Literacy Cafe in My Library

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Let me tell you about the special event I hosted in my school library last Friday for our first grade students!

When the teachers told me they were doing a Kevin Henkes author study, I suggested a Literacy Cafe as a culminating activity.  They were thrilled with the idea of extending the learning beyond what they could do in the classroom.  The teachers read and discussed the “mouse books” with their students ahead of time, and showed the author video from the Kevin Henkes website.  They also chose the two crafts they wanted the students to make.

I planned two Cafe sessions as follow-ups to the books shared in the classroom, and two other sessions to introduce new Henkes books to the students.  And of course, it wouldn’t be a Cafe without food!  We asked parents to send in Cheez-Its and juice pouches as a snack.  I dressed up as Lilly, and my assistant dressed as Owen.  We put up a temporary Kevin Henkes bulletin board, which we changed later to display student work, and we were ready to celebrate!

I was thrilled with the level of thinking and discussion that was going on in our small groups (5-6 students in each), and the kids enjoyed being able to actively participate at each station.

 

You can find links to the all resources I used on our school webpage (the Schedule of Activities lists which 1st grade ELA Common Core standards each activity meets), and you can see the “highlight video” on my Book Buzz blog.

I’m already looking forward to the next one!

 

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