#3rdfor3rd: Once Upon a Marigold

Welcome to #3rdfor3rd where I share books that my third graders recommend for other third graders. (Please note that my third graders read a wide variety of books across a wide variety of genres, levels, and topics. Do not think that these books are "only" for third graders.) Read more about this book recommendation series and format here.

Once Upon a Marigold

Book recommendation by Hania.

This is the book that I recommend. It's name is Once Upon a Marigold. The author is Jean Ferris.

In the book there is a boy and he runs away from home and a troll adopts him. The boy falls in love with a princess and has great problems to marry her even though she loves him too.

I like this book because it is very weird and funny in some parts but it is an adventure love story. The characters are really people like us but, they are in a world of fantasy.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes adventures and is okay with love but does not like death. I give this book a high score because this is a great book.

(This is the first book in a trilogy, following by Twice Upon a Marigold and Thrice Upon a Marigold.)

Click here or the #3rdfor3rd tag for more great book recommendations!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 7/27/15

It's Monday! What are you reading? was started by Sheila at Book Journey and was adapted for children's books from picture books through YA by Jen of Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee of Unleashing Readers. You can visit either site for a round up of blogs sharing their weekly readings and thoughts or search Twitter for #IMWAYR.

Last Week's Posts

• #3rdfor3rd: Secret Agent Jack Stalwart. Third grade Anik reviews a book from the Secret Agent Jack Stalwart series.

• Poetry Friday: Poems in the Attic. Great generational story as a young girl discovers poems that her mother wrote as a child.

• New Book Alert. Quick review of two new books being published by Kids Can Press: The Tea Party in the Woods and The Specific Ocean.

• Assessment and Communication in the Digital Age (reflection on Digital Reading, Chapters 6-7). As part of #cyberPD I am joining a great group of educations reading, reviewing, and discussing Digital Reading: What's Essential in Grades 3-8. I am also participating in a month-long professional development book club discussion of the book Digital Student Portfolios by Matt Renwick.

Picture Books

This Day in June (2014) by Gayle E. Pitman and illustrated by Kristyna Litten. This book came up in a lot of blogs after the Supreme Court's decision about gay marriage in June. The brief poetic descriptions detail different scenes in a pride parade with an extensive Reading Guide at the end explaining some of the background and history behind the different groups, organizations, and people represented. There is also a note to parents and caregivers about talking to children about LGBT and sexual orientation. The illustrations also do a great job of depicting a diversity of people. (H/T Alex at Randomly Reading.)

Peace is an Offering (2015) by Annette LeBox and illustrated by Stephanie Graegin. This lyrical, rhyming picture book describes peace in a variety of ways and situations, and the illustrations feature a diverse group of children and adults. This could be a great book for a discussion not just about peace but also about building a classroom community. (H/T Linda at Teacher Dance.)

The Earth Shook: a Persian tale (2009) by Donna Jo Napoli and illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska. This invented folktale was inspired by an actual earthquake in Iran in 2003. The story follows Parisa, the only human survivor, as she seeks out other animals to learn what makes a human. This sparse, repetitively structured text reminds me a bit of  Jon Muth's take on Tolstoy in The Three Questions. (H/T Myra at Gathering Books.)

Gecko's Complaint: a Balinese folktale (2003) retold by Ann Martin Bowler and illustrated by I Gusti Made Sukanada. (Bilingual version also available.) This story from Indonesia bears a striking similarity to Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears in that a line of complaints keeps getting traced back and back and back. In this case, the animals find that the rain is to blame, not the mosquito, but interestingly, rain is given credit for supporting mosquitoes! It makes me curious about the evolution and history of both tales.

What if Everybody Did That? (2010) By Ellen Javernick and illustrated by Colleen M. Madden. The concept of this book is immediately apparent - what if one supposedly innocuous action (tossing a soda can out a window, interrupting read aloud, etc) was repeated by everyone? Rather than make you think about it, however, the illustrator puts the question on the left-hand page with the exaggerated result on the right-hand page. This would have been a much stronger book if you had to wait until the page turn to see the impact, because it would also force kids to imagine the results of the actions for themselves first.

