Tag Archives: great read alouds

Sophie Simon Solves Them All

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Ms. Gelson is currently reading Sophie Simon Solves Them All, a novel by Lisa Graff. Illustrated by Jason Beene.

Our class has been quite intrigued by the character, Sophie Simon. Her parents absolutely do not understand her and keep calling her strange food names as terms of endearment. Her classmates who try to befriend her, baffle her. All she wants is an expensive ($100) graphing calculator and for everyone to leave her to her thick textbooks on calculus or civil disobedience. When her classmates, who are also hopelessly misunderstood by their parents, ask for her help, she agrees. She will help if they pay her – she really wants that graphing calculator. Her plan seems foolproof. One that will help everyone get what they want. But . . . things, as they often do, turn out a little differently.

Sophie’s plans involve a hilarious sit in at a ballet recital, an observant student journalist and a ring tailed lemur who (with Sophie’s help) destroys a birthday party (a poolside adventure involving diving boards, salt water taffy and grasshoppers).

Lots of laughing in this book. Especially at adults and their ridiculous ways. Sophie’s teacher, Mr. St. Cupid,  has more rules than you can possibly imagine and is constantly adding to his list. (No sighing! No reading books fatter than your head! No dropping three things at once!) Parents also come across as clueless. But when you are 6-9 years old (the intended audience of this book), this is pretty cool.

A short read. Perfect for June! But also perfect for students wanting a great book to kick off their summer reading. Themes of resourcefulness, teamwork and friendship.

Gunner, Football Hero

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Our BLG reader this week, Deborah, read us Gunner, Football Hero written and illustrated by James E. Ransome.

Gunner, Football Hero

A gorgeously illustrated story about an unlikely hero – rotund little Gunner with an amazing arm makes the cut for the football team – as third string quarterback. At first Gunner happily warms the bench but then, when injuries take out the first two quarterbacks on the team, Gunner gets to play! Does the game work out? Does his team win? Does it really matter? A book about sportsmanship, great attitudes and the twists and turns of team play. Read this little gem carefully – the ending might surprise you!

Our student reviewers report:

Josiah: I liked Gunner because when he wasn’t on for a while, he was still happy and he got two touch downs!

Kevin: Gunner loves football. He always played football at the field and he “leaved”very late!

The Raft

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This week we read The Raft by Jim LaMarche and practiced asking deep thinking questions vs. quick questions (inspired by Adrienne Gear‘s Reading Power). We know that a quick question is quick to ask and usually we find the answer in the text. With deep thinking questions, we are often inspired to ask new questions and our thinking goes on long after we have closed the book.

the raft

The Raft tells the story of Nicky who has come to spend the summer with his grandmother. He isn’t very eager to do this (bemoaning being away from television and any kids all summer) but it doesn’t take long before Nicky finds himself fascinated by his summer locale. A raft covered in leaves and branches floats up and bumps against the dock Nicky is fishing on. It is covered in drawings of animals and it completely captures Nicky’s imagination. Where did it come from? Who painted the animals? What does it mean? Soon he and his grandmother are spending lazy days poling down the river. An array of animals keep Nicky company – foxes following him along the shore, birds hitching a ride, a great blue heron snacking on crayfish. Nicky often takes the raft out alone and sketches all of the animals he sees. Somehow the raft seems to draw the creatures to him.

The students noticed the changes in Nicky.

Miami: “He’s been transformed. He was so grumpy when he came to his Grandma’s and now he’s not.”

Hajhare: “I think he was set up. Do you know what I mean Ms. Gelson? His Dad tricked him into liking his summer. His Dad knew he was going to like it all along.”

Finally,  Nicky adds his own animal to the raft for a very special reason. Students were lulled by the beauty and magic of this book and eagerly wrote down questions as I read.

I then gave the students a task: Choose 2-5 of your deep thinking questions and list them in your notebook. Choose one and try to answer it (You will need to infer)

Kevin put his hand up. “But I can’t just put 5. Each question leads to another question so I’ll need to write 10. I “inferenced” as I thought them so I included them when I did my writing.” (Yippee! Learning!)

