Check It Out

Goal for the year: Getting students, especially fourth and fifth graders, to LOVE reading.

What am I doing to work toward this goal? Talking up books, establishing a separate check out time for classes in order that their teachers can be there with them to mentor their choices, and getting kids to talk about the books they have been reading.

Observations this week:

Ms P. Padden, 3rd grade teacher, is re-reading Corelli’s Mandolin because she LOVES that book.  She went to buy a book for her sister as a present and found not only Corelli’sMandolin by Louis de Bernieres but another book by him.

Alyssa, 5th grade, who has not stuck with anything,had a big smile on her face when she returned book and audio of Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. She was very please that she really listened and read the whole book.  Promotion of books and audio books seems to be working.

When I asked Rhianne why she chose When Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins, she answered, “I used to imagined my stuffed animals came alive at night.  It started with my sister telling me that to scare me. This book reminded me of that.”

Ms M. Padden, 5th grade teacher, reports she notices a difference in students attitude with reading by taking the time to talk about what they are reading.  The Gordon Korman books are making the rounds in her class.

Me?  I  did not get much reading done this week.  My aunt was visiting, we stayed up lete  and when I hit the bed it was lights out.  However, I just picked up the audio books, Coraline by Neil Gaiman and Love Stargirl, by Spinelli. 

What are you reading?

Happy Reading.

MsMac

 We have a short week at my school. Today is the last day and then we get the rest of the week off for Thanksgiving.  Justina Chen Headley writes about what makes her thankful.  It seems good way to go for this week (and actually each day).

I have much to be thankful:

I work in a fabulously supportive school.  I did not become a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) without the staff, students, and parents of Silver Star.  I am thankful for their support.

My dear friend, Barbara (she and I student taught together), was my editor before I sent my portfolios off to be scored.  I am thankful for her editing skills.

Last night I received word about a grant to purchase multiple copies of a variety of gingerbread man stories to share at a Family Library Night.  I am thankful for the Evergreen Foundation for granting me a way to involve parents.

My aunt visited my school yesterday and the students loved showing her the books they were checking out.  One student called her “Miss Mac, grandma!”  Hilarious.  I am thankful that my aunt still travels at 89 years of age.

The “Comment Challenge” has been a challenge but fun. I discovered some great blogs such as Write About Now and Charlotte’s Library.  I am thankful for both Pam and Lee for challenging us to comment. I commented on 104 blogs during the challenge.

I am thankful for the blogging community- such a great way to connect.

I am thankful for the family that loves and cares for me. I am blessed.

What are you thankful for this day?

Happy Reading.

MsMac

Kids love to count and count they will in David McLimans’ Gone Fishing: Ocean Life by the Numbers. McLimans, troubled by the current status of ocean life, features 20 ocean species with a play on negative and positive space. In Gone Wild the positive and negative space was done in black and white, this time around black and ocean blue play off each other.

The reader counts up and then counts down. Each number has a part of the featured animal as well as an illustration of the animal.

A quick fact list includes:

Class

Habitat
Aquatic regions
Threats

Status

Did you know that less than one per cent of water on earth is fresh water or that 1 billion people list in coastal urban centers? These are part of the “Ocean Facts by the Numbers” in the middle of the book.

The book concludes with “Diving Deeper” section that has more information about the sea animals featured. It also has a terrific resource page.

Title: Gone Fishing: Ocean Life by the Numbers
Author: David McLimans
Date Published: 2008
Pages: unpaged
Grade: K-5
Publisher: Walker and Company
ISBN: 978-0-8027-9770-4
Source of Book: Publisher sent for CYBILS consideration.

 This book can be used on so many different levels. I like that in a book.

Happy Reading. Happy Thanksgiving.

MsMac

can you hear me shout?
yippee, dedication pays
elation fills me

today

I achieved my national boards for teaching in library media. Thank you to all who gave words of support and confidence along the way.

Poetry Friday is here today. Thank you, Holly for hosting.

Happy Reading.

MsMac

My goal is encouraging students(especially the fifth grade) to elect to read.  This week I interviewed staff and students the books they have in their hands at the moment.  Here is what I found out:

Dan Gutman’s time travel-baseball series (Honus and Me, Jackie and Me) are a hit with several fourth and fifth grade boys.  Peyton, 4th grade, says he likes going back in time.

Jessica, 5th grade, is reading Diary of a Fairy Godmother.  She thinks it is fun as well as being a “good fit” book for her.