Nonfiction

Secrets of the Sky Caves: danger and discovery on Nepal's Mustang Cliffs (2014) by Sandra K. Athans. This book tells the story of a several year archaeological investigation of the sky caves in a remote area of Nepal. The author is the sister of one of the mountain climbers who helped enter and explore the caves, and her background knowledge seems about that qualified. What could have been a fascinating look at a forgotten way of life is mainly a laundry list of what they did or saw each year with almost no larger history or cultural story. Apparently her young nephew and niece were also on the expeditions but rather than give them a voice or allow the reader to connect to them in any way, they are just mentioned off-hand and appear a few times in the photographs. Not really sure what the publishers saw in this one, other than potential.

Middle Grade

Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer (2015) by Kelly Jones and illustrated by Katie Kath. This is a delightfully humorous and spunky book told entirely through letters written by main character Sophie. After her family inherits her Great Uncle Jim's farm, Sophie begins to slowly discover some of the farms secrets, including the fact that there should have been chickens! Mystery, intrigue, and chicken superpowers, this book has it all, as well as a diverse main character (her mother is Mexican-American and her father's family hails from Norway) and some hilarious illustrations. (H/T to Mr. Schu and #WeNeedDiverseBooks.)

Challenges and Summer Plans

#Bookaday Challenge update: days read a book 53/56, books read 90+/90 !!

Award-Winning Books Reading Challenge update: 12 books, 2 dedicated posts

Dive into Diversity Challenge update: 154 books, 34 dedicated posts (Poems in the Attic)

Happy Reading!

New Book Alert: Tea Party in the Woods and The Specific Ocean

Just wanted to bring your attention to two new books being published August 1st by Kids Can Press. Kids Can Press is the largest Canadian-owned children’s publisher in the world and publishes a diverse catalog of books. Though many of their stories focus on international or worldwide stories, these two are more traditional.

The Tea Party in the Woods (2015) by Akiko Miyakoshi, published by Kids Can Press.

A young girl in a red hat must travel through the woods to bring a pie to her grandmother ... but this is not the story you are expecting! This story reminds me a bit of Alice in Wonderland meets Little Red Riding Hood. The sparse color palette makes for almost a "selective color" look with the majority of the illustrations rendered in black and white with only the occasional touches of red and yellow. I was disappointed with the focus this selective color places on the little girls' fairytale-traditional golden hair. With a Japanese author/illustrator, this would have been a great opportunity for adding some diversity to the main characters!

The Specific Ocean (2015) by Kye Maclear and illustrated by Katty Maurey, published by Kids Can Press.

This first-person picture book is told by a girl who is reluctant to leave the city for the ocean but then finds herself reluctant to leave the ocean for the city. Something about her inner journey, however, struck me as fairly inauthentic. There really don't seem to be real reasons for her hatred of the ocean, and there is very little chance for her to develop much personality before , surprise! (not), she suddenly comes to like the ocean very much. Readers may find phrases or illustrations they like or catch their eye, but I don't think the story itself is enough.

(Digital ARCs of both books provided by Net Galley in return for an honest review.)

Poetry Friday: Poems in the Attic

Poems in the Attic (2015) by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon.

This is a story in poems of a story about poems. The seven-year old narrator (and poet) finds a collection of her mother's poems in the attic of her grandmother's house. Each two-page spread shares a poem written by the narrator connected to a poem written by her mother.

The mother's poems celebrate the life and travels of a "military brat" and are located in various cities and countries with US Air Force Bases. (The Author's Note provides details about military life as her inspiration, the location of the bases referenced, and two pages about the poetry forms used in the book, free verse and tanka.) There is great interplay between the two sets of poems as we learn more about the narrator through her reflections on her own life as well as on her mother's poems.

Chopsticks

At dinner I ask Grandma

for the chopsticks Mama

taught me to use. Once, I asked Mama

where she learned, and she just smiled.

Cherry Blossoms, Japan

Spring! Kimono time.

I joined the parade of girls

strolling avenues

dusted with cherry blossoms.

I caught a few, like snowflakes.

What I also really appreciated about this book is its portrayal of the mother's childhood. Here is an African-American young woman who is outdoorsy, adventurous, and explores and embraces other cultures. How many picture books or stories can you name that portray African-American girls kayaking, skiing, or picnicking on beetles at the base of Mount Fuji?

