Gwin Oaks students had a wonderful time on World Read Aloud Day connecting with students across the country and an author, Joanne Levy, in Canada. During World Read Aloud Day students were able to learn about the other schools they were connecting with and share stories at the same time. This day was filled with laughter, wonderful connections, and lots of good stories. I frequently heard students say how much they enjoyed it and can't wait to do it again next year. Here are just a few of the comments I heard.
I liked it since it is a great day to celebrate reading.- Devin

It was fun and we got to meet other people at different schools.- Arya

I liked that we got to read together and join classes.-Mya

The teachers also had a great time, as indicated by this post by one of them on Facebook. We had the best celebration today! Our awesome media specialist, Sharon Amolo, set up a Skype book share with a first grade class in Massachusetts. What a great experience!

I have to agree with my teachers and students World Read Aloud Day was a such a magical experience. This was our first time participating, but it has already become a Gwin Oaks tradition.

Loved connecting with everyone. Thanks Shannon Miller at Van Meter Elementary  and Andy Plemmons at Barrow Elementary for setting up the Google Doc. It made finding others so easy. Afterwards I was easily able to make my schedule.

Each student who participated in World Read Aloud Day received a sticker I made from their logo.

Our first connection was with Ms. Garland's students in Massachusetts. Togehter we read  two of Mo Willems Elephant and Piggie books; I'm Going and I Broke My Trunk. As always these were a crowd pleaser and a great way to start our day.

Next on the schedule was Ms. Lussier's class in Connecticut. Two of her students did a fabulous job reading Hey Little Ant by Phillip M. Hoose and then Ms. Lussier and I read I'm Going and There's a Bird on Your Head by Mo Willems.

Then it was time to connect with our next school in Florida. This was a special connection because Ms. Burken recently joined the Gwin Oaks Elementary family a couple of months ago and this was her former school. She was able to see her students at her old school and celebrate World Read Aloud Day with them. 

Next it was time to connect with Ms. Sikes's students. These students were in the county next to us in Forsyth, Georgia. It was nice to make a connection with a class close to home. Ms. Sikes read Are You a Horse by Andy Rash. My students loved this book and I promised them I would get a copy for the media center.

Author Joanne Levy connected with Ms. Toldt's 5th grade class. Joanne is the author of Small, Medium, and at Large. Joanne read a funny part from the story that the students enjoyed. We spent the rest of the time asking Joanne questions about her life as author. Soon after the visit ended the copies we have in the media center were checked out.

Our day continued with a connection with Ms. Lewis's students in Cherokee County, Georgia. Just like with our connection to Ms. Sikes we found a new group of friends close to home. Ms. Lewis read One Cool Friend by Toni Buzzeo and my 2nd graders and I read I'm Going by Mo Willems together. I was Elephant and they had a great time being Piggie.

As our day was wrapping up we connected with a school we've been Skyping with for two years, Ms. Broderick's class at Zervas Elementary in Massachusetts. Since she had 5th graders and I had kindergartens her students read The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt aloud to my class. Her students did a wonderful job taking turns reading the different crayon parts.

Our day ended with Ms. Ford's class in Texas. We each took turns reading different parts in The Day the Crayons Quit. Both of our students couldn't help but laugh as each crayon pleaded their case. We LOVE this story.

On Monday, December 9th, 3rd graders at Gwin Oaks Elementary were able to Skype with author Augusta Scattergood. Augusta is the author of Glory Be. 

The Skype visit was a culminating activity for the grade. Glory Be was a read aloud for all 3rd graders. It was part of their extended text to tie in with their social studies units for this year. This was the perfect story to extend their learning and thinking about civil rights and equality. 

During the visit students asked Augusta questions about what she enjoys doing, which character she connects most with, what research she did in preparation for writing the book, what she would change about the book if she could, what inspired her to write the book, and so many more. It was a wonderful 45 minutes that ended way too quickly. 

At the end of the visit as students lined up they were buzzing with excitement and so were their teachers. One student summed it perfectly when they said, "I love when we get a chance to talk to the authors. It helps me connect with the books we read."

The Cover 2 Cover Book Club is in full swing. We meet every Wednesday during lunch and outside time from 11:15-12:00. Students bring their lunch into the media center and then we either break into groups to discuss the books or practice answer questions with buzzers in preparation for the Gwinnett Readers Rally. 

So far students have read and discussed The Lemonade Wars by Jacqueline Davies, Edgar Allan’s Official Crime Investigation Notebook by Mary Amato, Who Was Helen Keller by Gare Thompson, and Savvy by Ingrid Law. Students also wrote questions in preparation for the upcoming Skype visit with Ingrid Law on October 17th.

I love our weekly meetings and a chance to get to know these students better as we discuss books.

Each year Gwin Oaks hosts 2 book fairs. During this time the Media Center is transformed into a book store. The theme for the fall book fair is Reading Oasis. Ms. Lyons, the part-time Media Center clerk, does a fantastic job of transforming the Media Center.

Students eagerly browsed the new books and wrote down books they wanted.

