Oh, the places they went....in books

It's nearly impossible for me to hear about all the summer adventures that my students had. Almost 100 fourth graders came through the library today. I decided to use Are We There Yet? by Dan Santat to connect with the books they read by connecting to the young boy's amazing adventure. I asked the students, "Where is the most interesting place you traveled in a book this summer?"

To get them thinking and moving and interacting, I used puzzle pieces to randomly pair students.

Oh, the places they went!

I am not sure where our adventure in learning will take us, but I am glad we are not there yet! I am enjoying the journey already.

Boost Your Brain with Summer Reading

Summer is on the horizon!

We are still in the thick of learning here (we have 22 days of school left in this year) and there is the usual buzz of activity as projects wrap up, but it is not too early to talk about summer reading. I feel like the years when I have left the conversation until mid-June, the students are already into summer mode and not as excited and inevitably the brochures and papers and email get lost in the end-of-the-year shuffle. The programs and lists get more attention when delivered now.

I created this year's bulletin board (with the help of my daughter), with a simple message about the importance and value of reading over the summer. 

The public library sends librarians to meet with our third, fourth, and fifth graders (I run the lesson for the kindergarten through second graders). 

The public librarians talk up the summer reading programs and book talk books off of the summer reading lists. The students then have time to explore the books. It's always a great visit.