Book Clubs

Wednesday is Book Club Day in Room 228.

Before we get deep into Book Clubs that address specific skill needs, we are getting used to thinking with partners, and digging deeper than the surface.

We started with fractured fairy tales last week.

This week, we will read wordless picture books.

I have Chalk on Kindle on all of my personal devices in the classroom, so one lucky group will read digitally.

The two newest wordless picture books in my collection are

Journey
by Aaron Becker
Candlewick, 2013

and

Zoom (Picture Puffins)
by Istvan Banyai
Puffin Books, 1998

I'm not sure how Zoom fits with the narrative work I want my students to continue with...perhaps I can find several more in my collection that are simply visually stunning and we can do some compare/contrast work with books that tell a narrative story and books that simply help us to see the world with new eyes...

The Perfect Antidote for BYOD

Dot.
by Randi Zuckerberg
illustrated by Joe Berger
HarperCollins, on shelves November 5, 2013
F&Gs provided by the publisher (almost as if they could read my mind)

"This is Dot.
Dot knows a lot.
She knows how to tap...
to touch...
to tweet...
and to tag."

Luckily, Dot's mom sends her outside to "REBOOT! RECHARGE! RESTART!" and Dot remembers about tapping with her toes, touching sunflowers with her fingertips, tweeting with the birds, and tagging her friends as they run past.

Yes, let's not let our children get so caught up in their devices that they forget the real world around them!

(Sorry to review this so far ahead of the publication date, but it was the right book at the right time, and I can't wait to share it with my students!)

BYOD

Two weeks ago I launched "Bring Your Own Device" in my classroom. Not because I don't already have enough to complicate my life, but because the theme of this year has unfolded to be "meet them where they are."

Before I ever mentioned the initiative to my students, I proposed it to parents at Curriculum Night. All five who showed up (which I'll take as a vote of confidence rather than a demonstration of apathy) were enthusiastic about the opportunity for their children to learn to use a device for more than just gaming and texting.

On that first Monday, five students brought devices. The number of devices has more than doubled since then. Somehow, there was a misconception that it was a one-week deal. Jaws dropped when I cleared that up and told them that this is a YEAR LONG deal. We started BYOD with a district Technology Support Teacher on hand to help out. We began with a lesson on digital citizenship, then scanned QR codes as one way to get to an Internet site. Next, the students learned to access the Student Dashboard, where I can upload links for them in all subject areas. We ended the morning with everyone on a school laptop for what started as a quick lesson in saving to the district cloud, but ended up being Fun With Shapes and Colors in Pages.

My ability to integrate technology every day has had its ups and downs. I am learning to be more flexible than ever and to defer to the students with, "What do YOU think?" which of course is empowering to them and why on earth did I ever have to be one who does all the thinking in the first place?

Here are some examples of how we've used our devices so far:

In reading, I gave groups the challenge of representing their thinking about the characters, setting, and most important events in the plot of our read aloud ESCAPE FROM MR. LEMONCELLO'S LIBRARY using their devices as they saw fit. They used Notes, Voice Memo, Skitch, a whiteboard app, iPods and iPads. They shared their thinking and creations using the document camera. (Air Share is aggravatingly not working for us.)

In math this week, we had a "whiteboard quiz" over geometry terms. If they had a drawing app on their device, they could use that for their whiteboard. Others used old-school whiteboards and dry erase pens.

In writing, the devices have opened up a whole new world of "containers" or formats in which students can go public with their writing. I'm anxious to see how this unfolds as they learn to use the apps they have and we find and try out new apps.

If all goes well, we'll have four new iPads soon to further complicate and enrich our classroom lives!

Poetry Friday -- Best

BEST

What does that mean,
"Do your best?"
Push myself
without any rest?

No time for play?
Never have fun?
Don't take a break
'til it's done, done, DONE?

Here's what I've learned
(disagree if you will)
sometimes...
occasionally...
it's a good idea
just to
chill.

© Mary Lee Hahn, 2013


It's been a crazy school year so far.
I'm struggling with what it means to do my best.
"My best" is a moving target.
Sometimes it means "A lot."
Sometimes my best is complicated,
and sometimes it is simple.
Sometimes it takes skill and long hard work,
but other times it takes luck, timing and inspiration.
My best at this sometimes depends on all of that.

I am not one thing.
I have many things that need me
to do my best.
So what is my best
changes.

"My best" has a floor,
but not a ceiling.

© Mary Lee Hahn, 2013



Dori has the Poetry Friday Roundup this week at Dori Reads.

September Mosaic

Ah, September! You lasted a lifetime, yet you were gone in a blink.
Gardening
Teaching
Volunteering
Meeting/Eating
Celebrating
Silliness
Broccoli Blooms and Bees
Photo app play (Poetics, Finger Focus)


You can view the set on Flickr here.

Change of Plans

What I thought I'd be working on this year:

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School
by John Medina

How the Brain Learns
by David A. Sousa



What I'm actually working on this year:

Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics: Developmentally Appropriate Instruction for Grades 3-5 (Volume II) (2nd Edition) (New 2013 Curriculum & Instruction Titles)
by John A. Van de Walle (and others)

About Teaching Mathematics: A K-8 Resource, 3rd Edition
by Marilyn Burns

Good Questions: Great Ways to Differentiate Mathematics Instruction, Second Edition (0)
by Marian Small

Good Questions for Math Teaching: Why Ask Them and What to Ask, K-6
by Peter Sullivan and Pat Lilburn

Slice of Life

When my doctor  told me I'd have to take 6 weeks off school due to my never-ending concussion, I was not happy.  (understatement) But once I'd been home for a few days, I decided I should use my time well.  There was little I could do as much of my life is consumed by "brainwork", so I decided to spend some time doing spring cleaning and finding some new hobbies--planting some things, learning some crafts, etc. I decided that regardless of how unpleasant it was to stay home, at least I'd have a clean house and I'd have learned some new crafts! I was determined to do all of those things I always meant to do if only I had the time. 

