NaNoWriMo is Coming!

Happy fall everyone!  The weather is finally cooling down and I am so excited to start baking pumpkin stuff and eating soup with crusty bread.  It is one of my favorite times of the year.  As I was looking at ideas for lessons this year I started to think about National Novel Writing Month.  Another librarian told me that she did NaNoWriMo with her students and they loved it.  A few weeks ago I decided to visit the website for NaNoWriMo.  I was so excited by what I found!

If you're thinking it's too early to start thinking about lessons in November - think again!  The NaNoWriMo site has tons of lessons to get you started in October.  As I had been considering celebrating in November I wanted to have this not only be a writing project, but a chance for students to learn about the writing process, how books get published, and how to think of themselves as authors.  The idea of fitting all of that into November seemed crazy!  Luckily the NaNoWriMo site has lessons to help students start their stories in October.  Throughout this month we will be planning out our books, then begin writing the stories when November starts.

When I did the first lesson to tell students about NaNoWriMo only one or two had heard of it.  I had a range of emotions from my students.  Some were excited, some were nervous, and others were unhappy that I am "making them be authors".  Now two weeks into the lessons my students seem to really be enjoying it!  This week we have been coming up with our main characters and it has been so much fun to see their creativity!  The thing I am loving about this unit is that I can cover the writing process, author thinking, and story elements all at once.  Plus the kids are so proud of their ideas and love sharing them with their friends.

In planning this unit I thought a lot about what I wanted to accomplish.  In the end I want students to see the writing process and flex their creative writing skills in a fun, relaxing environment.  After coming up with these goals I decided to make a few changes to the usual NaNoWriMo routine.  I am allowing my students to do a novel, picture book, comic book, or play for their story.  I am also not requiring them to sign up online, but I will show them how to sign up if they want.  For writing I am going to give them choices to use pencil and paper, Word documents, or even Storybird.  Many students were asking whether they could use Storybird and were so excited to find out they could.

Head on over to the NaNoWriMo website and check it out for yourself.  They will be moving to a new website next week so make sure to save anything you want to use and sign up for a notification when the switch happens.  Have you done NaNoWriMo with your students?  Have some ideas to get them excited?  Share them below!

Until next time, happy reading!

The Importance of Illustrations - and a Freebie!

There is something about picture books that is just magical.  The way illustrators so carefully plan out and create the events unfolding in words is incredible.  Don't get me wrong, I love chapter books and being able to create characters and scenes in my head, but picture books will always hold a special place in my heart.  This week I have been reading Sam & Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen. 

The premise of the story is simple.  (Spoiler Alert!  If you don't want to know what happens skip down to the next paragraph.)  One day Sam and Dave decide they will dig a hole until they find something spectacular.  They dig down, change directions, split up, then dig down some more.  In the end, they fall and fall until they end up back at their house where they started.  What the words don't tell you is that the boys keep missing diamonds.  Big, fat, ever bigger diamonds. 

This is the magic of illustration, my friends.  You can add so much to a story with pictures!  I read the book to my kindergarten students and warned them that they had to pay attention to the pictures to get the full story.  As soon as that first diamond showed up, little hands shot into the air.  "Look, a diamond!"  "No, they're going to miss it!"  "The dog is digging!  They should listen to him!"  It is amazing how keen those little eyes are when reading a story.  My little ones ate it up and loved every second of it. 

As I was reading today it made me think of a mini-lesson I did with my second graders a few years ago and this book fits perfectly!  You can use several different titles, but I highly recommend Barnett and Klassen's story.  To start out, hand students a paper and tell them that they are going to be the illustrators for a story today.  Read several pages of the story to students, pausing a few times to let them draw what they are imagining in their mind.  You don't need to read the whole book at this point.  If you are using Sam & Dave Dig a Hole, I would stop after they decide to dig the hole, when they change directions, and when they eat animal crackers and drink milk.  Have students share their papers with each other and talk about how they chose what to draw.  Then go back and read the book to students while showing the illustrations.  This can spark a great discussion about the importance of illustrations and how they add so much to a story.

You can use plain paper and have students divide it themselves, or you can use this worksheet that I created.  Do you have other books that show the importance of illustrations?  Share in the comments below.  Happy reading!

Click here for the PDF

Genius Hour: Round 2!

Good afternoon all!  I hope you are having a wonderful week.  Here at my district we are going into our first full week of returning to work and I am slowly getting used to my normal routine.  As much as I love summers off, I really enjoy being in a routine and going to work every day.  Something about having a schedule makes my Type A personality extremely happy. 