Some samples of student thinking.

Jena: Are all of the drawings adventures of how people saved animals? Maybe yes and the raft was made and passed on from generation to generation.

Lisa: One of my questions before was that are the animals from the raft going to come alive. Maybe if Nicky visualizes, they will come alive to him.

Ricky: Who drew all of these animals on the raft? Why is Nicky’s Grandma called a river rat? Did she also save an animal on the river? Maybe a rat? Is Grandma part of nature?

At the end of the book, Scott sat back and said, “That book was awesome.” When I asked him why, Eddy piped up. “It’s really making me think thinking stuff.”

I think this should be our new measure of success when we judge a reading experience – did we think thinking stuff? Does book really inspire our thinking voice? The Raft did and then some. It left us talking with each other, following a question into an inference and going back into the story to try and find clues, having “but what if. . . ” discussions all around the room. A wonderful book.

Those Darn Squirrels and the Cat Next Door

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Bill, our BLG reader this week, brought in a very amusing book – Those Darn Squirrels and the Cat Next Door. This book is written by Adam Rubin and illustrated by Daniel Salmieri who collaborated on an earlier title Those Darn Squirrels.

cat

 

This book starts out with Old Man Fookwire, a grumpy bird enthusiast who is sitting in his living room waiting for winter to pass so he can get out into his garden and paint the beautiful birds that visit his yard. He is harassed by a group of pesky, but extremely clever squirrels who sneak into his house, eat his food and generally annoy him. When a new neighbour moves in next door (Little Old Lady Hu) with her cat Muffins, it seems that things may change in the neighbourhood. Squirrels may be champions of the forest but perhaps in Muffins, they have met their match.

My confession? I’m rooting for the cat! Is that terrible? I was silently cheering when the squirrels got ambushed. I was more than amused when Muffins gave them wedgies (you need the illustration to understand the wrapped around and twisted tails) But, I have good reason. My backyard is inhabitated by a bunch of squirrels – they chase away birds, fight in my flowers and try heroic gymnastics to leap onto the bird-feeders and eat my expensive seed. I don’t like these squirrels.  At all.  So basically I don’t like squirrels in general. In this book, I was really hoping that Muffins would show them who was boss. But let’s just say that the squirrel brain power was more of a factor in this story than I had hoped it to be . . .

Adam Rubin tells a very funny tale (check out his interesting blog Tickling the Brain) and the illustrations by Salmieri are hilarious. Old Man Fookwire’s nose, a soggy Muffins the cat, squirrels with wedgies . . . Daniel Salmieri engages his viewers with clever details. The perfect book to read when you need to laugh a few times over.

Our student reviewers report:

Hajhare: I liked this book because it reminds me of Chester the Cat. This cat in this book is really funny!

**Hajhare is referring to Melanie Watt’s fictitious feline.

Alyson: I like the part when the cat got karma and H2O spilled on him.

Ricky: This was a very funny book. It made me laugh out loud in myself. Bill what made you read this book? I really liked it.

Kevin: There was karma in that book that Bill read because the cat always scared the squirrels away. One day they decided to make a plan to get rid of the cat. They used yarn and tied it on to the birds. They used really cold water and put it in a bucket and put it on three branches and tied it onto the bucket. The next day the cat came to the birds and scared them. The cold water spilled on the cat and the cat turned wet, soggy, skinny, scared and mad. The cat went home and never came back. I liked that book!

Rainbow Bird

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Sometimes, in a busy week, students will do some writing about a book we’ve read or an activity we’ve done and I don’t get a chance to read it that same day. When I open up the Response and Ideas books a few days later, I sometimes find absolute undiscovered treasures. The same feeling like when I find money in my pocket. It was there all along; I just hadn’t uncovered it. And when I do, wow! This writing has been hidden away in notebooks for a week and now must be shared!

Today, I began reading student responses to Rainbow Bird – An Aboriginal Folktale from Northern Australia by Eric Maddern and vibrantly illustrated by Adrienne Kennaway. Thank you to our Teacher Librarian, Ms. Sheperd-Dynes for recommending this title.

