The Book Whisperer Chapter 1

Jennifer over at Rowdy in First Grade is co-hosting Chapter 1 of the Book Whisperer.  Here are the questions (and my answers) that she posed.  Head over to her blog for more discussions on the book.


1) What quotes stood out to you and why?


On page 12 she talks about the child who said "I am done with my work; may I read my book now?".  That was so me in school.  I remember reading through the things I HAD to in order to get to the books I WANTED to read.  I hated all the books we had to read for high school; anything Shakespeare, Wuthering Heights etc.  Boring.  For someone who can read a book a night (if it's a nice easy read), these books were just torture.   I hated having to pick apart every little detail and symbolism in the books.  For me, it ruined the purpose of the book.  Why was I reading it?  In school, because I HAD to.  Not because I enjoyed it or wanted to.  If I was not a reader already,  it sure would not have made me one.   It would have put me off books altogether.
2) What did you do in your classroom this past year to show enthusiasm for reading?

In my classroom I do a take-home book program.  The children get to CHOOSE a book (at their level) to read to me, then read to someone at home.  If it's too hard or they are just not into it, they pick another one.  Even with only seven children, this takes up an incredible amount of my time.  Lately I had been thinking that maybe I need to change this; somehow speed it up.  But after reading this book I got to thinking that maybe I'm on the right track.  That the time we spend READING is paying off in the long run.   I see a huge difference in the reading levels of the children whose parents follow through with the reading program at home.  Of my verbal children, 80% of them were reading at least 3 levels above the benchmark level.  The two that did not meet benchmark for kindergarten were only in junior kindergarten and still have another year to reach the benchmark


3) Is there something you want to try or want to change in order to get your students more excited about what being a reader can do for you?

With all of this being said, I think we still need to do more reading in class everyday.  I want the books to me more accessible and want designated times when everyone is reading.  I love reading stories to the class and I think I need to find way fit more books in.  I also need to instill this into my coop students so that if they see a child is not doing anything, they know they can grab a book and read to them.

I need to figure out a way to address my non-verbal students.  How do I get the same results when they can't "read".  They are still very young and we are working on literacy skills, but how do I address the "read-to-self" or "read-to-peer".  How do I ensure that they are following along the same path as their peers?



Only 2 days left of school.............

Book Whisperer Pre-linky Party

Mrs Lyons is hosting a pre-book question and answer quiz linky party for the "Book Whisperer". Only a few more days until we start the book study.

 

Here are my answers to the questions.

1) What is your favourite book (or series) from childhood?

Wow, I read so much as a kid I don't know if I have a favorite.  Probably something by Judy Blume.  By 6th grade I was going through about 3 Harlequin Romance books a week.


2) What is your favourite book (or series) now?


I love the Tunnel series from Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams.  Also anything by Margaret Peterson Haddix.




3) What is your opinion of e-readers?

I don't have one . I've only just seen one, once.  I don't know if I would like them or not.



4) Finish this sentence: "On Sundays I like to..."

relax



5) Describe yourself in 5 words!


Hockey mum, wife, teacher, reader


6) Hardcover or paperback? Why?


Doesn't matter to me.  Paperback are cheaper but if I can't wait for a sequel then I will get hardback. I usually get hardcover from the library.


7) Coffee or Tea?
 
Neither. I'm a diet Pepsi gal.

Head over to Mrs Lyons blog to link up with your answers or to see other people answers.

The Book Whisperer

My book finally arrived and I'm so excited to be participating in and hosting Chapter 4 of this book.
Have you got your book yet? There is still time.

We will be starting to read along on Monday, June 27th so make sure you have your book by then. We are planning to discuss the chapters together, host some contests and giveaways, and generally enjoy the experience of reading this book together as a teaching community. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule and details.

Giant What?

Giant marshmallows...

I found these giant marshmallows at Walmart the other day.  I was thinking that I could make s'mores with the children.  Or I could buy mini's and regular and we could sort them. Anyone else have any wonderful ideas that I could do with them?

The Tie that Binds

I had a question about how I bind my books together so I thought that I would demonstrate how I do it.  Many schools have a large binding machine (ours does) but it's big and heavy and I wanted to do some over the summer so ............ I bought one at Walmart for under $50 a few years ago and I love it.

This is what it looks like.  You can take the handle off for easy storage.

Once something has been laminated and cut to size, you place it on the bottom guide.  You move the small dial so that your paper lines up with the rectangles (these will be where the cuts are made).  Once it is lined up you push the paper in between the white (bottom) and blue (back) and pull the handle down.

 When you pull the paper out, it is cut.  Repeat for all your pages.

 The handle moves forward for cutting the slots and backward for moving the teeth.

 For the next step, you take you coil and place it in the teeth at the top of the machine.

 Pushing the handle back opens the coil.

 Place your cut pages in the coil and pull the handle forward to close the coil. 

 Take the whole thing off the machine and trim the coil if necessary.

I hope I've explained this well enough.  Let me know if you have any questions.