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 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!

Seven Scary Monsters 

There Was An Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything

Getting in the Spirit of Halloween with Great Books for kids.

Let's get in the spirit first with some singing Jack-O-Lanterns

Seven Scary Monsters by Mary Beth Lundgren

Get a sneak preview of many pages.

A young boy discovers seven scary monsters hiding in his room so he goes on the attack to be rid of them using purple felines, monster blasters, vacuums, boxes, and other clever devices. He uses a fun rhyming chant to scare the monsters away "Rick Rack Wrinkleshack, don't you dare come back!"

Seven Scary Monsters is a fun themed story-time read aloud.

Math concept: simple subtraction

Language concepts: onomatopoeia words

Halloween themed math lesson

Materials: 

Large number 7

·       Seven scary yet goofy colorful monsters-individually cut out and affixed with Velcro or strong tape on back.

·        Two-sided sign attached to a flat paint stick

      1^st sign: “Rick! Rack! Wrinkleshack! Don’t You Dare Come Back”

·          2^nd sign: “Rick! /Rack! Wrinkleshack! Monsters, please come back!”

      Onomatopoeia words: Eeeek! Boom! Rip! Thwomp! Splat! Zap! Yow! Plop! Ouch! Wow!
     
      Pre-book talk 

     One at a time hold up and sound out the onomatopoeia words. Onomatopoeia are words that sound like the objects they name or the sounds those objects make.

      Sound and acting them out each word. Read the word "rip" and then tell students to please listen for a sound you will make. Take a piece of long paper and slowly rip it. Ask "What sound did you hear?" Rip. So the word "rip" sounds just like the action of ripping a paper." Next say "boom" and follow up by dropping a book or flat object from a height. The word boom sounds like the sound made when you drop a book or heavy object from a height. Continue with other words on list.

Do you ever worry about monsters? This time of year we see commercials for monster costumes or maybe your friends are talking about dressing up as a scary monster for Halloween. Today, I will tell you how to get rid of any monsters that might be hiding in your room. First of all, monsters are just pretend. They are not real, but people have fun scaring themselves by pretending a monster is out to get them.

Question: Are monsters real or pretend? Pretend.

Question: Do monsters live in your closet or under your bed? No. They are not real.

Instructions:

Count the number of monsters on the display board. (7) Begin story.

As story is read, pause and have a student come up and select a monster to pull off the display board.

Say seven monsters take away one monster leaves how many monsters? Count the remaining monsters.

Six monsters take away one monster leaves how many monsters? Etc.-Five, four, three, two, one, zero.

Now to the part-Monsters please come back! Zero monsters plus seven monsters equals seven monsters.

Last page. Who do you think the monsters really were? His toys.

Pair up with: Skeleton hiccups by Margery Cuyler

The Bumpy Little Pumpkin by Margery Cuyler

Scarey-Cat , Splat by Rob Scotton

The Little Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams

There Was An Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything

by Linda Williams

Illustrated by Megan Lloyd

First read the story or show this video read aloud.

Now try it again as an interactive experience. This song more fun the longer you sing it.

Looking for an electrifying thriller!

Getting in the spirit of Halloween with Great Books for Kids

Victor Godwin's orderly life is upended when he discovers that Benjamin Franklin never actually died–he was put in suspended animation and hidden away for more than 200 years in Victor's basement!

After an accident awakens Ben, Victor must not only help him adjust to the modern world but also help him overcome a slight flaw–when Ben runs low on energy, he turns into a rampaging monster desperately hungry for electricity. All this, while Victor tries to take first place in the school science fair. With one of history's preeminent scientists helping out, what could possibly go wrong? (source: Matthew McElligott)

Read Chapter 1 and 2: Benjamin Franklinstein Lives!

There are three titles in this series. I wonder if there will be any more?

The REAL Benjamin Franklin


Ben Franklin Fun Facts:
Benjamin Franklin is the only founding father in the Swimming Hall of Fame. 
as a youth, he didn't have much extra money. Franklin decided to become a vegetarian. He believed that eating a vegetarian diet was healthier than a diet filled with meat. In addition, meat was much more expensive, so by becoming a vegetarian, Franklin could save money to spend on books.

Benjamin Franklin loved to read, but he when he was young, he was very poor and could not afford books. What did he do? He gave up meat which was expensive and became a vegetarian. By saving money, Ben was able to save money to purchase books. He also felt it was a much healthier lifestyle.

The Quotable Ben Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was a gifted speaker. In fact, he LOVED to talk and talk and talk. He was so good saying things that people began to "quote" him. This means they repeated what he said because they felt his words were important and had meaning for their lives. Plus, B.F, was a pretty funny guy.
Here are websites with some of Benjamin Franklin's best quotes:

The Electric Ben Franklin 

Notable Quotes

Brainy Quotes-Benjamin Franklin

The Quotations Page-Benjamin Franklin

Social Studies for Kids-Franklin Quotes



What is a Pen Name?

Create a Pen Name.pdf

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A pen name is a fictitious, or made up name, that an author uses when writing. Many authors use pen names for many different reasons.

Ben Franklin was a writer. In fact, he wrote several articles and letter to the editor of his newspaper using made up names, or a pen name. Why? He knew the importance of getting people to talk about important topics just like people use Twitter today. In fact, Ben would have made a great Tweeter.

He also drew cartoons like the snake cut into pieces that represent the American Colonies. He encouraged them to join together to become an independent country away from English rule.

Other words that have the same meaning as the term "pen name "are: Nom de plume, Nom de guerre, alias, moniker or pseudonym.

Set up a science demonstration in the Library Science Center. This will count for a Bluebonnet Project.

1. Your project must include the following:
2. A title name for your science demo. Ex: Crack the Code (a demonstration using invisible ink to send spy messages).
3. Your name and grade level (Be proud, shout it out)
4. Clearly explain what you are demonstrating. Make sure to clearly label the parts used in the demonstration.
5. Your observations and comments.
6. Sources: Where did you get your idea from and how did you research the information.

Ms. Murphy will help you with all these details.

Create a Jux book, video, or Wordle based on an inventor that interests you. This will count for a Bluebonnet Project.


Experimental Fun with Franklin

• The Bottle Pipes
• The Lemon Battery
• Letterpress Stamps
• The Thermometer
• 
  

Games

• Play Checkers with Ben Franklin
• Ben Franklin slider game
• Word Search: Ben Franklin the printer
• Word Search: Ben Franklin the Public Servant
• Word Search: Ben Franklin the Scientist / Inventor
• Word Search: Friends of Franklin