Jabari Jumps into Book Talk Thursday!

It's pool season! Time all of us to let go and enjoy time at the pool in the hot sun. But what happens when it's your turn to jump off the diving board and get a little scared?

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Sing, Don't Cry this Book Talk Thursday

Times can be tough for many of our families, no matter the socioeconomic status. We have to be mindful of the things going on in our students' families to gain a better understanding of the why of behaviors and life. Today's Book Talk Thursday is one that can help everyone feel a little better, no matter what

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Little Penguin and the Lollipop on Book Talk Thursday

I love having the chance to read so many fun books on the Virginia Readers' Choice lists. Today's post features a fun book  off of the primary list.

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Reading Revealed: A Look into Your Students' Reading Potential

Over the summer, I spend my days reading, reading, reading! I read everywhere I can, and I read everything I can. This summer will be no different. In less than 3 weeks, I will begin my summer with nothing other than a book. And my Reading Crew friends plan to do the same! We are bringing you a summer reading link up like no other!

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Dazzle Ships Come to Book Talk Thursday

It's back! Book Talk Thursday is back as I look read and review the 2019-2020 Virginia Readers' Choice book. Today I am taking a moment to review one of the picture books on the elementary list.

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Building Letter Writers with Mentor Texts

The other day my daughter wanted to write a letter to her favorite You Tuber. I jumped on the chance to engage her in what was one of my favorite things to do as a child. We worked together to write a perfect letter, at least for a second grader.

Flashback to my past. I wrote my cousin a letter every single month. She lived 6 hours away, and I only saw her 3 times a year, if I was lucky. We kept in touch via letters and loved it. Writing letters for different reasons helps children better understand what the world around them has to offer. Using books to help students better understand letter writing is a great way to get them motivated to write the perfect letter.

My friends from The Reading Crew and I have a link up full writing mentor lessons, freebies and prizes you don't want to miss!

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Understanding Feelings with The Real MVP Kids

It's tough being a kid in today's world. There are so many things that our children want to do, but sometimes life gets in the way for them. Now, there are some books to help children understand their emotions and find ways to control them.

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The Real MVP Kids have two series of books that help children understand and deal with their emotions:  Help Me Become and Help Me Understand.

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Keeping with the Theme in Virginia Readers' Choice

As I sat and read the elementary Virginia Readers' Choice books, I realized a common theme that runs throughout them all. And that is why I have waited to write about all of them in one blog post. So, here goes!

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Full of Beans on Book Talk Thursday

So, I've taken a break from Book Talk Thursday. The truth is, I started reading the elementary books and found that many of them had a very similar theme, which I will write about in one post. But the book I am going to discuss today did not follow that same theme in any way.

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Imagine you are in Key West. During the Great Depression! The book Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm does just that. She shows us what this favorite vacation spot once was and how it became a tourist destination through the eyes of a young boy.

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Robots are Taking Over Book Talk Thursday!

Chapter books make for great summer reads, and these two Virginia Readers' Choice books are perfect reads for students who love robots and finding out more about them.

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The two books in today's Book Talk Thursday revolve around two robots living in our own world. Finding out how they become more than just robots makes for some intriguing thoughts and considerations. The Wild Robot and Fuzzy both make readers think about a new world that could one day become our own.

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My Awesome Summer Freebie on Book Talk Thursday!

Summer is finally here, and it has arrived with all the summer has to offer. Sunshine, heat, and insects! Lots and lots of insects! So what do we know about these amazing creatures?

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Today's Book Talk Thursday is the final book on the Virginia Readers' Choice primary list, My Awesome Summer by P. Mantis, written by Paul Meisel is one that will make everyone wonder about the life cycles of the amazing insects around us.

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Figurative Language and More with Coyote Moon

Just the other day, my husband came in to warn me that a coyote was walking around in the field behind our house. Normally, I wouldn't be alarmed, but with a dog who likes to run around the yard, there is cause for concern. I am now constantly looking out to see where that coyote might be. It also reminds me of a beautifully written and illustrated Virginia Readers' Choice book by a Virginia author.

