginner books, nothing really just stood out and shouted "make me into a center!" The kids will like them. That's what's really important.

Standouts include:
The Post Office Book: Mail and How It Moves by Gail Gibbons

I just love Gail Gibbons. Seriously! This one would make a great center activity. From the history of mail to how mail is currently sorted at the post office, it's just a great little book. This one is from 1982 but it's still great! (I just didn't have this one.)

My fourth grade ELA teacher requested some more books about mythology. It's a big deal with CCS in fourth. I already had several good mythology series in the library already. I found these to add to our school's collection:

Dragons in Mythology by Matt Doeden
The Epics of Greek Mythology by Don Nardo
Egyptian Mythology by Jim Ollhoff
European Mythology by Jim Ollhoff

Jim Ollhoff's series "World of Mythology" was the best of the bunch. I'll be adding his other titles this fall. This series is written at a higher reading level than the other series I have in the library that the kids enjoy. (AR levels 5.4 - 6.0) These will be a nice addition for more complex text!

Homes Around the World by Max Moore
This was just a great little book. The students will enjoy looking at the different kinds of homes from across our great planet. You won't find East Tennessee homes in this book. This one is a level one reader so perfect for my Kinders and 1st graders learning about different cultures.

I did find three books that I can use to teach text features.  I do recommend these titles. They were just good informational/non-fiction reads.

Why do animals become extinct? by Bobbie Kalman
Reading levels AR - 5.5 Lexile Level 850

Investigating: Why Leaves Change Their Color by Ellen Rene
Reading levels AR - 3.7 Lexile Level  650

Gray Wolves by Lynn Stone
Reading levels AR - 3.9  Lexile Level  675

Happy Reading!

Who Me?

It looks as if I've been nominated for a Liebster Award! Thanks, Amy. Amy is a middle school teacher thus her blog is the Middle School Minions!



 

There are a few rules for the Liebster Award:

1. Link back to the blog that nominated you.

2. Answer the questions the nominator asked you.

3. Create 11 questions for your own nominees.

4. Nominate 5-11 blogs with less than 200 followers.

5. Contact the nominees to let them know that you nominated them.

 

Sounds easy enough. Here goes:

Questions for me from Amy

 

1. What made you interested in blogging? I wanted to collaborate with other librarians and then quickly turned to also following ELA teachers. I get so many wonderful ideas from classroom teachers. I've been known to send my teachers to some of the blogs I follow.

 

2. Share your favorite easy recipe after a work day. I love to crock-pot! My "go to" meal is what I call Sunday Chicken. I simply place frozen chicken breasts in the crockpot, drizzle with Italian dressing, turn on low and go to school! When I get home all I have to do is fix a couple quick veggies and dinner is served.

 

3. What is your most memorable teaching experience? After teaching almost 20 years, I have several great memories. I guess the one that stands out the most was when one of my former students thanked me for being his teacher during his high school valedictorian speech. I cried. He's now a teacher. Makes me so proud!

 

4. Where did you graduate from college and why did you pick that school? East Tennessee State University. It was close to home and I could afford the tuition. I also received a scholarship if I attended. (Very Important!!!)

 

5. How do you deal with difficult students and parents? I rarely have problems with students in my library classes, but when it happens the one thing I've learned is to remain calm. If at all possible, I try to wait and make sure I'm totally composed before I contact the parents. I do have a "time out" corner in the library for students who need a moment to collect themselves. I can see them, but they're not as visual to the other students. I try to make my classes so exciting/fun that no one wants to miss library!

 

6. How do you  plan on staying organized this school year? I have purchased a planner from TPT and I'm going to organize one larger notebook. I teach library classes, computer lab classes, and have Reading RTI groups. Last year I kept them all in separate notebooks. I found that I was constantly digging for the "other" notebook. I also have started using dropbox. LOVE IT. It's keeps my files from my school workstation synced with my home laptop.

 

7. What is your favorite television show? This one is hard. It's probably Design Star but Duck Dynasty is a close second. I don't watch a lot of TV. My nose is usually in a book!

