A Bunny Blog Hop

A Tisket, A Tasket, Freebies for your Basket!

Several phenomenal teachers and bloggers are joining forces for an amazing bunny blog hop!  As you follow us along the bunny trail, you will visit some of your favorite blogs and discover a few new blogs too!  Each with a fabulous freebie just for you!

Thank you for hopping on over to my blog!
 

I am so happy to be participating in this hoppin' good time! Spring is a wonderful time in the classroom and what better to celebrate then with a good book.  I am sharing with you a few of my favorite
Springtime reads and activities here.

Rosie Sprout's Time to Shine by Allison Wortche

The Listening Walk By Paul Showers

The Alphabet Tree By Leo Lionni

 

Included in this download are several thinking and writing activities that meet ELA learning requirements. So, go ahead and use these activities in your guided reading groups, center activities, writing workshops or independent work time. They are also perfect to leave for substitute plans.

 

Download this mini-Spring book pack here 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by and visiting!  If you are new to my blog and liked what you see, don't forget to follow me.  A Tisket, A Tasket, next up with a Freebie for your Basket is Lola from Preschool Wonders.  Hop on over!

Just in case you didn't join us from the beginning, here is an ordered list of all the participating blogs.

Stephany from Primary Possibilities
Sally from Elementary Matters
Lory from Fun for First
Linda from Primary Inspiration
Nicole from Mrs. Rios Teaches Second Grade
Brian from Hopkins' Hoppin' Happenings
Liz from The Happy Teacher
Jennie from JD's Rockin' Readers
Sarah from Learning is for Superstars
Teresa from Fun in K/1
Nikki from Teaching in Progress
Faith from Kindergarten Faith
Renee from Fantastic First Grade Froggies
Amy from Happy Teacher Heaven
Leah from Learn with Leah
Nicole from Teaching's a Hoot
Kristy from The Phonic's Phenomenon
Rich from Mr. Giso's Room to Read
Susanna from Whimsy Workshop
Amy from Motivate to Learn
Lola from Preschool Wonders
Kimberli from Mixing the Next Batch

Picture books are not just for primary grades!

"I used to know an old man who could walk by any cornfield and hear the corn singing."..."Long ago a river ran through a land of towering forests."..."In a warm and sultry forest far, far away, there once lived a mother fruit bat and her new baby."...Gerald was a tall giraffe whose neck was long and slim."..."Art class was over, but Vashti sat glued to her chair. Her paper was empty."... In just the opening lines of these picture books your mind is immediately filled with wonder, questions,  and beginning visions of what is to come. Who is this man that can hear corn sing? What animals once drank from the river that ran through the tall trees? Why was Vashti's paper empty and will it ever be filled? Picture books are not just for the Primary grades!

Some of the most detailed and moving stories are told within the the thirty-two pages of a picture book. These authors are charged with the challenging task of completely developing a story from grabbing your attention, to telling the problem, taking you through the solution, and tying it all up in the end.  To think all of this must be done within a very short amount of time!  If anything, picture books should be especially used in the intermediate grades.  Students in the upper grades can be taught to understand story elements in ways that go beyond just knowing the characters, setting, and problem.  They can begin to develop an understanding of "writers' craft" and how to study picture books, find elements of writers' craft and then incorporate those elements into their own writing.

Picture books are fantastic for small group/center activities.  Try this: Place 5-10 picture books from the same author in a center.  Have students read the books and complete a mini author study.  What do the books from this author have in common? What are their differences?  An activity like this can meet all the different learning levels of your class. Students that need more assistance may notice similarities or differences in characters or settings where the more advanced learner may find commonalities in plot development.  In the end, all students will learn from exploring picture books.

Picture books are perfect for improving the quality of students own writing. If you are working on teaching students how to write better leads that will grab the reader's attention then consider this. Place a basket of picture books in the middle of a group of students. Have students read as many opening paragraphs (only the beginning paragraph) from as many picture books as they can in a set amount of time. As you being the discussion, ask students what they remember about the leads they read. Which openings made you wonder? laugh? think "who cares"? Chart their answers and have them practice just writing leads to stories. Make sure they refer back to the chart and include only quality elements of an opening. Using picture books as quality models of writing will improve how students write.

I absolutely LOVE to read picture books when introducing a new unit, topic, or writing theme. Not only can they model the great quality of writing you are looking for, but they really get children motivated! To introduce a writing piece about focusing on a moment in time try The Sunsets of Miss Olivia Wiggins by Lester Laminack. Want to illustrate how non-fiction writing can have a fiction like flow and feel? Read Bat Loves The Night or One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies. Want to keep your kids guessing til the last page? Dive into books by Eve Bunting such as, The Wednesday Surprise or Someday a Tree. Patricia Polacco, author of dozens of books, celebrates the beauty of family, culture, and heritage in books such as The Keeping Quilt and Thunder Cake. She also addresses emotional times in history like in the book The Butterfly. There is a picture book out there to address every aspect of your classroom.

Remember, whether you are a primary or intermediate teacher, as you are sitting down to plan your lessons for next week, fit in as many read alouds or explorations of pictures books as you can. Your students will appreciate this time and it will motivate them to be better readers and writers.

What is your favorite picture book that you remember as a child or that your children like to read?