Wanted to share our door one week since we started our #classroombookaday challenge started. I am SO inspired when I see it, and am loving the comments that people are giving us as they walk by and look at it. It also just makes me smile. 🙂 We have added 13 books this week! 
Tag Archives: books
#classroombookaday
If you’ve been around here for a while, you probably know that I like a challenge. I’ve written about a 40 Book Challenge, a blogging challenge, kid’s cup stacking, marshmallow and design challenges, and I’m not sure if I wrote about it, but I took on a half-marathon training program as a personal challenge last fall. And so when another book challenge presented itself recently, of course I was game. It’s just kind of how I roll. 🙂
The #classroombookaday hashtag is one I’ve seen before, and have thought about trying out, but most of the time I’ve caught it too late in the game to get started (I’m kind of an all-or-nothing person, so unless it’s the beginning of the year/month/quarter, etc., it’s hard for me to do). This time around I had already been thinking about it before school anyway, and had been informally keeping track of our read alouds as we got into the first days of first grade. Then, my friend Ms. Turken (@im4students@im4students) and our principal, Mrs. Sisul (@GRRprincipal), both got involved and I knew it was on. There are bulletin boards and tons of books being read and lots of fabulous stories being shared and laughs being laughed. I am pretty sure, too, that it’s a friendly challenge, with each of us cheering the other one on, rather than declaring a winner or counting who’s got the most (right, friends??). I’m super excited about how it’s going already, and am interested to see what kinds of conversations come out of this kind of data collection. I can already see TONS of math in the images I have of our door (which is where we’re tracking our books), and there are many discussions about predictions in our future, too.
Here’s our #classroombookaday data up to this afternoon; we’ve been reading since August 16, so today was day 11.
That picture makes me so happy, and I am interested to see how quickly we fill up the door. There’s really not that much room left! At this rate, we’ve only got about another month or so of space! Then where will we go?? Excited to see. 🙂
What math do you see in our pictures? Have you ever taken on a challenge? How did it go? What book suggestions can you make for us? Please leave us a comment and let’s chat about it! 🙂
Fall Book Fair Preview
We went to the library again today, so that Mrs. Meihaus could give us a preview of the Scholastic Book Fair that’s coming in a couple of weeks. We watched a video, and talked a a little about what we saw, and then checked out the library commons again in order to check out some new books.
It can sometimes really be annoying entertaining to watch movies with small children, as they usually say everything that is in their head out loud in the room (this happens in many part of our days right now…). Well, since the movie they were watching was about books, I listened even closer to what they were saying.
About Dog Man by Dav Pilkey of Captain Underpants fame: “I’m gonna look for that!”
About Magic Puppy: “Aww, that’s so cute! I’m gonna get that!”
About Lego Dino Safari and Lego Knights and Castles: “YEAH!!!!!!!!!” (yes, they were that excited. 🙂 (On a side note, so was I. These were kind of a cross between Lego, non-fiction, humor and graphic novel. I want to read one!)
So no one really said anything about these last few, but I was interested in them for our classroom!
After we finished up with our lesson, and had a reminder about how to use the library respectfully, we were off! And YES, I got pictures this time. Please check out Rm. 202 kids at work as well as the new Library Commons layout. It’s a GREAT place to be. 🙂
I saved these last two pictures because they are definitely where the energy is with reading in our room right now:
I LOVE that Callahan chose this new classroom favorite as his check out today. I shared it on one of our very first days, and he thought his brother would like it, too! Great idea, Cal!
I read My New Friend is So Fun! the other day and WE LOVED IT and since there we’ve ready at least 3 or 4 more, and have now made the goal of READING THEM ALL!! Um, yeah, we’re kind of Elephant and Piggie fans in Rm. 202–but it’s kind of hard not to be, I guess. 🙂
Ok, one more…well, two more. See what I mean…
I took this picture of our friend Josh today in the library:
Ok, and check this one out from August 26, 2015. Yep, same day last year:
WHAT??? It was cute enough that the brothers took the same picture on the same big ‘ole bear, but on the same date??? That’s even better! Well at least to me. And to their mom. LOL 🙂
Thanks for reading! Leave us a note about your thoughts, will ya? Kids LOVE to know you are reading their stories. 🙂
#FDOFG–Favorite Book Museum!
For many years, I’ve been celebrating reading and helping readers get to know each other better–and therefore build our classroom community–by using a Reading Museum. While the difficulty and actual procedures are different depending on what grade I’m teaching (I’ve tried this protocol with 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th graders), the purpose is the same: help kids see themselves and their classmates as readers and make connections between interests and books!
