Halloween fun and ABC and Personal Narrative culminating projects

Week 9

The week before Fall Break is always a bit wonky with a half day off for our Halloween Carnival and teachers busily wrapping up units. We enjoyed some Halloween videos, and grades 1 and 2 worked on culminating projects that will be finished after the break. (I HOPE!!)

PreK 3 - Guiding Question: What Halloween words do we remember?

We watched a film version of Pumpkin Eye, by Denise Fleming, which zooms in on details in the pictures of this Halloween rhyme. It makes a good review of some of the words we've been talking about: costumes, trick-or-treat, mummy, jack-o-lantern and more. Because the narration is slow, there are plenty of places for students to repeat the words they hear or for the teacher to ask clarifying questions. 

My copy of the book was checked out at the time, but it would be best to read the story beforehand and then show the clip. It's also best to read this with youngsters who are somewhat familiar with Halloween since the overall mood is dark and spooky.

PreK 4 and Kindergarten - Guiding Question: What's a series? What will be we for Halloween?

Kindergarteners have been learning about series books, so we talked about the popular book and TV series, Charlie and Lola. In this charming episode, Lola has two problems to solve. I asked students to watch for these problems and be ready to tell about them at the end. She needs to figure out what to wear for Halloween, and she and her friends need to deal with the big disappointment of having their much-loved jack-o-lantern ruined by accident.

After the film, many students took home some Charlie and Lola books!

We also played "Who Stole the Candy from the Trick-or-Treat Bag?" using some cute character cards from the PreK Pages. I saved it onto my wiki under "holidays."

Grade 1 - Guiding Question: What places begin with different alphabet letters?

Alphabet Books board

We began filming of our alphabet movies. 

But... fire drills and various interruptions conspired to keep us from finishing! We will complete our movies after the vacation.

Grade 2 - Guiding Question: Why is this story personal narrative? Which is the most important part of the story?

Students' choice from The Wednesday Surprise

We began our VoiceThread projects by working in small groups to review the stories we read during the unit. Each group needs to answer two questions:

- Why is this book an example of a personal narrative story?

- What is the most important part of the story?

Everyone in the group needed to agree on the most important part

Today, we selected the most important part of the story. The photos of the pages will be added to our VoiceThread slideshow. Next session, each group will record their ideas along with pictures.

Here are some photos of the pages students selected to mark the most important part in their story. They did an amazing job of remembering each text and tapping into the emotional content of each story.

The key page from Wilfred Gordon MacDonald Partridge

Grades 3, 4, 5 - Check out extra books for the vacation!

Photos by Elise

Grade 2 and 5 students paired up for some impromptu reading time. Here are some photos of them reading to each other: sometimes the fifth grader is reading and sometimes the second grader is reading.

Halloween, Traffic Light Paragraphs, and Cat the Cat!

Week 8

PreK 3: Guiding Question - Can we memorize a Halloween poem?

Five Little Pumpkins, by Iris Van Rynbach

We read the story, retold it with flannels, and practiced again with a handout and printed booklet to color. By the time we finished, yes, we had it down!

Printables and clip-art from DLTK 

PreK 4: Guiding Question - What are some fun Halloween counting books?

We read several counting books with a Halloween theme. See this week's Book Talk Tuesday post for full write-ups about  these and more Halloween counting books.

Kindergarten: Guiding Question - Who is "Cat the Cat"? What makes a "series"?

We're continuing to talk about character and met another fun new friend this week.

We're enjoying Mo Willems books so much, we continued with another one of his series: Cat the Cat!

This is another set of early readers with lots of humor and funny surprises. After reading three "Cat the Cat" books, we played a few games with her.

Grade 1: Guiding Question - What countries and cities can we match to alphabet letters?

We're making an alphabet movie! This week we created a list of places that start with each letter of the alphabet. Next week, we'll film each child in front of the green screen saying "A is for..." and the locations will show in the background. Stay tuned for the finished product.

We also practiced our alphabet song: ABC to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" - one letter per note: not as easy as is sounds!

Grade 2: Guiding Question - What is a personal narrative?

This week, we finished up with reading models of personal narratives. Next week, we'll make VoiceThread presentations to show what we know about the elements of this genre.

