We also read from Out of Wonder. Kwame ALexander along with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth wrote original poetry celebrating twenty poets "from around the world and across centuries."
This week we celebrated National Poetry Month and Earth Day by reading from two new poetry books by Kwame Alexander, author of the Newbery winner, Crossover. Listen to him talk about Animal Ark, the book he collaborated on with National Geographic photographer, Joel Sartore. We also read from Out of Wonder. Kwame ALexander along with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth wrote original poetry celebrating twenty poets "from around the world and across centuries."
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This week most classes were introduced to Audrey Faye Hendricks, a young Civil Rights Activist as we read and discussed The Youngest Marcher by Cynthia Levinson and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton. Audrey Faye Hendricks was nine years old when she participated in the Children's March in Birmingham, AL in May of 1963. She spent a week in juvenile hall for her participation. In Ms. DeAvila's class we read and discussed Naomi Shihab Nye's poem, "Famous". We discussed what famous means to them and then Nye's choices for famous things such as a river, a cat, a tear, a boot, and a bent photo. The poem is filled with alliteration, a literary device we studied last week.
Famous by Naomi Shihab Nye The river is famous to the fish. The loud voice is famous to silence, which knew it would inherit the earth before anybody said so. The cat sleeping on the fence is famous to the birds watching him from the birdhouse. The tear is famous, briefly, to the cheek. The idea you carry close to your bosom is famous to your bosom. The boot is famous to the earth, more famous than the dress shoe, which is famous only to floors. The bent photograph is famous to the one who carries it and not at all famous to the one who is pictured. I want to be famous to shuffling men who smile while crossing streets, sticky children in grocery lines, famous as the one who smiled back. I want to be famous in the way a pulley is famous, or a buttonhole, not because it did anything spectacular, but because it never forgot what it could do. Naomi Shihab Nye, "Famous" from Words Under the Words: Selected Poems by Naomi Shihab Nye, copyright © 1995. Used with permission of Far Corner Books. Source: Words Under the Words: Selected Poems (Far Corner Books, 1995) This past Friday our fourth and fifth grade students were fortunate to have Linda Sue Park, Newbery winner for her book A Single Shard, visit both campuses. Ms. Park described the creative process, the research process, and the editing process of her books. She introduced us to the characters in her series Wing and Claw. This week many of the younger grades reviewed where books are located in the library as we read Library Mouse and Library Mouse and Library Mouse: A World to Explore. In some of the middle grades we explored Webpath Express to find appropriate websites to use for student research projects.
We read and discussed poetry in Ms. Beery and and Ms. DeAvila's classes at Neil Cummins. In the fourth and fifth grades we had rich discussions on immigration and refugees. We read Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family's Journey by Canadian Margriet Ruurs and artwork by Syrian artist Nizar ALi Badr. In some classes we had time to also read We Came to America by Faith Ringgold. We discussed Linda Sue Park's upcoming visit on Friday, March 10th. Ms. Park released the first novel, Forest of Wonders, in her new Wing & Claw trilogy last year and the second, Cavern of Secrets, is being released this month The series explores the links "between magic and botany, family and duty, and environment and home." You can read more at this site. Ms. Park won the Newbery Medal in 2002 for the historical novel, A Single Shard that is set in twelfth century Korea. Her book A Long Walk to Water is based on the true story of Salva, one of some 3,800 Sudanese "Lost Boys" airlifted to the United States. A Long Walk to Water is a core novel in the sixth grade at Hall Middle School. We reviewed nonfiction and fiction in some second and third grade classes by reading Narwhal and Jelly by Ben Clanton and Extremely Weird Animals: Narwhals by Christina Leaf. We learned a lot of new and fun facts about narwhals and jellyfish and sang a very fun song! We read and discovered poetry in other second grade classes. Students found old favorites such as Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky while discovering other poems about everything from dogs and cats and chickens to the earth and family. A favorite was You Read to Me, I'll Read to You, poems that require two voices. In Ms. DeAvila's fourth grade class we read Daniel Finds a Poem by Micha Archer and discussed some of the elements of poetry. We discussed the poetry forms Haiku and Sijo. While most students were familiar haiku, the Korean style of sijo was new. We read several sijo poems from Linda Sue Park's book, Tap Dancing on the Roof.
This was an unusual week for our school district as we were closed on Tuesday and Thursday due to the weather. That meant that I did not get to meet with the students at Cove all week! Luckily, Mrs. Benz sent me some photos! This week in the younger grades at Neil Cummins we read and discussed Hoot and Peep by Lita Judge. The students appreciated the gorgeous illustrations in this book as well as the nonsense songs of Peep. It is a lovely book for siblings, but conveys to all the idea accepting everyone's own way of seeing the world. In keeping with the theme of acceptance and being one's self, we enjoyed Todd Parr's book Just Be Who You Are. Parr's colorful artwork and message of acceptance is loved by all. Be who you are! Be proud of where you're from. Be a different color. Speak your language. Wear everything you need to be you. We discussed some of the new books we have received recently in the upper grades. We were thrilled to receive Holly Goldberg Sloan's book, Short. Ms. Sloan visited both elementary sites in late October.
