Monday, October 21, 2013

The Sounds of Halloween #IMWAYR 10/21/2013

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme began by Sheila at Book Journeys as a way to share what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and what is in store for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading. I first learned about it at Teach Mentor Texts. 

I had such a fun week reading these four books to kiddos. I called them my Halloween sound books because each one had great opportunities for kids to help me "read' the story by doing the sound parts. 

My favorite was Bedtime in the Swamp by Kristyn Crow. It had a great repeating rhythmic 
refrain and we added some hand gestures to make it easy to remember and repeat. The kids LOVED this book about a ma trying to get her kids to come in and get to bed. This is a fun monster book that is not too scary. 

Splish Splash 
Rumba Rumba
Bim Bam Boom!

Splish Splash
Rumba Rumba
Bim Bam Boom!

Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Cuyler  is a tough read aloud if you are trying to make the hiccups sound real so I decided to have the kids do the hiccup up part. They had so much fun hiccuping and my voice was able to survive multiple read alouds. Poor old Skeleton does his best to get rid of his hiccups with the help of his friend Ghost. 

Five Black Cats by Patricia Hagerty was a great rhyming lesson. Sometimes during library class, we play guess the rhyme game. I read everything but the last word in a stanza and the kids have to supply the word that rhymes. 
Even three year olds were able to guess most of the rhyming words.

Click Clack Boo! a tricky treat by Doreen Cronin was full of creaky, crunchy words and was simply a fun Halloween treat to read aloud. Farmer Brown does not like Halloween so he sets out a bowl of candy for trick or treaters along with a do not disturb sign then he dons his p.j.'s and covers up his head but the barnyard animals have other plans for him that might be part trick and part treat. 
Here is a useful Educator Guide for Click Clack Boo that includes enrichment activities. 

These four books turned out to be just perfect for this week's lesson-The Sounds of Halloween. 


This week I have been encouraging students to start thinking about which storybook character they want to dress up as for the Literature Parade. I snapped a couple of photos of what first graders were thinking they might want to be. I think these would make great costumes. 

Fly Guy add wings and a couple of ping pong balls for eyes. 

Piggie just needs a pink outfit and some piggie ears. 
I also read: 
The Other BearsThe Other Bears by Michael        Thompson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The illustrations were rich in colors and details and they drove the story. The most interesting part of the book was the descriptions of the bears in the story. The theme of the story was a good choice but I was not engaged in the telling of the story. I would have enjoyed this book more if it had featured each bear family and some interesting details about them rather than grumbling, whining Koala parents.

View all my reviews


I was so happy to receive these bookmarks from Claire Legrand. I can't wait to read her book The Year of Shadows. It looks exactly like the type of book my students would love to get their hands on. She has the most amazing business card. 











I am looking forward to joining my book friends tomorrow night at 9 p.m. EST for #virtualbookclub as we chat about Gennifer Choldenko's book Al Capone Does My Homework. Join us won't you?









Have a lovely reading week!

7 comments:

  1. Love your idea of having students sketch what they would want to be for literature parade, thank you! I didn't think about engaging my students this way last year and am inspired. Loved your sound halloween books!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you, I appreciate your comments. I look forward to seeing the costumes they come up with.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love that you've not only pulled together three Halloween books, but that all four celebrate sounds, as well. Just received Gennifer Choldenko's newest MG in our library and am looking forward to reading it--loved Al Capone Does My Homework. Have a good week!
    Natalie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Natalie. I just set up a display of your book Flying the Dragon today in preparation of upcoming Bluebonnet lessons.

      Delete
  4. Hello there Julee! Love the Halloween-themed books! Most of them are actually perfect for our current bimonthly theme on spooks and spectres so I'd have to check them out. I'd like to thank you as well for sharing your thoughts about the Accelerated Reader Program, I really appreciate it. You might want to check out the original post as it has generated a lot of really insightful comments and insights from so many people.
    http://gatheringbooks.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/does-the-accelerated-reader-program-help-develop-lifelong-readers/
    Have a great reading week! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Such a fun collection of halloween books - and thanks for the Al Capone information. I'll have to set aside time (or try to)!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bedtime in the Swamp looks delightful! I love books with great sounds and movement opportunities - extra fun in the Halloween season!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for verifying. Your efforts are appreciated.