Mock Newbery
To extend their learning and to dig deeper into the books, students completed a Glog for the 1st book list. In the Glog they selected a book and highlighted various elements of the book including information about the author. They also were able to Skype with Megan Frazer Blakemore, the author of The Water Castle.
The 2nd book list was longer than the first and included eight books. Three of the books were required since students would be Skyping with the authors and the other five books were self selected. For this list we dug deeper by focusing on questioning since it would be a perfect fit with the Skype visits. As the date for the announcement of the official Newbery drew near students were able to connect with the following authors and discuss the following books; The Center of Everything by Linda Urban, A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff, and The Real Boy by Anne Ursu.
Students also designed and voted for a Mock Newbery and a Mock Newbery Honor Medal that will be put on the books. The rest of the school was informed on the winning stickers on the morning announcements when the artist showed their winning medal design.
Finally, after months of reading, discussing, and critiquing the books the students voted. The winner of their Mock Newbery was Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff, the Mock Newbery Honors were Jinx by Sage Blackwood, A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff, and The Real Boy by Anne Ursu. They will tune in on Monday, January 27th to watch the Newbery announcement to see just how accurate their predictions were.