Our Winter Break Reading Plans

We're readers, and Winter Break is a great time to read. Before we left on Friday, we stopped to think about what we were going to read over the Holiday Break. Students set a variety of goals - finishing books, reading new books, going to the library, and reading for set periods of time. It will be fun to revisit these goals when we return to school in January and see how we did. In order to make the videos a little more manageable, I split them into two. Students 1-12 are in the first one, and students 13-24 are in the second (it's alphabetical).

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Holiday Stars

During the last week of school before the winter break, Mrs. Selby taught the class how to create beautiful stars out of paper. This is a craft that is popular in Germany, where Mrs. Selby is originally from. Each student selected 8 rectangular pieces of paper, then Mrs. Selby demonstrated to the class how to make the appropriate folds. The next day, we glued our stars together and had them laminated. For the remainder of the week, we admired our beautiful stars in our classroom windows. We loved discovering the various shapes made by the stars and all the colors that were created. Thanks, Mrs. Selby!

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Social Studies Chapter 7 Studycast

Click here to listen to the studycast for Chapter 7. You can also download the audio file by right clicking on the link and by choosing "Save Target As." The studyguide came home on Monday, December 15 and the test is on Friday, December 19. If you need to download an extra copy of the studyguide, visit the homework page on our class website. Feel free to leave me questions or comments - I'll get back to you soon! Thanks and good luck!

The Doors of Poetry

Poems are hiding everywhere. We just have to know where to find them. As we began our poetry unit, our first lesson was on the Doors of Poetry, the doors we can open to find poetry in our lives. We learned how to open the Memory Door, Heart Door, Wondering Door, Observation Door, and Concerns About the World Door. After this first lesson, our kids were already creating some incredible poems. Below are a few written by our students. Be sure to leave them some comments - they would love to hear your feedback.

I Wonder

Andrea opened up her Wondering Door to find this poem. We've been talking a lot about perspective in class recently - how we can put ourselves in other people's shoes. Andrea uses this idea in her own poem.

I Wonder
by Andrea

I wonder
why.
Why do they live like this?
Alone
Cold
I think
How?
How did this become?
I'm glad I'm not like them
but still
I wish I could fit in their shoes.

Corrections

I was blown away by Alex's poem. He told the class he got the idea from a picture book we studied together, Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsburg. In this book, the main character goes through a major change as he realizes how his actions (littering) affect the world.

Corrections
by Alex

In the light of a
candle,
I can see who I am.
In the light of a
candle,
I can see what I will be.
In the light of a
candle,
I can see what I was.
Make better.

Snakes

I love how Anne uses alliteration throughout this poem. I also love how she uses some repeating words (just like some of the poems we've featured already in class).

Snakes
by Anne

Snakes
all around me
slithering
hissing
snakes

Snakes
around the
small
small
small room
striking
snakes

Hip Hop

Nakia was greatly influenced by Eloise Greenfield's "Honey I Love." If you know this poem, you can see how Nakia used the same beautiful rhythm in her own writing.

Hip Hop
by Nakia

I love...
Hip Hop.
It is
Where I belong.
It is in
my soul.
It is
my life and
I will make
the music.
And I sure will tell you...
I can be hip
and I can be hop
but nothing is better
than
Hip Hop.

Roper Mountain Science Center

Today we went on a field study to Roper Mountain Science Center. Our theme was "Universe in a Day," and we participated in multiple activities based on our solar system. Our first activity centered around telescopes (it was pouring rain, so we couldn't see out of the big one). We then used some incredibly cool models to understand the phases of the moon and how the angle of the sun's rays affect the earth. Our third activity was my favorite. After comparing the temperatures of black and white surfaces (do you know which one absorbs more energy?), we tested solar power cars to see how light's intensity would affect the energy the car receives. Very, very cool. The last half of our day was spent in the planetarium seeing a presentation about the planets. Even though I didn't have to teach, I was worn out at the end of the day. The Roper Mountain staff did a wonderful job engaging and teaching our kids. Enjoy the pictures below!

