March 6, 2015 by plemmonsa

Voices of Reading: Our Contribution to the GA Children’s Literature Conference

Meeting Patricia Polacco several years ago at the Children’s Literature Conference

This weekend is an exciting weekend in Athens, GA. It’s the annual GA Children’s Literature Conference. This conference always offers an amazing lineup of authors who share their craft with educators as well as spend lots of time autographing books.

I’m excited that the conference is really thinking about how to bring student voice to the attendees. Giving students this authentic space to share their voice is not only empowering, it also centers all attendees (including the authors) on why we all do this work.

My students along with Anne McLeod’s students at Burney Harris Lyons Middle School collaborated on a video that we called “Voices of Reading”. This video was played at the opening of the conference.

It’s fun to see colleagues already talking about the video at the conference.

Love the "Voices of Reading" video! @plemmonsa #gcba2015

— Jennifer Lewis (@lewisgrade5) March 6, 2015

We also worked together on a Flipgrid sharing our favorite books. Many voices came together for this Flipgrid, and these voices will be played on a screen on the exhibit floor.

Click on the picture to hear lots of favorite books!

I hope that this conference continues to find ways to empower student voices. This is definitely a step in the right direction.

March 2, 2015 by plemmonsa

Dr. Seuss Day: Our Read Across America Celebration

Today was the beginning of a very exciting week in the Barrow Media Center. Each year on March 2nd, we schedule guest readers for every classroom in the school. These readers select favorite Dr. Seuss books to share with our students. It is amazing to see our community come together for this event. Each time we celebrate, there are new faces that join our readers.

Courtney Tobin helped me this year to organize readers. She created a Signup Genius and parent leaders in each grade level began sharing the signup. It was also shared with our regular library volunteers and on our library and PTA Facebook pages. By this morning, we had almost 2 readers for every classroom.

Readers gathered in the library, chose their books, and socialized before we took a group picture.

Then, students escorted them to their classrooms to read. I quickly ran around to as many classrooms as I could snapping pictures. It was so special to see students circled up on the floor listening to the words of Seuss spoken into the air. There were also special memories shared as readers brought in their own copies of books that they had read to their children or had even owned as a child. My wife, Denise Plemmons, shared a copy of Green Eggs and Ham with my daughter’s PreK class and she was able to show them where she had written her name in the book when she was a child.

These are the kinds of things that can’t be replaced by technology. While I’m a huge advocate of using technology to share our voice, it doesn’t replace the shared experience of sitting around a book, hearing the pages turn, and losing yourself in the illustrations. Thank you to all of the readers who took time to share stories with our Barrow readers.

This was just a warm-up to the 38 skype and Google hangout sessions that we have schedule this week for Read Across America and World Read Aloud week!

March 5, 2014 by plemmonsa

World Read Aloud Day 2014 (Day 3): The Official Day

Today is officially World Read Aloud Day. We have been celebrating all week and will continue on Thursday and Friday. Today can only be described as miraculous! Here’s a look at our day.

We started by connecting with Donna MacDonald and her students in South Burlington, Vermont. Our students did a reader’s theater of One Cool Friend. We divided the parts up between our students so that voices in both states were helping to tell the story. Students got a chance to find out about state symbols and the weather, but we loved meeting all of Mrs. MacDonald’s library pets!

Next, we connected with Matthew Winner and his students in Elkridge, MD. We shared the book The Story of Fish and Snail by Deborah Freedman. We took turn reading pages. He had 1st graders who read the pages with him, while I had Kindergarten where I read the pages. Our students also had a chance to ask once another questions.

Next, we began connecting with several authors. Our first connection was with Anne Marie Pace. She is the author of Vampirina Ballerina and Vampirina Ballerina Hosts a Sleepover. During our connection, she taught the kids a great song about how a book is made and had them sing along.

Then, she read Vampirina Ballerina. It has so many interesting vocabulary words. On one page, she had the students stand up and dance with her to practice one of the ballet moves.

Another thing I love is when authors point out details in the illustrations and how they connect with the rest of the story. Anne Marie pointed out Vampirina’s final pose and how it was the same pose as her ballet idol posted in her bedroom.

Next, a very miraculous thing happened. We skyped with Kate DiCamillo! As you know, she has won 2 Newbery medals and has just been named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. A few weeks ago we were contacted by the amazing people at LitWorld with an opportunity to be in a multi-school Skype. I immediately said yes and the planning began. Most of our 2nd grade attended with a few 3rd graders. It was so inspiring. We started with a roll call of schools.

Kate shared a poem from one of my favorite poets, Joyce Sidman. Then, she started taking questions from schools. This was followed by some reading from Flora & Ulysses. The moderator also read aloud part of Kate’s first draft of Because of Winn Dixie, and I loved how Kate covered her ears because she didn’t want to hear how it sounded.

