Books from The Horn Book: March/April

I have a subscription to The Horn Book Magazine and it is one of my favorite things.  I spend a couple of hours reading each issue. No matter how much I keep up online and with friends about new and upcoming books, The Horn Book always alerts me to books I haven't heard about.  I always end up adding several books to my To-Read Stack.  Sometimes I get most of the book titles from the reviews, sometimes from the ads, and sometimes from the articles. If you haven't picked up The Horn Book lately, it is well worth in terms of what is offered in every issue.

Over Spring Break, I read the newest issue of The Horn Book.  And I found lots of new books to add to my stack!   I find that mostly, the books I find are books from favorite authors--I am always thrilled to see new books by authors I already love!  These are the books I want to add to my stack after reading

I love anything written by Charlotte Zolotow so I definitely want to read Changes: A Child's First Poetry Collection.

I had seen Return to Augie Hobble by Lane Smith but for some reason I had thought it was more middle school/YA. After reading the 5 Questions Interview (a Horn Book Feature that I LOVE), I added this one to my list. It looks too good to miss and definitely good for older elementary readers.  This is Lane Smith's first novel!

Bob Shea has a new series coming out for beginning readers. Ballet Cat looks to be fabulously fun. I love Bob Shea's other books and am excited to see a new series from him.  This one is more early chapter book, I think.

Yard Sale is a new picture book by Eve Bunting. As with all of her books, this one looks to be a great conversation starter. It will give kids lots to think about.

Knit Together by Angela Dominguez is one that drew me in because of the topic. A little girl loves to draw and her mothers loves to knit.  This seems like a book that can invite great conversations around creating, creativity, following your passion, etc. 

And who wouldn't want to meet two new duck characters from Olivier Dunrea. Gemma and Gus looks as fun as the others!

I Don't Like Koala by Sean Ferrell looks like a picture book my 3rd graders might like.  It is described by a few reviewers as "creepy".   The Horn Book describes it as clever. Seems to be just the kind of humor I like in a picture book!

I was very excited to see Look! by Jeff Mack coming soon!  I love Jack Mack and am thrilled that his new book is about books and reading! What fun!

I'm not a big fan of The Stupids and this book is being compared to it. But I am a fan of Sara Pennypacker so I definitely want to read Meet the Dullards. Looks pretty funny to me! (Love that the cover says "Extra Boring Edition"! How could this not be hysterical?)

There are LOTS more great books reviewed and discussed in this issue (and EVERY issue) of The Horn Book Magazine.  There are just some of the titles I am adding to my stack after reading the issue. I imagine when I pop through the issue again, I'll add more. I highly recommend reading The Horn Book from cover to cover 6 times a year!  

2015 Notable Children's Books in the English Language Arts

2015 Notable Children's Books in the English Language Arts

A Library Book for Bear Written by Bonny Becker, Illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton, Published by Candlewick Press.

Any Questions? Written and illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay, Published by Groundwood Books.

A Snicker of Magic Written by Natalie Lloyd, Published by Scholastic.

Ava and Pip Written by Carol Weston, Published by Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky.

brown girl dreaming Written by Jacqueline Woodson, Published by Nancy Paulson Books/Penguin/Random House.

Construction Written by Sally Sutton, Illustrated by Brian Lovelock, Published by Candlewick Press.

Firefly July Written by Paul B Janeczko, Illustrated by Melissa Sweet, Published by Candlewick Press.

Help! We Need a Title! Written and illustrated by Herve Tullet, Published by Candlewick Press.

It’s an Orange Aardvark! Written and illustrated by Michael Hall, Published by Greenwillow/HarperCollins.

Josephine Written by Patricia Hruby Powell, Illustrated by Christian Robinson, Published by Chronicle.

Migrant Written by Jose Manuel Mateo, Illustrated by Javier Martinez Pedro, Published by Abrams Books for Young Readers.

On the Wing Written by David Elliott, Illustrated by Becca Stadtlander, Published by Candlewick Press.