Happy Poetry Friday! The Poetry Friday Roundup is at Reflections on the Teche.

#3rdfor3rd: Secret Agent Jack Stalwart

Welcome to #3rdfor3rd where I share books that my third graders recommend for other third graders. (Please note that my third graders read a wide variety of books across a wide variety of genres, levels, and topics. Do not think that these books are "only" for third graders.) Read more about this book recommendation series and format here.

Jack Stalwart Peril at the Grand Prix

Book recommendation by Anik.

This book is Secret Agent Jack Stalwart: Peril at the Grand Prix by Elizabeth Singer Hunt.

Jack is a secret agent that works for GPF or Global Protection Force. His next mission is in Italy. His favorite racing driver is in danger. Someone has already tried to kill him and they are about to try again. Jack has to figure out who is trying to kill the racing driver before it is too late.

I think that this book is very interesting and that it is well written.

A connection that I have to this book is that I like cars.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes cars or likes secret agents.

I think this is a great book and I rate it five out of five stars.

(Note from me: this is the 8th book in the series. You may want to start with book one, Secret Agent Jack Stalwart: the Escape of the Deadly Dinosaur.)

Click here or the #3rdfor3rd tag for more great book recommendations!

Assessment and Communication in the Digital Age

This summer I am again joining in the amazing community and discussion of #cyberPD hosted by Cathy Mere of Reflect and Refine, Michelle Nero of Literacy Learning Zone, and Laura Komos. This summer's book is Digital Reading: What's Essential in Grades 3-8. Click here to read more about #cyberPD or click here to join the Google+ discussion group!

Digital Reading: Reflections on Ch. 6

These end of the book, Digital Reading: What's Essential in Grades 3-8, turns our attention back to assessment. Now that we have integrated digital skills and digital reading into our classrooms, how can we not also begin to think about digital assessment? This also gets to the heart of the second professional development book club I have been participating in this summer, studying the eBook Digital Student Portfolios. (Join that Google+ Community here).

 

I appreciate how Bill and Franki pay attention to multiple times and forms of assessment, from the questions we ask at the beginning of the year to our on-going formative assessment to more summative projects and student reflections. Franki also shares examples of her personal goals.

One of my personal goals for next year is to incorporate on-going digital student portfolios that collect real artifacts of a child's learning, process, and progress. Right now I am working on determining what types of ongoing assessments I want to incorporate (starting with the list on pg. 90 as well as assessments I have used in the past). Then I want to establish a schedule and process to ensure that these artifacts are collected regularly.

Student reflection seems like an easy piece to transfer into the digital sphere. In the past, I had students fill out a self-reflection worksheet when they finished a major project, and this type of directed-response seems quite easy to move into a Google Doc or Google Form (like the example on pg. 94). I also like the idea that kids could then access their previous projects and reflections to do more direct comparisons of their growth and progress. Matching kid-work to kid-reflections and making them easy to refer back to would be a great improvement over paper versions!

Digital Reading: Reflections on Ch. 7

I also really appreciated this ending chapter on parents and home-school communication. My current classroom communication plan involves a print newsletter sent out every-other week in the students' homework folders, as well as a weekly summary of upcoming assignments that appears online on Thinkwave (the online gradebook program our whole school uses). Parents were also invited to comment on the kids' Kid Blog posts during the year.

I have so far resisted the urge to make my classroom newsletter digital, because I really want parents and kids to get into a weekly habit of emptying and returning the homework folders. Without the lure of the newsletter possibly drawing parents' attention, I fear I would have even more third graders who simply pull everything out of their folders, stuff the papers into the bottom of their backpacks, and let them linger there for weeks until someone happens to notice!

As our school transitions to a 1:1 school at the middle school grades, I think we will need to continue to expand our digital outreach to parents. I loved the metaphor of a "digital petting zoo" and having a BYOD (bring your own devices) night for parents to learn to harness the digital tools their children and teachers are using. Digital stewardship needs to start early and start often, and bringing in parents can only help those efforts.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 7/20/15

It's Monday! What are you reading? was started by Sheila at Book Journey and was adapted for children's books from picture books through YA by Jen of Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee of Unleashing Readers. You can visit either site for a round up of blogs sharing their weekly readings and thoughts or search Twitter for #IMWAYR.