Kate took some more questions from schools and ended by having the adults at each school share what they were reading to students. When it came to me, I just had to tell Kate how I have read p. 130 of Flora & Ulysses numerous times to the students of Barrow and how “Expect the Miraculous” has become a mantra in our library and throughout our school. She turned to p. 130, found the part, and read it aloud. It was such a special moment (as you can see from my reaction at the end).

This was an amazing experience for our students. They were hanging on every word and sat attentively for 1 hour and 15 minutes! Our local newspaper was also in attendance to document the event. I can’t thank LitWorld and Candlewick Press enough for this opportunity. It was inspiring and definitely connected us with so many people through stories, which is Kate DiCamillo’s National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature platfrom. During this call, we connected with the following schools along with Kate DiCamillo:

Mason-Rice Elementary School Newton, MA
Minnetonka Middle School West Minnetonka, MN
Van Meter Community School Van Meter, IA
Saint Mary Catholic School Paw Paw, MI
Ducketts Lane Elementary School Elkridge, MD
American School Foundation Mexico – ASFM Monterrey, Mexico
Roosevelt Elementary Jamestown, ND

Later in the day, we connected with author Barbara O’Connor along with Sherry Gick and her students in Rossville, Indiana. Barbara read aloud from How to Steal a Dog.

Then, students in each state had a chance to ask her some questions. We learned about her 2 dogs, Martha & Ruby, as well as where the inspiration for the book came from. Mrs. Wright’s 2nd grade class loved connecting since they had just finished the book as a class read aloud.

Mrs. Stuckey’s class connected with author Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw and Shannon Miller’s students in Van Meter, IA. She read her book Same, Same But Different. We loved hearing her sing Kailash’s alphabet.

Then, she gave us a peek inside her art studio where we saw some paintings from her new book Luna and Me, which will be out in spring. We can’t wait to see this book in print! Students also got to ask her questions about her work. It was fun to see her thought process as the author and illustrator of the book, and we learned that she does both together.

We ended our day with the entire 5th grade skyping with author Tanya Lee Stone. She read to us from Almost Astronauts.

This was followed by a chance for students to ask her questions. They had several specific questions about the book, but we also learned how thorough Tanya is when she researches. I loved that she included that she uses the Internet to research, but that she makes sure she is using reliable sources. It was also fascinating to hear that books like Courage Has No Color took 10 years to write! That was a powerful statement after students were complaining about a 2 hour writing test.

I love World Read Aloud Day. I love sharing stories aloud, but even more than that, I love knowing that words are filling the air all around the world on this day and across this week. I love that people are using social media to publicly profess their love of reading, their favorite books, and their celebrations of their freedom and right to read. I love that stories really are connecting us to one another on this day and every time we share a story out loud.

Our celebration will continue for the next 2 days before we are off for spring break. We will continue working on a Google Tour that will show all of our connections with a summary of each one. Look for that in Friday’s post! Happy World Read Aloud Day!

March 3, 2014 by plemmonsa

World Read Aloud Day Blogging Challenge Week 4: Raising Our Voices with Flipgrid

I’m participating in the World Read Aloud Day blogging challenge. Each week, I will respond to a question along with many other bloggers participating in this global celebration of reading aloud. Our students, teachers, and families will also be involved with these questions each week as I invite them to respond through Flipgrids, Thinglinks, and more.

For the final week, I’m asking students, teachers, and families to raise their voices by reading aloud parts of their favorite books. We are using a Flipgrid to capture these read alouds because it gives students 90 seconds to read aloud. To get them ready, I made a Youtube video of myself reading my favorite part of this year’s Newbery-winning book, Flora & Ulysses: The Illuninated Adventures.

Kate DiCamillo’s writing speaks to me in so many ways, but this particular part of Flora & Ulysses has proven to be inspiration for our whole school this year as well as our library. We are expecting the miraculous every day!

Visit our Flipgrid to hear more readers share their favorite stories, and feel free to try out Flipgrid by adding your own.

http://flipgrid.com/#f4ad9b3e

For more information on World Read Aloud Day visit http://litworld.org/worldreadaloudday

To connect with other libraries and classrooms, visit our shared Google Doc.

February 20, 2014 by plemmonsa

World Read Aloud Day Blogging Challenge #2 (Part 2): Student Voices

For the next 3 weeks, I’m participating in the World Read Aloud Day blogging challenge. Each week, I will respond to a question along with many other bloggers participating in this global celebration of reading aloud. Our students, teachers, and families will also be involved with these questions each week as I invite them to respond through Flipgrids, Thinglinks, and more.

The challenge for Week 2 is to have conversations between adults and children. To give my students, teachers, and families a voice, I created a Google Form to respond to this week’s question. Each Barrow student who fills out the form will have a chance to win a new book to read aloud to someone!

My students and teachers have been responding to these questions throughout this week, so I wanted to share some of their voices with you.