Rain Reign Written by Ann M. Martin, Published by Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan.

Revolution Written by Deborah Wiles, Published by Scholastic.

Rhyme Schemer Written by K. A. Holt, Published by Chronicle.

Silver People: Voices from the Panama Canal Written by Margarita Engle, Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Shooting at the Stars: The Christmas Truce of 1914 Written and illustrated by John Hendrix, Published by Abrams Books for Young Readers.

Take Away the A Written by Michael Escoffier, Illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo, Published by Enchanted Lion Books.

Tap Tap Boom Boom Written by Elizabeth Bluemle, Illustrated by G. Brian Karas, Published by Candlewick Press.

The Categorical Universe of Candice Phee Written by Barry Jonsberg, Published by Chronicle.

The Crossover Written by Kwame Alexander, Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

The Great Big Green Written by Peggy Gifford, Illustrated by Lisa Desimini, Published by Boyds Mills/Highlights.

The Noisy Paint Box Written by Barb Rosenstock, Illustrated by Mary Grandpré, Published by Knopf/Random House.

The Pilot and the Little Prince Written and illustrated by Peter Sis, Published by Farrar Straus Giroux/Macmillan.

The Right Word: Roget and his Thesaurus Written by Jen Bryant, Illustrated by Melissa Sweet, Published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.

The Scraps Book: Notes from a Colorful Life Written by Lois Ehlert, Published by Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster.

Voices from the March on Washington Written by J. Patrick Lewis & George Ella Lyon, Published by WordSong/Highlights.

Weeds Find a Way Written by Cindy Jenson-Elliott, Illustrated by Carolyn Fisher, Published by Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster.

Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold Written by Joyce Sidman, Illustrated by Rick Allen, Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

what flowers remember Written by Shannon Wiersbitzky, Published by namelos.


2015 Notable Childrens’ Books in the Language Arts Selection Committee: Jean Schroeder, chair, and committee members Shanetia Clark, Evelyn Freeman, Dick Koblitz, Christine Draper, Pamela Jewett, and Holly Sims

Four Must-Have New Picture Books!

I've been discovering lots of fun picture books lately--books that are great for read aloud or any kind of sharing.

I read Marilyn's Monster to the kids during the last few minutes of the day before Spring Break. They were glued --the loved it.  They immediately noted similarities to Beekle, one of their all-time favorites. This is a great author/illustrator team. Author, Michelle Knudsen, wrote Library Lion and illustrator Matt Phelan illustrated The Storm in the Barn and Bluffton.  This is such a fun story with such adorable monsters that you can't help but fall in love with it.

Goodnight Already! by Jory John is going to make a fabulous read The Terrible Two as a read aloud in my 3rd grade classroom--the kids know co-author Mac Barnett as he visited our school. It will be fun for them to get to know Jory John's picture books as they already love his Terrible Two series. This book is especially good for primary classrooms--I think kids will laugh out loud. (And if you visit Jory John's website, beware--there are some pretty cute magnets for sale so you might spend a chunk of money between the book and the magnets. Don't say I didn't warn you:-)
aloud!  I loved it when I first glanced at the cover.  It is a fun story of a bear who is sleeping and his duck friend who is wide awake--and who wants some company. The story and illustrations are quite fun.

Our literacy coach shared I Know a Bear with us last week. My kids had a very long discussion after reading the book. The book seems to be a simple story about a girl and a bear but it is more than that. It is a story of the friendship between the girl and the bear but it also brings in issues of animals/zoos.  Kids can enter this at many levels as there are many layers of invitation here.

Sidewalk Flowers is my new favorite wordless picture books. I was so happy to find this one! It is such an amazing book!  SO SO SO SO wonderful. It is the story of a little girl and her father walking home from somewhere. The little girl is busy noticing so many things around her on their walk.  The father doesn't notice so much but he is patient with her noticing.  This story is similar to many in its message and the idea of a black and white world with colorful flowers will make for great conversation. Definitely one with so many possibilities for the classroom.

