bodner093

Oh my goodness- I can't believe we are almost to November. Time to trade in the jack-o-lanterns for turkeys... or maybe even Christmas trees? I love November and December in the elementary classroom- so much to do and so much fun. It's a great time for strengthening your classroom community with all of the opportunities for giving that occur during this time of year.  I also love the crafts and celebrations that come with the holidays. Too often teachers feel the stress of the curriculum pacing guide and feel as if they can't or shouldn't do any crafts "just for fun", but I say shut that door and craft away! They are only little once... And I really LOVE  the wealth of picture books that are holiday-themed. Students are so engaged and you can teach so many skills using picture books during your reading workshop time. Over the next several weeks my plan is to share some of my favorites with you!  To start off November- I pa...

Happy Almost Halloween! It's hard to believe Halloween is next week- it seems like October has flown by! Is the excitement level in your room starting to CREEP up a little bit more each day?  Today I have a fantastic Halloween read aloud your little monsters will love! Plus if you make it all the way to the end of the post I have a link where you can grab a FREE Halloween Story Organizer that can be used with any Halloween fiction book! There is so much to love about this book- I Need My Monster  written by Amanda Noll and illustrated by Howard McWilliam.  This story is about a little boy whose regular monster has gone fishing and he is looking for a replacement monster. The book is humorous and creepy and the illustrations are GORGEOUS! The word choice in the book is so entertaining. Your kids will love it!  This book is available on Storyline Online- read by Rita Moreno.  I love the voices that Rita Moreno uses when rea...

I love old(ish) picture books. I am a vintage girl at heart and when choosing read alouds I often find myself gravitating towards older books. Now, The Vanishing Pumpkin is not terribly old (published in 1983) but it reminds me of the Halloweens of my childhood with its illustrations and vocabulary. The Vanishing Pumpkin is written by Tony Johnston, but it is illustrated by Tomie dePaola who has a very distinct artistic style. If you have any Tomie dePaola books in your classroom library you might want to pull them out to compare the styles before or after your read aloud.  This book is chock full of rich vocabulary: snitched (stolen), perched, rapscallion, fresh (sassy), varmint, wickedly,    and some fun examples of alliteration:  "lucky lizards", "in fact, they fairly flew", "great grizzlies",  I have created a FREE, quick, cute jack-o-lantern craft and quick writing activity that you could use with this book if you would like. J...

Fall is my absolute FAVORITE time of the year (well maybe it is tied with winter) but anyway... today I want to share a great fall/Halloween book with you!  Have you read Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell? This book was published in 2000- but is new to me. There are so many things I love about this book- the illustrations, the descriptive language, the science included in the book, but best of all is the sweet story. The main character in this story is Tim, a little boy who has carved a jack-o-lantern and named him Jack. The story follows Jack throughout the next year.  This book would work well during a life cycles study, but also during the fall season. I have created a FREE book companion for you to use with this story if you would like! You can grab the freebie here: Pumpkin Jack Book Companion I hope this is something you will find valuable and can use with your class!  If you are looking for any additional fall/Halloween resources you might want to check these eas...

This lesson incorporates two of my favorite teacher things- picture books and Post-It Notes!  The picture book this time is... Cranberry Thanksgiving   by Wendy and Harry Devlin  and it is a real gem. I LOVE using "vintage" picture books with kids. This book was written in 1971- and the message in the story is just as powerful today- maybe even more so! This book lends itself well to a whole list of reading skills- but I decided to pull a few out to really focus on... *determining the central message, or lesson, in the text *describing characters in a story (their traits, motivations, and feelings) There is also a great example of a simile (page 1), the importance of the setting in the story, making predictions...  Now, I don't know about you, but sometimes I get lost in the storytelling of a book when I am doing a read aloud. Sometimes I have questions I know I want to ask, but I get carried away in the moment and I forget. And then 20 minutes l...

This book was brought to my attention several years ago- it was a KC3 Award Nominee (an award sponsored by The Greater Kansas City Association of School Librarians). There is a list of about 10 books each year and students in third grade read or listen to the books and then are able to vote for their favorite. As a teacher- I love discovering new authors and titles.  The King's Taster by Kenneth Oppel illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher I loved this book right from the get go- it has a DOG on the cover- need I say more? (CRAZY dog lady here!) This is a great book to teach point of view, as well as many other comprehension skills. Max, the dog, is telling the story. He has a very special job- he tastes all of the the food that the king eats to make sure it is not poisoned.  Even though he is the king's taster, he is actually the cook's dog. They have a sweet  relationship- pet owners will be sure to relate! One day the kingdom gets a ...

What do you do to promote conservation and the care of our environment? A great start is to educate our students about the simple things they can start doing today to make conservation a way of life! I want to share some ideas for teaching these concepts in your classroom- not just on Earth Day, but every day! First- here are some great books you can use for read aloud in your classroom... Arthur Turns Green by Marc Brown That lovable aardvark is at it again in this cute book! Arthur and his pals receive a school assignment to find ways to make our planet better. The book is filled with ways to take care of the planet. Miss Fox's Class Goes Green by Eileen Spinelli In this book Miss Fox encourages her class to find ways to go green. There are lots of tips for kids- things they can start doing today to make a difference. We are Extremely Very Good Recyclers by Lauren Child This book really focuses on recycling and what can be done with recycled materials.  The...