This week I discussed my Genius Hour club with librarians in our school district.  It was so much fun to share my memories and lessons from this club.  At the end of last year I shared some lessons from my first year of Genius Hour in this post.  Today I want to share with you my plan for this coming year in Genius Hour. 

If you click the link below it will take you to the Prezi that I used in my professional development session.  On there I include an outline of my 10 week plan, including topics for your mini lessons and some tips for your club. 

Genius Hour Prezi



Some of the things I will be changing this year include having students interview experts in their topic, a more detailed lesson on citing sources, and giving students time to explore two topics before choosing one to create their Genius question.  I also created a Genius Hour Notebook for students to use to track their progress and organize their research.  If you click the link below, you can download the notebook for free!  I hope you find it useful for your students.  I include an extra research graphic organizer if you have any kiddos that need set spaces for their research.  It's very simple but might be useful for some kids.  You have my permission to copy, reuse, and alter the notebook to make it fit your needs for your club.

Genius Hour Notebook

Do you have more ideas for Genius Hour?  Leave them in the comments below!  Thank you to all the teachers that came to my session and listened to me talk for the hour.  Hopefully you learned something new you can take with you into this year!

Until next time, happy reading.

New Year, New Opportunities... and a New Battle Club!

Happy August everyone!  It's that time of year when school is about to start and families are busy doing final summer activities.  Meanwhile I am back from a trip to Mexico City and prepping for the school year.  If you're like me you always start the year with a million great ideas... and then do about half of them.  Once school starts the chaos ensues and we easily get swept away with the usual routine.  This happened last year with my two clubs.  To hopefully combat this trend, I have done some prep work and am going to share it with you!

Last year I ended up doing a Battle of the Books Club because it would be a great item to write about in my dossier.  Another teacher (that had done the club before) was going to run it so I offered to help her out every week.  Fast forward a few weeks and the teacher had moved to a new school which meant I, the Battle newbie, was in charge!  I had never done Battle of the Books before and didn't know much about it so the year was a bit chaotic.  I had students that did not read the books, some that dropped out after Winter Break, and some that were loving it and stuck it out with me.  In the end the three students we took to our local competition won their age division!  If you are a librarian or a teacher that loves reading, this is a great club for you to host.  The kids get to read great titles and the Battle was a lot of fun to attend.  My kids enjoyed showing off their knowledge of the books they had read.

This year I am going to be doing things a bit differently.  I am going to require more from my students from the beginning so they understand that it is not just a club to come hang out in after school.  Here are some changes I am making.  If you are wanting to start your own Battle of the Books club take a look and see if you think these ideas might help you!

1.  Goal Setting
I had students set goals over breaks for reading, but this year I am going to have them make weekly goals and track their progress.  Each student will decide how many pages they want to read every week, and we will discuss their progress for the first few weeks to see if they need to change their goal.  I have a graph page for them to chart the amount they read each week so they can visually see their progress.

2.  Reading Records
Last year if a student finished a book they put a sticker on a chart to let me know they had completed another book.  This year they will be filling out a Reading Record for each book they read.  It is a single page where they write down characters, the setting, a few main events, and 8 Battle questions that we can use during our practice battles.  I am hoping this will make some of them more conscious of what they are reading and also be a good study aid for them before the competition.  It also prevents them from saying they have read the book when they haven't!

3.  Two Book Presentations
Last year I did not set a time for students to finish ten books and I had several that did not finish before the competition.  This year my students must finish ten books by February 10th.  This will give us time to review and practice for the competition.  I will also have them give a short presentation on two of the books they read.  I had them do one last year and they could use PowerPoint, create a brochure, or have a Battle-style quiz show.  This will include information on plot, characters, setting, and more Battle questions.  I have made it clear in my beginning of the year letter that students will complete the work for their presentation during club time, so students will not have to do it as homework.  The presentations will help students review books they have read or introduce them to ones they have not gotten to yet.

This year I have also made a little notebook for my students to keep track of everything.  Last year we wrote Battle questions on loose paper and I was losing my mind with all the scraps of paper around my library!  As my gift to you, I am giving you the notebook for free!  You can download it by clicking on the link below and print it out for your students.  The graphics, if you want more of them, are from mycutegraphics.com.  I love using her stuff on my papers!

Battle of the Books Notebook

I hope this helps you as you begin the school year.  If you have more ideas for Battle of the Books let us know in the comments below!  Until next time, happy reading.

Storybird Tutorial and End of the Year Fun

Happy Monday everyone!  I can't believe we are only eleven and a half days away from the end of the school year!  If your students are anything like mine they are getting restless and will only continue to get more crazy as the end of the year approaches.  Since I only see my students a few more times before we leave for summer I wanted to have a fun project to end the year.

I was introduced to Storybird at a conference and thought it was a great resource.  This website allows students to create chapter books, picture books, and poems.  It has collections of artwork ready for students to use.  I wish students could upload their own artwork, but the collections are wonderful and creative which lends to the creation of great stories.

Throughout the year we have looked at the elements of a story and what makes a story great.  We are using all those things to create our own stories throughout the next few weeks.  Students practiced using the website today and they really enjoyed it!  They stayed on task the entire time and seemed to become familiar with the site quickly.

Below I have a tutorial on how to create your account and use the website.  Hopefully you can help inspire creativity and keep your students interested until the end of the year!

Until next time, happy reading!

Genius Hour Student Work

As promised, here are some pictures and examples of student work from our Genius Hour club this year.  The kids worked hard and I was excited to see their finished results.  We had Powerpoints, dioramas, models, and posters.  To celebrate the end we presented to each other first, then parents came in to look at the student work and share in snacks.  It was nice to spend a bit of time with the families at the end of this project. 

This student did his presentation on different kinds of snakes.  He even made a model of his favorite kind using Model Magic!

This student chose to research famous chemists.  He originally had wanted to research chemistry (such a big topic!) but decided to focus on researchers instead since he hopes to be one someday.

This student originally wanted to research the history of Shopkins which proved to be difficult.  She changed her research to look at the toy and the different Shopkins you can buy.

This student's project was on jellyfish.  He was really interested in their structure.  This was the only slide he created but he had a lot of extra knowledge that he gave during the presentation!

I also had two fifth graders in my club and they made WONDERFUL Powerpoints.  You can check them out here:

Genius Hour Reflections

It’s Friday everyone!  It’s the start of a long day and I am excited to be presenting at the New Mexico Library Association’s Mini-Conference on my Genius Hour Club.  To those of you that are visiting my blog after the presentation, welcome!  Hopefully this post (and others) will be helpful to you.  If you are a new librarian I just posted six tips from my first year.  Go ahead and check it out to see if any of them will help make your next year easier.

Reflecting on this ten week club I have learned a lot.  Some things worked and others will need to be changed next year.  But I definitely hope to do a Genius Hour Club next year!  It was a fun experience and think it was valuable for my students that participated.  One parent thanked me at the final day of club saying it had helped her daughter who struggles with research.  She even said the presentation part was valuable to help with anxiety!  I never had thought of that before but I was glad to see the program had unexpected positive effects.

If you click the picture below you will be linked to my Prezi presentation that I presented at the conference.  There you can find the lessons that I learned and links from the presentation.

I also wanted to show you some examples of student work from the club, but I will post those separately.  Below are my lessons from Genius Hour.  Hope they can help you start your own club or time in your classroom!

Lesson 1: Advertisement is Key!

When I did my Battle of the Books club, I had many students that didn't know what it was and missed signing up because of that.  This semester I asked the club coordinator to put in a description of the event for Genius Hour, but for various reasons this did not happen.  It is important to get the word out!  Put up posters, present the information during your library classes, and invite students that you know might be interested.

Lesson 2: Model What You Teach

I used this time as not only time for my students but myself as well.  Students learn so much from watching the process!  I chose my own Genius Hour topic and looked into the process of writing a children's book.  Since this is something I've been interested in doing for fun, I figured this would give me the perfect opportunity to carve out time.  Use your own project to model the process for students.

Lesson 3: Brackets aren't just for March Madness!

I quickly realized it would be hard for my students to narrow down their topics and choose just one.  To make the process easier I used a bracket.  Students wrote down potential topics and then narrowed them down by deciding which they like better between two options.  This was a HUGE help and I highly recommend it when narrowing down topic ideas.

Lesson 4:  Prior Knowledge is Key

Throughout the year I have done a lot of research lessons with my fourth and fifth graders.  I have also done some with third grade, but we have not gone as deep with them yet.  I noticed my third graders struggled more with the research portion.  The more research you have taught in your regular library classes the easier the process will be for your students since your time is short.

Lesson 5: Get Others Involved

When I originally started the club, I wanted students to be able to contact professionals in the field they were studying to interview them.  As time went on, we got busy and this didn't happen and it is one big regret I have.  If you want to bring in community members and professionals, start early!  Also, inviting family and teachers to enjoy the celebration and presentations at the end was a lot of fun.  Try to have a "show and tell" time for the students to show off all their hard work.

Lesson 6:  Check In Each Week

This really helps the kids stay on track and helps you facilitate the process.  I called students back one at a time and talked about how they were feeling about their project, what they needed to do that day (goal setting!), and what they needed from me.  You could also do quick check ins at the beginning of each time and just have the kids tell you their goal for that day.