 

8. Do you speak any other languages? Not unless you count East Tennessean! The tech people on the phone never seem to understand or maybe I just don't understand them! (I'm also my school's technology support teacher.)

 

9. What is your favorite educational website?  I use United Streaming with my teachers. If the teachers need a quick video of something for their class, I can usually find it. I frequently use Starfall for my lower grades in the computer lab.

 

10. What is your favorite professional development book? This summer it's been all about Debbie Diller. I've been reading a lot about centers and small groups. Currently my favorites are her Literacy Work Stations: Making Centers Work and Making the Most of Small Groups: Differentiation for All.

 

11. How do you feel about grading? Do you grade everything the kids do or do you use participation grades from some student work? How do you grade their notebooks and homework? I'm lucky I don't have to keep grades. But, when I was a classroom teacher (6-8th ELA) I graded almost everything from the students. I assigned a lot of projects with rubrics so it made grading easy. If we had a bunch of little assignments, I had no problem with participation grades.  

 

Random facts about me:

 

1. I married my high school sweetheart. We started dating our senior year then all though college and grad school.  

2. I love to sing, play the organ, teach Sunday School and help with our Youth Choir at church.

3. I love RED LOBSTER!

4. My favorite favor of ice cream is strawberry! Chocolate is a close second.

5. I love my flower beds but hate to weed them.

6. I hate/fear mice.

7. My favorite chapter book is The Giver by Lois Lowery.

8. I collect Agatha Christie novels and old blue canning jars.

9. If I had to pick my favorite children's illustrator it would be a tie between Eric Carle and Denise Fleming.

10. One year I was "banned" from doing the "snow dance" in my library by the UPS driver. We missed over 10 days that January.

11. My nickname at school is "Little Miss Sunshine."

 

 

 

 

 

Questions for my nominees:

1.       What’s your favorite subject/grade to teach?

2.       What is your favorite picture book?

3.       What is your favorite chapter book?

4.       Give us your best teaching tip for new teachers.

5.       What piece of technology could you not do without in your classroom and why?

6.       What is your favorite “after work” meal?

7.       What are your hobbies?

8.       List your 3 favorite vacation spots.

9.       What is one thing you have purchased for your classroom this summer?

10.    What book would you recommend for fellow teachers?

11.     If you won $500 for your classroom what would you purchase?
 

In the spirit of the Liebster Award, I nominate:

Crystal at The Library Fox  

Nicole at Bluestocking Thinking

Rachael at Classroom Game Nook
 
Kara at To Engage Them All

Kristy at 2 Peas and a Dog

Something's Fishy in the Library!

Puffers, Perch, Clown Fish....   No, it was just the books for my Summer Reading Program!

This week for story time, I had a fish theme. One of my regulars loves animals and mentioned he wanted me to read him a fish story. I decided to make it my theme for the week. With so many good fish stories published, the hardest part was choosing which ones to read. I pulled an assortment of my favorites and let the kids select what I would read.

We started story time with Fish Faces by Norbert Wu.

It's a cute little non-fiction book that introduces readers to the differences in fish. Very colorful pictures with rhyming text. Great little book! (I use Accelerated Reader so this one is leveled at 1.5)

Fidgety Fish by Ruth Galloway was the next reading selection.

I love reading this one early in the year to my Kindergarteners. It's about a little fish, Tiddler, who can't be still. Sounds just like a Kindergarten student in August! ADORABLE!! (Accelerated Reading level 2.5)

Finally the kids picked out Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister. 

In case you've been asleep for the past 10 years, it's a cute story about a fish who learns about real beauty and friendship. (Accelerated Reading Level 3.3 -- Really it's been published for over twenty years in case I have any Rip Van Winkle's out there.)

To finish off story time we had to have a little craft activity. I had make it quick due to the fact I had to take my sixteen year old to the doctor for blood work. (He picked up a nasty viral infection over the weekend and spent a couple days in Children's Hospital in Knoxville. Fun/NOT!! Yes, he's ok now. I just have a few more gray hairs...)

I thought the kids would enjoy making a rainbow fish to take home. (This is the Sara version of how we made our rainbow fish!)