These were four must-haves for me. I loved them all for different reasons but they are all perfect for elementary classrooms or libraries. Such fun and such great conversation starters.

Math Monday

It's Math Monday! 

Join Mandy at Enjoy and Embrace Learning for the Math Monday link up!

Well, spring break is well and truly over. The Problem Solving With Fractions math quiz that my 5th graders took on the Thursday before break finally got graded Saturday night. Because of the importance of assessment driving instruction, I needed to grade that quiz before I knew what I would be teaching today in math.

We won't be starting with dividing fractions just yet, that's for sure. So many stitches were dropped in that quiz that we'll start off with a healthy dose of review. We need to go all the way back to reading a problem carefully to understand what it's asking, and paying attention to key words and phrases like "product," "how much more/less/farther/bigger," and "in all/total." Carefully reading the problem will tell us how to label our answers, or better yet, write the answer in a sentence.

We'll remember what we learned about multiplying a fraction by a whole number or a mixed number by a fraction, and how to take an answer that's an improper fraction and simplify it into a mixed number. 

Then I'll give them their quizzes back, marked with the problems that need a second look, and we'll see if they can fix their mistakes, or finish their work by simplifying or correctly labeling answers.

And for the three students who got everything correct, I will give them this problem that NO ONE got correct (and that confounded me for a minute or two when I started grading). It doesn't make sense when you're solving for area to wind up with an answer that's less than the length of one of the sides. How can you solve this so your answer makes sense...and answers the question?

Jen makes a rectangular banner that is 1 3/4 yards long and 6/12 yards wide. What is the area, in square yards, of the banner?

Poetry Friday -- Hatch

Wikimedia

SACRIFICE

How does
the buzzing
hummingbird
sit still enough to hatch

the two
(not three)
(size of a pea)
eggs that are in her batch?


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015




Happy Spring!

This poem is my fifteenth (!!) in Heidi's MarCH CHallenge. You can browse through all my CH poems here.

If you're curious, the list of emotion words for my Poetry Month 2015 project PO-EMotions is here. Formal unveiling ceremony will be next week.

Catherine is hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup this week at Reading to the Core.

It's a Blog Vacation!

It is time for our traditional Spring Break blog vacation!

Have a great week! 

We'll be back on Friday for Poetry Friday!  

We'll see you then!

Poetry Friday -- Announcing My Poetry Month Project!

SKEPTIC

Head tilted,

one eyebrow arched,

lips pinched:

Are you sure?

Seven days a week?

Really?

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015

That skeptic lives inside my head, but I'm going to ignore her. 

Will writing a poem a day that either uses an emotion word or evokes that emotion be any harder than writing a poem a day about obscure wonders of the world? 

("Um...yes," says my skeptic in my ear.)

Sorry, skeptic. We're doing this. And any of YOU who want to come along for the ride are invited to join us for an April that will LITERALLY be an emotional roller coaster!

I've created a list of 30 emotions that various researchers have identified, using this resource.  I'll publish the list next week. I made my graphic for this year using a public domain, no-attribution-necessary image and the graphic design site Canva. 

My poem today is for Heidi's MarCH CHallenge.

Last, but not least, Laura (who coincidentally shares a perfect PO-EMotion for today) has the Poetry Friday roundup at Author Amok.

More Spring Break Reading Possibilities

Here's what's in MY to-read stack!

Spring Break Reading Possibilities

I am looking ahead to spring break reading and am hoping to get to lots of books on my stack. There have been so many great middle grade novels that have been released recently.  Many are by authors whose work I love. I doubt I'll be able to read a MG novel a day over break but this is my Spring Break wish list--the stack I am hoping to get to.

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan

Wish Girl by Nikki Loftin

The Imaginary by A.F. Harrold

Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai

Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper

Hero by Sarah Lean

Paper Things by Jennifer Richards Jacobson

Kate Messner is Brilliant!

