February, 2011

Our months keep flying by!! It's so hard to believe that we are at the halfway point in the 3rd quarter already. Although it is a short month, we have a lot to cover in February. In the lower grades we will cover the history of Groundhog and Valentine's Day and read some fun fiction to go with them.

We will also continue to explore author and illustrator crafts that are used to tap into the creativity of the students as they begin to brainstorm for their Young Author books. We've studied rhyming, Mo Willems use of speech and thought bubbles, adding non-fiction facts to our fiction stories and SO, SO much more!! In May, look for Young Author books like you've never seen before!

In the 3rd and 4th grades we will spend some time studying Black History Month.

Third graders will discuss the Underground Railroad and learn how slaves would Follow the Drinking Gourd.

We will spend two weeks reading Patricia Polacco's, January's Sparrow in fourth grade. This is a very moving book about a family's escape from slavery.

Additionally, each 3rd grader has worked hard to find the perfect person to research and portray for their biography project and fourth grade will be introduced to a few of my favorite authors so that they have some ideas for Book of the Month for the remainder of the year.

January 2011

Happy New Year!!! My family had a peaceful, healthy and relaxing break and I hope you did as well. At this point in the year I slip into my annual panic mode because I cannot believe that the first semester is over and there is still so much that I want to cover! There is just never enough time to read all the great books that are out there.

In January, our focus for kindergarten and first grade will be winter and how animals survive in the frigid temperatures of the Arctic and Antarctic. We will learn many facts about the polar bears, penguins and the arctic fox. And I have some great fiction stories to compliment our

non-fiction books too.

In second through fourth grades we are beginning to think about our Young Author books. They have not begun work yet, but in the library I'm trying to plant the seeds of creativity. We're looking at different crafts that authors and illustrators use when they create books. We'll tap into the internet to watch video interviews with them to see where they get their ideas, then how they implement them.

In addition, third grade is gearing up for the biography project in February. We have read quite a few biographies as well Of Thee I Sing by Barack Obama and illustrated by Madeira's own Loren Long. That book really put them on the right track for the kind of people that they choose for their project.

Fourth graders are learning about my favorite writing tool...the thesaurus! We read Norton Juster's The Odious Ogre last week and saw firsthand how useful a thesaurus is while writing.

Remember, there's nothing better on a cold day, than to curl up with a good book!