Later in the week they returned to purchase the books from their list. This year the big sellers was the Jabba the Puppet, Spirit Animals, Gabby Lost and Found, Star Wars Jedi Academy, Wierd But True 5, Barbie Mariposa & the Fairy Princess, Ningago Pirates vs. Ninjas, Rescue Princesses, I Survived the Tsuanmi of 2004, and much more.

As always our wonderful volunteers helped to make the book fair a success.
Volunteers
Tasha Lemke
Barbara Dyck
Meghan Baker
Dawanna Stephens
Tonya Hill
Wendy Hall
Colette Royal
Victoria Theodille
Renee Keerti
Angela Abrams
Jeci Dayal
Jackie Zhang
Wendy Aina
Jennifer Demas
Ruth Yeo
Christina Berntsen
Marian Zanardo
Dana Carter
Blakely Carter
Tony Mimms
Rolanda Fowler
Candice Mathews
Dani Durland
Christian Ramos
Jean Ferrera
Mirelle Nurinda
Holly Wyche
Namrata Trehan
Monique Evans
Lisa Inlow

During February and March 4th grade students at Gwin Oaks worked on creating book trailers during their technology special. The project was a collaboration between the art teacher (Mr. Fields), computer teacher (Ms. Mimms), and myself. 

Students began by selecting a book they loved and wanted to make a trailer about. Mr. Fields worked with the students to draw a scene from the book on a bookmark. Once their bookmarks were finished I scanned them so they would be ready for the QR codes when the book trailers were finished. 

During their technology special the students  worked with Ms. Mimms and me to summarize, select images, and create a book trailer using Animoto. Finally the students made their Animoto link into a QR code and copy and pasted onto their bookmarks. Since these would be the April bookmarks in the Media Center they made six per page, 1 for them to keep and 5 to give away.


This was a long project, but so worth it. The students are so proud of their finished bookmarks and the other grades love that these bookmarks lead them to a book trailer about the books.

Working in Animoto to enter text, upload pictures, and select music.

Finished book marks with QR codes from Animoto video.

Student with her finished bookmarks.

Book marks cut apart and ready for the check out desk.

Book marks ready for students to take on their next visit.

A couple of examples. Scan to watch the trailers

Our book fair is in full swing, and I love when the Media Center turns into a book store. The students love the decorations done by Ms. Lyons. I always love it when students squeal or talk excitedly about which books they are going to buy. It is also a wonderful time for me to talk to parents about my favorite books that I have marked on the shelves.

Decorations outside the door.

The Media Center is truly transformed during the book fair.

My favorite picks are tagged throughout the book fair.

Kindergartens just completed an author study on Mo Willems. We had a great time learning so much about Mo Willems and all of his books. We read and did activities on most of his books including; Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs, The Pigeon  books, Elephant and Piggie books, and the Knuffle Bunny books. We also watched a Mo Willems video to learn more about him as an author. Scroll down to see the different activities we completed.

We pulled all of the Mo Willems books and put them on display to make it easy for the kindergarteners to find them on their check out days. It is a good thing I took a picture when we first put the display since it was the only day when at least half of the books were on the display.

I partnered with the art teacher, Mr. Fields, to work on an Knuffle Bunny project. He read them Knuffle Bunny and showed how Mo Willems uses a combination of black and white backgrounds and colored pictures. Once they drew their pictures they recorded a sentence with me to tell about where or what Knuffle Bunny likes. You can see the other Knuffle Bunny movies here.

We also learned about the Pigeon and Duckling. We read all of the Pigeon books, drew the Pigeon following directions Mo gives in on his website, and wrote about what we wouldn't let the Pigeon do.

The students also loved listening to the Elephant and Piggie books. They thought they were so funny, and of course I did too.

Throughout the author study the students visited Mo Willems website to play games, watch videos, and learn more about the characters.

Towards the end of our unit and after we knew about most of the characters we played Mo Willems Bingo that I made from pictures of his different characters and books.

We concluded our Mo Willems unit with a party. I read I Am Invited to a Party and then the students watched the rest of the Mo Willems books on the video that we didn't get to read.The students also received a chocolate chip cookie (with no nuts just like Duckling likes) and an Elephant and Piggie bookmark.

We had a wonderful time learning about such an awesome author.

Voki
Fourth grade students are working on learning about the causes and battles of the American Revolution. After summarizing their information they created a Voki to present their information. The students were very excited and loved in ability to customize their avatar.

Skype Visit with Jeanne DuPrau
My 4th grade book club and a book club from Ms. Haile's class had the opportunity to talk to Jeanne DuPrau. She is the author of several books including the City of Ember. Fourth grade students chatted with her about the City of Ember. During the visit they discussed the character development, plot choices and her writing process.

The promotion of picture books continue. Today's book, Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein is a favorite since I like a book that makes me laugh. Check out Interrupting Chicken the next time you visit the Media Center and tell me which part of the book was your favorite.

Today's Picture book is Bad Apple by Edward Hemingway. I loved the message of in this book- just be yourself and don't let others negatively influence you, and your true friends will like you just the way you are. Children will identify with the characters and this book while enjoying a pleasing and well written story.