Happy Blog Birthday to Me!

• July 14th marked exactly a year since my first real blog post - an #IMWAYR post, of course! - went live. In honor of that momentous event, I am running a 5-Book Poetry Package Giveway! Today's your last chance to enter and win five of my all-time favorite poetry books for teaching and inspiring kids.

Last Week's Posts

• #3rdfor3rd: Babymouse. Babymouse continues to be a big hit among my third graders - boys and girls alike. Check out this review by third grader Hayat about why she loves Babymouse.

• More Great Picture Books about Ramadan and Muslim Culture. Five more books with great stories about Muslims and Muslim-Americans, many of which are also set during the holiday of Ramadan which just ended.

• This is Just to Say. Following up on last week's Poetry Friday post with another great collection of apology poems (some false, some not).

• Digital Reading, Chapters 3-5. As part of #cyberPD I am joining a great group of educations reading, reviewing, and discussing Digital Reading: What's Essential in Grades 3-8. I am also participating in a month-long professional development book club discussion of the book Digital Student Portfolios by Matt Renwick.

• Kid Lit Blog Hop. Stop by the 64th Kid Lit Blog Hop for a great collection of posts all about kids books and authors!

Picture Books

The Best Eid Ever (2007) by Asma Mobin-Uddin and illustrated by Laura Jacobsen. Aneesa is disappointed to be celebrating Eid al-Adha without her parents, who are undertaking the Hajj pilgrimage. But by befriending two recent refugee girls, Aneesa learns an important lesson about the true importance of Eid. (H/T Myra from Gathering Books.)

Time to Pray (2010) by Maha Addasi, translated by Nuha Albitar, and illustrated by Ned Gannon. In this tender bilingual book, young Yasmin is visiting her grandmother in a Muslim country. Fascinated by the calls of the muezzin, she asks her grandmother to teach her to pray. When she returns home (presumably to America), she finds a special gift from her grandmother to remind her about her prayers. A note at the end of the book describes the five times for prayer and the reasons behind them. (H/T Myra from Gathering Books.) Both these books are also featured in a new post this week, More Great Picture Books about Ramadan and Muslim Culture.

Chandra's Magic Light: a story in Nepal (2014) by Theresa Heine and illustrated by Judith Gueyfier. This is, unfortunately, a book where the purpose (teach kids about solar lamps!) overshadows the book itself. The characters have no depth and the emotional content is lacking. I feel like this could have been a really good book, but it just didn't come out well.

When Everybody Wore a Hat (2003) by William Steig. Another in my recent memoir kick, this memoir by acclaimed author William Steig draws upon memories of his childhood. Rather than a story, the book lays out little vignettes describing the illustrated scenes. I probably will not use this as a mentor text for memoir with my third graders, as this style really skims the surface and does not offer the description or reflection that I try to foster in my students' memoirs.

I Yam a Donkey (2015) by Cece Bell. I love grammar puns (see Teach Grammar with Humor), but I was really disappointed with this book. It is too much of a one-trick pony, and the joke does not grow or deepen. In addition, the vernacular way the donkey is talking (the 'you is' construction in particular) seems like a mockery of an Ebonics-style of speaking. I agree with the need to teach traditional English structures of grammar and speaking, but I'm not sure that mockery is the right way to accomplish that goal.

Middle Grade

The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. (2009) by Kate Messner. Inspired in part by Teachers Write, I've been catching up on the incredible writings of Kate Messner. This book just blew me away right from the beginning with its quick and insightful portrayal of main character Gianna. You "get" her so easily and immediately want to know more.

Ranger in Time 2: Danger in Ancient Rome (2015) by Kate Messner. On the younger side of middle fiction is the newest book in the Ranger in Time series (book 3 arrives in Dec.). Sent by his magic first aid kit, golden retriever Ranger finds himself in the Colosseum of ancient Rome, where he befriends a young worker and his trainee at a school for gladiators. This quick and engaging read provides a lot of mystery and excitement to draw readers.

Challenges and Summer Plans

This summer I am again joining in the amazing community and discussion of #cyberPD. This summer's book is Digital Reading: What's Essential in Grades 3-8. Click here to read more about #cyberPD or click here to join the Google+ discussion group!

