PreK Students Write a Book

Our PreK students are slowly learning their first sight words.  I try to incorporate these sight words into typing activities in the computer lab.

This week we reviewed the sight words "I", "can", "see" and also reviewed numbers 1-20.

We assigned each PreK student a specific number 1-20.  Then, students each typed "I can see ## _______." After typing the beginning of their sentence, they practiced dragging/dropping pictures into their page.  Because we have less than 20 PreK students, the early finishers we able to type a second page.

We printed each child's page and combined them to make one class numbers book.  Now the students have their own book to peruse in their classroom reading loft.

Book Tasting

The book fair visited our school this week, and books are definitely my weak spot.  I just can't say no and walked away with over thirty new books for our classroom library.  Parents and students also generously donated new books to our classroom.

Now I had a nice problem- how was I going to let the students preview all the books before adding them to the classroom library shelves?  An idea was born....a book tasting.  Students would have a chance to sample three of the new books for each of the courses (appetizer, entree, and dessert).

Front of Menu

Inside of Menu

While the students were in Art class, the classroom was quickly transformed into a restaurant for our book tasting.  Desks were covered with tablecloths. Flower centerpieces and small votive candles were an added touch.  Books were placed on pizza pans on each of the tables.

The students loved getting to 'taste' several new books.  Students wrote a short prediction/evaluation of the book based on reading a few pages and/or the back cover. They were actively engaged and had spontaneous group discussions at the tables about the books they sampled.  Interest and excitement were generated.  At the end of the book tasting the students quickly asked when we would do it again.  

It is always a nice feeling to hear students chattering about a day's lesson or project.  

Mrs. Lynch

Books, Books, Books!

One of my goals this summer was to add books to our classroom. Like most teachers, I purchase the books on my own so I am always looking for discounts, sales, or freebies. A couple weeks ago I hit the mother load.

Purely by accident I stumbled upon our county library's annual book sale. The books ranged in price from $0.25-$1.00. You can't beat those prices! I also love the fact that the books have library quality binding.

I paid less than $15 for all of these books.  How can you turn away a deal like that?!?  I'm already looking forward to next year's sale.  

Classroom Library

When I "inherited" my classroom, I also "inherited" a classroom library that needed a lot of TLC.  eBay and yard sales helped me add quality books without breaking my budget.  The next order of business was to organize the books in a way that made the books easy to find and hold the students accountable when they borrowed them. 

I created a simple excel spreadsheet of every book title and author in our classroom library.  I printed out the master list so the students could easily peruse the titles.  (We keep this master list with our classroom library.) Then, I printed library cards to go in the back of each book.

When the students checkout a book, they fill out the library card and place it in the basket.  This holds the students accountable for the books they have borrowed.  It greatly reduces the number of books that are misplaced throughout the school year.  The students sign the book back in when they finish reading it.

The books are arranged on our bookshelf alphabetically by author's last last.  (This is also how the books are listed on our master list.)  The students try to put the books back where they belong, however they need a little help.  At the end of this year I made dividers to mark the beginning of each section

 I used cheap, white moulding from Home Depot.  My husband cut the moulding into 8 inch sections.  Each section was wrapped with zebra duck tape and labeled A, B, C, etc.  I'm pretty proud of the finished product!