Top 10 Books for January


I hope everyone had a great winter holiday. For many of you it is time to get back into the swing of things so I have come up with a top 10 book list for January. These books go with certain days throughout January that might make good lessons, or simply a topic that your students should be introduced to.

In order of day, here is my Top 10 Books for January!







This is a great book for introducing New Year's resolutions to your class. Why not kick off the year with a cute book and some New Year's resolutions of your own.













January 15th is National Hat Day, the perfect day to read Caps for Sale. Why not make it a themed day and have your students wear hats to school? Along with reading this story I am sure you can find some fun craftivities involving hats to enhance your lesson. Your students will love National Hat Day!












January 17th is Kid Inventors Day. Kids are naturally creative and curious and this book has 20 different stories about kids and their inventions. Reading them a few of these stories may help give them that push they need to be the next Mark Zuckerberg or Larry Stevenson (the inventor of the skateboard).














January 18th is Winnie the Pooh Day. These stories should be shared with everyone. You are never too old to read about Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin and the tender friendship they share.











January 19th is National Popcorn Day, which means you have a reason to eat popcorn in your class! While sharing this delicious snack you can read to your class the many facts about popcorn from this book by Tomie dePaola.











January 20th is Penguin Awareness Day so I have selected this wonderful book by National Geographic about Penguins. Your students will learn so much from this little book.










Martin Luther King Jr. Day is January 21st. There are so many books to choose from; ones about his speech, ones about his childhood, and others about his whole life. Any you choose to share will be great!










January 25th is National Compliment Day and I found this wonderful book about learning how to give and get compliments. Written in rhyme your students will enjoy this book as they learn some great lessons.











January 27th is International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of Holocaust. This is such a difficult subject to introduce to your kids, especially the younger ones but Patricia Polacco does a fabulous job with her book The Butterfly. 













January 31st is Inspire your Heart with Art day which celebrates the effect that art has on your heart. This book by David Wiesner explores many different art mediums in his illustrations giving the reader a glimpse at what they all look like in a very silly way. Let this day be filled with art and imagination, it will do your heart good!





I hope there is something listed here that sparks an idea for a great lesson!

Happy Reading!







10

A New Coat for Anna by Harriet Zierfert - Teaching Ideas


Anna needs a new coat but they don't have any money, and even if they did they wouldn't be able to buy one because the stores are empty. Anna's mother decides to trade some of her valuables to get Anna a new coat, but they can't just trade what they have for a new coat, they need to have the coat made. Anna and her mother visit a farmer for some wool, a spinner to get the wool spun into yarn, a weaver to get the yarn woven into cloth and a tailor to get the cloth turned into a coat. All of these generous people traded their goods and services for the valuables that Anna's mother had: a watch, a lamp, a necklace, and a teapot. By the time Anna picks up her coat it is a year later, because each person needed time to do their part. Anna admires her new coat and as a thank you Anna and her mother invite everyone that helped make it to a Christmas celebration. This is a wonderful book that shows kindness and generosity.

This is such a great teaching book, there are so many opportunities for teaching theme, plot, predicting, questioning and cause and effect, I couldn't help but make a HUGE packet to go with it - most of the reading skills and strategies listed below are in the packet and are differentiated for all your kiddos.

Not interested in a pre-made packet? Listed below is all the information you need to create a meaningful activity/lesson.

Reading level: 3.1
Theme: giving/generosity, kindness
Genre: historical fiction

Suggested vocabulary and phrases: wool, sheared the sheep’s wool, card the wool, spinning wheel, lingonberries, weaver, garnet necklace, porcelain tea pot, tailor

