Mountain Shadows Elementary

Title:   When a Monster is Born 
Author:   Sean Taylor
Age:  K-2
Topic:   Choices
Comments:  The second grade classes really enjoyed the story.  Little challenging for first and kindergarten.  Students always like the monster stories.

Terra Linda

Title: Library Mouse
Author: Daniel Kirk
Age: K-3
Topic: Joy of reading and writing books
Comments: This book got our kids excited about writing and illustrating their own books.  We even had a class take this idea back to their classroom to make their own books.  They were really excited to be their own author and illustrator!

Title: Captain Abdul's Pirate School
Author: Colin McNaughton
Age: All Grades
Topic: Pirates/Adventure
Comments: The kids really liked the swashbuckling talk of the pirates and how the kid's in the book didn't have to mind their manners just like the pirates.  Has a surprise ending.

 

Oquirrh Elementary

Title: Why Bear Has a Short Tail
Author: Retold by Cass Hollander
Age: K-3
Topic: Folklore       
Comments: The week before reading this book we read Sea Snakes, a non-fiction book. We compared fiction to non-fiction. The younger students are doing a great job determining the difference.

Susan's Post

Title:  Suddenly Alligator

Author:  Rick Walton

Age: k-3

Topic:  Adverbs

Comments:  It was so fun to read this book to all the wee ones.  After reading the book I had one of them stand up and jump and said she jumped "Enthusiastically",which is an adverb.  Then I had one stand up and touch her head.  I told the class she was touching her head "gently".  Then I had one twirl and ask the class to pick a word ending in "ly" that described how she was twirling.  They said, quickly... an adverb.  All the kids seem to enjoy the story and the funny voices I used on each page.

Hayden Peak

 

Title - Pair & Share: The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri

        Squirrels by Emilie Lepthien

Age: all grades
Topic: Squirrels
Comments: The Busy Little Squirrel is a new book with great illustrations.  We used "Squirrels" to show real photos.  We also set up a squirrel display in the media center.

 

Hayden Peak

We have found that the students LOVE jokes. We will find or collect jokes and riddles with a theme, such as Halloween or Valentine's Day. We just had a Dragon theme, so we collected dragon jokes.
Susan comment: I have seen this in action and the kids do have fun with it. You could find a joke that fits the story you are going to read and tell it before the story.
Knock, Knock. Who's there?Reeda.Reeda who.
Reed alot books this summer
This joke was brought to you by this website http://www.multcolib.org/kids/jokes.html

Marsupial Sue, the cd of the song, is also a fun change. We find some of the children start singign along with the catchy song by John Lithgow.

Bark George, we have used with the CD by John Lithgow. I feel like a comedian when we use it. John Litgow does wonderful voices.

Pup and Hound Hatch an Egg by Susan Hood. We love this new series of books. The children love this book and it has a surprise ending.

(Susan's Comments. These guys are really into the curriculum, too! Thanks!)

Mountain Shadows

Title: Detective Small
Author: Wong Herbert Yee
Topic: Mystery
Grades: K-3
Comments: Had the students predict the ending. Then suggested other mystery stories that could be read by Shaw and others.

Title: The Perfect Nest
Author: Catherine Friend
Topic: Caring

Westland

Title: Yellow Elephant: A Bright Bestiary
Author: Julie Lavios
Topic: Animals/Colors/Poetry
Age: K-3
Comments: I let the children pick a color and then i read the poem that went along with that color.

Title: The Candy Shop Wars
Author Branden Mull
Topic: Adventure, magic, and CANDY Fiction
Age: 4-6
Comments: I did a book talk. I read a brief description and part of the preface.

Pare and Share: Vegetables
Titles/Authors: Tops and Bottoms Janet Stevens Picturepedia Food and Farming
Comments: I read the story about the hare tricking the bear out of the vegetables on the top, the bottom and the middle. I showed pictures of the vegetables in the food and farming book that showed how vegetables grow.

Susan's Comments:
Westland has really been blasting along on curriculum. This month they did 4th grad, parts of a book, Dewey, Biographies... Wow! Thanks.

Oquirrh

Title: Five Creatures
Author: Emily Jenkins
Topic: Counting and Comparing
Age: k-3
Comments: Great fun in seeing how many ways you can group the humans and animals in your own household.

Title: The Happy Hedgehog Band
Author: Jill Barton
Topic: making Music
Age: k-3
Comments: Kids had fun being characters in the book and playing rhythm instruments as the book was read.

Terra Linda

Title: Dogku

Author: Andrew Clements

Grades: K-3
Topic: A dog finding a home

Comments: Younger kids loved this book about a dog who finds a home.



(Susan's Comments)

The art is this book is SO endearing. A Haiku is a Japanese poem that has 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 3rd in the last. It is meant to pack a punch in few words. This charming story is told completely in Haiku. Thus the name Dogku.