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Current Events Journal

Our class had begun to discuss some current events, so I created a Current Events Journal for our classroom. It's just a big, blank book that hangs up in the back of the classroom. During the morning, kids can glue in current events they've brought from home or comment on articles other students have posted. We share these during class meeting once or twice a week. We've discussed a lot of interesting articles: the government bailout of the auto industry, Obama and McCain vowing to work together, the urine recycler on the international space station (yes, I'm serious), New York's big snowfall, Somalia pirates, and the war in Iraq. Rebekah, Coco, and Porter have all contributed articles to our journal. Here's a picture of Coco sharing with the class one morning.

Enjoying Poetry

To begin our poetry unit, we've been reading lots and lots and lots of poetry. We've tried to get the language of poetry in our minds - we want to think, breathe, listen, and observe like poets. Today we put ourselves in small groups and came up with motions for some of our favorite poems. It was fun to work in small groups, enjoy poetry, and laugh. I thought the kids did an excellent job. We hope you enjoy the videos posted below.

Pick Up Your Room

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Pick Up Your Room
by Mary Ann Hoberman

Pick up your room, my mother says
(She says it every day);
My room's too heavy to pick up
(That's what I always say).

Drink up your milk, she says to me,
Don't bubble like a clown;
Of course she knows I'll answer that
I'd rather drink it down.

And when she says at eight o'clock
You must go right to bed,
We both repeat my answer:
Why not go left instead?

Rules

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Rules
by Karla Kuskin

Do not jump on ancient uncles.
Do not yell at average mice.
Do not wear a broom to breakfast.
Do not ask a snake's advice.
Do not bathe in chocolate pudding.
Do not talk to bearded bears.
Do not smoke cigars on sofas.
Do not dance on velvet chairs.
Do not take a whale to visit
Russell's mother's cousin's yacht.
And whatever else you do
It is better you
Do not.

The Question

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The Question
by Karla Kuskin

People always say to me
"What do you think you'd like to be
When you grow up?"
And I say, "Why,
I think I'd like to be the sky
Or be a plane or train or mouse
Or maybe be a haunted house
Or something furry, rough and wild...
Or maybe I will stay a child."

Kick a Little Stone

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Kick a Little Stone
Dorothy Aldis

When you are walking by yourself
Here's something nice to do:
Kick a little stone and watch it
Hop ahead of you.

The little stone is round and white,
Its shadow round and blue.
Along the sidewalk over the cracks
The shadow bounces too.

Science Studycast - Light

Click here to listen to the studycast on light. You can download the studycast by right-clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." The test is on Friday, December 12, and studyguide came home on Monday, December 8.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below! Good luck!

Procedure Writing

We started this week with a new writing unit - procedure writing. We began the unit of study by writing a classroom procedure together as a class (how to work with your math partner). We then decided that each student would select a different classroom procedure to write about, and we would put them together to make a class procedure book. This would be extremely helpful for new students, subs, and for those of use who need reminders. Before we began developing and drafting, we stepped back and studied the example we wrote together. We thought back to how we went about composing this writing piece, and we came up with a class chart entitled, "What Good Writers Do." We noticed that good writers...

• Make lists of ideas before writing
• Organize their ideas in a way that makes sense
• Use leads that capture their readers' attention AND introduce the writing piece
• Re-read their writing a lot
• Make changes as they write
• Try to make their writing "sound good"
• Explain their ideas clearly
• Cross out, add in, move words around
• Use transition words
• Think about their audience when they write
• Write endings that summarize their main idea 0r "circle back" to their lead

Students then got together with a partner to "talk out" their procedure, taking notes and organizing them in a way that makes sense. By the end of the week, most students had almost finished their draft. Here are a few pictures of the kids at work...

What Can You See?

In Science, we have been exploring light. In this week's experiment, we took several objects and tested them to see if we could see our reflection. We labeled them as clear reflection, blurry reflection, and no reflection. After categorizing the objects, we tried to find common characteristics with the objects that would show a reflection. We inferred that objects with smooth, shiny, and glossy surfaces reflect light. Our next step is to find out why! Here are some pictures of the kids testing the objects and recording their findings...