I am also participating in a month-long professional development book club discussion of the book Digital Student Portfolios by Matt Renwick. Read my posts here.

#Bookaday Challenge update: days read a book 46/49, books read 64/90

Award-Winning Books Reading Challenge update: 12 books, 2 dedicated posts

Dive into Diversity Challenge update: 145 books, 33 dedicated posts (More Great Picture Books about Ramadan and Muslim Culture)

Happy Reading!

More Great Picture Books about Ramadan and Muslim Culture

Last year, the coincide with the beginning of Ramadan, I published a post on 5 Positive Picture Books for Ramadan. Since then, I have found several more wonderful books to share.

A Party in Ramadan (2009) by Asma Mobin-Uddin and illustrated by Laura Jacobsen. Leena faces a dilemma: she has promised to fast for the first Friday of Ramadan but she has received an invitation to a classmate's birthday party. This story is a great introduction to Ramadan and how to be accepting of others. (H/T Alex's great post Some Books about Ramadan for Younger Readers.)

The White Nights of Ramadan (2008) by Maha Addasi and illustrated by Ned Gannon. Set during the middle of the month of Ramadan (the white nights refer to the full moon), Noor is looking forward to celebrating with her neighbors.

Going to Mecca (2012) by Na'ima B. Robert and illustrated by Valentina Cavallini. This is a lovely second-person book that invites you, the reader, to join the pilgrims on each step of the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. A note at the back provides more contexts about the individual steps during the journey. I really appreciated the details of this story and especially how the illustrator sought to be inclusive in her collage, including women, children, and people with disabilities. (H/T Myra from Gathering Books.)

The Best Eid Ever (2007) by Asma Mobin-Uddin and illustrated by Laura Jacobsen. Aneesa is disappointed to be celebrating Eid al-Adha without her parents, who are undertaking the Hajj pilgrimage. But by befriending two recent refugee girls, Aneesa learns an important lesson about the true importance of Eid.

Time to Pray (2010) by Maha Addasi, translated by Nuha Albitar, and illustrated by Ned Gannon. In this tender bilingual book, young Yasmin is visiting her grandmother in a Muslim country. Fascinated by the calls of the muezzin, she asks her grandmother to teach her to pray. When she returns home (presumably to America), she finds a special gift from her grandmother to remind her about her prayers. A note at the end of the book describes the five times for prayer and the reasons behind them. (H/T Myra from Gathering Books.)

Find more great recommendations in the first post in this series, 5 Positive Picture Books for Ramadan.

Poetry Friday: This Is Just To Say

Huge thanks to everyone who participated in last week's Poetry Friday Roundup here. There's now a great collection of dozens of poetry links curated at the bottom of the post. This week I wanted to follow up on the wonderful book suggestion that I received from several of you. (This week marks the One-Year Blogoversary for The Logonauts. Stop by our poetry package giveaway, including last week's book, Forgive Me, I Meant to do It.)

This is Just to Say: poems of apology and forgiveness (2007) by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski. (H/T Sally Murphy, Laura Salas, Margaret Simon, Reading to the Core, and others.) Also inspired by William Carlos Williams' famous This is Just to Say poem, this collection of poems has two sections.

In the first section, an imaginary class of students shares their own apology poems (some false, some not) inspired by William Carlos Williams. In the second section, they shared those poems with the intended recipient and asked them to write a poem back in response. Some "students" also wrote back on behalf of non-writing recipients, like the class pet or a school statue.

It is a really interesting collection of poems. A few follow very closely to the format of the original poem while many simply take the idea of apology and run with it. Some of the response poems are quite humorous, others are sweet, and a few are just heartbreaking (another student writing back on behalf of a helicopter-tiger mom who thinks the assignment is ridiculous). Just a heads up, I noticed many Amazon reviewers taking issue with the language in two poems (an older sister's "I'm still really / pissed off at you" and a father's "christ" as an interjection).

I think this would be a really interesting exercise in point-of-view to try with students. As part of our poetry unit I already have my third graders write false apology poems. It would be fun to follow up on that a few days later by sharing some of these poems and then asking my students to write their own apology-response poems from another perspective.

