I promised you some book trailers to get you excited about some of the books I have in my classroom library, and since I don't have time to show them to you during class, you can visit here to see them. I'm going to try to give you time every Friday to take a look and then grab a book from my library!!! I have a lot of AWESOME books! I'm going to focus on nonfiction historical fiction since that's what we're reading.
COUNTDOWN is by one of my favorite authors, Deborah Wiles, and since we're reading about the 1950s and 1960s and the Civil Rights Movement, I thought you might be interested in reading about other things that were going on during the 1960s like the Cuban Missile Crisis.
I loved this book! It takes place in 1918. It won the Newbery in 2011. I just read Clare Vanderpool's newest book, Navigating Early, and I'll be getting that for my library, too. I loved it, too.
This is actually the second May Amelia book, but it can stand on its own. I also have the original, Our Only May Amelia. It just doesn't have an official book trailer. You'll love May Amelia!
Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now are two of my favorite historical fiction novels, both set in the 1960s, the time of the Vietnam War and Apollo space missions.
I LOVED Wonderstruck and The Invention of Hugo Cabret!
I'm really excited about this book, Courage Has No Color. I should be getting it in the mail any day now. When I do, it will be available for you to read!
A memoir by Jon Scieska, author of lots of favorite kids' books. Look at his website: http://jsworldwide.com/
This is an awesome book about Amelia Earhart that reads like a novel!
See anything you liked and what to read? SEE ME and I will lend it to you!
It's time to pick a winner! Vote from these titles that I read in class and tell me why you think it should win. I'm going to grade your paragraph, so be careful with how you type it up and make sure you add your name. If you'd like to write your paragraph on paper instead, feel free to do so. The paragraph needs to be 5-7 sentences. Your topic sentence will be your choice with the title (capitalized and underlined if you're writing on paper - don't worry about underlining the title if you write the paragraph on the blog) and author/illustrator. Then give a brief 1-3 sentence summary. Follow that up with the reasons why it is your top pick (review the qualities of a Caldecott winner in your notebook) in 2-3 sentences. End your paragraph with a closing sentence. This is similar to the practice ones you wrote in your notebook. Review your best ones to remember how to write a good one! You may pick up to THREE honor winners, too. You just need to tell me the title and author/illustrator for those - no paragraphs. It's hard to pick - so many good ones! Feel free to read one again if you need to refresh your memory. I have all of them available in the classroom. Your paragraph is due on Monday, January 14th.
On our last day before break, we did a book exchange in each of my classes. Quote from class one: "It's like
a Christmas miracle!" Each student was happy with his/her surprise book! It
was amazing, especially in that first class, how each book fit each student
exactly without it being planned. I just told each student to bring in a
wrapped paperback, as gender-neutral as possible, and then we played a version
of "Hot Potato" to exchange them. Everyone, in all four classes, did a great
job picking out books! Now everyone had a book to read over break. Awesome -
let the reading begin!
We just defined simile and metaphor. Have you noticed any similes and metaphors in your poems? What about songs? Books? Post them here!
Do you like Capture the Flag? Here are some other books by Kate Messner:
REVIEW:
In the not-too-distant future, huge tornadoes and monster storms are a part of everyday life. Sent to spend the summer in the heart of storm country with her father in the special StormSafe community his company has developed, Jaden Meggs is excited to reconnect with her dad after he spent years researching storm technology in Russia. She’ll also be attending the exclusive summer science camp, Eye On Tomorrow, that her dad founded. There, Jaden meets Alex, a boy whose passion for science matches hers, and together they discover a horrible truth about her dad’s research that is putting countless lives at risk. As a massive tornado approaches, threatening to destroy everything in its path, Jaden is torn between loyalty to her dad and revealing his secret. Can she find the courage to confront her dad and save everyone from the biggest storm yet?
REVIEW:
Gianna Z has less than one week to collect, identify, and creatively display 25 leaves for her science project—or else she won’t be able to compete in the upcoming cross-country race. As the deadline for her leaf project draws near, life keeps getting in the way. Some things are within Gee’s control, like her own procrastination, but others aren’t, like Biana Rinaldi’s attempts at sabotage and Nonna’s declining health. If it weren’t for her best friend Zig, Gee wouldn’t have a chance at finishing. His knowledge of trees and leaves in their rural Vermont town comes in very handy, as does his loyalty to Gee. But when Nonna disappears one afternoon, things like leaves and cross-country meets suddenly seem less important.
I have one of her nonfiction picture books in my classroom library:
If you like Capture the Flag, you'll be glad to know the sequel will be coming out in the spring of 2013!
We are all at the part where Anna is alone and just heard Sinan and Hammurabi possibly getting caught by whomever was in that baggage area! Who do you think it is? Why do you think that? What are your predictions about what is going to happen next?