Sharing Our Reading Lives - Mrs. Selby

On Tuesday, we were so fortunate to have Mrs. Selby (Alex's mom) come and share her reading life with our class. Mrs. Selby taught us about audio books! She told us how she uses the internet to download books to her iPod, and then listens to them at her convenience. She also showed us how you can check out CDs from the public library and listen to books at home or while you're traveling in the car. Many of our students had never done this - this Thanksgiving would be a perfect time to listen to a book while you're traveling to visit relatives. Mrs. Selby shared with us some really cool books that use interesting graphics. The kids were enthralled with the "Gallop!" book (I saw it at Barnes and Noble this weekend - it's fascinating). Thanks for sharing, Mrs. Selby!

Estimating and Measuring

One of the best was to understanding measuring systems is to find personal references for certain lengths. Each student found common examples for millimeter, centimeter, decimeter, and meter. We then used these personal references to make estimates for objects in the classroom. To check our estimates, partners worked together to make an exact measurement. Tape measures, rulers, and meter sticks were all over our classroom - it was great! The kids found out that they were very good at making estimates when using their personal references! I was proud of them.

Jo'nae and Ben estimated the length of the classroom. They're using their meter stick to see how close they came.

Alex and Andrea are discussing strategies for using their measuring tape.

Another Non-Fiction Thursday

Non-Fiction Thursdays are becoming a favorite activity of Room 241. On these mornings, friends get together to read their favorite non-fiction texts. On this particular morning, I put a big piece of chart paper on the wall, and I invited the students to write down the new facts they were learning. Below is a slide show of some of the facts they collected. What a variety of subjects and ideas!

How To Leave a Comment

Blogs are so powerful because they allow us to communicate and collaborate with each other. Watch the video below to learn how to join in on the conversation.

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Studycast - Social Studies Chapter 5

Click here to listen to the Social Studies Chapter 5 studycast. You can also right click on the link, "save target as," and download the file to your computer.

The study guide for the test came home on Wednesday, November 5. If you need an extra copy of the study guide, click on the homework page on our class website. The test will be on Tuesday, November 11. If you have any questions, you can let me know by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post. I'll get back to you quickly with an answer. Enjoy learning about these early explorers!

Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon Week ended on Friday with the annual Red Ribbon Parade. Our class theme was "Show Good Character; Say No to Drugs." For the parade, we created a class banner and everyone was encouraged to dress as their favorite book character. We had LOTS of characters show up: Ivy from the Ivy and Bean series, two Harry Potters, Dr. Seuss' Thing 2, Jack from the Magic Tree House series, detectives from the Animal Ark series, Molly Moon, and many others. After the parade, we enjoyed some excellent treats provided by our wonderful parents. It was a great ending to a great week. Enjoy the pictures!

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Non-Fiction Friday

Last Friday morning, we took a break from Challenge Problems and fiction - we decided to have Non-Fiction Friday! We spent the morning reading non-fiction texts with friends. I put a big piece of paper on the white board that said, "What did you learn while reading non-fiction this morning?" As they read, students had the opportunity to add their new learning to the chart paper. You can click thorugh the pictures on the slide presentation below. I'm looking forward to another non-fiction morning next week!

Room 241 Tells Our Tales

This morning we held our writing celebration for our personal narratives. The kids were ecstatic to have an audience to share their writing with (not to mention the muffins, fruit, and juice that were provided). Parents and kids had the opportunity to walk around and read everyone's writing project. As they read, parents left comments on post-it notes - which the kids were thrilled to read. You'll probably notice some yellow post-its sticking out of the kids' writing when you see the video below. Several kids were also able to share their writing aloud with the whole group. A big thanks goes out to Mrs. Baumgarnder and Mrs. Dowdy for making it all happen. We hope you enjoy the pictures from our celebration.