Lesson 7: Let It Go!

Things never go as planned.  Kids drop out.  Some kids will be more excited than others.  There will be a student that just can't seem to stay on task.  Just go with it and remember your mission for this club.  We want kids to become lifelong learners!  The process is messy and you will make it through.

Lesson 8:  Know Your Resources

One thing I wish I had done was give students more of an introduction to their presentation options.  Research different ways students can present the material, then quickly highlight two each week.  This will help those that want to branch out of the Powerpoint rut know other options.

Do you plan on hosting a Genius Hour club in your library?  What about having Genius Hour in your classroom?  I would love to hear your ideas and tips!  Until next time, happy reading!

Six Tips from Year One

Hello all!  I am currently in Las Cruces for the New Mexico Library Association’s Mini Conference.  As weird as it sounds I am SO excited to be here.  What librarian wouldn’t want a chance to meet up with fellow nerds?  And my school/district was generous enough to pay for it!  I’m looking forward to a few days of learning to be a better librarian and sharing some of my own wisdom from this past year.

I’ve been reflecting a lot on my first year as a librarian and it just continues to amaze me how much you can learn in a year.  Each school year brings new challenges and opportunities and this year was definitely no exception.  Every May I look back and think, “I should have done that.”  Thankfully there are also things I look back on and can say worked well and will be continued into the next year.  So this post will hopefully share some wisdom to help you make it through your first (or 25^th!) year of being a librarian.

*As a side note, I think some of this is also applicable in the general education classroom.  So hopefully some of my teacher friends can get something out of this as well!

1.        Do it.  Do it now.

You know exactly what I am talking about.  The Panda book that you noticed in the Greek mythology section as you were shelving.  The fine that a kid turned in this morning that you forgot to process while they were in class.  For my teacher friends, the grading that you see sitting on your desk that you could knock out in ten minutes.  It’s easy to see things like this and think, “I’ll do it later.”  Then later comes and your bookshelves are a mess or there are now 5 assignments to grade or you find that fine under your lesson plan book a few days later.  The more proactive you are in dealing with these small items, the easier life will be for you.  And the less likely it will be that you stay an hour after school dealing with these “small” tasks!

2.       Shelve every day.

This is a lesson I have learned the hard way.  If you can get assistance from parents then you are a rock star.  If you have an EA or Library Assistant to help you, God bless your administrator.  As an elementary librarian I teach five, sometimes six classes a day and only get 50 minutes on normal days for planning and shelving.  I have a grandmother of a student that comes in occasionally, and those days I am so relieved!  It is incredibly easy for the shelving to become overwhelming when you have over 750 students.  Find times where you can do small amounts throughout the day.  I try to shelve a bit between classes so that it doesn’t get out of control.  Now that I am more familiar with my library I am MUCH faster.  Make it a goal to shelve at least 15-20 minutes a day and things should stay manageable.

3.       Self check out is a lifesaver!

I was skeptical about having students check out their own books.  After only 3 weeks of first graders pulling on my sleeve to get help finding a book or check out the one they found I HAD to find something to help the chaos.  I started with my 3^rd-5^th graders first and taught them all how to check out on their own.  (Another post on this process later.)  For the first month or so I stood by the computer watching students check out to make sure people knew the process.  I noticed by the 3^rd or 4^th time any students that didn’t know what they were doing were automatically corrected by their peers.  At the beginning of our second semester I taught 1^st and 2^nd grade how to check out their books.  Even my first graders caught on quickly!  You will lose a few books in the process (this was mentioned by several posts I read) but for me the payoff was worth it.  Now I am able to manage student behavior when necessary and help students find materials they want. For next year I would like to teach second grade from the start and teach first grade after the first 12 weeks.  I’ll also have an “assistant librarian” each week to watch students and make sure they do it correctly.

4.       You can’t please everyone.

This is one I have to learn over and over again.  There will always be someone unhappy with a decision you make.  I had a teacher in the beginning of the year that was not happy with the number of books I was letting the students check out.  When that happens, just remember to pick your battles.  Begin by explaining your decision to the teacher (or parent) and why it will benefit the students.  If they continue to press the issue you will need to decide if it is worth fighting over.  I chose to alter the limit for those students to suit the teacher’s preference.  For me it wasn’t worth being at odds with my coworker.  The kids were upset at first, but they got over it and haven’t mentioned it since.  Just adjust accordingly or stick to your guns if necessary.

