A Year in Reading

This year, I've read a lot of really great books. I've read books ranging from YA to picture books. My favorite books are still middle grade fiction but I've enjoyed dabbling in nonfiction picture and reading more picture books this year (thanks to #classroombookaday) then ever before. I've also enjoyed my fair share of audiobooks, Patina by Jason Reynolds was a particular favorite audiobook of the year. My goal this year was to read 100 total books, although I experienced a few slumps this year I'm on pace to finish out the year at around 120 books.

I've tried to pick my favorite books of 2017, although I feel like I'm forgetting a few great titles. Each of these stories are filled with characters and themes that I will bring with me into 2018 and beyond. Such a great year in #KidLit. This year's Mock Newbery Book Club and #Classroombookaday have proven that investing in books and reading, is the best investment any teacher can make. Can't wait to see what the awards season has in store -- but all these books are winners in my classroom.

 What have been your favorite reads of 2017? 

Let's Get Cookin'

Each year brings different readers into my classroom. This year my students are into practical nonfiction - they want to make, take, and do. They want to learn how to code and beat various tasks on Mine Craft. They are also loving DIY and crafting books -- especially cookbooks. I have several students that just can't get enough cookbooks. Several students have even created food or recipe related blogs on Kid Blog.

Before, jumping down the book buying rabbit hole, I gave my students a short Google Form asking what they thought my library needed. Students had the option to respond by author, genre, or title. And they could make as many suggestions as they wanted. I told them I may not be able to buy all their suggestions but would find ways to make sure our classroom library was meeting our needs. After the survey, I noticed that many students were requesting cookbooks. I didn't have single cookbook in my classroom library and to make matters worse, the school library's cookbooks looked dated and a pretty "elementary" for some of my savvy young chefs. So, I set out to find a few great cookbooks for upper elementary readers!

After shopping around and asking for suggestions on social media, I found several great looking cookbooks. Many "felt" like cookbooks and had excellent photographs of foods and steps. The Kid Chef cookbooks also have sidebars with common pit-falls and solutions. Lots of great culinary vocabulary and techniques are covered each of these books as well.

Be Budget Wise: Many of these books are available on Amazon as well as cheaper online solutions like Thriftbooks and Book Outlet. Shop around as the price of a good cookbook (even for kids) can be pricey!

Here are a few of my students' favorites: 
Clicking each image will take you to the Amazon page for each book. 

How you do build your library cater to your students' needs?
What cooking essentials am I still missing in our classroom?

Read This ... Then That!

If you're like me, you are always looking for the next book to read or recommend that is similiar to a book you were head-over-heels for!  Book-hangovers are the worst! And the cure? Find another amazing title! Kids feel this, too! I have students ask all the time for books that are similiar  in concept or style to other favorite books and authors. I try and keep a list of books and authors that kids may like if they've found a favorite read - however, as I read more, it's impossible to keep up. Therefore, it's mostly in my head... I'm hoping to share my thoughts and turn this into a regular (monthly, perhaps?) series on the blog. For this first installment, I decided to pick "that" books that have been or will be released in 2016/2017. I know I always dread the, "I read that in 4th grade." So, hopefully, these books will be brand sparkly new to your students as they look for their next amazing read!

Why?

These books are an ideal pairing! If students loved the friendship of Jess and Leslie, then they'll fall in love with Annie and California. In each book, the characters, take to the woods together, creating a place all their own. Annie and California set their sights on solving a family mystery that could help heal old wounds. Both books also deal with loss and how family can bring you strength during tough times. Hopefully, you're students' hearts will swing sideways for this natural match-up!

Why?

Historical fiction duo that will take you back in time! After an integrated Civil Rights Unit, my students couldn't get enough historical fiction. Many students adored the book Making Friends with Billy Wong which centered on an unlikely friendship between Azalea and Billy. If students loved the 1960's time period and unlikely friendship, then they'll be ready to meet Alice and Miss Millie down in Rainbow, Georgia. Like Azalea, Alice is not happy about spending the summer away from home with her grandma. And when she learns she is moving to Rainbow, Alice can only think about her home back in Columbus, Ohio. However, soon Alice finds some unlikely friends in Georgia and begins to think that maybe a fresh start isn't so bad after all. Walking with Miss Millie will be released on July 4, 2017! Preorder your copy(s) now! 

Why?

