When Reluctant Readers Finally Find a Book

How many of us have had a student who just can't seem to stick with a book? Like ever? Well, I've had a few, but one has really challenged me.

Rachel (not real name) is a fourth grade tomboy to the core. She's been in the Title I Reading program since Kindergarten, and although she has progressed, she just wouldn't stick with a book. I got her last year, and she changed books faster than some people change lanes in traffic.

I have thrown so many books at her that it's ridiculous. Goosebumps? No. Sports books? Only for a minute. Sharks? Cool. I read five pages. Just last week, we tried Notebook of Doom series (that I specifically bought with her in mind), Bunnicula, and a few books from the library that she checked out and quickly discarded. I've always believed this quote, but I was beginning to feel a little hopeless after more than a year of nothing sticking. Her teacher and I decided we would throw EVERY book we could possibly find at her in hopes of anything catching.

Then, last Friday, she came into my room with a book in hand and a BIG smile on her face. Time Warp Trio.

I met with her for our reading conference and decided not to set a "goal" with her just yet. She's struggled for so long, and I want her goal to be enjoying a book for once. I don't want her to feel like it's work. Especially not right now.

When we were down to ten minutes in the day, I told them to find a stopping point for me to read to them. She asked if she could just keeping reading her book. Of course! I wasn't going to stop her! 

Friday was exciting, but what really told me she was set was when she came back with the book on Monday. Then she was holding another one when she walked into my room the next day. 

I've hardly heard of the books (although I realized that I've heard parts of Da Wild, Da Crazy, Da Vinci, which is part of the set), but you can bet that I was on Amazon, Scholastic, and eBay as soon as I could to get my hands on more of them! She keeps asking for updates when they will be here, and I can't wait either!

More Snow and my Favorite Picture Books

I'm finally back at school today (although on a 2 hr delay) after more crazy Virginia weather.

Seriously, the temps on Monday reached 70 (at one point, I changed into shorts). Then it snowed the next day non-stop from 8-5ish. We ended up with about 5 inches of snow and our 8th/9th snow day for teachers (10th and 11th for kids). Eek!! I'm so grateful that our 5th grade students aren't taking the writing SOL until April because some schools have it next week. Yes, they should be prepared already, but it's a little stressful to be out unexpectedly right before a big test like that.

Anyway, I wanted to share about a few picture books that I've bought recently and can't wait to use!

The Wreck of the Zephyr by Chris Van Allsburg has been a book I've had my eye on for about 3 years now. When I was in my Master's program, one of our teachers did a lesson using this book, and I was mesmerized! It's great for predicting and questioning, and, as usual, the pictures are BEAUTIFUL! I've become a huge fan of his books, and this one may possibly be my favorite!

I laughed about this book because I found it through amazon suggestions and was drawn in by the description alone. Then just after I got it in the mail, Collaboration Cuties blogged about how they use the book during one of their Mentor Text linkies! I've already bought their resource and can't wait to use it. Redcoats and Petticoats is based on a true story about a family on Long Island who served as spies for the Revolutionary Army. VERY fun!

I've been reading about this book on SO many blogs and finally caved in. Too cute! I read it to Keagan, and he was completely taken in. Usually he gets really fidgety and wants to turn the pages before I finish. Not this one! He loved the beautiful pictures, and the language was perfect! I could see this being great for teaching a lesson on word choice in writing.

And for a little fun, go check out my friend, Courtney, and her blogiversary giveaway. Erin Condren? Yes, please!! I can't afford it on my own!

All kinds of goodness rolled into one

I thought this week would be calm, but I was sadly mistaken. So here I am at the end of the week posting everything that's happened so far. I decided to just make one big post AND to focus on the positives. We all know this time of year can be stressful. I don't need to remind you.

I thought about doing Five for Friday, but not much happened this week other than Tuesday when the  Reptile Man came! We have this assembly every other year, and I live for it! The man has been coming to our school for over 30 years, and he's hypotizing - something about his voice. Our assistant principal described him as a "happy Eeyore", if you can imagine that. This is the only thing I took pictures of all week, and they're not the greatest because I was in the back, but this was SO much fun! If you live in Maryland or Virginia, see about trying to get him to come to your school. You won't regret it.

This snake's name is Lipstick, and we got to pet her at the end. 

Moving on to the linkies that I am participating in: 

At Home: Steven finished his Master's degree on Sunday, and his graduation was earlier today. We didn't go because he was a distance learner with University of Cincinnati, but I'll have to make sure we celebrate. This means that we will have a lot more family time (and he can keep his job next year when he's teaching college level classes)! I'm so proud of him!

