Reading Royalty: Books

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Favorite Back to School Book

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

My favorite book to read to students on the first day of school is A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon. I love it so much that I featured it as my book of the month in May, and felt like I needed to revisit it for my favorite back to school book!

A Bad Case of Stripes is about a girl, Camilla Cream, who loves lima beans. She is afraid to admit it because no one else in her class likes them and she wants so badly to fit in. She is sent home from school when she begins to suffer some strange transformations, like turning red, white, and blue, and breaking out in stars during the Pledge of Allegiance. Being true to herself is the only cure.

I've used this book successfully with students in grades 2-5. The first day of school is a perfect time to read A Bad Case of Stripes because students are often feeling nervous about fitting in with their new classmates. This book shows students that being true to themselves is important.

If you plan on using this book, use my free bulletin board activity to accompany the read aloud! It includes 4 sets of mini posters (2 boy versions and 2 girl versions). After listening to the read aloud, students create their own "Bad Case of..." mini poster by decorating it with their favorite foods, activities, sports, books, etc. Students can share their mini-posters as a way to introduce themselves to the class. Collect each student's poster to make a quick and easy bulletin board for the beginning of the year!

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Book Lists · Books · Reading Royalty · Summer Reading

Summer Reading Series - Week 4: My Grown Up Summer Reading List

Sunday, June 28, 2015

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Welcome to the fourth and final week of my summer reading series!

I thought I would make myself a grown up summer reading list. We leave for Las Vegas in 9 days (can’t wait!) and I need some reading materials for all the travelling! I came up with a list of books I’m going to read for the trip and hopefully over the rest of the summer! Not professional books.. Not kids books.. But actual fun grown up books. It’s a shame I don’t read those as much anymore, but summer is the perfect time to catch up!

Michaela's Grown Up Summer Reading List:

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

A New York Times Bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty

Cecilia Fitzpatrick finds a letter from her husband to be opened in the event of his death, but he is not dead. What happens next changes her existence forever.

Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain

The little-known history of North Carolina's Eugenics Sterilization Program, in effect from 1929 to 1975. While working with 15 year old Ivy and her family, Jane Forrester, a social worker, encounters the state program that seeks to sterilize "mental defectives".

The One and Only by Emily Giffin

33 year old Shea Rigsby has spent her entire life in Walker, Texas. When an unexpected tragedy strikes the tight-knit community, Shea's world is turned upside down. She discovers unsettling truths about the people and things she's always trusted most and is forced to confront her deepest desires, fears, and secrets.

Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica

This psychological thriller will be released on July 28, 2015. Heidi Wood sees a teenage girl standing on a train platform clutching an infant in her arms. She invited the girl and her baby to take refuge in her family home. Clues into the girl's past begin to surface and an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could've anticipated.

I’m always looking for new books to read. What’s on your grown up summer reading list?

Books · Professional Development · Reading Royalty · Summer Reading

Summer Reading Series - Week 3: Professional Books

Sunday, June 21, 2015

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Thanks for checking out week 3 of my summer reading series!

In week three, we're focusing on professional books. I know most of you are already out enjoying summer vacation. We are SO close. Two more school days! When I am on vacation, I try to keep up to date by reading professional books over the summer.

Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Children’s Learning
by Peter Johnston

I chose this book because I’ve been hearing a lot about the importance of teacher language. This is a short read, only 120 pages. It suggests that how teachers talk to children is critical to how they develop as learners. Creating a healthy environment in the classroom through appropriate lessons is just as important as selecting content.

Quiet – The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

This doesn’t necessarily have to do with school, but I felt like it might tie in enough to include! I’ve been thinking a lot about my own experiences as an introverted teacher. It’s difficult, especially among my many extroverted colleagues. I think it could be particularly helpful when thinking about those introverted kiddos in our classrooms.

Falling in Love with Close Reading
by Christopher Lehman and Kate Roberts

Close reading has been a hot topic in ELA this year and I’ve been wanting to learn more about it! I work strictly with struggling readers and hope that the strategies of close reading can help them to dig deeper and strengthen their comprehension skills. The authors give a three step close reading ritual that students can apply to any text.

Reading in the Wild
by Donalyn Miller

I loved the Book Whisperer, so I know I will be just as engrossed in Reading in the Wild! This book offers advice and strategies on how to develop, encourage, and assess five key reading habits to instill a lifelong love of reading in our students.

Teach Like a Champion 2.0
by Doug Lemov

I was given Teach Like a Champion by my principal during my first year of teaching. I love the book. I found it very easy to read and I still use many of the strategies I learned to this day. Teach Like a Champion 2.0 gives 62 techniques that put students on the path to college. Many of these techniques are included from the first edition, but have been refined and adapted by teachers. I’m especially excited about this book because there is an online community available with videos of teachers modelling techniques in their own classrooms.

What professional books are you reading this Summer?

Book Lists · Books · Reading Royalty · Summer Reading

Summer Reading Series - Week 2: Books for Kids

Sunday, June 14, 2015

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Welcome to week two of my four week summer reading series!

Last week, I wrote about ideas to make summer reading more "social". Today I’m going to focus on some amazing books for kids!

Here are some of my personal picks:

Picture Book:
The Day The Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
I am obsessed with this book! It is SO adorable and funny! Kids of all ages will be enchanted with this book.The Day the Crayons Quit is about a young boy, Duncan, who just wants to color. But when he opens his box of crayons, he finds only letters, all saying the same thing: His crayons have had enough! They quit!

Early Chapter Book:
Clementine (Series) by Sara Pennypacker
Series are a perfect way to get children, especially our reluctant readers, hooked on reading! Clementine, a third grader, tries to help out her friend Margaret, but ends up in a lot of trouble. Things get worse each day of the week and Clementine worries that her family might think they'd have been better off if they only had her little brother.

Middle Grade Chapter Book:
I could give you a list of 1,001 phenomenal middle grade books. My 5th graders would always tell me "Mrs. Almeida, every book can't be your favorite book!" I just LOVE this age range!

I stumbled upon this book in a gift shop on our field trip last year. We were studying the American Revolution and one of the kids asked if I'd read it. I bought it and read it all the way home on the bus.. and at my desk after school.. I couldn't put it down! The opening chapter is RIVETING!

Sophia's War by Avi
In 1776, Sophia Calderwood witnesses a horrific event and resolves to help the American cause. Recruited as a spy, she becomes a maid in the home of General Clinton, the supreme commander of the British forces in America. Through her work she becomes aware that someone in the American army is switching sides, but their identity is so shocking that no one believes her, so Sophia decides to stop them herself, at great personal peril.