If students loved the dynamic and often conflicted character of Thyme, then students will instantly connect with the vibrant and often the messy life of Emily Murphy. These two books tackle tough family issues! Both books center around two strong female main characters that are ready to make a plan to change their lives! However, life seems to get in the way! Both girls try to balance out their seemingly small problems to larger family issues. They learn however that their problems and feelings matter, too. Both authors address tough issues (cancer and anorexia) with grace and poise while offering readers "real truths" about friends, family, and life.  Things that Surprise You will be released on August 22nd! Make sure you have a copy or two for your classroom library! 

Why?

If students loved the ballpark magic in The Distance to Home, then they are sure to love the magic and mystery of Ridge Creek, Virginia. Like Quinnen in The Distance to Home, Derby Christmas Clark from A Rambler Steals Home, is also missing a loved one. The stadium provides a welcome distraction as both girls learn to move on and face their problems. From hot dogs to turtle races, these books capture summertime at the ballpark flawlessly. Yet, these stories are more than your average "sports" story. Both authors craft a compelling story that will keep readers invested and engaged in the lives of the people and players involved with minor league baseball. Themes of hope, home, and family will have Quinnen and Derby sliding into your readers' hearts.

Why?

If students loved the magic and mystery in Crenshaw, then they will love reading about a magical eclipse in Moon Shadow. Both books offer realistic stories with hints of fantasy and magic sprinkled throughout. Moon Shadow also includes "dark" chapters throughout written by a mysterious presence. In each novel, characters must come to terms with themselves before taking on their other half. These books do a fantastic job of including realistic characters that have real life problems such as struggling with poverty and the separation of parents. Themes surrounding friendship, secrets, and finding your true self are abundant in both these stellar reads! The lasting lines in each book will be sure to leave an imprint on your readers' lives.

Click any of the images to be taken to Amazon's page for each "That" book.

Do you have a suggestion for a Read This & Then That mash-up?
Comment below with some ideas or topics you'd like to see in the future!

Celebrating Our Reading

As the end of the year starts to feel more real, it's important to stop and celebrate all the good that's happened in the year. I know it can be hard with parties and stir crazy students, but it feels amazing to stop and reflect on all the great things happening that just feel routine at this point.

Something, really important in my room is celebrating our reading successes. The initial idea came from Donalyn Miller's Reading in the Wild. We didn't compare goals because we're all different readers. For some a HUGE reading success was reading 10 books this year, for others it was reading 79, 87 or even 104 books.  We counted any books they wanted. Some students included picture books as well as novels - other kids wanted their count to be strictly novels. I told them that all reading is valuable and worth celebrating - so we did just that.

We took 20 minutes of class time and made our awards (I made one too! I read 61 books this school year) and then we went outside to capture this memory! If I've done my math correctly, we've read over 2,000 books this year! The best part for me is that you can't pick out my students that told me they were non-readers at the beginning of the year - because they are all readers now. Thanks impart to a growing classroom library, Mock Newbery book club and some of my at-times-relentless-crazy book loving nature.

I'll print these as 8x10s and hang them in my classroom next year. I really wish I had started this tradition 11 years earlier. Hopefully, it will become a new tradition of readers celebrating and looking up to other readers. We also had sixth very dedicated readers complete the 40 Book Challenge and step outside their reading comfort zones this year. #BucketFilled

We also wrote Farewell Letters today. Each student wrote a reflection to his/her homeroom teacher. They could reflect on the year, their favorites/not so favorites, and even share their summer plans. These letters were truly heartfelt and amidst the crazy of our party today, it made me realize just how much I'll miss this group of students.

#IMWAYR

It's Monday! What are you Reading?

I've been feeling the reading slump lately. I currently don't even have an audiobook which is very uncommon for me. I've been listening to A LOT of podcasts and trying to get myself organized during this end of the year push. Between writing a grant application and trying to get a lists of materials ready for Mock Newbery, I think I'm just feeling restless. Sometimes, you just need the right book at the right time. I think it's important to share these natural breaks in reading with our students. If you're not feeling it - you're not feeling it. It happens even to the most dedicated of readers.

If you enjoyed, The Distance to Home, you'll definitely want to check out Jenn Bishop's newest novel, 14 Hollow Road. This book centers around Maddie, who is trying to find her place as a soon to be seventh grader. She's a very real character that many girls will be identify with as she struggles with friendships and her first crush. To complicate matters, a tornado has hit Maddie's hometown and she's focused to deal with life at a neighbors and the disappearance of her beloved dog, Hank. As someone who experienced a tornado my freshmen year of high school, Maddie's experience brought back memories of seeing the devastation and having so many friends displaced for months. Look for Jenn's book out June 13th!

If you haven't seen this book on social media, you may need to reconsider who you follow! Seriously, this book has been blowing up on Instagram and Twitter. So, when Target had this title on Cartwheel - I was there! One of my absolute favorite picture books of the year! You'll be laughing as Rock, Paper, and Scissors do battle against household objects including dinosaur shaped nuggets! Laugh out loud funny and the perfect read aloud for ANY day!

Josh Funk is a picture book genius! I was singing this book aloud as I read it at home to myself before taking it into my fifth graders. From swabbing the deck to searching for buried treasure it's a pirasaurs life on the high seas. This book is filled with wonderful rhythms that'll make you want to sing this book aloud! Lots of fun word plays make this a great addition to any upper elementary classroom. We're Pirasaurs, Pirasaurs with spiky tails we'll raise the sails and we are never bored! Google the trailer, you'll have the song in your head all day! If you don't know much about Josh or Pirasaurs check out the {Book Trailer} and it's guaranteed to be the best minute of your day!

I could absolutely NOT put The Children of Exile down! #Unputdownable So, needless to say, I was very excited to get to read an ARC of sequel, The Children of Refuge. Refuge follows Edwy's journey from after he and Rosi split up in the woods. I'm enjoying the difference in perspective and voice and it really showcases Haddix's craft as an author. I'm hoping to settle into this book and give it the time it deserves this upcoming week! So far, the cliffhangers are on point! Haddix is the queen of the cliffhanger! Look for The Children of Refuge out September 12th! 

Grand Slam Books!

If you're from Cincinnati, then you know that Opening Day is a true holiday! Even though, I had to go into work, students and teachers alike were decked out in their Reds gear to help celebrate Opening Day. There is even an extensive parade - baseball is a BIG deal. Whether you're from Cincinnati or not, here's a few grand slams that middle grade readers may enjoy! I'll confess that I'm not a big reader of sports books, but I try and keep up with new books and authors since they hook so many readers! Bust out those peanuts and Cracker Jacks and let's "Play Ball!"

Running Favorites in Fifth

The Distance to Home by Jenn Bishop

Skinny Bones by Barbara Park

Heat by Mike Lupica

Jackie and Me by Dan Gutman

Sluggers Series by Loren Long & Phil Bildner

Wild Pitch Sports Illustrated for Kids Graphic Novel

Sports of All Sorts

The Crossover & Booked by Kwame Alexander

STAT: Standing Tall and Talented series by Amar'e Stoudemire

Rip and Red series by Phil Bildner

Guys Read: The Sports Pages

Kid Owner by Tim Green

Chickens Don't Skate by Gordon Korman


What sport novels are all-stars in your classroom?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It's Monday and I've actually been in a good reading groove this week. It also helps when you're reading some amazing books! Here are the books, I've been reading this past week! 

Picture Books

Until recently, I did not have any Jason Chin books in my library. Gasp! What? I know. He's so talented and I've admired his books for a while. So, when I saw Amazon list Gravity for $6.99. I knew I had to pick up Gravity and Grand Canyon. Both books have stellar pictures. I was hoping for a little more "story" or information in Gravity but I loved all the cool science facts about gravity at the end of the book. I know my fifth graders, who are currently studying space, will snatch this book up instantly tomorrow.

I was, however, absolutely blown away by Grand Canyon. I wasn't sure if a picture book could do the Grand Canyon justice and Jason Chin proved me wrong. The images are grand and breath-taking plus it is loaded, loaded, loaded with facts! I learned so much about fossils and rock formations thanks to Jason's handy illustrations and hidden cutaways. This book is worth every penny especially if you also teach Social Studies or regions of the country. I highly recommend Grand Canyon for upper elementary classroom libraries.

Middle Grade

I love Augusta Scattergood's historical fiction. Her books are so accessible to kids and are perfect for kids that may think they "don't like" historical fiction. Currently, many of my students are reading Making Friends with Billy Wong and Glory Be in our historical fiction book clubs. Because they've loved those stories so much, I picked up another novel by Augusta Scattergood. I recently finished the audiobook of The Way to Stay in Destiny and was once again impressed by Scattergood's talent at weaving in believable and interesting characters into historical time periods. From a local tomboy who rather play softball than dance to a young boy who sneaks down to play the piano, this book does a great job at showing students that there are no such things as boy or girl hobbies. Students do not need a lot of historical background before reading which is great for students that may want to do additional research on this time period. I'd recommend for grades 4 and up.

