Happy 4th of July!

Libraries are . . . essential to the functioning of a democratic society . . .libraries are the great symbols of the freedom of the mind.- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Our public libraries are one thing that makes me proud to live in America!  Libraries provide everyone - everyone! - with free access to information and books, services to help them learn and grow as people, and fun programs for kids and adults alike.

Several students have been taking advantage of this wonderful service by visiting the Jesse Smith Library to get a jump on our Week 5 Library Challenge.  Here are some of their stories:

Jackson L. from SFE says: 

My trip to the library was fun. I got my own library card from the library. The Librarian that got me my card was very nice. We got to look at new books. I even got a pencil that says “I love Jesse Smith Library” and I got a reading log that says “every hero has a story”. I learned I could return my library books even to a Providence library or any in the state, but Jesse Smith is closer. I rode the elevator to the second floor. We found Ms. Robin, did you know there was two Ms. Robins that work at the library. Anyway, Ms. Robin showed us around and then helped me look for the books that I checked out from the library. It took like a second the check out my books. The librarian said the requirement was to return the books by July 15th, that’s 3 weeks. I checked out “Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Cracker” by Cynthia Rylant; “A Fly Went By” by Mike McClintock; and I got “Frog and Toad Are Friends” by Arnold Lobel. That was the most fun library of all, except when I went there in 1st grade. I look forward to my next visit in three weeks. 

Alex V. from WLC says: 

I went to the library with my Nannie and my brother. I was able to show my Nannie around since she had never been there before. I showed her that the library had an elevator so she didn't have to use the stairs. I also showed her that there was a Lego Club there. I have joined the Lego Club in the past and I had made a cowboy saloon. I am looking forward to doing the Lego Club again this summer. I am thinking of making a house on fire and the firemen are coming to help the people out of the house. I love Legos and I was able to find the," Lego ideas Book", so I can build what I want. I was able to check out my book with my library card and the librarian was very nice to me. I am looking forward to going back again.

It's summer reading time!

What a perfect day to start my summer reading.  I am reading El Deafo by CeCe Bell.  So far it is such a heartwarming story with some funny parts and some sad parts.  Most surprisingly, it is a graphic novel!  I'll let you know when I'm done.  Happy reading!!

Week 4 Writing Challenge

Sample:  One character I think is a hero is 

Week 1 Writing Challenge

Here are a few samples of how you might choose to answer. Please fill out the form and click on the submit button.


SAMPLE 1

I think I'll be reading realistic fiction a lot this summer, because that's the kind of books I usually like. I like to read stories that remind me of people I might know in my life. Sometimes I can connect better if the people seem like people I relate to in my everyday life.


SAMPLE 2

This summer I would like to read fantasy. I like reading about things that don't really happen, like talking dragons and magic. It takes me on an adventure right in my own home!

Week 2 Computer Challenge

Here's a sample of a slideshow. Share yours with us, if you can.We'll add your google slideshows to the blog, if you send them to us during the summer.

Week 3 Acting Challenge

Turn a book or a scene from a book into a play. Try acting it out with your friends! Share your script or write about your experience.  See the sample below the form for ideas and script formatting!


Sample:

      I decided to turn The Duckling Gets a Cookie?! by Mo Willems into a play.  I chose it because the whole book was told in conversation, so it would be easy to act out PLUS I think it is funny.  I wrote stage directions based on the illustrations.  I had a Pigeon costume from Reading Week last year, and I asked my friend to play The Duckling.  We made a cookie out of paper to use as a prop.  We performed the play for a small audience, including my mom and dad.  We tried to memorize our lines, but I forgot a few and had to look at the script.  In the end, I think the play was very funny because the book was funny to begin with and the audience enjoyed it!

The Duckling Gets a Cookie?!: The Play

Characters: 

The Duckling, who wants a cookie

The Pigeon, who also wants a cookie

[The Duckling walks onto stage]

Duckling: Hello!  May I have a cookie, please?