We discussed As Brave as You, a new book by by Jason Reynolds who also wrote Ghost and All American Boys. We discussed a number of LInda Sue Park books as we are hoping to arrange for her to visit the elementary schools as part of her book tour this spring. Ms. Park is most known for her Newbery Gold medal winner, A Single Shard. She also wrote A Long Walk to Water, a core literature book in our sixth grade classes. The American Library Association announced the Newbery and Caldecott winners last week. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill won the Newbery Medal. Newbery Honor books are: Freedom Over Me written and illustrated by Ashley Bryan, The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog written by Adam Gidwitz and illustrated by Hatem Aly, and Wolf Hollow written by Lauren Wolk. The fourth and fifth graders discussed the awards and the books when they visited the library this week. We discussed and read several of the Caldecott winners in many of the third grade classes. The Caldecott medal was awarded to Javaka Steptoe for the book Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Honor books are: Leave Me Alone! illustrated and written by Vera Brosgol, Freedom in Congo Square illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, written by Carole Boston Weatherford, Du Iz Tak?illustrated and written by Carson Ellis, and They All Saw a Cat illustrated and written by Brendan Wenzel. This week was Kindness Week at our elementary schools! In most of the younger grades we read and discussed the book, Kindness is Cooler, Mrs. Ruler! by Margery Cuyler. Ms. Estes and Ms. Meunier's third grade classes found biographies on American Heroes for a class project. Ms. Emmon's and Mr. Owens' classes checked out historical fiction books to read for an upcoming project.
Happy New Year! A variety of things were happening in the library this past week. Two of the biggest were the delivery of the new furniture for the Neil Cummins Library and the kickoff of the Readathon at both elementary schools! See my post here to find book recommendations by me and Mrs. Halpern. Fourth and fifth grade students at both elementary schools began the year by demonstrating that they know how to sign into their library accounts and check their information. Learning to navigate the library website becomes more and more important as students move into the higher grade levels. Students can check to see what books they have out or overdue. Students can renew a book or place a book on hold. Students can also search for specific books and topics. With some of the younger classes we read and discussed The Night After Christmas by James Stevenson. In others we read The Korean Cinderella. We compared and contrasted it to the European Cinderella fairy tale. We also read the adorable story We are Growing by Laurie Keller. Ms. Meunier and Ms. Estes' class is studying poetry with beloved local poet Prartho Sereno. We read several of Prartho's poems from her book, Causing a Stir: the Secret Lives and Loves of Kitchen Utensils. We also read and discussed Tap Dancing on the Roof by Linda Sue Park. Sijo is a type of traditional Korean verse.
We read seasonal stories this week in the library. An old favorite suggested by Mrs. Halpern was Mr. Willoby's Christmas Tree. In some of the upper grades we read and discussed Snowflake Bentley, the story of Wilson A. Bentley and his study of snow crystals. More information on his life can be found here.
We discussed opinion and persuasive or argumentative writing in many of the elementary classes this week. Depending on the grade level, we talked about how to structure the writing with a lead or hook, craft a thesis, and how to include supporting evidence and a counterargument. We read several picture books with characters trying to persuade someone: Sarah Hale writes persuasive letters to presidents for 38 years before finally President Lincoln makes Thanksgiving a national holiday. Cows convince Farmer Brown to bring them electric blankets! A pigeon wants to drive the bus! Ike LaRue writes his owner trying to convince her he should come home from obedience school! Alex wants an iguana! Charlie tries to convince his little sister, Lola, to try new foods! Not all classes read all books, but everyone LOVED rereading Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Ms. Pollack's class discussed poetry as they will be choosing a poem to present to class soon. We read a few short winter and holiday poems. Shel Silverstein's books flew off the shelf! We practiced reading poems for two voices, and we discussed the metaphor in Langston Hughes' poem "Mother to Son." In Ms. Gallagher, Ms. Beery, Ms. McGuinness and other classes we looked at the different types of nonfiction and the text features of nonfiction books-- Table of Contents, Index, Glossary, Appendix, etc as a way to locate specific information in a book. Ms. Mathew's class found material for their upcoming Expert Reports.
It is always a fast paced, fun-filled week at the elementary schools. After all the lessons, students found great books to read for pleasure and for upcoming projects. On Monday Ms. Felton's 8th grader classes came to the library to learn more about the censorship and banning of books. They are checking out a book that has been challenged or banned at some point and doing a project. Many of the sixth graders were in the library on Tuesday. And, I was able to join Dr. Alexander's classes to discuss and demonstrate tableaux.
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Joy Lynn King
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