monthly magical reads

ask me by bernard waber

teeny tale:

   
this book tells the story of a daughter and a father exploring the world while asking each other things that they like.  the illustrations are magical. this book makes you feel like your are listening in on a conversation between a grown-up and a child. there is a pattern to the text and it has a  unique organization. one person will ask a question ask me what I like. 

this book touches on the inquisitiveness  nature of being young and exploring the world with a loved one. ASK ME brought us back to many of our childhood memories from holding a balloon, lying in leaves and digging in sandboxes.

tiny tips:

•illustration study for writing workshop/ do the colors change color depending on who is talking?
 
•students could make predictions about the story
 (before reading)
•students could tell a story about something they like  

•read this story and have students bring in a treasure tell (something they like very much that fits in their hand) 
•during interactive writing or shared writing write a book about thing we like (we like playing in the park, we like swinging on the monkey bars etc.,)
•the things we like book could become your shared reading text
•create a classroom bulletin board of favorite things

•students could create their own ASK ME book ( Ask Me:  Do you like_________. )
  I like cake? Do you like cake?

•the classroom teacher could take students on an ASK ME walk having students pose wonder questions
 
•student's could stop and jot or stop and draw(on post-its) things they like from the walk or wonder questions.


topics: the world has many wonders, love 

why we 💜 this book...

we think this is the perfect book for writing workshop. children often struggle with finding a topic to write about, this book will give students endless possibilities. we love that the amount of text is limited making it easy to read again and again.



happy monday!

melissa & jessica & laura

 

magical monthly reads

 the little tree by loren long

teeny tale:  

the little tree is a story about a tree who is afraid to let its leaves drop. season after season he holds on to his brown leaves staying small while all the other trees around him are growing and changing. many of the animals in the forest try to convince him to let them go and he still can’t. eventually, he gets the courage to let the leaves go, and he grows into a big tree. this is a beautifully illustrated book.

touchstone text:  character study for reading workshop, illustration study writing workshop  

turn and talk :

1. what do you think this story is mostly about?
2. why do you think the tree would not let it’s leaves drop?
3. what do you notice about the illustrations in this book. 
4. what did the tree realize or learn?

what might the little tree be thinking?

 what might the little tree be saying?













tiny tips:

• great book to use to study the illustrations
• how do the illustrations tells us more about the tree
• who are the characters in this story
• great book to retell using fingers first, then, next, last
• student’s could stop and jot the feelings of the tree during different parts of the story
• why do you think the author wrote this story
• we think this is a great book to talk about the author’s purpose

topics: courage bravery, friendship, change 

life lesson: don't be afraid of the unknown
believe in yourself!

happy reading!
jessica & laura & melissa

Trailer

10 nonfiction picture books we {heart}

we are linking up with 10 for 10 nonfiction book here are some of our favorite nonfiction books we have been using in the classroom!

Nonfiction books we {love}...

 seedling books by kate riggs

in guided reading groups and strategy groups we love using these books for their simple text, detailed photos and rich possibilities. 

 start to finish books  

kids love seeing the process of how things go from start to finish. 

a kid that see how a football is made might actually be inspired to go do it!

 

 national geographic books  by melissa stewart

these books are used as mentor text for the reading units of study.  

we love using them for mentor text for strategy groups.

 the darkest dark by astronaut chris hadfield 

kids will hang on to every word of this book and if you introduce it just right (not giving away too much information) they can debate at the end if it was fiction or nonfiction.  

 what will hatch by jennifer ward

great mentor text for nonfiction writing.  

beautiful yet simple text and pictures.  

best in snow by april pulley

our kids got to the end of this book and were like, "wow that's a poem...is it fiction or nonfiction?" 

luscious photographs and a procession of WOW words lead a reading of this deceptively simple book into a complex discussion.

families by shelly roner and sheila m. kelly 

this book celebrates every possible kind of family. 

we think it should be in every classroom!

 creature features by steve jenkins and robin page 

kids will be engaged by being able to ask and hear the answer to many of the questions they have... right from the animals mouth! 

we love the close up collage face to face pictures. 

 what if you had animal feet? by sandra markle 

kids will have fun imagining all the different things they can do if they have different kinds of animal feet. 

many fun books in this series.  

let's talk about animals by britta teckentrup 

nice format for beginner readers with loads of information!  

happy weekend! 

jessica & laura & melissa 

big blue thing on the hill

once upon a time there was a class that listened to a story. they listened to a book without seeing any illustrations.

it was a story about animals... talking animals.  one day a mysterious BLUE THING arrived and created quite a stir amongst the animals of the forest.  would they be able to figure out what the mysterious blue object could be? would they be able to get rid of it? children will love trying to guess what the BIG BLUE thing on the hill could be.

tiny tips for interactive read aloud:

• cover the book
• children can listen to the first clues and develop a mental image. they can turn and talk or draw their initial image of the object 
• read some more and ask kids to listen for and then share clues.
• let them make predictions (turn and talk) about what might happen.
• let them adapt and change their mental image
• read some more
• again allow students to listen, share and talk about clues and how their mental images change based on more details and information from the story.
• finish the book and give them one more opportunity to talk.
• on day two read the story again. this time allow them to see the actual cover and illustrations throughout the book.
  
