Mrs. Moore's Blog

Craft Lesson 1: My Many Colored Days Book

2008-08-05T20:33:00.000-07:00

Resource Material: My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss

Target Audience: Pre-K- Kindergarten

Discussion: This book describes various feelings creatively By using colors. It is wonderfully illustrated and can be used to teach children that they can express their feelings in various ways. This will allow children to learn to express their emotions with not only words, but also with art.

How to Teach It: "Okay class, this week will be making a book of our many colored days. This activity will continue throughout the whole week. Each day will have an allotted time in the day to continue this activity. Today I will read My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss." Discuss how the feelings were linked to colors in the book. Also ask the students what colors and feelings in the book that they enjoyed the most. Have five sheets of construction paper for each child. Each sheet of paper will already be labeled with each day of the week (first sheet labeled Monday, second sheet Tuesday, etc.). Also have tiny squares of different color tissue paper already cut out. Give each child construction paper labeled for that particular day. Place several tiny squares of tissue paper of various colors on their table. Ask each student how they were feeling that day and what color(s) they thought would best describe their emotion. Then have them glue on pieces of the tissue paper onto the construction paper in any way they like to demonstrate their emotion. By Friday each child will have five sheets of construction paper demonstrating how they were feeling each day of that week with color. Then punch holes in the sheets and have each student use string to keep the sheets together. Each child will then have their own book of their many colored days. Have each child share their book with the class.

Craft Lesson 2: Learning more about other cultures and traditions

2008-08-05T20:32:00.000-07:00

Resource Materials: I love Saturdays y domingos by Alma Ada Flor

Target Audience: 2nd Grade

Discussion: This book is a great book to use to demonstrate the differences between cultures and heritages. It can be used to teach about the many ways birthdays can be celebrated among different cultures. In a class with much diversity, children will get to know more about their classmates. Children will get a better understanding about other cultures and gain knowledge of the difference in celebrations among various people.

How to Teach It: Today I will be reading the book I love Saturday y domingos.
Okay class, now that we have read this book, what were some of the differences between the two cultures in the book? In what ways were both sets of grandparents different? Did they share anything in common? What did you think about how they celebrated the girl’s birthday? How does your family celebrate birthdays? Do you know of birthday traditions from other cultures?
Now we will be writing about your own family birthday traditions and compare it to a birthday tradition of another culture. (Allow students some time to research other cultures in the school library as well as in the computer lab.)
Now that we have written our papers, who would like to share what they have written first?

Craft Lesson 3: Rhyming & Repetition

2008-08-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

Resource Materials: Miss Mary Mack by Ann Hoberman

Target Audience: Kindergarten – 1st grade

Discussion: Miss Mary Mack is filled with rhyme and repetition. This book could be used to teach students about rhyming and to help students learn to come up with their own rhyming words to either make a story or song. This book could also help with teaching children about repetition. When something is repeated several times, you could cover up some of the repeating words and have the children guess what will be said next.

How to teach it: Okay class, today I will be reading Miss Mary Mack to you. This is also a song. Has anyone heard of this book or of the song? What do you think this book is about? Well, let’s read it and see. Now that I have gotten halfway through the book, can you tell me about the wording in the book? Is there rhyming? Are some words repeated more than once? Can you tell me of a few words that are repeated? Do you see a pattern? Okay, what if I covered part of the sentence, would you be able to tell me what will be said next? Can you tell me a rhyming word or a repeated word to complete the sentence? (Continue to cover up some of the sentences throughout the rest of the book and ask the students to guess what is covered up.) (i.e. repetition: Miss Mary Mack, Mack, ____ or rhyme: Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack, All dressed in ____)
Now that we have read the book, what did you notice the most? Was there a lot of rhyming? Were you able to see the pattern of repetition?
Now let’s add to the story. I will place you with a partner. You and your partner will come up with four lines in which will have rhyming words and words that are repeated. When we are done, we will read the book again along with our very own additions to the story.
Now that we are done writing, let’s read the book again adding what we have written.

Book Talk: Silly Billy by Anthony Browne

2008-08-02T00:11:00.000-07:00

How Literature has Impacted My Life

2008-08-01T23:14:00.000-07:00

Made You Look by Diane Roberts

2008-07-31T16:56:00.004-07:00

This book is about a boy named Jason who's parents decide to surprise him with a dream trip. They drive from their home in Texas to Los Angeles to be on a game show called Masquerade Mania which is Jason's absolute favorite game show. Jason's friend Freddy is invited to go with them. Just about everything that you hate about traveling happens. They camp along the way and find themselves crammed in the car like sardines. When they arrive they get to go on the game show. Jason plays against a familiar person and wins many prizes. I really did enjoy this book and think that young readers would enjoy it as well.