1) Make pattern of fish body. I'm not an artist, but I thought it turned out alright. I drew it on copy paper so our finished project wouldn't be too heavy.

2) Students glued pieces of scrapbook paper onto the body of fish for the scales. I gave them one special sparkly scale - piece of aluminum foil.  I had precut them into circles to save time. Then we cut out the fish bodies.

3) Students colored fish's face  - adding eyes and a mouth. We attached/glued fish's body, tail, and fins onto a piece of blue construction paper. Fins and tails were precut to save time.

4)  If the kids had time, they added seaweed and other details to the background. I found neon markers at Wal-Mart this summer. They are the coolest things. Yes, they work on dark colored construction paper.

I thought they turned out right cute.

Other library fish books that would have been great for story time:

The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen (AR 3.0)
Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni  (AR 3.7)
Swimmy by Leo Lionni  (AR 2.9)
Weird and Wonderful Fish by Gerri McCall (AR 5.7)
About Fish: a guide for children by Cathryn Sill (AR 2.0)
Big Al by Andrew Clements (AR 3.8)

Happy Reading!

Read, Read, Read - Great Books Indeed!

Happy Monday! It's a great day because I get to chat about my cool finds from last week.

This past week I finished the picture books and non-fiction books from my last book order. If you don't have I Could Do That! by Linda Arms White, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter GET THIS ONE!

 

This is just a wonderful story about Esther Morris and her suffrage work in Wyoming. It's well researched and beautifully illustrated. 

The Library Gingerbread Man by Dotti Enderle, illustrated by Colleen M. Madden.

 



I had a little library love with this one. Gingerbread Man gets loose in the library. What will the librarian do? Catch him of course! It's just really cute watching him travel though the non-fiction section of the library. Would be a great read to introduce the Dewey Decimal System to lower grade students.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon

 

A great autobiography of William Kamkwamba who helps save his family from the great feminine in Malawi.


How a House is Built by Gail Gibbons

I just love Gail Gibbons's books.! She researches her topics and illustrated them perfectly. With this wonderful book the students can see the whole process of "How a House is Built."

I also read:

Coral Reefs by Gail Gibbons
Anaconda by Johanna Burke
Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by carol McCloud, illustrated by David Messing
Late for School! by Stephanie Salmenson, illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa
Christmas Is... by Gail Gibbons
Centipede's 100 Shoes by Tony Ross
Don't Slam the Door! by Dori Chaconas illustrated by Will Hillenbrand
Voices In The Park by Anthony Browne
Lili at Ballet by Rachel Isadora
Dragsters by Thomas K. Adamson
Endangered Bears by Bobbie Kalman and Kylie Burns
The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau
Coral Reefs by Gail Gibbons
(Can you tell I like Gail Gibbons books?)

Keep Reading! - You know I am!

My Favorite Reading Pins

When I saw this Linky by Just Reed, I had to respond to this one.  Just about everything I pin has something to do with Reading. I just love anything reading related. (Good thing I'm a librarian!)

It's a good thing we are limited to 10. I have found so many great reading ideas on Pinterest  that I use in my library or I share with the teachers in my building.

I repined this from Rachel Lynette's pinterest board. She has a whole board dedicated to inferences. These pictures are great to use to during my literacy centers or to teach inferences.

I found this at http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1422991?&cat=12356
I love taking paint chips and finding ways to use them in the library. I adapted this idea by letting students decorated them with black sharpie's instead of using stamps. Since I definitely am concerned about messes in the library, this was my alternative.

I used this idea to teach character traits. I've had students or teachers (at an in-service) stand in front of the board and had students describe the person. It's a lot of fun and I've never had anyone write something inappropriate.

I've used this idea during RTI with students up to sixth grade.

I have lots of literacy activities in my library. I was putting them all in envelopes, but this is cute for those games/activities with larger pieces. This idea was from 4thgradefrolics.blogspot.com (from whom I pin frequently!)

I love Rudees Room! She's got lots of great ideas. (I also shop her store frequently.) This post helped me organize my RTI materials. Yes, I'm the librarian, but when I'm not in the library or computer lab I help teachers with their Reading classes. At my school we all do whatever it takes to help the students learn to read.

