Oops, Pounce, Quick, Run!

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The Theodore Geisel Award, named after Dr. Seuss, goes to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the "most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year." Thanks to DonorsChoose, we have all of the 2017 winners in the Garden City library, and I was able to share them with all students in grades K-2.

One of the Honor books - Oops, Pounce, Quick, Run! by Mike Twohy - inspired me to create a new lesson. The story is told in just about 30 words, all in alphabetical order. After we read it, 1st and 2nd graders created their own four-panel alphabetical-order stories/cartoons. I'll be putting them together in a binder that can be checked out.

In the meantime, here are a few of my favorites:

Octopus
Pikachu
Quicksand
Rescue

A Book about Clowns
Once upon a time, a dog named Eggy was having fun when a giant human came up to him. He said, "I am Jacob the giant. I'm a clown ... a killer clown." Little Eggy called his mother. She said, "No messing around with my baby Eggy. "Ok, then," said the giant. He took out his pie and threw it at them. "Missed the Queen!" said Eggy's mother. "What are you, a rat?" said Eggy. Suddenly, the clown started twitching. He jumped up like he was mad at Eggy and his mother. Then a van came up the street. I wonder what that is?" said Eggy. X-ray vision goggles! They're yellow. Then a zebra ended the world. The end.

Aaaaaaah!
Bounce
Crash
Dump

Animals are bees, and cats, and dogs, and elephants. Frogs are playing with Gianna, and hippos are in Julia's kitchen.

Emily
finds
games
here.

All
balls
come
down.


Can you make a story from these class word lists?

Alphabet Bad Cat Dog
Etch-a-sketch Foundations Gio High
Itch Jonah Kite Luis
Michaela Nathan Octopus Pavani
Queen Rose Sammie The
Umbrella Victoria Walrus
Xray Yellow Zipper


Vanessa Willy heXagon Yes  Zigzag
Axe Bees Cape Denver
Emma Five Go Hair
Ice cream January Kaiden Lilly
Mya Nicholas Oops Parrot
Queen Reptile Super Tap Up

Apple Banana Cat Days
Egg Fun Gianna Hat
Itch Jack Kyle Logan
Mom Nelson Octopus Pan
Quilt Rat September Top
Under Vacation Waldron
Xylophone Yellow Zebra

Fortunately / Unfortunately with Grade 2

Thanks to https://ideafm.org/ for the idea and the image.

Today in second grade, we read Fortunately by Remy Charlip, a story that follows Ned through a series of problems and resolutions.

Then we wrote our own version as a class ... the kids much preferred coming up with the "unfortunately" parts!

Finally, the students paired up to write and illustrate even more versions. I'll post pictures of them working together - and their stories - next week. For now, enjoy the stories they wrote as a group:

Room 2

One day it was my birthday and we were going to celebrate.

Unfortunately, we didn't have a cake.

Fortunately, somebody brought one.

Unfortunately, someone else sneezed on it.

Fortunately, they ate it so no one else would get their germs.

Unfortunately, since there was no party food, everyone left.

Fortunately, there was a present.

Unfortunately, it was bad: just a piece of paper.

Fortunately, there was a picture on the other side.

Unfortunately, the drawing came alive and tried to eat me.

Fortunately, I found more paper and drew food for the monster to eat.

Unfortunately, he ate all of the food in the kitchen too.

Fortunately, there was a book that the drawing of the monster went into.

Unfortunately, the monster escaped and ate the book.

Fortunately, someone else came back with another cake.

Unfortunately, the monster ate that too.

Fortunately, he finally ran away.

Room 3

One day, a person went in a lake.

Unfortunately, a shark bit his butt.

Fortunately, Parker came to save him.

Unfortunately, Parker fell in a hole

Fortunately, Lola came with a rope.

Unfortunately, there was a skunk that farted.

Fortunately, it didn't stink as bad because it was in the lake.

Unfortunately, there was a dragon in the hole that bit Parker.

Fortunately, Parker didn't die.

Unfortunately, Dogman came and also bit Parker's butt.

