Fall Leaves

Fall Leaves
by Loretta Holland
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
September, 2014
Review copy from the public library, via my amazing literacy coach, Brooke!

The best compliment I can give this book is that I have read it at least 5 times and I am still finding new things to love!

When Amazing Literacy Coach Brooke handed it to me with a, "Have you seen this? I think it would make a fabulous mentor text." I read through it quickly, seeing the short phrases in large font with informational text in smaller font below.

On the next read, I really thought about the word choice for the words in large font. The book begins with, "FALL ARRIVES" and on the next page, "BIRDS LEAVE," then "LEAVES TWIST" and "RAIN FALLS."

I started to form a theory about the pattern of the words on my second read, but I had to read the whole book again from start to finish to confirm it: (spoiler alert) every page has either FALL or LEAVES in the text! Fall can be used as the noun (the season) or the verb (to fall). Same with leaves. So cool! And the text is satisfyingly circular.

On the fourth read, I studied the illustrations and marveled at the use of color, light, and movement that Loretta Holland used to perfectly capture the mood and feel of fall. On Goodreads, I tagged this book "Potential Caldecott."

Finally, on the fifth go-round, I read the nonfiction text under the large words on each page. The science behind each phrase is clearly explained and includes the large words (in italics).

Brooke was right. This would make a fabulous mentor text. Not since Nothing Like a Puffin have I read a picture book that calls to me to use its pattern to write my own version. The hardest thing will be to find two words that can both be used as nouns and verbs. I'm off to my notebook to brainstorm...

Building Read Aloud Routine in 3rd Grade

The first eight weeks of school is critical.  Building routines and setting the stage for learning across the year happens in those first few weeks. Read Aloud is one of the most important routines in our classroom.  It is the time when we come together around a book and enjoy it together. But it is far more than enjoying a book. Our conversations help us build and grow our thinking and give us strategies for understanding longer, more complex books.  I know if the conversation is to grow over the course of the year, I need to choose books carefully for read aloud.

During the first three weeks of school, I thought it was important to read short read alouds that matched the kinds of books kids would be reading at this age. I think it was Joanne Hindley who taught me the importance of not always reading books above a child's independent reading level because what we read aloud is often what kids think we value. So if I want kids to read books that are right for them independently, I want to share those books often and throughout the year.  The books I read early were books that set up the routine of daily read aloud from a book we had to carry in our heads over days. It also introduced kids to various authors and series as a starting point to our talk about series and authors.  And, we so loved seeing Mercy Watson appear in Leroy Ninker! These were the books we shared during the first few weeks of school:

Lulu and the Brontosaurus
The  Meanest Birthday Girl
Leroy Ninker Saddles Up
Bink and Gollie
Chicken Squad

Currently we are reading aloud The Quirks. My students last year love the Quirks and I blogged about it  here and here  because I loved it so much.  It is a little bit of a stretch for some kids as they are many characters to keep track of and some little things that readers miss unless we stop to talk. So we are stopping to talk often and learning how to hold onto a story over several days.  Getting your head back into a book every day is critical and an important skill for this age.  During this read, we've also changed read aloud a bit. We moved to sitting in a circle facing each other on the floor. We've worked at building on a conversation rather than just sharing what you are thinking and moving on to the next person. And we've added a reader's notebook component where kids can stop and jot their thinking. At the beginning of third grade, I find students want to say everything they are thinking and learning to capture thinking in writing helps them learn to analyze and prioritize their thinking--figuring out the thinking that helps them dig deeper into their reading.

Next week, I plan to begin Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George. Jessica Day George will be visiting our school in October and we are very excited!  The kids are very familiar with fairy tales but this will most likely be the first novel-length fairy tale they've read.  For this read aloud, I am going to share the audiobook. I decided on this for a few reasons.  I want to talk about audiobooks as a way to read. So many kids build fluency with audiobooks and the text in front of them. I also think audiobooks are important for all readers-I am a reader who gets carsick so the only way I can read in the car is with audiobooks. I figure some of my students may want to add audiobooks to their reading lives. The audiobook will also give me a chance to keep a readers's notebook as we read.  I will use an iPad app such as Notability and track my own thinking as I listen to the audiobook. I have found that this is a great way to model a variety of ways to track thinking without interfering much with kids' own thinking/process.

Following Tuesdays at the Castle, we'll jump into Global Read Aloud a few days late. We'll be reading Edward Tulane with classrooms around the world. I am anxious for my students to see the power of this event and the way our thinking can be impacted by others.  

By the time we get to the end of October, we'll have a great deal in place when it comes to the read aloud routine.  And these strategies and behaviors will begin to show up in students' independent reading.  Whether these are the perfect choices or not, I know that each book will change us as a community of readers in a different way.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Join Jen at Teach Mentor Texts for this week's link up!

I am trying to read everything I can by Mac Barnett and I somehow missed President Taft is Stuck in the Bath earlier this year when it was released.    It was a really fun book and I loved the endnotes about the real story of President Taft.  And if you are not a huge Mac Barnett fan yet, you MUST watch this Ted Talk that he did about the power of story. Thanks to @PaulWHankins for sharing this talk!

