Mock Caldecott Contenders - Batch 2

Each January, the American Library Association awards the Caldecott Medal to the artist of "the most distinguished American picture book for children." The 2017 winners were announced last week, but we're still making our way through our list in first and second grade.

Most recently, we've read these titles:

The Typewriter

Written and illustrated by Bill Thomson  

In this nearly wordless book, three children find an old typewriter and discover that any time they type a word, it magically comes to life.Thomson's photorealistic style is vivid and detailed, and the kids reacted with lots of exclamations as we turned each page.

A Morning with Grandpa

Written by Sylvia Liu,
Illustrated by Christina Forshay

Mei Mei is eager to learn tai chi from her grandfather, and he is willing to try out yoga. They may not be very good, but they encourage and support each other in this sweet celebration of mindfulness, movement, and friendship. 

We did Mei Mei's yoga moves as we read (and I fell over), and then checked out this introductory tai chi video:

The Deadliest Creature in the World

Written by Brenda K. Guiberson,
Illustrated by Gennady Spirin 

We read The Most Amazing Creature in the Sea by this team last year; this book is also full of facts and stunning artwork. 

Grade 4 Dewey Detectives - Part 2

Using what they learned the previous week about three Dewey categories, each group of fourth graders had to assign a stack of topic cards to the correct "hundreds." The students in both classes did a great job; even if they had something in the wrong place (like dinosaurs in the 900s), they were able to explain their reasoning (dinosaurs lived a long time ago, in ancient history). I love that they were using their brains! 

What Does the Fox Say? with Room 17

What Ms. Moore Was Reading - December 2017

Here are some of the most recent books I've read and thought my students would like. They're all available from the public library, but any donations towards getting them into our collection are most welcome! All cover images and descriptions are from Goodreads.

Picture Books
(Actually, the only ones I liked in December were all picture books)

With just three or four words per page, this story follows a baby owl one night as he leaves the safety of his nest (Home/ Mama/ Brother/ Sister) and explores the starry world around him (Soar/ Glide/ Swoop/ Swoosh). Inspired by reverso poetry, the words reverse in the middle when the baby owl is startled upon seeing his reflection in the pond (Owl/ Sees/ Owl). Afraid of it, little owl takes off toward home, soaring over farms and forests (Swoosh/ Swoop/ Glide/ Soar) until he is finally safely home again (Sister/ Brother/ Mama/ Home).

This is not a book - it's a laptop, a pair of hands to clap, a toolbox! Each spread of this book is actually something else entirely, challenging young readers to see things quite differently! Turning the page and finding a full-sized image of piano keys will invite children to swing the book on its side for imaginative play; turning the page again to find a monster with its mouth wide open will prompt children to use the book to chomp everything around them! The result stretches beyond the pages of this book, prompting readers to think creatively about other objects in their daily lives.

With haunting echoes of the current refugee crisis this beautifully illustrated book explores the unimaginable decisions made as a family leave their home and everything they know to escape the turmoil and tragedy brought by war. This book will stay with you long after the last page is turned.

A young girl tries to teach her robot how to pretend, but how do you use your imagination when you're a robot? Sias's vivid cartoons lend wit and warmth to a funny friendship.

A tiny dog, a kindhearted girl, and a nervous juggler converge in a cinematic book in four acts.

As trees sway in the cool breeze, blue jays head south, and leaves change their colors, everyone knows--autumn is on its way!

Join a young girl as she takes a walk through forest and town, greeting all the signs of the coming season. In a series of conversations with every flower and creature and gust of wind, she says good-bye to summer and welcomes autumn.

Hour of Code Photos

Better late than never ... here are photos of our week of Hour of Code in the library. (Grades 4 and 5 worked with students from CACTC.)

K - We did a dance sequence that involved "looping" and discussed how robots need very explicit instructions to execute their programs.

1 - We gave directions to our "Flurbs" and Angry Birds to practice writing algorithms.

2 - We created algorithms using "graph paper programming" and then went online to practice giving commands on a computer.

3 - We chose from a variety of games to learn how to program.

Room 17 FICtion Covers

Third graders now get to take out books from anywhere in the library ... but they're not sure how to find what they want. So we're learning how to use the online catalog and convert call number listings into shelf locations.

Right now we're working on the fiction section. Every fiction call number has "FIC" as the first line, and then the first three letters of the author's last name as the second line.

For example, if I wrote a book, the call number would be

FIC
MOO

What would YOUR call number be?

Students figured out the call numbers for a list of books and and then created their very own for a fiction book they "wrote." Here are some of their book covers: