Keeping Current...Professional Reads and Teaching as a Performance

This week our school had its monthly SIPS which is basically small bits of professional development.  For about 30 minutes, various staff members from prek-12th grades share information about something that they either have a skill, passion or talent.  Today I went to one session by our Intermediate Principal, Dan Kerr. He shared a plethora of information about staying current as an educator.  One aspect was a book list of professional reading.  The book list can be found here.  These books offer the latest in information pertaining to student achievement, learning styles, and school-wide drive to success. I'm already adding a few to my reading stack.

Another SIP workshop was given by one of our theater teachers.  Dylan shared an interesting concept of teaching as performing.  He gave us some hands on tips on how to warm up, loosen up and give our best performance which our students deserve, right? One take away was the importance of sharing our joy. A moment of inspiration was watching a video compilation of a variety of performers and the moment I saw Macklemore and his band perform--JOY--screamed at me!  I want kids to see that when I "perform" in front of them.

EnJOY and Happy Reading,

Jen, the happy, displace librarian

5 Things To Do While You Read With Your Child

5 Things To Do While You Read With Your Child

1.  Pick the book together.

For my kids and I, the best books we ever read together were the ones that we picked together.  A trip to the local library, a selection from your own shelf or maybe a book swap with a friend can lead to a great read for you to enjoy.  The trick is making sure your kids are interested in the book.

2.  Read and show the title and the author of each book.

Being able to find the title and author is an important skill that your child will need to be able to do.  By starting early, it will help them become proficient in the skill.  Make it a game and see who can find it first. Or who can find it in the most places i.e. the cover, title page, spine, etc.

3.  Ask for predictions.

Throughout a book, it is important to ask your child to guess what will happen next.  Reading isn't only about knowing how to pronounce the words but also understanding the story and being engaged it.  By asking your child to predict the next page or ending, it gives you a clue to their comprehension and also if they like it.

4.  Move your finger as you read.

One way that you can help your child progress in learning to read is to model reading skills. Your finger will help them see the process of reading left to right.  It also helps them make connections to the written word as they hear you speak it. 

5.  Make it a fun time that happens consistently every day.

AND...the most important thing you can do to embed the love of books and reading is by making it a priority to read aloud EVERY day.  Consistency is the key.  By making a set time every day, you are showing your child the importance of this special time. Once a month, my daughter and I would visit the local library, load up on picture books and have a party when we got home.  Our picture book party would include cozy blankets, hot cocoa, and LOTS of great picture books.

I hope you enjoy these suggestions.  Most of all enjoy these special moments with your child.  

Happy Reading,
Jen 

{links to love} 7*28*2015

Links to Love are places that I have traveled on the Internet that I thought would appeal to educators, parents, students or other random people like me who love literature, technology, food, travel, etc.  Please enjoy and share!

Image Credit: Massimo Pietrobon

Pangea with a Modern Twist

For as long as I can remember, I have had a fascination with Pangea.  All over the U.S and now in Ecuador, I have had a World Map tacked to the wall.  In Portland, we even sported a World Map Shower Curtain.  Through lots of daydreaming, I hypothesized continent interconnections but now on the link there is an artist's rendition of current country's spot on the BIGGEST continent.

Go Set a Watchman...is it a fraud?

Disclaimer:  I have not read "Go Set a Watchman" yet.  But it is way up on the list.  Our house is divided.  My F.I.L. (father in law) swears it is false and that she was coerced.  I'm not so sure.  What do you think?  The New York Times journalist gives some interesting food for thought.

Finland and South Korea...what can we learn from their education systems?

Not so many years ago, Finland and South Korea were considered to have very poor education systems.  But now...they are two of the top.  What happened?  Lots of refocusing and rebudgeting and lots and lots of hard work and decisions.  I am very curious about Finland's system and would like to learn more.

That's it for this week folks.  Enjoy reading!

Doing Research the Right Way

Teaching students how to discern quality and trash information is a big challenge.  Recently, a 6th grade Science teacher asked me to do a mini lesson on searching for information on science careers and then how to give credit to the source.  In a nutshell, here is what I presented to them.

Google has some wonderful lesson plans and videos for educators to use to explain how an Internet search works to how to narrow your search to how to give credit.  Here is one of the videos that I showed to the students.

If you have a subscription to Brain Pop, I found the following video to be very effective in explaing why you have to be selective in the type of websites you use for research.  Brain Pop Video Online Resources

Here is another great resource from Google called theReliable Resource Check Sheet.  I passed this out to the students to use while they looked at the two following websites.  

These are two hoax websites that the students tested their skills at finding unreliable resources.

Burmese Mountain Dog

Mankato, MN

After searching for a hour or so, I found these three websites that were reliable for the students to do their research. 
Occupation Outlook Handbook

Science Buddies.org

Science Jobs Government Database

If you want to check out the Google resources for teachers, click on the Google Lesson Plans.

