What Are You Reading Good? (12/16/2011)

It's winter break! I know the students are super excited about being off for break. I'm excited to spend time with my family but also to have lots of time for reading and writing this break.

I checked out two bags of picture books from the library to get ready to discuss Martin Luther King Jr. and the book award named for his wife, Coretta Scott King.
I'll be excited to come back from break and hear about all the reading my Team Read students have done!

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The Nutcracker Ballet

Last week and this week I have shared Dogs Don't Do Ballet by Anna Kemp with students. It's such a funny book that we have used to infer how the dog feels or what character trait he exhibits as we read. It's amazing how many interesting words we can learn while reading a picture book.

 Biff is a dog who really wants to be a ballet dancer. Even though lots of people tell him that dogs don't do ballet, he doesn't give up! He keeps working towards his dream!

After reading Dogs Don't Do Ballet we will be reading The Nutcracker with artwork by Alison Jay. The Nutcracker based on the famous ballet, has become a big part of American culture during the holidays. The music and the story is famous and I wanted to make sure students have some knowledge of The Nutcracker so we will read the book and watch clips of the ballet and make connections with both of these books.

What Are You Reading Good? (12/10/2011)

Is anyone thinking about some holiday reading? I have two great snowy books I'm thinking of reading over winter break and I can't wait! It'll be here soon!

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December Reader of the Month

I'm excited to finally get started with Reader of the Month interviews! Here is the first interview of the year!

I really enjoyed the questions that Jodie wrote for Nathan! It was fun to read about Nathan's experience in high school so far. I had fun interviewing students last year but it's cool to see students interview students! Thanks for reading! Do you have any more questions for Nathan? You can write them in the comment area.

What Are You Reading Good? (12/02/2011)

I think we all had a great Thanksgiving holiday but were happy to be back to school. I was excited to see kids reading Eleven by Lauren Myracle (one of my favorite authors!) and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. I love seeing my students read such great books!

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What Are You Reading Good? (11/18/2011)

I'm sorry our slideshow is so late this week! I was sick on Friday and didn't get a chance to post this. Kids are off for Thanksgiving this week - I hope there is lots of reading going on!

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Balloons Over Broadway

This week students will be reading Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's of Macy's Parade by Melissa Sweet. It's a wonderfully written and illustrated picture book about the history behind the giant balloons that can be seen during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thanksgiving Day. The parade will be on NBC at 9:00 a.m. Our family always watches the parade and I have always been fascinated by the fanciful balloons. I hope you talk to your families about this bit of our country's history and then watch the parade to see the balloons on Thanksgiving Day! Then you can come back and let us know which was your favorite balloon!