Monday, August 20, 2012

Fall 2012

Welcome back to another school year! Here are some fun titles I discovered over the summer. ... and we have them in our library at Jeffers Pond. Come check them out!


My new favorite everybody book: Beautiful Yetta: the Yiddish Chicken  What can I say about Yetta? I love Yetta and your students will to. She is a chicken that finds herself in the big city, adopted by pigeons! Her adventure is humorous and heartwarming.  A great book to jump start discussions about acceptance, tolerance, and being yourself in the classroom.


The Boy Who Loved Words by Roni Schotter should be in every teacher's writer's workshop library.

What does Courage look like? The book Courage by Bernanrd Waber sums it up for younger readers. The illustrations are precious. Come see for yourself.

Looking for a new book to use on EE day or any day that you want to take a nature walk? The Listening Walk by  Paul Showers is great for any elementary student. What do you want your students to gain from a nature walk? How can students be active listeners of nature? Check out The Listening Walk and read it before you go on your hike with the kids. You won't regret it.

What in the Wild? Mysteries of Nature Concealed by David Schwartz is an eye popping informational text that will have your readers coming back for more.

More Informational Texts:

Bugs never go out of style in the library. Bugs by the Numbers: Facts and Figures... will keep your bug loving students amazed.

Whole-y Cow!: Fractions are Fun is a great book to set the right tone in your math class about fractions.

Need a poetry book that will help with that Native America Common Core Standard we have in MN? Walking on Earth & Touching the Sky might be the resource you need.  The book is comprised of poetry and prose by Lakota youth of all ages. Some poetry for young readers and some for secondary students.

Wish: Wishing Traditions Around the World  will have your dreamers from the start. Want to learn about different cultural beliefs about wishes? This is the book to go to.

Chapter Books:

Double Dog Dare by Lisa Graff (same author as Thing About Georgie) would be a fun read a loud for the  5th grade classroom. It is on my 6th grader's night stand now and I am in the process of finishing it up. Great appeal for both boys and girls. Themes: Dealing with Divorce, overcoming to peer pressure, and courage to be yourself.

Do you have some girls in your class that love the MOA, making clubs, or cupcakes? Cupcake Diaries is a series that has 4th and 5th grade girls written all over it. We have several in the library such as Emma all Stirred Up, Emma on Thin Icing, and Katie, Batter Up!  Need I write more?


City of Orphans by Avi is his latest historical fiction gem.  Take your class back to the 1890s to get a taste of life as a "newsie." I will recommend this to 5th graders and up. Watch the trailer.



Jake and Lily is Jerry Spinelli's latest. Spinelli is one of my personal favorite's. I haven't read the book yet but love goodreads book reviews. Take a look at what they have to say here. By the way, goodreads is a great app to have on your I-Pad as well. Fun to share reviews with others and check out what other people think about the books you are about to read.

My all time new favorite book of 2012 is Wonder by R. J. Palacio.  I think it is a great read aloud for fourth or fifth grade. Themes of empathy, acceptance, and humor.




Professional Reading:
I am enjoying being a part of Connected Eductaor Month. A new book to look for in our professinal library is The Connected Educator: Learning and Leading in a Digital Age by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach and Lani Ritter Hall.


To Mrs. T's. Jeffers Pond Website. 

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