Happy Poetry Friday! Kimberley has this week's roundup over on Google+.

#3rdfor3rd: Babymouse

Welcome to #3rdfor3rd where I share books that my third graders recommend for other third graders. (Please note that my third graders read a wide variety of books across a wide variety of genres, levels, and topics. Do not think that these books are "only" for third graders.) Read more about this book recommendation series and format here.

Babymouse: Beach Babe

Book recommendation by Hayat.

Babymouse Beach Babe was written by Jennifer Holm. It is the 3rd in the series. Beach Babe is all about Babymouse loving surfing but never has tried it before. She is really good at it. Babymouse hurried to get a spot at the beach and didn't get one. She also got sunburned all over her body and the popular kid, who is mean to her laughed.

I like Babymouse books because even though Babymouse isn't popular, she is funny and crazy things happen to her. I like the drawings too.

Whenever something bad happens to Babymouse she says, "Typical."  In this case when the wave knocks her over she says, "Typical."

Babymouse Beach Babe is a funny book! I would recommend it to someone who likes animal books. And likes surfing! I give this book 5 out of 5 stars because I really like it.

Click here or the #3rdfor3rd tag for more great book recommendations!

(Note from me: Babymouse is another hugely popular series in our room and is enjoyed equally by boys and girls.)

This week marks the One-Year Blogoversary for The Logonauts. Stop by our giveaway, running all week long.

Kid Lit Blog Hop #63, Summer Edition

Welcome to the 63rd Kid Lit Blog Hop where we continue to develop a dynamic and engaged community of children's books bloggers, authors, publishers, and publicists. So, you are always more than welcome to join us by popping in a post and hopping around to meet some of your fellow Kid Lit bloggers and authors!

Hope you haven't missed us too badly! In honor of summer and other obligations, we are running only one #KidLitBlogHop for the month's of July and August. Mark your calendars for our next hop, Wednesday, August 19th!

Hostesses:

Mother Daughter Book Reviews

Julie Grasso, Author/ Blogger

Cheryl Carpinello, Author / Blogger

Stacking Books

BeachBoundBooks

Music Teaching and Parenting

Pragmatic Mom

Reading Authors

The Logonauts

A Book Long Enough

Spark and Pook

Happy Hopping everyone and enjoy the Hop!

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Kid Lit Blog Hop Rules *Please Read*

1. Link up any Kid Lit related post in the Kid Lit Blog Hop. This can be a link to a children’s book review, a discussion about children’s literature/literacy, or a post on a recently-read children’s book or one that you love from your childhood.

* Don't link directly to your blog, it must be a specific post.*

* For Authors, we prefer you to link to your blog if you have one. Please link unique posts each time ~ no repeats please. *

* Make sure you include an image relevant to the POST (e.g., book cover), not your blog button or photo of yourself.*

* Feel free to link more than one post.*

2. Please visit AT LEAST the TWO LINKS from the Kid Lit Blog Hop directly ahead of your own and leave them some love in the form of a comment. We are trying to build a community of bloggers, readers, parents, authors, and others who are as passionate about children’s literature as we are so please CONNECT and follow any or all of the blogs that interest you!

3. If you like, grab the button above and put it somewhere on your blog, preferably the post you're linking up. If you'd prefer, you can just add a text link back to this Hop so that others can find it and check out all these great book links!

4. It would really help us get the word out about the Kid Lit Blog Hop if you would be so kind as to tweet, share, and spread the word about the Hop!

Happy Hopping!

KID LIT BLOG HOP

Blog Birthday - win a poetry package!

It's the One Year Blogoversary for The Logonauts! In honor of making it a full year of blogging, I wanted to give something back to you, my wonderful blogging and teaching community. So, I have put together a giveaway ... drum roll please ... for a ...

5-Book Poetry Package!

This 5-Book Poetry Package (a $40 value!) includes my favorite books for teaching poetry to kids, many of which I have written and shared about on the blog during the past year.

• Love that Dog and Hate that Cat by Sharon Creech. These two charming novels-in-verse are told through the writing notebook of reluctant poet Jack. I used Love that Dog as a read aloud during our poetry unit, read more in Teaching Poetry with Love that Dog.

