Take a Winter Break to Read

I am holding a “winter break to read” contest again this year.  Each student is to get a blue bookmark on Tuesday to take home for Winter Break. If they read 5 books (or for older students 500 pages) and have it signed by a parent, they are entered into a drawing for a prize.  Some of the prizes include lunch in the library, an extra book checkout, reading time with Mrs. Loder or Mrs. Newgard, and lots of other great prizes.  I have introduced this to your students in library and I hope you’ll support this promotion by encouraging your students to read.  The bookmarks must be returned by Wednesday, January 7 to qualify.  I hope we have a lot of participation!

If your child did not get a bookmark or lost it, you may print one off and turn it in.

© Mrs. Newgard, 2014

Do you like Diary of a Wimpy Kid?

Check out this poster for other books you might like!  These can all be found at our library!

(c) Mrs. Loder, 2014

Winter Break to Read

Again, this year I am holding a “winter break to read” contest.  Each student is to get a blue bookmark on Friday to take home for Winter Break. If they read 5 books and have it signed by a parent, they are entered into a drawing for a prize.  Some of the prizes include lunch in the library, an extra book checkout, reading time with Mrs. Loder or Mrs. Newgard, and lots of other great prizes.  I have introduced this to your students in library (or I will be this week) and I hope you’ll support this contest.  The bookmarks must be returned by Wednesday, January 8 to qualify.  Let me know if you or your students have questions.
Thank you!

If you lose your bookmark, you may print and return a new one.

Mrs. Newgard ©2013

Summer Reading Programs

Both the Cedar Falls and Waterloo Libraries have Summer Reading programs where students can earn FREE books!

Both programs have the theme 'Dig Into Reading'.
More information about the Waterloo program can be found online.
The Cedar Falls Library has a flyer posted below and can be found online.

Both have great opportunities this summer!

Click to view larger

Genre Challenge: April

Congratulations to Mrs. Shaw's class for reading the most Poetry books in April!  This is her class's FIRST win of the year!!  The class will receive a popcorn party in May!  The final genre of the year is traditional literature (fairy tales, folk tales, etc.) including classic novels (Ramona, Little House on the Prairie, Boxcar Children, Cam Jansen, etc.). 

All results:

3M - 4 (-)

3R - 2 (-)

3S - 12 (-)

4C - 0 (-)

4H - 2 (=)

5G - 0 (-)

5P - 0(-)

6H - 0 (=)

6S - 0 (=)

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

I don't always post as many book reviews as I could, but today I couldn't contain my excitement!  I started and finished The One and Only Ivan today by Katherine Applegate.  This was the Newbery Winner for 2013!  I found it to be FABULOUS!

The story centers around a gorilla, Ivan, who lives at the Big Top Shopping Mall.  He lives with his friend, Stella, an elephant, and Bob, a dog.  They live in glass "domains" (cages) where visitors come to see Stella and Ivan.  One day, Ruby, a baby elephant joins their group and changes things up.  Ivan's favorite activities are eating and creating art.  He started creating art with crayons that Julia (the custodian's daughter) shares with him.  After Mack, the mall owner, finds out Ivan can create art, he sells Ivan's pieces for $20.  Ivan loves to create art and it's through his drawings that he finds happiness.

This book is written from Ivan's point of view and a great read for people who love animals.  Ms. Applegate does a fantastic job of getting the reader inside the head of a gorilla.  I found myself rooting for the animals and sharing their emotions.  It is one of the best books I've read in a awhile and completely deserving of the gold medal it received!

Weekly Update - April 8

Kindergarten: We are continuing to work on bookmaking and were able to create our OWN books!  We made stapled books and even cut off the edges like we saw in the video last time.  Ask us to share ours with you!

Kindergarten books - © Mrs. Newgard, 2013

Kindergarten books - © Mrs. Newgard, 2013

First Grade:  Ms. Shook's class finished their animal reports while Mrs. Bobeldyk and Mrs. Watters' classes created class books called It's Not a ...  We finished our library time by reading poetry in preparation for creating our own!

Second Grade: We completed our work with the online catalog, talked about locating books and then started discussing poetry.

Third Grade:  We finished our biography posters today.  They look great and contain a lot of text features!