The Talented Clementine by Sara Pennypacker

2008-07-31T16:41:00.000-07:00

I thought this was a very cute book. After the teacher announces that there will be a talent show, Clementine panics. She does not have any talents, or does she? She tries to do all she can to find what her talent is. During the talent show, Clementine demonstrates an unexpected talent and surprises herself. This could be a great book to teach children who think that they do not have a talent to look within and they may be amazed as to what they find.

Book Review

2008-07-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

I Love Saturdays y domingos by Alma Flor Ada: Uploaded to bn.com

Award winning Alma Flor Ada (With Love, Little Red Hen) demonstrates the differences between two cultures in this book and how no matter what the differences, love is universal.

A young girl encounters different experiences with two sets of grandparents during her weekend visits with them. One set of grandparents is English speaking while the other set speaks Spanish. The girl takes pleasure in how her grandparents are different in many ways, yet they have many things in common. One grandfather tells the girl stories about coming from Europe while abuelito tells stories about Mexico. Another difference is that the English-speaking grandparents make the girl pancakes for breakfast while the Spanish-speaking grandparents make juevos rancheros. The illustrations portray the joy and the love that family members share with each other. Elivia Savadier’s bright watercolor illustrations wonderfully capture the main thing that both sets of grandparents share in common in this story, which is their love for their granddaughter. This is a fabulous book that can be used to demonstrate the variety of cultures.. It could also be used to show that although there may be differences between cultures, people can all come together in love.

I truly enjoyed this book especially because I can relate to it. My children have one set of grandparents that are English speaking and a set who speak English and Spanish. The two sets of grandparents share several differences and similarities. But one thing that they definitely share in common is that both sets love my children. As my son says, “I love Nana, Tata, Gigi and Papa and they love me.”

Miss Mary Mack by Ann Hoberman

2008-07-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

This story is based on a childhood hand clapping song that is about a little girl named Mary who wants to see an elephant jump over a fence. It is filled with rhyme and repetition. I sing part of the song to my children because I've never known the entire song. So I was thrilled when I saw this book on the bookshelf in the LRC. I read it to my children and they absolutely loved it. My son tried to sing along with me and clapped while my eleven-month-old daughter danced and laughed. I also enjoyed the fact that the book includes music and hand clapping instructions that go along with the story. My family and I have really enjoyed this book. Thanks Dr. Sadana for checking this book out for me!

Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne

2008-07-23T22:57:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed this book and how different voices told their own versions of the same walk in the park. I found it interesting as to how different the seasons and surroundings were described by each voice. This book could be used to demonstrate that everyone is different and that it is okay if people have different perspectives than others. This book could be used for a craft lesson. Children could go for a walk around the school or even to a near by park. Then in class they would each be asked to write about what they observed during their walk. Then they would share their writings with the class and everyone would then compare the differences and similarities the wrote about their walk.

Pinkalicious by Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann

2008-07-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

This book was a girl who absolutely could not resisit eating one more pink cupcake. As a result of this she wakes up the next morning the color pink. The pink does not come off, not even with a bubble bath. Her mother decides to take her the doctor who explains that the only way to make the pink go away is to change her diet. She no longer is allowed to eat items that were pink. She was to only eat things that were green. I thought this book a wonderful book, especially because my favorite color is pink and every page was filled with pink. This is a book that I will have to buy and read to my children. I am also very intersted in Purplicious. I think it would be a cute idea to have a series of this book in every color. I hope when Brooklynn is a little older that she will enjoy this book as much as I have.

Upside Down and Backwards by Diane Gonzales Bertrand

2008-07-23T21:43:00.001-07:00

This book is a creative collection with stories of adventures of childhood. It includes short stories that many children have to deal with in their young lives. I would use this book in my classroom because it is short, easy to read, fun, and several children may be able to relate to some of these stories. My favorite story was Scratches at Midnight. I can relate to this story myself. Even as a grown up, I still sometimes hear noises and can be frightened easily. I think that this book was a fun book to read and feel that young readers would feel the same. A craft lesson that could be done with this book could be to have each child to write a short story of something they have experienced. Then make a book with the collection of their short stories and give each student a copy of the book.

