Vote in our Mock Caldecott election!

Room 7 Researchers

Sixth graders have been finding online articles to support their research questions, which include topics that range from babysitting tips to Alex Rodriguez' fall from grace.

They're using AskRI.org to access World Book Online and EBSCO databases of magazine articles. Thanks to the Office of Library and Information Services, you can use them too, as long as you're on a computer located in Rhode Island.

Here are some of Mrs. Kitchen's students looking up information:

That would be a blobfish.

Common Core standard addressed: W.6.7: Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources and refocusing the inquiry when appropriate.

A Collection of Nouns - Room 9

Here are some of Room 9's collective nouns describing themselves:

Common Core standard addressed: L.4.5. – Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

Mock Caldecott: Round 3 Results

Three more books made it to our "short" list:

source: childrensbooksalmanac.com

Lucky Ducklings
Author: Eva Moore
Illustrator: Nancy Carpenter

Based on a true story, this will remind many readers of Make Way for Ducklings.

Evidently, ducklings fall down grates a lot. I was trying to find a video of the Montauk even to show, but will have to settle for this one for now:

Source: hachettebookgroup.com

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild
Peter Brown

Sometimes I slightly regret sharing absurd books with my kids, because they can get a little cuckoobananas when inspired by such characters as Mr. Tiger, who takes off his clothes and jumps in a fountain! 

However, I like the message of the book, which L.S. in Room 1 summed up very nicely: he just wanted to be himself.

The author/illustrator can tell you a little more:

And there's even an activity kit!


Oliver and His Alligator

Source: barnesandnoble.com

Paul Schmid

When you hear kids gasp and then giggle, you know you have a good readloud on your hands. This one just may unseat "Wemberly Worried" as my go-to first-class-meeting book for K.

Most Popular Checkouts - 2013

Here are the top items that students checked out during the previous year:

source: alibris.com

The almanac is a great way
for kids to meet some of
those Common Core
informational text standards!

Hoping to get an updated
set before 2016 ... will have
to do it via donations or a grant.

• Magazines: Discovery Girls, Sports Illustrated Kids, BMX Plus, American Girl, Zoobooks, National Geographic Kids
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
• The World Almanac for Kids 2006
• The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss
• Dork Diaries series
• Big Nate series
• Bone series
• Pigeon books by Mo Willems
• The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen
• The Z Was Zapped by Chris Van Allsburg
• No, David! by David Shannon
• Draw 50 Cats
• Dr. Seuss' ABC
• Scholastic 2013 Book of World Records
• The New Book of Knowledge volumes
• Percy Jackson series
• Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn
• Sidekicks by Dan Santat

A Collection of Nouns - Room 11

Fourth-graders learned about collective nouns, which describe a group of people, places, or things. Some are general - a class of students or a team of players. But others can be quirky and actually work like adjectives - a splash of mermaids or a crash of rhinos. They used the dictionary and their brains to figure out how some terms go together:

pandemonium of parrots	pandemonium means a loud noise, and parrots screech
skulk of foxes	skulk means to be sneaky, and foxes are known for being sly
bask of crocodiles	reptiles need to bask in the sun because they are cold-blooded

Then the kids came up with collective adjectives for themselves. Here are some of Room 11's:

Common Core standard addressed: L.4.5. – Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.