Rainbow Bird is a “pourquoi” tale explaining how humans acquired fire.

Long ago, Crocodile Man had fire and refused to share it with any of the other creatures. Bird Woman was able to trick Crocodile Man and steal fire from him. Proudly, she asserts, “Now I shall give Fire to the people.” She flew around the country putting fire into the heart of every tree. From this day onward, people could make fire using dry sticks and logs from a tree.

Students in our reading group loved this dramatic story and were eager to write and draw about it.

A few samples:

Gary is in Grade 2. His writing shows that he has learned to summarize stories using specific and descriptive language.

“Crocodile Man could blow fire. He said he is the boss of fire. The animals begged for fire but he won’t give them fire. Bird Woman asked Crocodile Man for fire but he still won’t give her fire. Then crocodile man went to sleep. Bird Woman took the fire and shared it. She put fire on herself and became Rainbow Bird. Now Crocodile Man is stuck in the swamp forever.”

Truman is a Grade 1 student who has delighted in learning idioms. These idioms snake their way into his writing and show that he understands their meaning very clearly. I laughed out loud reading this!

“Crocodile Man says he is the boss of fire. It was the time of dreams. Bird Woman is cold at night because she doesn’t have fire. One day, Crocodile Man was dog tired. Then Crocodile Man was green with envy because Bird Woman took his fire stick. Now Bird Woman is happy as a clam. She put fire in the heart of trees. Now Crocodile Man lives in the swamp forever. Bird Woman said, “If you come up here, you will die!”

Catriona is a confident thinker and writer in Grade 1. I love how she shares her predictions and questions in her response. It is evident that Catriona utilizes all of the reading powers when she reads or listens to a story.

“I predicted that Rainbow Bird would steal Crocodile Man’s fire and I was right. But Rainbow Bird wasn’t always Rainbow Bird. She used to be Bird Woman. I am still wondering if that story could be true if they took all the fiction out and replaced it with real life stuff. Then, where would Rainbow Bird put the fire?”

All such different responses to the same story shared together. I am delighted by them all!

Sunday Musings

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Sunday afternoons, for teachers, are often a bit of a place of limbo. It is still the weekend and there is time for relaxation and family but a little place in the back of our brains starts asking “What about Monday morning. . . ?” For me, part of the Sunday routine is often filling up my school bag with recent treasures from the library that I am excited to share with my students. Often there are more books than my schedule will allow but it is always a priority to find a place for books.

Why?

I believe that the two most powerful things I can do in my classroom each day are reading aloud to my students and providing time for them to read independently. Nothing else exposes them to new vocabulary, new ideas or new perspectives as quickly, as easily and as powerfully as a book. Reading aloud to a class pulls all of us into a magical place, an intimate learning community where words and visual images help us make meaning of our world. We discover something new. We think differently about something. We question ideas. We find support for a perspective. We are changed, often dramatically, by a few pages. Our interactions with these books shape us, constantly. How lovely that I can have this experience be part of my life daily just by reading to children?

Sometimes, it is hard to remember that not everyone shares this philosophy. In educational climates that measure student learning in test scores vs. engagement, reading aloud has no place in the everyday of classroom life. I came across this article on read aloud champion, Jim Trelease’s site. Seems impossible to imagine! More fuel to support the argument that an educational system characterized by high stake’s testing has no place in B.C.’s schools.

Read Aloud Handbook

My copy of The Read Aloud Handbook, discovered in a used book store is probably the book, of all the books I own, that I have read and reread most often. I quote sections of it to anyone sitting near me. I shake my head as study after study and story after story is described that makes the book’s main point again and again:

Reading aloud to a child is the single most important factor in raising a reader.

And it doesn’t stop when they can read by themselves!

Why doesn’t everyone know this!??

An ode to books, to libraries, to reading. A must read for every parent and every teacher. Jim Trelease‘s website contains a lot of interesting information. But owning his book for constant reference is a must.

But back to Sunday. And my pile of books. Because it is always all about the books . . .

