We had a wonderful Skype visit with Wendy Mass today. The students (about 30) were able to ask her questions about many of her books. Since Wendy has written so many books the questions bounced from 11 Birthdays, Finally 12, 13 Gifts, Candymakers, Every Soul a Star, and Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life. Wendy graciously answered all of their questions. They were equally pleased with the visit from her cats, the tour of her house, and the mounds of snow she showed them outside her house. The students were so excited afterwards and left telling me just how wonderful they thought the visit was. A few even came up to me later when they saw me in the hall and told me how cool it was to get to ask the author questions. This was a great way to conclude their book club readings.
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Mo Willems Kindergarteners are working on a Mo Willems author study. Their introduction to Mo Willems kicked off with a short video of the author and an introduction of his other books. Afterwards I read his newest book Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs. The students loved Mo's humor. Finally they moved to the computer to visit Mo Willem's site and play The Goldilocks and Three Dinosaurs game. 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. Today 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students had the opportunity to talk to Kate Messner and Betty Birney. Second graders talked and asked questions about Marty McGuire while 3rd and 4th graders discussed the Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs and School Days According to Humphrey.
Skype visit with Rob Buyea
Today my 5th grade book club and Ms. Pritchard's 4th grade class had the pleasure of Skyping with Rob Buyea, author of Because of Mr. Terupt. The students prepared by writing questions ahead of time and to ask Mr. Buyea. Mr. Buyea was engaging and funny and we learned a lot about the characters and why Mr. Buyea became an author. Gwin Oaks hosted its annual Character Dress Up Day on Monday, Oct. 29. Students came dressed up as their favorite book characters and Mrs. Mimms and I did not disappoint. Mrs. Mimms going with an election theme was Duck for President and I was Little Red Riding Hood. Later that day we had two Skype visits. The first was a session with Mrs. Anderson's class and author/illustrator Stephen McCraine. Mr. McCraine shared his process for writing and illustrating his stories. He also answered the students' questions. They left the Media Center excited about his Mal and Chad books and their visit with him. We continued our Skype session with our Missouri pen pals. To go along with the 2nd grade election unit we had 3 books running for class favorite. Ms. Short's class presented campaign speeches on their picks (Captain Underpants, Saturday and Teacakes, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Our 3 book choices were First Day Jitters, My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, and Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon. Later students voted for their favorites. The activities in the Media Center continued with our Mock Election. Thanks to plenty of volunteer help the Mock Election ran smoothly. When students entered they presented their voter registration card, were directed to a computer, and then received an I VOTED Today sticker to show their participation in the election process. |
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August 2016
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