Autumn Leaves: Kindergarten Story Time

Posted on October 16, 2018 by Lori June

I love autumn, and I enjoy sharing all the elements of the season with my students. In this lesson I shared the fabulous book Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert, which never gets old for me even though I’ve been reading it aloud for ten years! We followed the book with a discussion of all the items she was able to make with leaves, and then we brainstormed ideas of other pictures that could be created.

I then gave each student a sheet of plain construction paper, and an assortment of real leaves and acorns from my yard. Ordinarily I would take the students on a nature walk around the school grounds to collect materials for this project, but Hurricane Michael closed our school and then left a wet mess behind. As we talked about what body parts people and animals have, the students experimented with different sizes and shapes of leaves to design their own leaf pictures. And while they were making art, I was taking photos!

We ended our time together by returning to the rug and singing Autumn Leaves are Falling Down by The Kiboomers on YouTube. I chose this song because it mentions the colors of the leaves that fall from the trees, which is one of the facts I wanted the students to know.

I reinforced that concept with our line up activity: When I called a child’s name, s/he had to name a real leaf color (green, yellow, orange, brown) before lining up.

Do you share the beauty of autumn leaves with your students? Please leave a comment and share your ideas!

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves: Kindergarten Story Time

Posted on October 3, 2018 by Lori June

Our most recent story sessions have focused on trees and orchards, so our next logical step was to talk about leaves and the seasonal changes they are starting to go through.

I began with a callback to a read-aloud I used earlier this year: There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback. We re-read that book and used the old lady interactive puppet to re-enact the story, then segued into a different “old lady” book: There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves by Lucille Colandro. To make sure the students were actively listening, I instructed them to say “ah-choo” every time they heard the word “sneeze.”

Not only did we see leaves on every page of the book, but at the end of the story (spoiler alert!) the old lady sneezes out a scarecrow, which provides another seasonal icon to work with! We had an interesting discussion about the purpose of a scarecrow. A few children knew it was for scaring birds away, while others insisted it was a Halloween decoration. We finally agreed that both uses were important.

After the story it was time to move around, so we learned the Scarecrow Dance using the video for the Scarecrow Song by the Learning Station on YouTube. I almost used the video/song Dance Like a Scarecrow but in the end I preferred the way the “Scarecrow Song” kept repeating and got a little faster each time. That gave the kids a chance to practice the dance, and they really like it when things speed up the longer you do them.

Then we worked on small motor skills with a simple scarecrow coloring page. Some students surprised me with how well they were already coloring, but others were mere scribblers. All were proud of what they created though, as evidenced by their enthusiasm for “show and tell” time when we came back to the carpet to share the pictures.

Do you have some good scarecrow resources that you use in your story time sessions? Please leave a comment or tweet me @LibraryLoriJune

Orchards and Trees: Kindergarten Story Time

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Lori June

I’m “branching out” from apple trees in this week’s kindergarten story time to fruit trees in general. (See what I did there?)

As a callback to our last story time we began our session with the song Way Up High in an Apple Tree by The Learning Station.

Then I shared the nonfiction book At the Orchard by Bruce Esseltine which depicts a variety of fruit trees and provides a nice opportunity for students to identify different types of fruit.

That led us into the rhyme A Tree Starts to Grow which I got from Miss Nina’s Weekly Video Show on YouTube. I did not use her video with the students; instead I made a chart of the words and taught it to the children myself. (Click the image to enlarge it.) I always try to alternate sitting still for a story with some singing and moving so the kids don’t get too restless.

Then I used the Epic! ebook website to share A Tree Grows Up by Marfe Delano, which is a colorful look at the life cycle of a tree. I love the close-up of acorns on the title page, and the fact that the book mentions that acorns are food for different animals as well as seeds for trees.

I brought in a couple dozen brown and green acorns from my yard, and the last few minutes of our time were spent examining the acorns and describing how they feel. Our “lining up activity” was for each student to place his/her acorn in the correct cup (brown acorns in the brown cup, green acorns in the green cup) on their way to the door. I sent the acorns back to the classroom to be used in the math center for counting and sorting.

Do you have some additional resources to recommend? Please leave a comment!

Apples: Kindergarten Story Time

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Lori June

This week my story time focus shifted from animal farms to fruit tree farms. My theme was apples, and it was a multi-sensory experience for the children.

I started by reading aloud At the Apple Farm by Rachel Albanese, which is a nonfiction account of a mother and daughter visiting an orchard to pick baskets of apples. I had a real basket with a couple of apples in it for the students to pass around while we reviewed what we just learned about apple farms.

Then it was time to get up and dance to the song I Like to Eat Apples and Bananas. I used a music video from the Tumblebooks website, but there are also a few versions of the song on YouTube, including the one by The Learning Station.

Once again I used the Epic! ebook website to share I Eat Apples in Fall by Mary Lindeen. This book shows children of different ethnicities picking and enjoying apples, and it also highlights the different colors of apples, which led into our apple tasting.

I brought in bags of red (Red Delicious) and green (Granny Smith) apple wedges and gave the students one of each to touch, smell, and taste. We then used paper apples to chart each child’s preference to determine which flavor was the most popular.

The students ended our time by “picking” a paper apple off of a paper tree and placing it in the appropriate basket (red apples in the red basket, green apples in the green basket, yellow apples in the yellow basket) on their way to line up at the door.