Books that might make their way to school with me this week:

The Purple Kangaroo is written by Michael Ian Black and illustrated by Peter Brown. This book is narrated by a clever monkey that asserts he can read minds – your mind, dear reader, in fact. And he is pretty sure that you are thinking about a purple kangaroo. If you weren’t thinking about a purple kangaroo, you certainly will be by the time this book is finished. One that blows rainbow bubble gum out of his nose. A delightful journey with a book that you can’t help but interact with.

I imagine some very noisy listening to this story. Possibly some shouting! A lot of giggles.

The first line of this book says so much: The skin I’m in is just a covering. It cannot tell my story.

But with this book, every line is a line to read, savour and repeat. How about this one:

Be with me inside the me of me, all made up of stories present, past, future . . .

Skin Again by Bell Hooks is brilliant. And Chris Raschka illustrates! Perfection.

My Favourite Thing (According to Alberta) is written by Emily Jenkins and illustrated by AnnaLaura Cantone. This book is all about Alberta, a little girl of particular tastes. She has some very specific opinions. Her favourite ice-cream? Peppermint. Favourite vegetable? Potato chip. 🙂 And you must read to the end to find out exactly what her actual favourite thing is. This book goes on my must use as a springboard for writing list. I have big plans for this book.

I picked this book off the library shelves because it is illustrated by one of my new very favourite illustrators Peter Catalanotto. He doesn’t illustrate books, he paints amazing scenes which accompany text. Then I saw that it was written by Cynthia Rylant. This book just had to be great. An Angel for Solomon Singer did not disappoint.

A book about dreams. About yearning. About finding comfort in a big bustling city. Finding happiness when things are not really the way they ought to be.

A small treasure to inspire big discussion.

So as I move from Sunday, into Monday I take the cozy comfort of reading and books with me and keep it all through the week. It’s all about the books . . .

If I could go to Kindergarten . . .

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I love reading to the Ks at Seymour. I get to do it at least a few times a month at our primary Social Responsibility Gatherings. The Ks sit right up in front, eyes wide, serious expressions, taking it all in. They listen intently, little hands raise in the air to tell me connections and ideas. Then when they leave, they wave, they smile, they whisper, “I’ll miss you.” One of my favourite things to do is to read to the Kindergarten class.

So I got to thinking what if I could go to Kindergarten everyday? And read? What would I read?  During my last few visits to the public library I found some wonderful possibilities.

Saber-toothed tigers. Wooly mammoths. Sleepy dinosaurs. A little boy exploring the world around him. Boy by James Mayhew explores a little guy’s yearning for independence while at the same time honouring his deep connections to home (and the happy snuggles from Mom and Dad). Where in the world do we find warmth? In the security and love from our own family.

A beautifully illustrated story inspired by the author’s love of his own son.

Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick wrote There – as a series of questions. A story about growing up and celebrating the journey as much as the destination. When will I get there? How will I know? And will I know everything, There? The little girl then wonders Can I change my mind and go Elsewhere instead? She then decides that she will go There tomorrow – after she does all the things she needs to do.

A book that begs to be explored with children. Winner of the Bistro Awards in 2010.

I think this book by Mara Bergman and illustrated by Cassia Thomas – Lively Elizabeth is especially appropriate for kindergarten. Life when you come to school is all of a sudden a lot about lining up. Going here, going there, hands to yourself, “shh!” Several times a day. What happens when you have a little extra energy and it kinda spills over into a push? Well in a kindergarten line, it is full on domino effect! Bergman does a lovely job of playing out the whole scenario – from upset to apology and then forgiveness and moving on (and quickly – after all, little ones have the important business of play to get back to)! Cassia Thomas’ illustrations are absolutely delightful! A book, I predict, that will get many “Read it again!” requests.

Okay who doesn’t love surprises? And guessing what will happen next? Little ones do especially. What a treasure is The Surprise by Sylvia van Ommen! Wordless so there is a lot of space for interactions. Predictions. Inferring. Questions.  Sheep zips here and there on her moped on a mission. She dyes her wool, when it seems long enough, a brilliant red. Then she brings it to poodle who spins it into yarn. She then knits something special and wraps it up and delivers it to . . .  Well, not going to spoil the surprise here but how fun would this be to do with a class of Ks?

