Global Read Aloud 2015

I had the honor of participating in the Global Read Aloud this year with my K-2 Humanities Club. It was so much fun to make this cultural reading experience come alive for the 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:



The Global Read Aloud offers several choices for reading: chapter books and an author study. This year's author study focused on Amy Krouse Rosenthal, author/illustrator of stories that inspire creativity and individualism like Exclamation Mark, The Ok Book, and Chopsticks. Her 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 King City near Toronto, Canada. Each week we read a new Amy Krouse Rosenthal book and discussed it with our friends in Canada via Skype or through Padlet.

Created with Padlet

We loved learning about their school and comparing the things we had in common while discovering what makes us unique. The students at the Canadian school are learning French but are learning Spanish! We found out they play some of the same games we do at recess. It also stimulated the students' curiosity about Canada and we used Google Earth, eBooks, and print books to learn more about the country. 

Each week during clubs I gave the students the opportunity to have quiet reading time with Rosenthal's books. Even though we focused on one or two particular books a week, I wanted the students to have exposure to all of her stories. The students love to buddy read!

During centers students had the choice of visiting the computer center to listen to eBooks and watch book trailers of Rosenthal's books. They also enjoyed building with pattern blocks at the activity center.

Literacy centers gave the students a chance to respond to Rosenthal's books through writing and drawing. 

One day when our Canadian friends were not available to Skype with us, we found a class in Detroit, Michigan, who wanted to connect. Twitter and Edmodo make it easy for educators participating in the Global Read Aloud to share ideas and form partnerships. It was fun to do a shared reading via Skype of It's Not Fair! After the read aloud, students introduced themselves and asked questions to learn more about each other. This is the beauty of the Global Read Aloud--using books as a bridge to form new friendships and broaden students' understanding of the world around them. At Club Boulevard our vision is to help students grow as human beings and authentic experiences like the Global Read Aloud serve as a vehicle for helping us accomplish this goal. 

One of the last books we read together was Exclamation Mark! In this book we learned that each one of us is unique and our differences make us special. I asked the students to think about at least one thing they are good at and write about it. We used the Educreations app to create a short slideshow of their work. 

I would encourage any educator to participate in the Global Read Aloud. It is a free, easy way to make meaningful global connections through literacy and technology, and encompasses everything we try to teach our students as a humanities magnet school. Certainly one of the highlights of the semester for me (and for the students, I hope!)! For more information, read the FAQs on the Global Read Aloud site: http://theglobalreadaloud.com/info-for-2015/frequently-asked-questions/ 

Book Character Pumpkins!

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

This is the 3rd 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. Maybe you will be inspired to read one of these books?


I asked each family to pick 3 character traits to describe their book character. Below are 2 examples:

Summer Reading Celebration

Last Monday I had the privilege of honoring all the students who turned in proof of summer reading to me. Almost 150 students took the time to tell me about their efforts--either by turning in a reading log, chart, Durham County Library certificate, or hand-written letter.  I am so proud of these students who made reading a priority over the summer!! As our assistant principal told the students, reading can open our minds to new worlds, new perspectives, and it's fun!

The students were fortunate to be entertained by UNC professor and storyteller, Dr. Brian Sturm. Dr. Sturm is head of the Story Squad, a story-telling group at the School of Information and Library Science at UNC-Chapel Hill. The Story Squad's mission is to "re-integrate storytelling into the early learning experiences of all children to help them develop pre literacy skills..." The 1st-3rd graders enjoyed hearing folktales while the 4th-5th graders heard an urban legend and New Zealand folktale. We are so grateful to Dr. Sturm for donating his time to our special event! 

After the storytelling entertainment, students self-selected a new book and book mark to keep. Thank you to all our parent volunteers who helped make these events possible for our students. Hopefully we'll have even more summer readers join us at next year's celebration! Great job, manatees! 

Chromebooks!

An exciting addition to our technology equipment this year is the purchase of 2 Chromebooks carts. Students in 4th and 5th grade have already been trained on the use of these carts and 2nd/3rd grades will be trained soon. These trainings provided a good opportunity for me to discuss what it means to be a responsible digital citizen. I began the discussion by stressing the importance of protecting ones private information online. We are so grateful for these new devices and the learning that will take place because of them!