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Tymeir Revises

Today we learned how to have authors' circles in order to get feedback for our narrative writing pieces. I was so proud of how our students listened to each other and gave each other important feedback. At the beginning of writer's workshop, Tymeir looked at his piece and realized he needed to revise. I sat down with him and prompted him to use storytelling as a way to prepare himself to write. After telling his story a few times, Tymeir wrote a 2nd draft. Here's his first draft:

This is how the games goes. Well, someone throws the football up in the air and whoever catches the ball, they got to try to get a touchdown. And if you get tackled, you have to throw the ball up in the air. But if you make a touchdown, you're good to keep going on.

Here's his second draft:

The quarterback hikes the ball hard on my belly as I run looking at the defense. I am holding the ball tightly. I was running so fast the air was blowing hard on my face. I was gasping for air. Suddenly, I get hit hard in my legs. As... (this is as far as he got today)

You can see Tymeir explain his revisions in the video below. I love how he describes the process - breaking down the story into "little actions." Tymeir really zoomed in on a small moment and has begun to tell the story step-by-step. I love all the exact details he's included in his second draft - it's a great piece of writing. Leave Tymeir a comment by clicking on the "Comment" button below this post. I know he'd love to hear your thoughts.

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Studycast - Magnets and Electricity

Click here to listen to the Magnets and Electricity Studycast.

The study guide came home on Tuesday, October 21st, and the test is on Friday, October 24th. If you need an extra copy of the study guide, visit our class homework page to download a copy. If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment at the bottom of this post. I'll be sure to get back to you shortly. Good luck and have fun!

Sharing with Reading Partners

After becoming proficient at using the stop-think-react strategy, we decided to practice the strategy on our own. Each student read an article from our National Geographic Explorer magazines - it was about animals that drink blood (awesome!). As they read, they used post-it notes to record their reactions to the text. When everyone was finished, reading partners got together to discuss their reactions. There were so many great conversations. After the conversations were over, I asked the class - How does this strategy help you understand the text better? The students gave a variety of responses - it helps them slow down and think, they notice their thinking more, they ask more questions, they make more connections, they feel like they understand what they read in a better way. Once again, I'm thrilled. Here are some of the conversations that were going on...

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Stop - Think - React

Good readers stop, think, and react when they read a text. We've been practicing this way of thinking in class, and I've really been impressed with how well our kids have used this strategy. We started by practicing together, everyone reading the same article as I demonstrated my thinking. We then practiced reading a text with a partner - stopping, thinking, and sharing our reactions with a partner. It was a beautiful thing. The kids were so active and excited about reading and sharing their ideas with a friend. I wanted to show you what this was like, so I used my video camera to capture some partners at work. It's a little hard to hear due to the background noise, but you'll still get a picture of what an active, engaging process reading can be.

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Two Great Sayings

One of the reasons I love being a teacher is the fact that I get to spend the majority of my day with 24 interesting, curious, and smart kids. I love when they ask questions, make connections, laugh, sing class songs, share jokes, invent, create, and learn. They're a fun bunch. I wanted to share two comments that Andrea and Julian shared recently.

We were in reading workshop. Our current unit of study is monitoring our comprehension (thinking about our thinking), and we had been figuring out what good readers do when they come across unknown words. We had spent a few days sharing strategies and practicing those strategies. At the end of workshop time Andrea raised her hand and said, "Mr. Brown, I've been trying out some of those strategies when I read at home, and they really work. They've really helped me understand what I'm reading better. I'm not just skipping over words I don't know. I'm actually taking the time to figure them out." I smiled.

We were in science. I asked the class - How could you make an electromagnet stronger? Our students got in their science teams, developed a plan, wrote procedures, carried out their experiment, and then recorded their results. Based on our findings, we found there were several factors that could make an electromagnet stronger. As we wrapped up our exploration, Julian said, "You know what Mr. Brown? At the end of the year, we could take our notebooks home and do all these experiments by ourselves at home! Wouldn't that be cool?" I responded, "Why don't you take them home NOW and conduct your own experiments whenever you want? Learning happens all the time - not just within the walls of our classroom."

Isn't it exciting to see our kids becoming learners and thinkers? I love it.