Ember, 2nd grade is working her way through the A to Z mystery series.

Gordon Korman’s books Kidnapped and Fugitive are checked out by fifth grade students who like spies and running away form things.

Kylie, 5th grade, loved the Babysitter Club books so she is trying the Main Street series by the same author, Ann Martin.  She read the first book in two days and is on the second.

Austin, 5th grade is into Trollfell.  He is enjoying is and I think wants to prove us wrong by getting it read all the way through (so far, no student has finished it).

As for staff:

Mr. Yates, 5th grade teacher has Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein. He is engulfed in periodicals at the moment and hopes to get to the book soon.

Mr. Dowell, Professional Staff Developer, is reading Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. Hey, I have that one on my bedstand as well.  Have not started it yet.

Mrs, Starr, library media assistant, is multitasking with her reading.  She is in the middle of A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel, Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson PLUS she is listening to Pretties by Scott Westerfeld and The 39 Clues by Rick Riordan.

I am almost finished with the unabridged Little Women (all 17 CD’s).  I am reading some of the reader choice nominees: My Name is Sally Little Song by Brenda Woods and Looking for Bapu by Anjali Banerjee. I am excited to discover Banerjee’s blog. She lives in the northwest! I have an “ARC” of another northwest writer, J.A. Jance. This one(title escapes me) I am starting tonight after finishing March (and waiting word from the national boards).  Sometimes you need a good mystery for distraction.

What are you reading?

Happy Reading.

MsMac

*Douglas Florian, author and poet, has a blog, Florian Cafe.

*A fifth grader calls other kids “retarded and dork” because a step parent calls her that at home.  Reminded her to think “cancel” when someone says that because she is smart.

*My tough classes are on Mondays.

*You can check the reading level of your writing if you use Microsoft Word. You can also go herefor a Lexile level.  You need to register to use the Lexile analyzer but it is pretty neat.

*I am keeping up with the Comment Challenge. Yay, me.

*There is an amazing chapter (I believe Chapter 37 or 38, am listening so will need to check) in Little Women which all new parents should read.

Happy Reading.

MsMac

I have been thinking about what the White House will be like when a family with two girls take occupancy in January.  If the Obama girls are anything like Alice Roosevelt, it could be a lively place.

What About Aliceby Barbara Kerley explores the life of Alice Roosevelt, daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt. Alice never what anyone’s pity , therefore she  took charge of her life at a young age.  Her mother died two days following her birth, dad remarried and had more children.  But Alice always remained his favorite.

Her predicaments are laugh out loud funny like insisting that her father give her a piggy back ride each morning,  joining an all-boys club, and gallivanting around Washington, D.C. on her bicycle.  As young adult, her travels overseas gave something for people to talk about.

When Roosevelt became president he commented that , “I can be be president of the United States, or I can control Alice.  I cannot possibly do both!”

Alice became an advisor to her dad. Her love of politics, good will with people, and curious mind helped her to lead an interesting life.

Edwin Fotheringham’s illustrations are whimsical and capture the tone of the book.   There is an author’s note at the end of the book. This would be a great addition to any library.  It is a timely book.

Book: What About Alice
Author/Illustrator: Barbara Kerley
Publisher: Scholastic
Date Published: 2008
Pages: unpaged
Grade: K-5
ISBN: 978-0-439-92231-9
Source of Book: Publisher sent for CYBILS consideration.

Head over to Picture Book of the Day to see what else is available this week.

Happy REading.

MsMac

Comment Challenge

A week ago Pam and Lee started the “Comment Challenge”.  The idea is to “read, enjoy, and comment” on at least five blogs a day.  Fabulous.  And actually it takes about 15 minutes a day to participate.  Of course, in my usual fashion I forgot to comment over the weekend so I spent Monday and Tuesday playing catch up. But my goal is to visit blogs I have not visited before as well as those I have come to know and love.

What I Am Reading  (or Have Read)

I found a pin I used to wear ALL the time: “So many books, so little time”. This is sooo true!!

There are lots of nonfiction picture books arriving at my doorstep each day for the CYBILS.  Thankfully they are thin.  Look what you have to read if you are on the Fantasy panel.   The nonfiction picture books are really fun.

I finished North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley.  What a poignant coming of age book.  Terra (don’t you love the name) has a “flawed face”, a port-wine stain which covers most of one side of her face.  Throughout the book, she struggles as I am sure many would with body image issues (althought the rest of her body is model perfect).Her secret ambition is to begin a new life by going away (far away) to college and studying art. 