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Understanding coyotes can make them less scary for all of us. Coyote Moon by Maria Gianferrari does just that in a beautifully told story of a coyote on the hunt.

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Vocabulary Made Simple with Rock, Paper, Scissors

Have you ever played Rock, Paper, Scissors? Did you ever wonder how in the world it ever got started? Now you can find out all about this age old game in a super fun book!

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Kids (and adults) love to play Rock, Paper, Scissors. It is a favorite pastime for so many of us, and we always find time to play it. Drew Daywalt has written the legend for all of us in the Virginia Readers' Choice book The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors.

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Character Development Made Simple with Ada Twist, Scientist

Character development is one of those tough ones. How do you get students to see how a character changes throughout a book? How do they see how the author has used those character traits to develop a character? Today's Virginia Readers' Choice and Book Talk Thursday selection will help students better understand characters in a story.

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If you have read Rosie Revere, Engineer, you will love Ada Twist, Scientist by Andrea Beaty. A young girl as a scientist will have girls (and boys) excited about science again.

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Solving Problems One Step at a Time

Problems come up all the time for every one of us, but we can all find a way to make it happen. In today's Virginia Readers' Choice selection, a giraffe has to find a way to show the rest of the world who he really is.

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I Am Not a Chair! by Ross Burach is the perfect book to help young readers realize that there are more than one solution to problems.

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Finding Courage at Any Age

Courage, we all need it at some point to get through so many situations. Where do we find it, and how do we learn such an important life skill? It takes more than just one try, and even a young six-year old girl can help us all as we find courage in all we do.

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Emma Lindberg, a six-year old girl tells children of all ages that having courage is more than fighting dragons in a story in her book Emma's Book of Courage. She reminds us all that we need to have courage in so many different situations.

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Building Background Knowledge with Doughnuts

Doughnuts! Who doesn't love them? Most of us can find at least one type of doughnut we love to eat, and our children love them even more! But what is the true story behind these tasty treats? This elementary Virginia Readers' Choice selection will give you just that!

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The Hole Story of the Doughnut by Pat Miller tells the story of how our modern day doughnuts came to be. You and your students won't want to miss this one!

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A New Twist on Little Red Riding Hood

I love reading those classic fairy tales with my students and children. They have such great stories that teach our children some important lessons, but I am always amazed at home many children have not heard so many of these classic fairy tales. Today's Book Talk Thursday focuses on one of my favorites with a little bit of a twist.

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Little Red by Bethan Woollvin, a Virginia Readers' Choice selection, tells the story of Little Red Riding Hood in a new and updated way.

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Getting Tidy While Drawing Conclusions

One of the toughest comprehension skills to teach and help students understand is drawing conclusions. So many times students struggle with this not so easy skill. We call it all kinds of things, like reading between the lines, author and me questions, and figuring it out. Yet, we need to find a way to make it easier for our students to understand.

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Using picture books leads students of all ages to new concepts they may not have understood before. The Virginia Readers' Choice selection, Tidy by Emily Gravett is perfect for helping children draw conclusions about what happens in the story.

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Nonfiction Poetry to Enhance Everyday Instruction

I can't believe April is almost here! That means so many things as spring draws near. One of the things about April is that our school year starts to wind down a bit. Testing begins, but we can also focus on the lighter side of school too. I love that poetry month falls in April because we take advantage of some of the down time and just enjoy some great poetry. This week I bring TWO books that feature nonfiction poetry and a glimpse into main idea.

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Two of our Virginia Readers' Choice books are poems that give us great insight into some nonfiction. These books both offer two different types of nonfiction and allow students to find the main idea. The books Animal Ark by Kwame Alexander and A Poem for Peter by Andrea Davis Pinkney are both great examples of how poetry can be beautiful and meaningful.

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