Right click on this glog and choose “fullscreen” from the menu. Once you are in fullscreen mode, click and play. There is a video, a song, and a welcome message from me, as well as some links to check out. Have fun!
I was so thrilled to see you all at orientation yesterday! What fun to see so many familiar faces, many of you much tanner and taller than before! And, I’m so excited to get to know our new friends. Every single parent and student that I met yesterday left a mark in my mind as a kind and happy person that will bring something wonderful to our classroom family this year. Today, as I make final plans for our first week of school together, I feel like the luckiest teacher around! (Sorry, Miss P. But, I get to teach them READING AND WRITING!!!)
Many of you came in and asked me for a copy of the Battle of the Books list. I apologize for not having those available to hand out yesterday. Below, please find a list of hotlinks to Amazon for those of you who might be like me, ordering as much as you can online to save another trip to the store! Additionally, for those of you who like hard copies, please click here for a printer friendly list you can carry with you. I will also send home a hard copy of this list to all students during the first week of school.
The Puzzling World of Winston Breen by Eric Berlin
Middle of Somewhere by J. B. Cheaney
The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies
The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School by Candace Fleming
Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything In It by Sundee T. Frazier
Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke
Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat by Lynne Jonell
Me and the Pumpkin Queen by Marlane Kennedy
Highway Cats by Janet Taylor Lisle
Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury
Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
For those of you who are new to Chets Creek this year, you might be wondering about the Battle of the Books. This is an optional contest for all 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. The students spend the much of the year reading as many of the above “Battle Books” they can. After a while into the year, the students will be invited to begin visiting the media center before school to take short comprehension quizzes each book they read. Students receive small prizes when they pass these quizzes. In the spring, all students who have read three of more Battle books are eligible to take a qualifying test on all 15 books. The highest scorers on this test will be organized into teams of four. These teams will compete in a brain bowl style tournament to determine the champion team amongst all the 3rd-5th graders at Chets Creek. Be on the lookout for more information to come about this exciting Chets Creek tradition!
But, why just hear about it from me? We have a number of former participants in our own classes! So, readers, what do you think one of our new friends to Chets Creek needs to know about the Battle of the Books? What thoughts would you like to share with our new friends? (Hint: Parents, if you’re reading this – run go get your child! It’s their turn now!)
Leave a comment about the Battle of the Books. It can be anything!!! (Remember not to include your last name.)
Hey there, friends! Long time no see!
I know it’s ONLY nearing the end of July (gasp!!!), and you have a WHOOOOLE month to go before you meet me back at the Creek for more reading and writing fun, but I’ve been wondering…
I just finished a great book, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. 
It’s about a woman who spends a year of her life traveling alone between Italy, India, and Indonesia. While I don’t think it’s a book that YOU would enjoy, perhaps your mother or another adult you know might be interested in reading it. I really liked it!
My book looked basically like this picture when I first bought it, but after days of traveling EVERYWHERE with me – including the nail salon, doctor’s offices, the backyard (while the girls played in the sprinklers), the gym, the beach, and the pool – it isn’t looking so good anymore. In fact, it’s kind of pitiful looking. I know, I know…I didn’t follow the rules we’ve talked about when it comes to how to take care of books. But, you know what? When the book belongs to YOU, this is going to happen on occasion. (Especially to summer books, which run an especially high risk of being accidentally dropped in a pool or smooshed up against a wet swimsuit as you lounge in the sun, happily reading!)
Readers, it was great. I woke up in the middle of the night on vacation and couldn’t sleep. I picked up my book and had a marathon reading session (just like the ones we’ve talked about), during which I CONSCIOUSLY DECIDED that I wouldn’t turn out the light again until I had FINISHED THAT BOOK! And, despite sleepy eyelids when I had a few chapters to go, I kept reading. When I finally finished the book, I had that great feeling we’ve shared before: in part, I was satisfied the because there was a great, happy ending, and, in part, I was VERY sad the book was over. I reluctantly turned out the light and went to sleep with a smile on my face, thinking of the book and imagining the ending over and over again.
So, I want to hear from YOU! WHAT have you been reading? WHERE have you been reading? Would you recommend it to other readers? Have you had any marathon reading sessions lately? What book have YOU read this summer that you just couldn’t put down? I can’t wait to hear all about your own summer reading – one of my favorite parts of summer!
Pssst! For those of you who want to get a jumpstart on your Battle of the Books reading for next year – be my guest! Here’s the site where you can find next year’s list, and here’s a printable version of the list ready for you to keep!
I hope you enjoyed our first installment, today, of The Homework Machine, by Dan Gutman. I chose that book as our first chapter book to share together this year for a number of reasons. First, it is a book from the Battle of the Books list, and I wanted to “jumpstart” your reading for that fun event. Second, I thought it sounded fun and appropriate for the beginning of a school year — a book about homework. (We’re beginning our homework rituals next week!) Third, I love the style of the book!
Isn’t it different to read a book written from the perspective of so many different characters? I read a few books this summer that were written this way. One thing I noticed about this style of writing is that I really had to pay attention! There was so much more to juggle in my mind! I found myself flipping back in the book to reread sections, confirm details I thought perhaps I had forgotten or misread, and reading slower at times. If I wasn’t careful, the story could start spiraling out of control and I would be left in the dust, wondering what happened and how I got so lost!
Tonight I was thinking about this story. I received a couple of comments to a post from a classmate of ours, and started thinking about blogs as a conversation. It’s a lot of fun for me to sit down and compose a little post, or article, for you and your families to read at home. I feel like I’m spending time with you when I do this! However, it is even MORE fun to get comments from you and your family! That’s when this site becomes a place that we can get together!
Think back to our book we’re sharing. So far we’ve heard a lot about Brenton, the “nerdy” character that doesn’t even bother to try to be cool. We’ve heard from Judy, the stuck-up, overachiever who hopes to be a lawyer someday. We’ve heard from Kelsey, who refers to herself as “stupid” and admits to copying off of Bernard’s papers. And then there’s Sam, the “cool guy”. He seems very proud of his “bad boy” image. They’ve all been talking about the same event, but from their own perspective. They’ve all explained to us that they’ve been called to the police station to “make a statement” in private. About exactly what, we still do not know.
I thought — Our blog could be a fun way to try this style of writing out! We could all add comments to a post sharing OUR OWN perspective of an event! Anyone reading our blog would live the same type of reading experience as we are currently reading in our book! Wouldn’t that be neat?
Tomorrow, let’s talk about this. Let’s come up with a plan and an idea for an event. If you have any ideas — share them with us here! This will be great!
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