March 6, 2014 by plemmonsa

World Read Aloud Day 2014 (Day 4)

Our skype connections continued today with 7 more fun read aloud experiences for our students.

Edie Crook Gastonia, NC

Okle Miller Tampa Fl

Cherie Smeltzer New Hampshire

Shawna Ford Texas

Jenny Lussier e Connecticutt

Wendy Garland Massachussetts

Shannon Miller Iowa

We started our day connecting with Edie Crook and her students in Gastonia, NC. We had fund reading I’m Bored and then saying the word “boring” in different ways.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYwG5F_OrqY

Next, Okle Miller and I read aloud Same, Same but Different. Our kids had fun talking about what was the same but different about life in Athens and Tampa.

We did our very first skype with PreK today when we connected with Cherie Smeltzer and her students. They read Yes Day to us and we had fun thinking of what we would ask for on our own yes day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klanps8hdIs

Shawna Ford’s students read Mr. Tiger Goes Wild to us, and I read Same, Same but Different to them. We had a great discussion about the importance of reading picture books at every age. Shawna compared it to how Disney movies have something that kids understand but some deeper meaning that mostly adults understand. My kids really grabbed onto the idea.

Jenny Lussier and I had a blast reading aloud Crankee Doodle to our students. It is a hard book to read without cracking up! I loved how our students suggested great books to read.

Wendy Garland and I read aloud This is Not My Hat. Our students had a lot of opinions about what happened at the end. We had a great discussion about the term “just right” and how this book was chosen as a “just right” book for our skype.

I loved ending the day by reading aloud Flora & Ulysses to Shannon Miller’s students. We had to get a bit creative on how to show the comics since Shannon’s copy was checked out, but we made it work. The kids are all excited about the book and our copy that just arrived today was immediately checked out.

I can’t believe there’s only one day of connections left. Tomorrow has several fun and surprising moments in store. I can’t wait t end our week with some more great stories, authors, students, and librarians.

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!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzvbxI1nEdw

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlo5xV4k6yU

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mYJJrcJfpY

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yee6jtpHnH0

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj9ddCrWEHU

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).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNyERLPuIR0

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKjtRetR7q4

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOAJS7QBQKo

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a40ZpzeUrTU

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7Dd7GfFi7o

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

Read Across America and World Read Aloud Day 1

What a way to start the week for Read Across America and World Read Aloud Day. Our morning kicked off with about 40 guest readers (2 in every classroom PreK-5th). First, these readers gathered in the library to select books. Many thanks to Kim Ness for checking all of the readers in and Julie Moon for setting up our Signup Genius which kept us organized. They were full of energy and spent time connecting with one another, sharing stories, and getting pumped up to read to classrooms.

After a group picture, our 5th grade BTV crew escorted readers to classrooms and they got started sharing Dr. Seuss books, laughing, and learning with our students. It was so much fun to go around the school and hear Seuss words filling the air, seeing kids smiling, and hearing their laughter.

Following this, we started the first of 36 Skype sessions to celebrate Read Across America and World Read Aloud Day. We are creating a Google Earth Tour as we connect, so I will post that at the end of the week. For now, I’ll share some images and video from our week. Today, we connected with:

Okle Miller 2nd grade, Tampa FL

Crystal Hendrix Asheville, NC

Wendy Garland 4th grade Massachussetts

Jennifer Reed 3rd grade Massachussetts & Peter Reynolds

Jenny Lussier 2nd grade Connecticut & Ame Dyckman

Nancy Edwards 6th grade, Seattle

Shannon Miller K/1 Iowa

Kathy Schmidt Gwinnett GA 1st

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gduuT0XUZoo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcelT06FTdY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGBHQpJ3BV0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXDwZ25uSms

February 28, 2014 by plemmonsa

Read Across America and World Read Aloud Day 2014 is Here!

Wow! I am so excited that Read Across America and World Read Aloud Day is here. Some miraculous things have happened since planning for this week started in December.

