Steve Jenkins Books in the Elementary Makerspace

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If you’re a follower of this blog, you know what a passion I have for collage art.  (I’ve written about it here and here and here.)  A favorite author/illustrator is Steve Jenkins, whose non-fiction animals book inspire me with both their facts and their art.

         
(Click the book covers to look inside.)

He’s the inspiration for our latest activity in the STEAM Makerspace this month.  First I share some of his books with my students, and we discuss how they think he created the art.  Then we watch this video on the Steve Jenkins website showing how he creates an illustration for his book Move.

Click to view the video.

I realize that kids can’t expect to measure up to his artistic standards, and I don’t want them to feel disappointed with their results, so I also show them some examples of animal collage art made by other kids.  Then I turn them loose with paper, scissors, and glue!

(Click the photo to enlarge)

I think the results were pretty awesome!  Do you use collage art and/or Steve Jenkins books in your library or makerspace?  Leave a comment and share!

 

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Shopping at The Monstore on Read Across America Day

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One of the best activities we did on Read Across America Day was our Book Switcheroo!  Each teacher selected a book to read aloud to a small group of students and prepared a follow up activity for them.  Students were sent a google form with pictures of all the book covers so they could choose the one they wanted to hear, and during the last hour of the day they switched to the classroom where that book was being read.  Teachers weren’t limited to only reading Dr. Seuss books, although many of them did.

  I chose the book The Monstore by Tara Lazar.  I thought it had a bit of a Dr. Seuss feel to it, since he was known for his imaginary creatures, it works with multiple ages, and I had a great idea for a follow-up activity that I knew the students would enjoy.  After all, who can resist designing and creating their own monster!

As the kids came into the library, they were each given three tickets to save for later.  Before sharing the book with them I asked who had younger brothers or sisters (most did) and we discussed how pesky they can be.  After the story – which they thoroughly enjoyed – the kids all sat down at a table while I explained that I had a Monstore set up for them to visit.  At my Monstore they could use one ticket for a piece of colored card stock, and with the remaining two tickets they could purchase “monster parts” for an original creation.

Choices included googly eyes, pipe cleaners, yarn, glitter, fancy-edged scissors, etc.  Each table was also given a caddy with regular scissors, markers, and glue.

As I expected, the students were wildly inventive with their monster ideas, and by limiting the number of add-on’s they could purchase we avoided copycat creations.  I realized afterwards that this would also be a great Makerspace or Learning Center activity for students.

Library bulletin board featuring our Monstore monsters. Click to enlarge.

If you’d like to use The Monstore in your library or classroom, visit the book’s official homepage for a free teacher’s guide, as well as additional ideas and links.  If you have other suggestions for sharing this book, please leave a comment!

 

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Read Across America Student Bulletin Boards and Door Decorations

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  Our school held a bulletin board or door decorating contest for all teachers and students in honor or Read Across America Day last Friday.  We were given 3 hours that morning to create and put up our best Dr. Seuss idea featuring student work.

I shared the book Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss with my morning classes, and we discussed how books can take you to different places, time periods, or situations that you might not be able to experience in real life.  Then the students used construction paper, markers, and yarn to create a hot air balloon that included the name of a favorite book and a sentence explaining why.

Here are pictures of what some of the other classes did:

              

  

Please share your Dr. Seuss door and bulletin board ideas with me on Twitter @LibraryLoriJune

 

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Flip Flop Book Swap for Read Across America Day

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  We have lots of activities planned for Read Across America Day on March 2, but my personal favorite is the Flip Flop Book Swap I’m hosting in the library!  Students are bringing books from home that they no longer read so they can swap them for books that other kids are bring in.  Students must have their parents permission of course, and their books should be in good condition.  Students receive one ticket for each book they bring in, and on Friday they can trade their tickets for books.  We also have some extra books that have been donated to the swap so that everyone has a good selection from which to choose.

Updated to add a photo and some statistics:

Students traded 95 books during our Seuss Swap! We also had an additional 15 books donated to the swap to provide more choice for students.

Has your school ever done a book swap?  Please leave a comment and share your experience!

 

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Paws for Books – Another Successful Book Fair!

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I just want to give a grateful shout out to my book fair parent volunteers in appreciation for their hard work and their willingness to help get books into the hands of our students!  I couldn’t have had a successful book fair without them.

Thanks also to the parents who support our library with their purchases!  Through this fundraiser I was able to add 62 of the most popular books in the book fair to our library collection!

And thanks to the kids who warm my heart with their excitement every time the book fair comes to our school.  I love to see their enthusiasm for the books and their pride in owning copies of their favorites.

Until next year…..

 

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Text Dependent Analysis in the School Library

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  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!

 

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Snow Days!

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As you might imagine, snow days are a huge treat for us students and teachers in South Carolina, and the timing of our wintry weather this month gave us an extended Christmas break.  I spent part of that time researching some snowy read-aloud books, and here’s what I came up with:

  The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
This is the classic story of a young boy’s day in the snow, and it’s just been made even more relevant by the new book…..

  A Poem For Peter by Andrea Davis Pinkney
The story behind the book The Snowy Day, and a tribute to Ezra Jack Keats and his groundbreaking picture books.

  Little Penguins by Cynthia Rylant
Who doesn’t love penguins, and this simple story is illustrated with cut-paper collages, which always (as regular readers of this blog know) hold a special place in my heart.  A great choice to inspire a torn-paper art project.

  Snow! by Cynthia Rylant
Not only are the snowy illustrations somehow almost cozy, but Rylant has filled this text with figurative language to discuss with your listeners.

  Blizzard by John Rocco
This Caldecott honor book is not only the author’s account of his own experience during the Blizzard of 1978 (if you’re looking for memoirs for an ELA unit), but also a tale of courage as John is sent to the store wearing tennis rackets strapped to his feet to buy groceries for his family.

And these new choices are in addition to two of my old favorites:

  Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
The true – yet lyrical – story of the first man to take magnified photos of snowflakes to share their beauty with the world.  Informative and inspiring, reminding listeners to follow their passion in life.

  Snowflakes Fall by Patricia MacLachlan
A beautiful story about how snow fits into the cycle of the seasons, with an underlying message of hope following the tragic school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Which “snow” books will you be sharing with your students?  Leave a comment and tell us about them!

 

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