I loved these speech bubbles when I saw them! I had a class having a hard time understanding dialogue. I printed some of these up to help them understand anything a character/student says must be placed in quotation marks. 

I love using book order forms during centers. I would have never have thought of using them without Pinterest.

I saw this idea and decided to help my 3rd graders with fact and opinion. I only have one bulletin board in my library so I turned it into an activity. They had to write facts from a couple non-fiction selections onto duck silhouette. They loved it. We're real duck commander fans here in East Tennessee!

I love graphic organizers. This one I got from Scholastic. I have tons several graphic organizers pined.







Pet's in the Library?

No, the kids didn't bring their pets today. We just read about pets. Today we read:
If I had a Gorilla by Mercer Mayer.

I just love Mercer Mayer. He also has a great website in case you need a funny moment or two. (Comes in handy if you happen to get a nasty cough and have trouble with the read alouds!)

I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orfoff, illustrated by David Catrow

This is an adorable tale of Alex and his mother debating the issue of a pet iguana.

Had to read Hi! Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold. Doesn't everyone have a pet fly?

Other great pet stories are:
The Berenstain Bears' Trouble With Pets by Stan and Jan Berenstain
Dino Pets by Lynn Plourde
Daniel's Pet by Alma Flor Ada, illustrated by Brian Karas
Pinky and Rex and the Just Right Pet by James Howe, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Author's Pet Business by Marc Brown
The Perfect Pet by Margie Palatini, illustrated by Bruce Whatley
Pet Show! by Ezra Jack Keats
Henry and Mudge books by Cynthia Rylant

Today the kids took home an animal mask. I found these kits at Oriental Trading.  (The kits I picked up last year are a little different than what is currently instock.)
I'm going home to read. What else can I do in the rain?

Keep Reading!  I will...

If only reading books got my house cleaned.......

This summer I have definitely been reading more. My flower beds are weedy and  my house is dusty! My wonderful mother-in-law informed me "Dust is a country accessory!" If that's true, my house is so stylish it should be featured in HGTV magazine! (I won't insult Southern Living.)  Hmmmm, wonder if my teenager would dust for gas money? It's really not that bad, but if you come to see my house, make an appointment.

Seriously, I read some great books last week. I couldn't pick just a couple to blog about. This might be my longest post to date.   I have to mention Monet Paints a Day by Julie Danneberg, illustrated by Caitlin Heimerl.

This one is just a terrific way to introduce art/artists to our students. Basically,  Ms. Danneberg has recreated a day in the life of Claude Monet. It's wonderful. Ms. Heimerl's illustrations are perfect. Would work well with a sequencing activity. Maybe I should make one. (Another reason not to dust!)

Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed by Emily Pearson, illustrated by Fumi Kosaka is another standout.

Our math teachers could incorporate a little multiplication with this one. Little Mary does a good deed and it spreads all around. Could be used with cause and effect, manners, multiplication... Reminded me a little of another great book that I read a couple weeks ago - Because Amelia Smiled by David Ezra Stein.

Don't Squeal Unless It's a Big Deal by Jeanie Franz Ransom, illustrated by Jackie Urbanovic

This one I have to read to a certain group of 2nd graders this fall. Oh my, they love to tattle. Our school councilor will love this one. I may just save this one for her to use first. The characters are pigs.... It's the best tattletale story I've seen a while.

King Hugo's Huge Ego by Chris Van Dusen  

Adorable little story about people who brag. Maybe they only go/teach at my school.... The class I mentioned is going to get this one read to them also! Might have to pull this one out for a certain group of 8th graders also. It's pretty funny.

Fortunately, Unfortunately by Michael Foreman

Perfect for cause and effect. I had seen this one on Pinterest. It's as cute as I had heard.

Goldie Socks and the Three Libearians by Jackie Mims Hopkins, illustrated by John Manders

Yes, it's a fractured tale of Goldilocks with a totally different ending. Librarians will love this one, but so will reading teachers. No nasty porridge, just great books in this house.

Keep Reading! I will...