The shared Google Doc that Shannon Miller and I created has been very busy and growing every day.

I’ve been having countless conversations on Twitter, Facebook, and email to connect our teachers and students with authors and classrooms around the world. The global collaboration that has gone into this week is energizing, inspiring, and exhausting! I can’t wait to see all of the planning come to life next week. I know that there will be so many moments that will inspire and surprise us during the week. I’m also thinking back to last year and how the weather changed our plans! I’m hoping for global great weather next week so that all of our connections happen.

Here’s a look at our week!

On Monday, we will have about 50 guest readers from the community reading Dr. Seuss books in every classroom.

These are a few of the books we will share with libraries, classrooms, and authors around the world during the rest of the week.

On Monday we will connect with:

Okle Miller and her students in Florida
Crystal Hendrix and her students in North Carolina
Wendy Garland and her students in Massachusetts
Jennifer Reed and her students in Massachusetts along with author, Peter Reynolds
Jenny Lussier and her students in Connecticut along with author, Ame Dyckman
Nancy Edwards and her students in Seattle, WA
Shannon Miller and her students in Iowa
Kathy Schmidt and her students in Gwinnett County, GA

On Tuesday, we will connect with:

Erika Victor and her students in Berlin, Germany!
Jennifer Reed and her students in Massachusetts
Heather Temske and her students in Roswell, GA
Laura D’Elia and her students in Massachusetts
Christy Brennan and her students in Pennsylvania
Shannon Miller and her students in Iowa along with author, Deborah Freedman

On Wednesday (the official World Read Aloud Day), we will connect with:

Donna MacDonald and her students in Vermont
Matthew Winner and his students in Maryland
Anne Marie Pace, author
Kate DiCamillo, Newbery-winning author and National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature
Sherry Gick and her students in Indiana along with author, Barbara O’Connor
Shannon Miller and her students in Iowa along with author, Jenny Sue Kostecki Shaw
Tanya Lee Stone, author

On Thursday, we will connect with:

Edie Crook and her students in North Carolina
Okle Miller and her students in Florida
Cherie Smeltzer and her students in New Hampshire
Shawna Ford and her students in Texas
Jenny Lussier and her students in Connecticut
Wendy Garland and her students in Massachusetts
Shannon Miller and her students in Iowa

On Friday, we will connect with:

Meghan Nels and her students in Massachusetts
Shannon Miller (Iowa), Matthew Winner (Maryland), and Jesse Klausmier
Cathy Potter and her students in Maine
Shawn Ford (Texas) and Shannon Hyman (Virginia) and their students
Stacy Ford and his students in Texas
Randie Groden and her students in Massachusetts
Shannon Miller and her students in Iowa with author, Tom Angleberger

Whew! It will truly be an amazing week!

We are going to attempt to document our week as much as possible through pictures and videos. We are also going to work on a map of our virtual travels using Google Tour Builder. During each Skype, we will make sure to ask where are guests are specifically located. Then, after the Skype, I will pull up our Google Tour and we’ll add pins and details to the map. By the end of the week, I can’t wait to look at the whole tour and remember our travels.

February 24, 2014 by plemmonsa

World Read Aloud Day Blogging Challenge #3: Snapshot of My Reading Life

For week 3, I’m asking students, teachers, and families to take pictures of their reading lives. They will send these photos to our Flickr account via email. Those photos will appear in the Flickr stream on our blog,

but I’ll also use them to create a slideshow of our reading lives.

Here’s a little snapshot of my reading life. It was hard to take just one picture, so I cheated and took a few!

