I had a grade four student ask a wonderful question: What is that round medal in the corner of the book that she was reading? I looked at the book, and it was a Newbery Medal. So, we discussed books we had read that had the medal, and we looked around the classroom to find other books with a medal on their front cover.Another student asked, "What other medals are there for books?". Another great question! A question that I needed to research! That they needed to research...But with a little google searching, I have discovered book medals and in turn, have found three fantastic web sites for teachers and students alike.
1. The American Library Association has a division called the Association for Library Service to Children where there are the Newbery Medal and Honor books listed from 1922. As well as Newbery winners, there are a range of other medal winning categories: the Caldecott Medal for the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children; The Wilder Award for an author or illustrator whose books, published in the US, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children. There are other medal awards as well, so please take a look.
2. The Canadian Children's Book Centre has numerous awards for our Canadian writers! They have a Canadian Awards Index which lists all the awards for Children's books in Canada. There is the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award, and the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction to name a few. It is worthwhile to check out this website as it has great resources for librarians, teachers, and parents.
3. Red Cedar Awards which is BC’s young readers’ choice award for students in grades 4 through 7. It was launched by the Young Readers’ Choice Awards Society of BC in 1996 to encourage children to read, develop their ability to judge the quality of published works and create an awareness of the works of Canadian authors and illustrators. Each year, 2 awards are given – 1 in the fiction category and 1 in the information book category. Students vote for their favourite non fiction and fiction book, once they have read at least 5 in the category.
Check out these websites! The ideas are endless: I am thinking about organizing a book club around Canadian award winning books; or have students read 2-4 Newbery books and decide upon their favourite; or have them create criteria for the Newbery books, or have them figure out an original award for their favourite book.PS: For the grade four readers in my book club, I just bought a huge selection of Newbery Award winning books which you will get to read for your next book selection. Spring Break is near, so happy reading!
Finally, here is a link to a great website that discusses this year's winners of various book awards in the United States.
I had a grade four student ask a wonderful question: What is that round medal in the corner of the book that she was reading? I looked at the book, and it was a Newbery Medal. So, we discussed books we had read that had the medal, and we looked around the classroom to find other books with a medal on their front cover.
Another student asked, "What other medals are there for books?". Another great question! A question that I needed to research! That they needed to research...
But with a little google searching, I have discovered book medals and in turn, have found three fantastic web sites for teachers and students alike.
1. The American Library Association has a division called the Association for Library Service to Children where there are the Newbery Medal and Honor books listed from 1922. As well as Newbery winners, there are a range of other medal winning categories: the Caldecott Medal for the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children; The Wilder Award for
an author or illustrator whose books, published in the US,
have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting
contribution to literature for children. There are other medal awards as well, so please take a look.
2. The Canadian Children's Book Centre has numerous awards for our Canadian writers! They have a Canadian Awards Index which lists all the awards for Children's books in Canada. There is the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award, and the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction to name a few. It is worthwhile to check out this website as it has great resources for librarians, teachers, and parents.
3. Red Cedar Awards which is BC’s young readers’ choice award for students in grades 4 through 7. It
was launched by the Young Readers’ Choice Awards Society of BC in 1996
to encourage children to read, develop their ability to judge the
quality of published works and create an awareness of the works of
Canadian authors and illustrators. Each year, 2 awards are given – 1 in the fiction category and 1 in the information book category. Students vote for their favourite non fiction and fiction book, once they have read at least 5 in the category.
Check out these websites! The ideas are endless: I am thinking about organizing a book club around Canadian award winning books; or have students read 2-4 Newbery books and decide upon their favourite; or have them create criteria for the Newbery books, or have them figure out an original award for their favourite book.
PS: For the grade four readers in my book club, I just bought a huge selection of Newbery Award winning books which you will get to read for your next book selection. Spring Break is near, so happy reading!
Finally, here is a link to a great website that discusses this year's winners of various book awards in the United States.
