Here are the recent challenges the kids have taken on. More challenges to come...

Humdinger and Carts

I've recently read Walk Two Moons and The Field Guide, from the Spiderwick Chronicles as readalouds to the class. I'd love to hear some comments from the students in my class, but also from other people who've read or had these books read to them. They are a couple of my favorites for very different reasons.

Our Class Book!

We're all reading Sign of the Beaver.

Let us know what you think.

I have some pretty motivated readers this year. I've got some bloggers that are throwing out the challenge to everybody to try and read their 40 books for the year. I just finished reading How to Train Your Dragon. I'm really glad the book was different from the movie. I loved the movie, but in some ways, the book has a better storyline.

I'm definitely going to read Big Nate and Amulet. I'm going to read these books because so many kids are reading them. I read Diary of a Whimpy Kid last week for the same reason. I have to say that Diary of a Whimpy Kid is not a great book. I sure hope I can convince more kids to read some literature with a more rich vocabulary and storyline. So far this year some kids are hooked on The Lightning Thief, Among the Hidden, Star Girl, and The Seventh Tower. It also looks like The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is making the rounds. These are much better books in my opinion.

Got any good recommendations for books? Please mention them in the comments section.

We're back to school, al 34 of us. 32 students, Mrs. Hughes (our student teacher), and myself. It is definitely tight in the classroom this year. This group seems to like reading as much as ever. As usual, I'm reading Maniac Magee to the class. I love this book!

^{Our computers were down for awhile and we got out of our routine for blogging. So, we're trying to get back into it. I've been reading Walk Two Moons out loud to the class. this is an interesting book about Sal (Salamanca Tree Hiddle). She's on a road trip with her grandparents to visit her mother in Lewiston, Idaho. This may sound like a boring idea for a story, but I promise the adventures they have and the stories Sal tells are worth the read. There are some sad parts, but it is also filled with humor and courage. The surprises never end. When I'm reading to the kids, it's often completely silent. I look up from the book and almost all of them will be looking at me expectantly, hanging on the edge of their seat. Check out their blogs to see what they think of the book.}

I just finished reading the book "Magyk," by Angie Sage. This was a very entertaining book about two babies who become lost at the beginning of the book. One of the babies is a queen and the other is a wizard. You'll find out what happens to them at the end. There are lots of evil wizards, hunters, assassins and spies. It is filled with magical creatures of all sorts, including brownies, boggarts, and even a giant python a mile long.

Welcome to school everybody. All our students have their Blogs up and running now. Take some time and explore our 2011-2012 5th Grade Blogs.

And don't forget to visit our eBoard for lots of book discussions.

We've been talking about Black History Month. We've read some literature and watched some movies. The kids still have some questions and we'll be doing some more research about black history. Here is a list of things they've been wondering about. Please leave some comments, links, or resources that could help them out.

I've read a new book recently. After much peer pressure from my colleagues, Mrs. Forsman and Mrs. Caldwell, I've read "The Book Whisperer." The main concept behind the beliefs of "The Book Whisperer" is that students get lots of independent reading time. In the end, making better readers is what we want. Practice makes perfect, and more reading should make a better reader. Also important, is the idea that we change the view of our students concerning reading. Reading should be a lifelong endeavor. It should not be something at school that you do from 9:00 to 10:00 each day. We want them to read all the time, everywhere. To do this we must teach, show, and model that it is important. Make sure there is time for independent reading, allow free choice of literature, allow students to quit reading a book that is not interesting or too difficult to read, even if it is "in their level." This book keeps reminding the teacher to let students choose literature just as we do. Support them in their choices and let them make their own conclusions. Show them you value books by reading and sharing what you read, good or bad. What do you think? If you are a student in my class this year, tell us how it feels reading this way. We've been doing it for a week now. How do you like it?