Living in a small town, struggling with an overbearing father and a mother who has lost her self, and a loser boyfriend, Terra’s world tilts as a result of a car accident.  She meets Jacob, who embodies a Goth Chinese boy look (and was born with a cleft palate), and his mother (passengers in the car she has hit) who alter her map.  They happen to be heading to a resort in the small town where Terrra lives.  Friendships develop, a trip to China, as well as a geocache adventure are mapped out well in this book.  Terra’s compass is reset to true north as she discovers where true beauty is found and where her journey leads.

Headley does a beautiful job of incorporating port-wine stains and cleft palette as part of the geography of the story.  Readers will want to know more about these issues that are not part of common conversations.  The topic of body image is portrayed in such a manner that all readers can relate. ( I certainly did).

YA readers will want to head north of beautiful when this book comes out in February 2009.  This genre was not available when I was in high school (millions of years ago). That’s a pity.

Book: North of Beautiful
Author/Illustrator: Justina Chen Headley
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company
Date to be Published: 2009
Pages: 372 pages
Grade: 12 years and older
ISBN: 0-316-03317-0
Source of Book: The author

I just finished reading The Shack by William Young, a powerful tale and interesting take on the Trinity.I am also reading March by Geraldine Brooks for my book club.  It was a bit of a challenge to get into (one of those think about books).  I am very glad to be listening to Little Women as I read March,

I also am reading I’ll Ask You Three Times, Are you Okay? Tales of Driving and Being Driven by Naomi Shihab Nye and have My Name is Sally Little Song on my bed stand.

What are you reading?

Happy Reading.

MsMac

Before

Do you ever go through your closet and weed your clothes?  Do you ever feel like I have all these clothes and nothing to wear? Do you find it difficult to rid yourself of treasures that you just know that once those ten pounds come off, you will wear that outfit again? 

Sometimes the collections get like there are all these books and nothing to read. Weeding the collection is like closet cleaning.   If I just book talked this book more?  What do you mean get rid of it, that’s a NEWBERY Award book?  Oh,  maybe I will make a display about this book.  Sometimes it takes EXTREME measures to get the task done. 

That’s what happened a couple of weeks ago in the library.  My practicum student, stepped up to the plate and did an “extreme fiction make over”.   This project happened as a result of conversations about getting kids to elect to read by selecting books that they will stick with all the way through.  Stats were run and books were pulled.  Many graced the shelves on opening day thirty-six years ago.  

I was out of the building at a meeting when the weeding occurred.  This was a good thing. I could not say, “But I loved the Black Stallion series as a child” or “Really, you do not think we need… ? It is so much easier to look at a book on a cart, away from the collection, and see that really the book has served its time well.

The stark reality is that kids will not check out books that look old, look warm, have dated covers.  Kids will abandon their book if it is not easy to find. My fiction was guilty of that. Big time.  Now the shelves have room to breathe.  Books can be displayed outward.

After

After

Comments have been that shelves are not so overwhelming.  I look at the picture book section and the nonfiction section and I see weeding to be done.  Until the fiction books are boxed up and cleared out, those shelves are safe. 

Happy Reading.

MsMac

Today’s review is on the book The Art of Freedom: How Artists See America by Bob Raczka. It is a timely choice. Tomorrow we honor the veteran’s of our country who have protected our precious freedoms.

In the world of school, where much focus is on state assessments and students starved for art, this book arrived in my mail. Raczka has selected paintings, photographs, and sculptures depicting many views of America to share with kids of all ages.

The text is simple: “America is… Such examples include “America is an idea” with the infamous painting, “The Declaration of Independence” by John Trumball. “America is baseball” combined with Samuel Anderson Robb’s sculpture, “Baseball Player”, and “America is the open road.” is depicted by the Ansel Adams photo, “Desert Road”.

There is an appendix providing information about each painting, photograph, and sculpture.

The book lends itself easily to great discussions about art and visual literacy. It will be a fabulous resource for my staff and “Art Friend” volunteer.  I believe it will be a hit among students as well because of the simple text and the rich illustrations.

Book: The Art of Freedom: How Artists See America
Author/Illustrator: Bob Raczka
Publisher: Millbrook Press
Date Published: 2008
Pages: 32 pages
Grade: K-5
ISBN: 978-0-8225-7508-5
Source of Book: Publisher sent for CYBILS consideration.

Head over to Picture Book of the Day to see what else is available this week.

Happy Reading.

MsMac