Picnic at Mudsock Meadow, by Patricia Polacco

Everyone in town fears the swampy patch of quicksand at Mudsock Meadow; it is rumored that the ghost of an old miner surfaces and glows eerily at night. But the Halloween carnival is held there in any case, and William is not going to miss the fun just because of a ghost. What he really wants is to win some of the games to show that pest, Hester, that she's been picking on the wrong guy. Alas, every activity seems to go wrong for him and his mistakes give Hester more reasons to jeer and make fun of him. How can he show everyone that he's got something to offer?

A longer story illustrated with Polocco's signature bright splashy watercolors, this makes a good blend of personal narrative and Halloween for the fall.

Grade 3: Guiding Question - What can we do with our library accounts?

Grade 3 students were excited to get their library accounts started. Beginning in grade 3, we talk about keeping our private information safe and about developing ethical habits on the computer: we log ourselves out of programs and check to be sure we are never working within someone else's account.

When logged in with their username and password, Grade 3 students can:

- See which books they have checked-out

- Create lists of books for various purposes (to-read, for a project, finished reading...)

- Hold/reserve up to five books that are currently checked out.

Grade 4 & 5: Check out and use book-choosing tools introduced last week.

Also, I worked with some classes in grade 4 about recognizing the signs of a well-organized paragraph using a traffic light metaphor.

A basic paragraph starts with a "green light" sentence to introduce the topic, continues with "yellow - keep steady - sentences" that fill in the supporting details and examples, and closes with a "red light" sentence to give the reader a clear signal that the paragraph is over.

We used level 4 "Step Into Reading" nonfiction books to practice identifying these types of sentences in published paragraphs, then we wrote our own.

The PowerPoint and handout are on the lessons page of my wiki under "Poetry & Writing." The idea for this lesson is from Education World.

Alphabet Guessing, Personal Narratives with Tomie, and Book-choosing tools

Week 7

PreK 3: Guiding Question - What are some words associated with Halloween?

We will have our fall vacation during Halloween this year, which means we only have a few weeks to enjoy all of the Halloween stories in our library! PreK 3 has the most to learn, so they got an early start this week with some simple stories that introduce the key vocabulary.

What is Halloween? by Harriet Ziefert

Little girl mouse learns about Halloween from her parents, and we learn alongside her. We learn about dressing up in costume, carving a pumpkin, and trick-or-treating. The treats may be candy, baked goods, or fruit - a refreshing change from the focus on sweets. As she learns about each new concept, we lift a flap to reveal the rest of the picture: trick-or-treaters behind the door, or a closet that opens to show costume ideas, or a pumpkin that goes from whole to cut with decorations. This is an ideal starter for young children who are just learning about Halloween. Thick pages and flaps are perfect for toddlers and up.

Boo Who? A Spooky Lift-the-flip Book, by Joan Holub

This small square book introduces Halloween vocabulary in a fun way. We're asked questions such as "Who is that in the pointy hat?" and we lift the flap to see a picture and text of the answer. A few of the words are tricky to explain to our littlest ones: mummies, for example, but we can at least describe the costume if not the full details.

The rhyming questions create a pleasing rhythm. Double spread watercolors have a friendly cartoony style. Geared to a preschool audience, the sturdy pages are another bonus.

PreK 4: Guiding Question - What colors do we know? What's the story of Elmer?

We learned the story of Elmer last week and retold it this week based on what we remembered. Our key point seemed to stick: Elmer is unique and his friends appreciate that about him. 

This week we read another Elmer story about a time when he and his friend played a joke on the herd. When we look at Elmer (also in plush toy form) we try to name all of his colors.

Elmer and the Wind, by David McKee

Elmer and his friend Wilbur play a joke on their friends by pretending to blow away on a windy day. When the joke is revealed everyone has a good laugh, but will Wilbur regret the prank? 

Later, he actually does blow away, and no one comes to his rescue because they think he's joking again. Happily he lands safely and makes it back home. This is would pair well with any version of The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

We all agreed that Elmer's joke did not show kindness to his friends.

Kindergarten: Guiding Question - What is a series? What is "character"?

We have read different series books each week to emphasize the concept "character". A character is the main person (or animal) in the story and s/he has a set of characteristics, a personality!

This week, we met Elephant and Piggie, two characters who are very different from each other. Elephant is a grumpy and paranoid, while Piggie is a happy and positive.

After learning about each character, we played "Elephant and Piggie Dance" on the computer. We chose three dances for each character to perform, started the music, and watched their moves. To play at home, click here or see the Early Childhood page on the library website.

Grade 1: Guiding Question - How can our background knowledge help us guess words? How can we indicate we're having a "text-to-self" connection?

We're continuing to enjoy fun alphabet books. The two we read this week both involved some guessing. We talked about how guessing requires us to search our minds for something we remember, something we've done or seen.

Grade 1 students excel in making text-to-self connections. Every two minutes we have someone who wants to tell about something the story reminds them of. This week, we introduced a signal to indicate when we're having that urge. We tap our temples like we're thinking hard; this tells me that the student is having a good connection to something we've read without stopping the flow of the story for others.

Tomorrow's Alphabet, by George Shannon

The simplest concepts are the best: what we see today may turn into something new tomorrow. So we can say "A" is for seed when we understand that later on it will become an APPLE. 

So, "B" is for egg...can you guess why?

Close-up realistic watercolor illustrations and large block text make this a good choice for a read-aloud since children can see and read the words themselves. Each letter is introduced on the left page, so we can hide the right page to see if students can guess the answer.

Look Once, Look Twice, by Janet Marshall

This is another simple concept book, done well. Each letter is shown as a pattern in nature. We need to guess the object or animal that starts with that letter. For example, letter "B" has the colors and designs of a butterfly wing. Letter "H" has the pattern of honeycomb.

This is a vocabulary builder since some of the objects are difficult (kingfisher, macaw, iris, asparagus...) Still the bold style of the book is appealing and guessing keeps kiddos engaged.

Grade 2: Guiding Question - What is a personal narrative? Who is Tomie de Poala?

After last week's tear-jerkers, I promised something more upbeat this week.

We read one of my favorite Tomie dePaola stories about his desire to become an artist very early in his childhood. Afterward, we looked at his wonderful website, found here and on the "authors" tab of the library website.

The Art Lesson, by Tomie dePaola

Young Tomie anxiously awaits the chance to have art lessons when he begins school. Although the art teacher comes infrequently, and he's heard she only gives students one piece of paper, he figures it's got to be a better experience than art with his regular teacher. With his regular teacher, he can't use his own 64-color box of crayons, and he has to use paint so cheap it flakes off the page!

Details like these amaze our students who are used to having regular art classes and plenty of materials to use. They also support our understanding of a personal narrative as a story that zooms into a particular moment in time and uses strong details to create an image for the reader.

Grade 3: Guiding Question - What can we tell about a book from its call number? 

Zig - Zag - Zoop along the shelves

Grade 3's are making the match between the call number listed for a book on the catalog and the book's location in the library. 

We practiced identifiying types of books based on their call numbers, practiced matching the first part of the call number to its section in the library, and practiced the zig-zag-zoop motion we use as we look for books alphabetically on the shelves. 

It goes like this:

zig = read across to the right

zag = drop down to next shelf

zoop = move UP to the next row

I think next week we'll make up a little dance to show this motion (along the lines of "Staying Alive!") 

Grade 4 & 5: Guiding Question - What tools can we use to select books on our own?

Read, Kiddos, Read!

Here's a scenario that happens at least weekly:

Student: Mrs. Ducharme, do you know any good books?

Me: (laughing) Yes, I know about 24,000. What kind of book would you like?

In an effort to give students more strategies to self-select their next book, we reviewed four tools this week. All of these are found on our library home page.

1) Our own catalog. Try Visual Search which gives pictures to follow to help spark ideas. OR, type in the name of a book you know you've enjoyed and see what other titles are listed under "You Might Also Like." OR, type a genre or topic into the search bar and then use narrowing tools like Interest Level and Genre to find titles.

2) Read Kiddo Read. Choose one of four main categories, then choose a genre. The list we get shows book covers and short summaries> Click each book for more information and often a trailer. 

3) Guys Read. A massive website geared toward boy readers. We love the categories to choose from ("Books with at least one explosion", anyone?) But we wish it showed more covers. Still a fun place to explore.