In teaching writing to students, whether it is poetry or stories or journal entries, I love using a strategy found in Georgia Heard's book Awakening the Heart.In her book (fabulous if you want to focus on teaching poetry) she has a section on heart mapping. This is a powerful tool that allows children to think about the "interior" of their hearts. I have the students draw a heart on paper, and then map their hearts. I use questions to help guide the students. I begin by asking them "What has stayed in your heart?" (Georgia Heard, page 110, Awakening the Heart)Then I begin and map my heart as an example. I write or draw things that are important to me, colours I like, memories that stick with me, and my favourite things. I also fill in sad memories. I fill in my heart as much as I can.
Then I direct students to do the same. I post guiding questions and have them think about:What has really affected your heart?What people have been important to you?What happy or sad memories do you have?What are some experiences or central events that you will never forget?What small things or objects are important to you? (pg. 110)What makes you laugh?What inspires you or transforms you? I leave it open to drawing or writing or using coloured markers to fill in their hearts. For the group I just worked with on narrative writing, I wanted them to create heart maps to help foster ideas for their writing. I expressed that this was a private activity and that we weren't sharing our maps. I envisioned heart maps to use for inspiration for stories and to help the students go inward in order to write with passion and use their own meaningful ideas. How deep and meaningful these students were able to go was up to them. I gave them the freedom to generate ideas about themselves to use for inspiration.I encourage teachers to create heart maps with their students as a way to get at their ideas and their passions. It is a great tool to use for any type of writing where we want to reveal what is in our hearts! PS: Georgia Heard is publishing a new book on heart maps as it has been so motivating for students, teachers, and parents alike! Visit her web site to find out more.
In teaching writing to students, whether it is poetry or stories or journal entries, I love using a strategy found in Georgia Heard's book Awakening the Heart.
In her book (fabulous if you want to focus on teaching poetry) she has a section on heart mapping. This is a powerful tool that allows children to think about the "interior" of their hearts. I have the students draw a heart on paper, and then map their hearts. I use questions to help guide the students.
I begin by asking them "What has stayed in your heart?" (Georgia Heard, page 110, Awakening the Heart)
Then I begin and map my heart as an example. I write or draw things that are important to me, colours I like, memories that stick with me, and my favourite things. I also fill in sad memories. I fill in my heart as much as I can.
Then I direct students to do the same. I post guiding questions and have them think about:
What has really affected your heart?
What people have been important to you?
What happy or sad memories do you have?
What are some experiences or central events that you will never forget?
What small things or objects are important to you?
(pg. 110)
What makes you laugh?
What inspires you or transforms you?
I leave it open to drawing or writing or using coloured markers to fill in their hearts.
For the group I just worked with on narrative writing, I wanted them to create heart maps to help foster ideas for their writing. I expressed that this was a private activity and that we weren't sharing our maps. I envisioned heart maps to use for inspiration for stories and to help the students go inward in order to write with passion and use their own meaningful ideas.
How deep and meaningful these students were able to go was up to them. I gave them the freedom to generate ideas about themselves to use for inspiration.
I encourage teachers to create heart maps with their students as a way to get at their ideas and their passions. It is a great tool to use for any type of writing where we want to reveal what is in our hearts!
PS: Georgia Heard is publishing a new book on heart maps as it has been so motivating for students, teachers, and parents alike! Visit her web site to find out more.
I am teaching narrative writing to students in grade six and seven, and it has been really exciting! The world is spinning so quickly in my corner of the world right now that I haven't posted very much (skiing hard every weekend, teaching lots of programs, and being a Mom to The Boys has kept me on my toes!) but I will get back to posting regularly. I have focused our four days together around writing concepts:1. developing a strong character and focusing our writing around the character2. developing a strong setting3. using story diagrams or story maps to focus on where the story is going4. having a main problem the character has to solve5. refining our writing by de-cluttering, and using the active voice.I used the book, Seize the Story written by Victoria Hanley to focus the lessons and guide the writers.The four days have been focused around writing, sharing, and mini lessons. The most important thing that I have tried to emphasize is that students need to write and write and write!I also used another great book to help guide the students: Writing Magic by Gail Carson Levine. I enjoyed her enthusiasm and rules for writing. Beyond writing, we discussed novels and books and stories. I encouraged these amazing writers to read as much as possible and write all the time.It has been a great four days together. Thank you grade six and seven students. Keep with your craft and finish your amazing stories!