Mattland coauthored by Hazel Hutchins and Gail Herbert and illustrated by Dusan Petricic is a wonderful book to explore with children stressed by moving. The scary sadness of someplace new followed by the gentle, spontaneous introduction of new playmates and new activities. But this book is also ideal to celebrate imaginative, outdoor play. Building a place – roads, rivers, houses, prickly trees and getting some quiet help from someone with their own treasure trove of discoveries – a flattened penny, some popsicle sticks, four pine cones . . . To be fair, you can only read this book with intended outside play planned next. Lots of it. And it should probably involve some mud!

Now I just need a plan to sneak in and share some of these with the Ks!

Why Do I Have to Make My Bed?

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Our BLG reader this week Deborah brought us the informative, engaging and very funny story – Why Do I Have to Make My Bed? (Or a History of Messy Rooms) written by teacher and playwright Wade Bradford and illustrated by Johanna van der Sterre.

We were connecting with this book right from the cover. Ahh kids and messy rooms! In my house this question sometimes sounds a little different: Why do I have to make your bed? (That would be me, the Mom, asking it)

We start with a little boy asking his Mom why he has to make his bed. He lists the chores he just completed and bemoans, “So why do I have to make my bed? It’s just going to get messed up again.”

“Yes.” “That’s true!” students shouted out.

The little boy’s mother tells her son that this reminds her of a story about his grandmother when she was a little girl and asked that exact same question (but her chore list was slightly different and included putting away Hula-hoops and dusting her rock’ n’ roll records) This little girl’s mother said “That reminds me of a story about your grandfather when he was a little boy. And . . .”

Miami predicts: “Oh! I think this book is going to go on and on and on until they get to the dinosaurs!”

We move back in time – learning about different chores completed by children at different times in history (from fetching water from the pump to dusting a printing press to picking out rats hiding in the pickle barrel . . . ) We also learn funny expressions through the ages:  “cantankerous as an old sea dog” “more thunderous than Thor” “ill-tempered as a caged lion” etc. Students delighted in searching for the date woven into the illustrations and noticed “It’s a boy, then a girl, then a boy. A pattern.” Everyone joined in with Deborah on the lines that repeated “That reminds me of a story about . . .” and “So why do I have to make my bed?”

Meeting the Vikings was very exciting (as were the chores! This little girl had to stoke the fire for a sword maker, dust off the sacred blowing horn, pick up broken spears and patch her father’s war wounds) “Whoa the Vikings!” “Vikings! Are you serious?”

Seeing children from the Roman times was also pretty dramatic in our room.

“121!”

“That’s a billion years ago!”

“That’s Heavens time.”

And then Egyptians, cave people . . . Oh my!

Finally, we do learn why these children do have to make their beds: “Because I said so.”

Of course!

At the back of the book is a section titled Chores Through the Ages which tells us about both the chores children had to do in each time period but also about children’s play. For example, in Ancient Egypt, children might build toy boats to sail along the irrigations canals. Deborah didn’t read this whole section but pointed out that students could read it independently at a later time. Plans were quickly made: “I’m totally reading that.” “Me too” “Cool”

This book was a big hit!

Our student reviewers report:

Alyson: I like when the story went on and on and on!

Josiah: I like the book because it kept repeating: Why do I have to make my bed to the year 40,000 B.C. to cave men. It was funny.

Hajhare: My favourite part was when they were in the Vikings. It was funny how the boy talked. The Egyptians were cool too. I don’t like making my bed either. I hate it!

Ricky: This was a very long book. It’s the longest BLG book read I think. I liked that it was so long. This book was just like karma.

Spilling Pickles (Idioms Division 5 style)

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We have continued to learn about new idioms using the fantastic series of Idiom Tales published by Scholastic. Yesterday, we finished Over the Moon (Sayings about Feelings) written by Justin McCory Martin and illustrated by Kelly Kennedy.

