It's Monday! What Are You Reading? You are important! 12/9/24

Hello everyone!  Today I'm linking up with Unleashing Readers for:

Here's an idea for any time in the winter:  The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown.

 

After reading the book, you can have the kids write their own important book, using the same format as the book.  Here's the link to this free and fun activity:

The Important Book Winter Poetry Project.

Another book that could be read at any time is:

Meet The Dogs of Bedlam Farm by Jon Katz.

Check out these four working dogs on the cover!  I used to have a black lab mix years ago so this book was a magnet for me!  

In this story, these farm dogs learn how to get along with each other despite their differences.  Now that's certainly an important skill!  I love how this book has photographs and teaches a lesson at the same time.

At home, I'm currently reading Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout.  I'm enjoying the book very much.  

Have you read any of these books?  Please let me know in the comments!

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Baaa! Do you like sheep? Your students will love Sweet Pea! 12/2/24

Happy December!  Today I am linking up with  Unleashing Readers for:

The Sheepover

 Sweet Pea, the sheep, is an orphan:

She gets sick, and the vet has to come check her over.  At last, Sweet Pea is well enough to have a "sheepover!"

You can read more about Sweet Pea and her friends here.

 I especially enjoyed the personal note from the authors/farmers:

This book combines fiction and non-fiction in a fun way, and both includes follow-up activities!  Also, kids will love this book because of the main characters - especially Sweet Pea, the Sheep - too cute!

If you want more Sweet Pea and Friends, this is book 1 in a series of 5 books!  

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Friday Favorites: Thanksgiving Books to Check Out Now!

Happy November!  Today I am linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals and Erica from A Little Bit of Everything for:

                                       Friday Favorites!

My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving so I'm so excited to share these new titles with you!  I searched to find some new books for you to share with your students the year.  If you click on each cover, you can read more details at Amazon!

Ready to Catch a Turkey?

Thanksgiving time is here again, but there's a turkey on the run! Can you catch this tricky bird before the school play has begun?

Check out this fun book to find out!

Stretching Out Thanksgiving!

Based on the popular song ~ The Twelve Days of Christmas ~ find fun ways to make the Thanksgiving season last!

"On the first day of Thanksgiving, I was thankful for . . ." This festive story starts with ONE cozy evening at home with family, then adds TWO sacks of apples, and THREE fall squash, counting up through the twelve days leading to Thanksgiving. Kids will love spotting all the fun ways a family gets ready for Thanksgiving. And the book includes stickers—perfect treats for each of the 12 days.

If You Like Duck and Hippo Books, This One is for You!

I LOVE all Duck and Hippo books so I was especially pleased to see on about Thanksgiving!

It’s the day before Thanksgiving, and Hippo has his heart set on having a good old-fashioned feast with Duck and their friends. Together, Duck and Hippo go shopping for food and invite Turtle, Elephant, and Pig to share the special day with them. Then they get everything ready. But while Hippo goes to bed dreaming of his good old-fashioned Thanksgiving, Duck is busy making her own plans. There’s going to be a BIG surprise—one that will remind Hippo of all he has to be thankful for. Join Duck and Hippo for a memorable celebration!

If You Only Get One New Book, Get This One!

This new book, Thanksgiving in the Words, has beautiful illustrations and is based on a true story!

Thanksgiving in the Woods is based on the true story of a family in Upstate New York who has hosted an outdoor Thanksgiving feast in the woods on their farm for over twenty years.

Last But Not Least ~ a Book by Eileen Spinelli!

Eileen Spinelli has always been one of my favorite authors.  I'm especially excited to find this new-to-me book:

The gardener’s thankful for every green sprout.

The fireman, for putting the fire out.

The artist is thankful for color and light.

The clown for her costume silly and bright.

What are you thankful for these days?  Do you have any must-read Thanksgiving books?  Please share in the comments!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you find a new book to enjoy at this festive time of year!

Check out more blogs here:

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It's Monday, What Are You Reading? Panda Kindergarten!

Happy Veterans' Day!  Today I'm linking up with Unleashing Reading for:

Here is some BIG news for 2025!

At the Smithsonian National Zoo:

Giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao are here! Starting in January 2025, you can visit the new bear pair in their renovated habitat on Asia Trail.

