Benifits of Reading Aloud

This week I am reading two books...one for fun and one for learning.

Curse you my unquenchible search for knowledge!

I actually think I inherited this from my dad.  I used to find him at the kitchen table pouring over my calculus book when I was in high school.  I couldn't believe that a grown person would actually do that for fun...now I get it.

Book 1

Let's begin with the fun book...Nim's Island by Wendy Orr.

 

 

I am currently reading this book with a small group of fifth grade girls.  I set the stage by reading them chapters 1 and 2 last week and I was totally hooked. (And I am pretty sure they were too!)  I admire the spirit and spunk of this young girl being raised on a magnificant island by just her dad. But don't worry...they have a satellite dish so they are not with out cell phones, a solar panel, a laptop and flashlights.

The girls immediately asked me if I had seen the movie, hopefully we can watch it together when we finish!

To sum it all up, great book! 

Book 2

Now, onto the learning side of today's post...

I am currently on chapter 5 of The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease (sixth edition).

This book has been so eye opening I actually got out my highlighter and wrote in my book!  I haven't done that in about 12 years  since college!  It is so packed full of amazing data and snipits of people from real life that I have been continuously running to my family and co-workers with the "you will never guess what I just learned from this book" comments.  (Sorry guys...I love to share!)

I would recommend this book to all parents, teachers and anyone else who is responsible for a child's learning. 

I am proposing that we do a book study...but I am going to need a few volunteers to read this book along with me.  I know, we are all busy, but believe me, you don't want to miss out on what this book has to offer.  So, please leave a comment below if you would like to participate and head right out to your local bookstore and pick up a copy.  I ordered mine from Amazon.com and it has been worth every cent! Follow the link below if you want to order yours!

Can't wait to read with you! 

More about books!

Wow, what a busy week, and it looks like this one will not be any easier!

This week is family reading night and I cannot wait!  We have a lot of fun family things planned from crafts to games, stories and even a live reptile!  This is my first time helping and I can't wait to see it all come together.  I have been fortunate to work with some super ladies on this project and I know it will be a huge success!

What have I been working on this week?

To go along with my Parts of a Book Pack, I have just finished up my Fiction and Nonfiction Pack! (Please hold all applause until the end of the show!!!)

(So pumped that I got the title to show up this time...just goes to show you that this teacher is still learning!  Sorry kids, it never stops!)






I you want to see this pack in my teachers pay teachers store click here!

                                                   Fiction and Nonfiction Books Pack



Here is a sample of the 36 pages that are included in this pack!

Due to scheduling conflicts last week, I didn't get to redeliver my parts of the book lesson.  I did make copies and gave it to my kindergaten teacher friends, I will let you know what they think.  I took it as a good sign when the school librarian saw me making copies and asked to have one too!

Hopefully I will get to deliver this lesson myself this week, if so, I will be sure to let you know how it goes!

I am getting better at this blog thing(did you notice my cool tile picture thing?!?!), next weeks goals....photos and a Wednesday post. Stay tuned.

Have an excellent week and don't forget to share a book with someone you care about!

Let the fun begin!

Well, it looks like I am ready to take my first blogging baby steps!  I have been talking about it with my friends and family for a while now so here we go.

Welcome!

Parts of a Book Lesson

This week I was given the opportunity to go back into a kindergartn classroom and teach a lesson! (Squeal!) Not only was I so excited to go back into the classroom, but I felt like I had put together a great lesson with what I thought was a "minor" assessment at the end.  The kinders did a great job listening and participating in the lesson, but when it came time for them to show me what they had learned, things started to get a little messy, literally, there was cutting and gluing involved!

After my teacher friend returned to her room, she helped me get everyone's labels in the right place.  Boy was I embarrassed! We decided the two major hang ups were the small labels and their inability to read the words. (My lesson was all orally presented!) Not being the kind of person to accept defeat, I asked my teacher friend if I could come back next week and try it again...she accepted!

So, on my commute my wheels were turning (on my van and in my brain!), and I decided I needed to turn this into a song.  My previous classes could remember things a lot better if we sang them.

Without further ado, I would like to present my newest TPT product...
Parts of a Book Pack-CCSS-Aligned

 

                                   (not sure why I can't get the title to load...bummer!)

 

I promise to return soon with pictures and commentary about how this lesson goes...wish me luck!

Have you ever had a lesson not go as well as you thought it should?  Hopefully I am not alone on this one!