Author Spotlight - John Scieska

District U-46 will be welcoming Jon Scieszka in December!  Schools will be entered into a raffle to win a visit from the author Jon Scieszka.  He will also be appearing at Elgin High School on Wednesday, December 8th at 4:00 p.m.  That event will be open to the public so everyone has a chance to meet him!

I have been able to meet some of my favorite authors in the last few years.  It is interesting to see what they are like in person and to hear him or her talk about writing.  Jon Scieszka has written some great books that you might recognize:

The entire Trucktown series is a hit at my house!  I read Robot Zot! with one of my students this year and we loved it.  If you would like to learn more about Jon Scieszka you can visit his website at jsworldwide.  There is an audio clip that you can listen to to learn how to say his last name!  He also has a site on his publisher's website and he also started a website called Guys Read.  I just bought a collection of short stories called Guys Read: Funny Business and it's awesome so far!

Here is a fun fact about Jon Scieszka: He is one of SIX brothers!  (I can't imagine what it would be like to have five brothers...or to be a mom of six boys!)  You can read lots more about him at the websites above.  He seems like a really funny guy!

If your child comes to school and can tell me which author will be coming to visit U-46, he or she will earn one sticker towards a reading reward!

What Are You Reading Good? (11/19/2010)

This week seemed to go fast!  I shared with students a novel I am reading that is written through poems called Where I Live by Eileen Spinelli.  I also read Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee.  It is fast becoming one of my favorite books about friendship.  These two girls seem like opposites, but they get along great.  It's a fun book that shows students what a graphic novel is like.  Some graphic novels can be hard to read, for me especially, but this one is great.

I'm excited to see students reading and trying new genres and authors!  I love to hear about books I'm not familiar with.  I think Amelia Bedelia Talks Turkey by Herman Parish and More Pies! by Robert Munsch sound like great Thanksgiving reads!  I hope everyone enjoys Thanksgiving!  Keep up the reading, kiddos!

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Being Thankful

Next week, students will not be at school because of Thanksgiving break.  This week, I'll be talking to students about what they are thankful for.  One thing I would like to focus on are people, places or experiences that have shaped us as readers.  I am thankful for people, places and experiences in my life that have helped me become a reader.

Lake Forest Library-my library growing up!  

It was old and I felt important when I went there!

Growing up, both of my parents encouraged me to read.  My mom took my sister and me to the library A LOT!  I remember finding my favorite books, reading in their big, rocking chairs, and participating in the summer reading program.  I am thankful to my mom for taking us to the library.  And I am so thankful to the library for being a place where I could find books that interested me and a place to quietly sit and read.

My dad and mom eating ice cream, not reading books...

I remember trips to bookstores with my dad.  He would go look at adult books while I would wander through the children and then young adult sections.  I would excitedly find a book that I would ask him to buy for me.  I am thankful to my dad for taking me to bookstores, letting me look freely at all the books, and for buying me books that I could call my own.

As a teacher, I have been able to share books and reading with many students.  I love hearing what students are reading and being able to tell them about a book I think they might like.  It has been exciting for me to see students become readers who can't wait to get back to their books.  I am thankful for the experience of being able to interact with students and books.

Talk with your child about people, places or experiences that shaped you as a reader and ask them about their favorite reading memories.  Who or what do you have to thank for helping you become a reader?  If you child can come to school and tell me about who or what he or she is thankful for when it comes to reading, he or she will earn one sticker towards a reading reward!

What Are You Reading Good? (11/12/2010)

This week lots of kids are reading the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne.  I brought one home to read myself this weekend!

I read a graphic novel, some pictures books, a poem, and listened to an adult book on audio this week!  We've been busy reading!  I hope everyone is having fun reading and getting in some family reading, too!

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National Family Literacy Month

November is National Family Literacy Month!  I'm excited to share family literacy because I honestly believe reading aloud to kids at home, modeling reading for them, and taking family visits to the library are so important in helping students learn to read and love to read.

I have great memories of reading with my family, going to the library with my mom and to bookstores with my dad.  Now, as a mom, I love getting comfy on the couch with my sons snuggled next to me to read books...we even read with the baby!

I encourage parents to read aloud to their kids everyday, and if not everyday, then at least try for once a week.  When I was pregnant with Jordan in 2007 I went to my library to listen to Jim Trelease speak about reading aloud to children.  I will never forget his message about reading aloud to kids: it doesn't matter how old they are, we need to be reading to them!  Trelease talked about reading aloud to his kids after dinner while they did the dishes.  I love it!  You can visit Jim Trelease's website to see more about what he has to say about reading aloud.

I hope you all read aloud as a family at least once a week, and if you don't, this month is a perfect time to start!  It doesn't matter if your child is in kindergarten or 8th grade!  If your child can come to school and tell me what book you read together this week or about his or her favorite memory of reading with a family member, he or she will earn a sticker towards a reading reward!

What Are You Reading Good? (11/5/2010)

This week I've been catching up on reading my spooky stories from Halloween!  I've read a few stories from Zombies vs. Unicorns which is a collection of short stories about either zombies or unicorns from many current young adult authors.  I'm used to reading novels so it's a little bit of a switch for me to read a short story but I'm enjoying them so far.  I have to say, I think I'm team Unicorn!

I also listened to A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle.  I remember reading this book when I was young and I also vividly remember not understanding it!  It has bothered me ever since as a book that just didn't make sense to me.  Finally, I decided to check it out from the library again to see if maybe rereading it now that I'm (a lot) older would help me out.  I did understand the book this time around, but I still had to really pay attention as I was listening to the audiobook because it's hard to follow along.  Because this is a fantasy book, there are so many things that aren't easy to figure out.  I can definitely say I practice rereading, in this case it was an entire book I reread!

I've been reading a graphic novel that I'm going to be reading with one of the students next week and I'm excited to share that book next week.  This week two students are reading books from the The Magic Treehouse Collection.  I'm glad to see students reading books from a series.  I love finding books in a series.  Keep up the good reading, kiddos!

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Sight Words and Literary Elements

One of my younger students this week has been working on practicing sight words.  We've been playing games and practicing reading sight words from Dolch's high frequency words.  Our goal is to know all the words right away so it will help her become a better reader!

 

Another elementary student is working on what good readers do and practicing making different types of connections.  We talked about the tools a reader has - the good reading strategies he or she uses while reading.  Then, we talked specifically about making connections.

The older students have been looking at literary elements.  Literary elements are things that authors include in books that:

1. help a reader understand what he or she is reading.

2. make a book interesting for a reader.

3. make a book fun for a reader.

Some of the literary elements we are focusing on are:

*character/characterization

*simile 

*metaphor

*alliteration

*dialogue

*foreshadowing

*onomatopoeia

*imagery

When reading together, continue to talk about good reading strategies or find literary elements that authors are using.  If your child comes to school and can tell me one reading strategy or literary element he or she used or recognized when reading, he or she will earn one sticker towards a reading reward!