Fast forward a few months. I went into our guest bedroom and I noticed a pile of odds and ends in the corner.  Things I was meaning to donate or put away or toss.  I looked around the house and noticed other little piles waiting to be dealt with.  I realized that these were all remnants of my concussion days.  Those first weeks of time off work. Those weeks of figuring out who I could be without doing the things I love most.

Well, it is now October, 3 months from when the concussion restrictions were lifted.  And, guess what? I still haven't taken care of that pile and my guest room closet is a little bit of a mess again.  The minute I had restrictions lifted, I went back to my "regular" life.

And, the tomatoes I planted?  Well, you can see in the photo above how those turned out...I pretty much forgot about them the minute I was able to get back to my life of reading, writing, exercise, work, thinking.

I'm always looking for the big lessons in life and it seems that there is something to learn from all of this.  My thinking is that the lesson is about accepting the fact that I am who I am. I had some time to live my life without those "brainwork" things that I love most.  I tried some new things, most of which I haven't held onto.  Because really, when given the choice between cleaning and reading, I choose reading. When given the choice between watering tomatoes and almost anything else, I choose almost anything else.  At some point, I imagine the piles will get to me enough that I choose to take care of them before I choose to sit down and read a book.  But, not today.  

 If there are a few extra piles around the house, chances are I found something to do that was more worthwhile than dealing with them.  Rather than looking at the dead tomato plants or the pile on the floor and beating myself up about not doing all that I have decided "I should", my concussion weeks taught me  that I am the one who gets to choose how to spend my time.  And that alone is a gift, something to celebrate.  I realized that I have taken that for granted all of my life. 

Henry's Map by David Elliot

Last week, when we visited the Dublin Library, Miss Val shared a stack of new books.  One that caught my eye was Henry's Map by David Elliot.

This is a great book. In the story, Henry is a great character:

"Henry was a very organized sort of pig. He liked knowing 

exactly where everything was in his tidy little sty."  

But once looks out his window and notices what a mess the farm is, he decides to make a map so that everyone would know what belongs where:-)

Henry goes onto make his map, walking around the farm and adding the animals on the map.  The animals are thrilled to be included on his map and the final hand-drawn map is a good one for kids who are just learning about maps.

I love lots about this book. I love Henry. He is a great character who makes me smile. I also love the illustrations as they bring the farm to life in a happy way.  Mostly, I love the humor--you will have to read the book to find out the amusing part in the book. It is sweet humor (nothing like the wicked humor or I Want My Hat Back or Carnivores!).

For primary kids learning about maps, this is a fun read.  I thought it would be great for my 3rd graders as an invitation to map writing in Writing Workshop. Creating a map to trigger stories from your life is one I learned from Ralph Fletcher and I love to share the map in the front of Marshfield Dreams. This will be another one to share in those minilessons.

This book is great fun and has lots of possibilities!

Books Coming in October!

These are some books I am excited about-they are due out sometime in October!

The Misadventures of Salem Hyde: Book One: Spelling Trouble by Frank Cammuso

Africa Is My Home: A Child of the Amistad by Monica Edinger

I'm a Frog! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) (Elephant and Piggie Book, An) by Mo Willems

Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka

Eat Like a Bear by April Pulley Sayre

God Got a Dog by Cynthia Rylant

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell

Celebrating Writers: From Possibilities to Publication by Ruth Ayres

Falling in Love with Close Reading: Lessons for Analyzing Texts--and Life by Chris Lehman and Kate Roberts

2 professional books that are recent released that I am excited about digging into:

Finding the Heart of Nonfiction: Teaching 7 Essential Craft Tools with Mentor Texts by Georgia Heard

The Writing Teacher's Troubleshooting Guide by Lester Laminack

Ling and Ting Share a Birthday by Grace Lin

I love all of Grace Lin's books and I especially loved the first Ling and Ting when it came out.  I was thrilled to see that the second book in the series, Ling & Ting Share a Birthday  was due out this month!  I love this series and I love these twins!

Sometimes I am disappointed by the second book in a new series. But not this time! I loved this one as much as I loved the first!  In this story, Ling and Ting have a birthday.  And they share it of course.  The book is divided into 6 chapters (and the Table of Contents is ADORABLE!).  Each chapter tells a little story about the birthday.  Each one is a great story and the stories connect a bit throughout the book.  The humor makes me smile:-)

I spent lots of the summer reading books that would be good for 3rd graders. But I am new to 3rd grade so I am still learning what 3rd graders enjoy. I know how a book might support them as readers but I am still figuring out what they find funny and the level of complexity that is right for this age.

Ling and Ting is a great book for those transitional readers in grades 1-3.  The book is a chapter book with lots of supports--short chapters that each tell their own story, 2 characters to get to know, chapter titles, and picture support. But most importantly, this is a good story that kids will enjoy. I'm excited to share this with students and I so hope that Grace Lin writes lots more about these twins!