Before I even get to the “how-we-did-this” part, I HAVE to share this amazing picture from just before we started. It’s super cute because it has a carpetful of first graders and gives me chills and makes me want to squeal (yes, actually!) because of all the books! Just indulge me for a moment then we’ll move on…
See? What did I tell you?? TOO. MUCH. Ok, let’s get to the other good stuff. 🙂
As a “homework” assignment over the weekend kiddos were asked to find their favorite book and bring it to school with them on Monday. After we collected them and took this AMAZING picture, we talked about the purpose of our Reading Museum–as well as what in the world a museum even is (for those that might night have ever visited one). We discussed museum etiquette and then they got busy putting together their “exhibits” (the idea for which came from my friend and teaching partner Ms. Turken who does so many fabulous things in Rm. 203 next door–thanks for sharing your smart thinking friend!), so we could learn from each other.
Kiddos were given a “placemat” and then added their book, their name, and some sort of response to their book: a picture of their favorite character, their favorite part, the reason why they liked it, a picture of the cover, etc.
So I do have to admit…the actual museum visit part was much shorter than I thought that it would have been, but I actually think part of it was my directions (I talked too much and too long so they were confused about what to do), and also because they were so interested in actually READING the books with their friends that they weren’t so much interested in just walking around and just looking at the covers. #ohwell #lessonslearned #rememberinghowfirstgraderswork #betterlucknexttimemrsbearden #lol
Still, it was a pretty successful time, as books were shared, connections were made and BOOKS WERE READ!!
And since I know you can’t see what we actually shared in those teeny pictures, here are all of our exhibits. Enjoy the slideshow!
Ok…one more bunch of pictures, based on another super smart Ms. Turken idea: we took a picture with each kiddo and their book and they now adorn our book boxes! GENIUS! And nope, no pics of that yet, but here’s what they look like in color on the blog (rather than in black-and-white in our room):
Wow! That was a lot. Thanks for hanging in there! Kiddos were so excited and so cute–they will be so excited I shared this and SO EXCITED that you read about their smart book thinking. 🙂
#FDOFG–Library Learning Commons
Ok, so this post feels a little like a tease, but I wanted to at least share the story (so I don’t forget and therefore never post it because I don’t have the right pictures. I’ve made that mistake before. 🙂 ).
This year, our librarian, Mrs. Meihaus, made the jump to turn our library in a learning commons, taking time and care to recreate the space by moving furniture, adding “soft things” like more stuffed animals, bean bags and pillows, and rethinking how we’ll use the communal space for learning. Kiddos were SO excited when we finally got a chance to visit and see the new space for ourselves last week.
First graders got to spend the first few minutes exploring the new space on their own, and then we met Mrs. Meihaus in the storytelling area for some fun, a story (of course!) and conversation.
Mrs. Meihaus shared Kate Messner’s How to Read a Story, which is a great tool for any aged reader on what readers really do with a book. I love that Mrs. Meihaus even said it should be a manual that all teachers should read for how to do ELA (she probably said it way more eloquently than that, but I concur. It was pretty great!).
After we read, we played a game to help remind us of “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” things to do in the library or with books…
…and then we had time to check out….the rest of the library AND new books!! BUT…that’s the part I don’t have pictures of. As you can imagine, first graders need lots of support as they navigate a giant library and figure out what to read. I don’t have pictures of the great new layout, or the cozy soft stuff where kiddos snuggled in to read, or the ZERO ZONE, a new space where kids can go if they need absolute silence to work/read, but believe me: it’s awesome! We’re going back again to visit on Friday, so maybe I’ll have time to snap some then.
I do actually have some pictures of us reading our new books, though….just not in what would be considered a typical place. We took a bathroom break after our library visit and took full advantage of the time to sit and enjoy our new gems! It was such a great sight–had to share! It was so great to watch them dig in and get busy with a book!
Students: What was your favorite part of our new Learning Commons? What was different from last year? What was still the same? What books did you check out?
Parents: What did your kiddos tell you about their visit? What do you know about a Learning Commons v. a “regular” library? What questions do you have?
Teachers: What does the Library Learning Commons look like in your school? How is it utilized by students? by teachers? by administration? by families? What advice do you have as we transition to a new learning space?
#FDOFG–First Grade Friends
It’s the first days of first grade, and like in any grade (or any place where there are new groups of people who don’t know each other well yet), there have to be lessons on how to be a good friend. We did this with a book (or two…or three), and then we charted what we noticed. We then spent the rest of the day purposefully doing things WITh our friends, then noticing which of those “good friend” things we were doing.
We started with the book Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend, because our friends in Rm. 203 came and shared it with us. Yes–their WHOLE CLASS came over and shared the book with us because they thought we’d like reading it. (Which, by the way, is another message Ms. Turken and I had discussed wanting to sent to our classes: Readers share books they like with their friends! So, ok, we had coordinated this beforehand, but then we did the same and shared our Box book with them when we were finished with it. 🙂 ).
We also read an Elephant and Piggie book (don’t you love those??) called My New Friend is So Fun! and talked about what we know about how good friends treat each other.
We made our chart…
…and Jamie had a super idea that we keep going back to the list to check ourselves throughout the day. Then Kaiden suggested that we make a note because I mentioned that I might forget. See his post-it up there!? What great 1st grade thinking already!!
Our next chance to practice our “good friend moves” came next when we went outside for recess. We talked before we left about goals we had to do the things on the chart, and then we got busy having fun and being friendly!
We read a couple of more books…
Our friend, Rachel, shared this one because she enjoyed reading it with her mom at home, and she thought we’d enjoy it, too. We sure did!
Kaiden thought this would be a good one and he was right!!
…and talked about examples of “good friend moves” we found in the books. We learned a lot from Louise, Peanut Butter and Jelly (yep, she’s in that book at the end–sorry, spoiler alert!).
After Day 2 (when this work started), we continued to come back to our work over and over. We did things with our Room Crews (which I’ll show you in another post), and focused on things we had in common. Each group made a web of things that everyone in their group had that was the same. We practiced using kind words, asking good questions and working together. Taking turns was important, and so was using quiet learning voices so everyone could concentrate. Wow–who knew that being a friend was such hard work?!
After we shared in our small groups, we connected with the whole class and we figured out that a lot of us had things that were in common. The next step was to do the same procedure, but with things that the whole group DIDN’T like. They thought that was a fun twist, and they did a great job.
Obviously this is the first but not the only time we’ll talk about being friends. I have been so impressed, though, with how kids have stepped up and are demonstrating the behaviors on our chart. I know we’ll only continue to add to the tally marks and the “moves” as we go forward. I can’t wait to share our progress. Here’s to being great first grade friends!
#ISWAYR–Week 3
So if you’re just joining this blog thread, I’ve posted about the first two week so summer reading here and here. This makes the third installment, and it’s been fun to watch all the books I’ve been able to log so far. There is much more of a variety that I’ve noticed in my lists this year compared to past years (2011, 2013, 2014), including many more picture books than previously–probably because I’m now teaching a primary grade, as well as have two kiddos of my own at home with whom to share great titles! (By the way, I just came across this post again, from a few years ago that I thought was interesting…)
Ok, so this week, this is what I (or we, if it’s a picture book!) read (oh, and in some cases finished):
One of my goal this summer was to start collecting read alouds to share with my new 1st graders, and this week’s books had many that I will add to my school year TBR pile. So many good ones, though, I’m not sure we’ll have time to do anything else but sit on the rug together and READ! Oh, well, I guess there are worse things we could spend our time doing, huh??
Oh, and one more thing. Last week I shared how my TBR pile had shrunk and was only half as tall as the week before, but alas then I took another trip to the library. And this happened:
Not a surprise for a book nerd, though, I guess, right?? Luckily there’s a vacation in my very near future and I will have even more just-sit-around-and-read-time!
What have you been reading? What do you suggest I add to my pile? Have you read anything on my list? 🙂
#ISWAYR–Take 2
Last week I finally decided to update my reading progress after I had had actual time to sit and digest some really good books. I changed the typical meme It’s MONDAY What are You Reading to SUMMER and jumped in. My favorite picture was the one where my TBR pile was up to my knees! Remember? As of last night (when I finished a book in a half hour!), my pile is half as tall. LOVE seeing the progress.
So, to update you, this week this is what we read…
This year I have more picture books in my piles than I usually do. Partly because since I’m in primary again I need to try out some new titles for my class this fall, partly because picture books are awesome, partly because I have had many great ones recommended to me lately, and also partly because they are quick. 🙂
When I was at the Scholastic Reading Summit a couple of weeks ago, I was reminded (by Colby Sharp) of a book I had meant to read, but hadn’t yet. And since I had first been introduced to it, it had become a Caldecott winner and so there was another reason why I needed to enjoy it. It was kind of a long story, but Colby told a great story of how his class does its own Mock Caldecott unit, where they vote for their favorite, and they were SURE that this book should win. And then it did! He even shared a heartfelt video from the winning illustrator herself, Sophie Blackall. I was already sold on the book, but this just added to my interest.
And in case you don’t know, that book was Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear.
What a joy to be able to read a book with that shiny gold sticker!!
This one was instantly a hit with my kiddos, and somehow it was a story I had never heard! I guess I had never been a huge Winnie the Pooh fan, so perhaps that’s why, but whatever the reason, this was a great story to learn. And of course, the pictures were BEAUTIFUL. I think that’s possibly what I liked the best: the story and the illustrations were equally magical, making for a beloved book that we will surely return to again and again. This book was made to be reread over and over and over.
And so on today’s list of to-dos: another trip to the library to see what new treasures we can find!
