Read-a-Thon Closing Comments

It was touch and go for a while there, but I finished my third book, Out of the Dust at 11:51 p.m.   I had wanted to finish before midnight, I made it with a whopping 9 minutes to spare!

What a great experience this Read-a-Thon has been!   I enjoyed each book, and I had fun following everyone's progress on Twitter.  Thanks to #bookblogchat, my TBR pile is now the size of Chimney Rock. 

Besides book recommendations, another perk has been discovering some cool new blogs.  In addition to Wallace's Unputdownables (the creative force behind this weekend's event) I'm loving Carin's A Little Bookish, Reese's Bibliophile Girl, and Michelle's The True Book Addict.  You all have inspired me to be a better blogger!

With the three books I've read this weekend, my summer reading challenge (more about that in my next post) stands at 75 books.  

Thanks again to Unputdownables for hosting this event, and to Donalyn for sharing it with me.

48 Hour Read-a-Thon

This weekend I am participating in a 48 hour Read-a-Thon.  This event is being hosted by the Unputdownables blog.   I hope to finish  The Watson's Go to Birmingham,  Al Capone Shines My Shoes, and Out of the Dust.    Mmmm, I guess I'm in the mood for historical fiction!

Panoramas

At jimmoulton.org, educators can find a wealth of technology resources.  As I was perusing the list, I came across panoramas.dk.   There are hundreds of pictures on panoramas.dk to choose from, and each provides a stunning 360 experience.  I clicked on New Year in Sydney and was absolutely amazed.    Next year I might try using this site with students.  I'm thinking I'll show part of the picture and have students do a "See Think Wonder." 

4 Square Brain Bender

Here are two HAL students trying to figure out this Brain Bender. Toothpicks are used to create 2 squares on top and 3 squares on the bottom. Next, moving only two toothpicks, students try to make the original 5 squares into 4 squares. Can you do it?

Journey North for Kids

Seasonal change is all around us. Children see it in the length of a day, in the appearance of a flower, in the flight of a butterfly. Journey North is a free internet-based program that explores the interrelated aspects of seasonal change. Classes can participate in projects, and by visiting the kids page, students can find engaging stories, photos, videos, and slide shows from the natural world. This great resource will build observation skills, inspire scientific thinking, and create fertile ground for discussions and new questions!

Spelling Songs

One of my favorite ways to differentiate spelling is by having students sing their spelling words.  Three, four, five, six, and seven letter words can easily be sung to well-known songs.   Here are some students spelling the word cool to the tune of  "10 Little Piggies."



The classic "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" can be used to practice a five letter word like world.


Here are the songs I have used:

3 letters:  Three Blind Mice
4 letters:  10 Little Piggies
5 letters:  Row, Row, Row Your Boat
6 letters:  Happy Birthday to You
7 letters:  Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

This activity gets students up and out of their seats and gets their brains working!  It is especially successful with your students who are music smart.

Book in an Hour

It's spring cleaning time, and I've been busy organizing, filing, and recycling all kinds of papers.  The best part of this horrible chore is discovering a lesson or idea that you once loved but had forgotten.

Buried in a pile of papers, I found a packet from a conference titled, "Intriguing, Inspiring, and Innovative Ideas to Make a Difference in Your Reading Classroom by Dr. Deb Wellman and Dr. Madeline Kovarik. As I flicked through the pages, the words "Book in an Hour" jumped out at me.  When I was still in fourth grade, I remember trying this strategy with the book Night of the Twisters by Ivy Ruckman. 

Book in an Hour goes something like this:   Pairs of students choose or are assigned a chapter from the book.  No one gets to read the first chapter or last chapter.  When they are finished reading, partners write down the "gist" of the chapter.  They also write down questions they have about previous chapters and questions they have about future chapers. 

When students are finished reading and writing, the class comes back together.  The first chaper is read aloud by the teacher.  The students then take turns sharing the information and questions from their chapters.  As their peers are sharing,  students have most of their questions answered.   The last chapter is then read aloud.  Any remaining questions or thoughts are discussed. 

Like I said, it had been awhile since I used Book in an Hour, but I thought it might be a good differentiated activity to suggest to teachers.   I was excited to be invited into a fourth grade room to "try it out." 

Unfortunately, it didn't go so well.  The lesson wasn't a total flop, but it was close.   After debriefing with the teacher and reflecting on my own, I madesome changes (more modeling, more practice, shorter book) then tried it again in another fourth grade classroom using the book Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner.   I'm happy to report that this time it went much better.   I was pleased with the inferences and questions that the students generated.   Best of all, students were engaged in an authentic task that resulted in meaningful discussion and a wonderful shared reading experience.  

So, "Book in an Hour" turned into "Book in a Couple of Days", but it was time well spent.  Wish spring cleaning was half as fun.