I read two brand new picture books by Kate Messner this week. Both were such a treat. I am amazed by Kate Messner because her writing is so diverse. She can write so many things well.  These two pictures books are very different and I loved them both for different reasons.

Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt is a companion book to Over and Under the Snow. I remember reading Over and Under the Snow and being fascinated by all that happens in winter that I had never realized.  Kate somehow made really complex science really accessible and interesting. She does the same thing in Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt.  This book follows a little girl and her grandmother as they plant a garden in the spring and watch it grow and change through the summer. We watch as the two tend to the garden as the garden's needs change. And we watch the fun of seeing the work pay off as summer continues. At the same time, we learn of all of the things going on in the garden that are not as visible-the things going on in the dirt.  Just as in the first book, Kate alternates between work in the garden and work in the dirt.  There is so much information packed in the book that it is one that begs to be reread.  In the author's note, Kate Messner states, "Every garden is a community garden.  Do you know why?  You may work hard planting seeds and pulling weeds, but plants can't thrive without the help of all those smaller gardeners down in the dirt."  Definitely a book I want in my classroom!

Kate Messner's How to Read a Story is due out in early May but I'd preorder it now!  This is a how to book--and it gives directions for how to read a story. It starts out with Step 1: Find a Story.  A good one.  It is packed with all that is important in reading--finding a reading buddy, finding a cozy spot, using voices that match the characters' voices, and more.  This will make for a fun read aloud but it will also start great conversations about reader identity--what are your tastes as a reader? where do you like to read? etc. A great conversation starter for our reading workshops!

It isn't often I find picture books that are must-haves for all K-5 classrooms but these two seem perfect for all ages.  As I said, Kate Messner is brilliant:-)

That doesn't seem right...

It's Math Monday! 

Join Mandy at Enjoy and Embrace Learning 

for the Math Monday link up!

"That doesn't seem right..."

How I love those four little words!

Saturday was our appointment with the tax lady. When she was all done and told us that our return would be xxxx, my heart sank a little -- the amount was almost a third of what we have been getting back in recent years. But I didn't say anything.

Lucky for me, our brilliant tax lady said, "That doesn't seem right..." and poked around until she found a default setting that doesn't fit for us. She worked and worked to get the online form to reflect our particular reality, and when she was done, she said, "That's better! Your return is XXXX! That's more like it!"

Indeed! Now we can get new siding for the house AND have some left over!

This story is brought to you by Math in the Real World. You can bet I'm going to tell this story to my students today, and the moral will be to ALWAYS think about whether your answer makes sense!

Heidi's MarCH CHallenge

Flickr Creative Commons photo by L Church

What to do if You Are a Retriever

Freeze until the command is given.
Explode from the down-stay.
Tear across the lawn at lightning speed.
Catch the frisbee, mid-air.
Hustle back, tail high, ready for more.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015



I am participating in Heidi's MarCH CHallenge at My Juicy Little Universe. Here are my poems for the rest of this week's words:

March

Stretch

Twitch

Punch


Robyn Campbell has the Poetry Friday roundup this week.

Austin Kleon on the Importance of Attribution

"If you share the work of others, it’s your duty to make sure that the creators of that work get proper credit. Crediting work in our copy-and-paste age of reblogs and retweets can seem like a futile effort, but it’s worth it, and it’s the right thing to do. You should always share the work of others as if it were your own, treating it with respect and care."

"All of this raises a question: What if you want to share something and you don’t know where it came from or who made it? The answer: Don’t share things you can’t properly credit. Find the right credit, or don’t share."

Austin Kleon is the author of Show Your Work!, Steal Like an Artist, and Newspaper Blackout. The above quotes are from an older blog post of his (Credit is Always Due) that he shared via his weekly newsletter.

Thank you for this important reminder, Mr. Kleon. Some believe that students should be able to use media that is not licensed for reuse in projects that never leave the classroom. But I believe that we need to teach students the importance of using only that media which is licensed for reuse (plus giving proper attribution to the source) EVERY time they borrow from others. 