What have you been reading? How tall is your TBR pile?? 🙂
Recipe For a Good Book
I remember vividly the first time I ever taught about recipes in my classroom. It was towards the end of the year, when I was teaching 4th grade (ok, I don’t remember the exact year–maybe 2006?–but I do remember the kiddo!), and during a reading conference a kiddo was struggling with finding a book that was a good fit for her. For some reason I was thinking about how what she really needed was a plan–a recipe–for how to find a good book for her. And since that first conference so many years ago, I’ve found that this lesson is one that almost every kiddo (and probably some adults, too!) could find helpful. I went back to look at when I had written about it here, and I found this post from about 4 years ago. Rather than try to explain the whole thing again, I ask you to take a few minutes and read about it from back then. Really, I’ll wait. It won’t take long. Just come back when you’re finished and I’ll tell you about how it worked in 2nd grade the other day (See? Told you all kinds of kids could benefit from it! I think I’ve used it in every grade level I’ve taught over the years, and even for myself!) 🙂
Are you back? Well, like I said before, this issue seems to come up every year and now that I think about it, maybe that speaks to the lessons I teach at the beginning of the year on how to choose books. I wonder why they aren’t “sticking” and why kiddos eventually need this secondary explanation of “good book” recipes. I wonder if it has to do with the fact that they change so much as readers over a given school year (especially if they are younger readers, or struggling readers making big gains) and so the books that were just-right or “good” for them in August are certainly not the same for them in March. I guess like anything else, as well, just telling them once probably isn’t enough. Perhaps I should find a way to incorporate book choice lessons into every unit that I teach. In many ways choosing a just-right fiction book is very different from choosing a just-right non-fiction book anyway. Oh, and I feel like I should mention that my definition of “just-right” book doesn’t have so much to do with a level as it does with student interest, motivation and desire. All of that other stuff can be worked on once you help them find THE book for them. Many times the kiddos who first need my recipe lesson are ones who don’t really see themselves as readers yet. They don’t really know what to do when they’re standing in the aisles of the school library or looking at the buckets in our classroom library and need a hook to get them started. That’s really what I’m thinking about when I help guide them here.
Ok, well, just like it happened in that example from 5th grade many years ago, I had a conference with a kiddo the other day who needed some guidance to find his version of a good book. We talked about books he has read that he really liked and what it was about them specifically that he liked. We used those things as our “recipe” and wrote them down:
This now becomes a shopping list when he’s in our classroom, the school library, the bookstore, the book fair, the county library, etc. The big idea is that if he knows what he likes he knows when he’s found it. This is a HUGE idea that kids often miss. They so often just wander through the shelves not really knowing what they’re looking for, expecting that they will just know what it is when they find it. It’s like traveling to a new place without a map AND without really knowing your destination. You will NEVER get there.
Well, after this first conference, I ran into two other friends in the same day that needed the same lesson and so it quickly got moved to my “everybody-needs-this-as-a-mini-lesson” list. I then showed everyone in Rm. 202 the plan the next day by sharing my own example:
Not everyone is necessarily ready for this right now, but everyone had a go at trying their own list and we will tweak over the coming days as they practice using it for book shopping. The great part is that it is customizable, personal, and specific to each reader. And it can be easily changed as they change as readers. LOVE!
Series Reading Groups
We have been working with series of books in Readers’ Workshop lately. Our newest unit, which has a focus on patterns, characters and changes, is asking students to look at a series of books (one per group) to find similarities and differences. Each kiddo in the group is reading a different book (which is something I’ve never done before) and when they meet, the team is responsible for talking about what they’ve each found in their books individually.
We’ve worked on looking at what is always the same (patterns in the series), what we can learn about characters, asking ourselves why certain things are important, marking the text with post-its so we don’t forget what we’ve noticed, talking “long and strong” about our post-it notes, making sure we understand what our partners are saying by asking clarifying questions, and using a Venn diagram to model what we notice between the books in our groups.
We’ve chosen books series that match each level of reader in my classroom: Horrible Harry, Roscoe Riley Rules, Berenstain Bears, Clifford, Mercy Watson and Little House on the Prairie.
It’s been really exciting to see what they’ve been able to do with this study. For many it’s the first time they have really read a chapter book. While each group has different conversations based on the members and the books, each works with diligence and purpose as they discuss what they are learning about their texts. They are really thinking deeply about their books, having fun with literacy and their reading conversations are leaking over into other parts of our day. The other thing I’ve seen is that many have been positively pressured to higher levels of thinking and participating because of what they see their friends doing. Love that kind of friendly competition!
I know this kind of thing would be best explained with videos, but all I have is pictures. Imagine that you can hear quiet murmurs of engaging conversations around books that kids love and it would sound just about right!
What series do you enjoy reading? We’d love some recommendations for our next choices! 🙂
20somethingkids and 1kookyteacher 