My bookshelf

This is my bookshelf in our living room at home. Looks messy doesn’t it? That’s because my kids are constantly putting things on it and pulling things off. At the very top of the shelf you’ll find a few of my autographed books. I have so many that I had to put some in a boxes. Many more are sprinkled throughout the books on my son and daughter’s shelves. You’ll find books by Kate DiCamillo, Barbara O’Connor, Patricia Polacco, Jerry Pinkney, Aaron Becker, and Carmen Deedy (just to name a few). I love reading books aloud that have been signed by the author because I somehow feel a connection with the author knowing that their pen has actually touched the pages I’m reading. The signatures and dedications also hold stories of their own. When I hold an autographed book, I’m reminded of the story connected with meeting and hearing from that author.

My daughter, Alora, with her autographed copy of Mercy Watson

About 4 years ago, I met Kate DiCamillo at the Decatur Book Festival. My wife and I were expecting our first child in December of that year and we wanted to get a special book signed to her. At the time no one knew the name that we had chosen for our daughter. As I handed Kate DiCamillo a copy of Mercy Watson, I said Alora’s name to another person besides my wife for the very first time. The name became very real at that point. Kate DiCamillo stared at the name on the yellow post-it note and said, “Tell Alora what a beautiful name she has and welcome to the world.” When Alora was reading this book the other day, she saw that her name was on the title page. I shared the story of getting the book signed and what Kate DiCamillo said, and Alora said, “Wow! Thank you! That is so kind of her.” I love how our reading lives are filled with wonderful stories, but that those wonderful stories lead us to memories and stories of our own.

Alora’s bookshelf, age 4

This is my daughter’s bookshelf. It is filled with books about Disney princesses and Dora the Explorer, but it also has so much more. I love that we can share these Disney favorites with one another, but that we can also sit down and read books together like Creepy Carrots, Epossumondas, and Mercy Watson. Seeing stories come alive through her eyes makes me enjoy and appreciate them even more. Most of my reading life is spent reading picture books to my kids or reading books to share with students at school.

Anderson’s bookshelf (age 20 months)

Books often make their way from Alora’s room to my son Anderson’s room and back. Right now, I read with Anderson every night while my wife Denise reads with Alora or tells stories aloud. Anderson loves nursery rhymes like Hey Diddle Diddle and Jack & Jill. He also loves Goodnight Moon and Babies. Any books that are short, repetitive, with lots of pictures are the ones he likes to read. We often spend time reading the same book over and over each night until he moves on to something new. He has also stretched me to tune up my singing voice because he loves books that are songs. We are still reading/singing Little Drummer Boy, It’s a Small World, and He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands several nights each week.

Our school library is filled with so many different kinds of books, and this is another very important part of my reading life. It’s impossible for me to read every book on these shelves myself, but students bring these books to life for me in my own reading life by sharing what they are reading and enjoying.

A few books that our Barrow kids enjoyed!

I love that every day I spend time reading with someone whether it’s my own children or my children at school.

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

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.

February 10, 2014 by plemmonsa

World Read Aloud Day Blogging Challenge #1: Read Aloud Memories

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. For week 1, I’ve created a Flipgrid. You are welcome to add your own response to week 1’s question along with our students and families by visiting http://flipgrid.com/#ae0e8232 We will be adding to this grid throughout this week.

The Question for week 1

“What is your earliest or fondest memory in which someone read aloud to you?”

My Mom

When I was little, my mom took me every week to the public library in our rural community of Blue Ridge, GA. I vividly remember climbing the steps, walking up the ramp, pulling open the heavy doors, breathing in the smell of the used books for sale in the entryway, and being greeted by name by the public librarian. The children’s section was small, but I had no problem getting an armload of books to take home each week.

My Mammaw

My mom and I would sit in my bed at night and read aloud stories together. Even more than reading aloud the words, we spent time imagining and creating our own stories about the pictures. I remember looking at the characters circling the back of every Little Golden Book and how we would pause at each character and tell a story about that one character. This shared storytelling experience was a foundation of my love for reading. On this same note, my grandmother, “Mammaw”, would look at pictures with me and ask me what was beyond what we could see in the picture. She had a talent for imagining what was beyond the edges of the illustration and telling it in a way that was fact. “There’s a little barn with a man sitting on a stool milking a cow. Do you see it?” Whatever she said I believed. Mammaw would also take to me to yard sales and used book stores to buy books for my own library and we would spend time sharing those stories and talking about them together while my parents were at work.