Learning Our Multiplication Facts

I remember when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, my teacher gave me a piece of paper with all the multiplication facts on them. She then told me to memorize them. I remember sitting on the back porch with my dad, going over and over and over the facts. It took lots of time, practice, and determination for me to memorize the multiplication tables. Those three criteria still apply to our kids today. Fortunately, we've developed some more "fun" ways to memorize the facts. In class, we used flash cards to determine what facts we know and what facts we still need to practice. We've played Name That Number, Multiplication Top-It, Beat the Calculator, and Multiplication Baseball. All of these games help kids memorize their multiplication tables. But parents - I encourage you talk to your child and identify those facts that he or she does not know. Practice them in the car, make flash cards, play games - do what it takes. Remember- time, practice, and determination. Here are some pictures of the kids playing math games in our classroom...

Coco and Mia are playing Name That Number (one of my favorites).

Austin and Porter think over their facts as they play Multiplication Baseball.

Conductors and Insulators

I love studying about electricity. It's such a hands-on unit of study, and it's always full of surprises. Earlier in the year, we tested objects to see if they would be attracted to magnets. We were surprised to find that brass, aluminum, and copper objects were not attracted to magnets. This past week, we used that same bag of objects to ask the question - What objects are conductors or insulators? We were again surprised that brass, aluminum, and copper were conductors - even though they're not attracted to magnets. Based on our results, we inferred that all metals are conductors of electricity. Here's a few pictures from our exploration...

Alex and Bethany are recording the results of their experiment into their science notebooks.

Here is one group's objects sorted into conductors and insulators.

A Special Guest

A few weeks ago, we were privileged to have a Julia as a special guest in our classroom. Julia is from Germany, and she is spending a few weeks with Alex's family. During our morning meeting, Julia shared a popular children's book from her home country - and she read it in German! The kids were silent with smiles as they listened intently to the music of another language. After Julia read, the kids took turns asking her questions about life in Germany. I was really proud of all the smart questions they asked. We were so thankful to have Julia spend the morning with us.

Writing About Small Moments

Last week during Writer's Workshop, we learned how to take our small moment ideas and write them in a step-by-step way. We learned how to slow the moment down, see the "movie" in our mind, and tell true, exact details about what happened. We learned that good personal narrative writers tell lots of specific details - what they're thinking, what their hands are doing, what their face looks like, what they're feeling, what they see. Here are two examples from our Room 241 writers...

This is one of Ben's entries from last week. Boys love to write about sports, and I thought Ben did an excellent job of zooming in on the most important part of his story. I love all the exact details that he includes.

This is an example from Alaina's notebook. She did an incredible job of taking an ordinary, small moment and turning it into a beautiful piece of writing.

Students have now selected a small moment from their writer's notebook that they want to work into a published piece. We'll spend the next few weeks drafting, revising, and editing this one writing piece. This week we're learning how to use timelines, quotation marks, and effective leads as we begin drafting our stories. I can't wait to see what our students will write!

Studycast - Social Studies Chapter 3-4

The study guide for the Chapter 3-4 test came home on Monday, October 6th. The test will be on Friday, October 10th. We will be covering the final lesson (Chapter 4, Lesson 3) on Tuesday. We'll review in class on Wednesday and Thursday to prepare for the test. If you need to download another copy of the study guide, visit the "Homework" link on the blog's side bar. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to click on the "Comment" link right below this post.

Click here to listen to the Social Studies Chapter 3-4 studycast!

Addition and Subtraction

Most of our kids are pretty proficient at knowing how to follow the step-by-step procedure of adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers. But I really want our students to understand what's really happening to the numbers and why it's happening. For example, when subtracting multi-digit numbers - many kids can tell you, "You cross out the 3 and make it a 2. Then you turn the 4 into a 14." But when you ask them, "Why? Why does that happen? Why does the 3 become a 2? Why does the 4 become a 14?" - many kids are at a complete loss. So this week we have used base ten blocks to demonstrate our understanding of what happens when we add and subtract. These hands-on lessons have really made an impact on our kids. Several students have told me, "Wow, I never knew that's what really happened," or "I kinda knew what was happening, but now I really get it." I love watching the A-ha's on their faces when they come to these new understandings!