I want my students to be the MAKERS, not just the USERS, and as such, they need to use unto others' creations as they hope others will use unto the things they make and share in the classroom, in the school setting, and in the wide world.

New Nonfiction Books Perfect for 3rd Grade

I've had to really add lots of easier nonfiction to my 3rd grade classroom library.  I realized so much of what I have requires lots of experience with nonfiction text.  But I am thrilled to find lots of great nonfiction and my 3rd graders are reading more nonfiction than ever.  It is tricky to find nonfiction perfect for 3rd grade--it has to be interesting enough for 8 year olds but it needs to be accessible. I have seen nonfiction really turn some of my kids into readers this year because I've been so intentional about the nonfiction section of our classroom library.

Scholastic Discover More series is one that I have come to LOVE LOVE LOVE this year.  There are three different "levels" to this series but the difference isn't so obvious to kids. The easier books in this series are 32 pages long and they are great for primary readers.  The topics are interesting and I have several kids who have read all 8 books in this part of the series. Definitely one of my favorite nonfiction series as it is packed but the text level is doable for kids who have trouble finding engaging nonfiction.

I've mentioned before how much I love Brad Meltzer's picture book I am Rosa Parks this week--not sure how I missed it when it was released. My kids love this series and this one is as good as the others. I love the way that Rosa tells her own story and how much readers can learn about the civil rights movement from this book. This series continues to impress me--just wish they were coming out faster!

The last nonfiction book I picked up recently was Kali's Story by Jennifer Keats Curtis. It is a simple story with very accessible text. I am glad to add as many shorter, easier texts as I can because I believe volume matters and kids are more willing to read a book that seems doable for them, when nonfiction is new.  Kali's Story is the story of a baby polar bear who was rescued after his mother died. It is a story my kids will love and one that might lead them to other books with similar rescue stories.  The photos are adorable and they will draw kids in immediately.

So glad I committed to reading more nonfiction in 2015.  I am already a bit behind but just knowing I set a goal has me reading more than I would have otherwise.  You can head over to Kidlit Frenzy for the Nonfiction Wednesday round up!

Padlet with Resources for NCTE's Charlotte Huck Award Winning Books

I attended OCTELA on Saturday and presented with Barbara Kiefer and Fran Wilson on NCTE's Charlotte Huck award winning books from this year.  It is an honor to serve on this committee and I soooo love the premise of the award -- this award recognizes fiction that has the potential to transform children’s lives by inviting compassion, imagination, and wonder. I love the list of award books.  It was great fun to share them at OCTELA.

This week, in preparation for OCTELA, I started pulling together resources that connected to most of the award winning books. I thought it would be helpful for teachers who wanted to know more about the books and many of the links would be great to share with students.  I collected them on a Padlet and am happy to share that Padlet here. Enjoy!

Created with Padlet

Math Monday -- A Mosaic is an Array!

Yes, I know it's a stretch to share my monthly mosaic as a Math Monday post, but #arraychat is a real thing on Twitter! Math in the real world. It doesn't get any better.

Row 1 -- The first three are from North Market. The last one in this row and

Row 2 -- the first one in this row are a glimpse of hope for spring! The next three are William and his sunbeam, what a kitty has to do when his sunbeam gets too warm, and the face of a contented cat.

Row 3 -- #DubLit15 -- my Tech Kids, Chris Lehman learning from Franki's Tech Kids, Lisa Graff signing, the cookies donated by Wonderopolis for our afternoon snack.

Row 4 -- The walkway to Tucci's for the after-conference author dinner -- a winter wonderland. In contrast, don't get me started about the over-plowing of our street. Why do so many streets go unplowed, and yet the Snow Warriors come back again and again to our street, plowing shut every driveway on our street repeatedly and throwing slush up onto cleared-off sidewalks. There's no good reason for it.  (deep cleansing breath) The third shot is a jazzy shot of a jazz band at Natalie's. Next is a science shot -- the dark leaf got warm enough to melt down into the snow beneath it.