5.       Routine and procedures are key.

This is a lesson I quickly learned in the general education classroom and my assistant principal mentioned it when she came in to do my observation this year.  For library teachers it is extremely important because we only see the kids once a week (at best).  If you have routines in your library, this prevents any wasted time.  My students file in the library the same way every time, do checkout the same way every time, and do centers after checking out EVERY TIME.  It is especially helpful for students at our school in the special education program.  We have a program at our school for students with emotional diagnoses and any change can trigger an outburst.  My routines help students be set for success and know my expectations.  They know what to expect and it helps alleviate any anxiety or behavior issues. 

6.       Be an advocate for teachers.

When I moved to the library I wanted to make sure to remember the perspective I had as a teacher.  Teachers and librarians (or other school support positions) can often bump heads because we don’t know much about each other’s jobs.  During parent teacher conferences several teachers mentioned how nice it would be to “have two days off”.  Many were surprised to realize that I do a lot of work on those days, including going through my collection of almost 4,000 books to make sure they were in order and find any books that were marked as lost.  (This took up an entire day.)  I feel like this is a common theme in our world today.  We like to think we know what someone’s life or job are like, but often our picture of them is so far from the truth.  As a librarian I try to advocate for my teachers and support them as much as possible.  I track behavior in case they need information on a child for Student Assistance Team meetings.  I supply resources and offered a training this year on our eBooks and database.  I even send out occasional newsletters with specific lesson ideas involving skills I know they are working on or books I have just gotten into the library.  As a result I have had some teachers become an advocate for me, letting others know what I’ve done to help them.  This has really helped me gain trust with teachers so that we can work together. 

I will be posting some information on the end of Genius Hour tomorrow after my presentation.  Until then, happy reading!

Canva Tutorial

Good evening everyone!  I am in the midst of my (hopefully) last crazy week before the final push to summer.  I am speaking at the New Mexico Library Association's Mini-Conference this week and my students from Battle of the Books are competing on Saturday.  By the time my family rolls into town on Sunday I will be ready for a short vacation on Monday!  Until then I will have to load more money on my Starbucks app!

In my previous post involving to-do lists I mentioned Canva.com.  This has been a great resource for me to create posters, invitations, and newsletters for my teachers.  I figured I would create a quick tutorial to show you how easy the website is to use.  Take a look and see if you can add Canva to your toolkit!  Happy reading!

Night for the Arts - Reflections on an Art and Poetry Night

We had our Night for the Arts at my school and I am happy to say I am almost finished with big events for the year.  It has been a wild ride and I wanted to share some things I've learned this year, starting with my poetry night.

Lesson 1: There is Strength in Numbers.
When I started planning this event, I ended up making myself a bit of a lone ranger.  I have a tendency to take on huge tasks and not want to burden others with the details and jobs to be done.  Having added more people to the planning team would have been a HUGE stress reliever.  And of course, you'll need tons of help the day of to get everything situated.  Luckily I had people to help me out when setting things up.  My husband was a trooper, and we even go help from my mother-in-law and my co-worker, Diana.  I couldn't have gotten everything done in time without them.

Lesson 2: Combine with Another Event.
When I began planning this event, I had initially wanted to do the poetry stations as part of a literacy night.  I found out that there was not a literacy night being planned and there was no literacy team to help me.  In the end we had about 100 people show up which was a good amount.  Not many people are drawn to a poetry event.  If you want a bigger turn out, plan a literacy night instead and have a poetry center.

Lesson 3:  Advertisement is Key!
My poetry and art night had a competition component where students could enter poetry and artwork to win a prize, as well as try out to recite poetry during our Poetry Slam.  With the timing of our event I could either send out permission slips the week before Spring Break and hope kids remembered over that long week, or send out the slips the week after Spring Break and only give kids a short time to prepare.  Looking back, I wish I had sent out the notices before break and then reminded students once they came back.  This would have given them time to work on their artwork or poetry over the break if they needed that time.  You also want to promote the event and competition before you send out notices so kids get excited about it.  Next time I can hopefully avoid the issue altogether by planning the timing around the breaks!

Lesson 4: Involve the Community
It is amazing how willing local companies are to help out with school events!  I had several places donate gift cards for prizes and baked goods for families to snack on during the event.  This went a long way to make the event better for both students and families.  I had also arranged for the public library nearby to send the children's librarian to promote summer programs, but she ended up having to cancel last minute because of a scheduling issue.  Never forget that the public library is a resource, too!

Lesson 5: Have Fun and Eat Something
When you are planning a big event it is easy to get stressed.  Make sure you get as much done ahead of time and recruit lots of people to help so you can enjoy the event as well.  And don't forget to plan on eating dinner before your event!  People started showing up and I realized my dinner was still sitting in a bag.  Carve out some time and have someone to force you to eat, even if it's bites between stapling signs into the wall.