Fortunately, Lola got the rope ready and pulled the person out of the lake.

Unfortunately, the rope broke, and the guy started drowning. 

Fortunately, Julia came down and knew CPR.

Unfortunately, when the rope broke, Lola fell in the lake.

Fortunately, Michaela came in a submarine and rescued her and Parker.

Grade 5 Advertising Agency

We spent most of 3rd quarter discussing advertising, including its history (going back to ancient civilizations), its prevalance (some of the kids are walking ads in branded clothing), the power of logos (proven by the students' knowledge of these product mascots), and three tactics to be aware of: exaggeration, generalization, and scare tactics

Finally, the kids took what they had learned and produced an original ad of their own, using one of the tactics listed above. Here they are at work, along with what they came up with:

Love this meta ad!

What Ms. Moore is Reading - April 2017

Here are some of the most recent books I've read and thought my students would like. They're all available from the public library, but any donations towards getting them into our collection are most welcome! All cover images and descriptions are from Goodreads.

Picture books

La Paz is a happy, but noisy village. A little peace and quiet would make it just right. So the villagers elect the bossy Don Pepe as their mayor. Before long, singing of any kind is outlawed. But there is one noisy rooster who doesn't give two mangos about this mayor's silly rules. Instead, he does what roosters were born to do. He sings: "Kee-kee-ree-KEE!"

Carmen Deedy's masterfully crafted allegory and Eugene Yelchin's bright, whimsical mixed-media paintings celebrate the spirit of freedom -- and the courage of those who are born to sing at any cost. 

ROCK, PAPER, and SCISSORS were the strongest, smartest, and fastest in all the land. Time and again they beat the most fearsome opponents they could find: an apricot, a computer printer—even frozen, breaded, dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets! But when the warriors finally meet each other, the most epic round of battles begins . . . and never ends. That is why, to this day, children around the world honor these worthy adversaries by playing ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS! 

Middle-grade books

Cardinal rule #1: Don't get noticed by the mean kids. Cardinal rule #2: Seek out groups with similar interests and join them. On her first day at her new school, when Peppi trips into a quiet boy in the hall, Jaime, she's already broken the first rule, and the mean kids start calling her the "nerder girlfriend." She shoves poor Jaime and runs away!

Falling back on rule two and surrounding herself with new friends in the art club, Peppi is ashamed about the way she treated Jaime. Things are already awkward enough between the two, but to make matters worse, he's a member of her own club's archrivals--the science club! And when the two clubs go to war, Peppi realizes that sometimes you have to break the rules to survive middle school! 

So you’re only halfway through your homework and the Director of the FBI keeps texting you for help…What do you do? Save your grade? Or save the country? If you’re Florian Bates, you figure out a way to do both.

Florian is twelve years old and has just moved to Washington. He’s learning his way around using TOAST, which stands for the Theory of All Small Things. It’s a technique he invented to solve life’s little mysteries. But when he teaches it to his new friend Margaret, they uncover a mystery that isn’t little. In fact, it’s HUGE, and it involves the National Gallery, the FBI, and a notorious crime syndicate known as EEL.  (2018 RICBA nominee)

Amina has never been comfortable in the spotlight. She is happy just hanging out with her best friend, Soojin. Except now that she’s in middle school everything feels different. Soojin is suddenly hanging out with Emily, one of the “cool” girls in the class, and even talking about changing her name to something more “American.” Does Amina need to start changing too? Or hiding who she is to fit in? While Amina grapples with these questions, she is devastated when her local mosque is vandalized.

On the same day as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, 250 miles away in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, there was an even more devastating fire. Twelve-year-old Ailis and her younger brother, Quinn, survive, but their family does not. Ailis and Quinn are taken by a family acquaintance to live in a boarding house in Chicago, where they meet six-year-old Nettie, an orphan displaced by Chicago's fire. But the woman who runs the boarding house makes their lives miserable, and Ailis vows to find a way for the three of them to leave. Then Nettie disappears, and Ailis and Quinn discover she's been kidnapped by a group that forces children to work in the sewers killing rats. Can they find a way to rescue her?   (2018 RICBA nominee)

What Ms. Moore is Reading - March 2017

Here are some of the most recent books I've read and thought my students would like. They're all available from the public library, but any donations towards getting them into our collection are most welcome! All cover images and descriptions are from Goodreads.