You can see all these pictures larger and un-cropped on Flickr here.

It's Math Monday! Join Mandy at Enjoy and Embrace Learning for the Math Monday link up!

Poetry Friday -- Beastly Verse

Beastly Verse
poems by various authors
illustrations by JooHee Yoon
Enchanted Lion Books, 2015
review copy provided by the publisher

Along with 9 lesser known (to me) or anonymous poets, Lewis Carroll, Ogden Nash, Wiliam Blake, Hilaire Belloc, Christina Rossetti, D.H. Lawrence, and Walter de la Mare all have poems in this vibrantly illustrated collection of beastly verse.

JooHee Yoon used hand drawing and computer techniques and just three Pantone colors for the illustrations, and each page dances and vibrates with color and creativity. Every four or five pages there is a fun gatefold to open up that completes an illustration, or holds a surprise for the reader.

The spread for Eletelephony has a gatefold with a surprise. Before you open the gatefold, you see a living room scene with a telephone ringing. When you open the gatefold, the elephant has attempted to answer the telephone and is completely tangled in the cord!


Eletelephony
by Laura Elizabeth Richards

Once there was an elephant, 

Who tried to use the telephant— 

No! No! I mean an elephant 

Who tried to use the telephone— 

(Dear me! I am not certain quite 

That even now I’ve got it right.) 

Howe’er it was, he got his trunk 

Entangled in the telephunk; 

The more he tried to get it free, 

The louder buzzed the telephone— 

(I fear I’d better drop the song 

Of elephop and telephony!)

Heidi has the roundup today at My Juicy Little Universe.

Blue Whales

Billy Twitters and his Blue Whale Problem
by Mac Barnett
illustrated by Adam Rex
Hyperion Books, 2009
review copy from my classroom library

I love the sly way this book weaves facts about blue whales into the story of a boy who doesn't clean his room.

"Billy Twitters, clean up your room, or we're buying you a blue whale, " his mother threatens. Billy doesn't take her seriously because he knows "a thing or two about blue whales."

But one day, a whale shows up outside his door and it's his responsibility...

The reader learns plenty of facts about blue whales in the text and the illustrations absolutely communicate the scale of a blue whale in a classroom, on a playground, and next to a school bus.

Billy comes up with a clever solution to both the problem of owning a blue whale AND the problem of cleaning his bedroom!

(Mac Barnett will be at Cover to Cover Bookstore on March 7 from 10:30-12:00!)

The Blue Whale
by Jenni Desmond
Enchanted Lion Books, 2015
review copy provided by the publisher

This book works the same way. "Once upon a time, a child took a book from a shelf and started to read."

You guessed it. It was a book about blue whales.

The words we read are the words the boy is reading in his book about blue whales. But the pictures tell the story of what the boy imagines, how he conceptualizes sizes and distances and amounts, and sometimes what he does between page turns.

These will be two fun books to share with students to learn about blue whales and to invite conversations that compare and contrast the two books.

A Tale of Two Beasts

A Tale of Two Beasts
by Fiona Roberton
Kane Miller, 2015
review copy provided by the publisher

I have a whole collection of books that have two stories that dovetail in the middle. This one is similar, but instead of dovetailing, it has two parts, each told from a different point of view.

In the first part, a little girl discovers a strange beast stuck in a tree in the forest. She rescues it, takes it home, feeds it, dresses it, walks it, and shares it with her friends. The minute she opens the window, the beast runs away. Later that night, when the little girl is lying awake in her bed trying to figure out where she went wrong, the beast comes back.

In part two, a small furry forest animal (maybe a squirrel?) tells the story of being "ambushed by a terrible beast!" This beast ties him up and carries him away to her lair where he is subjected to any number of indignities. Finally, when she opens the window, he is able to escape. Later that night, when he is hanging upside down from a tree in the forest, he realizes that there might be a reason to go back.

