In Other Words ...

Sixth graders are practicing their paraphrasing skills, starting with SYNONYMS. Can you beat the games below?

Synonyms Rags to Riches - can you make it to a million?

Synonym Toast - I had trouble with this one ... it's fast-paced!

Click When You See the Synonym

Second Grade Judges - Round 2

We'll be voting for our Caldecott pick in a couple of weeks. In addition to the Round 1 finalists, the following books will be considered by second graders:

simonandschuster.com

Boot and Shoe 
Author/Illustrator: Marla Frazee

Kirkus gave it a "Best of 2012" recommendation.


Little Dog Lost
Author/Illustrator: Monica Carnesi

Based on a true story! Here is one of the newscasts: 

And an update a year later.

hachettebookgroup.com

The Monsters' Monster
Author/Illustrator: Patrick McDonnell

When three "monsters" create a new creature, will he be fearsome or will he say "Dank you!"? McDonnell's site includes a downloadable monster mask, a matching game, and a maze.

 
Nighttime Ninja
Author: Barbara DaCosta
Illustrator: Ed Young

.nighttimeninja.blogspot.com

Check out Barbara's Cardboard Challenge on her blog!  

World Book Web

You may have heard that some encyclopedia publishers have stopped producing their print volumes. But they're all still producing online versions. Thanks to the Rhode Island Office of Library & Information Services (OLIS), all RI residents have access to World Book Web through this link:

World Book Web

Most third graders agree that it's actually much easier to use than the print version. What do you think?

A B C D E F G ...

I have realized that everyone needs help remembering the order of the alphabet. For reals. So before I set the third graders loose finding information in the encyclopedia, they practiced figuring out guide words. As of today, the highest score is $32,000 and belongs to R.V. in Mrs. Perry's class. Will Mrs. Natale's class beat that score on Thursday??

See how well you know your alphabet by taking this quiz.

Most Borrowed Books - December

Source: scholastic.com

• I Spy Treasure Hunt by Walter Wick
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
• Puppy Place: Princess by Ellen Miles
• The Alphabet Theatre Proudly Presents The Z was Zapped : a play in twenty-six acts by Chris Van Allsburg (still on list)
• Big Nate: In a Class By Himself by Lincoln Peirce
• Clifford, the Firehouse Dog by Norman Bridwell
• Falling Up by Shel Silverstein
• I Spy A-Z by Jean Marzollo
• I Spy Spooky Night by Walter Wick
• The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
• The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
• The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan
• Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young
• Puppy Place: Snowball by Ellen Miles
• The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka
• Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume