Don't Let the Pigeon Touch the Books!

In case you haven't been introduced to the Pigeon yet, he is the star of a series of books by Mo Willems; the first one is Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! We read that and Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! in K, and I am happy to report that MOST students resisted his arguments (a few were willing to be bought off by his promise of five bucks).

Then we watched this video:

Finally, the kids came up with their own rules for the Pigeon that he would need to know in order to check out books ... which they themselves started doing the next week. 

Room 8 Kids Are Not Rude Cakes!

As kindergartners settled into school routines last month, we discussed appropriate behavior by reading the following books:

• The Day My Mom Came to Kindergarten - Rules for school include raising your hand, being quiet when the teacher is talking, waiting your turn, and cleaning up.
  
• Rude Cakes - We want Cyclops politeness, not Rude Cake rudeness! Say please and thank you, wait your turn, and share.
  
• No Fits, Nilson! - When you feel a fit coming on, try distracting yourself, promising yourself a reward (banana ice cream, banana ice cream, banana ice cream ...), or taking deep breaths.
  
• Horrible Bear! - Talking about feelings and apologizing is the way to go v. planning revenge for something that might have just been an accident.

Rude Cakes depicts a VERY rude cake who treats others badly and then is kidnapped from its bed by a cyclops who wants to ... eat it? no, wear it as a hat! And show it off to its very polite friends! We talked about ways to show rude cake (bad) and cyclops (good) behavior and made our own cylops headbands and rude cake hats, thanks to Matthew Winner's craft idea that I found online.

Families can download the Rude Cake activity kit or use Rowboat Watson's directions on how to draw a Rude Cake.

Grade 2 Covers Inspired by The Z Was Zapped

Second graders are reviewing how call numbers help us find books in the library.

We read The Z Was Zapped by Chris Van Allsburg, which features the letters of the alphabet meeting sad fates. The students had to guess the action happening to them, which started with the same letter; for example, the F was flattened by a foot and the Q was quartered. I love when students come up with words that neither Van Allsburg nor I had though of ... this year, it was "the G was Godzilla'd" and "the W was worn (out)."

Then the kids created their own version of the book, as well as their personal call number. I'm going to put their work into a binder that can be checked out and brought home as a library book. Here is a preview:

Sorting Books with Grade 1

Part of our grade 1 focus in library is sorting and categories. As an introduction to how the library is arranged, I gave groups of first graders a pile of books and asked them to sort them into two categories. They came up with so many different ways to arrange the piles, I was impressed, including:

• softcover v. hardcover
• big v. little
• chapter books v. picture books
• fiction v. nonfiction (which is the focus of our next lesson!)

Three of These Things with Grade 1

A big part of information literacy is being able to recognize patterns and to categorize facts, sources, etc. We're starting to work on these skills in first grade. 

Last week's lesson in the unit is one of my favorites; it involves the original Three of These Things from Sesame Street. Original as in from the 1970s. I showed several sample videos to the kids, and they raised their hands as soon as they figured out what didn't belong. Here's one of them:

Then it was the students' turn to pretend they were segment producers and come up with their own "Three of These Things" example. Can you tell what doesn't belong?

What Ms. Moore Read in September

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

Picture Books

Everything is yellow, red, orange. Everything is chilly, frisky, gusty.

Everything is changing, turning. It’s the middle of Fall.

Can you see it? 
Can you taste it?
Can you smell it?
Can you imagine it?

It starts with an ALLIGATOR and a BEAR chasing a CAT. When a DRAGON (and a chicken and an egg!) join in pursuit, things start to get REALLY interesting. A wild and wacky chase through snow and ice, and to jungles and over mountaintops, leads the whole crew to a wonderful realization: They're better off as friends. (NOTE: I think I'll use this for Mock Caldecott and in the future with "Oops! Pounce! Quick! Run!" ... you can borrow last year's Grade 1 version of that book from our library.)

Middle Grade Novels

Magnolia Grace never wanted to leave Georgia. She never wanted to move with her mama to the farm her daddy owned before he died. But now here she is, in a tiny Vermont town where everybody sings the praises of the father Maggie never knew. Then Maggie meets the Parker family—two moms, six kids, plus a pony. The Parkers are loud and wild, ask lots of questions, and don't follow any of the rules Maggie grew up with in Georgia. Suddenly Maggie has questions too. 

Nonfiction

Noah Webster - famous for writing the first dictionary of the English language as spoken in the United States - was known in his day for his bold ideas and strong opinions about, well, everything. Spelling. Politics. Laws. You name it, he had something to say about it. He even commented on his own opinions! With a red pencil in hand, Noah often marked up work that he had already published. So when Noah's ghost came across this new picture book biography, he couldn't help but make a few suggestions! 

Who was Grace Hopper? A software tester, workplace jester, cherished mentor, ace inventor, avid reader, naval leader—AND rule breaker, chance taker, and troublemaker. Grace Hopper coined the term “computer bug” and taught computers to “speak English,” and throughout her life succeeded in doing what no one had ever done before. Delighting in difficult ideas and in defying expectations, the insatiably curious Hopper truly is “Amazing Grace” . . . and a role model for science- and math-minded girls and boys. (NOTE: We may read this in December as part of Computer Science Week.)

From prominent leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Jackie Robinson to children and teenagers, it was the people speaking out and working for civil rights through sits-ins, freedom rides, and marches who led John F. Kennedy to take a stand. And with his June 11, 1963, civil rights address, he did. 

This is the story of JFK—from his childhood to the events that led to his game-changing speech and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Corey and Christie offer a deeply human look at our country’s thirty-fifth president, underscoring how each one of us, no matter who we are, have the power to make a difference.