Reading skills and strategies:
  • Asking questions - {possible questions before} I wonder what the story is about. I wonder why Anna needs a new coat. I wonder where Anna will get her new coat. {possible questions during} How come Anna and her mother don’t have enough money for a new coat? How come the stores were empty? Won’t Anna’s mother miss all the things she is giving away? I wonder why it took so long for Anna to get her coat. {possible questions after} I wonder what they will do the next time Anna needs a new coat. **Remember to have your students answer/reflect their questions.
  • Author’s point of view – Third person. Be sure to find 3 pieces of evidence to support this.
  • Author’s purpose – entertain {evidence} The author is telling a story. Anna made the sheep paper necklaces. The illustrator helps tell the story with the pictures she painted.
  • Beginning, middle, end - {most important event from beginning} Anna needs a new coat; her old one is much too small. {most important event from middle} Anna’s mother decides to trade valuable belongings to get Anna her coat. {most important event from end} Anna and her mother have a Christmas celebration inviting everyone that helped make Anna’s new coat.
  • Cause and effect – Why did Anna need a new coat? Because her old one was too small. Why could Anna’s mother not buy her a coat when the war ended? Because the stores remained empty and no one had any money. Why did mother decide to give her valuable belongings away? So she could get all the materials needed for Anna to get a new coat. Why did Anna and her mother go see a farmer? Because they needed wool from his sheep. Why did Anna and her mother go see an old woman that had a spinning wheel? Because they needed her to turn the wool into yarn. Why did the old woman say to come back when the cherries were ripe? Because she was old and she needed time to spin the wool. Why did Anna and her mother pick lingonberries? Because they were going to use them to die the yarn red. Why did Anna and her mother go see the weaver? Because they needed her to weave the yarn into cloth. Why did Anna and her mother go see a tailor? Because they needed the tailor to make Anna’s coat. Why did Anna keep looking in the store windows? Because she was looking at her new coat. Why did Anna and her mother invite everyone that helped make her coat to their Christmas celebration? Because they wanted to thank them for helping to make Anna’s new coat.
  • character analysis - describe Anna, describe Anna’s mother {looks like, feelings, thoughts, character}
  • Classify & categorize – clothes you wear for summer and clothes you wear for winter.
  • Compare & contrast – your coat to Anna’s new coat.
  • Connections - {possible text-to-self connections} Needing a new coat. Visiting sheep. Having a caring mom. Having a Christmas celebration. Having a red coat. Trading for something you need.
  • Drawing conclusions & inferencing – How do you think Anna’s mother feels about giving away her valuables? {text clues} Anna’s mother promised to get her a new coat. They did not have any money and Anna really needed a new coat; her old one was too small. {what I know} I know that things are nice to have but family is more important. If you really need something you will find a way to get it. {my conclusion} I think Anna’s mom might have been a little sad giving her things away, but because Anna needed a new coat and they didn’t have any money she had to give her stuff away to be able to get Anna that coat. In the end I think Anna’s mother is happy because Anna is happy and warm.
  • Fact & opinion – about sheep. {facts} There are over 1 billion sheep in the world. Female sheep are called ewes. Young sheep are called lambs. A group of sheep are called a flock, herd or mob. Sheep are herbivores. {opinions} Sheep are the best farm animals. Sheep look funny when their wool is real long. Sheep are dirty animals. I think sheep are loud when the say “baa”. Sheep are very fluffy.  
  • Main idea & details - {main idea} Anna needs a new coat. {details} Anna and her mom trade a watch for the wool. They trade a lamp to get the wool spun into yarn. Anna and her mom die the yarn red with lingonberries. They trade a necklace to get the yarn woven into cloth. They trade a porcelain teapot to a tailor to get the cloth made into a coat.
  • Plot - the turning point or climax in the story is when Anna’s mother decides to trade her valuable possessions to get Anna her new coat.
  • Predict – What do you think the story is going to be about? How do you think they will get Anna a new coat? How long will it take for Anna to get a new coat? Do you think the farmer will trade the wool for the watch? What do you think they will do with the bag of wool? What color do you think Anna will pick for her new coat? What will Anna and her mother use to dye the yarn? After they dye the yarn, what will they do with it? Will the tailor trade his services for the teapot? How do you think Anna and her mother will thank everyone that helped to make Anna’s coat?
  • Problem & solution - {problem} Anna needs a new coat and there is no money or supplies in the stores. {solution} Anna’s mother decides to trade her valuable possessions to get the things needed to make Anna a new coat.
  • Sequencing – Anna needs a new coat. Anna’s mother has no money and the stores are empty. Anna’s mother decided to give some things away to get Anna a new coat. They go to see a farmer to get wool. They go to a woman with a spinning wheel to turn the wool into yarn. Anna and her mother dye the yarn red. They take the yarn to a weaver. They take the yarn to a tailor and trade a teapot to get the cloth made into a coat. After picking up the coat, Anna looks at herself in all the windows as they walk home. Anna and her mother have a Christmas celebration and invite everyone that helped make Anna’s coat. Everyone had the best Christmas.
  • Story elements - list title, author, characters, setting, beginning, middle, end, or problem & solution.
  • Strong thought – It would make me so sad to give away my valuable possessions, but the only way for Anna to get a new coat was to give them away. If you needed a new coat and you had no money, what valuable possessions would you give away to get a new coat?
  • Summarize - {someone} Anna {wanted needed} needed a new coat {but} but they didn’t have any money {so} so Anna’s mother decided to give away some of her valuable possession to get Anna a new coat. Anna {finally} finally got her new coat.
  • Theme – Because of the generosity and kindness of others not only was Anna happy but so were her mother, the farmer, the spinner, the weaver, and the tailor. 
  • Visualize – Anna really needed a new coat because hers was too small. When Anna finally got her coat she loved it. Visualize yourself getting a new coat. What would your new coat look like?