This is a drawing from Richie's math notebook. He's drawn a picture to explain how 277 + 58 = 335. Notice how he groups the ones together to make a ten, then moves the ten over with the other tens. Then he groups 10 tens together to make a 100, and then moves that one hundred over with the other hundred.


This is a drawing from Emma's math notebook, where she is explaining what happens when you subtract 158 from 243. Notice how she takes a ten and moves it over to the ones, creating 13 ones. Then she moves a 100 over to the tens, creating 13 tens.

Nakia and Porter are using the base ten blocks to demonstrate their understanding of addition and subtraction.

Writing with Rebekah's Mom

Two weeks ago, we were so fortunate to have Rebekah's Mom (Ms. Duckett) share her writing life with our class. I had taken so many wonderful pictures of Ms. Duckett sharing her journals and ideas with our kids, but the pictures were accidentally deleted from the digital camera. But I did take lots of notes, and I wanted to share some of the big ideas she shared with us:

• Choose a journal or notebook that you love. You are much more likely to write in a notebook that you connect with.
• The texture of a notebook is important. Ms. Duckett has found that smooth, slick notebooks tend to fall apart. Choose a quality notebook that will last.
• The size of your notebook is very important. Choose a notebook that's convenient to transport. You never know when you'll find an idea, and it's very useful to have your notebook handy.
• Learn to look for ideas all around you (Ms. Duckett told a very interesting story about a squirrel - she took the time to stop and notice life around her).
• Your notebook is a safe place to write - you're the main audience!
• "So the thinker of thoughts will become the writer of words" - what an incredible quote! It reminds me of a poem we sometimes say in our classroom: "What I think, I can say. What I say, I can write. What I write, I can read. What I read, I can share."
• It's fun to look back at notebooks and journals you've kept in the past and see how you've changed and grown.
• Your life is worth writing about!

At the end of her presentation, I asked Ms. Duckett to share some of her thoughts about writing - some parting wisdom for our class. I was lucky enough not to erase this from my video camera!

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Native American Tableaus

During our study of Native Americans, we learned about four cultural regions: Eastern Woodlands, Great Plains, Southwest, and Northwest Coast. Each region has its own distinct environment, which creates its own unique culture. To demonstrate the big ideas we learned through this study, groups of students created tableaus. Their tableaus were based on the following questions:
- What was their environment like?
- What was their greatest resource?
- How did they obtain food?
- What kind of houses did they live in?
- What was their culture like?
We hope you enjoy the video!

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Math Games

You may have asked your child recently, "What was your favorite part of the schol day?" I'm guessing that some of them may have answered "math games." During each unit of study, I teach our kids some games that help reinforce the concepts we are learning in class. We have learned how to play Nim and Poison; both games require you to develop strategies with numbers (Cameron has become our class expert). We played Addition Top-It to strengthen our addition facts and Name That Number to practice number equations and algebra. During this past week, I taught the kids how to play High Number Toss and Number Top-It; both games reinforce what we have learned about place value. Students - I've placed a poll in the sidebar of the blog for you to vote for your favorite math game. I'm interested to see how the results turn out!

Allison is getting her cards ready for a math game.

Caitlyn and Jo'nae get ready for another round of Name That Number.

Lightbulbs and Batteries

This past week, I gave pairs of students two wires, a battery, and a flashlight bulb. I presented this challenge - Using these materials, make the light bulb come on. Our kids loved it! They immediately started coming up with configurations to light the bulb. If a plan didn't work, they revised their thinking and developed a new plan. Eventually each team was able to make their bulb light up. I then presented the question - Why is this happening? We used what we had learned about static electricity to infer an explanation. We figured out that the negative charges from the battery flow through the wire, across the filament, back down into the other wire, and into the other side of the battery (the positive side). We learned this is called a complete circuit (it kind of sounds like circle). Electricity always flows from negative to positive to make a complete circuit. Here are some pictures of our young scientists as work...

