Presentation---Dec 2

Spiders---You guys rock! It was fun and entertaining and I gained alot of information about spiders. I love the youtube video, I know yall had some technical difficulties but it went well and very smoothly :) You guys kept us busy through out your whole presentation, I think that was very vital in working with all ages. I love that the activity with the playdough and foam balls was an actual craft that was just for fun, there wasnt a worksheet but I still learn alot about spiders! Kudos for creativity!

Snow White-- to be continued ;)

Presentation (Nov 30)

The Empty Pot--Wow guys I really enjoyed your book. I love that it had a great moral to the story and it was based on a different culture. I thought it was great how you guys did a walk through the book. This allowed me as a student to engage and try to figure out what I was going to learn from this book. The activity was fun, I enjoyed having to put our own point of view on what integrity is to our group.

Pink and Say--- Well this was my group. So We were awesome! :) Seriously I was glad to get it done. :) I enjoyed our book it is emotional and I did not want us to be depressing but I thought it had a great story line and artwork. So I hope you all enjoyed it!

Presentation Day 1 ( Nov 23)

Why The Sun and Moon Live---This Presentation was amazing . The costumes had alot of color and you can tell alot of time and effort was put into this presentation. I think children could easily adjust a play, especially the way it was presented, with the class participating with the fish. I think you guys did an excellent job!
10 Things I can do to Help my World--I really enjoyed the movie maker on recycling, it had a very catching song that went perfect with the theme for your project. The activity was well done!

Shared and Guided Reading---Author Profile Roald Dahl

In Shared and Guided Reading Lecture/Power Point I gained a some great information on the importance of guided reading. There is so much more than just choosing any book to read to your class. In the process of chossing books, you need to know certain criteria about your students and wahat type of lesson as a teacher you are trying to put across. The importance of shared and guided reading also play a role in writing and understanding text. All of this together is like a giant puzzle that we are trying to figure out as we go along, with that said one piece of information is a link to the whole puzzle.
It depends on what the grade level your teaching and what exactly what you want your students to gain form a book.

As I began to search for a new book I found this amazing website http://www.carnegielibrary.org/kids/books/ It has a list of suggested book by grade level, genre, award winning, or for parents. If you have time I suggest you all check it out. Oh and this is my ultimate favorite website for good reads ... http://www.goop.com/ ( Gywneth Paltrow's website)
In anywho back to my ...Author Profile --

This Pick is new for me I saw an interesting title and chose it. The Enormous Crocodile. I found this clip also its a hilarious play on this book. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5675027551426483329#
The Author is Roald Dahl,(okay so I saw this book and the authors name looked familiar but I could not figure it out until I googled his name..So Yeah he is the author of the famous Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach. (and Ithought I discoverd a new book lol)
Roald Dahl was an amazing author and an amazing man. I found it "amazing" ( I know I use that word to much) how every author I look up has a story has something that held them back and they over come or just a rough background that made them a better person and author. Dahl lived in Wales growing up his father passed away and wanted a better life for him, so his mother took her child to England to get an education, Dahl wrote a book called Boy and from them start to write Charlie and the Chocolate factory. Dahl wanted to travel and doing so he finish his education in England and worked with the Shell Company. There truely is so much information about this man that I could write a book, it is all very interesting so please check out his page!http://www.roalddahlfans.com/mydahlbio/page4.php You will be a better person after you read his bio. ;)

Author Profile-- Rick Riordan

One day at work I saw an 11 year old boy reading a book, and I asked him Hey what ya reading there?" .."Oh this ..it a Percy Jackson book" He replied. Oh whats it about? (I honestly was curious because if I find a book a teen / preteen likes I want to buy it ) "Well Do you like Greek Mythology?"

This boy was so amazing and adorable and then he said something like that I was in love he cracked me up! He was very serious and I loved it! The book he was reading is called The Last Olympian which is book # 5. He briefly explained to me that Percy Jackson is a dyslexic boy who discovers he is the son of Poseidon (god of the sea) and he has to fight off other greek mythology creatures.

I was very interest and thought wow there is so many books that are series that children really get hooked on.. of course there is Harry Potter, Lemony Snicket, Twilight ( which I know is all ages and mostly female), but I knew this book has potential and sure enough when I went to Borders I saw this book right when I walked in.. and went I went to the movies I saw a trailer for it!!! So this has to be a Must read book I encourage everyone to read before the movie comes out on Feb. 12 2010.

