Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Another simple and beautiful lesson from Dr. Seuss!  There is always something 'lucky' about you! Read Dr. Seuss' great book about the array of predicaments you're lucky you are not in.  Like working in the cross your t's and dot your i's factory...now there is a job you are lucky you don't have.  A very entertaining book by Dr. Seuss, enjoy! His rhyme and rhythm are fun to read and fun to listen to.

Click Below for DailyMotion.com. Video of Dr. Seuss' book and 

Grab a reader response page for your kids....let them write about how lucky they are!

Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are Video

Reader Response Page to Use with Did I Ever Tell You You're Lucky here

Dr. Seuss' Wonderful, Wonderful Art!  He knew what life should be.  Please share the genius of Dr. Seuss in your classroom!

Mouse Adventures

A Mouse Called Wolf

by Dick King-Smith

This story is about achieving, even if you are small. Wolf is the smallest and least strong of the mice cubs...and he is looked down upon by others.  He stays at home with his mum when all the others leave the nest.  His mother named him Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  She just happened to lift this wonderful name off of some sheet music.  She liked the name and the name was bigger than mouse himself!  Enter Mrs. Honeybee!  Perhaps it was his name that gave him his unusual talent because Wolf discovers he can sing the music Mrs. Honeybee plays.  Mum is nervous about Mrs. Honeybee because she is a cat...and so the adventure begins.

  Another King-Smith critter to love. 

The family mouse hole is just behind the leg of a grand piano played twice a day by an elderly woman.  The three central characters are nicely crafted in this sweet story. Budding young musicians will relate to Wolf's struggles to develop his talent and share it with his not-so-musical mother. Those who haven't discovered their talents will enjoy this small mouse as they have the other creatures King-Smith so lovingly creates. 

Illustrations are engaging and are black-and-white and truly capture the warmth of the text. 
This book will appeal to your young readers who are ready for chapter books....and it is an awesome read aloud!  Wait to you hear Wolf singing everything from "Three Blind Mice" to Chopin, the Beatles and more...and all to Mrs. Honeybee's accompaniment.  and oh, my! then an accident happens and leaves Mrs. honeybee in danger....it's up to Wolf to save her! Read the book!  You will not be disappointed.

Listening to good books is enjoyable for kids!  

Read to a Child, Today!

Reading Poetry

Emily Dickinson 

Journey into the world of Emily Dickinson where the ordinary is filled with beauty and charm. 

 The poems in this collection are carefully chosen for children and they are beautifully illustrated by Chi Chung.  A great book to teach visualization.  I recommend this book to young and old. This poetry book has a wonderful introduction about Emily, her life and her writing. A must read for your student writers!

 Reading and responding to poetry by classic poets gives your students literacy background and knowledge of the many different kinds of writing.  Some of Emily's works can be dreary and about death but there are many you might choose to share with your students.  This book captures her best for kids.
Poetry Idea:  Use the response sheet below after reading a poem to your students. Have copies of the poem for their pockets.  To practice fluency, have the children read the poem aloud 3x.  I tell my students they can read the poem to Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother, their pets, their goldfish, a stuffed animal...well, you get the idea.  They write the name of the person to whom they read their poem and check..sign..and date.  Have them bring back their response sheet the next day.  

Click HERE for your copy to print

Each Kindness

Each Kindness

by Jacqueline Woodson

This book is a great read aloud. It teaches the lesson that each day you have a chance to be kind ...if you don't take the opportunity you might miss out. 
Chloe and her friends won't play with the new girl, Maya.  Maya is different--she wears hand-me-downs and plays with old-fashioned toys.  Every time Maya tries to join Chloe and her friends, they reject her.   Eventually, Maya plays alone.  Then, she stops coming to school.  Chloe's heart sinks, and your's will too, as she stares at Maya's empty desk.
 Chloe wants to make it right but Maya has moved away and she missed her chance.   Chloe's teacher shows the children that kindness ripples out like a stone in a pool of water and even small acts of kindness can change the world.   It's important, don't lose your chance to show kindness ...it's a do right now!
   This is a great story...your students will listen, look and feel the author's message. 
The illustrations by E.B. Lewis are extraordinary. They stir a wave of emotion in the reader.