Fourth Grade: We created bibliographies today based on the information gathered from our last few weeks of work.

Fifth Grade: We presented our projects and they looked great!  The students worked very hard!  It's a big sigh of relief to be done!

Sixth Grade: Continuing to work on their Dewey commercials is the focus in library.  There are some very creative commercials being put together!

Genre Challenge - March

Here are the March results!

Congratulations to Ms. Rindels' class for reading the most Award Winning books in March!  This is her class's THIRD win of the year!!  The class will receive a popcorn party in April!  April is National Poetry Month, so Poetry is the genre. 

All results:

3M - 23(+)

3R - 40 (+)

3S - 25 (+)

4C - 2 (+)

4H - 2 (=)

5G - 4 (-)

5P - 12 (+)

6H - 0 (=)

6S - 0 (=)

Library Update - March 6

Kindergarten: Read Aloud: Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems & The Naked Mole-Rat by Jody Rake We finished our Mo Willems author study and will move into nonfiction.  We used the two read alouds to discuss fiction vs. nonfiction.

First Grade:We're starting work on nonfiction.  We talked about nonfiction text features and what they are used for in nonfiction.

Second Grade:  We are continuing working on the nonfiction and where books are found.  We will be moving into locating books next!

Third Grade:  Nonfiction text features are our focus as well.  We're looking at different ones and why they're important in our reading.

Fourth Grade:  We are also working on nonfiction text features and starting a mini-research project.

Fifth Grade:We learned about creating bibliographies using EasyBib.  We worked on them during class time.

Sixth Grade: We learned about EasyBib and how useful it can be to create a bibliography for our decades research in social studies.  We worked on them during class time.

Genre Challenge - February

I can't believe it's March already!!  

Congratulations to Mrs. Michael's class for reading the most Biography/Autobiography books in February!  Her class will receive a popcorn party sometime in March!

March's genre is Award Winners (Newberry, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Geisel Award, current and old Iowa Children's Choice, etc.).  This does include honor books as well.

All results (and whether the class increased or decreased):

3M - 16 (-)

3R - 4 (-)

3S - 6 (+)

4C - 0 (-)

4H - 2 (-)

5G - 5 (-)

5P - 0 (-)

6H - 0 (=)

6S - 0 (=)

Genre Challenge - January

Congratulations to Mr. Grafenberg's class for reading the most Biography/Autobiography books in January!  His class will receive a popcorn party sometime in February!

February's genre is Historical Fiction.

All results (and whether the class increased or decreased):

3M - 18 (-)

3R - 11 (-)

3S - 0 (-)

4C - 28 (-)

4H - 4 (-)

5G - 36 (+)

5P - 0 (-)

6H - 0 (=)

6S - 0 (=)

Genre Challenge - December

Congratulations to Mrs. Canady's class for reading the most Realistic Fiction books in December!  Her class will receive a popcorn party in library sometime in January!

January's genre is Biography/Autobiography.

All results (and whether the class increased or decreased between  November & December):

3M - 23 (-)

3R - 28 (-)

3S - 18 (-)

4C - 43 (+)

4H - 5 (-)

5G - 6 (+)

5P - 2 (+)

6H - 0 (=)

6S - 0 (=)

Winter Break to Read

I am holding a “winter break to read” contest this year.  Each student is getting a blue bookmark on Friday (or sooner) to take home for Winter Break.  If they read 5 books and have it signed by a parent or guardian, they are entered into a drawing for a prize.  Some of the prizes include lunch in the library, an extra book checkout, a free pizza, reading time with Mrs. Loder or Mrs. Newgard, and lots of other great prizes.  I have introduced this to your students in library (or I will be this week) and I hope you’ll support this contest.  Each student may only turn in one bookmark but they can read ANY book! The bookmarks must be returned by Friday, January 5 to qualify.  Let me know if you or your students have questions.
Thank you!

If you lose your bookmark, you may print and return a new one.