I hope these tips help you, whether you are planning a poetry night or other event.  Do you have any tips for planning an event?  Leave them in the comments below.  Until next time, happy reading!

Getting Organized and Getting It Done

Hello everyone!  I am currently sitting on my couch taking a break from making some Margarita Cupcakes that my sister posted on my Facebook timeline.  I'll be posting about that later this weekend so you can try them out!

If you are anything like me, you LOVE your to-do lists.  I write them for everything.  Grocery shopping, weekend chores, school... it all ends up on a list.  I'm currently in the middle of planning my Night for the Arts a our school and was wanting to put together a to-do list (surprise) to help me keep track of everything.  I looked for one on Pinterest and couldn't come up with one I liked.  Rarely does Pinterest let me down, but when it does there is only one thing to do - make your own!

This year I discovered Canva, a website that lets you design items for social media, banners, flyers, and anything else you can imagine.  I first used it to design these invitations for a friend's baby shower.

I also use it to make my newsletters for teachers and posters for events at school.  There is a great selection of backgrounds, fonts, and shapes.  I only use the free items, but there are also other features you can use that cost money.

I made a few lists for myself.  One is for weekend or home chores.  This would also be great for a stay at home mom that needs to keep track of all those appointments and errands!  There is one copy with Matthew 6:34, a great reminder to not worry and stress, and another that does not have the scripture on the bottom.

Home List or Home List with Scripture

I also included a "Make Time for Me" spot.  You can't work yourself to the bone.  If I've learned anything in my past 3 years of teaching, it's that you have to make time for yourself.

I also made several lists for school.  There is one for the week, a general to-do list, one for teachers, and one for librarians.  Hopefully you can find what you need to stay organized!

School List or School List with Scripture

To download the documents just click on the hyperlinks.  Until next time, happy reading!

Celebrating Read Across America

I don't know about you guys, but it just baffles me that we are almost all the way through February!  We have a short week this week for parent teacher conferences, which means I get to go through all my shelves and make sure things are in order.  Lucky me!  My to-do list for conference days is always a million miles long and never seems to get even halfway done.  We'll see how productive I am at the end of this week!

Every year the National Education Association promotes Read Across America day.  This program is an effort to get students across the country reading and celebrating a love of books.  Since it falls on Dr. Seuss' birthday, many people love to celebrate with Dr. Seuss themed activities.  With the event approaching quickly I thought I would share some of my favorite ideas.

Fox in Socks Graphing
I have seen this idea a few times in my searching and thought it was a great way to incorporate math with literature!  You designate one day of the week as "Silly Socks Day".  Students wear their silliest socks and listen as you read Fox in Socks.  Then, you can have students decorate a sock with a new design and tape it onto the board in either the "Wearing Silly Socks" or "Not Wearing Silly Socks" section.  Once all the data is collected, students create graphs to show how many students in their class are wearing silly socks. 

The Lorax with Upper Elementary Skills
I found this great blog post from One Stop Teacher Shop with ideas on how to use The Lorax with upper elementary students.  She has worksheets for inference, context clues, and story mapping.  There are even movie questions and a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the book with the movie.  All of the worksheets are $5 on her Teacher Pay Teachers site and it looks like it would be well worth it.

Cat in the Hat Word Family Sorting
I found these free word family sorting hats on This Reading Mama.  It would be a perfect center activity in your classroom for Read Across America.  She has included PLENTY of short and long vowel options, so you will be guaranteed to find word families you have covered with your students already.  If you plan ahead you can even laminate them to be used every year.  Just put them in envelopes with the word family on the front so you can easily find them as you teach them!

Rhyme Time Sorting
Khrys from Keepin' It Kool in KinderLand created this free rhyme sorting page.  This would be a great activity for your kinders and first graders.  You could have the entire class do it at once after doing a rhyming lesson with a Dr. Seuss book, or have it as a center.  You can find the download here.

Bartholomew and the Oobleck
This has to be one of my favorite Dr. Seuss activities.  It is definitely a messy one, but the kids absolutely love it!  Plus, you get to combine science and reading all in one!  It is a great project to discuss states of matter, and I have even seen some posts where you incorporate sound as well.  The book is a bit long, so I broke it up throughout the day with my second graders and we did the science portion at the end of the day.  Go to my Read Across America Pinterest board for several links to this activity.


I will be continuing to look for Dr. Seuss activities in the coming week so make sure to follow me on Pinterest for more great ideas!  Do you have a favorite activity for Read Across America Day?    Until next time, happy reading!