Click here to get a writing response paper to go with the book.

Reading Response Journals -{for Elementary Students]

Writing Helps Clarify and 

Confirm your Thinking 

Read....Think....Write....Read...Think ....Write

Using Reading Response Journals in the Classroom is a great way to keep your kids reading and writing.  I use them in my classroom to invite my students to write and record their personal reaction, questions and reflections about what they have read.  Reading and writing go hand-in-hand and reading journals are a great way to improve both.  Students may include information learned, new vocabulary words, and book reviews.  Reading Response Journals are a way to address all the reading-writing levels in your room as they give students a prompt or question to write about their own book choice or independent reading.

Below is a sample selection from my packet of Reader Response Journal Questions and Writing Prompts. The set includes 14 pages and 28 questions/prompts; a reading response rubric, and labels for your journals.  You can get your set HERE.  Once you get your cards set they can be used over and over again.  The questions and writing prompts are appropriate for all kinds of books and gives practice to rereading and finding evidence in the text to support asked questions about the reading.

Download, print and laminate these reader response cards for your students reader response journals.
There are 14 pages, each page has 2 response cards, for total of 28 questions and writing prompts for reading response. Cards measure 5"x7",  Also included are labels for reading journals, and reading response journal rubric. (see below)  Get them HERE!

Labels for Reading Response Journals

The Magic of Read Aloud

We are reading Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary...an old favorite!  It is delightful and the children listen with attentive ears.  Building on a good read aloud is easy.  See below a packet of reading response, writing, language, vocabulary and math activities to go along with this book.

You can read this book as a read aloud...in my opinion, the best way!  as Cleary writes with easy to read verse and each chapter builds to a frenzy.  Your kids will ask you to read the next chapter and won't let you skip the read aloud.  You know a book works when that happens.  This book is also great to use in a reading group or independent reading. Lots of places to stop and share good writing.  Children learn to write from the great authors they read.   It's just a great book...an oldie but still captures the reader.

Enjoy the story and find reader response pages for this book HERE.

Have a wonderful October!

Home Reading Log

A Home Reading Log for your students....this reading log provides space for a short response to their reading, place to record the minutes, the date and a place for parent initials.  I also have the kids keep a reading log at school used at independent reading time. This log is for their reading at home.

The middle section of the Home Reading Log reads:

Brief Response - Just a note or two

Thoughts about your Reading - Character Description- Events - Problem- Self to Text Connection- Make a Prediction - What did you learn?

You can get your Home Reading Log HERE.

Thanks for visiting.

One Smart Cookie

Start your school year with a fantastic book
teaching admirable character traits.

One Smart Cookie offers a fresh batch of words that encompasses everything you might say to a child, whether it's the first day of preschool or the last day of high school. Cookie-centric definitions range from wanting to know everything about cookies (curious) to thinking carefully about what kind of cookies to make for your friend (ponder).  Reading this book at the start of the school year will start those valuable conversations about good character and the people we would like to be.  This is one vocabulary list that will resonate well beyond the school years.

These are the vocabulary words you will find in this book:

prompt                      kindness                      humble

organized                   listening                      arrogant

unorganized                procrastinate               diligent

prepared                    persevere                   ponder

unprepared                 contribute                  daydream

compromise                creative                     dishonesty

empathy                    curious                       integrity

inspire                 

Sweet illustrations throughtout the book as each page describes and 'shows' what each of these character traits are....
you can take a peek of the some inside pages here  


a great book to begin the school year!  You may want to post the words in your classroom and refer back to them each time the opportunity arises.