Rick Riodan is the author of this book. He is multi-award-winning author of the Tres Navarre mystery series for adults. He Lives in San Antonio, and He has taught English and History in California and Texas. He wrote the book series Percy Jackson because of his experiences teaching greek mythology to middle school students and teaching students with learning differences. For more info on the author and his books go to http://www.rickriordan.com/.

I feel this book is a "must read" it has action and everyone know that a book is better than a movie!

Nonfiction Books---Author Profile Patricia Polacco

Growing up I would label nonficition books as the huge bulky books that were meant for strictly education purposes. I have learned that nonfiction books can be entertaining and it is always important to keep a classroom entertain while learning about interesting facts. Some nonficition books I can recall reading were books based on true events (faction books).



Our genre presentation is based on a nonficition book called Pink and Say. This book has amazing artwork and tells a story that all ages will not forget, its a story about civil war and two young men who have develop a friendship through out the battle of slavery.

Patricia Polacco has amazing art work that captures the eye and makes the story run well with her art work. Patricia also illustrate all of her books. Patricia majored in Fine Arts and has a Ph. D in Art History. She did not start writing books until she was in her forties and she has over 45 books, that tell stories about family, friendship and moral values. Some of here inspirations were classic books like Peter Rabbit and Mother Goose stories. Check OUt her Artwork and all her books at Patriciapolacco.com

Favorite books---- Author Profile Lois Lowry

Well I was very excite with this blog assignment because I love to Read. As a kid I enjoyed to read, 4th grade we had to read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S Lewis and I remember thats when I was hooked. I had some great teachers who introduce me to some awesome books in Junior high, I read Go Ask Alice (which is a great book, but I dont know if it age appropriate for all 12 year olds), Lord of the Flies, Lupita Manana, and The Giver. In High School I fell in love with The Great Gatsby....and then there was a gap where I fell out of reading... One book that was life changing for me was Into the Wild, this book is a captivating true story about a young man named Chris McCandless, he is driven young man who seeks adventure after graduating college, I dont want to give too much away but its a great book about loving life. I read Twilight and felt like I was 16 again. I think that is one of the main reasons it is so popular. Everyone I know that has read it says they feel like a teen,its that vulnerable love Bella has for Edward and it doesnt help that its in first person...so you truly feel like Bella. After reading this book I was addicted again, I needed another book to escape away. I dont know if I have a particular genre that I enjoy reading. I think if it has a learning experience or can make me think outside the box I would enjoy it.
Now more than ever I am just overwhelmed by all the books that people recommend I feel like there is just too much to do and not enough time to read them all. I currently am reading two books a classic novel, A tree Grows in Brooklyn and a Christian novel Redeeming Love. If you hand me a book I will read the whole thing even if I dont like it ..that way I can tell you why I didnt like it.

Author Profile Lois Lowry

Like I had mentioned earlier Lois Lowry Wrote a book called The Giver, this book was an assign reading for me in 7th grade. After reading this book I purchase Lowry's book Number of the Stars. Her books all deal with the importance of human connection. She married young and her husband was in the Navy and found his way to Harvard Law, while the process was long she raised four children and got her degree. Then she began writing books which she always wanted to do. She has gone through lost in many different ways in life ( she lost her sister and a son) and has gain knowledge which is portrayed in her books. The Giver is a trilogy, the other books include Gathering Blue and the Messenger. For ore information on Lois Lowry please go to Loislowry.com

Author Profile : Jerry Spinelli

Jerry Spinelli wrote a book called Maniac Magee, this book is a great chapter book if fun and true to life in his I founf a great bio page that has a questionarie here is one of his his answers on what books to read to check out more about him for to http://www.carr.org/authco/spinelli-j.htm

If you could recommend only one of your novels for us to read, which one would it be and why?
Maniac Magee—for the message, the story, and the language.

I completey agree with the author this book is about a young boy who is not well off but has a talent that can bring a town together :)

Author Profile: Wilson Rawls

Since I am on blogging about chapter books this is anothor author that many are familiar with, Wilson Rawls wrote the books Where the Red Fern Grows and Summer of the Monkeys. I encourage these chapter books for a 4th to 5th grade level reader, both books are for animal lovers. Rawls group up during the depression and although he want to be a writeer he had to find work , later in his life in threes weeks he wrote a book call Where the Red Fern Grows, this is about a boy and is two loyal dogs and racoon hunting. Some of Rawls inspirations was Jack Londons Call of the Wild this is when he knew he wanted to be a writer. Many would say Rawls is a ninspiration and so many that there is a book called Dreams can Come True dedicated to the author Wilson Rawls. Check out his profile at http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/rawls.html