Read this!!

So as I continue my quest through the Sequoyah books I read a favorite author and a new one(for me).

First was The Buffalo are Back by Jean Craighead George. Let me say I love her books. but this one...hmmm not so much. It will be a great book to teach biomes and Native American interactions. I wish it would have referenced all the state and national parks where buffalo can still be found.

This next one though....FABULOUS!!! Read this now!!! Out of my Mind by Sharon M. Draper was outstanding. This would be a great read aloud for school. What a great perspective for a story of a girl with cerebal palsy. This blew me away. Stunning! I want everybody to read this so I can talk more about it. Yes....I did read all morning!

For just fun reading I read The First Husband by Laura Dave. Definitely for grown ups but not sex scenes that are so embarassing. It was really good. It actually had an ending that I did not figure out beforehand. It also had lots of travel reference that would be fun to research. by the way my copy borrowed from the local public library had a pic of only one shirt and tie. you know its the little things.

go read a book-Kathy

Excited about Sequoyah!

So this is a change....I have NOT been excited about the Sequoyah book list in a few years. Could I be more excited because I just became my school's LMS? Well yes that is a factor but more importantly..it's the books--as it should be.
I was at my public library when I saw their display for the Sequoyah books. For those of you who aren't familar with this ....students must read(or have read to them) three books to be able to vote for their favorite. The past view years have really shown an emphasis on older readers and harder books. As a classroom teacher this past year I only manage to read one aloud so few of my students got to vote. I have tried to do two in the past so they only have to do one on their own.

Back the the library....the first thing I noticed was the easy reads or picture books or nonchapter if you will. The last time I posted I discussed one of those books. but this trip I was able to snag 5 books! And only one of those was a chapter book. Now this is important for a few reasons. One I am supposed to be doing homework! Two you can only check these out for seven days. Three I am leaving for the AVID conference on Wednesday.  So I am excited to knock out so many from my list in such a short amount of time. I probably could have sat there and read the 5 short ones but what's the fun in that? Don't you love the feeling of your arms loaded down with new books to read??

Onward, so last night I read these jewels and that's when I got really excited! I could immediately find ways to teach with each of these. Of course since I am not in the classroom I will have to tweak my lessons. UGH!!!

Stop....find the joy in the books! Anyways here they are!!!!

The first is How to Clean a Hippotamus: A Look at Unusual Animal Partnerships by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page. This nonfiction is easy to read, has great pictures, and is FULL of animals. This will mesh with using Common Core Standards to teach science. I could teach for weeks with this book.

The next isThe Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco. I have read this book a few times and love it everytime. My favorite part is when the students get vials of smells to make their groups. I love these messages about not giving up and doing your best. So important in our classrooms when kids just are motivated to work hard.

Ruth and the Greeen Book  by Calvin Alexander Ramsy was very informative. It tells the story of Ruth and her family as they go on a trip to her grandmother's. The problem is they are African American and it is the fifties and segregation keeps them from using restrooms, eating in restaurants, and staying in motels. The Green Book to the rescue!

Last of these but as the cliche goes not the least---probably my favorite for class use is MirrorMirror: A Book of Reversible Verse by Marilyn Singer. This is a book of forwards and reverse poems about fairy tales. As a poetry book it really captures the reader's interest. But as a tool to teach point of view and inferencing. Made my heart go pitter patter....this will be so fun to teach with!

Last week I also finished one of the chapter books on the list, The Dancing Pancake by Eileen Spinelli and Joanne Lew-Vrietholf. This book about a young girl dealing with her parents' separation. This would be a great read aloud for the classroom and you could do losts of writing extensions.


And yes I did do my homework this week too. I am so blessed that I can go to a book for information, for fun, and  for relaxation. Help a child to accomplish this too!
-go read a book,
Kathy

The first days of summer break

During these first days of summer break I have been doing a lot of reading and writing...for my master's classes. Being me I have still squeezed in quite a bit of reading. My goal this summer is to read all of the Sequoyah nominees(in case I get the LMS job) and to read a variety of books that I bought for my class library. I have always tried to read everything that I make available to my kids. So I will be either crazy or cross eyed if I get the LMS job since I don't think I can read them all!!

Anyway--for the Sequoyah I read Black Elk's Vision- A Lakota Story by S.D. Nelson. I enjoyed it but even for my fifth graders I think it should be a teacher read aloud. It provides lots of places to jump into content from Native American perspectives, to Westward Expansion, to habitats. Students will have to use inferencing to get the most from this story.

From my class library list I read All the Lovely Bad Ones by Mary Downing Hahn and Earthquake Terror by Peg Kehret. I have read other novels by both of these writers and was not disappointed. Many of my kids had already read All the Lovely Bad Ones and some had it read to them when they were third graders by their teacher(my daughter-Andrea). I read The Doll in the Garden when Andrea was a fifth grader and checked it out from her school library. What a circle! I also enjoyed the Kehret story--my new interest in survivalism got a charge from this story.

Lastly I read A Woman's Place by Barbara Delinsky. This is definitely an adult book with probably to many connections to my own life. A coworker gave it to me to read. Hmmm she read me like a book! She said there was a WORD that was me!! Holy moly which word? Stubborn, independent, controlling, determined! I 'm still not sure if it's a complement or not! It was eye opening to say the least and gave me cause to ponder my life....yes, that makes it a good book!

go read a book!
Kathy