At School: I've been really focusing on test-taking skills recently because we're 2 1/2 weeks away from the start of ours (that's not the "something good"). Anyway, I've been so pleased with how well my kids are doing with highlighting to prove their answers! I've been complimenting them so much, and hopefully they can remember to apply that to the actual test and not burn out. I think they've got a fighting chance, though!

For this sweet linky, I decided to share a book that I discovered last year after my librarian recommended it.

I know I've mentioned it before, but it's so good that I want to shed light on it again. Our school has a VERY high special education population (like we think there might be a sign on the interstate - there are about 17 in 4th grade alone), and I had the inclusion class for a few years. This book is about Patricia when she was in school (Did you know she was dyslexic?) and how her teacher showed them that everyone is important and has a purpose in life. Be ready to cry! I used this book to work on questioning because it does make the kids stop and think about so much. I found a very simple thinkmark (don't remember where - please let me know if you've seen it) that you can download here. Students simply write the page number and their questions. Then we talk about them later.

If you work with students who have special needs, this is a must-read. Even if you don't have students with special needs, it's so important for all of our kids to realize that different doesn't mean you're just a "part of the junkyard".

Skippyjon Jones and SomeBUNNY Loves Your Blog

Today I got to read to a class of 3rd graders as the guest reader for our reading month. It was a lot of fun to be on the other side of this and pick a book to read just for pure pleasure! I chose to read Skippyjon Jones so I could use my best Spanish accent!

 

Then I treated the class with some jellybeans (since El Bumblebeeto Bandito stole all the beans in the story). I love jellybeans, and they were very excited! By the way, did you know they now sell Fave Reds Starburst Jellybeans?

 

 I was SO excited! This girl loves strawberry jellybeans, and now I have tons of them!

Feeling a little down while desperately trying to make it to Spring Break? Christina from Bunting, Books, and Bainbridge is hosting this sweet little linky. Think of somebody's blog who you feel deserves a little love and pass it on. Then go link up with Christina.

I'm sending bloggy love out to Jackie and Danielle, the Sister Teachers!

These ladies get to teach together (2nd and 3rd grade) down in Florida. How cute is that? They are super sweet and create some of the cutest products. I've had the pleasure of reviewing some of their Magic Tree House packets, and they are so thorough. Please go check out their blog if you're not already a follower. I'm sure you will love them as much as I do!

Wonder review and new blog!

Okay I told you I would give you my review on this book once I read it. You HAVE to read this book, especially if you work in the upper grades. I picked up the book from the library last Friday and had it finished yesterday afternoon. With a little boy who hasn't been feeling very well and doesn't want me to put him down, that's REALLY quick! Now I need to buy my own copy because this is a book I've got to have.

This link is to Amazon where the book is $8.89, which is the best price I found considering it's hardcover only right now.

Anyway, the book is about a boy, Auggie, who is terribly "deformed". He's been in and out of surgeries his entire life, but he just looks weird. His outer ears aren't existent, his eyes are out of place, and so on. Auggie has always been home-schooled, but his parents decide it's time for him to enter the "real world" as a 5th grader. The principal has three "good students" chosen to welcome Auggie into the school and take care of him, but kids are kids! There are many parts in the book where I wanted to yell at a child, but there are plenty of others where I was so proud that I wished they were my own students.

My favorite line in the book is at the very end. Auggie makes a precept that is so perfect, I may have to make a sign to post in my room. "Everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their life because we all overcometh the world." So sweet!

Alright my other item of business today (hehe, I just wanted to say that) is that my real-life best friend has started her own blog yesterday, and I'm SOO excited! Her name is Amanda, and she teaches 1st grade, although she spent 5 years in kindergarten. We both are kind of equally obsessed with Mo Willems and the pigeon, so she cracked me up when she texted me to see if I was okay with her blog title being Teacher at the Wheel. Of course! Go show her some blogging love. She's awesome, and I know she'll have some great ideas to share!

What are you waiting for? Go read this book!!! And if you teach upper grades, please read it to your kids! Oh, and of course, go follow Teacher at the Wheel!

New products (I was on a roll!) and a giveaway

Teacher workdays have come to a close, and I feel like I got a lot accomplished - at least for my TpT store. On Tuesday, my sweet hubby called at lunch to say he was going to pick me up and take the family to the Williamsburg Outlets since the weather was PERFECT yesterday. He brought Keagan to the school a little early, and I got to show him off. I'll have to post the picture I took later. He found my rocking chair and loved it!

In contrast, we had those storms move through last night (a few power outages, but nothing major). Well, our school is REALLY old (well, not REALLY old, but in that time where construction must have sucked. Our school needs to be bulldozed and rebuilt) and has a flat roof. Since we've had all this precipitation recently (oh, and snow is in the forecast for tomorrow as well) and last night we had high winds as well, two of the classrooms flooded! Apparently there was about an inch of water sitting, and the kids are in the computer labs for the day because of it. Such a mess! Yet all the other schools in our county are state of the art...

