March 17, 2017

Last week's library lesson made quite a splash!  Otters Love to Play, our 8th Red Clover book of the school year, was the selected mentor text.  In addition to sharing this engaging and fun story, learners were able to experience the narrative nonfiction genre firsthand.  More than just facts and details about otters, this beautifully illustrated story is also written in a fiction-like format.  At the end of the story, we talked about common text features - a glossary, an index, charts, and other ways nonfiction stories enhance our learning of a particular topic.  

After the story, I shared this amazing video of a mother otter teaching her pup to swim.  Contrary to what many believe about these water loving mammals, they are not born knowing how to swim.  Their mothers have to teach them!  Lastly, we played a fun comprehension game using Quizziz (a gamified site to help study and learn anything) to review the book and important understandings from the lesson.  Next week we'll continue on our path to complete all ten Red Clover books with They All Saw A Cat.             

February 13, 2018

Be brave, have courage, follow your heart, laugh and love!

I've been sending some subtle and not so subtle messages through our selected read alouds the last several library classes. As I've shared before, the power of picture books can transcend, generate deep reflection, and inspire us all to be better versions of ourselves. Jabari Jumps (Cornwall), and Malala: A Brave Girl From Pakistan (Winter) reminded us all to be brave, have courage, and follow your heart each and every day. Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs (Willems) and The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors (Daywalt) got us all laughing - an important balance to maintain in one's life. Finally, Duncan Tonatiuh's 2018 Red Clover nominee, The Princess and the Warrior was the perfect culmination to this triumvirate of messages... unconditional LOVE.

It is my hope that learners will carry this mult-week lesson with them each and every day of their lives: Be brave, have courage, follow your heart, laugh, and love.

January 24, 2018

"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."

-John Wooden 

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I love to pair up related fiction and nonfiction titles whenever possible.  This lesson presented the perfect opportunity to do just that!  Penguin Problems, our fourth Red Clover book of the year, is the hilarious tale of a penguin who acts grumpy and exudes negativity from the moment the story begins: "My beak is cold... the sun is too bright...what's with all the squawking you guys?!"  Our penguin isn't just having a bad day, but rather chooses to view the world through a "half-empty lens" - which led to some great student reflections on how we all fall into this icy trap from time to time.   

Next, we read an electronic title from National Geographic called Penguins.  This book served as the perfect pairing to Penguin Problems as it helped explain how penguins really are a tough flock.  From the harsh and frigid desert-like climate to the rugged survival skills required in Antarctica, we all gained a greater understanding on why our penguin from Penguin Problems was so grumpy!  

After the two stories, we went on a virtual field trip to the San Diego Zoo where we watched the penguin exhibit via a webcam they have.   For classes that got to see penguins in action (unfortunately it was hit or miss depending on the time of day) this experience was really exciting and fun.

You can try for yourself here:  Penguin Cam!

Red Clover Reflections (Vol. 4):  Penguin Problems (Podcast)

    

January 12, 2018

"For last year's words belong to last year's language.  And next year's words await another voice."

-T.S. Eliot

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While the holiday break provided a wonderful opportunity to relax, celebrate, READ, and spend quality time with family and friends, it has been wonderful to return to the routine of library life.  For our first lesson of 2018, I decided to share some "new" titles that my wife and I gave our children for Christmas (when dad is a librarian you tend to receive books quite regularly).  

Matt Tavares's extraordinary and artistically beautiful story about two cardinals, Red and Lulu, provided the perfect starting point for us all - connecting leftover holiday sentimentality with a powerful story of courage, determination, and unconditional love.  Most readers really connected with this story, sharing my belief that it is an instant holiday classic!

After a brief nonfiction title about New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, we then shifted to another "Flanagan Family Favorite" with Windows.  Written by Julia Denos and illustrated by debut artist E.B. Goodale, Windows is a beautifully illustrated story about curiosity, wonderment, and discovery.  After finishing this story, learners were given a blank window template to sketch their own "New Year's resolution" for 2018.  

Like our library classes, I hope that your 2018 is off to a fantastic start!                  

December 20, 2017

  

In last week's library classes we learned about three major holidays happening this December - Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa.  Feel free to engage your learner by asking them to share some newfound understandings about each holiday.  They should have some insight to share.  

For many, the nonfiction and fiction mentor texts provided a window into (a) holiday(s) they knew little about previously.  What we discovered together in this lesson was that each of these holidays have so much in common (ex. light, candles, family, friends, food, music, dance, and joy - to name a few connections)!   A reminder to all, that we too - like the aforementioned holidays - have more in common with each other than we often realize.  

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season filled with light, love, wonderment, and books!     

    

December 13, 2017

Coyote Moon

By Maria Gianferrari

Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

(From SATEC Student’s Choice Award)

Coyote Moon by Maria Gianferrari (text) and Bagram Ibatoulline (art) was this week's featured mentor text for all classes. This stunningly beautiful and compelling look into a "night in the life" of a coyote mother provided a window for all of us to learn about the often misunderstood and miscast mammal. Also, this wonderful story happens to be a nominee for this year's SATEC Student Choice Award.

In addition to Coyote Moon, learners were also treated to a more traditional nonfiction text with North American Animals: Coyotes. By comparing and contrasting both nonfiction stories, learners were able to see and experience how nonfiction stories can be constructed and created differently. Coyote Moon is best described as narrative nonfiction; a story that reveals facts and details about a subject within the framework of a story (fiction-like). Whereas North American Animals: Coyotes begins with a table of contents and ultimately reads more like an encyclopedia. The contrasting nonfiction titles led to a great discussion and reflection on how different books may be, even within the same genre.

December 6, 2017

A Colorful Week in Library!

Crayons stole the show in last week's library classes - adding a *cough* colorful touch.  Learners were treated to Michael Hall's funny, thought provoking, and uplifting crayon-centric stories, Frankencrayon and Red: A Crayon's Story.  

In addition to being highly entertaining, Frankencrayon also happens to be one of the ten nominees for this year's Red Clover book award.  For those of you keeping score at home, this was our third Red Clover read aloud of the school year.  Learners loved how the crayons spoke directly to them, the audience.  This clever construct led to a discussion on "breaking the fourth wall" - when actors, or characters, speak directly to their audience.  After the story, learners were able to create their own paper Frankencrayons to keep! 

While also starring crayons, Red: A Crayon's Story is delivered with a more serious and sincere tenor than Frankencrayon.  Red, as his crayon label indicates, struggles to find his place as everything he colors comes out blue.  His teacher, mother, grandparents, and even other art supplies (scissors, tape dispenser, etc) all attempt to intervene and help Red to no avail.  

     Red: A Crayon's Story provoked a discussion on symbolism, and how stories often contain a deeper meaning beyond the words and art in a particular book.  One third grader said it best - reminding his class and me, "It doesn't matter what we look like on the outside.  What really matters is who we are on the inside."  Like the Grinch, my heart grew three sizes in that moment.

Curious what learners had to say about Frankencrayon?  Give a listen to the latest RCR (link below).

Red Clover Reflections Vol 3:  https://soundcloud.com/user-561982472/red-clover-reflections-vol-3