Welcome Elephant & Piggie!

As promised, we have some new friends in our room. They are a pig and an elephant and their names are Gerald (elephant) and Piggie!

These endearing characters are the creation of author/illustrator Mo Willems. You can check out his wonderful website by clicking here.

There are many books in this series and they are perfect for young readers who are learning to infer. The illustrations are very detailed which allow children to use their inferring skills to figure out how the characters are feeling and why. Gerald and Piggie's personalities are also well-developed in the stories and readers begin to infer based on what they know about them. Click on their pictures below to read more about them.

Here are a few illustrations from their books. What can you infer? 

Have a fabulous weekend!

Let the Inferring Begin!

Inferring will be the name of the game this week! While it is a challenging concept for little minds, it's amazing to see how successful they can be when it is broken down for them. We start with the simple idea of looking for 'clues' in pictures and text. They love to be detectives and I'm always impressed with  their perceptiveness. The next step is to use what they already know (background knowledge/schema) to make sense of the clues. They put it together and make a good guess (inference) about what is happening in a story.

If you want to give it a try at home, there are lots of children's books that are perfect for inferring. Wordless picture books work really well as the children need to figure out the entire story. The David series of books by David Shannon are a great starting point for young readers learning to infer. Not to worry if you don't have any of these books as you can practise with any book. As you read together, ask your child how the characters are feeling. More importantly, ask them to explain how they know (ie. I know the character is surprised because her eyes and mouth are wide open).

I am so very excited that I have found a new series of books that will form the basis of our inferring unit this year. Shhhhh! It's a BIG secret though! The children will be given clues and will have to employ their inferring skills to guess which books we'll be using. I'll post photos after the big reveal.

In the meantime, here is a copy of our new chant. It's about inferring, of course! The tune is 'My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean'. Many of the children are unfamiliar with it so I've included the music below the chant. Click on the image for a copy of the chant.

Fairy Tales & a Family Technology Tip!

Hello all!

We've been having loads of fun learning about fairy tales in our classroom. Since our time in the classroom is so limited and the children are constantly asking to read more fairy tales, I thought it would be helpful to post some links to online stories. I hope you can have some fun family time with these beloved tales. Ask your child to identify some of the elements of fairy tales in each story. Here's a list of some of the elements we have been discussing.

Elements of Fairy Tales

* starts with Once upon a time...

* ends with ...happily ever after

* good character

* mean/wicked character

* BIG problem

* royalty (princess, prince, queen, knight, castle)

* magic

* groups of 3 or 7

* good usually wins

Oh! One more thing... These videos are being posted using a wonderful tool called SafeshareTV. It is an incredibly useful tool for teachers and parents. SafeshareTV allows children to watch videos from Youtube without the risk of inappropriate content appearing on the screen (ie. comments below the video, advertisements, or thumbnails for videos along the side of the page). Best of all, it's very easy to use. If you find a video that you'd like to share with your child, follow these steps:

1 - open the video on Youtube and copy the link from the address bar
2 - go to http://www.safeshare.tv/
3 - paste the address from Youtube in the box
4 - Click on the Generate Safe Link
5 - Click on Take me to the safe view

I absolutely love this tool! There are so many wonderful videos to support learning and this allows us to share them without worrying about the other items on the screen. It is important to note that SafeshareTV does not edit the video itself so you always need to preview it yourself to ensure that it's appropriate.

So here with go with some fairy tale favourites. {Click on the photo to see the video.} Enjoy!

Jack and the Beanstalk

Little Red Riding Hood

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Thumbelina

Summer Reading ~ Books & Reading Levels

Hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine and staying cool in this HOT weather! A good place to escape the heat is always the library. To help maintain your child's reading level during the summer holidays, it's important to make time to snuggle up and read. I always recommend that parents and children take turns reading. When it comes time for your child to read, try to find "just right" books that are an appropriate level. I have compiled a list of books that you may wish to check out on your next visit to the library. It's organized by level to make book selection a little easier. Happy summer reading!

Graphics from: www.mycutegraphics.com

Summer Reading Leveled Book List

Level 13/14

The Very Busy Spider – Eric Carle

Hattie and the Fox – Mem Fox

It’s Pumpkin Time – Zoe Hall

Let’s Go Froggy – Jonathan London

Just Going to the Dentist  – Mercer Mayer

Just Me and My Babysitter – Mercer Mayer

Just Me and My Dad – Mercer Mayer

Just Me and My Little Brother – Mercer Mayer

Just Me and My Little Sister – Mercer Mayer

Just Shopping with Mom – Mercer Mayer

Curious George at the Beach – Margaret Rey

Sheep in a Jeep – Nancy Shaw

Noisy Nora – Rosemary Wells

The Napping House – Audrey Wood

Seven Blind Mice – Ed Yound

Level 15/16

Airport – Byron Barton

Andrew’s Loose Tooth – Robert Munsch

Are You my Mother? – P.D. Eastman

Dragon’s Fat Cat - Dav Pilkey

Dragon Gets By - David Pilkey

Dragon’s Halloween - David Pilkey

Hattie and the Fox – Mem Fox

Just a Mess - Mercer Mayer

Just Grandma and Me - Mercer Mayer

If You Give a Dog a Donut – Laura Numeroff

Leo the Late Bloomer – Robert Kraus

Noisy Nora - Rosemary Wells

Ribbon Rescue – Robert Munsch

Spooky Riddles – Marc Brown

Spot’s Birthday Party -  Eric Hill

The Kissing Hand – Audrey Penn

The Very Busy Spider  - Eric Carle

Trucks – Anne Rockwell

Wheels on the Bus – Mary Ann Kovalski

Level 17

Boo! – Robert Munsch

Bunny Cakes – Rosemary Wells

Cat in the Hat  - Dr. Seuss

Danny and the Dinosaur – Syd Hoff

Days with Frog and Toad – Arnold Lobel

First Day Jitters – Julie Danneberg

Franklin is Bossy – Paulette Bourgeois

Franklin’s Bad Day – Paulette Bourgeois

Froggy Learns to Swim – Jonathan London

Great Day for Up  - Dr. Seus

Green Eggs and Ham  - Dr. Seuss

Henry and Mudge (Series of books) – Cynthia Rylant

I Can Read with my Eyes Shut – Dr. Seuss

I Was So Mad – Mercer Mayer

Little Blue and Little Yellow  - Leo Leonni

Moonbear’s Bargain – Frank Asch

Moonbear’s Skyfire – Frank Asch

Mouse Soup  - Arnold Lobel

Owl at Home – Arnold Lobel

Poppleton – Cynthia Rylant

Poppleton Everyday – Cynthia Rylant

Poppleton and Friends – Cynthia Rylant

Poppletong in Spring – Cynthia Rylant

Roller Skates! – Stephanie Calmenson

Ten Apples Up on Top! – Theo LeSieg

The Best Nest – P.D. Eastman

The Doorbell Rang – Pat Hutchins

The Grouchy Ladybug – Eric Carle

The Hat – Jan Brett

The Snowy Day – Ezra Jack Keats

The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle

There’s an Alligator Under my Bed – Mercer Mayer

There’s Something in my Attic – Mercer Mayer

We Share Everything  - Robert Munsch

Where the Wild Things Are – Maurice Sendak

Level 18/19

Amelia Bedelia (Series of Books) – Peggy Parish

A Pocket for Corduroy – Don Freeman

Clifford the Big Red Dog – Norman Bridwell

Clifford the Small Red Puppy – Norman Bridwell

Corduroy – Don Freeman

Deep Snow – Robert Munsch

Franklin Goes to School – Paulette Bourgeois

Frog and Toad (Series of Books) – Arnold Lobel

Harold and the Purple Crayon – Crockett Johnson

Horses – Rachael Bell

If You Give a Moose a Muffin – Laura Numeroff

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie – Laura Numeroff

If You Take a Mouse to the Movies – Laura Numeroff

Madeline – Ludwig Bemelmans

Madeline’s Rescue – Ludwig Bemelmans

Pigs - Rachael Bell

Playhouse – Robert Munsch

Sheila Rae the Brave – Kevin Henkes

The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash – Trinka Noble

The Fire Station – Robert Munsch

The Sandcastle Contest  - Robert Munsch

Who Sank the Boat – Pamela Allen

Level 20/21

Cam Jansen (Series of Books) – David Adler

Horrible Harry (Series of Books) – Suzy Kline

Judy Moody – Megan McDonald

Pinky and Rex (Series of Books) – James Howe

Swimmy  - Leo Lionni

The Tale of Peter Rabbit – Beatrix Potter

The Tiny Seed – Eric Carle

Three Little Pigs -  James Marshall

Triplet Trouble (Series of Books) – Marcie Thornton Jones and Debbie Dadey

Level 22

A Promise is a Promise – Robert Munsch

Arthur (Series of Books) – Marc Brown

Berlioz the Bear – Jan Brett

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs – Judi Barrett

Flat Stanley - Jeff Brown

Freckle Juice – Judy Bloom

Junie B. Jones (Series of Books) – Barbara Park

Magic Treehouse (Series of Books ) – Mary Pope Osborne

Principal from the Black Lagoon  - Mike Thaler

Teacher from the Black Lagoon ­ - Mike Thaler

The Mitten – Jan Brett

Level 23

Amber Brown (Series of Books) – Paula Danziger

Encyclopedia Brown (Series of Books) – David Sobel

Horrible Harry and the Ant Invasion – Suzy Kline

Horrible Harry and the Green Slime – Suzy Kline

Horrible Harry and the Kickball Wedding – Suzy Kline

Max Malone (Series of Books) – Charlotte Herman

Smelly Socks  - Robert Munsch

The Enormous Crocodile- Roald Dahl

The Magic Finger – Roald Dahl

The Polar Express – Chris Van Allsburg

                     Level 24                     

Pony Pals (Series of Books) – Jeanne Betancourt

Beezus and Ramona – Beverly Cleary

Henry and Beezus – Beverly Cleary
Henry and Ribsy – Beverly Cleary

Henry and the Clubhouse – Beverly Cleary
Henry and the Paper Route – Beverly Cleary
Henry Huggins – Beverly Cleary
Mouse and the Motorcycle, The – Beverly Cleary
Ralph S. Mouse – Beverly Cleary
Ramona and Her Father – Beverly Cleary
Ramona and Her Mother – Beverly Cleary
Ramona Forever – Beverly Cleary
Ramona Quimby, Age 8 – Beverly Cleary
Ramona the Brave – Beverly Cleary
Ramona the Pest – Beverly Cleary
Ribsy – Beverly Cleary
Runaway Ralph– Beverly Cleary
Socks – Beverly Cleary
The Boxcar Children (Series of Books) – Gertrude Chandler Warner

Here it is...The Top 10 List from the year!

The Top 10 according to my homeroom class.