Kindness is a Kite String by Michelle Schaub is a must have for National Poetry Month. Read on to find out why. Figurative language is a powerful writing tool and Kindnes Is a Kite String flows with similes and metaphors. Sure, you could hand out a boring worksheet that drills the differences between similes and… Continue reading Kindness Is a Kite String: The Uplifting Power of Empathy
Author: Katherine Palaces Narita
Let’s Dance
National Poetry Month is only two weeks away. Make sure you have a copy of Let's Dance by Valerie Bolling on your shelves to share with your students. Let's Dance is a rhyming text that celebrates different dances from all over the world. In addition to portraying children from various cultures, Let's Dance includes children… Continue reading Let’s Dance
Miss Mingo and the 100th Day of School
Many teachers and students are missing that familiar sense of normalcy. Well, thankfully, the time-honored tradition of the 100th day of school is just around the corner. Jamie Harper's, Miss Mingo and the 100th Day of School is a must-have title for this special day. In addition to featuring the various combinations of 100 such… Continue reading Miss Mingo and the 100th Day of School
All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat
Every human being should read All Thirteen by Christina Soontornvat. You may be thinking, ‘Wait! What? Did she just write, “Every human being should read All Thirteen?” ‘ Yes, that is what I wrote, and I stand behind my words. All Thirteen is a narrative nonfiction text that shows when we are willing to collaborate… Continue reading All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat
Bionic Beasts: Saving Animal Lives with Artificial Flippers, legs and Beaks by Jolene Gutierrez
Bionic Beasts by Jolene Gutiérrez is a must-have book for the upper elementary classroom. Jolene's book uses five chapters to highlight five specific animals: a Kemp's ridley sea turtle named Lolaa German shephard named Cassidya greylag goose named Vitóriaa Berkshire-tamworth pig named Piratean Asian elephant named Mosha The organizational structure of each chapter will entice… Continue reading Bionic Beasts: Saving Animal Lives with Artificial Flippers, legs and Beaks by Jolene Gutierrez
Grandpa Grumps
Fans of Minh Le and Dan Santat's Drawn Together will love Katrina Moore's Grandpa Grumps. Daisy's grandpa, Yeh-Yeh, visits her from China for the first time. Every day of the week, Daisy tries to connect with Yeh-Yeh in a different way but he' so grumpy that nothing she does seems to work-or so she thinks.… Continue reading Grandpa Grumps
The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story
In the classroom, often times student struggle when trying to differentiate fiction from nonfiction. Sometimes, I will give students a group of books that they have to sort into two groups: fiction or nonfiction. A similar activity can also be done with informational fiction titles. "Informational fiction presents facts and information within a fictional story."… Continue reading The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story
A Perfect Day by Sarah Brannen
It's my first day of school today, and I definitely have the first day jitters. You know what I'm talking about... sleepless nights, the nightmares about students coming to school and being completely unprepared and of course the hope that I'm going to form a fabulous connection with each of my students. One of the… Continue reading A Perfect Day by Sarah Brannen
Project LIT: A Nationwide Movement Started by Jarred Amato
Looking for something fun and exciting to do this school year? Whether you’re teaching in person, remotely or in a hybrid model, start a Project LIT Book Club. Project LIT Book Club is a national movement to eradicate book deserts. Book deserts are communities that lack books. So high school teacher, Jarred Amato, and his… Continue reading Project LIT: A Nationwide Movement Started by Jarred Amato
MIDSUMMER’S MAYHEM by Rajani LaRocca
Mayhem, pandemonium, madness are all words that at times described our remote learning process this spring. Our last week, I wanted to end with something fun, something that might supersede the memory of the dreaded daily color grid. So, for our last small group Google Meet, each student had to prepare a book basket. In… Continue reading MIDSUMMER’S MAYHEM by Rajani LaRocca
Ick!: Delightfully Disgusting Animal Dinners, Dwellings and Defenses by Melissa Stewart
Ick! Might be a word some educators might use when asked to describe parts of the remote learning experience. But one thing is for sure, remote learning has given us the opportunity to get to know our students in new and exciting ways. I've learned that one of my students is a diehard nonfiction fan.… Continue reading Ick!: Delightfully Disgusting Animal Dinners, Dwellings and Defenses by Melissa Stewart
You’re Invited to a Moth Ball: A Nighttime Insect Celebration by Loree Griffin Burns
Loree Griffin Burns' new book You're Invited to a Moth Ball arrived this month. It's a delight for anyone who likes to be outside or has a fascination for insects. Now that our days and nights are less structured, there's more time to explore the world around us. You're Invited to a Moth Ball gives… Continue reading You’re Invited to a Moth Ball: A Nighttime Insect Celebration by Loree Griffin Burns
The Passover Mouse by Joy Nelkin Wieder
Teachers, Joy would love to share her book with your students. Please email her at jnwiederATgmailDOTcom to get the Flipgrid link to share with your students. Your students can hear Joy read her amazing book and ask her questions as well. Joy will respond to students questions on Flipgrid until April fifth. I will be… Continue reading The Passover Mouse by Joy Nelkin Wieder
Bear Needs Help by Sarah Brannen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXRp2iQkG0o Skype Magic By Kate Narita As a teacher, my most memorable, pleasurable moments are when magic happens in the classroom. You know what I’m talking about. Those rare times when everything is in sync, and transcendence occurs in a roomful of people. Transcendence. That’s what happened when I read Bear Needs Help by Sarah… Continue reading Bear Needs Help by Sarah Brannen
Snowy Race by April Jones Prince
Your lesson ended five minutes early, but you have to line up for specials soon. Tonight will be a full moon, and there’s a storm brewing outside. Any teacher knows free time on a low barometric pressure day and a full moon night spells D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R. That’s why you should keep a copy of April Jones… Continue reading Snowy Race by April Jones Prince
Bird Count
I have a special connection to Susan Edwards Richmond's Bird Count. We're in the same writing group. The same day that she brought Bird Count to group to be critiqued, I had realized that no one had written a book about the combinations of ten. I had an inner battle with myself because I didn't… Continue reading Bird Count
Drawn Together by Minh Le and Dan Santat
The last two posts on my personal blog, I've talked about the amazing experience I had at nErDcampLI. One question that author and illustrator, Lita Judge, asked is whether or not we are making a home for neurodiverse learners in our classroom. She shared that she grew up on a remote island in Alaska where… Continue reading Drawn Together by Minh Le and Dan Santat
You Are Home: An Ode to the National Parks by Evan Turk
Teachers say... You Are Home is a must have for every elementary classroom. This book is so important for various reasons. First of all, the exquisite art makes readers feel as if they are actually walking through each national park soaking up the beauty that surrounds them. The paintings by themselves are reason enough to… Continue reading You Are Home: An Ode to the National Parks by Evan Turk
The Remember Balloons By Jessie Oliveros
Author: Kate Palaces Narita is a fourth grade teacher and the author of 100 Bugs! A Counting Book (FSG spring 2018). When she's not out and about driving, teaching or cheering on her two teenage sons, Kate lives, writes, and hikes on a small mountain in central Massachusetts. Sometimes holding a book in your hands is a magical experience.… Continue reading The Remember Balloons By Jessie Oliveros