Anyway, about those TpT items:

First, I made a quick writing craftivity for President's Day. It's similar to my craft for Valentine's Day and MLK, but I changed the writing part to a hat. Students write what they would do if they were President. Cute. Simple. Love it!

My next project was much more in depth. I said I was going to make something to go with John, Paul, George, and Ben. I was thrilled that so many of you love the book as much as I do!

Here's the packet. Don't you just love the name?

I ended up creating a plan that's really a BDA (before, during, and after) on accident. I guess my grad school program rubbed off on me more than I thought. Before reading, I thought it was important to activate their schema (which a big thing with me this year. All of the students who see me at least once a week know that word) about each of the founding fathers. So they will split into groups and list everything they know about each person on a word splash sheet. If they don't know anything, they can do a little research ahead of time to build their schema.

Then they will read the book, and I would have them differentiate fact from exaggeration. After reading, each student will do a biography sheet on one of the founding fathers. This sheet is a little different though. They will focus on the reputation each person had and how they earned that reputation. I thought that was a fun way of looking at it and still have them write what the person was known for. I also think I'll have the students fill out a bio sheet on themselves and do the same. It would be great for making them reflect on what kind of reputation they're building for themselves.

Finally, I included a "Create your own story" sheet. For this, they will choose a different person in history and think about what they're known for. They have to choose a reputation and then imagine what kind of trouble they might have gotten into as a child because of their reputation (for instance, maybe bossy John Smith got in trouble for telling his teachers what to do, or maybe he had trouble making friends because he always told them something like, "If you don't help, you can't play!"). I may add more to it later, but I'm in love with it already. Enjoy! 

And before you go, Lisa from Growing Firsties is having a fabulous 400 follower giveaway where you could win a $25 Erin Condren gift card. Have you seen the adorable stuff over there? I could spend $100 EASY. Go check it out!

Brain Teaser Puzzles and books

Okay, I have been looking for a book of brain teaser puzzles like I remember doing in elementary school. You may remember them as well. You had a group of people, a list of foods (or something like that), and another list of items (maybe a color). They gave you a small set of clues, and you had to use the process of elimination to match each person with the correct food and color. They gave you a chart to put X's and check marks as you solved the brain teaser. They were my FAVORITES! To this day, I have yet to find one. So last week I decided to try my hand at making some myself.

So far, I've only made 3. However, my plan is to make them throughout the year. I put the packet on TpT this morning for $1.50. If you buy it now, you can have all of the brain teasers as I create them for one low price. I will update the price as I continue to add.

Today and tomorrow are teacher workdays here (and the weather is BEAUTIFUL - I may have to eat outside), so I'm hoping to get another product or two completed. I want to do a unit on John, Paul, George, and Ben, one of my favorite picture books.

I would also like to create something for President's Day and something for Dr. Seuss since that's coming up. For Dr. Seuss, I'm leaning toward an activity with his very first book, And To Think That I Saw That on Mulberry Street. Did you know I had not actually read that book until last year? It's so great!

While I'm on the topic of books, have any of you ever read either of these?

         

The first one was all over Teaching in Room 6's Facebook page yesterday, and I had to check it out. Everyone thought it would be this year's Newbery Award winner. It lost to The One and Only Ivan. I went on my library's page and reserved a copy of Wonder to pick up today. Then I'll find the other. I need to catch up on these two books because I've never heard of them. Trust me, I'll give a review of them as I finish each. Wonder sounds fantastic!

Alright, time to get to work now!

New TPT Store

Remember back in the fall when I blogged about Kim Norman, the author, coming to our school?

She's so sweet, and I've been in contact with her since then. Kim has been considering opening a TPT store for herself to sell guides for her books and other cute little things that she has created. Yesterday I received an email asking me to review a few of her guides to see if they were "TPT ready". I was so honored that she valued my opinion enough to even ask! I looked two of them over, and they have some fantastic resources. She posted her first few items on her brand new store (all of them are free so far!), and I want to encourage you to check them out.

My favorite item she posted is a teacher's guide for her book, Ten on a Sled.

This book follows the same patterns as Five Little Monkeys, but it's full of wintery animals. They keep falling off of the sled. The book is one that Kim read when she came for her author visit, and all of the kids loved it (even the 5th graders). Her activity sheets that she included as the freebie are great practice for alliteration. It has a place for students to write their name (or an animal) and then describe how they wiped out. She even included a list of great verbs for each letter so students can just choose one. I will have to use this activity with my older students to discuss alliteration!

