Book Review: How They Croaked- The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

I've seen this book in our school's book fair a lot and have always been curious about it. My daughter brought it home from her middle school book fair and couldn't get enough of it. I'll be honest...I wasn't motivated to read it until she started telling me tidbits from it "Mom...Did you know Cleopatra didn't die from a snake bite- it was a poisoned hair clip?" She got my attention but I never sat down to read it until recently (2 years later and because it was the only book left that I hadn't read on our camping trip.) Needless to say- I was hooked and so was my husband (who NEVER reads). So there we were camping out in the woods and I would read a passage from How They Croaked each night before we went to bed. A little messed up- but in the best possible way! Yes...it's gross but it's also historically and medically accurate and just enough weird enough that older kids will want to read it. It details the deaths of famous people from history- Beethoven, Caesar, Marie Antoinette, etc.- no pop stars or celebrities here! I approve and hope that maybe- just maybe- it will fuel a love for other historical books in my students. I've already made my daughter dig out the second book- How They Choked for me to read next!

More on Makerspace

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

I haven't posted about Makerspaces in a while, but our Makerspace Mondays have continued to be a hit! I add a few age appropriate activities each week while continuing to keep the ones they've learned in the past. Here's a few new things:

We've started using an iPad station for Coding games. Most of the apps I found are free. We're using Kodable for 1st-4th. It increases in difficulty so all grades have enjoyed it.

I'm not going to lie- this game is HARD for me but the kids are great at it! You layer clear tiles to match/make different shapes. The game is called Color Code by Smart Games. When you purchase it, it also give you a code for computer games- nice little bonus!!

I found this cool little app called Bricksir that had step-by-step Lego Instructions for Halloween creatures. It was free although some sets of instructions were paid.

We got out the Snap Circuits to try with 2nd-4th graders and they LOVED LOVED LOVED it! Again...I told them to start with the 1st couple of projects and see how they did. HA! One group got to the 8th project (in a 30 minute time slot). Kids are amazing when given the time to explore! Lights were flashing, fans were blowing, alarms were ringing. Too cool!

These cheap little Straws and Connectors ($24ish on Amazon) are loved by all grades too. One group made a house complete with chandelier hanging.

And K'Nex...little hard for the younger grades but great for 2nd grade on up.

Random Pinterest STEM Activities: Pinterest is a great resources for appropriate STEM activities so I try to grab one or two from there each Makerspace. The challenge here was to build a tower with clips and popsicle sticks- easy peasy and using stuff we had! Might as well try it!

We got out out our Dash and Dot for the younger kids. We started learning how to maneuver them and seeing what they did. Of course, every child wanted a turn so we let each child have a couple of minutes and next time they'll go in a station. When the older kids came in to check out books, they were pretty jealous. They made me promise that they would get to do it too!

Again...we added these things to the earlier stations so they have plenty to choose from. My goal is to be able to see 2 classes at once for the next semester so they can come more often. We shall see but so far so good!

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown Book Review

Thursday, October 06, 2016

Okay...so this book...what to say. I loved most of it. The first 3/4 of the book was a beautiful story about friendship, motherhood, survival...it had furry woodland creatures and a lovable robot. What's not to love! And then the last quarter of the book went awry in my mind's happy little forest land that I had built with Roz and Brightbill. Not to spoil anything- because it is definitely worth the read- but the last part of the book was disappointing and not at all what I wanted for my robot friend and her gosling son. I don't like books that set up a second book instead of wrapping up the first one and that's what I felt this one did. I felt as if I was left dangling.

Would I recommend it to students? Sure. Are they going to like it? Sure. Will I read the 2nd when it comes out? Sure (even if I am a little begrudging about it).

October's Book of the Month

Wednesday, October 05, 2016

This month's Book of the Month was Ish by Peter Reynolds. All of Reynolds' books are inspiring and just make you feel good to read them. Ish has been one of my favorites since the days I taught first grade.

Right Fit Books Lesson

Monday, September 19, 2016

I always start my first graders off with a couple of lessons about Just Right Books. As a former 1st grade teacher, I understand the importance of this and want to encourage those firsties to get books THEY CAN READ!!! My first "just right" lesson uses Goldie Socks and the Three Libearians from Upstart. They usually get a bookmark that goes along with it and we spend a lot of time that day practicing the "5 Finger Rule." I try to extend checkout time that day to give them ample time to apply that rule and find a just right book.

I follow up that lesson with the Daily Cafe's Good Fit Book lesson using shoes. You can find the link to the lesson here. It's a fun lesson that compares finding the right shoes with finding the right book. 1st graders always think it's hilarious to see me wearing shoes waaaaaaaaaay too big or waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too small. I also try on house shoes, water shoes, rain boots, running shoes, fancy shoes, etc. I end by trying on really UGLY shoes. This allows me to expand on the lesson and talk about how you have to find a book that is the right size (not too big or not too little), serves your purpose, and one that you like. I didn't have the book Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts that is mentioned in the Daily Cafe's lesson. But I use the book Shoe La La by Karen Beaumont instead. It's a super cute book about some young glamour girls going shoe shopping. Because of its humor (it says "underwear"-hilarious!) and rhyming text, first grade boys didn't seem to mind all the glitz and sparkle.

To give myself some time to work one-on-one with individual students on checking out good fit books, I made a little coloring sheet for them to color and to act as a reminder about our lesson. They could design their perfect shoe. Get it on Google Drive here.

September's School-Wide Book of the Month

Thursday, September 15, 2016

September's Book of the Month was Last Stop on Market Street by Matt De LaPena. I was so excited to share this outstanding book with our teachers! Besides the book, classroom teachers were given an online resource guide and a Prezi that listed similar titles available in our library. Our Math Coach even made a "Math Talk" guide for using the book in math lessons. So cool!!

If you haven't read Matt De La Pena's Newbery Acceptance Speech, take a few minutes to do that. You will be inspired!! Here's the link!

Leave a Comment Book of the Month, Book Reviews

Library Rules from the Black Lagoon

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Every year, I get sick, sick, SICK of going over library rules. I know the students get as tired of hearing them as I do!! As I was thinking about how to liven up this mundane lesson, I brainstormed books to use. I don't usually like books that are made for a specific lesson- I always want to read quality literature and not books that are in-your-face with a specific lesson tailored to a library standard. I thought about mean old Mrs. Beamster from the Black Lagoon- at least I'm better than her, right???!!! After reading The Librarian from the Black Lagoon, I went over rules using this presentation. Check it out here on Google Slides!

If we had extra time, we watched the Teacher from the Black Lagoon and compared her to their new teacher. This was also a great time to brag on their new teacher and tell them how wonderful she is and what a great year they'll have. So far, this has been my favorite lesson to go over rules. I did this with 1st-3rd grade but recommend it more for 2nd or 3rd. Beginning of the year firsties don't quite get some of the humor! Definitely keeping this lesson on hand for next year!!

Camping Family Night

Monday, September 12, 2016

We had our September Family Night (name change from Literacy Night). It was a camping theme to go along with our school-wide theme for the year. Last year we averaged 240 people each night...we had 303 there this year!! Needless to say, I had to run to the store for more S'more supplies- but that's a good problem to have!! No complaining here! Go big or go home, right?!?!!!

We started the day with a visit from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Mobile Aquarium. The kids LOVED it and I'm so appreciative of their willingness to sponsor this program.

Our Family Nights are always on a Thursday from 3:30-5:30. I know it's a tough time for some parents but we've tried several different times and this has the best turnout. I had contacted the Arkansas Tourism Bureau and they sent us a lot of great books, guides, maps about Arkansas State Parks. Parents were given these when they signed in. Students were also given their first game called "Mosquito Bites". This was probably the biggest hit of all the games. Click on the image below to get a copy in Google Docs.

To play this game, I just used the colored dot labels from Wal-Mart. Super fun-super cheap!!!

We also played some traditional camping games (Cornhole, Bocci Ball, and Ladder Golf). It started to rain so we had to improvise.

For crafts, we made paper plate animals and popsicle stick tents. Our town has started a Facebook page called Bentonville Rocks. It's like a town-wide scavenger hunt- kids paint rocks, hide them around town and then their parents can post a picture of them when they find the rocks. So...we painted rocks and gave a little explanation about the fun! It's become quite a big deal around our town- over 2,600 members on the Facebook page. We also played Animal Track Twister -thanks to the National Wildlife Federation. Click here for a copy of the game.

And what camping experience would be complete without S'mores!!!

Makerspace Monday

Our first Makerspace Monday kicked off with Kindergarten and First Grade. It was SUCH a fun day!!! I was both excited and terrified of getting started in the Maker Movement. We started with a few basic rules and then went for it!! We did a lot of exploring for the first week. I can't wait for our next Maker Monday!!

Creating Castles

Students were given books with real castle pictures, KEVA blocks and other wooden blocks to create their own castle. They could use a picture or design one themselves.

Button Towers

Students tried to make the tallest tower using only buttons and play-dough. Much harder than you would think!!

Marble Maze

Kids of all ages love this!

Robot Mouse

This is my favorite new game!!! SOOOOO cool!! I plan to use this for every grade (K-4th). Students build a maze and then program the mouse to move through their maze. Great thinking!

Various Building Thingies

I put out several tubs of various building activities: they became glasses, skeletons, hammerhead sharks, etc. You can also see magnet blocks in the background.

I also had Legos with letter cards- thanks Wildflower Ramblings! http://wildflowerramblings.com/printables-free/alphabet-lego-cards-uppercase-free-printable/

I was surprised that the Legos weren't a bigger hit- I think maybe they were used to playing Legos at home and were more interested in other building materials?!?!! IDK... We also had block puzzles, and a bookmark making center.

We saw 9 classes for 30 minutes each- I felt like that was pretty spot-on for beginning of the year attention spans! :)

School Wide Book of the Month Club

Last year, I received a grant to start a School Wide Book of the Month Club. After reading Scholastic's article, (Click Here) I knew this would be a perfect addition to our already-existing One District, One Book program. I love the idea of providing common texts for teachers to encourage collaboration! I started the year with one of my favorites, Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great. I attached a note about the book along with some online resources and activity ideas. I can't wait for next month's book!

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