• A River of Words: the story of William Carlos Williams. This Caldecott Honor book from the talented duo of Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet is a biography of the American poet and doctor William Carlos Williams. His plain, yet descriptive style, is a great encouragement for aspiring poets.

• Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It: false apology poems by Gail Carson Levine and illustrated by Matthew Cordell. Inspired by a William Carlos Williams poem, this hilarious and irreverent poetry collection can turn anyone into a poet. Read more, including student poems, in Poetry Friday Roundup is Here!

• You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: very short stories to read together by Mary Ann Hoberman and illustrated by Michael Emberley. These partner poetry books are among the most-read and most-requested in my classroom. Read more in the Power of Poetry Friday in the Classroom.

Thank you for all that you do to inspire me!

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#CyberPD: Digital Reading, Ch. 3-5

This summer I am again joining in the amazing community and discussion of #cyberPD hosted by Cathy Mere of Reflect and Refine, Michelle Nero of Literacy Learning Zone, and Laura Komos. This summer's book is Digital Reading: What's Essential in Grades 3-8. Click here to read more about #cyberPD or click here to join the Google+ discussion group!

Digital Reading: Reflections on Ch. 3-5

These three middle chapters address the question of "What really matters?" in three different ways: authenticity (chapter 3), intentional decision making (chapter 4), and connectedness (chapter 5). For me, this really gets into the heart of the book. I already know the what/why of digital reading, so I was excited to jump into to figuring out more about the HOW.

"Authenticity is about choice and ownership" (page 31). Exactly. It's that two-way street of giving kids choice (in reading, in response, in digital tools, etc.) and showing them how to take ownership over those decisions. This then leads towards the idea that "Focusing on the learning rather than the tool created a more authentic workshop" (page 37). Kids want to know why they are doing something in addition to knowing what they need to do.

That said, there is value in limiting the number of choices (here, the number of digital tools) available and making sure that kids know how to use them well.

Tools I Already Use

In my early years of teaching, I used digital tools primarily for having kids type up finished work, including writing pieces and social studies projects. We used Microsoft Word for typing and PowerPoint for sharing presentations, research, and interactive poetry.

Last year, I started using Kid Blog with my students for the first time (read, We are Bloggers). We connected with several other classrooms in other countries as part of the Global Read Aloud and continued those connections during the year.

We also did our first Mystery Skype with another class and had a Skype author visit with the delightful Tara Lazar on World Read Aloud Day.

Tools I Want to Learn More About

I have been introduced to many more wonderful digital tools through this book group and my PLN. These are on the top of my to-implement list. Please advise!

• Google Drive and other Google apps. I only just figured out that I have access to the Google Apps for Education suite via our school email accounts. After years of frustration with flash drives and third graders (if you can imagine it, it can go wrong), I'm ready for the cloud!

• Evernote. My other professional development book group this summer is focusing on Digital Student Portfolios, and Evernote keeps coming up as an easy way to organize student information and share it in real-time with parents.

• Twitter. I set up a class twitter account mid-way through the last school year, but never did anything with it with my students. I would love to get them active on Twitter. I also pioneered a hashtag, #3rdfor3rd, to highlight books third graders recommend for other third graders. I'd love to get some more classes involved in using it too! (Other third grade or even 2nd-5th grade classes who want to connect? Come find us at @KidLogonauts.)

• Padlet. I set up a Padlet account and then never used it. This seems to be one that teachers use more frequently with devices rather than laptops, which is what I have access to. Still having problems visualizing how to run a read aloud while kids are also able to access a collective Padlet.

• Haiku Deck. I like the ability to easily work with images here but may just stick with Google Slides as a first introduction to this type of tool.

• I am also really interested in building a strong, curated list of suitable research web sites for kids, like Franki describes on page 82. Much of our research revolves around our social studies curriculum of learning about different countries. So far, we have mostly stuck to our local library database, World Book Online (subscription required), and Encyclopedia Britannica Online (subscription).

This week marks the One-Year Blogoversary for The Logonauts. 

Stop by our giveaway, running all week long!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 7/13/15

It's Monday! What are you reading? was started by Sheila at Book Journey and was adapted for children's books from picture books through YA by Jen of Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee of Unleashing Readers. You can visit either site for a round up of blogs sharing their weekly readings and thoughts or search Twitter for #IMWAYR.