© Mrs.Newgard, 2012

Literacy Night

Thank you to all of the parents, students, and family members who attended Literacy Night.  We had a great time learning about Daily 5 in our classrooms.  Miss Shepard, Mrs. Switzer, and I had a good time sharing about our different reading programs in the gym.  I shared online resources which can be used at home along with having the students share the I PICK rap.  All students went home with a new book, a bookmark, and information about literacy at Orchard Hill.  If you missed it and would like the materials sent home, please contact me!

Summer Reading - Older Students

As promised, I have a list of great books for older readers too!  Here are some great summer reads!

Older Readers

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen
This is a great futuristic novel about a family who goes to a compound during a nuclear war.  Twin brothers are split up and only one, Eli, makes it to the compound.  Eli knows there is something strange going on and works to solve the mystery.  A great book but best for 5th or 6th graders.

Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur
A realistic fiction book about a girl being raised by her aunt and uncle.  As she struggles to adjust to middle school she finds a key and it helps her adjust to who she really is.

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham
A wonderful mystery novel where Theodore Boone gets his first chance at being a lawyer.  Usually he gives legal advice to his friends and classmates about "kid problems" but soon he finds himself in the middle of a murder trial.  Read to find out what happens and how he got involved in the first place!

Hero by Mike Lupica
A great action novel about a boy, Zach, who learns that he has special powers, like his dad.  The novel follows Zach as he learns of his powers and how to use them.  However, he is being followed by people he doesn't know and Zach is trying to figure out what really happened to his dad!  A great novel for a summer read but also one that can be checked out from the Orchard Hill Library in the fall!

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Brian Selznick was the one who wrote and illustrated The Invention of Hugo Cabret, this novel is similar in that it has a lot of pictures to accompany the story and it's historical fiction, but it's different in a lot of ways too.  The story takes place in two different time periods.  One story takes place through the pictures and one takes place through the words.  It's a neat book and a quick read.  Check it out this summer or from Orchard Hill!




Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer Holm
Another historical fiction book.  This one is about a girl Turtle who goes to live in Key West, Florida.  She knows she's another child for her aunt to take care of and her cousins want nothing to do with her.  Join Turtle as she tries to become a friend, be helpful, and goes on a treasure hunt!  A great novel with wonderful characters.

I can't wait to hear what you read this summer!  I hope this gives you some ideas to get you through July!

Summer Reading

I've been doing a lot of reading over the summer.  I'm reading books being considered for the 2012-2013 Iowa Children's Choice Award and the Iowa Goldfinch Award.  I'm finding some great books to recommend to students coming back this fall.
My favorites so far...

Younger Students
Night Flight: Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic by Robert Burleigh
Great historical fiction picture book about Amelia Earhart!

Ant and Grasshopper by Luli Gray
A new version of the old fable.  Great illustrations!

E-mergency by: Tom Lichtenheld
A really cute story about the letter E who breaks his leg and can't be included in words anymore.  Other letters try to fill in for him.  It's cute for an adult or older reader to read with a younger one.  So many great side comments! We have this in the Orchard Hill Library!

Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas
Such a cute interactive book!  Fun for all ages!

Press Here by Herve Tullett
Another great interactive book and one we have in our Orchard Hill Library!

We Are in a Book! by Mo Willems
A great Elephant and Piggie book!  It's laugh out loud funny and emerging readers would love this book!  We have a copy in the Orchard Hill Library too!

These are my picks for younger readers, check back tomorrow for some great books for older students!

Tumble Readables Summer Reading

Want some new eBooks to read this summer?
Try Tumble Readables
Username: tumble234
Password: login

Enjoy!

Iowa Children's Choice 2011-2012

Iowa Children's Choice starts TODAY!  Students are invited to read a variety of the twenty-two books between today (Oct. 1) and April 2.  If students would like to qualify for the Iowa Children's Choice party they must read:
4th graders - 8 books (~1 book every 3 weeks)
5th graders - 10 books (1.5+ books every month)
6th graders - 12 books (2 books a month)
Students must also fill out a form (either in paper or online) with complete sentences, correct punctuation, and correct capitalization.
If you have any questions, please let me know!

Over the summer

6th grader shared what they read over the summer.  Since not everyone read a book, it was fun to see the "other things" they read!

© Mrs. Newgard, 2011

© Mrs. Newgard, 2011

© Mrs. Newgard, 2011

© Mrs. Newgard, 2011