Mountain Shadows

 

Title: Goldie Socks and the Three Libearians
Author: Jackie Hopkins 
Age:   K-3
Topic: Fractured Fairy Tales
Comments: We did a pair and share with Goldie Locks and the Three Bears. The kids enjoyed the story and were very familiar with the fairy tale of Goldie Locks to make great comparisons. It’s a fun book to read to the classes.

Oakcrest

Between reading Dr. Seuss books, St. Patrick's Day and April Fool's Day books, this month was a lot of fun! We read Hooray for Diffendooer Day and Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss and the kids had such a good time with both of those. Then for St. Patrick's Day we read Leprechaun Gold by Teresa Bateman and A Fine St. Patrick's Day by Susan Wojciechowski. We always have fun doing the voices for all of the characters. It makes the books more interesting and exciting for the kids as well.

Falcon Ridge

Title: Silly Goose
Author: Marni McGee
Age: K-3
Comments: When Fox tricks Goose into believing she has lost her ears and needs a new pair, Rabbit catches on and summons the other animals of Frog Jump Pond to help rescue her.

HAYDEN PEAK

We read the nonfiction book SEA HORSES by Carol Lindeen.  The students learned about this strange fish.  Then we learned about forgiveness & sharing with others in the book THE BOY WHO WOULDN'T SHARE by M. Reiss

Heartland Elementary

We have read some really fun books this month.

A new favorite to share with your classes is: "Over in the Jungle-A Rainfoest Rhyme". It is written by Marianne Berkes and illustrated by Jeannette Canyon. It is a counting book that rhyms which the kids loves but the thing that is wonderful about the book is the way the illustrator puts the book together. She goes out to photograph the rainforest first. She then uses a variety of mediums to create the pages. It is

colorful and fun!

 

                                                                         

 

 

The Okay Book written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld is another book that we all liked alot!

The "OK" is shown through out the book doing alot of different activities. Although he's not great at most, he knows that if he tries lots of things he will find something that he can be great at!

 

 

We talked with the kids about trying new things. We all have talents that we can discover that we have and are good at.

 

 

 

 

Westland Elementary

       Would I Every Lie to You 

                           by Caralyn Buehner

 

This is a fun book about a boy who has a cousin who is always telling outlandish stories.  Not all of his stories are false, so it's hard to know which stories to believe.  So when Ed tells him that his dessert is full of poison, it's an opportunity to turn the tables on the big bully.  The children loved this story and its wonderful illustrations. 

 

 

 Goldie Socks and the Three

                       Libearians by Jackie Mims Hopkins

 

This is a clever twist on an old favorite.  Goldie Socks is late for school and takes a short cut that leads her to the home of the three Libearians.  While looking for a just right book, Goldie Socks leaves books on the floor and every which way on the shelves.  This gave us the opportunity to review library etiquette and the five finger rule for finding a book that is just right.

West Jordan Elementary

At West Jordan Elementary we used the subjuct of hiccups as a share and pair.

The Wonderful Thing About Hiccups by Margery Cuyler is a delightful book about a series of out landish experiences and a set of rules related to library books. It ends by mentioning the library might have a book about how to get rid of hiccups.

Why I Sneeze, Shiver, Hiccup, and Yawn  by Melvin Berger is a non-fiction book that tells what happens to the body when we sneeze,shiver, hiccup, and yawn.

How the Body Works by Steve Parker is another non-fiction book with a few pages found in the index on hiccups.

Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Cuyler is a fun book to end the subject with all the wild things the skeleton does to get rid of the hiccups.

 

We used February to put out all the new Biography books. We made sure we had one about George Washington and a couple on Abraham Lincoln books. 

Farmer George Plants a Nation by Peggy Thomas. Describes how George Washington built his farm at Mount Vernon, discussing his experiments with seeds, fertilisers, tools and presenting related letters and diary entries.

 

We celebrated Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday with:

Vinnie and Abraham by Fitzgerald Tells the story of Vinnie Ream, an aspiring artist living in Washington D.C. during the Civil War, who gained a reputation as a sculpter and succeeded in persuading President Abraham Lincoln to sit for her, an honor that led to her winning a government commission to create a statue of Lincoln after his assassination

Stand Tall Abe, Lincoln by Judith St. George An illustrated account of the early life of Abraham Lincoln in the backwards of Kentucky and Indiana, discussing how the support and encouragement of his stepmother Sally Johnston propelled him to success.

 

To end our Biography unit we had the students pick a President of the United States, find a book on the shelf about them and find one interesting fact about that President to share with the class.

Columbia Elementary

We have just completed our Dewey Curriculum lessons with our 4th, 5th and 6th graders and wanted to do something fun with them. You read to me, I'll read to you was just the ticket.  I started out with their teacher reading one of the poems and then we had the kids take turns, usually a boy and a girl.  They really enjoyed being able to participate and not just be read to.  We actually found quite a few of them who not only read the poetry but put alot of acting in as well. 

Terra Linda

This month we read some really cute books to our classes.  Here are a few examples:

 

"The Perfect Nest" by Catherine Friend

Jack the cat is building the perfect nest.  But it isn't for him.  He plans to attract the perfect chicken, who will make the perfect omelet!  He can practically taste it.....

Sure enough, a chicken shows up - but so does a duck and a goose, and poor Jack gets much more than he bargained for in this funny farmyard story.

 

"Once upon a time, the End (asleep in 60 seconds)" by Geoffrey Kloske and Barry Blitt

Once upon a time there was a grown-up looking for a book with  very short bedtime stories for a kid who wouldn't go to sleep.  So the grown-up picked up this book and read the flap on it and took the book home and read it out loud and they both laughed and fell fast asleep fast.  Just like you.  The end. 

Oakcrest Elementary

In honor of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln's birthdays we read some entertaining books to the kids.

 

Dolley Madison Saves George Washington by Don Brown

Grades 3-6

 

In this book we learned that Dolley Madison did more than just make delicious dessert cakes. She was the first woman in the White House and loved to host "drawing rooms". She was known for her beautiful gowns and outrageous turbans. We learned about the painting of President Washington and how she saved it from fire caused by the 1814 invasion of Britain. The famous painting still hangs in the White house today. Thanks Dolley!

 

Abe Lincoln's Hat by Martha Brenner

All grades

In this selection we learned how down to earth Abraham Lincoln was.  That he enjoyed a good joke and that he could take a joke as well.  Even though he was educated (and very wise) he was also not as organized as you might think.  So he used his tall hat to put important and special papers in so he could find them easily.  I feel the students enjoyed this book even though it is a "step 3" reader.  It is well written and very informative.