  

  project idea: 

  after the first day and reading the book without seeing the cover or pictures, allow your class to draw pictures of their thoughts on " the big blue thing." 
  
  you can create a bulletin board of all the BIG BLUE THING possibilities.  use interactive writing to create a list of clues given in the story.
  
   a thank you to dara gaul for recommending this book to us!
  
  happy reading!
  
  jessica & laura & melissa

books for winter

best in snow by april pulley sayre 

many people and place experience snow as part of their winter weather, but how many have actually stopped to consider how snow is born, how it descends upon us and what happen when it does? this book, beautifully photographed and simply but poetically written, gives adults and children an enticing invitation to ponder and wonder and revel in the delight of a winter wonderland.

 

tiny tips: 

• explore how diverse a genre can be- is this book fiction, nonfiction, poetry? and why?
• wonderful words: the words in this book are sparse yet the word choice is surprisingly rich
• study the photos for more information (nonfiction study)
• use as a jumping off point for a study of snow  
• investigate writing about snow in multiple genres

before morning by joyce sidman & beth krommes

joyce sidman and beth krommes team up again (earlier in swirl by swirl 2011) to tell a story about a child wishing for the coming snow to keep her mom home. told through a stunningly worded poem and through evocative illustrations, this story reminds us of the weight of wanting and the power of wishes. 

tiny tips:

• a great book to use for an interactive read aloud and revisiting a number of times
• study the pictures: how a picture can tell us so much more than the words sometimes
• wonderful words: how do the words tell the story? how do the words make us feel?

happy reading!

jess & laura & melissa

magical monthly reads

  teeny tale:

"what are you doing possum?" asks skunk. a clearly petrified possum replies, i am hiding from night animals." skunk quickly joins possum in the deep dark forest as they hide together from night animals. students will immediately giggle from the hilarious illustrations and whimsical details spotted throughout this charming text. as the story continues ferocious nocturnal animal join possum and skunk in their pursuit to be safe. eventually a little bat informs the animals that they ARE night anmals! this great read aloud begs to be read again and again. on a second reading perhaps read it in the dark with a flashlight!

   

night animals by gianna marino

 turn and talk:

 

• look at the cover and the end page, you can see two eyes balls in the dark. 
  students could predict what they think will happen in this story  and why?
• what is something you can be scared of?
• this is a great book to have student turn and act.
• Have partner A  pretend to be possum and partner B pretend to be the skunk. you job is to pretend to be that character and what you think they may be thinking or saying at that moment. it is helpful for the teacher to model and show students how you can think beyond the text.
• at the end of this story, have student retell the events that happened first, next and last.  
• what made this a funny book?

reading like a reader   i’m thinking… I’m wondering… this reminds me...	reading like a writer what is the writer doing?
i am thinking this story may be about an opossum who is afraid of animals that are bigger than him. could the animals be scared of the dark? it reminds me of sometimes seeing animals in my backyard.	gianna sets the tone of the story by making each page pitch black. this makes the reader feel scared. there are many things happening in the illustrations that aren’t happening in the words. Ex. the skunk is clinging on the tree for his dear life and spraying every one. Possum plays dead at times.
i think the author wanted the setting to be black because it makes the story suspenseful.   i wonder what will happen to possum and skunk?	gianna uses speech bubbles of the animals talking to one another. we can tell how scared the night animals are feeling by their actions and expression on their faces. students will delight in the subtle humor. Ex. Did you hear something? Are you trying to scare me?
the night noises remind me of noises i sometimes hear in my bed at night. it also reminds me of the story we read, Joshua’s Night Whispers. i wonder if the aaaarrrooo is going to eat them up. i think it’s a wild animal that may eat them.	giana uses onomatopoeia to let us know how the characters are feeling. you can hear the sounds of whisper words and noisy words. Ex: aaaarrrrrrrooooooooo
I think now that the wolf is joining the skunk and opossum.  This is a funny tale, here they are afraid of night animals and they are night animals!  I think it’s funny because_______________________.	gianna uses fonts and punctuation in interesting and powerful ways. Ex. HELP ME! Help YOU!? You’re a wolf? But SOMETHING is following me!
what was the message of this book? sometimes we're afraid when we shouldn’t be.	gianna has a surprise ending.  when the bat tells them that they are night animals they are relieved but quickly scared by two humans camping in a nearby tent. the book ends with everyone running from everyone else.

unit of study: illustration study for writing workshop, character study for reading workshop


 tiny tip: give students post-its to make pictures or write about what the characters are doing, thinking and saying.

happy monday!

jess & laura & melissa