2/6/2014 It is almost President's Day!

We are almost into the second full week of February, which means that President’s Day is fast approaching!  Although officially this holiday is George Washington’s Birthday, it has become commonly known and celebrated as President’s Day.  President’s Day honors the birthdays of George Washington, on February 22nd, and Abraham Lincoln, on February 12th, and the lives of all 44 American Presidents.

Your students can enjoy learning more about President’s in my President's Day first-grade Level C reader. Your class can learn about this holiday, as well as other subjects including pets, the weather, magnets, and maps in my First Grade Pre-Primer Leveled Books: Level C - Set 2.

The books are grouped into various collections. This set includes 10 first grade pre-primer level C books: The Classroom Pet, Fun Sandwiches, Weather Station, President’s Day, Weather, A Metal Magnet, The 4th of July, Be F-I-T!, Do Not Lie, A Map and a Globe.
The companion Level C - Set 1 includes: On the Farm, The Nut Cookies, In My Bedroom, A Letter to My Brother, Grandma’s Puppy, Fall Leaves, Vacation; Water A Liquid, A Solid, A Gas; Don’t, Feelings About School. First grade levels include letters C, D, E, F, G, H and I, in total there are 140 titles.  I hope that you may take the time to check out some of my leveled readers in your own classroom.

2/5/2014 The American Library Association Literary Awards 2014

Reading with children is always an adventure, but this is an especially exciting time of year to think about new books to bring into the classroom!  Today, the American Library Association released their official list of Notable Children’s Books for 2014.  Last Monday, January 27th, the ALA announced the winners of its prestigious literary awards for 2014.

This year The Randolph Caldecott Medal, given for the "most distinguished American picture book for children," was awarded to Locomotive by Brian Floca. Three Caldecott Honor Books are “Journey,” by Aaron Becker, “Mr. Wuffles!” by David Wiesner, and "Flora and the Flamingo," by Molly Idle.  Rita Williams-Garcia won the Coretta Scott King Author award, given to “outstanding African American authors and illustrators” for “P.S. Be Eleven.”  Coretta Scott King Author Honor Awards went to John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, authors of “March: Book One,” Walter Dean Myers, authors of “Darius & Twig,” Nikki Grimes, author of “Words with Wings.”

The Newbery Medal, awarded for the "most outstanding contribution to children's literature,"

went to "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures," written by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by K.G. Campbell.  The Newberry Honor Books this year are "Doll Bones," by Holly Black

"The Year of Billy Miller," by Kevin Henkes, "One Came Home," by Amy Timberlake,

and "Paperboy," Vince Vawter.  Kate DiCamillo was named the new National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature earlier in January by The Library of Congress.  DiCamillo told PBS chief arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown “I want to remind people of the great and profound joy that can be found in stories.”  If you want to see more lovely picture books that have come out in the previous year, NPR has assembled a delightful list 8 Picture Books That Make Us Wish We Were Kids Again. 

Solid reading skills can make these beautiful books accessible to all students to discover and explore themselves.  In my original series of leveled books, literary skills are something I aim to incorporate whether the topic is literature, science, math, or social studies.  Please check out my Pintrest board Fun with Reading for more book suggestions and ideas of creative ways to enjoy books with your class.

2/4/2014 Happy Black History Month, and Happy Birthday, Rosa Parks!

February is officially here!  I hope that you were able to enjoy some fun Groundhog’s Day activities in your classroom, before or after the weekend.  You can find my prior post about the background of Groundhog’s Day here.  

February also means Black History Month. Today is an especially important date to honor as we celebrate the great contributions of African Americans in the history of our country. On February 4th, civil rights activitst Rosa Parks was born as Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, Alabama.  In 1955 she famously refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus.  

My leveled books  Famous African-Americans in U.S. History are a great way to bring more Black History into your classroom this month, or as part of other social studies or language arts units. Each book highlights specific grade-level concepts and vocabulary.  The series is for grades 1-3 and features ten African-Americans and their contributions:

Martin Luther King, Jr. - preacher; civil rights leader (level D)

Garrett Morgan - inventor (level F)

Richard Allen - builder and legislator (level H)

Sojourner Truth - women's rights; freedom activist (level L)

W.E.B. DuBois - educator; founder of NAACP (level M)

George Washington Carver - farmer and scientist (level M)

Thurgood Marshall - lawyer; Supreme Court Justice (level M)

Ruby Bridges - six-year-old student (level P)

Benjamin Banneker - architect of Capitol (level P)

Harriet Tubman - freedom fighter (level P)

Older students will enjoy learning more about the  Tuskegee Airmen.  This level U reader is aimed at students at the fifth-grade level. Specific concepts, skills, and vocabulary targeted in the story listed on the first page of the reader.  You can try out my work with this free Black History month download George Washington Carver: Farmer and Scientist and see my Black History Month board on Pintrest for more ways to celebrate in your classroom!