I discovered Winter is Coming by Tony Johnston during my last Cover to Cover visit.  This will be a great book to use during Writing Workshop-I love all of the amazing language and the idea of capturing things in a notebook.  Looking forward to sharing this one later this fall.

I've been hearing lots about The Lion and the Bird by Marianne Dubuc and was not disappointed when I picked up my copy.  This is a great story of friendship that will invite lots of conversation. It reminded me a bit of two of my favorite picture books, South and How to Heal a Broken Wing.  Definitely one I'll use to talk about universal themes. 

I reread Sisters by Raina Telgemeir this week.  I planned our first 3 Books and Breakfast events (book clubs before school around one book each month) and I chose Sisters as the 2nd book.  I wanted to include a graphic novel early on and this one seemed to give us lots to talk about.  I showed this book trailer to my students on Friday and there was a lot of interest in this book.

Poetry Friday -- Autumn

Autumn

by Linda Pastan

I want to mention
summer ending
without meaning the death
of somebody loved

or even the death
of the trees.
Today in the market
I heard a mother say

Look at the pumpkins,
it's finally autumn!
And the child didn't think
of the death of her mother

which is due before her own
but tasted the sound
of the words on her clumsy tongue:
pumpkin; autumn.

Let the eye enlarge
with all it beholds.
I want to celebrate
color, how one red leaf

flickers like a match
held to a dry branch,
and the whole world goes up
in orange and gold.

Amy has the Poetry Friday Roundup at The Poem Farm. I'll be at the Ohio Casting for Recovery retreat all weekend, so I'll catch up with your posts (hopefully) at some point next week.

If you would like to make a donation to Casting for Recovery, Orvis is matching all donations until September 23. Secure donations can be made here. You can designate the Ohio retreat (or your state's retreat).

Happy Fall! Happy Friday! Happy Poetry!

Mix It Up!

Mix it Up!
by Hervé Tullet
Chronicle Books, September 16, 2014
review copy purchased for my class library

Even fifth graders LOVE Hervé Tullet's Press Here, a book that seems magically interactive.

In Mix it Up, readers will explore color mixing without ever getting their fingers dirty. By following the directions in the book, colors are made to appear, disappear, smear, drip, blend, lighten and darken.

Fun stuff!

Circle, Square, Moose

Circle, Square, Moose
by Kelly Bingham
illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
Greenwillow Books, September 23, 2014
review copy provided by the publisher

Did you love Z is for Moose? Moose disrupted Zebra's presentation of the alphabet in that book. He's back, this time causing problems in a shape book.

Zebra comes to the rescue to extract Moose from the shape book, but that doesn't go so well.

Leave it to Moose to patch up his friendship with Zebra AND end the book with a rhyme.

Want to hear Paul O. Zelinsky speak? Come to the Dublin Literacy Conference on February 21, 2015! Consider presenting about your literacy best practices!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Visit Teach Mentor Texts for the link up for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

With the beginning of the school year, I haven't been reading much at all. But I have read a few things this week that I thought I'd share.

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen will be released in early October. It is a must read in my opinion.  I shared it with my 3rd graders this week and it was quite a hit. And the conversation around it was fabulous!  These 2 are brilliant, as always!

I discovered this nonfiction picture book, Moses: The True Story of an Elephant Baby, at Cover to Cover. It is a great story of a baby elephant with a bit about the importance of protecting elephants from poachers.  It is a little long but I think it is easily accessible to 2nd and 3rd graders. 

I have been hearing lots about Little Elliot, Big City and finally had a chance to read it yesterday.  I loved this book!  I loved the story, the characters and the illustrations. I haven't paid much attention to Caldecott possibilities but it would make me happy if this book won an award. 

I was thrilled to get a review copy of Princess in Black by Shannon Hale. I love anything by Shannon Hale and this looked perfect for 3rd graders. It is a simple chapter book (think Mercy Watson) about a princess who is all pink and proper on the outside but is really the Princess in Black who fights monsters.  I didn't get to read the whole thing before a student took it.....Hopefully I'll get it back soon!

Kicking Off Genius Hour

Last spring, during our morning Genius Hour time, one of my students had a small container with her when she entered the classroom. I asked her what she had and she said happily, "My Acorn Cap Collection. I am going to run a workshop this morning teaching people about them."  She proceeded to gather magnifying glasses, markers paper and sticky notes. She quickly made a sign and invited people to the table to learn about ways to observe acorn caps.  It was quite a popular spot in the room that morning and I thought, "This is what Genius Hour should look like every day!"

This year, as I thought about Genius Hour, I knew I wanted to change it a bit from last year. Last year,  students found areas of interest and spent time learning about those and sometimes creating things to share their learning.  I wanted it to be playful and purposeful.  But I wanted it to be more for this year and this Acorn Cap workshop gave me some ideas.