[A cookie is thrown to him from off stage]

Duckling: Oh!  Thanks!  That was very nice of you! Oh! [looks at the cookie] Look at all those nuts.

[The Pigeon runs onto stage]

Pigeon: Hey! How did you get that cookie?! [folds arms and glares]

Duckling: I asked for it.

Pigeon: You asked for it...

Duckling: Politely.

Pigeon: Say, does that cookie have nuts?

Duckling: Yes.

Pigeon: So, you got a cookie with nuts just by asking?!

Duckling: Politely

Pigeon:  I ask for things ALL THE TIME! 

[Pigeon goes to the center of the stage]

Pigeon: I ask to drive the bus!  I ask for hot dog parties!  Do I ask for candy?  I do.  It doesn't have to be a big bus, you know...  I'll ask for a "French Fry Robot" every now and then.  I've asked for a walrus!  Right now, I'm asking, "Why?"  [jumping around like crazy] Why?  Why?  WHY?  [puts hands on hips] Ohhh...there's more!  Sometimes I ask for a hug.  Or I'll ask for one more story!  I can't count the times I've asked for my own personal iceberg.  I ask to stay up late!  Oh yeah, I'm the asking-est pigeon in town!  

But do I get what I ask for?

[really freaking out now]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!  

[sits down and crosses arms, pouting]

It's not fair.  Ducklings get everything!  Pigeons like cookies, too!  Especially with nuts.  WHY DID YOU GET THAT COOKIE?!

Duckling: So I could give it go you.  

Pigeon: And ANOTHER THING - hubba- wha?!?  You're giving me that cookie?  

Duckling: With the nuts.

Pigeon: That is so...nice!  Thank you.  Thank you very much.

[eating the cookie and walking off stage]

Mmmm....!  [chomp]  That is one cool duckling.  [chomp].  Yes, sirt!

Duckling: [waves after the pigeon]  Bye!  May I have another cookie, please?  [puts hands on hips] But this time, no nuts.

THE END!

It has been such a terrific summer to dive into a good book ~ not too hot, not too cool. I have read so many wonderful books this summer, I wish I could share them all! One of my favorites stories for the fifth grade is Sahara Special, by Esme Raji Codell. This book is about a fifth grade girl who has difficulty with school and learning. She has given up on school and although she is capable, she spends her time at school doing very little...Until one day she meets her new teacher, Miss Pointy. From that point on, everything changes. I love this book because it is a book about hope. It is a book about unlocking the special places within us that make us unique and special. It celebrates children for who they are. It is also a book about writing and how our stories, written down, can make a dramatic impact on others. I can't say enough wonderful accolades about Sahara Special!

Summer reading~

What a great summer to spend some time reading! I have read a few books so far, some children's novels and some novels adult novels. I am currently reading a book that took place where I grew up in Vermont. I love it when the stories live in you throughout your day, even when you put the book down. 

I just finished a book, Wild Wings, by Gill Lewis. This book takes place in the beautiful countryside of Scotland. It is about a friendship that develops between the main character Callum and a new girl in town, Isis. She is mysterious character and an avid naturalist at heart. Together they find an Osprey nest and track a family of Osprey from Scotland to Africa. This book reminded me of A Bridge to Terrabithia when I read it. If you like a book about the wonders of the natural world, you will love this book. Both my boys enjoyed it. It is well written and has a mystifying, fanciful tone. A great summer read!  

This summer my family is going to New Hampshire for a few days in July. We are looking forward to visiting some places we've been before but we're especially excited to try the Mountain Coaster, Waterslides, and the Alpine Slides at Attitash. Both of my kids have to do their summer reading requirements so we plan to have some quiet time each day when we all take a break and read. Some fun places to read are under the shade of a tree, in a rocking chair on the porch, on a blanket in the grass, in a reading corner in the kids' rooms or my favorite at the beach! I'd like to reread some books that I use in class with my students so I am ready to use them for teaching but I also think I'll read some of the chapter books my daughter is reading so we can talk about them together. Aside from that I plan to find some great summer books just for me to read! Looking forward to sharing our reading together in September! Happy summer! :) Mrs. Costa

The Templeton Twins Have an Idea

I just finished reading The Templeton Twins Have an Idea. This book was very different than most children's books I have read. Although it wasn't very long, and had many illustrations you really had to pay attention to figure out what what going on. The narrator in the story has a very "dry" sense of humor. Who knows what that means? This book made me chuckle several times, and made me think of a few of my students last year who would have really enjoyed the format.

Ungifted

Have you ever done something without really thinking it through...and later regretted it? In the story Ungifted the main character, Donovan, constantly makes bad choices and is always winding up in trouble. One day he makes his biggest mistake yet, but due to the school superintendent's error, Donovan winds up in the Gifted program rather than detention. In order to avoid getting caught for his latest prank, Donovan has to try and make it in his new school and keep up with his braniac classmates. Will he be found out?

I just finished reading Bill the Boy Wonder and it was a very interesting biography.  The illustrations are extremely vibrant and are similar to a graphic novel.   It's about the life of Bill Finger and how he created a certain superhero.  Can you guess who?  If you like reading graphic novels, pick up Bill the Boy Wonder.

Three Times Lucky

If you like mysteries, then Three Times Lucky is the book for you. The main character in the book is Mo, a girl with a unique name and a unique family. She lives in a small and quiet town, and helps run her family's cafe. Then one day trouble rolls into town with Detective Joe Starr. He has come to try and solve a murder which occurred in the next town over . Several days later a man from Mo's town is found dead too! Mo and her best friend Dale decide to take matters into their own hands and find the murderer themselves.

Full of twist and turns, this book had me guessing right up until the last moment. See if you can figure out the "whole story" before Mo does!

Read it before you see it!

My mom taught me that the book is usually better than the movie version, so I always try to read books before I see the movies that are based on them.  I have been seeing lots of commercials for Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, the movie based on second book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan.

I highly recommend the series, and if you haven't read it yet, you have time to catch up before Sea of Monsters hits theaters in August.  If you've already read the books, why not reread Sea of Monsters if you're planning to see the movie?  That way you will have it fresh in your memory so you can compare and contrast the two!

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

I finally started my RIBCA summer reading and just finished the book Wonder . The book was so good, I read the whole thing in only a few hours! It's about a fifth grade boy with a facial deformity who is going to school for the very first time (he was previously home schooled). During his school year he makes new friends, experiences cruel bullies, and shows just how strong he really is! I laughed, I cried, and I finished the book feeling inspired!

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

    I loved this story!  It was a little sad at times.  My favorite part of the story was when Ruby was  introduced into  the story.  Through her innocence she made Ivan think about his past life and current living conditions.  She helped him see his life at the zoo and his art in a new way.  With Ruby's arrival comes change and Ivan realizes he can change things for all of the animals for the better!

Support With Evidence!

You know what I love about these students' responses?  They answered all the parts of the question AND used evidence from the story to support their answers!  Make sure that when you are posting your answer you take the time read what the question is asking and do the same!


Mary C., Grade 2, SFE read Cam Jansen and the Birthday Mystery by David Adler.  She writes:   
 

My favorite character in this book is Cam Jansen. I like her because she is smart. Cam has a photographic memory and she says click to remember the pictures she took with her mental camera. She uses these pictures to solve the mystery of her grandparents missing luggage.






Kaitlyn P., Grade 4, SFE read Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl.  She writes:

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator had awesome characters and my favorite is Mr. Wonka. There are many reasons why he is my favorite character. First of all, I like him because he is smart, funny and interesting. Mr. Wonka is funny because when the president asked him who he was he started talking in an alien language. Mr. Wonka is smart because he knows what every button in that glass elevator does. (There are millions of buttons in there!) Wonka is interesting because he has this giant chocolate factory with over 2,000 rooms. He is also interesting because in his factory he has lots of tiny creatures called oompa-loompas. The oompa-loompas are like Wonka's "test monkeys"/butlers and sometimes they sing songs. In conclusion, Mr. Wonka is my favorite character. I wish he was real!!! (I would love to meet him!!!!)

Paige H., Grade 4, SFE read Just Grace by Cherise Mericle Harper.  She writes: 

My favorite character in the book is Grace. One character trait to describe her is that she is caring. First, she sent cute postcards of Crinkles the cat to Mrs. Luther. Mrs. Luther broke her leg and had a cast on and Grace felt bad and wanted to try to cheer her up. Also when Sammy Stringer was crying, Grace smiled at him to make him feel better. Last, when Crinkles the cat was missing Grace found him and she gave him back to Mrs. Luther. Grace is a nice person and she does kind things for others. I would have given her a super star.

Isabella J.-L., Grade 5, WLC read Judy Moody Gets Famous!  by Megan McDonald


The favorite character in the book I read is Judy Moody. The character trait I would describe my character as kind, grumpy, and jealous. Judy was kind at the end of the story because she took the hospital dolls and fixed them to look like the kids that were there that were sick or had something broken like an arm or a leg that's what made her kind. Judy was grumpy in the book because she tried a lot of stuff to get famous and it didn't work and one almost worked because she got in the news paper you just couldn't see her face. Judy was jealous that one of her classmate's Jessica Finch got her face on the front page of a newspaper for winning the spelling bee and Judy tries to get her face on the front page of a newspaper too by doing things to try to get in the paper to. That's my favorite character and my characters trait and my evidence. 




Riley C., Grade 5, WLC read Frindle by Andrew Clements.  He writes:

My favorite character in Frindle is Nick and his character trait is creative. One thing he did to be creative is they live in New Hampshire and it was February so it was cold so he decided to turn his home room in to tropical island by spreading white sand all over the floor, turned the temp. up in the classroom to about 90 degrees, and having all the boys and girls in the classroom to make palm trees out of green and brown paper and tape them to the corners of all the desks. Another thing he did to be creative is all the cafeteria food in his school is bad so he told everyone not to by lunch so that they would eventually have to start making better lunches so kids will by them. The last thing he id to make him creative is he created a new word (frindle) and he was only 11. That is why Nick is my favorite character and his character trait.

Pete at the Beach!

I'm sure by now that most of you have heard of Pete the Cat, that cool cat who loves to sing rocking songs.  There is an ever-growing collection of groovy Pete the Cat picture books (look for Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses coming this October!)  but what you might have known is that there is also a new collection of Pete the Cat Early Readers for beginners.

Although these titles don't come with any catchy songs, they are great practice for young readers and as far as I am concerned, completely entertaining for readers of any age, no matter what their reading level!  My pick is Pete at the Beach - take it with you to this beach this summer and build a sand castle along with Pete and his mom!

It's all good.

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone's summers have been going great so far and that you are doing something special for Independence Day.  To celebrate, I wanted to share a patriotic book/song suggestion: This Land is Your Land by Woodie Guthrie (words and music), Kathy Jakobsen (illustrations) and Pete Seeger (musical tribute).   This has always been one of my favorite patriotic songs, and I love the folk-art inspired paintings in this book version.

If you get this book, you'll see it comes with a CD that you can read/sign along with or you can watch this video to get the experience right from your computer:

Highly Recommended!

As I was driving in my car the other day, I heard the radio announcer talking about the best books to read this summer.The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate was at the top of the list for kids ages 9-14.  I am really looking forward to reading it. I know Mrs. Goodnow read it to her class and all said they enjoyed it tremendously.  It also received the Newbery Medal for best children's book of 2013 and is on the RICBA 2014 list. Wow!  I'll keep you posted. Happy reading!