I am teaching narrative writing to students in grade six and seven, and it has been really exciting! The world is spinning so quickly in my corner of the world right now that I haven't posted very much (skiing hard every weekend, teaching lots of programs, and being a Mom to The Boys has kept me on my toes!) but I will get back to posting regularly.
I have focused our four days together around writing concepts:
1. developing a strong character and focusing our writing around the character
2. developing a strong setting
3. using story diagrams or story maps to focus on where the story is going
4. having a main problem the character has to solve
5. refining our writing by de-cluttering, and using the active voice.
I used the book, Seize the Story written by Victoria Hanley to focus the lessons and guide the writers.
The four days have been focused around writing, sharing, and mini lessons. The most important thing that I have tried to emphasize is that students need to write and write and write!
I also used another great book to help guide the students: Writing Magic
by Gail Carson Levine. I enjoyed her enthusiasm and rules for writing.
Beyond writing, we discussed novels and books and stories. I encouraged these amazing writers to read as much as possible and write all the time.
It has been a great four days together. Thank you grade six and seven students. Keep with your craft and finish your amazing stories!
One of my students in the Grade 4 book club recommended this book to me. It is called "Journey to the River Sea" by the late Eva Ibbotson.What a beautiful book. I could not put it down and read it in one sitting. I have now purchased another book by the same author titled "The Dragonfly Pool", which I will hopefully find time to read soon.Why did I like this book? It was a beautiful tale about the Amazon River, finding oneself, and friendship. It was so nice to read a book that wasn't "over the top" as some literature is today (think Hunger Games, etc), but a nice story that all students can read and get drawn into. I was impressed with the grade four readers I worked with last week. Their passion for reading and their wide range of interest in novels was so refreshing and wonderful. When I sat down and asked the students to recommend novels or stories they had read, I thought we would have a 10 minute discussion, but instead, the students talked and shared books for nearly an hour. I needed to write some of those titles down, too, as I am always learning from the students what to read! Thank you Grade Fours...you are truly amazing and inspiring and I now have lots of book suggestions for Spring Break!
One of my students in the Grade 4 book club recommended this book to me. It is called "Journey to the River Sea" by the late Eva Ibbotson.
What a beautiful book. I could not put it down and read it in one sitting. I have now purchased another book by the same author titled "The Dragonfly Pool", which I will hopefully find time to read soon.
Why did I like this book? It was a beautiful tale about the Amazon River, finding oneself, and friendship. It was so nice to read a book that wasn't "over the top" as some literature is today (think Hunger Games, etc), but a nice story that all students can read and get drawn into.
I was impressed with the grade four readers I worked with last week. Their passion for reading and their wide range of interest in novels was so refreshing and wonderful. When I sat down and asked the students to recommend novels or stories they had read, I thought we would have a 10 minute discussion, but instead, the students talked and shared books for nearly an hour. I needed to write some of those titles down, too, as I am always learning from the students what to read!
Thank you Grade Fours...you are truly amazing and inspiring and I now have lots of book suggestions for Spring Break!
Thanks to the Astronomy Adventures group...your projects were inspiring and very exciting....black holes, stars, parallel universes, comets, and space technology - we learned a great deal! I enjoyed how you put your projects together!We enjoyed Astronomy Jeopardy....it was fun to try and answer the questions! I hope to see these budding young scientists again!
Thanks to the Astronomy Adventures group...your projects were inspiring and very exciting....black holes, stars, parallel universes, comets, and space technology - we learned a great deal!
I enjoyed how you put your projects together!
We enjoyed Astronomy Jeopardy....it was fun to try and answer the questions!
I hope to see these budding young scientists again!