Same story, two different points of view. Is there one beast in this story, or are there two? Depends how you look at it!

A fun book for children of any age who are working to understand point of view.

Math Monday

It might not happen so much for primary teachers, but I am humbled on about a weekly basis by students in my 5th grade math class who are smarter than I am.

Case in point, this pizza problem. Do whatever you need to do to enlarge that picture. The work you will see there is flat-out brilliant.

In this problem, a class has won the PTO's pizza party for bringing in the most Boxtops For Education™. Each student gets their own personal pizza and eats a different fraction of the pizza. They eat thirds, fourths, eighths, twelfths, and sixteenths. The challenge was to put the fractions in order from greatest to least to find out which student(s) ate the most pizza, and then find out which table group ate the most pizza.

The pair of students who made this poster demonstrate two different ways to create equivalent fractions with a common denominator of 48: the "Bring to 48" table at the top in the center of the page, and the longer version on the right side of the page. (I didn't teach them either of these methods. They came up with them on their own. Brilliant, right?)

On the left side of the poster, they show their work finding an equivalent fraction for each of the children in the problem. They add each column to find out which table group ate the most, and they put all of the fractions/students in order (below the "Bring to 48" table in the center of the page).

Differentiation is important. While these two were engaged in solving this problem and demonstrating their work on this poster, I was working with a group of students who still can't independently make equivalent fractions in order to add and subtract with an unlike denominator. Others in the class were working on solving the pizza party problem, but they never got to the demonstration stage, or else their demonstrations were not nearly as elegantly organized.

It's Math Monday! Join Mandy at Enjoy and Embrace Learning for the Math Monday link up!

Poetry Friday -- Sky Poem

Poem for the Golden Sky I See Outlining a Web of Winter-Bare Trees and Contrasting the Blue-White Snow-Topped Roofs When I Open My Eyes All Warm and Drowsy After a Nap on a Day Proclaimed to be Too Cold to go to School

I love you.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2015



Linda has the Poetry Friday roundup at TeacherDance this week.

#nf10for10

Nonfiction Picture Book 10 for 10 is...TODAY!

January announcement is here, but I'm sure Twitter is exploding with more current tweets. Gather your 10 favorite nonfiction picture books and share them with the world!

March Book Madness

The Global March Book Madness Tournament starts TODAY!

Article by Tony Keefer here.

Cut to the chase and click here to go to the website for information.

Let the Madness begin!!

Math Monday: Padlet

I have been thinking about how to better share our math thinking as part of our math workshop.  I have played around a bit with Padlet for lots of things. Last week, padlet helped raise our level of share a bit. Kids are used to sharing and responding to math thinking of their classmates.  We use lots of tools to do this but this week, we build a padlet as kids worked.  Finished representations went up on the padlet as kids finished. This is the problem we solved.

Jeffrey buys 5 boxes of oranges. There are 10 oranges in each box.  There are 12 rotten oranges.  How many oranges are there that are not rotten?

Created with Padlet

We have been playing with a variety of tools to share our math learning. So, some students used Google Draw. Others used Pixie. Some used Explain Everything.

I am thinking about the reflection piece of share with my math coach. I think there can be real power in Padlet as a way for kids to reflect on thinking, analyze work and learn new things to try.  The power of this Padlet was in the conversation. Because the Padlet was added to over a 15-20  minute period, kids naturally gathered around the Smartboard noticing things before we formally shared. Then as we shared, there was a power of having all of the representations on one board--in a place that we could see them all at once.

Usually, we can Airplay share one at a time or share a student's thinking from their notebook with a document camera.  Padlet allowed us to see patterns in our work. Kids noticed that with division, most kids were drawing pictures and wondered why that was.  Others noticed different number sentences across work. We could get a close up of one to analyze if we wanted to or we could look at the patterns we saw in our work as a whole.