Read Aloud: My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss

2008-07-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed reading this book to the class. One day this week we discussed some of our experiences in presenting to our peers. I love being infront of children although no matter how many times I have to do it, I get really nervous when I have to present to my peers. Sometimes I catch myself rushing through just to get done. So I appologize if I seemed to have zoomed through the book. I really did enjoy this book and I thought that the pictures were wonderful. I hope that you guys enjoyed it as well. :)

When I Heard the Learned Astronomer by Walt Whitman

2008-07-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

This book was about a boy who goes to a lecture hall with his family. He finds himself interested in his surroundings until he had to go and take a seat. Once the lecture began, he becomes tired and wonders off by himself outside. And from time to time, he gazes at the stars. I found this to be a nice and soothing poem. The pictures were amazing. Loren Long did a wonderful job with the illustrations. I have found that gazing at stars can bring a person to a place of comfort, a place to unwind and relax. I live across the street from a lake and there are not any street lights on my block. So when I go outside at night and look up, all I see is a blanket of billions of stars. Sometimes I can't help but stand there for a moment and just stare at this huge blanket that lays over my house and just think.

Los Gatos Black on Halloween by Marisa Montes

2008-07-14T21:49:00.000-07:00

This was a bilingual Halloween poem filled with spanish words and rhyme. This book can introduce young readers to Spanish words as well as other Halloween traditions. I thought that the illustrations were lively and balanced well with the poem. I found the glossary at the back of the book to be very handy and I feel that others would find it to be as well. I made the mistake of opening the book and began reading it to my four-year-old son. After a few pages, I realized that it was not age appropriate. My son did not seem to have a problem with me not finishing the book. I am not a big fan on the spookiness of halloween. I am more into the cuteness aspects of it like pumkins and glittery ghost. I thought this was a good book, although it is not on my favorite list.

I love Saturdays y domingos by Alma Flor Ada

2008-07-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

This story was about a young girl who spent her weekends with her two set of grandparents. She spent Saturdays with her English speaking grandparents and spent her Domingos with her Spanish speaking grandparents. The little girl enjoyed the similarities and differences between the two sets of grandparents. I truly enjoyed reading this book and can relate to it. My children have a set of grandparents who are English speaking and a set who are English and Spanish speaking. My son counts to one set of grandparents in English and counts in Spanish for the other set. There are so many differences between the two sets, but one thing remains the same for both, they all love my children the same. Alma Flor Ada did a wonderful job in displaying the similarities and differences between the two sets of grandparents in this story. I truly loved how the story demonstrated that that no matter the differences in culture and heritage, love remains universal.

The Name Jar by Xangsook Choi

2008-07-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

This book was about a girl who just moved from Korea and is attending a new school. She is nervous about not fitting in and is concerned with the fact that the kids at school cannot pronounce her name, Unhei. So on the first day of school, Unhei doesn't tell anyone her name and tells the others that she will pick a name by the next week. All of the children put several names in a jar to help Unhei in picking a name. There was a student named Joey who thought Unhei's name was very pretty and found her name stamp quite interesting. The day of the announcement of her name, she tells everyone that her name is Unhei and explained that her name meant grace. All of the students were pleased with Unhei's choice in keeping her actual name and they all learned to pronounce it correctly. I enjoyed reading this book very much. Sometimes people may forget how hard it may be to move from one place to another, especially from another country. I think that it is important that a person not lose who they are and where they came from. I enjoyed the end of the story when Unhei realized the significance in her name and decided to keep it. I think that if she were to have adopted a new name that she would have lost alot about herself and er heritage. I think that is is important to keep your name because it says alot about you as a person.

My Name Is Maria Isabel by Alma Flor Ada

2008-07-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed reading this book. It reminds of of how important a name can be, especially for children. In this book, Maria Isabel not only struggles with the hardship of moving and going to a new school, but she also has to deal with her name being changed to Mary. Maria Isabel's name has great meaning and made her feel important and special. She no longer felt this way once her name was changed, which did not allow her to settle in well in a new school. I think that sometimes we tend to forget to be considerate of how others may feel about certain things, such as their name. Many times people tend to change a person's name by shortening it, not knowing if the person is okay with it or not. On several occasions people have called me Vickie instead of Victoria. I have to let them know that my name is Victoria, not Vickie. My name is important to me, considering that my mother and I share the same name. So therefore, I can relate to Maria Isabel in this book. At the end of the story, Maria Isabel is able to write her feelings about being called Mary and how she wanted to be called Maria Isabel in a writing assignment. This allowed the teacher to recognize Maria's feelings about her name being changed. The teacher then begins to call Maria Isabel by her actual name which she greatly longed for.