I'm now currently reading See You in the Cosmos as a potential #MockNewbery list. It has shown up here and there on Twitter and Travis Jonker featured it as a potential 2018 Newbery on 100 Scope Notes. With such endorsement, I bought a copy and I'm giving it a shot. I don't know much about science (history or science) and I'm hoping to learn a little more as I get to know Alex better through his transmissions. So far, I'm not sure I'm connecting with Alex. I'm hoping to connect on a deeper level more emotional level as he continues to read his transmissions on the golden iPod, much like Carl Sagan's golden record. This book has definitely forced me to do a little extra outside research on Carl Sagan as he's clearly a hero and idol of Alex, so much so he's named his dog Carl Sagan.

Young Adult

How could one not read, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas after all the buzz on Twitter and social media. I ordered a copy on Amazon and by page 27, I knew I couldn't put it down. It took me less than three days to finish from cover to cover. The writing is exceptional. Can we call the Printz award, now? It's going to win. It's that good. It's not a fluke that's the number one on the New York Times' Young Adult Hardcover list. It will leave you speechless and laughing out loud all within a few paragraphs. The emotion, honesty, and rawness of the book are powerful. Plus, the questions Star asks are ones that are relevant to our students today. Angie Thomas has perfectly captured the imperfectness of high school, relationships, and family. I highly recommend this book to all teachers & readers grades 9 and up.

Technology Thursday: Flipgrid

A little background: Our school set up an optional book club for The Innovator's Mindset. And of course, at the word book club, I was there!  At meetings we discuss the book for about 15 minute and then have another 20-30 minutes to learn about innovative ideas in teaching. At our last meeting, we were able to get some ideas about some cool websites, etc. students could use to get in some "tech" time but also give our students more voice in the classroom. During this session, we were introduced to Flipgrid and the basics of how it worked. It seemed pretty awesome but I didn't have a lot of time to investigate.

Thankfully, I work with a lot of fantastic risk takers! My wingmate and fellow 5th grade teacher, Miss Burlew, got it set up and tested it out with her class. Then she shared the videos! I was so amazed with what students had to say about their book club novels in 1 minute and 30 seconds or less! I knew I had to get my Flipgrid account set up ASAP! Setting up the account is SUPER easy and literally took less than 10 minutes -- maybe closer to 20 if you want a cool customer header like me.

I can then post my personalized link to my Google classroom or my Schoology page for my students to access. Students click the link and they are are instantly part of my class! So easily. There is an option to add a class password but since I'm not sharing my link, I currently don't see a need to add one more password to my fifth graders' lives.

This week, instead of having students write out a reading response, I'm going to have them answer some of the questions using Flipgrid! Language Arts Teachers, this also helps meet and document those speaking and listening standards!

What is Flipgrid?

It's a website that allows students to record short videos in response to a question or topic. It reminds of a video version of Padlet in the way it looks and is set up. It's also super user friendly and there is a free version (that's not a trial) for teachers to use.

Currently, I'm testing out the free version, although I think the upgrade may be worth it to use the entire school year. Students easily click the link of the topic they want to respond too and click a big green plus sign and start recording! It's so easily! It counts them down and shows them how much time they have left on their video. If they like it, they can publish it to the Flipgrid board - if they don't like it, they can redo it as many times as they need too! Then students can like and watch each other's videos - I disabled sharing and since I don't have the upgraded account students can't leave comments and I can't leave feedback.

The set up is so teacher friendly! 

Here's what my page looks like when my students go to my Flipgrid website. The homepage is a hub of all the topics/questions the teacher has posted for students to answer. Currently, I only have two topics.

The questions are below. There is a word limit so directions and questions need to be creative. I also gave my student a handout with the questions restated so that they could write a quite script. I also noticed I had left out the word "book" from Book Club so I had to do some creative editing! Mistakes happen and editing is also easy peasy! 

When students are ready to reply to a topic they click the big green plus sign and they're ready to go! It'll give them a 3-2-1 countdown and set 1 minute and 30 seconds on the clock. If you pay for the upgrade you can adjust the time limits you give your students. So far, 1 minute and 30 seconds has been plenty of time for this quick reading response.

Teachers see the number of responses, time spent recording, topics created, and an activity line graph. Pretty cool data when you log in. It really gives me a snapshot of who's been online now that students are starting to post their reading response videos.

I'm working on a feedback form so that students can watch others' videos and give some feedback to each other. I'm hoping this will also help give my students some more practice thinking and discussing their book club novels. Flipgrid is an easy (and free) way to empower your students and let them share their thinking with the class!

How do you honor #studentvoice in your classroom?