Those experiences led me to imagine and create stories on my own. Magnets on the refrigerator, porcelain figures lining the shelves, miniature figures, and more all became characters in my own stories and just about anything and everything in the house became a stage. My Mammaw even used a tape recorder (if you know what that is) to record me sharing my made-up stories.

I hope that when I read aloud stories with students whether it’s print, digital, or oral storytelling that I somehow unleash a bit of imagination that will lead to students creating their own story experiences in their lives.

This year, World Read Aloud Day will be a grand experience in our library. Here’s a glimpse at what our week will look like. On March 3rd, we’ll kick off the week with in-person guest readers from our community. These readers will share favorite Dr. Seuss books in every classroom in our school. Immediately following this, our World Read Aloud connections will begin.

Across the week, we have at least 36 connections planned with libraries and classrooms in Florida, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Washington, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Vermont, Maryland, Indiana, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Texas, Maine, and Germany!

We’ll also connect with authors like Tanya Lee Stone, Barbara O’Connor, Laurel Snyder, Anne Marie Pace, Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw, and Jesse Klausmeier!

Each session will be a bit different, but they will have some common elements too.

We’ll greet one another and tell them where we are located.
We’ll read aloud across the miles. Sometimes this will be students reading to students. Other times, the adults might take turns reading pages from the same book or select characters to portray. Authors will read from their own books or favorite books and take time to allow kids to ask questions about their writing.
To close, students will have a chance to make some connections between the 2 locations. Students often like to find out what the weather is like or what kids like to do for fun in different states. These closing moments build connections between us as a human race.
In some cases, we will collaborate with classes on some type of project. For example, we might create a Padlet or a Flipgrid to share written and video responses to the books we read.
We also take time to look at a Google map and chart the distance between the two connecting schools. It’s really fun when there’s more than one school or author on the Skype call and you can connect multiple dots on a map to see how our voices are uniting across the miles.

I hope that you will plan your own World Read Aloud Day activities. There’s a wealth of resources that can be found at http://litworld.org/worldreadaloudday

October 3, 2013 by plemmonsa

Read for the Record 2013

What fun! Today we participated in Jumpstart’s Read for the Record. Since 2006, Jumpstart has been encouraging people around the world to break the record for the most people reading aloud the same book. This year, the book was Otis by Loren Long. We Give Books provided free access to this book for anyone who wanted to read it online. At the same time you were reading for the record, you were also supporting book donations around the world.

Today, 4 classes at Barrow participated in the media center, while some others read the book in their own classrooms. Each class was a bit different in what we did with the book.

Mrs. Clarke’s PreK class is studying cooperation. We used Capstone’s PebbleGo Social Studies database to learn about the word cooperation. Then, we gave examples from our own lives and classroom of how to cooperate. As we read Otis aloud, we talked about how cooperation was shown in the book. We also talked about how we were cooperating with people all around the world to read for the record.

Read for the Record through the years.

In Mrs. Watson’s 1st grade, we looked at the data from Read for the Record through the years. We also read about tornadoes on PebbleGo and made connections to Otis and the Tornado. 1st grade is studying weather along with their study of The Wizard of Oz so Otis and Otis and the Tornado were a perfect fit.

In Mrs. Wright’s 2nd grade class, we Skyped with Mrs. Lussier in Connecticut. We had also connected with her 4th grade students during Talk Like a Pirate Day, so it was fun to reconnect. We took turns reading pages in the book and then added to a friendship padlet. Since October is bullying awareness month, we used Otis to talk about being kind and showing friendship rather than bullying.

Showing pictures to Mrs. Techman’s students.