Happy (almost) Blog Birthday to Me!

• Tomorrow, July 14th marks exactly a year since my first real blog post - an #IMWAYR post, of course! - went live. I cannot believe what an incredible community I've become a part of, how much I have learned, and how much my teaching practice has grown. I am hoping to put together something exciting tomorrow to honor the big day, so please check back!

Last Week's Posts

• Poetry Friday Roundup. This week I had the distinct pleasure of being the host for the weekly Poetry Friday Roundup. Stop by and check out the dozens of wonderful poetry posts!

• #3rdfor3rd: Zita the Spacegirl. This highly enthusiastic book review from third-grade Lily introduced me and the rest of the class to the irrepresible Zita.

• Digital Reading, Chapters 1-2. As part of #cyberPD I am joining a great group of educations reading, reviewing, and discussing Digital Reading: What's Essential in Grades 3-8. I am also participating in a month-long professional development book club discussion of the book Digital Student Portfolios by Matt Renwick.

Picture Books

Marilyn's Monster (2015) by Michelle Knudsen and illustrated by Matt Phelan. This charming picture book makes an excellent bookend to last year's Caldecott-winning Beekle. I am definitely adding this one to my collection of Fun Picture Books about Imaginary Friends (Visible and Invisible).

Crossing Bok Chitto: a Choctaw tale of friendship and freedom (2006) by Tim Tingle and illustrated by Jeanne Rorex Bridges. I need to read everything Tim Tingle has written, for sure. In this, his first picture book, he shares a powerful historical tale of the connections between the Choctaw and runaway slaves in Mississippi. A great addition to any study of US history and the run up to the Civil War. (H/T Cheriee at Library Matters.)

When the Animals Saved Earth: an eco-fable (2015) retold by Alexis York Lumbard and illustrated by Demi. The origins of this story go back more than 1,000 years and links through several major world religions. It tells a creation story from the perspective of the animals, who have a unique take on the "arrival" of humans. This is a great book for getting kids to think about other points of view, as well as to talk about environmental issues.

A Pair of Twins (2014) by Kavitha Mandana and illustrated by Nayantara Surendranath. This historic fiction (fantasy?) story tells about the linked lives of two babies born on the same day: the daughter of the chief mahout (elephant trainer) and the daughter of the star of the bull elephants. In a growing story of girl-power, the young Sundari changes expectations about what girls (and girl elephants) are capable of. Again, I would have liked an author's note, if not talking about whether there is any truth to the story, but even just background about the elephants and the Dussehra festival.

A Good Trade (2013) by Alma Fullerton and illustrated by Karen Patkau. This rhythmic story set in Uganda follows a young boy, Kato, through his day. He gathers water, finds a flower, and receives new shoes from an aid worker. But alas, this is another picture book that is dire need of an author's note and context for kids. I'm really not sure what the "take home message" is supposed to be here. [Read my deeper analysis of this book and its author here.]

My Name is Yoon (2003) by Helen Recorvits and illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska. Jennie Hunt commented on my post about Books about Modern Immigration and Immigrants suggesting I check this one out. Yoon feels very unsure about her move to America, and she chooses a variety of new words to write instead of her name. While I liked the story, I felt like the style of illustration distracting.

Young Fiction

Marty McGuire (2011) by Kate Messner with illustrations by Brian Floca. This charming chapter book is the first of a series starting irrepressible third grader Marty McGuire. I love how Kate Messner captures so much about Marty so quickly. Definitely a book I'll be coming back to in terms of strong characters and telling descriptions. I think this one will be a big hit with my students too.

Challenges and Summer Plans

This summer I am again joining in the amazing community and discussion of #cyberPD. This summer's book is Digital Reading: What's Essential in Grades 3-8. Click here to read more about #cyberPD or click here to join the Google+ discussion group!

I am also participating in a month-long professional development book club discussion of the book Digital Student Portfolios by Matt Renwick.

#Bookaday Challenge update: days read a book 39/42, books read 64/90

Award-Winning Books Reading Challenge update: 12 books, 2 dedicated posts

Dive into Diversity Challenge update: 145 books, 31 dedicated posts

Happy Reading!