Julian and Jo'nae are working together to hold the wires and light bulb.

Tymeir and Alex are demonstrating one way to light the bulb.

Richie and Clayton did an excellent job working together to develop a plan.

Native American Studycast

Click here to listen!

Our Native American test is this Thursday, September 11th. The study guide came home on Monday. All students brought home their Social Studies book and binder today in order to help them study. This studycast is another way to help your child study! Listen to the studycast, try to answer the questions, and see how well you know the information. Last year, many of my parents would listen to the studycast - it would enable them to more effectively review the test material with their child. Let me know what you think. If you have any questions, post a comment below this post - I'll find you an answer. Was this studycast helpful? Let me know - your feedback would be appreciated. Good luck!

What is Reading?

Last week, we participated in a very important study during Readers' Workshop. We asked ourselves this question - What is reading? To begin this study, each student responded to the question in his or her reading notebook. We then spent 3 days reading different picture books that offer us new perspectives on what happens when we read. After each picture book, we'd ask ourselves - How is my idea of reading changing? At the end of our study, students wrote their new definition of reading, adding in the new ideas and perspectives learned in our study. Here is how Coco responded in her reading notebook at the end of our study:

Reading is lots of things. It especially makes you think. The "easy" books can especially make you think the hardest. I thought that reading was something else, but it's not. You have to think ahead and you have to figure it out. And if there's a problem, try to figure out the problem. Make a solution. Reading is many things, but you always think when you do it.

I was so proud of Coco's change of thinking! I'm glad that her (and her classmates') definition of reading has expanded. Reading IS thinking!

Living Together Differently

For the past two weeks, our class did a study on "Living Together Differently." Each day we read a picture book and asked ourselves these questions - What does it mean to live together differently in our class? How should we treat each other? What does this picture book teach us about how we live together? How can we live and learn together in our community? When the two weeks were over, each student made a poster highlighting a "big idea" we learned. We hope you enjoy the video.

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Classroom Tour

Here's a short classroom tour that a few students put together this afternoon. I thought grandparents, relatives, and friends might like to see what our classroom looks like. It doesn't show the whole thing, but it gives you a little peek into what our room is all about.

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Independent Reading

During Reading Workshop, we have been asking ourselves, "What should independent reading look like and sound like in our classroom?" The kids came up with lots of great ideas: be focused on your book, sit in a "smart spot," select a book that interests you, spend the majority of your time reading (not going to the water fountain), don't "fake" read, and be comfortable. The kids have done an incredible job with their reading this past week - I am extremely proud. Here are a few pictures of the kids enjoying our reading time...

Caitlyn is reading a great book, The SOS Files. During our conference this week, Caitlyn told me she enjoys reading mystery books.

Porter has been reading some graphic novels in the class. He's also spent some time reading some non-fiction books - especially the books about history and war.

Mia has found a quiet place to read in the back of the classroom. Mia is reading The Sisters Grimm, and told me she loves to read fairy tales and adventures (which her book perfectly combines).

Tableaus

As a quick review last week, students got in groups and created tableaus to review key concepts we have learned. Here are a few pictures from the activity...

Bethanie, Cameron, and Andrea are showing "continent."

Savannah, Rebekah, and Richie are showing "ray."

First Week of School - Podcast!

We've had a really fun start to our school year. As you might have read in our classroom newsletter, we did a variety of activities this week: Poison (don't worry...it's a math game), NIM, Me Boxes, Living Together Differently, Classmate Bingo, Magic Triangles, learner surveys, and more. As we reflected on our first week together, we created a class podcast - a chance for our students to share their favorite parts of the week. Click here to listen. We hope you enjoy!

Favorite New Series

Shredderman #1: Secret Identity
by Wendelin Van Draanen

I've found a favorite new series. Bubba is the 5th grade bully who terrorizes everyone and gives his classmates terrible nicknames. Bubba has given Nolan Byrd the nickname "Nerd," a label that Nick does not want to define him. Inspired by a class project, Nolan decides to become "Shredderman" - a secret identity he will use to expose Bubba's bullying behavior on an internet site.

