by admin | Oct 17, 2012 | Categories
Check out bookpig.com. This website is a great resources for finding books. They’re sorted by grade level, genre and award winners. What I like is that they suggest books based on your favorites. It also gives you approximate reading levels for each book.
You can also rent books Netflix style. The pricing isn’t bad–especially if your local library is far, or doesn’t have a great selection. They keep 2 shipments in rotation at all times, so you don’t have to return all your books to receive new ones.
Books range from beginning readers to Young Adult.
by admin | Oct 13, 2012 | Categories
Introduction to Fairy Tales Lesson Includes vocabulary, characteristics and information about authors.
Fairy Tale Writing:
I’ve done two versions of using Fairy Tale words (vocabulary) for writing activities.
Version 1: These words are cut apart and placed in a brown paper bag. I gave each child their own bag, but it can be done whole group as well. The kids pulled a word out of the bag and wrote a sentence with that word. In math, the words were used to write story problems. Later, they used the words to help them spell while writing their own Fairy Tale or a version of one of their favorites. The words can also be used as a matching game with various Fairy Tale books.
Version 2: This is the same list, shrunk down to half a page. The kids were given lists like this with Halloween words, Thanksgiving words, Family words, Winter words, etc. Each list was glued on the back pages of their writing journal. That way they were easy to find. The words prevented them from asking me a million times how to spell something. It increased their reading and decoding skills by forcing them to find the word on their own, and it gave them confidence when they recognized words in the various Fairy Tales–which can often be difficult for little ones to read.
Fairy Tale Comparisons:
Comparing Fairy Tales using both different versions of the same tale, or similar stories, such as Sleeping Beauty, Snorking Beauty and Sleepless Beauty, is a great way for children to understand elements of fiction and practice critical thinking skills.
More Fairy Tale Printables
Additional Resources:
A Note about Fairy Tales and Walt Disney:
Walt Disney loved Fairy Tales. That’s why he chose the story of Snow White for his first full-length animated film. For many kids his movies are their only exposure to Fairy Tales. Like other storytellers, he told his own versions and added his own elements. Exposing kids to other versions of the stories, both through books and movies broadens their intellectual scope.
by admin | Sep 26, 2012 | Categories
Check out the new tab I created: List of Books by Theme.
The list is something I’ve been compiling for years. It encompasses academic themes and units; alphabet, rhyming, cowboys, bears, etc. –but more importantly, it lists books you can use to address the multitude of issues that arise when dealing with a room full of 5 or 6 year olds. I have books for interrupting, tattling, fighting with friends, being true to yourself, using your imagination, learning English, and never giving up.
For some of the books I’ve also attached questions to ask after reading, and comprehension pages I’ve created. I’ll continue to add more of these pages as I find them when riffling through all my work.
by admin | Aug 31, 2012 | Categories
Click on the tabs at the top for FREE Resources, Links and Printables: worksheets, books, classroom posters, lesson plans and more…