Happy Black History month!

1/28/2014 Looking Ahead to February: Black History Month, Groundhog's Day, President's Day, and Edison's Birthday

The month of February is fast approaching!  In my previous post I mentioned Groundhog’s Day on February 2nd and “Happy Groundhog's Day - A Play and Game”

Of course, Black History Month is an important focus for every classroom in February.  My set of readers Famous African-Americans in U.S. History is for grades 1-3 and features ten African-Americans and their key contributions to America

Tuesday, February 11th is the birthday of the great American inventor Thomas Alva Edison.  My reader “Thomas Edison: Inventor” is great for teaching English language arts as well as science concepts. Your students will build their vocabulary and improve their reading comprehension as they read the story and answer questions and have fun with a word search.

Monday, February 17th is George Washington’s Birthday celebrated in the U.S. as President’s Day.  My Social Studies Topics - Leveled Books: First Grade Levels H/I are a fun way to explore more about the Founding Fathers and the early history of the United States.

1/27/2014 Happy Birthday Lewis Carroll!

Have you ever “chortled?”

 

Today is the birthday of the mathematician Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who is better known as Lewis Carroll the author of Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking Glass.   A “chortle” is a kind of muffled laugh, it is included in Dodgen’s book Through the Looking Glass, and it is one of the many nonsense words he created.  His books are hardly all nonsense though.  A fascinating story from NPR shares

that the first version of the Alice story that he wrote for the real Alice Liddel had no mathematical references, but the books now contain many clever math references.

Your students will be able to study math and vocabulary with my Math Topics readers.  This original series of leveled books is written to incorporate the Fountas and Pinnell leveled vocabulary, Rebecca Sitton spelling words, and general core curriculum standards for grades K-6 in the United States.

1/27/2014 Ready for Groundhog's Day?

2014 is racing by, already it less than a week until Groundhog’s Day, on February 2nd.  Groundhog’s Day began as a tradition in the Pennsylvania Dutch.  Today in Southeastern Pennsylvania g’spiel (plays or skits) are performed as part of the traditional celebrations.  

You can take part in the g’spiel tradition in your own classroom.  

Your students will have fun learning interesting facts about Groundhog's Day and groundhogs when they read my play "Happy Groundhog's Day" and take part in the original card game "I Have, Who Has? – All about Groundhogs", included with the play. This fun, interactive game will have your class ask and answer questions to help reinforce facts and information shared in the play.

Written with 28 parts, the play is set at a school where the students meet the legendary groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, and are excited to learn all about Groundhog’s Day. Information about groundhogs is reviewed with a special game their teacher made for them.

“Happy Groundhog's Day” is an original play written for use as readers’ theater, as a part of balanced literacy (Read-Aloud, Shared and Performance Reading or Guided Reading), or for an actual play production. In readers’ theater or through one of the balanced literacy approaches to teaching reading, children are not expected to memorize their lines, yet the reading encourages strong oral skills. An added benefit is performing the play for other classes or parents while increasing social skills, cooperative learning and creativity. Using plays in literacy-based classrooms promotes active listening for the performers, as well as the audience, and offers an engaging way to teach reading skills.

1/26/2014 Gold Discovered at Sutter's Mill, and Happy Australia Day!

Hello!  This last weekend of the month of January is certainly fact-filled and fascinating!

On January 24th, 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in California, launching the California Gold Rush. A gold nugget at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History is believed to be the very first piece of gold discovered by John Marshall, who was supervising the construction of the mill for John Sutter. The news of the discovery of gold brought tens of thousands of settlers to California. America had just gained control of California from Mexico in 1847. You and build vocabulary with your class while learning about more important moments in American history with my collection of Social Studies Readers

Today, January 26th is officially Australia Day. Australia Day commemorates the founding of the first European settlement in Australia, in what is now Sydney. When many kids think of Australia, they think of all of the country’s unique animals, such as koalas and kangaroos. My reader Animals that Live in the Australian Desert is a great way to combine science, social studies, geography, and reading! This sixth-grade Level W reader takes a close look at animals found in the Australian desert and how they have adapted to life in this harsh environment of low rainfall and sweltering heat. Your students will learn about bearded dragons, desert dingoes, marsupial moles, the endangered bilby, and other animals of Australia.