4) Book Adventure. A database that lets us tick off topics we're interested in and then generates a list of books that matches. It can return some strange results if we check too many items but can also lead to some new ideas.

With these last three tools, we MUST check the catalog as well to be sure our library has the book we want. If not, ask for it here (also found on the library home page via the link "Buy This Book (Please)"

Colors, Classic Characters, and Digital Sticky Notes

Week 6

PreK 3: Guiding Question - What colors do we know?

Spot's Big Book of Colors, Shapes, and Numbers, by Eric Hill

Color Farm, by Lois Ehlert 

PreK 3 students are learning about colors in their classrooms. We looked at two fun color books this week and worked on library routines.

Both of these make good interactive read-alouds. For Spot we called out objects that we recognize. For Color Farm we made barnyard noises and identified the colors that create the animal shapes.

PreK 4: Guiding Question - Why is it important to be ourselves?

Elmer, by David McKee

Our PreK 4 students are also learning about colors. We read about the colorful elephant, Elmer, whose bright exterior mirrors his fun personality. He always comes up with fun ideas for the others in his herd. But he feels unhappy about sticking out among the group, so he tries to cover his colors with grey. But when he returns to the herd and realizes he's appreciated for his humor and for being him, he's happy to be washed by a rain cloud back to his own colorful self. After this story, we talk about being unique and special and about how it's good to be who we are.

Thanks to some printables from SparkleBox, I used color pictures on a magnetic board to support the read-aloud of the story. We also practiced our fine motor skills by coloring our own "Elmers." These turned out so well, we'll put them on display next week!

Kindergarten: Guiding Question - Who are Henry and Mudge and how did they meet?

Henry and Mudge: The First Book, by Cynthia Rylant

As we read different series books from the I-Can-Read section, we're talking about what makes a book part of a series and how important it is to try to read the first book in the series. 

This week, we met Henry and Mudge and learned that Henry got Mudge because he had no brothers and sisters and no playmates on his street. His parents agreed to get him a dog and from then on the two were almost inseparable. But one dreadful day, Mudge wanders off on his own, gets lost, and the two realize they should never be apart. It's a big relief to see them together again by the end of the story.

Grade 1: Guiding Question - How do we use the alphabet in the library?

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin Jr.

This familiar story/song was fun for grade 1 students to read again as we talk about using the alphabet in the library. We have a new flannel version to use as we tell the story, too. (Thank you #flannelfriday on Pinterest for the inspiration.)

Afterwards we challenged ourselves to sing the ABC song to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" using one letter for each note. It works but it's hard!

To finish up, we lined up alphabetically by last name and stood along the I-Can-Read shelf. Each child found his or her last name's letter section and chose a book to take home from there. Loved the idea of matching students' last names to sections of our library. Thanks @libraryjet for posting that idea last week!

Grade 2: Guiding Question - What are personal narratives? How are older people important in our lives?

Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge, by Mem Fox

A little boy with four names befriends an old lady at an nursing home.  When he learns that she has lost her memory, he tries to help her get it back by bringing her different objects. The connection between the child and the elderly woman is so lovely in this story. Afterward, we talk about the older people in our lives and how important they are.

The Two of Them, by Aliki

This tear-jerker tells the story of a girl and her grandfather and their time together. We know by the end that their days of building sand castles, tubing down river, and picking apples in his orchard will be cherished memories for the girl for years to come. Soft colored pencil drawings add to the tender tone of this classic.

Grade 3: Guiding Questions - How can we show our favorite places in the library? In class project: How can we organize notes for research? 

We completed our library maps this week, adding personal touches to show our favorite sections to find books and cozy up to read.

Sample lino.it corkboard

In class, two sections are starting a "Structures of Life" project in which students research a different insect and show their understanding of the function of its various components.

They learned about nonfiction text features with their teacher, so they were able to find facts from their books using the table of contents and index and were able to break down the text using headings, bold words, and captions.

They took notes on digital sticky notes using Lino.it. We talked about how we can organize our information by color and location after we gather all of our facts. Students can drag notes around the cork board and choose different colors of notes for categories of facts.

We'll add digital photos to the notes as well, so when it's time to make a keynote presentation, all of our information will be handy.

