On Wednesday, I participated in a Twitter book club called #SharpSchu Book Club. We read Love That Dog by Sharon Creech and May B. by Caroline Starr Rose. I had read both of them before, but I reread them for this book club AND because some of you are reading it! Here is Mr. Schu's blog post about it. You'll see snippets of the Twitter conversation, and then information about the books and authors. Just click on the link to see it - there are great videos there, too!
NOW, big news! Next week, April 29th - May 6th, it is Screen-Free Week!!! This falls perfectly for us because it's also O.A.A. testing week, so what better week to turn off electronics, t.v.s, and all other technology, and play, read, and daydream!!
One of my favorite bloggers is a librarian, Mr. Schu. Every year he goes on a road trip with his friend, Donna, and takes along a book mascot. Last year he took Ivan!
Go to his blog and help him out by voting for your favorite. If you need to see a book with any of the characters in it, let me know. You'll know a few since I've shared them in class!
We are getting to the end of The One and Only Ivan. What are your thoughts about Ivan's plan? Who is your favorite character and why? Describe George and Mack. They are not main characters, but we have learned a lot about each one. Why do you think they do and say the things they do? Because the story is told from Ivan's point of view, we don't know for sure what George and Mack think or feel. What do you think is going on in their heads? Describe Julia. What makes her so sensitive to the animals' feelings and situation.
Do you have anything else you want to say about the book? How are you liking it?
We had a fun day at J.F. Burns on World Read Aloud Day! I didn't forget the other schools - they were involved in other activities that made it difficult to participate in WRAD, but I read aloud every day in every school! World Read Aloud Day is sponsored by LitWord. Here is a video from LitWorld to explain what it's all about:
How did we celebrate it?
Lauren's mom brought in Goodnight Sun, Hello Moon by Karen Viola, illustrated by Chi Chung. Her family loves the design of the book, and we loved the voices Lauren's mom used! She talked about what a reader Lauren is and how much she loves books. It was also interesting to hear some of Lauren's mom's history as a reader.
Caleb's mom brought in A Giraffe and a Half by Shel Silverstein and shared a little about what reading means in their family. We were very impressed that she could say the tongue twister rhymes, each page building on itself throughout the book. We loved it!
Great picture of the four of them:
In between my first and second classes, we were honored with a Skype visit from nonfiction author Tanya Lee Stone. She was so gracious to reschedule her time for us. We read several of her books to get ready:
Tanya Lee Stone was so much fun to talk with! We loved meeting her dog, Barney, who followed her from room to room while she walked with her laptop through the house to her desk computer. He then settled in on a favorite chair behind her. So cute! She talked about researching, her writing process, topic selection, reading and writing nonfiction, etc. I was very proud of your questions!
We heard how much Jackson has always loved reading:
As you can hear, I was very excited about Goodnight, Moon (and so were some other kids). I used to read it to my girls when they were babies.
Wow! What an exciting and fun day! I just love the community that reading creates. I pray that everyone across the world will be exposed to the power of a written story. Thank you, LitWorld, for initiating the day, and thank you to the authors that inspire us to share their stories, and thank you especially to my students and their parents for coming together to celebrate reading! Oh, the places you'll go, kids, because of all the people who love you...and READING!