This year, we are changing the name of Genius Hour to "Wonder Workshop". We have Reading Workshop and Writing Workshop and Math Workshop so having a Wonder Workshop makes sense. Our students know what a workshop is and they know their role in learning in a workshop.  And a Wonder Workshop seems to make sense to 8 year olds.  This will be a time that we explore those things we wonder about each day.

This year, when I think about Genius Hour/Wonder Workshop, I wanted it to be a combination of so many things.  I love the Genius Hour movement and I also love the possibilities around Maker Space and Passion Time. I wanted to create a time that made sense for 8 year olds, where they could explore and learn. I wanted a place where they could sometimes be the learner and sometimes be the teacher. I wanted a place where anything was possible and where kids were in charge of their own learning.

To kick off Wonder Workshop, each child is creating a workshop for the class. We spent time talking about those things they love, things they are good at, things they want to teach others about.  So, every day, for 2 weeks, we are learning from each other.  For homework last week, kids prepared 10 minute mini-workshops on a topic of their choice.  For 2 weeks, kids are rotating to workshops, learning from every other child in the classroom.  So far we've learned:

• how to play guitar
• how to make fortune tellers
• how to braid hair
• about the sea
• how to make clay animals
• how to make puzzles

And these are just a few of the things we've learned about!

As students share, the audience members are jotting down new things they are learning and questions they have. They are also jotting down things they want to try.  I am hoping that we are setting the stage for a Wonder Workshop that has us thinking about the following questions.

• What do we know? 
• What can we teach each other? 
• What can we learn from and with each other? 
• What are you interested in/good at now?  
• What might we be interested in later in the year?

There have been some added perks. The idea of  "research" is already being discussed as something far more than finding the right answer.  Students are seeing themselves in various roles and the variety of the presentations will give us things to build on when it comes to writing and communication for much of the year.  They've also built a community around learning that I can see grow each day by listening into the questions they ask of each presenter.  Each child is not only discovering new interests, but they are also discovering things about their classmates.

I'm excited to move forward with the idea of a Wonder Workshop after spending a few weeks exploring our interests and learning from and with each other.   I imagine much of workshop will be a continuation of some of these workshops at first--kids are already wanting to try out and build on the things they are learning.  Just as with any workshop during the first few weeks of school, I am listening in, observing, and thinking about how we might build on the amazing things that kids are already doing!

Poetry Friday -- Cherry Tomatoes

\

CHERRY TOMATOES
by Anne Higgins

Suddenly it is August again, so hot,
breathless heat.
I sit on the ground
in the garden of Carmel,
picking ripe cherry tomatoes
and eating them.
They are so ripe that the skin is split,
so warm and sweet
from the attentions of the sun,
the juice bursts in my mouth,
an ecstatic taste,
and I feel that I am in the mouth of summer,
sloshing in the saliva of August.
Hummingbirds halo me there,
in the great green silence,
and my own bursting heart
splits me with life.

First, there are the plants with no fruit. We wait and wait for the first green marbles to ripen.

Then, suddenly, there are so many that we just about can't eat them all. I consume them carelessly, by the handful. 

Now that the end of the productive season is in sight, I am back to savoring every one.

Such is life, no? The longing, the time of plenty, the loss.

Happy Friday -- enjoy a tomato today, and head over to Renee's place at No Water River for the roundup.

Life-Changing

My new favorite commuter audio experience is the NPR TED Radio Hour. In classic NPR style, a set of 4-6 TED talks on the same theme are excerpted, contextualized by interviews with the speakers, and interspersed with perfect musical bites (like they do in the show Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me). TED talks. Through my ears. Perfect. (I use this not-free but highly-rated podcast app.)

And the thing is, every (EVERY) episode I've listened to so far has been life-changing. That both makes me want to listen more, and afraid if I listen again it won't happen!

In the show, Growing Up, which AJ and I listened to as we island-hopped across Lake Champlain from Vermont to New York last summer, and which is the show that hooked me, Gever Tulley's segment made me sure that I would do Genius Hour.

I played a portion of Margaret Heffernan's segment from the show, Making Mistakes, to my math class to emphasize the importance of the mathematical practice of talking and listening before I asked them to form groups comprised of not a single classmate they'd worked with the day before on a complicated place value problem we were trying to solve.

In Simply Happy, Matt Killingsworth's segment confirmed for me that I am on the right path with my "Trout a Day" project.

Sugata Mitra's segments in Unstoppable Learning changed my math lesson from a demonstration of how decimal expanded notation works, followed by a variety of practice, to a challenge to my students to figure out three different ways to show decimal expanded notation by using the activities I had curated for them. (Best. Math lesson. Ever.)

Last week, in our study of characters, my students read nonfiction books featuring an animal hero. This week, I will play Diana Nyad's segment from Champions while I model note taking. My students will chart and then write about the ways two or more characters (from the books they've read, our read alouds, and/or this audio segment) are the same and different.

As soon as my monthly credit at Audible rolls in, I'm going to dive into David Mitchell's newest book, The Bone Clocks. But you can be sure that one or two days a week, I'll be putting that one on hold so that I can catch up with my NPR TED Radio Hour episode!