Book Week 2016 is nearly here! Book Week is one of my favourite school events on the calendar, and this year I'm the Book Week Coordinator at my school. I thought I'd share some ideas and activities f
Best Books 2023, Best Middle Grade Books, Bea Wolf, Zach Weinersmith, Chinese Menu:The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods, Grace Lin, Duel, Jessixa Bagley, The Eyes and the Impossible, Dave Eggers, Gone Wolf, Amber McBride, Jawbreaker
As the American Libraries Association’s annual celebration of the right to read kicks off, take a look through the titles most frequently ‘challenged’ in 2015, and some of the reasons behind the calls to ban them
Artwork courtesy of the American Library Association. Source info for this post comes from the same. It’s Banned Books Week! Are you excited? I love Banned Books week because it gets us all talking…
Spelling Made Fun is a new and innovative fun, multi-sensory spelling programme developed specifically for Primary schools and has been extensively reviewed by practising teachers nationwide. Features: 18 weekly units of work which include fun activities to reinforce the spellings, wordsearches, phonic activities, cloze procedure exercises, opportunities for colouring, drawing and generating their own sentences using the words in the spelling units. Spelling lists with practice sheets for each unit. Using the Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check technique. Spelling lists include words relevant to the pupil writing. CVC words, high frequency words, word families – old, -ing, -and, -ent, -ook, - all, -ill, -ive, -ike, -eep, -een. Self-evaluation weekly record sheets. Revision sheets. Tricky word bank to record pupils’ own personal errors. An overall record grid to record scores for each unit for both teachers and pupils to monitor and track progress.
Wolf Hollow By Lauren Wolk Dutton Children’s Books (an imprint of Penguin Random House) $16.99 ISBN: 978-1101994825 Ages 10 and up On shelves now. I am not what you might call a very brave reader. This is probably why I primarily consume children’s literature. I might puff myself up with a defense that lists the […]
Among the Hidden is a story that will captivate even the most reluctant readers and open up your classroom to higher-level thinking and discussion! This comprehensive novel study will make it easy for you to have a meaningful, engaging, and challenging study of this wonderful novel, now also in DIGI...
As the American Libraries Association’s annual celebration of the right to read kicks off, take a look through the titles most frequently ‘challenged’ in 2015, and some of the reasons behind the calls to ban them
52 weeks, 52 books: Heather John Fogarty explores the shared experiences of a fractured nation through a literary journey.
A closer look at the titles facing campaigns demanding their removal from the nation’s schools and libraries.
Oh man, it’s been a bad week for me and talk about running behind. I wanted to get this out like I normally do, on time but unfortunately I’m prepping my house for sale and that seems …
Excellent Ed by Stacy McAnulty Illustrated by Julia Sarcone-Roach Published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2016 24 pages ISBN: (978-0-553-51023-2 Ages 4-7 “All of the Ellis children were allowed to eat at the table and ride in the van and sit on the couch and use the indoor bathroom. Except Ed.” Ed is prohibited from these activities because he’s a dog, not that Ed himself makes any distinction between himself and his human family. But because each of the other Ellis children excels at something—Elaine at soccer, Emily and Elmer at math, Edith at ballet, and Ernie at baking cupcakes—Ed goes in search of what he’s best at. The search leads to answers that are satisfying for Ed and for readers and listeners, too. It’s hard to say which is more appealing in this sparkling picture book, Ed or the entire lively Ellis family, of which Ed is clearly a much-loved member. The wonderful narrative makes judicious use of repetition while the vivacious illustrations are full of humor and warmth. The Ellis family is Black, with children ranging from early-elementary-age to their teens, something typical for many families but not for many picture books. ©2016 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Earlier this week the Obama administration announced the Obamacare mandate for medium sized businesses will be delayed again until 2015.
Banning Books will only harm us
What makes you stand out as a Christian? Are you a Waldo in your faith? Read more on Daily Favor Blog.
Week 17 of the school year, week 1 of 2016! It MUST be January, since the kindergartners began the Ezra Jack Keats author/illustrator study. Stories by EJK make me so very happy. Rereading these s…
Bakewell, S: At the Existentialist Cafe von Sarah Bakewell
Prepositions. We learned about them last week. I was scared. Some of the CCSS intimidate me. Is anyone with me here? I mean, some skil...
Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley are the best of friends. But they are different in almost every way . . . Pearl likes solving mysteries and moves rather fast in the world. Charlie likes taking baths and watching his garden grow. So how can Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley be such goods friends? A delightfully […]
Toby is afraid of heights, but when his cat gets stuck in a tree, Toby must face his fears in order to rescue him-- | Author: Danny Parker | Publisher: Eerdmans Books For Young Readers | Publication Date: Apr 01, 2016 | Number of Pages: 32 pages | Language: English | Binding: Hardcover/Juvenile Fiction | ISBN-10: 0802854699 | ISBN-13: 9780802854698
Unit of work for Year 2 by Bronwyn Custance on Mulga Bill's Bicycle by A. B. Paterson.
Shakespeare for kids? Yes! It is part of our Ambleside Online Year 1 Literature schedule to read several different plays from Shakespeare each Term. Year 2 has a Literature schedule with different plays. We have been getting quite a bit of Shakespeare in this year! In the younger years it is suggested that Shakespeare is read from a storybook format of the plays. We are using Tales From Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb. This is our second year reading from Tales and it is wonderful. These are not by any means easy reading and so they are great read-alouds for both the boys. I have been surprised at how how much they retain from these readings. Even in this more simplified version the reading is complex and has a lot of 'meat' to it. We usually take 2 to three days to read it. I take just a bit at a time, and have them narrate back to me orally. A well loved copy of Tales From Shakespeare. Why would we take the time? Why bother with Shakespeare? Is it even appropriate for reading to children? I had all these questions when I started teaching it last year. I had always associated Shakespeare with more of a secular and frankly, a quite bawdy reputation. While I was excited to try reading the plays to them I thought to myself that they would never be able to follow along. The plots are sometimes confusing, evil and good are often mixed up, and sin is prevalent. Not to mention the tragedies are so very heart wrenching, I wondered if it would affect them negatively. Surprising to me, they actually like to do Shakespeare readings. Who knew?! They pick up on far more than I ever expected. Sir Bean has especially connected with certain themes. He will often tell me weeks after we have read a play that he was thinking about it. Remember when we read about the king who was so angry he didn't talk to his daughter? She just told him the truth! And he got mad at her! Then she had to leave and he got sad but he was too proud to say it. That was wrong. He was wrong. That was after we read King Lear. We learned that pride goes before the fall (Prv 16:18) and that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). We then Netflixed a BBC version of it and both boys were able to tell dad everything that was happening. Scene from King Lear. (source) We have actually had Bible studies spring forth from our Shakespeare study. Shakespeare had a way of making characters much more believable, much more real-life if you will, then most modern day writings. He did not shy away from subjects that are still sometimes taboo in our current world. Good is not always all rosy and pink and bad is often found redeeming itself. I think that is such a positive message to give our kids. In Shakespeare, there are stages of gray in what can seem like a black and white world. What better way to start a conversation on those gray areas than after reading about them? I strongly encourage any homeschool mom to look into reading a bit from Tales From Shakespeare! It has been a very gentle way of 'getting to know' the works of William Shakespeare. To supplement the reading I also search out videos from Youtube so we can see the play or at least a child friendly rendition of it. Please do preview them as some subject matter is better left for your teens and you to discuss. I have had good luck with the Youtube channels Shakespeareanimated and VideoSparkNotes. My kids have enjoyed watching these videos more than once. I often let them draw pictures of the play while I am reading it. This drawing page might help with inspiration! You can purchase coloring books everywhere online but I haven't found free ones yet. ;) For notebooking I have used these and also these free resources. I also will use LibriVox when I am short on time and need another reader. LibriVox offers thousands of audio books for free. I can put on a reading while we are making supper or doing dishes and then we discuss it just as if I had read it to them. Their absolute favorite thing about reading Shakespeare has to be the acting out of the plays. I will find them acting out the scenes on their own. Sir Bean and Prince Ray especially like the fighting parts... but I think Princess Petunia prefers to be, of course, The Princess in every play. What resources have you used for teaching Shakespeare? How do you teach it? Always Blessed, Gretchen :) Possibly Linking With: Cornerstone Confessions Raising Arrows Modest Mom Blog Deep Roots At Home The Better Mom Monday Link Up Frugally Sustainable Raising Homemakers Far Above Rubies A Wise Woman Builds Her Home Wholehearted Home Growing Home Wisdom Wednesdays and Link Up No Ordinary Blog Hop Frontline Moms Friday Fun The Welcoming House Domestic Randomness~ Friday Fascinations Courtship Connection Homemaking Linkup Weekend What's Working Wednesday
With the year coming to an end, check out our picks for the best reads from 2016 you need to know about.