In Mrs. Ramseyer’s 2nd grade class, we Skyped with Mrs. Techman in Charlottesville, VA. I read the entire book to both classes and shared the pictures on the camera. Our students stopped along the way and made predictions for one another. We also took some time to tell about our own communities. We looked at a map of how far away VA is and how long it would take to walk or drive. Students wanted to know how long it would take to fly, so we pulled up a travel website and searched for a flight. We also took time to add to the Padlet in this class, and Mrs. Techman’s class will add to it tomorrow.

While all of this was going on, I also tweeted the link to the padlet. It was retweeted numerous times, so hopefully others will add to it. Shawn Hinger and her students at Clarke Middle in Athens took time to add their own thoughts on friendship. It was nice to have a middle school voice among the elementary ideas.

Once again, I was amazed by the power of connecting and how many standards can be woven into an event such as this. I can’t wait to see what the record was set at today!

Showing pictures to Mrs. Techman’s students.

September 19, 2013 by plemmonsa

Talk Like a Pirate Day 2013

Ahoy thar maties! Today be national “talk like a pirate” day. What better way to celebrate than dressing up like a pirate, reading some stories with classes around the country, writing some fun pirate sentences to practice saying, and creating some pirate stories.

That’s exactly what we did in the Barrow library. The planning started last weekend, when I started looking for classes in the school who wanted to participate. As class signed up, I used twitter to locate some special library friends around the country to connect with.

Over a couple of days, the schedule took shape for us to connect with:

Shannon Thompson at Stroud Elementary in Athens, GA
Jenny Lussier in Durham, CT
Okle Miller in Tampa, FL
Edie Crook in Gastonia, NC
Shannon Miller in Van Meter, IA

The plan during each connection was to:

look at a google map of where we were connecting and talk about distance
say hello with a few pirate words like “Arrrrrrrrrgh!”
take turns reading pages of a pirate story so that voices in each location were heard. Sometimes it would be the librarian and other times it would be the students reading.
Say goodbye
At tables, write pirate sentences using a pirate vocabulary sheet. Students could stretch out an -ar word or they could use actual pirate vocab.
Students moved to do projection areas to have an adult type their sentence onto a padlet. Throughout the day, any school could add to the padlet as they had time.

Our pirate padlet

We started our day with Mrs. Boyle’s Kindergarten class. They have been learning how to tell stories from pictures. Today was the launch of our storybird project, so I decided to focus our storybird on pirates. After warming up with some “Tell Me a Story” cards, we searched for pirate pictures on Storybird. We made a simple story with a beginning, middle, and end. It was a challenge to link our story together between pictures, but the students did a great job working together. Be sure to read their story here.

Our Storybird cover

Next, we skyped with Shannon Thompson at Stroud Elementary in Athens. Shannon and I took turn reading A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade by James Preller. We both read in our best pirate voices. Following our skype, we disconnected and students added sentences to the padlet. We reconnected on skype and students shared their sentences with one another in their best pirate voices. We had a few sound issues, which led me to switch the webcam I was using.

At 10 & 10:30, Mrs. Wright and Mrs. Ramseyer’s 2nd grade classes connected with Jenny Lussier’s 4th graders in CT. During one session, we read Bubble Bath Pirates by Jarrett Krosoczka and during the other session we read How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long. It was fun to hear our different pirate voices and share the many costumes that both of our groups of students were wearing.

At 11:45, Mrs. Yawn’s 2nd grade class had a special triple skype. We connected with Okle Miller in FL and Edie Crook in NC at the same time.

Okle and I read How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long and Edie Crook read A is for Arrr! by Laura Salas. Okle had on a great pirate costume, and Edie’s students had made great pirate hats to share, too. It was fun to know our voices were connecting from 3 different southeastern states.