Picture books

A young astronaut is absolutely sure there is life to be found on Mars. But when he arrives, equipped with a package of cupcakes as a gift, he sees nothing but a nearly barren planet. Finally, he spies a single flower and packs it away to take back to Earth as proof that there is indeed life on Mars. But as he settles in for the journey home, he cracks open his cupcakes only to discover that someone has eaten them all! Readers will love being in on the secret. (2018 Mock Caldecott nominee)

The day Priscilla gets a book about gorillas, she instantly becomes obsessed. She dances like them, eats like them, and wears her gorilla costume 24–7! There are so many things to love about gorillas, but what Priscilla loves best is how they seem to always get their way.

So when Mr. Todd tells all his students to dress up like their favorite animal, Priscilla’s choice is obvious. But dancing around and beating her chest when it’s not her turn sends Priscilla straight to the Thinking Corner. She is of course outraged—nobody tells a gorilla what to do!—and as her attitude spreads, soon the thinking corner is full of her classmates. Is Priscilla really channeling her inner gorilla, or is she just a troublemaker in ape’s clothing? 

Shh…look…listen…to the sounds of the dark say Goodnight!

What sails? What flies? Those…these, Down low, nearby, far off, up high. Who listens? Who looks? Who hears? Who sees?

An homage to the melodies of nighttime, to each critter that sings, hoots, or glows, All Ears, All Eyes takes us on a moonlit journey where the landscape shimmers with Fantasia-like beauty. Where if you look and listen, you might spy an owl, a deer, a chipmunk—or—what else!—before falling asleep.

Early Chapter book

From acclaimed author Linda Urban comes a sweet and funny illustrated novel about third-grader Max, who pursues neighborhood adventures with his dad as they both adjust to recent changes in their family. Max and his dad love their weekends together. Weekends mean pancakes, pizza, spy games, dog-walking, school projects, and surprising neighbors! Every weekend presents a small adventure as Max gets to know his dad’s new neighborhood—and learns some new ways of thinking about home.  (2018 RICBA nominee)

Middle grades

Eleven-year-old Perry was born and raised by his mom at the Blue River Co-ed Correctional Facility in tiny Surprise, Nebraska. His mom is a resident on Cell Block C, and so far Warden Daugherty has made it possible for them to be together. That is, until a new district attorney discovers the truth—and Perry is removed from the facility and forced into a foster home. When Perry moves to the “outside” world, he feels trapped. Desperate to be reunited with his mom, Perry goes on a quest for answers about her past crime. As he gets closer to the truth, he will discover that love makes people resilient no matter where they come from . . . but can he find a way to tell everyone what home truly means? (2018 RIMSBA nominee)

Obe Devlin has problems. His family's farmland has been taken over by developers. His best friend Tommy abandoned him. And he keeps getting nosebleeds. So Obe hangs out at the creek by his house, picking up litter and looking for animal tracks. One day, he sees a creature that looks kind of like a large dog, or maybe a small boar. And as he watches it, he realizes it eats plastic. ... No one has ever seen a creature like this before, because there's never been a creature like this before. The animal--Marvin Gardens--soon becomes Obe's best friend and biggest secret. But to keep him safe from the developers and Tommy and his friends, Obe must make a decision that might change everything.

Charles just moved to Echo City, and some of his new neighbors give him the creeps. They sneak into his room, steal his toys, and occasionally, they try to eat him. The place is teeming with monsters!

Lucky for Charles, Echo City has Margo Maloo, monster mediator. No matter who’s causing trouble, Margo knows exactly what to do—the neighborhood kids say monsters are afraid of her. It's a good thing, because Echo City's trolls, ogres, and ghosts all have one thing in common: they don't like Charles very much. (2018 RICBA nominee)