You can download free vocabulary words and motivation cards for your students to use with this book right  HERE.  

vocabulary word cards
for teaching good attributes

easy to read bold print
display these words to refer
back to when the
teachable moment arises

Print and handout to students
How could you use these cards?

Using Children's Literature as Springboard for Retelling

 One Monday Morning  

One Monday morning the king, the queen, and the little prince came to visit me. But i wasn't home . . . "  then each day they come back to see if I am there but they bring someone new. Finally on Sunday, I am home!

This book is a great read aloud for Kindergarten or First Grade.  Uri Shulevitz is an extraordinary children's author.   This book is a touchstone text when teaching calendar and days of the week, and  pattern in writing.  Using the character name cards and day of the week cards, have students retell the story.  This activity is great for retelling a story, sequencing, speaking and listening.  Don't be surprised if everyone wants a turn. 

You can download my writing response activity HERE...it's FREE.  
Download includes writing booklet, character name cards and days of the week cards. 

Here are some samples of what is in my download:

Example pages to make a booklet for
children to illustrate the characters in the story.

Days of the week cards - Many uses for these

I made character cards from a 'old falling apart book' so children could use them in their retelling.  I didn't post them in my pdf download  as I was unsure about copyright etc.  They are cut outs from an old book;  I used photoshop to make background and title. 

Book Character Name Cards for children to use when retelling the story

         Thanks for stopping by...check back as things never stay the same.

Use Literature to Teach Emerging Readers

Brian Wildsmith was raised in a small mining village in Yorkshire, England, where, he says, "Everything was gray.  There wasn't any color.  It was all up to my imagination.  I had to draw in my head..."

Wow! I splashed a few examples up of what Wildsmith's imagination, drawing, creativity and talent led to... lucky us! to have his wonderful books to read to children.

Authors of children's literature have so much to teach.  Below are a few FAQs from Brian Wildsmith's web page...but take a 'look' for yourself. You will be impressed with the animals he draws and the vibrant colors he uses.  He is so talented!  Do you have any Brian Wildsmith books in your classroom library?

Include Wildsmith's books in your farm or animal unit of study.  They will keep your kids learning and reading.  He has the magic to invite the children into reading.
There is an art museum in Japan displaying Wildsmith's wonderful work...

a message from Wildsmith

The arts have always held a high place in Japanese life. Their love of beauty, and wonder of the world around them has been constantly passed on to their children in a never ending circle.  My life has been dedicated to producing picture books for children, which I hope reflect this love, helping them to observe, comprehend and appreciate the wondrous world that they have been born into.  I want to help them climb the mountain of life and reach the peak of enlightenment and fulfillment. This is the basic right of every child born on the earth.

                               

                            Wildsmith answers:

Why do you paint with so much detail in your illustrations?      

I believe children appreciate details as well as color. I want to help young people wonder at the world and to become close observers of the beauty and harmony in nature.

Many of your books involve animal characters. Why do you choose to paint and write about animals?

We once had a blind dog that was mothered by a neighborhood dog. I was quite impressed by this and learned that animals show a great deal of compassion for one another.  When I paint animals, I imagine them as a child would. I want children to make personal connections to the animals in my books.


Wake Up, Wake Up!  is one on Wildsmith's books written and illustrated by him and Rebecca Wildsmith.

The sun wakes up the rooster who crows and wakes up the goose who honks and wakes up the sheep who bleat and so on until all the farm animals wake the farmer who feeds them.  The children love this book and it is a favorite when studying the farm.  This book has repetitive text and pattern to help emerging readers.  It is a small book with delightful illustrations.

I created some writing pages and flashcards to use with this book, and you can find them HERE.

Vocabulary words are big and bold and easy to read.  You also create a matching activity using the pictures and words.  

Here are five more Wildsmith illustrations.  There are so many and I love them all!

   

Enjoy and remember to use great books and great authors to help you teach reading.