Grades 4 & 5: Guiding Question - What can we do with our library accounts?

We continued with creating accounts in the library catalog this week and of course, checking out lots of books. Check out our new digital display: Cool Tween Reads!

Clifford, Spot, and the power of reading

Week 5

PreK 3 & 4: Guiding Question - Who is Clifford?

PreK is learning about the color red this week, so who better to read about than Clifford the Big Red Dog?! We began with the first in the series and the age 4 students also heard Clifford and the Big Storm. Afterward, each child took a Clifford book and practiced turning pages from the corners.

For more fun with Clifford, try Scholastic's Interactive Clifford stories here and on the Early Childhood page of the library website.

Kindergarten: Guiding Question - What is a series?

We continued to talk about how a series of books has a common element, usually the character.

Where's Spot? by Eric Hill

The first in the Spot series, this classic lift-the-flap book makes a great review of prepositions (under? in? behind?) and engages readers by asking direct questions as we try to find Spot's hiding place.

It makes a fun flannel story, too! Download the clip art here, glue on felt backing, and you're ready to go!

After we told the flannel story, we each took a Spot book and practiced our corner-turning. Fun times!

For more fun with Spot, try the games here or on the Early Childhood tab of the library website.

We Love Spot!

Grade 1: Guiding Question - Why is knowing the alphabet important in the library?

We are moving on to an awareness of how the library materials are organized. We notice that many of our favorite books are in alphabetical order by author's last name. Over the next few weeks, we'll read fun alphabet books, play different games, and do activities that reinforce our understanding of alphabetical order.

Alphabet Mystery, Audrey Wood

Kids love this book!  Little "x" has gone missing and all of the other letters have to find him.  As they solve the mystery there are lots of details to notice and clues to find. The illustrations are computer-generated, with a Pixar feel. This is very appealing for kiddos.

Grade 2: Guiding Question - What is a personal narrative?

In their classrooms, students are beginning to learn about writing personal narratives. In library class, we will read many examples of personal narrative picture books. 

We define a personal narrative as a focused account of a particular time in a person's life. They are like a snapshot of an important moment and often include vivid details that help us visualize the scene. 

The stories we'll read during library class may be realistic fiction or nonfiction, but they all focus on a significant moment in a character's life. After each reading, we talk about why the story fits the definition of a personal narrative.

The Wednesday Surprise, by Eve Bunting

A girl and her grandmother meet every week to plan a special surprise for Father's birthday. We are privy to their preparations but never guess the gift. It is among the most beautiful we could imagine: Grandmother learned to read from her seven year-old granddaughter.

More Than Anything Else, by Marie Bradby

A young boy wants only one thing in the world: to be able to read. As he and his father and brothers toil at a salt factory, he holds his dream close and eventually meets a learned man who can help him. This simple snapshot of the joy he feels when the dream begins to become real is even more meaningful to adults who will recognize his name: Booker (T. Washington).

Grade 3: Guiding Question - How can we map out the library to mark its sections and our favorite spots?

Library Map sample

Students worked in pairs to create a map of the library. They labeled and color-coded each section and added details and small drawings to show their favorite spots. 

How will they show their special spots? 

A spider web where the Spiderman magazines are found? 

A lightning bolt where the Harry Potter books are? 

This is a two-session activity since we are doing very careful and thoughtful work.

Grade 4 & 5: Guiding Question - What can we do with our Destiny accounts?

Grades 4 and 5 created accounts in our catalog system so they can use some of its personalized features. For example, students may log in and save titles they are interested in to their own list. They can print the list or just use it to keep track of books they are interested in.

Students in grades 4 and 5 may also hold books. They will know the book is ready by watching the list we post daily on Miss Kathy's desk or by checking the "Holds Ready" link on the library home page. 


In the next few weeks, Grade 5 students will also learn about how to use other features of Quest, such as posting book reviews, rating books, and recommending books.

Grade 4: 
1) Change the background
2) Save books to a list (add to My List)
3) See status of books checked out (My Info)
4) Hold books


Grade 5:
1) Change the background
2) Save books to a list (add to My List)
3) See status of books checked out (My Info)
4) Hold books
5) Recommend books to friends
6) Rate and review books (after approval)