A is for Arrr! with Mrs. Crook

At 1:15, Shannon Miller’s students connected with Mrs. Em’s 1st grade students. We read How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long. Our students also took time to share what was going on at our schools today. In addition to pirate day, our students had a walking field trip and Shannon’s students had dot day, Homecoming, and a color challenge. Shannon’s students took time to add to the padlet after our connection, while Mrs. Em’s students added sentences that focused on words that used sounds they were working on in class.

Finally, at 1:45 Mrs. Choate’s Kindergarten class connected with Edie Crook in NC. I read Bubble Bath Pirates by Jarrett Krosoczka and Pirates vs. Cowboys by Aaron Reynolds. It was a challenge to switch from pirate to cowboy while reading the book. It would be a fun book to read over skype if both schools have a copy because you would only have to keep up with one accent. I loved hearing Edie’s students make connections between the two books.

It was a fun-filled day. We made connections. We read text and had great discussions. We practiced reading fluently and with expression. We practiced our sentence writing. I’m exhausted. Now off to Krispy Kreme for some free donuts. They are giving away a full dozen of donuts if you are dressed like a pirate!

March 6, 2013 by plemmonsa

World Read Aloud Day 2013

Wow! Even though a major snowstorm was making its way across the country, we celebrated World Read Aloud Day with multiple authors and classrooms around the country. Educators around the world have been orchestrating this day for quite some time through multiple social networks. Through Twitter, Facebook, Google Docs, Skype in the Classroom, and Kate Messner’s excellent author website we have planned day-long and even week-long reading events for our students.

Twitter was buzzing this morning with authors and librarians having to reschedule due to the snow, but here at Barrow most of our scheduled stayed secure. Matthew Winner had to cancel due to snow impacting his flight to NC, so Kathy Schmidt and her students stepped in for us. Anne Marie Pace, author of Vamperina Ballerina, had to reschedule since the Virginia snow shut off her power. It’s pretty amazing that we were able to pull off so many connections even with bad weather.

Highlights from the day included:

Okle Miller, librarian in Tampa Florida, and I read We Are In A Book. Okle was Piggie and I was Elephant. Kindergarten students loved it! We tried to play into the cameras in order to look at our audiences.
Kathy Schmidt in Gwinnett County, GA had students listen to me read Same, Same but Different and talk about what was the same and different about living just 48 miles from each other.
The amazing Laurel Snyder shared a favorite picture book with 2 fourth grade classes and then gave them a sneak peak of a new chapter book.
Jesse Klausmeier, author of Open This Little Book, skyped with our students and Shannon Miller’s students in Van Meter, IA at the same time. A favorite question from one of our students for Jesse was “Did it make your family happy when you wrote your book?” We all almost teared up. So sweet!
I shared a favorite story by Colleen Sally called Epposumondas Saves the Day with Mary Priske’s 4th grade in Mt. Vernon, IA and Mrs. Griffith’s 3rd grade joined in too. Students in both states chanted “sody, sody, sody sallyratus” as I read.
Laura D’Elia, librarian in Massachusetts, and I read Same, Same but Different and compared living in GA with living in Massachusetts. Students in Massachusetts had 1:1 iPads while we have 1:1 netbooks.
Lisa Waggett at GoForth Elementary in League City, TX and I read Same Same but Different to 1st grade classes and compared our 2 states.
Mrs. Brink & Mrs. Ramseyer’s 2nd grade students read poems in 2 voices with Jeff McHugh’s 4th grade students in Arlington Heights, IL. Our students had a lot of energy and it was fun to combine our voices across the miles to read poetry.
Jody Feldman, author of the Gollywhopper Games, read aloud to our 5th graders and allowed them to ask questions. She also gave them a preview of the sequel.

What a packed day filled with releasing words into the air across the country. Skype is such a powerful tool to connect us beyond the walls of our school. It was so interesting to see how much our students don’t know about beyond the boundaries of Athens. I predict that the work that we did today will lead to many long-distance collaborations with libraries around the country. Let’s continue to share the power of reading, connect our students, and understand what it truly means to be part of a global community!