Do you use apple books and activities in your story time? Please leave a comment and share!

Old MacDonald and His Animals on the Farm: Kindergarten Story Time

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Lori June

After spending two years at a school that housed 4th and 5th grade only, I’m thoroughly enjoying leading story time for younger students again!

For the last couple of library visits I’ve been focusing on farm animals. The first time I used several nonfiction books, along with a spirited rendition of the song Old MacDonald Had a Farm complete with flannel board pieces.

For the second visit I shared three fiction stories:

Click Clack Moo Cows That Type (by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Betsy Lewin) This classic book is a crowd-pleaser for children and adults alike which shows how the farm animals work together to negotiate with the farmer for what they want. I’ll probably use some of the sequels during future visits.

Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Jill McElmurry) A rhyming delight AND an opportunity for students to chime in with both animal and vehicle noises AND a sweet message of friendship, all in one book. (There are more books about the Little Blue Truck too.) And it segues perfectly to the next book….

Old MacDonald Had a Truck (by Steven Goetz, illustrated by Eda Kaban) Instead of focusing on the animals on the farm, this book celebrates the heavy machinery (dump truck, bulldozer, etc) being used for an unusual project on the farm. Most boys will be delighted by the sights and sounds on each page, and girls will probably be pleased to see Mrs. MacDonald partnering with her husband in their exciting endeavor. (It turns out that Old MacDonald also has a boat, if you’re interested in the sequel to this story.)

Do you have a favorite Old MacDonald story time resource? Please share it in the comments or tweet me @LibraryLoriJune

Saying YES to Teachers

Posted on August 15, 2018 by Lori June

In our back-to-school meeting today at Vance Providence Elementary School, our faculty was asked to choose a watchword for this year. As the morning went on we heard from our principal, our guidance counselor, our secretary, and others on the faculty and staff. As I listened and made note of the information being shared, the question lingered in the back of my mind: What word will define my attitude for the year? What word will sum up what I want my co-workers to notice about me? What word can I use to remind myself of what is truly important this year?

The word I chose is Yes. That one simple word represents my desire to assist and support the teachers as I begin my education journey with them. So many times in the past I’ve had to tell teachers “no” when they needed something because my time was completely taken up with conducting Library classes. This year I have a flexible schedule, so I can be there with resources, with ideas, with collaborative teaching plans, and with technology innovations to empower them in their classrooms and beyond.

Whatever a teacher asks me for this year, I want to be able to say Yes to it. You’re having technical difficulties with your document camera? Yes, I’ll come look at it. You need enough folk tales for every student in your class to have one? Yes, I’ll bring a selection to your classroom. You want to use a Promethean flipchart to give students practice classifying different types of rocks? Yes, I’ll help you create that. You’re looking for a website to help students learn more about Greek and Roman mythology? Yes, I’ll find one for you.

Sometimes it will be yes, and … (here’s something more we can include)
Sometimes it will be yes, or… (we could try this idea instead)
Sometimes it will be yes, if… (it depends on someone else doing their part)
Sometimes it will be yes, after… (I need to finish something else first)
Sometimes it will be yes, when… (as soon as I can find the answer/solution)
But always Yes.

Yes, it will be a juggling act at times, but YES it will be worth it to help our teachers accomplish their goals!

What’s your word this year? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Text Dependent Analysis in the School Library

Posted on January 16, 2018 by Lori June

Last year our school implemented a targeted writing program based on the concept of Text Dependent Analysis (TDA) to encourage our students to become stronger writers and more careful readers. I’m happy to play a role in supporting the curriculum, especially when I can offer students an opportunity to analyze and answer questions about some award-winning picture books, and to incorporate some media literacy instruction as well.

I always do an author/illustrator study on Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, so I knew this year that I wanted to use the book Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by this extremely talented duo. I typed up the text of the book on a one-page handout and made copies for each student, and wrote three simple TDA questions (since this is their first time doing TDA with me) for them to answer.

Students are shown the questions before being given the typed copy of the story so they have some guidance on what to look for as they read. We answer a sample question on the board together, emphasizing the need to restate the question as part of the answer and write in complete sentences. We also discuss the fact the students sometimes must read carefully and study the clues in the writing so they can infer the answers if the author doesn’t state the information directly.

The beauty of using Sam and Dave Dig a Hole is that the story is ultimately incomplete without the illustrations. Barnett’s text does tell a complete story, but the punchlines (and impact) are all dependent on Klassen’s illustrations. Students are able to answer the TDA questions, but they usually have a slight feeling of letdown because the events seem rather mundane and the ending is quite anticlimactic. That sets the stage for part 2 of the lesson when I share the book as a read-aloud and show them the illustrations.

It literally gives me goosebumps to hear the shouts of amazement and the groans of frustration when the kids see the pictures and realize what is actually going on in the story! And it’s the perfect opening to discuss the concept of media literacy with them, and to emphasize how – in good picture books – the text and illustrations work together to tell the whole story.

We conclude with some information about Barnett and Klassen, and the promise that I’ll share more of their books with the students later in the year.

What other picture books do you think would make good TDA texts? Please leave a comment and share your suggestions!

The Learning Librarian

In my library, everyone is a student and everyone is a teacher!

Category Archives: Curriculum Support