One time I needed a book to read so I peeked in my Trait Crate (3rd grade version) and found a book called - Panda Kindergarten by Joanne Ryder:

This non-fiction books tells about a place in China that takes special care of panda moms and their cubs.  Panda moms care only care for one cub so if there are twins, one gets ignored.  Not at this place - the special people take care of the other panda while the mom tends to the other cub.  Then the people switch the cubs so that they both get what they need from the mom.  When the pandas are old enough, they go to kindergarten where they get to play outside on equipment; they even have rest time!  My students were crazy for this book!  Now they all want a turn to take it home.  You know it's a winner when that happens.

Now that the pandas are coming back, it's a perfect time to read this fun book!

Another professional book that I have found extremely useful is Reading with Meaning by Debbie Miller.  There is even a second addition!

 

This book gives ideas for reading mini-lessons and lists of books to use to teach reading strategies such as how to better understand what you read; using prior knowledge; etc.  I have found this book to be very helpful.

As always, thank you for visiting and have a great week!

 

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Magnet Time!

Hello there!  Do you teach magnets in science?  If so, you'll want to check out this new slide deck with follow-up reading activities!

Claw machines use electromagnetism!  My students are obsessed with claw machines so I found a way to incorporate these machines into the slide deck!

More About the Slide Deck!

Magnets are really fun for kids to explore!  If only, they did not need to learn vocabulary and concepts such as these learning goals:

*Work with magnets to see the nature of the forces between two magnets.  Explore how magnets push and pull each other.

*Show how a simple design problem can be solved by using interactions between magnets.

There are 4 days of lessons.

1.  Introduction to Magnets and Vocabulary.

2.  Magnet Shapes.

3.  Electromagnets.

4.  Static Electricity.

Each day starts with warm-up slides that review what has been learned.

I also added in a bonus question on each slide.  

In addition, each day has a reading passage to reinforce that day's information:

There is also an answer sheet for each set of questions.

The questions could be done for homework or as part of a small group literacy activity.  I like to include science and social studies with small group reading to mix things up.

This product is in my TPT store.  Click here to check it out!

As always, thank you for visiting today.  Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions!

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? October 28, 2024

Today I'm linking up with Unleashing Reading for their weekly link-up:

Now that I am retired, I want to keep up with what's current in children's literature.  Reading books to my students was always one of the highlights of my days!

Fun Chapter Book for Elementary Students!

This week I am excited to share a great series by author Judy Blume:

In this easy to relate to series, two siblings - the Pain and the Great One - encounter every day scenarios that the author makes fun and educational.  My students loved when the Pain put a pussy willow bud up his nose.  He ended up in the ER where the doctor passed on an important lesson.  If you're looking for an entertaining read aloud, check out any book in this series.

Perfect Veteran's Day Picture Book:

I recently read The Women by Kristin Hannah so the Vietnam War is fresh in my mind.  The Wall by Eve Bunting is a touching story of finding soldiers name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.  I remember how powerful the traveling wall was for me so I enjoy sharing this book with my students.  The Wall is a touching and memorable book that is perfect to read around Veterans Day.

In my personal life, I am currently reading and loving this suspenseful book:

The God of the Woods keeps me up reading at night.  The book is about a young teenager who goes missing at her summer camp.  Of course, I want to know what happens!  If you're looking for a book that will keep you excited to keep reading, this is a book for you!

Thank you checking in!  I hope you learn about some books you would like to check out!

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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? = Link-Up!

Today I'm linking up with Unleashing Readers for:

Life in the Wild Series by Nicholas Oldland

Due to a family health situation, I retired last June.  When I left, I took these books by Nicholas Oldland with me:

These books are entertaining and wry.   The author uses a lot of figurative language which I love.  Every year on the third grade MCAS, there were questions about figurative language, and these books give an excellent opportunity to introduce and reinforce this concept in a fun way.

Click here to hear Hockey in the Wild read by me on my Youtube channel!

The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dagliesh

I fell in love with this "based on real life story" the first time I read it, and I made sure to read every November when I was teaching.  Sarah is an 8 year old girl who travels through the woods of Massachusetts and Connecticut to help her father build the family's new home.  Sarah meets and plays with the Native American children.  

Check out me reading this book on my Youtube channel!

Now that I'm retired, I really miss reading aloud to my students.  It was always one of my favorite times of the day!

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