Lucy R., 3rd grade

I think everyone should read….Love Stargirl

If I could listen to anyone in the world read to me it would be…Frederick Douglass

When I read aloud, my favorite character to sound like is…Ramona from the Ramona books

The genre or author that takes up the most room on my bookshelf is…realistic fiction

My favorite part about reading aloud or being read aloud to is…not being able to stop reading

Savannah M., 5th grade

I think everyone should read….The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

If I could listen to anyone in the world read to me it would be…George Washington

When I read aloud, my favorite character to sound like is…the victim in the story

The genre or author that takes up the most room on my bookshelf is…Lemony Snicket

My favorite part about reading aloud or being read aloud to is…you can sound like someone else, not just who you really are. Ex: I never thought I would say “I got a booboo!”, when I was in fifth grade, but when I was reading, I did!

Isabella B. J., 4th grade

I think everyone should read….Big Nate just because it has something for everyone in it it’s not my favorite book though

If I could listen to anyone in the world read to me it would be…a librarian

When I read aloud, my favorite character to sound like is…Loralie from smells like dog

The genre or author that takes up the most room on my bookshelf is…fiction adventures and fantasy

My favorite part about reading aloud or being read aloud to is…I get to hear how people really say it like with passion and expressions

Michael R., 4th grade

I think everyone should read….Harry Potter

If I could listen to anyone in the world read to me it would be…J K Rowling

When I read aloud, my favorite character to sound like is…Ron Weasley

The genre or author that takes up the most room on my bookshelf is…J K Rowling

My favorite part about reading aloud or being read aloud to is…the voices.

Treasa M., 4th grade

I think everyone should read….books about helping the Earth and making it a better place.

If I could listen to anyone in the world read to me it would be…My Mom / anyone in my family

When I read aloud, my favorite character to sound like is…Yoko (Yoko’s Paper Cranes) or Kitten (from Kitten’s first Full Moon)

The genre or author that takes up the most room on my bookshelf is…Animal books and fictional books.

My favorite part about reading aloud or being read aloud to is…Listening to all of the characters doing things, fitting pieces of the story together, and spending time with whoever is reading to me.

Lily M. 4th grade

I think everyone should read….Wonder

If I could listen to anyone in the world read to me it would be…my mom

When I read aloud, my favorite character to sound like is…the mean guys

The genre or author that takes up the most room on my bookshelf is…Bonnie Briant

My favorite part about reading aloud or being read aloud to is…

Marie Boyle, Barrow Kindergarten Teacher

I think everyone should read….The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

If I could listen to anyone in the world read to me it would be…Maya Angelou

When I read aloud, my favorite character to sound like is…any animal character

The genre or author that takes up the most room on my bookshelf is…Mystery or Fiction

My favorite part about reading aloud or being read aloud to is…Sounding like the characters

Jan Mullins, Barrow Spectrum Teacher

I think everyone should read….The Watsons Go To Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

If I could listen to anyone in the world read to me it would be…Ms. Cross

When I read aloud, my favorite character to sound like is…Kenny (Watson)

The genre or author that takes up the most room on my bookshelf is…history or biography

My favorite part about reading aloud or being read aloud to is…bringing characters to life and seeing kids’ eyes light up with real literature

Beth Selleck, Barrow 5th Grade Teacher

I think everyone should read….Absolutely!

If I could listen to anyone in the world read to me it would be…My daughter

When I read aloud, my favorite character to sound like is…The bear from Jamberry

The genre or author that takes up the most room on my bookshelf is…historical fiction

My favorite part about reading aloud or being read aloud to is…sharing the time with others

Alanna J, 2nd grade

I think everyone should read….Jazz baby

If I could listen to anyone in the world read to me it would be…Mom

When I read aloud, my favorite character to sound like is…My dad

The genre or author that takes up the most room on my bookshelf is…Eric Carle

My favorite part about reading aloud or being read aloud to is…I get to talk.

Yerahm H., 4th grade

I think everyone should read….Owly

If I could listen to anyone in the world read to me it would be…Great!

When I read aloud, my favorite character to sound like is…Owly

The genre or author that takes up the most room on my bookshelf is…I guess it’s Andy Runton.

My favorite part about reading aloud or being read aloud to is…when you just listen

Tamara S., 4th grade

I think everyone should read….chapter books

If I could listen to anyone in the world read to me it would be…my mom

When I read aloud, my favorite character to sound like is…me and the charcter

The genre or author that takes up the most room on my bookshelf is…chapter books

My favorite part about reading aloud or being read aloud to is…the books

Bo S., 2nd grade

I think everyone should read….Diary of a wimpy kid

If I could listen to anyone in the world read to me it would be…My mom

When I read aloud, my favorite character to sound like is…Greg Heffly

The genre or author that takes up the most room on my bookshelf is…Horrible Harry

My favorite part about reading aloud or being read aloud to is…Getting to read and listen to fun books

For more information on World Read Aloud Day visit http://litworld.org/worldreadaloudday

To connect with other libraries and classrooms, visit our shared Google Doc.

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: