Exclamation Mark – Personification

This week, I’m reading Exclamation Mark by Amy Rosenthal, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld.

We talked briefly about personification, where human qualities are given to animals or objects.

Each week I have different bookmarks.  This week the bookmark was from Tom Lichtenheld’s website, printed on yellow paper, of course.

Extension Activities:

1. Book Trailer – Exclamation Mark
2. Book Reading – Exclamation Mark  
3. Punctuation Game – Pin board
4. Tom Lichtenheld – Exclamation Mark
5. Resource Guide from California Young Reader Medal
6. Reader’s Theater Script from California Young Reader Medal

 

Spring into a Good Book

In celebration of Spring which begins officially this week,  I decorated the library bulletin board with a Spring into a Good Book banner and then used book covers to brighten it up.

During library program for grades 1-2, I am reading “Eat Like a Bear” by April Pulley Sayre and illustrated by Steve Jenkins. Before reading we talked about ways that we know it is Spring (longer days, flowers starting to pop up, animals that hibernate start to wake up).  As I was reading, I pointed out that the book is full of action words.  We talked briefly about verbs.

Extension Activities :

1) Students may make a collage by drawing an outline and then gluing scraps of brown construction paper or paper grocery bags.

2) Check out Ben Kilham’s slide show of bears eating different foods and other activities

Mo Williems

This week I read two of Mo Williems books ” That is Not a Good Idea” and “A Big Guy Took My Ball”.  I just attended Dr. Peggy Sharp’s “What’s New in Children’s Literature” where she featured the first book.  She recommended using a document camera when reading this story, since it looks like a silent movie and showing it one page at a time helps focus on the pictures and the text separately.  For a change of pace,  I decided to try it.  It really did work out great and the students seemed to enjoy it!

I read “A Big Guy Took My Ball” as a regular read aloud. I got so into the book that  afterwards one of the students said that he thought you weren’t suppose to yell in the library. ..  but the words were LARGE,  in bold and with an exclamation point!  What was I suppose to do?  So of course, I told them, if it was part of the story, it was okay.   After the story, I talked briefly about point of view.  This book is great for the concepts of size as well.

As an extension activity (after they check out their library books), I had them go to the author’s website.  I put it on the school’s  library website under their grade.  That way they can access the library website at home as well as school.  There is a video trailer for his book “That is Not a Good Idea”  under Visit GoMO.

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown

This week I am reading Mr. Tiger Goes Wild to my first and second graders.  Mr. Tiger is tired of being proper and decides to go a little wild.  The humor is based on the fact that he is actually a wild animal, doing the things he does is quite normal.  Since he is portrayed like a human, however, his friends think he is quite scandalous.  On the back, there is a quote ” There is a time and a place for everything, even to be wild.”  We talked about when and where the appropriate time and place to act wild is at school.  In the classroom?  In the library?  At recess.

Extension Activities –  Check out Peter Brown’s activity kit . Watch Peter Brown’s video about creating this book.

Book Fair

This week we had our book fair.  By the time we set up all the tables, open the cases and pull up the sliding displays, you can’t even tell that we are set up in the library.

By mid week we always seem to run out of several of the titles that were featured in the preview video.  Fortunately, my Special Order board works out well.  As I run out of items, I add them to the board along with order slips with title, item # and price.  Students simply fill out their name and teachers name and pay for it at the cashier.  It makes ordering easy and when the books come in, I simply use them like bookmarks and put the books in the teachers’ mailboxes.