A GREAT read aloud!

I have read Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett to my class for the last couple of years.  It is always a favorite, and a great way to incorporate some art history into our classroom.

The book trailer above will give you some basic ideas of this book if you are unfamiliar.  It is a mystery written for late elementary kids, but it acts as a great read-aloud for my 3rd graders.  As we read, we not only contemplate the mystery, but we also learn more about Vermeer and have fun with pentominoes.

The characters in this book are very likable, and they are great role models for learning, curiosity, and perseverance.  My students often like them so much that they can't wait to read the follow-up mysteries, The Wright 3, and The Calder Game. 

If you or your students are looking for still more information on this great book or the other two in the series, Scholasic has a great page on it, too!  Click HERE to access it.

I love read aloud.  :)

Finally last week....

Last week was our state testing week.  What a long week for kids!  Most of mine did well with the change in schedule and routine, but some of my kids who struggle with focus had a tough time.

I am not a fan of testing, so I try to keep them excited by offering some fun activities.  First of all, a favorite is for their parents to write to them on sticky notes--one note for each day.  When the kids come in the room, they have a snack on their desk along with a note from a loved one.  Many get so excited that they keep them on their desks well after testing.  They can't have them on their desktop during testing, so they hang them down on their desk where they can still see it and then place them back on their desks when the testing is done. 



Many of them think that their moms and dads are coming into the room when they are gone.  It is so cute.  I love seeing the creative ways parents make the notes.  It is really touching how much of an impact it has on the kids. 

On Tuesday of testing, we celebrated Michelangelo's birthday by painting our own "Sistine Chapels."  Kids had fun laying on their backs.  I posted about this activity here.  Here are our finished creations.

Aren't the colors beautiful?

Wednesday was our World Read Aloud Day celebration.  We celebrated all afternoon with a visit from our Director of Elementary Education reading Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude to the whole 3rd grade, extra read aloud from me, read aloud with a partner and a Skype event with Navjot Kaur.  She read to us from her book A Lion's Mane.  It was a nice afternoon.  One of the kids said to me, "I've never met an author before.  Now I have!"  This Skype was set up for me by LitWorld who organizes World Read Aloud Day.



Certainly, we are glad to be done with our testing, but these special events made it all a little more fun!



World Read Aloud Day--March 7th

Don't forget about World Read Aloud Day on March 7th!  Go to Litworld to sign up and find more details. 

The driving question of this year's World Read Aloud Day is "What would the world be like if everyone could read?"  I have decided that our class will create a podcast where each child answers that question.  We will begin by brainstorming ways that reading helps people and empowers people and then they can go from there.  I'll give them the stem, "If everyone in the world could read..."  then they will finish the statement and illustrate it.  We will then use our answers to record our podcast.

We are also dedicating the afternoon to Read Aloud.  Our Director of Elementary Education is coming in to read to our class, I am going to read to them, and we are going to skype with an author who is going to read to us.

If you would like a copy of our stem page, you can get it by clicking below. 

Participate in World Read Aloud Day

World Read Aloud Day is March 7, 2012.  This day is sponsored by Litworld which is  a nonprofit organization working to eliminate illiteracy in our world.  You can determine how you want to participate in this day.  My class is going to participate, but I am going to try to talk my whole 3rd grade team to participate.  I am hoping to have a guest reader from our community come in, and possibly to have a guest reader through the Internet as well.  I am still brainstorming ideas of what to do that afternoon.  We will be doing Day 2 of our state testing on that morning, so I am thinking that we will dedicate the whole afternoon to read aloud!  Sounds like fun to me!

If you would like to learn more, or to sign up for updates, go to the Litworld website.

An Amazon Delivery!

Today, I received a box of books from Amazon.  It contained books that I found while looking at other people's favorite fall read-alouds.  How exciting for me!  I took the boys to the pool, and I read picture books in the sun.  What great ideas I got from everybody!  Some of the books were on multiple lists, and now I can see why.

The book I am going to talk about is one that I don't think I found on someone's list.  It was listed below another book where it says "Customers who bought this book also liked..."

What a great book!  I loved its emphasis on words and definitions, and the story line was clever, too!  I looked online, and Debra Frasier has a website that offers some additional resources to use with it, too.  It is cleverly written and may be better for students in Grades 3 and up, but maybe some of you will tell me differently.

If I am mistaken and found this book in your list of fall read-alouds, I apologize and thank you for the recommendation!



Favorite Read-Alouds

Read-aloud is a huge part of our classsroom.  It is the one story that we are all involved in and following.  Below I am listing some of my (and my students) favorite read-alouds. I am also including some that I use during CAFE to model reading skills.

Create your own free picture slideshow      I have so many more!  I love reading aloud!  The kids like to just sit and listen.  It is a great way to introduce new skills, genres, and authors to students.  Almost always, when I am done reading a book, no matter how hard or easy it is, students want to read it independently!  That works for me. Join the Linky party over at Learning with Mrs. Parker to find other great read-alouds!