Poetry Friday in the Classroom

Today my class celebrated their first Poetry Friday!  As a part of their reader’s binder, they are responsible for choosing one poem a month and writing a paragraph explaining why they chose the poem. The paragraph may include connections to the poem, favorite lines, specific likes and dislikes, or almost anything else. The [...]

November Carnival of Children’s Literature

Be sure to head on over to MotherReader- she has put together a fantastic Carnival of Children’s Literature this month!  Check out the tips for parents, readers, writers, reviewers, bloggers, teachers, and librarians.  Be sure to head over when you have time…….it’s a lot of information and you will want to be able to soak it all [...]

Writer’s Notebook Wednesday

Today, while outside for a fire drill, I noticed that it is almost December. It is cold.  Frigid, almost.  Considering that the temperature on Thanksgiving was a balmy 65 degrees, today’s high of 40 degrees seems practically Arctic.  I notice the red noses on my students and the I’m-freezing-cold-can-we-please-go-in-now(whyisthistakingsolong) hoppity-dance they are doing to keep warm. [...]

Tuck Everlasting….continued

In class, we have been doing a close reading of “Tuck Everlasting” for the last few days.  We re-read the Prologue and Chapter 1, annotating when necessary.  It is so amazing to hear my students say, “Wow!  I didn’t even realize that circle had meaning the first time I read it!”  I think they are [...]

Oooooh, a celebrity?

Well, at least I am not D-list!  Though, I do love Kathy Griffin, so “life on the D-list” wouldn’t be half bad.  ;) Keep an eye out…..a review is coming in the next couple of days- a non-fiction review, at that! 

ARC of Diary of a Wimpy Kid:Rodrick Rules

A general call out there to the kidlitosphere…..does anyone know how I can get my hands on an ARC of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules?  My kids are dying to read it and to be honest, so am I!!  

Reluctant Readers

Thanks to Jen’s Sunday Round-up, I found out that Professor Nana has slides from various NCTE sessions on her blog.  As I have spent the last few day lamenting the fact that I couldn’t attend NCTE, this is a great find!  Be sure to scroll through, as the slides are posted on various entries.   
One of my favorite [...]

Writing About Reading….Continued

I’ve spent the majority of the day working on my next unit of study for reading.  I am using Calkins’ Literary Essays unit of study in writing as the basis for my reading unit.  I had forgotten just how long it takes to write mini-lessons.  I’m on my fourth lesson and about 3 hours have [...]

Books I Have Recently Added to My Wishlist

Here are the most recent additions to my Amazon Wishlist, thanks to reading reviews around the Kidlitosphere!
Squiggles pb: A Really Giant Drawing and Painting Book by Taro Gomi-  Thanks to a review by Mary Lee over at  A Year of Reading, I am dying to get my hands on this book.  I would love to do something [...]

Carnival of Children’s Literature

Come on, come all!  The Carnival of Children’s Literature deadline has been extended for this month’s edition!  That’s right, you have a few more days to get that post submitted.  The new deadline is Tuesday, November 27th by 9:00 a.m. EST. MotherReader is hosting the carnival this month and this is what she is looking for:
 I’ve decided to [...]