Cookies, Cocoa & Books!

It was great to see so many families at school last Thursday night for our Cookies, Cocoa, & Books event! Families were encouraged to wear their pajamas to enjoy an evening of stories and fun. Stories were read by Club Blvd. faculty (including Principal Hairston!) The Book Fair was open and our wonderful PTA served cookies and cocoa in the cafeteria. Below are just a few snapshots from the night--watch the slideshow at the end of this post to see all the photos. Thank you to everyone who helped make this night (and Book Fair) a huge success!

Principal Hairston reads Miss Nelson is Missing

Thank you to our Science teacher, Mrs. Harrison, for photographing the event! :)

Global Read Aloud 2014

I had the honor of participating in the Global Read Aloud for the first time this year. 1st grade teacher Mrs. Barrow and I collaborated to make this cultural reading experience come alive for her students. The Global Read Aloud was started in 2010 with one goal in mind: one book to connect the world. Pernille Ripp, the teacher who created the Global Read Aloud, explains how it works in the video below:


This year's author study focused on Peter H. Reynolds, author/illustrator of stories that inspire creativity like The Dot, Ish, Sky Color and Going Places. His books fit perfectly with our aim to integrate the humanities into our core curriculum.


The Global Read Aloud encourages teachers to connect with a classroom in a different part of the world and we were lucky to find a first grade class from The Study School in Montreal, Canada. Each week we read a new Peter H. Reynolds book and discussed it with our friends in Canada via Skype.

We loved learning about their school and comparing the things we had in common while discovering what makes us unique. We couldn't believe their school is located on 'The Boulevard'. And they only have girls in their classes! Some weeks we would do activities together in the Media Center and other times the activities were completed in the classroom. 

After reading The North Star, students created "Dream Star Posters" in the classroom. They learned that all of us have our own special interests and dreams--and most importantly, our own journey to follow. 

In the the pictures below, students wrote friendship messages to their Canadian friends and then folded the letters into paper airplanes just like in the book I'm Here! 

Here we are "flying" our messages to Canada. We found out that putting them in a package for the postman to deliver worked best :)

One of our favorite activities was based on the book Going Places. In this book, a go-cart contest inspires imagination in two students as they think outside the box to create their vehicle. For our activity, we gave each group a large cardboard box and recycled supplies and let them build their own vehicle. 

The groups made a plan first and promised to work together and honor each other's ideas.

We had two tables of recycled supplies donated by families, Mrs. Barrow, and myself. Our donations included bottle caps, feathers, yarn, fabric, foil, cylinders, and more! Each group chose 5 items to start with and came back as needed for more supplies.

We were SO impressed with their creativy, problem-solving, and teamwork! Even though it was chaotic at times, this was a fun, challenging learning activity that we all enjoyed. 

So proud of their finished products! Wow!

During our last Skype session with our Canadian friends, students graphed their favorite Peter Reynolds book. Can you tell which book received the most votes from our students? Going Places was the clear favorite!

Our birthday girl was excited to hear a birthday serenade in French. This was a first for all of us and a real treat! 

I would encourage any teacher or media specialist to participate in the Global Read Aloud. It is a free, easy way to make meaningful global connections through literacy. Certainly one of the highlights of the semester for me! I'm so glad Mrs. Barrow chose to take the leap with me. For more information, read the FAQs on the Global Read Aloud site: http://www.globalreadaloud.com/p/faq.html 

Guest Post - Genre Challenge for Grades 3-5!

Hello again manatees! Ms. Johnston, back again, with a challenge. Do you have what it takes to become a literary traveler? We have a new genre section in the Media Center and we would like you to EXPLORE it!

Here's how the challenge works:

Read one book from four different genres (that’s four books total) to become a literary traveler! You must choose your books from our genre sections in the Media Center. After you have read your first book, see Ms. Johnston or Mrs. Husketh at the checkout desk to pick up a PASSPORT. After that, it’s your responsibility to keep up with it!

Fill out a Travel Log Entry for each book you read. Make sure to give your book a rating of 1 to 5 stars and explain why you feel this way! After you have finished your entry, show Ms. Johnston or Mrs. Husketh to receive a stamp and move on to your next stop on the challenge.

After you have read four books (each from a different genre), you are eligible to become a literary traveler! Choose your favorite book from your journey and explain why it was your favorite. After you've completed this, your name will be added to the “Wall of Travelers!” in the Media Center.

Our genre challenge ends Friday, Dec. 19th so you better get started! Check out the video below to learn more!

Literary Pumpkin Patch

We received so many creative pumpkins this year for our Literary Pumpkin Patch! Great job to all families who participated.

This is the 2nd year we've done this project and I continue to be amazed by all the creative ways the students turn their pumpkin into a book character. I hope we have even more characters next year!

Below is a video of most of the students with their creations. They are so proud! :)


 This video has close up pictures of the awesome pumpkins. One teacher even used paper-mache on top of her pumpkin!

I asked each family to pick 3 character traits to describe their character. Below is one example:

Minerals Project: The Case of the Missing Key

Fourth graders in Ms. Whaley's class completed a complex integrated research project on minerals last month. This project is a perfect example of how a flexible schedule in the Media Center allows me to best serve the needs of our learners.

Ms. Whaley and I introduced the project by having the kids read Chapter 1 of The Case of the Missing Key (written by Ms. Whaley). In this chapter, the kids were told that the identification key for the minerals had gone missing and they had to do some detective work to find out all the properties of the minerals. Each time we progressed further in our project, Ms. Whaley presented another chapter in the story.

On day 1 each group selected a mineral out of the bag. This would be the mineral they would become experts on over the next few weeks. 

Students used books and websites to research their mineral. They learned the index was very helpful in finding pages with relevant information quickly.

They look detailed notes as part of the research.

They put their detective skills to the test to help identify each mineral sample. 

After all the research was complete, I introduced a great multimedia tool that the students would use to share their mineral information. It's called Board Builders and is found on the Discovery Education. Each student has their own log-in for Discovery Education. 

The students organized their notes and planned their presentation board before logging into Discovery Education. 

Below are a few pictures from their presentations. Each group was responsible for presenting their board to the rest of the class. Some of us were nervous but we know we'll improve and have even more confidence next time!

I asked the students to reflect on 3 questions after our project was complete:

• What did you enjoy about this project?
• What did you find challenging?
• Think about how well you worked with your partner. What would they say about you as a partner and worker?

Everyone had something they enjoyed about the project (and many asked when we could do something similar again!). Here are a few of the things we found challenging:

• Creating the board
• Finding specific information about a mineral on a website
• Putting pictures on the board
• Making the presentation
• Making sense of our research notes
• Speaking in front of the class

I look forward to working with Ms. Whaley's class again on an integrated project!