Alpha Order with Room 4

Second graders are practicing their alphabetization skills, because we're learning about guide words, because the annual dictionary races are coming up!

Guide words help you find what you're looking for without having to look at every single page. For example, these are words that would come between the guide words "baby" and "eagle":

The kids had fun playing Guide Words Rags to Riches ... the highest score so far was 64,000. Do you think you can beat it? Try it by clicking this link.

Finally, here is Room 4 getting themselves in order:

And the Winner Is ... Gaston!

85 students chose from among
9 Mock Caldecott finalists, and
1 came out on top with
  18 votes:

Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Christian Robinson

Mock Caldecott Voting - Room 3

So far, only Room 3 has been able to cast their Mock Caldecott votes (everyone else has had snow days on their library days!). Here they are in action:

Sam and Dave took home an OFFICIAL Caldecott Honor from the ALA!

Mock Caldecott: Voting is Open!

We've narrowed down our list of potential Mock Caldecott winners ... which one is YOUR favorite?

You can vote via Google form.

Mock Caldecott Finalists - Final Batch

source: simonandschuster.com

Gaston

Words: Kelly DiPucchio
Pictures: Christian Robinson

Mrs. Poodle has four children: Fi-fi, Foo-foo, Ooh la la, and Gaston. He doesn't really look like his sisters. He doesn't really act like his sisters (although he tries). When they meet Mrs. Bulldog and her four children - three boys and a girl - at the park, the two families think that maybe there's been a mixup. Or has there?

I was so happy that a student in each class was able to articulate the message of the book: just be yourself, and accept others for being themselves as well.

source: simonandschuster.com

Some Bugs

Words: Angela DiTerlizzi
Pictures: Brendan Wenzel

Rhyming text, vivid verbs, and fantastic illustrations add up to a fun readaloud. I may use it in the future to kick off a first-grade insect classification unit.

Mock Caldecott Finalists - Batch 3

Circle, Square, Moose!

Words: Kelly Bingham
Pictures: Paul O. Zelinsky

source: harpercollins.com

If you've read Z is for Zebra, then you've already met Moose. He LOVES to be the center of attention, and he thinks that he deserves to be included as a star character in every book. This one got a lot of belly laughs from first graders.

The trailer below includes the voices of lots of famous children's authors and illustrators ... make sure to watch the credits.

source: harpercollins.com

Go, Go, Go, Stop!

Charise Mericle Harper

When I started going through picture books getting "Caldecott buzz" over the summer, this was one of the first ones I put in the "my kids will like this" pile. I was not wrong. It could be because of the construction vehicles; it could be because the kids got to yell "Go!" and "Stop!" Either way, I'm glad they liked it.

Mock Caldecott Finalist - Sam and Dave Dig a Hole

source: macbarnett.com

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole

Words: Mac Barnett
Pictures: Jon Klassen

I had so much fun reading this one, because the text NEEDS the pictures to give the full effect: Sam and Dave keep JUST missing "something spectacular" as they dig their hole. The students were FREAKING out as they dug next to, around, and below humongous jewels.

Here are Mac and Jon acting out some of the book:

And if you'd like tips on How to Dig a Hole, check out this episode of "Digging Deep with David Rees."

Mock Caldecott Finalists - Batch 1

Each January, the American Library Association awards the Caldecott Medal to the artist of "the most distinguished American picture book for children." Who will win in 2014? Well, first- and second-graders are going to make their pick in library, and we'll see how our choice lines up with the national award. After round one, the following were cleared to move on with near unanimity:

Don't Play With Your Food!
Bob Shea

Bob Shea wrote and illustrated last year's winner, Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great. I let him know via Twitter, and he appreciated it ... here we are meeting in person at the Lincoln school author event back in October:

source: bobshea.com

His latest starts Buddy the Monster, who is determined to eat the cute little bunnies he comes across ... but they seem to be able to outwit him. The book started out slightly differently. Here is his original storyboard (with narration):

My Teacher is a Monster! (No, I am Not.)
Peter Brown

peterbrownstudio.com

I LOVED that in every second-grade class, at least one person recognized Brown's style from last year's finalist Mr. Tiger Goes Wild. It's very different from the one he used in Creepy Carrots, which I ready to the first-graders last year in kindergarten.

One thing I like about this book is that the pictures help to tell the story. The moment when the kids realize that the teacher is changing color and shape is awesome!

You can download a parent/teacher kit that goes with the book.

Boney Research - Room 4

Second graders took notes for the first time in library, listening to Dem Bones by Bob Barner and learning such information as:

• Where is your patella? 
• How many vertebrae are in your spine? 
• Where is your clavicle? 
• How many bones are in your foot? 
• Which bone is the longest? 

Then we created a list of questions they had about bones and practiced using a table of contents to find the answers. Here are some of the facts they learned:

• A muscle is attached to a bone by a tendon. 
• Bones are made of water and calcium. 
• Broken bones can heal themselves, but they can't move during the process.
• Joints have different names. One kind is a ball and socket.

And here they are at work:

If you'd like to know more about bone names, the Animaniacs can tell you:

Room 4 Sorting - Books

Before checkout this week, second graders had to sort a pile of books on their tables (our theme for the year is arranging information). Nearly every group came up with a different set of categories, which made my day ... they were using their brains and teamwork! Category examples included:

• Cover materials: Hardcover and paperback 
• Size: Big and small 
• Text: Author's first initial 
• Topics: Animals and people 
• Genre: Fiction and nonfiction 
• Call number: E and BD (which was the big takeaway from the activity) 

Here are the kids from Room 4 with their books:

Tomorrow's Alphabet with Room 3

source: powells.com

Today we read Tomorrow's Alphabet by George Shannon. The second graders had to use their brains to figure out the word for each letter. Here's an example:

A is for seed ... tomorrow's APPLE.

Can you figure out the answers to the following?

• B is for egg, tomorrow's ____________________
• D is for puppy, tomorrow's ____________________
• I is for water, tomorrow's ____________________
• J is for pumpkin, tomorrow's ____________________
• K is for tomato, tomorrow's ____________________
• M is for caterpillar, tomorrow's ____________________
• N is for twigs, tomorrow's ____________________
• O is for acorn, tomorrow's ____________________
• R is for grapes, tomorrow's ____________________
• T is for bread, tomorrow's ____________________
• X is for bone, tomorrow's ____________________

Common Core standard addressed: L.2.5 - Demonstrate understanding of word relationships

Guide Word Rags to Riches

Before second graders start using the dictionary, they need to know how to use guide words. So they've been practicing via an online game. So far, the highest score in Mrs. Wall's class was 4,000, hit by J.R. Can you beat his score?

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

Common Core Standard addressed: RI.2.5 - Know and use various text features to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently.

Mock Caldecott Voting in Action

First and second graders cast their votes this week ... winner to be revealed in the next post!