Included in the packet:
Directions and Common Core Standards for each skill and strategy. Plus ideas for extending some of the activities.
* Vocabulary - 4 pages
* Asking Questions - 2 pages
* Author's Point of View - 2 pages
* Beginning, Middle, End - 5 pages
* Cause and Effect - 8 pages and 1 key
* Character Analysis - 4 pages
* Classify and Categorize - 5 pages
* Compare and Contrast - 6 pages
* Text-to-Self Connections - 3 pages
* Text-to-Text Connections - 2 pages
* Drawing Conclusions/Inferencing - 3 pages
* Fact and Opinion - 2 pages
* Main Idea and Details - 6 pages
* Making Predictions - 3 pages
* Problem/Solution - 5 pages
* Sequencing - 8 pages  plus 2 keys
* Plot - 2 pages
* Summarize - 1 page
* Story Map - 3 pages
* Strong Thought - 3 pages
* Visualize - 3 pages


http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/A-New-Coat-for-Anna-Reading-Skills-Strategies-Packet



Happy reading!

0

The Best and Brightest of 2012


Thank you Bunting, Book's, and Bainbridge for hosting such a great party!


2012 was my first full year of blogging and though my numbers are growing ever so slowly I am enjoying every moment of it.

I have learned SO much, like: (some) HTML, how to use Photoshop (enough to get by), how to schedule Facebook and Pinterest posts, PowerPoint is much better for creating products than Word, and how to be a better teacher because of all of the blogs I follow.

I have also realized that I need to be better at something. See, I am the type of girl that stands in the back of the crowd and observes, I am not one to bring attention to myself, but will engage in conversation freely when I am comfortable. I need to leave more comments, I love comments and get very few, but when I stepped back, I realized that I myself don't leave many comments. I need to assert myself into this great blogging world/party and engage in conversations with you. I do however try to respond to EVERY comment left to me, because I feel like that is a very important part of blogging.

I have stayed true to my original idea for my blog, reviewing picture books. Since I do not have a classroom but believe wholeheartedly that picture books can and should be used for more than just reading aloud, I have created my blog to help you make your read alouds more meaningful. I hope the information I provide has helped you in some small way prepare, create, or teach a successful lesson. 

I owe a BIG thanks to Charity and Teaching Blog Traffic School for guiding my way through all of this. She has helped me to not concentrate on the numbers but to look at the whole. When I look at the whole I feel much better about my content, how I have progressed and where I am going. She also accepted me as a Classroom Freebies Too contributor which has helped my growth, and creativity.

A HUGE accomplishment. I have just recently been contacted by an online publisher to review a book...they contacted me! I will be reviewing the book Unplugged Ella Gets her Family Back and having a book giveaway! I am so excited, so stay tuned...
Unplugged: Ella Gets Her Family Back

My goals for 2013 are as follows:
*find some bloggers I can go to with questions, ideas and help
*keep the friendships I have formed through blogging, alive and well.
*start a newsletter.
*and grow!