I am going to work with my coach to build on this and to really think about how to raise the level of the share piece of Math Workshop. Lots of possibilities!

It's Math Monday! Join Mandy at Enjoy and Embrace Learning for the Math Monday link up!

Poetry Friday -- Love

LOVE IS A PLACE

by e.e. cummings

love is a place

& through this place of

love move

(with brightness of peace)

all places

yes is a world

& in this world of

yes live

(skilfully curled)

all worlds

I wish for you this place that is all places, this world that is all worlds. 

I wish for you a love so big that one day cannot contain it. 

 

Cathy has the Poetry Friday Roundup this week at Merely Day by Day.

Before After

Before After
written and illustrated by Anne-Margot Ramstein and Matthias Arégui
Candlewick Press, 2014

Study the cover of this wordless picture book and you'll start to get a sense of what you'll find within: acorn --> oak (before, after), caterpillar --> butterfly, chicken --> egg. But wait. You know that old conundrum about the chicken and the egg? Well, the spread before chicken is on the left and egg is on the right, has egg on the left and chicken on the right! HAH!

So. Basic wordless concept book, eh?

Nope.

There are spreads for deep thinking, like the one with the rocking horse on the left and the rocking chair on the right. (There are several before and after this that ponder time in a variety of ways, actually.) There are some amazing pairs that consider building up and tearing down, culminating in the ultimate combination of such: tearing down rock to build up a sculpture.

There are occasionally full-page spread befores followed by full-page spread afters, just to mix things up design-wise.

There are "characters" who reappear, like the ink that comes after the squid, and the pigeon who gives a feather for a quill pen in the ink, which comes before the typewriter, and then the pigeon comes back as the precursor to airmail (sending the letter the typewriter typed, perhaps?).

There are literary references (3 Pigs and Cinderella) for alert observers.

There are spreads perfect for conversations about cause and effect.

This is not a book I should be trying to review with words. We should be sitting side-by-side in a quiet corner, slowly turning the pages and chatting about all we notice.

Geisel Award Winning Books

I love the (Theador Seuss) Geisel Award books.  And award specific to beginning readers is fabulous!  I think for those of us that have worked with very young children, we know how hard it is to find great books that young children can read and can enjoy. So this award is one of my favorites.

This year, I had to purchase two of the winners. I read a lot in 2014 but I didn't read much for beginning readers.  Of course, I already had the new Elephant and Piggie (Waiting is Not Easy) book that won the award. (I imagine every Mo Willems book is the perfect example of what makes a good Geisel Award winner.)  And both of these new titles will be good for my 3rd grade classroom too!

You Are (Not) Small is the winner of this award this year and it is a picture book. I don't think this book was even on my radar before it was announced as a winner last week.  But I ordered it right away and I loved it! It is a fun story that has lots to say in a fun way. I love when a simple books gives a powerful message.  For me the book was about perspective and identity and acceptance.  The illustrations are fun and the characters are quite engaging--and quite adorable. I know my 3rd graders will like the story and I love that the themes are accessible.  Younger children will love this one as well.

I hadn't read a new Mr. Putter and Tabby book in a long time.  Honestly, I didn't realize Cynthia Rylant was still writing these.  But when I saw  Mr. Putter and Tabby Turn the Page--a book about reading--was a Geisel Honor, I was thrilled!  I had kind of forgotten about this series and I can think of a few kids who these books would be perfect for. I am hoping that having the award winner in the classroom might get some kids reading these.  This new one was quite fun.  Mr. Putter and his neighbor take their pets to story time at the library.  This is a typical Mr. Putter and Tabby book with some fun humor sprinkled throughout. I enjoyed it and am glad to have rediscovered the series.
didn't realize that Cynthia Rylant was still writing these.  So I was happy to see this new one,

I think all of the Geisel award winners and honors are great for K-3 classrooms.  If you haven't kept up on this award, it is a fairly new one. You can find all of the past award winners and honor books on the award page.  Definitely a list worth checking out if you work with young children.