I recorded the new idioms we had learned: happy as a clam; pleased as punch and green with envy on cards to tack up on top of the board. Students love trying to insert these idioms into everyday speech as often as possible and feel quite delighted when someone manages to use an idiom in the appropriate context.  It is quite fun! So as I was writing, students were reading various idioms to each other and giggling at how funny some are.

Don't spill the beans!

A few Grade 3 students were in our class last year when we also studied idioms. Every so often they remember one they learned and want to share it. Suddenly Hajhare got all exctied and called out:

“Ms. Gelson, tell me a secret and I will spill the pickles!”

Obviously, his memory didn’t quite serve him right as he was searching for the expression spill the beans. But said so excitedly and so earnestly this was pretty funny. Well, actually hilarious. Everyone, including Hajhare, burst out laughing.

I was probably laughing most of all and someone called “Ms. Gelson is in stitches!” Yes, idiom success – used correctly in context – yet, somehow we all laughed even more!

Then Catriona (looking at my red face from laughing) shouts out, “Ms. Gelson really is tickled pink!”

Such joyful moments sharing laughter, word play and connections.

Sergio had walked in during all of this quite tired and was a few beats behind.

“So what is it then – Spill the onions?”

Oh how I love these kids!

Frog Girl

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When our librarian, Ms. Sheperd-Dynes, found out how much our reading group liked Storm Boy she brought us Frog Girl, also by Paul Owen Lewis. This is another title that represents the rich oral traditions of the Native people of the Northwest Coast of North America.

This story is an adventure that introduces us to Volcano Woman (also known as Frog Woman). She has the power to destroy villages if the people do not show proper respect for living creatures. (Lewis provides a detailed author’s note in the back of the book that provides very interesting information about how this story has Northwest Coast motifs of Separation, Initiation and Return. He explains that like other world mythologies, this tale has elements of what renowned scholar Joseph Campbell described as rites of passage (referring to separation, initiation and return) in the Adventure of the Hero)

In this story, the Chief’s daughter spies on two boys capturing frogs at the lakeshore. She finds one lone frog in the grass who leads her to a mysterious village under the lake. Here she meets Grandmother who is crying over her missing children. Her sadness seems to power rumblings and shaking in this underwater world. The chief’s daughter returns to the forest and her own village to find it empty but threatened by an erupting volcano. She finds a basket of frogs and races them to the lakeshore – home to Grandmother. Then the rains come and her people return. The girl tells her story as the frogs sing in the background.

Guided by Lewis’ notes in the back, I asked the students to be listening for some key elements in the story:

  • disrespectful/cruel behaviour
  • encountering animals who speak
  • performing a heroic deed
  • encountering mythological beings

Students listened incredibly attentively, pulled into the story’s powerful text and detailed visual images.

The chief’s daughter races through the burning forest to return the stolen frogs to the lake

In their written responses, some students retold favourite parts, some responded to the elements I asked them to listen for and some asked questions. Some excerpts:

Jenny: The two boys left and the girl heard a voice. She went to that voice and it was a frog that said follow me. The shore opened up and the girl went inside. Then the frog turned to like a person and the girl saw a beautiful village.

Jeremiah: My favourite part of the story was when the girl saved the frogs. The two boys were being disrespectful of the frogs.

Kevin: Frog Girl and Storm Boy are quite similar because they both have a secret village.

Catriona: I’m still wondering . . . Why did the frog transform into a frog on land but transform into a woman in the water? Why did the two boys capture all the frogs?

Eddy: How can the frogs talk and transform into a human but green? How could the girl run to the lake in time to save the frogs when the volcano almost destroyed the whole forest?

Truman: Two boys were capturing frogs. This is cruel behaviour. There was a frog that spoke. That is encountering animals who speak. There was a girl who saved the frogs. That is called performing a heroic deed. There are frog people. They are called encountering mythological beings. I liked it when the girl went to another world. I am still wondering how the frog turn into people and how the people turn into frogs.

Such inspired writing! Pretty amazing for Grades 1, 2 and 3!