Right now, she also has a freebie of seasonal number mazes which are very colorful and fun. Then there are writing prompt cards that use the 4 W's. She included 88 of these all for free!

So go check out her store and be sure to leave her some love! 

Oh, and keep your eyes out for another book review of hers. I'm about to get Crocodaddy, which I have been eyeing for a few months. As a mother, I HAD to check out this book!

I also noticed this morning that I am at 195 followers. When did this happen? I'm super excited and will be trying to scramble and put something together to celebrate when I pass the 200 mark. Any ideas? I was thinking a flash freebie for all of my followers.

Guys Read

Technically this is another linky party, but this is a topic that I feel is VERY important and couldn't resist joining (plus Courtney is giving away an Amazon gift card for extra incentive). I see WAY too many boys who are either low readers or just don't enjoy it very much. As teachers, we need to be actively searching for books that will catch their attention and help them want to become better readers. There's actually a whole movement that was started by Jon Scieszka (author of Stinky Cheese Man) called Guys Read (hence my post title), and they have a lot of great resources you should check out!

For the past few years, I've invited my hubby to come read to them and share his love of books so they can see a male role model who values reading as much as I do (if not more). I highly recommend that you bring in strong male readers as well.

But this linky is about specific books that boys seem to enjoy, so let me get started. I chose to focus on books for older elementary since that's what I'm most familiar with.



Since my library began with books from my own personal collection (and my sister's) growing up, I knew that I needed to work on building especially with guys in mind. My first "guy" purchase was a set of Goosebumps books.

These were really popular when I was growing up, and they still are. They were my most read books and showed it! But I learned that they loved pretty much anything I deemed "scary", especially if there were ghosts. Mary Downing Hahn has some books that some of my higher readers enjoyed. This one was recommended to me by a student my first year in 4th grade. I bought it, and it's been popular ever since.

ALL of my kids loved pretty much anything by Roald Dahl (possibly because I told him he was my favorite author, but his books ARE awesome)! The only one I might avoid for boys would be Matilda. The rest are winners though.

If you're into sports, I have a few. My favorites are the Tiki and Ronde Barber books. I originally bought these because we did a Famous Virginians Wax Museum every year, and the Barber twins are from VA. I let some of my lower readers use these books (and other resources) to do their project. 

Matt Christopher books are also a good choice.

I love Magic Tree House books, especially the nonfiction research guides. They are great for meeting the needs of those kids who just don't like fictional books.

My personal favorite choice for history books (especially if you live in Virginia and are teaching VA History) is this one. It has EVERYTHING a boy would love to read about - death, poop, fighting, Native Americans, blood, you name it! Plus it's based on facts. I told my students the parts that were made up were basically just the conversations with the boy telling the story. 

Some classics and other books that they tend to enjoy:

I hope this helps! Go check out Courtney's linky by clicking on the image above, then check out the guysread.com website. It truly is a great resource!

Context clues and a giveaway!

My third graders have been working on context clues, and I wanted to share a few books and resources that I've found and enjoyed. Both of the books have words in a foreign language, but they give enough clues for the students to decode the words.

I bought this book when I first started teaching. My first job was in a summer school, and one of my students  knew very little English. I searched for any book that looked interesting and had both Spanish and English for me to work with her. This is such a cute story! It's the Spanish version of The Little Red Hen, so the students can make a lot of connections. When I used this book, I stumbled across this little resource from Go Fourth! with Mrs. Owens. The book had an example of all these clues, so it was perfect!

Today, I went back into one of the classes to review, so I needed another good resource. I got on my trusty TpT and searched "context clues" for freebies, and I found this little store with only 6 items, but I really liked this resource. 

Sorry I couldn't get a better picture, but this is from my pinning since I don't think Erin has a blog to link a picture to. By the way, I'm her only follower, so be sure to give her some love when you download this resource!

Anyway, what you may not be able to see is that these are a list of words from the book Baloney (Henry P.) by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith (love them). 

The book is about a little alien who is once again late for school, and he tells his teacher this outrageous lie to try to convince her not to put him in permanent detention! He uses all kinds of words from real foreign languages (and some made-up words as well) in his story. The worksheet I linked to above lists all of these words with a place for students to put the clue, what they believe the word means, and then to check if they were right or wrong at the end of the story. The kids LOVED it!

The best thing about both of these resources is that they are absolutely FREE! I don't know about you, but money is tight at my house, and I need all the freebies I can get.

I also wanted to share a giveaway that I found this morning. Gina has 3 opportunities to win, and there are some great prizes!

In other news, I'm ALMOST there myself! As of now, I'm sitting at 93 followers, so I want to start planning my own giveaway. If you would be interested in helping out, please let me know!