Are you up for a challenge?

During their first "specials" visit to the library media center, Stough 3rd-, 4th- and 5th- graders  read Last Stop on Market Street by author Matt De La Peña and illustrator Christian Robinson.  This beautiful story about a boy and his Nana riding the city bus they ride every Sunday afternoon inspired us to talk about the people who bring out our best selves.   Many students said their parents -- moms and dads -- are the people who encourage them to be their best selves.  Others listed older brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and teachers.

This week, classes are being introduced to a variety of fiction books where the main character has an adult role model who brings out the best in him/her, and those books are already in high demand as we "raffle" them off at the end of each class.

Inspired by The Great Thanksgiving Listen, a project of StoryCorps, TED, NPR, ABC and the Library of Congress, I want to issue our students a challenge.   Though our students are too young to be official participants who submit interviews to StoryCorps, I believe they can still rise to the challenge.  They can use the Thanksgiving holiday to interview a special person in their lives -- someone who brings out the best in them.  So here's the challenge:

1. Choose an adult who encourages you to be your best self -- preferably someone you will see or talk with over the Thanksgiving holiday.  
2. Print out a copy of the Heart, Head, Hands and Feet graphic organizer.  (Or pick one up in the library media center!)  If you are printing at home, notice that you only need the 2nd page.
3. Over Thanksgiving break, interview the adult you chose.  Try to learn about the following:
• What does he/she love or love to do?   Record what you learn in the "Heart" of your organizer.
• What is the person's vision of the future?  What does the person imagine for the future?  Record this in the "thought bubble."
• What choices did the person make or what actions did he/she take to make his/her dreams come true?   Record this in the "Hands" and "Feet."
4. Turn in your final, neatly-written copy to Mrs. Galvan by Wednesday, December 2.  We will display your interviews during the family night at the book fair.  Also, everyone who participates will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of Mrs. Galvan's favorite books from the book fair! 

Enjoy your time with family and friends, and take the opportunity to learn from those special people in your lives!

Wrapping up our Global Read Aloud Experience

What a great time we've had in our K-2 library media classes participating in the 2015 Global Read Aloud.  We began our adventure in the last week of September/ first week of October learning about Amy Krouse Rosenthal and reading her book Chopsticks.  Since that week, we have read Duck! Rabbit, It's Not Fair, Exclamation Mark!, and The OK Book.

Through these weeks, we have been making connections with other classes across the country who have also been reading these books.  A few classes have had Skype and Google Hangout experiences with classes in Vermont and Illinois.  Most classes have shared to Padlet walls with classes across our school and all over the US and Canada.    We have had opportunities to follow Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrators Scott Magoon and Tom Lichtenheld on Twitter as they've answered questions about their books and their creative process.  Second grade students are still writing postcards to send to schools participating in a Global Read Aloud postcard exchange.  We've already received our first postcard from a school in Wisconsin!  Some of our kindergarten, first and second grade students have chosen to share their favorite book on this Padlet wall:

Created with Padlet

Participating in the Global Read Aloud has been a great experience.  We look forward to joining in the fun again next year!   

Kindergarten, first and second grade classes are beginning their rotation in technology classes starting tomorrow.  I still hope to see them often in the library checking out their favorite Amy Krouse Rosenthal books and all of the other great books they want to read this year!