I love how Nolan changes through this story, and there are some incredible themes that can be explored (bullying, standing up for oneself, the power of the group, changing the culture of your classroom). The illustrations are really fun, and there are several in every chapter. Boys, I think you will really like this book (Girls, you'd like it, too). There are three more in the series, and I hope to read them as the summer progresses.

Clementine, Clementine, Clementine

The Talented Clementine
Clementine's Letter
by Sara Pennypacker

We all know how incredible the Clementine books are, so I won't go on and on and on about them. Instead, I'll just share some of my favorite lines from these books:

I have noticed that teachers get exciting confused with boring a lot. But when my teacher said, "Class, we have an exciting project to talk about," I listened anyway.

In my classroom, a surprise was waiting: we had a substitute. Mrs. Righty-O. I call her that because she always sayd "Righty-O." Also, okay, fine, because I can't ever remember her name.

Whenever my teacher needs someone to run an errand to the principal's office, he sends me. This is because I am so responsible. Okay, fine, it's also because I get sent so often I could find my way with my eyes closed. Which I tried once. You'd be amazed at how many bruises you can get from just one water fountain.

If you haven't read the Clementine series - do so now! There are so many laugh out loud parts in the story. Clementine is one of the most original and funny characters I have met in a long time.

How To Steal a Dog

How to Steal a Dog
by Barbara O'Connor

Georgina Hayes, her brother Toby, and their mom live in their car. Georgina's dad left the family penniless and they had no where else to go. Georgina's mom is doing the best she can to get the family back on their feet, but it takes time to save enough money for a deposit on a rental home. Georgina is embarrassed and tired of living out of a car, never knowing where they will spend their next night. She develops a plan to steal a dog...a dog that is owned by a wealthy person who will pay a BIG reward to get their dog back. But Georgina's scheme does not turn out exactly like she thought it would. In fact, she seems to get deeper and deeper and deeper into a big ol' mess. I think our 4th graders would love this book. There are so many deep themes to explore - homelessness, how we treat people different from ourselves, how we view the poor and the rich, doing what is right even when it's hard. There's lots of humor and laughs in the book, as well as lots of places that make you stop and think. I highly recommend this book - put this on your "To Read" list! Emily V. read another book by Barbara O'Connor at the end of the school year - Me and Rupert Goody. I remember her telling me how much she enjoyed it.

Remember Maniac Magee?

Remember Maniac Magee? We all loved this incredible story from Jerry Spinelli. Well, how many of you knew that Jerry's wife is an author as well? Here are two of her books that I've read this summer...

Summerhouse Time
by Eileen Spinelli

I'm a big fan of Love That Dog by Sharon Creech. I love reading a novel in verse - it's a fun experience. When I heard that Summerhouse Time was in a similar format, I reserved it from the Greenville Public Library. Sophie is counting down the days to Summerhouse Time - her favorite time of the year. Her entire family goes to the beach for a month! Her perfect expectations of Summerhouse Time begin to collapse when her cousin Colleen won't speak to her, her aunt and uncle fight, and her dad has a panic attack. Sophie learns that life is not perfect, but you have to make the most of it. The story had layers of meaning that would make it perfect for a book club discussion.

Where I Live
by Eileen Spinelli

Just like Summerhouse Time, this is a story written in verse. But unlike Summerhouse Time, many of these poems could really stand on their own. The first half of the story shows us Diana - and how much she loves her home, friends, and school. When her dad loses her job, they are forced to move. The second half of the story shows how Diana deals with this difficult circumstance. Diana is a wonderful character. She's smart, funny, and sees herself as a poet. She learns to keep a writer's notebook with her at all times - to capture the poetry that happens all around her. The illustrations are really incredible; they add a lot to the story. I think Where I Live was my favorite out of the two. I like how Diana uses poetry and writing to deal with the hardships in her life. It also has an incredible example of a circular ending. Make sure you compare the first and last poem in the book. I think lots of kids in our class will appreciate this book.