Using Reference Material: Poppy

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One of the CAFE strategies we learned this week was the comprehension strategy of using reference material. As we were reading Avi’s Poppy, we came across a section where Poppy puts lady slipper petals on her feet and pretends like she’s Ginger Rogers dancing with Fred Astaire.

First we tried the strategy of Back Up and Reread. We reread the section. But no matter how many time we reread the word “lady slippers” or “Ginger Rogers,” we weren’t going to somehow spontaneously understand what those phrases meant by using the clues in the text.

We could have turned to the dictionary or a thesaurus, but in this case, photos and videos from the Internet seemed to fit the bill.

Poppy wears petals from lady slippers to pretend she's a dancer.

Poppy talks about dancing as though she were floating on air. After watching a few videos of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, I think you know what she means.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxPgplMujzQ]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnUfY-URXzA&feature=related]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hIxvmCypE8&feature=related]

For more information on our literacy program, visit The Daily Cafe.

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A Sick Day for Amos McGee

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Because we have so many amazing books filling up our classroom, I rarely purchase new picture books. Because we usually read different books each year, the library is often a better (and much cheaper!) option. But when I saw this book being consistently short listed for the Caldecott award, I knew I had to check it out.

Elizabeth Bird is a NYC children’s librarian, and I agree with her suggestions almost always. Here’s her review.

I stopped by the excellent Ravenna Third Place Books last weekend, and fresh on the heels of my own sick day, the fact that A Sick Day for Amos McGee was prominently featured on the picture book table, made it seem a rather serendipitous purchase.

Vintage is hot right now, and you’ve probably figured out by now that I love it. 365 Penguins is one of the best picture books written in the past ten years, for example. (And the author has a sweet new book out too, by the way, that looks fantastic!)

But as many reviewers before me have mentioned, Amos McGee isn’t so much vintage as it is timeless. I wonder if it’s because woodcuts are such a big commitment to create that when you make them, you want the designs to be relevant for a long time as well.

Speaking of woodcuts, I’m also excited to talk about this woodcut book after we’ve read a woodcut book of a pretty different style. I’m speaking of the excellent Drummer Hoff, which we’ve revisited several times already this year. Here’s a read-along version of the book.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tatWSjVuejg]

And a group of kids singing the book.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2O3rquRiAo]

I’m getting off topic. Bottom line:

1. Woodcuts are amazing.
2. A Sick Day for Amos McGee is lovely.
3. I can’t get Drummer Hoff off my mind.

((By the way, in case you’re wondering “If you think 365 Penguins was such a great book, why didn’t it get a Caldecott, Ms. Houghton?” I see two explanations. First, it would have gone up against the incredible The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Second, Caldecotts are given to US illustrators.))

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Sub Video 9-17-10

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Hi there!

Here are all the videos you should need for today’s class. You can watch The Man Who Walked Between the Towers here:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv7GND5iMik]

And here’s a video that might help you do the H Chart lesson to compare and contrast Mirette on the High Wire with The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. It also explains some of the math you’ll be doing today.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJYKKIlw5c0]

Remember what we talked about yesterday afternoon regarding appropriate guest teacher behavior. I hope you have an excellent and productive Friday!

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Expanded Form

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I’ve had notes from some families asking about students writing numbers in expanded form and looking at the value of particular digits in a number. I hope this post will help clarify this subject for you!

We use place cards from the Montessori program to help us visualize how numbers break apart.

These cards can be stacked on top of each other to show what a number looks like “normally,” then they can be pulled apart to show how much each number is actually worth.

So 427 would expand into

400 + 20 + 7

And 602 would expand into

600 + 0 + 2 (you don’t actually need to write the +0 part, but I do just for consistency)

You can also do the opposite, and turn a three-number addition problem in expanded form back into standard form.

So 800 + 70 + 9 would condense into

879

and 700 + 3 would become

703.

I will upload more photos to help show this process as they become available!

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Tightrope Walking

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This week we’ll be reading The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. You can hear it read aloud here:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv7GND5iMik]

You can also read the entire book on Google Books by clicking here.

Watch an interview with Philippe here. There’s actually a full documentary called Man on Wire, if you’re interested. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEU7lrtehDs&feature=related]

And on a side note, I adore this song by Janelle Monae, also called “Tightrope.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwnefUaKCbc&ob=av2e]

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Our Pledge

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Today we talked about what the Pledge of Allegiance really means, and what it might sound like in “kid-friendly” language.

I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America
And to the republic for which it stands
one nation, under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.

I promise to defend the flag
and our country — the United States of America
We help each other out, no matter what state we’re in
with freedom and fairness for all people.

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The Funny Little Woman

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This week, we’ll be studying The Funny Little Woman by Arlene Mosel and Blair Lent. This is another Caldecott winner, although I personally prefer Mosel’s Tikki-Tikki-Tembo.

In the book, the funny little woman makes rice dumplings. If you’re not familiar with rice dumplings, they usually come wrapped in banana leaves and look like this:

Rice Dumplings

Click here to find out how they’re made.

I love getting food from Mee Sum Pastry at Pike Place Market, but I’ve never tried their rice dumplings. I’ll let you know what I think next time I’m downtown!

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