Comparing and Contrasting with Kevin Henkes

One of my favorite authors is Kevin Henkes.  His characters are funny and relatable for students while dealing with common issues.  My students love realizing that some characters appear in multiple books.  His books are useful for teaching many skills, but I especially love using them to teach students comparing and contrasting.

I taught this two part lesson with my third graders and focused on theme for the first lesson.  (If you teach younger students you could look at story elements or beginning/middle/end.)  We used Storyline Online to watch Chester's Way during our first lesson.  I was so excited to find this story on SAG's website, and even more excited when I saw that they have Katie Leclerc doing American Sign Language interpretation with this story!  I took sign language in college and enjoyed it, so this was a fun addition.

I've noticed my students have a difficult time locking onto the difference between theme and lesson in a story.  I gave a few examples of lesson and theme to help them see the connections and difference between the two concepts.  We looked at how students need to look at what the characters say and do as well as how they change throughout the story to find the theme.

As we read the story we kept track of events and characters to help us track those changes.  At the end, we discussed with partners what the lesson would be first, then used that lesson to help us find the theme of the story. Students were able to find more than one lesson or theme for the story, which led to a good discussion on how we can get different things out of a story.

The next time students came to me for library I read aloud Julius, Baby of the World.  I chose this book for several reasons.  It has characters from Chester's Way, which allows them to compare and contrast the same character in different stories.  In both stories the main character does not get along with another character until the end of the book.  The two books have enough similarities and differences to make them perfect for this standard.  We began by reviewing how to identify the theme of a book and reminding our neighbors of the events in Chester's Way.  At the end of the lesson, I had students get into groups of three to complete a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the stories.  Students did well with this lesson and they definitely felt more comfortable with theme the second time around.

What's your favorite Kevin Henke's book and how do you use it in your classroom?  Until next time, happy reading!

Genius Hour: Unlocking the Passion in Your Students

Happy Friday everyone!  Is it just me, or did this week drag by extremely slowly?  The PTA came in to set up Book Fair on Thursday and we opened today, which meant we saw a lot of traffic in the library.  I will definitely be ready to stay in bed late and watch a ridiculous amount of Netflix tomorrow morning!
On Tuesday I started a new club with some of my students.  I came across the idea of Genius Hour a year ago when I was looking for research projects for my students.  The idea intrigued me, but I was hesitant to take on the chaos of Genius Hour with 25 second graders.  This new trend actually began at Google, where they allow their employees to spend some time working on pet projects (as long as they could potentially benefit the company).  This idea has spread into classrooms, where teachers are setting aside time for students to research something they are passionate about.  I could type out all the information about Genius Hour, but the video below gives the history of the idea and how it is being applied to classrooms.

Here are a few reasons I like the idea of Genius Hour:
1.  Giving Them Choice
So much of what we do is dictated by standards, administration, and other forces that run the education world.  I know when I was in the classroom it seemed like I was constantly being told what to teach and how to teach it.  Trying to fit every child's interests into your lessons is daunting and impossible.  This gives them a chance to be in charge of a small part of their school time.
2.  Sneaking in Skills
As students do their projects, they will naturally have to use research skills.  This gives you a chance to teach these skills as they do their projects, having them apply their research skills in an authentic way.  It will be a great opportunity to informally review things such as how to choose a search term or how to check if a source is credible.
3.  Creating Lifelong Learners
We all want our students to grow up to be lifelong learners that have a passion about something.  If a student is having trouble trying to find a book I always start the conversation with "What are you interested in?"  You wouldn't believe how many times the answer is "Nothing."  I throw out some popular answers (animals, sports, crafts, drawing, etc.) and we come up empty.  Helping students explore various topics lets them discover these passions that they will be able to carry into the future.

For our first meeting we came up with topics we might want to research and narrowed it down to one specific topic.  When I was preparing and making my own list, I realized it was even difficult for me to narrow down my topics.  I chose to use a blank bracket to help us make the process easier.  Students started by making a list of topics they might want to explore during Genius Hour.  I reminded them that they can include things they want to learn more about, hobbies they currently have, or even things they know nothing about or skills they want to learn.

After we finished our list, I modeled how to narrow down our list using the bracket.  Some students had over 20 items (whoa!) and had to narrow down ahead of time since there were only 16 slots.  We discussed things like what supplies we would need to make our final product, if it would be hard to find information on the topic, or if one topic sounds more interesting.  In the end they were all able to choose a topic for Genius Hour!  We had everything from Shopkins to aeronautics to snakes.

Next week we will be looking at the difference between a Google question and a Genius question.  Then we will use our topic to formulate a question that will guide our research.  I'm excited to see what these kids come up with!  Have you ever done Genius Hour or something similar in your classroom?  What are your opinions on this movement?  Until next time, happy reading!

Books You Won't Be Able to Keep on Your Shelf

Good afternoon all!  I'm hoping you had a pleasant week in your classroom.  If not - rejoice!  It's the weekend!  To start off your weekend, I thought I would bring you a list of great books to add to your collection if you do not already own them.  These are titles that seem to fly off my shelves as soon as I get them in.  The kids can't get enough!  So sit back, relax, and open that Amazon Wish List up.

The Mal and Chad Series

These books are always unavailable because they get picked up as soon as I check them in.  Like, they don't even make it off my sorting carts and onto the shelves.  I actually know Stephen McCranie from college and his hilarious personality definitely comes through in his work!  The kids love reading the adventures of this boy genius and his talking dog and have been begging me to order more copies.  New ones are on their way soon, but I know those will be gone just as fast!  This is a great series for reluctant readers and lovers of comic books.  Recommended for grades 3-7.

The Dork Diaries Series

These books are very popular with my students that love Diary of a Wimpy Kid (aka all of them).  The girls especially love that it is a similar style with a female main character.  Another great choice for reluctant readers to get them into a series.  Recommended for grades 4-8.

The Draw 50 Series



I constantly have my little artists asking me for drawing books and they LOVE these!  They are very worn from years of love and inspiration.  They have different categories and it gives students step by step directions to guide them in creating the drawings.  This is great for those kids looking to improve their art abilities, and would even make a good addition to your students' Fun Friday activities!

Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson

This book is one of our Battle of the Books selections this year.  As a result, it is not currently circulating to all of the school but my Battle students love it!  This Finnish book follows a family of Moomins that have a tendency to take in strays and get into mischief and adventures.  When Moomintroll and his friend find the Hobgloblin's hat, they begin a silly and unexpected adventure.  There are multiple Moomin books, so students that love the original will be able to continue enjoying the adventures of the characters.  Recommended for grades 4-7.

The 39 Clues Series

The death of a family member sends two orphans on a hunt for clues to a family fortune - and the truth about their parents' death.  This book is great for students that like adventure and suspense.  There is even a website and collectible cards for students to join in the story!  Recommended for grades 3-7.

A Practical Guide to Dragons by Lisa Trumbauer

This companion book to the Dragonlace series is a hit with my students.  It has detailed illustrations and gives information on different dragons in the Dragonlace world.  Many of my students have not read the book series and simply read this book because they love dragons.  Recommended for grades 1-4.

The Sisters Grimm Series

In this fairytale adventure, two orphaned sisters are sent to live with their grandmother and soon learn a family secret.  They are descendants of the Brothers Grimm and come from a line of family members that keep the Everafters (fairytale characters living in the real world) in line.  Students love the adventure and ties to familiar fairytale stories.  Recommended for grades 4-6.

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

In this graphic novel memoir, Telgemeier documents her struggles of growing up with a long string of orthodontia work after a fall results in losing two teeth.  Not only does she deal with painful dental work, but social struggles, boy issues, and awkwardness all come into play throughout her middle and high school experience.  This is an engaging story for those students that feel out of place and unsure, as the author shows how she overcame these struggles and grew her love of drawing and animation in this period of her life.  The students also love her other graphic novels, Sisters and Drama.  Recommended for grades 5 and up.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

This Newbery Medal winner is based on a true story.  Ivan, a gorilla held in captivity in a mall, is used to entertain mall patrons and drum up business.  As a new baby elephant is brought in, Ivan befriends her and helps her adjust to life in captivity.  But a promise to a friend means that Ivan and his companions must work together to free the animals.  A heartwarming story that animal lovers will enjoy.  Recommended for grades 3-7.

The Skippyjon Jones Series by Judy Schachner

I was first introduced to these books by my mom, who is also a teacher.  Whenever I read these stories aloud to my students they are laughing hysterically!  Skippyjon Jones is a Siamese cat that thinks he is a Chihuahua.  Constantly in trouble for his mischief, he escapes away to a land where he helps the Chimichangoes (a group of Chihuahuas) save the day.  There are several books in the collection and you will love every one of them!  With rhyming and various Spanish phrases, this is a great book for younger children and your Spanish-speaking students.  Just make sure to use an accent if you read it aloud!  Recommended for grades K-3.

Hopefully these titles have given you some inspiration for your classroom library!  My students have enjoyed each and every one of them and I know yours will as well.  Take a look below for a peek at some of the upcoming posts I will be creating!  Until next time, happy reading.

Comparing and Contrasting with Kevin Henkes

Genius Hour: Inspiring Passion in Your Students

We Scream for Ice Cream Cupcakes!

Book Reviews