Scholastic Summer Reading

(http://247moms.com/2013/05/4-free-summer-reading-programs/)

Hello!

     Since it is almost May, summer is right around the corner!  This means sun, relaxation, and READING!  There is no better time than to read over the summer.  Since students are not in school during this time, teachers need to get them into the routine of reading prior to leaving us to start their vacation.

     Last year, I enrolled my class in the free Scholastic Summer Reading Program.  It is a very easy online program that has many incentives for students to read during the summer.  The teacher has to put the students' names into his/her account, but otherwise, that is all he/she has to do!  Once the students receive their usernames and passwords, they can log on to their accounts and add minutes after they have read.  Throughout the summer, Scholastic sets goals for the students to achieve and if they do so, they receive tokens on their "walls" and unlock games that relate to books.  Scholastic also created an introductory letter to send home to parents, letters to send home throughout the course of the summer to remind families about the program, and book lists for parents and students to get recommendations.  What is even better is that Scholastic allows you to begin the challenge in May which helps to get the students into a routine before the vacation begins.  There is so much to keep students motivated on this site and I loved participating last year!  

     I cannot wait to get my students enrolled in this program once again!  As you can see, it is student and teacher-friendly, exciting, and keeps kids engaged in reading throughout the long, hot summer months so that they are ready to start in September.  
     Please feel free to share ways you keep your students learning through the summer.  Enjoy using the Scholastic Summer Reading Program!

Erica :)

The Best Wordless Book EVER

Hello!

     Through my search of wordless books, I have come across many that I enjoyed and some of which I believe words would have made them more exciting.  Today I am going to share my favorite of all the wordless books I have "read" and then I am going to take a break from this topic and start reading books with words once again. :)

(http://www.bigpicturepress.net/our-books/welcome-to-mamoko/)

     Welcome to Mamoko by Aleksandra Mizielińska and Daniel Mizieliński, is a wordless book with many stories in one.  On the first page, the authors introduce you to the interesting and unique characters you are going to meet throughout the book with a question relating to each one's adventure (some examples are: Mrs. Full Wool who is a grandma sheep or The Hop Family, a family of 5 rabbits).  Then you turn the page and are astounded by the picture you see.  Not only is it filled with lots of details (think Where's Waldo or I Spy) but it is the beginning of the day in the town of Mamoko.  As you flip the pages and find the characters, they continue their daily activities as they go around the town.  The characters are fun to follow and you truly do not know how each one is going to end their short but exciting journey.

     This wordless book is great for all ages.  I used this with the younger students I tutor first.  They enjoyed choosing a character in the beginning to follow, exploring the pictures and then identifying the character of their choice on each page, and finally putting the entire story together at the end.  We would also return to the first page to answer the question relating to the character they chose.  Additionally, I could use this with my older students to tell me what happened in the character of their choice's life prior to the start of the book or have them continue the rest of the story.  Finally, I could teach about point of view by having my students write pretending to be one of the characters.  I shared Welcome to Mamoko with my mother who is the speech-language pathologist for my school.  She said that her students enjoyed the book immensely and was able to use it when working on language, especially with predictions and inferencing.  

     All around, this was my favorite wordless book I have come across this year and had to share it with you.  Enjoy working with this excellent book!

Erica :)

2014 Caldecott Award Winners

Hello!

     In January, the Caldecott medals are announced for picture books that have been published during the past year. Back in mid-March, I blogged about a wordless book, Journey, that received a Caldecott honor award.  From reading this fascinating book, I decided to explore the other winners from this year.  Here are the very different and interesting books chosen as the Caldecott winner and honor books.

(http://www.amazon.com/Locomotive-Caldecott-Medal-Brian-Floca/dp/1416994157/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397083828&sr=8-1&keywords=locomotive)

     Locomotive, by Brian Floca, is a highly complex picture book with a vast array of information about how trains work as well as the beginning of travel in the United States.  Students will enjoy the descriptive pictures and history of the time period when Americans expanded the country and were able to communicate with others thousands of miles away for the first time ever.  Facts about the first American railroad are dispersed throughout the book; everything from the types of bathrooms that were on the train (FYI: it was inappropriate to use the train bathroom when it was stopped at a station) to the job of a switchman, who attached the engine to the train and usually did not have all of his fingers due to the dangerous work pushing and pulling the train cars together while holding them in place with links and pins, were included in this publication.  The content and subject matter are not the only unique items in this Caldecott winner; the author uses various fonts to portray sounds of the train which make it visually pleasing.  The Caldecott Committee Chair stated that “The committee was impressed with Floca’s ability to creatively capture the immensity and inner workings of the early locomotive and combine it with a family’s adventurous journey west," and I completely agree.

     This book has many uses for students but I would recommend it for older children, being that the content is of a much higher level even though it is a picture book.  Besides teaching about Westward migration and early American travel, students can learn about the struggles that people go through in order to have a better life, where the beginnings of our transportation and communication system began, as well as the simple machines that are used to make larger machines function.  I would also use this book to teach writing and show the use of onomatopoeias, in addition to displaying how font choice alters the way a piece of writing is read.

(http://www.amazon.com/Flora-Flamingo-Molly-Idle/dp/1452110069/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397085367&sr=8-1&keywords=flora+and+the+flamingo)

     Flora the Flamingo, by Molly Idle, is another Caldecott honor winner for 2014.  This was an interactive, wordless picture book; MUCH different than the winner.  It was interactive in the way that there were flaps to move and reveal the main character, Flora, in different stances, pretending to be a flamingo.  Students of all ages enjoy moving pieces of a book, especially since this is usually not found in books beyond the age of three.  I felt that this book involved friendship from two very unlikely characters.  It also showed the reader how even though "copying" is a form of flattery, being unique is also important as well as helping others who need to learn this lesson.

     This is definitely a story for younger children, especially since the storyline is relatively simple.  Older elementary students would find it too easy a read but would still enjoy the interactive elements.  I would enjoy sharing with my older students the background of the illustrator; she is an artist with a studio.  This can show my students that many professions, not only authors, need to understand story elements and what makes an appealing plot, even if you are not using words.

(http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Wuffles-David-Wiesner/dp/0618756612/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397085394&sr=8-1&keywords=Mr.+wuffles)

     Finally, the last Caldecott honor book for 2014 is Mr. Wuffles by David Wiesner.  Wiesner is not new to the Caldecott circuit; he was a medal winner for his book, Tuesday.  This book is about a group of aliens that are trying to escape from the prying eyes of Mr. Wuffles, the house cat.  This wordless book switches back and forth between the point of view of Mr. Wuffles and the aliens.  Not only are the pictures elaborate and brightly colored, but the alien language that is represented in word bubbles makes the book entertaining.

     This book can easily be used in the classroom with students of all ages.  Younger students will enjoy the storyline and it would be educational for them to retell the story verbally or in written form.  Older students could fill in the word bubbles which currently have alien language.  What would they be saying if they spoke English?  Students would have fun creating the dialogue of the intelligent species.

     It is fascinating for me to find out the Caldecott winning books each year.  Some of the winners I agree wholeheartedly with, and others I am shocked that they would be chosen.  Either way, it is exciting to see the choices and view new publications to use with my class.  Enjoy reading these great new stories!

Erica :)