So here is my BEST (according to the numbers):

Best blog post: A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon.
 

Best freebie: Author's Purpose Posters


Best product sold: Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett



Best Inspirational post: The post about student created books.
 

Best Thumbs up Thumbs down post: This post's thumbs up was when my daughter shaved her head with my mom to support her and to bring awareness to Breast Cancer.



Here are a few of the blogs that I look forward to reading everyday.
The Corner on Character














Crisscross Applesauce in First Grade













The Tutor House

The Tutor House

There are many more blogs that I love, just check out my blog roll, but I didn't want this post to go on and on and on and on...

Farewell 2012, hello 2013!



9

Merry Christmas!





2

Thumbs up Thurmbs down # 12

thumbs up thumbs down picture

Another Thursday, another Thumbs up Thumbs down post. Read here for the back story of why I started this. 

Sandy Hook Elementary will forever be in our hearts and on our minds as we walk into our own classrooms and see our kids. We will continue to do our jobs: teach, guide, share, love, and protect the children that have been entrusted to us 5 days a week. So, I would like to give all of you a great big Thumbs up for loving so unconditionally the children that you call "your kids".

  thurmbs up
Thumbs up to Michelle at Teach123 for a must read post called Tips for Grief. This post is filled with great information to help those children in your life that might be grieving. Thank you Michelle!
Teach123
Thumbs up to Stephanie at 3rd Grade Thoughts for her post titled Experimenting with 7 Habits of Healthy Kids. She has included videos, a set of posters for each of the habits, and how she uses this in her classroom. If you haven't seen this post yet, you must. 

3rd Grade Thoughts


Thumbs up to Kim from Finding Joy in 6th Grade for her post called Teaching Kindness. I just love all the posters she has for her students reminding them how to be kind and what they should do/practice that day. Thank you Kim for such a great idea!
 


thumbs down




Thumbs down to all the hearts that were broken this past week.
 




Best,


3

Froggy's Best Christmas by Jonathan London - Teaching Ideas



Froggy's friend Max really understands what Christmas is all about, giving and being with
family and friends. Since Froggy usually sleeps through winter he misses Christmas, but not this year. This year Max woke Froggy up to give him his Christmas present, a real Christmas tree. Together, along with their two other friends Matthew and Travis, they set out in search of the perfect tree. Once they find it and bring it home they decorate it with pine cones and popcorn strings. Froggy also makes Christmas presents for his mom and dad. Together they sing carols, eat roasted chestnuts and have a snowball fight. When it is time for his friends to leave, Froggy yells, "this is my best Christmas ever!" and it is all thanks to Max!

Here are some reading skills and strategies you can use to make this Froggy book more than just a holiday read aloud. I have also created a free Compare & Contrast freebie to use if you don't want to create your own.

Reading level: 2.2
Theme: Giving, friendship
Genre: Christmas

Suggested vocabulary words & phrases: trudged, scampered, spirit of giving that counts, foil, sugarplums, chestnuts