Before I let them get to the work at hand, I showed them this brief Plagiarism Presentation that also included some great questions to check for understanding of what plagiarism involves.

And last but not least, my favorite online citation maker from my home state of Oregon...OSLIS Citation Maker.  There is an elementary and secondary version with the ability to save the list of citations to a Word document or to Google docs.  Very slick!!

That's it folks!  Good luck in your quest to help inform students on the best way to be knowledgeable in the wide world of research.

Happy Teaching,

MRS. G-M

"Read Every Day. Lead a Better Life." Posters through Scholastic

YEAH to Scholastic for creating such a treasure of illustrator's expressions of why reading every day is so important!  And the money earned from the sale of the posters and calendar go to fighting illiteracy.  Go to this website right here to find out more.  Here are a few of my favorites with a few videos of the illustrators sharing their inspiration and techniques.

Harry Bliss

Nancy Carpenter

Henry Cole

Kazu Kibuishi

Kadir Nelson

Enjoy and "read every day."

Happy Reading,

MRS. G-M

Picture Book Party with RaeRae

Rae and I did one of our very favorite things last night and put on our fuzzy jammies, gathered a bunch of new picture books and climbed into our warm bed to snuggle down to some fun stories and pictures. Yes Rae is 12 and I'm beyond 12, but we still adore a good story with entertaining pictures.

Here are a few of our favorites...

Mo Willems, if you can hear me,...you can do no wrong in my book. From preschoolers to 5th graders, I have them clamoring for your books, begging their classmates to pass over the Knuffle Bunny, drop the Pigeon and hand over the Elephant and Piggie books.  Well, here is another brilliant take on the classic Goldilocks tale with every Kinder's favorite...dinosaurs.  I'll definitely be sharing this one in a story time soon.

Goodreads Summary:  

Once upon a time, there were three hungry Dinosaurs: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur . . . and a Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway.

One day--for no particular reason--they decided to tidy up their house, make the beds, and prepare pudding of varying temperatures. And then--for no particular reason--they decided to go...someplace else. They were definitely NOT setting a trap for some succulent, unsupervised little girl.

Definitely not!

A few months ago, I noticed some blogs raving about Dragons Love Tacos, one so much that they had planned a party featuring tacos and dragon party decorations.  Don't get me wrong, I love me a good taco and I can see that dragons are pretty cool.  However this one wasn't one of Rae and my absolute faves.  Cute idea, but it wasn't a home run for us.

Goodreads Summary:  

Dragons love tacos. They love chicken tacos, beef tacos, great big tacos, and teeny tiny tacos. So if you want to lure a bunch of dragons to your party, you should definitely serve tacos. Buckets and buckets of tacos. Unfortunately, where there are tacos, there is also salsa. And if a dragon accidentally eats spicy salsa . . . oh, boy. You're in red-hot trouble.

Pete, what a mellow guy you are!!!  Your books brought a smile and cheer to our story time.  I can hear the jazz riff playing in the background as we read your repetitive story. Great one for first graders!  I'm looking forward to sharing it soon.

Goodreads Summary:

Pete the Cat is wearing his favorite shirt—the one with the four totally groovy buttons. But when one falls off, does Pete cry? Goodness, no! He just keeps on singing his song—after all, what could be groovier than three groovy buttons? Count down with Pete in this rocking new story from the creators of the bestselling Pete the Cat books.

Our extended family has lost two dear canine souls this past year as well as having to say goodbye to our dear Luna when we moved to Ecuador.  This story started the tears flowing, but also tickled us with giggles.  Lovely story, with a bit of a scary edge at the beginning, that I hope to recommend to dog-loving, Halloween trick or treating kiddos.

Goodreads Summary:

 Gus doesn't feel like doing much after his dog Ella dies. He doesn't really even feel like dressing up for Halloween. But when Gus runs into a bunch of rowdy skeletons, it's Ella--his very own Bone dog--who comes to his aid, and together they put those skeletons in their place. A book about friendship, loss, and a delightfully spooky Halloween.

As always our picture book party was a huge hit.  My only regret is that we don't do it more often.  We finished our evening with the same favorite...Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs with Bone Dog coming in second.

Hope you can have your own Picture Book Party!

Happy Reading,

Mrs. G-M

New Library Digs in Quito

A quick peak into my new library digs...

Catalog computers...

The lower school check out desk...

The picture book section with Spanish picture books in the foreground.

The nonfiction section for elementary students...the curvy bookshelf is waiting for the 100's of new books due to arrive tomorrow.

Here is my teaching area for Middle Grade students.  I'm awaiting the projector and document camera to be installed (:

The info desk aka my "office".

The upper school section with comfy, colorful couches and a new graphic novel section...spot to be if you are a high schooler.

Fiction section for upper school...notice the PACKED shelves.  A new shelf will be placed here very soon.

Spanish books for upper school...

That's the quickie tour.  I'll share more as new developments arise.

Thanks for stopping by,

Mrs. G-M