Kids Reading Across RI - June 1

The KIDS Reading Across Rhode Island program encourages students across the state in grades 4 through 6 to read the same book, and engage in community discussions and programs.

This year’s selection is Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai. On Saturday, June 1, a kickoff celebration at the State House will include crafts, games, and a free copy of the book (one per family) while supplies last. Ha will speak at 2:30 p.m.

Visit the OLIS web site for more information.

Free Rice!

Did you know that you can help feed people in need, while having fun AND learning stuff? Check out Freerice.com. You can quiz yourself on a variety of topics, from vocabulary to math to French to geography.

Abiyoyo, Abiyoyo

I remember being introduced to a ton of great books via the Reading Rainbow TV show. One such title is Abiyoyo, a South African lullaby adapted by none other than Pete Seeger. I shared it with the kindergartners, who enjoyed singing along. ZOOP!

5 Card Flickr!

To introduce our discussion of copyright beyond the written word, the fifth and sixth graders played 5 card Flickr. This game pulls images from the photo storage system Flickr and challenges users to create a story from the random images. You can try it yourself.

In the meantime, here are some of the stories:

The Lucky Flower

Weird Life

A Sad Yet Pleasing Christmas Story

The Mimes

Memories

A Bad Date

The Ferris Wheel

The Worst Day Ever

The Nature Walk

Microsoft Word - Thesaurus

When it turned out that our print thesaurus didn't include some of the words for which the third graders wanted synonyms, I decided to eschew it in favor of an online resource: Microsoft Word. Did you know that it can help you find better, more interesting words when you are writing a report or a story?

Depending on the version on your computer, the way to access the thesaurus varies slightly. But it's generally under "Tools" on the standard toolbar.

Students practiced opening Word on the laptops, then typed a word and chose a new one from the thesaurus. Here are some of their synonym pairs:

awesome	amazing outrageous breathtaking
annoying	irritating
pleased	satisfied
stupendous	stunning
beautiful	gorgeous wonderful
fabulous	magnificent
hungry	famished