Reading skills and strategies:
  • Asking questions - {possible questions before} I wonder what the book is going to be about. I wonder why it is Froggy’s best Christmas. {possible questions during} Why would it be Froggy’s first Christmas? {possible questions after} I wonder if Froggy will be able to go back to sleep after celebrating Christmas. I wonder if Froggy will wake up every year for Christmas. **Remember to have your students answer/reflect (on) their questions.
  • Author’s point of view – Third person point of view. Be sure to find 3 pieces of evidence to support this.
  • Author’s purpose – entertaining {evidence} animals don’t talk or wear clothes. The illustrations are kind of silly Frogs don’t roast chestnuts. All these things make for a very entertaining story.
  • Beginning, middle, end - {most important event from beginning} Max woke Froggy up for Christmas. {most important event from middle} Froggy, Max, and their friends got the perfect Christmas tree to decorate. {most important event from end} Froggy’s family and friends celebrated Christmas together.
  • Cause and effect – Why did Froggy wake up? Because Max was throwing snowballs at his window. Why did Froggy give Max his special soccer ball? Because he wanted to give it to him as a Christmas present. Why did Max give Froggy a picture of a Christmas tree? Because he wanted to give Froggy a real Christmas tree for Christmas. Why did Max and Froggy wake up Mathew and Travis? Because they wanted their friends to be with them to pick out the Christmas tree. Why was the tree Froggy picked out not good enough? Because it was too skinny. Why did they not cut down the tree that Matthew picked out? Because it was too fat. Why did Max cut down the tree he picked out? Because it was perfect. Why did Froggy’s mom and dad come out? Because Froggy was trying to put the star on the top of the tree and he and the tree fell over making a loud noise. Why did Froggy’s face turn red? Because he was embarrassed. Why did Froggy say that this was his best Christmas ever? Because it was the first Christmas he ever had and he spent it with friends and family.
  • character analysis - describe Froggy, describe Max {looks like, feelings, thoughts, character}
  • compare & contrast – Your Christmas with Froggy’s Christmas
  • Connections - {possible text-to-self connections} Picking a Christmas tree. Decorating the tree. Celebrating with friends and family. Having a silver star on the top of your tree.
  • Drawing conclusions & inferencing – Why do you think Max woke Froggy up in the middle of winter? {text clues} Max wanted to give Froggy a Christmas present. Froggy said that this was his first Christmas. {what I know} Giving presents always makes me happy. {my conclusion}Froggy had never experienced a Christmas before so Max wanted to give Froggy the gift of Christmas, spending time with friends and family.
  • Main idea & details - {main idea} Max wakes Froggy up to experience his first Christmas. {details} Max, Froggy, Matthew and Travis go in search of a Christmas tree. They decorate the Christmas tree. Froggy makes Christmas presents for his mom and dad. Everyone sing carols, opens presents, and has a snowball fight.
  • Predict – What do you think the story is going to be about? Why do you think it is Froggy’s best Christmas? What do you think Max is going to give Froggy as a gift? What do you think Froggy is going to give Max as a Christmas present? What do you think they will decorate the tree with? Do you think Max will wake Froggy up every Christmas?
  • Problem & solution - {problem} Froggy has never experienced a Christmas. {solution} Max wakes Froggy up so he can celebrate Christmas.
  • Sequencing – Froggy is dreaming about snow. Max wakes up Froggy. Froggy, Max, Travis and Matthew go find a Christmas tree. Max cuts the perfect tree down. They decorate the tree with pine cones and popcorn strings. Froggy makes presents for his mom and dad. Froggy tries to put a silver star on the tree and knocks him and the tree over. Froggy’s mom and dad wake up. Froggy’s mom and dad opens their Christmas presents. They roast chestnuts and sing carols. Froggy and his friends have a snowball fight. Everyone goes home and Froggy is happy about his best Christmas ever.
  • Story elements - list title, author, characters, setting, beginning, middle, end, or problem & solution.
  • Summarize - {someone} Max {wanted} wanted to give a Christmas tree to Froggy {but} but Froggy was sleeping for the winter {so} so Max went and woke him up. They went out and found the perfect Christmas tree to bring home and decorate and {then} then Froggy {finally} finally got to celebrate Christmas.
  • Theme – It is better to give than receive.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Froggys-Best-Christmas-Compare-Contrast

IT'S FREE!!

This freebie is part of the Holiday Picture Book Freebie Linky Party put on by First Grade and Fabulous. Click on over to find more goodies!

 Happy reading!


4

A Day of Silence






My heart is broken. Thoughts and prayers to all that are hurting.

0

Holiday Stamp it Time!

Presentation1
This is the Holiday Stamp it game but for multiplication
It is played exactly the same but students will multiply the numbers instead of add them. 
Slide1
This makes a great center activity and is also a fun way to practice those multiplication facts!
Slide5
Slide3Slide4Slide6
You can download this FREEBIE from either one of my stores.
A TNStoreA TpTStore

Happy Stamping!
signature
1