Thursday, September 18, 2014

Pasta!


Intent
Who doesn’t like pasta?  Today’s visit is a celebration of carbs in song, story, dance & craft.  Bet I know what you’ll want for dinner when this story time is over!

Introduction
Bring students to carpet, get them settled.

Welcome Song (To London Bridge is Falling Down)

        Welcome to the library, library, library. Welcome to the library,
        Please come inside and read. 

        We’re glad to have you here today, here today, here today. 
        We’re glad to have you here today, today’s a special day.


Finger play: Wiggle Fingers (source: traditional)

Wiggle fingers, wiggle so.  Wiggle high, wiggle low.  Wiggle left, wiggle right, wiggle fingers OUT OF SIGHT!


Library Expectations:  “4 finger rules” of the library:
quiet (1 finger to mouth)
watch teachers (2 fingers to eyes)
listen to stories and directions (3 fingers cup ears)
and always walk (4 fingers make floor for 2 other walking fingers.)


Mystery Bag:  What’s inside the mystery box today?  The object inside the box will give us a clue what our story time is going to be about.  (Object this week is box of pasta)

Welcome.  Every week, when kindergarteners come to visit the library, we have a different theme.  We’ve had story times about the circus, pirates, and today our theme is pasta!  We’ll sing songs, do finger plays, read books (of course), tell jokes and do fun activities and all of them will be about one of our favorite foods.


Word of the Week: say it, syllabicate it TEACHER draws it in the air, invites students to “air write” with her. 

English:  Pasta
Spanish:  Pastas (pronounced like you would in English)

(sign language is a real language where people use their hands to communicate.)

Resource
 Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola  (Prentice-Hall, 1975.)

Before: A fable is a story where magical things can happen, like talking animals, geese that lay golden eggs, or in this case, a magical pot.  Listen for things that don’t really happen in real life in this story.  Those are the things that make it a fable.

During: Check for understanding of why Big Anthony can’t stop the pasta coming.

After:  What was the lesson Big Anthony learned? Do you think he’ll try to use that pasta pot again?

Resource
 Poem:  Spaghetti by  Jack Prelutsky 

Spaghetti! spaghetti! 
you're wonderful stuff, 
I love you, spaghetti, 
I can't get enough. 
You're covered with sauce 
and you're sprinkled with cheese, 
spaghetti! spaghetti! 
oh, give me some please.  (additional verses in published book or below.)


Before Reading:  Not only a poem, this is a clapping rhyme.

During Reading:  Read the poem.  Listen for rhyme, descriptive writing. 

After Reading: Find words that are onomatopoeia.

Resource
JOKE:                                  
customer: Do you have spaghetti on your menu ?
waiter: No, I wiped if off.


Resource
SONG: If my arms were made of Spaghetti by Jim Gill on Jim Gill sings the sneezing song and other contagious tunes (1993, Jim Gill Music, Inc.)

Stand up and wiggle your body parts with this hilarious song!


 (This is probably in your public library’s collection, or you can also buy it online or listen to it on Pandora.)

Resource
More Spaghetti, I Say! by Rita Golden Gelman (Scholastic, 1993.)

Another funny rhyming story about pasta. 
Before reading: predict type of book (funny, animal characters)
During Reading:
After reading:

Activity:
SONG:  On Top of Spaghetti:  chords at http://www.storytimesongs.com/guitarchords/spaghetti.html

This gives me a reason to bring my guitar to school, but you could do it a capella as well!

Craft
Pasta Necklaces.  Dye penne with food dye (all over the internet, but http://www.kidspot.com.au/kids-activities-and-games/Craft-activities+1/Make-coloured-pasta-jewellery+12049.htm is where I looked.  They recommend hand sanitizer, but rubbing alcohol does the same thing.  Vinegar slightly less so but more economical.)

We made yarn w/masking tape tips like shoelaces, then taped the necklaces to the table so they wouldn’t get away from our junior jewelers.
BOOKS!
Check out books from the K area.
Wrap-up
Review: word of week and intent. 
Goodbye Song:
Open, shut them.
Open, shut them.
Raise your hands up high.
Open, shut them.
Open, shut them.
Wave and say goodbye.


Other book resources:
Cloudy with a chance of meatballs by Judi Barrett (Simon and Schuster, 1987.) (lots of text, may be better for 1st/2nd grade)
Noodleman the Pasta Superhero & Spaghetti Slurping Sewer Serpent : two titles I tried to get in time but didn’t come… maybe next year?


This Week’s TEKS:  1 (A) words represented by print
                                    1 (C) 1:1 correspondence word/print
                                    1 (F) Conventions of Print
                                    1 (G) Parts of A Book
                                    2 (B) Identify Syllables in spoken words
                                    3 (A) Identify common sounds letters represent
                                    4 (A) Identify what happens next based on cover, illustration
                                    4 (B) Ask & respond to questions about text
                                    6 (A) Identify elements of a story: setting character, key events
                                    6 (C) Recognize sensory details
                                    7      Poetry has regular beat, similar word sounds (rhyme, alliteration)
                                    8 (B) describe characters in a story and reasons for their actions
                                    10 (D) use titles/illustrations to make predictions about text
                                    10 (B) retell important facts in an expository text
18 (A)  use phonological knowledge to match sounds to letters
19 (A) ask questions of classwide interest (with adult assistance)
20 (A) gather evidence from provided text sources (with adult assistance)
                                    21 (A) listen attentively by facing speakers and asking questions
                                    21 (B) Follow oral directions that involve a short, related sequence of events
                                    RC(fig 19) (D)  make inferences based on cover, title, illustrations and plot
                                    RC(fig 19) (A) discuss purpose for reading & listening to various texts
RC(fig 19) (A) discuss purpose for reading or listening to various texts
                                    RC(fig 19) (B)  ask and respond to questions about texts


Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Reading to your child is more than just reading.

Sharing the pleasure of a good book with your child is something parents and caregivers know we should do.   And listening to stories for pleasure in early childhood lays the framework for becoming a good reader later on. 

You can strengthen your child’s reading skills before he can even read independently!   Early literacy skills, as teachers call them, are simple to add to your nightly story time routine.

The next time you pick up a book with your toddler or young child, add one of these strategies below to your story time. 

Doing this…
Teaches this…
And lays foundations for…
Have your child describe what is on the cover of the book…
Stimulates imagination
Introduces prediction
Increases fluency/vocabulary

Building inference skills Establishing reasons for reading
Follow the words with your finger (not through the whole book, just point to a few sentences or repeated phrases every couple pages)

1 –to-1 text correspondence
Right-to-left and top-to-bottom progression of text on a page
Conventions of writing
Fluent reading
Sound out a simple word (s-t-o-p. ess-tee-oh-pee, stop) for your child.  Then have her sound it out with you.

Letter sounds

Decoding (sounding out) unfamiliar words
Spelling, syntax and grammar
Phonics
Before you turn the page, have your child guess what will happen next.  Model reasons for your guesses.  See if you were correct.

Prediction

Sequence of events
Reasonableness of answers
When the book is done, go back to the beginning and flip through the pages: retell the story in your own words*.  When you child’s familiar with this, have him help you then finally let your child retell the whole story in his own words.

Pictures are text clues
Comprehension
Memory
Story structures
Reading strategies
Summarizing/paraphrasing
Note-taking skills

Ask your child who the good guy/bad guy was in story, where the story took place, what the main problem the characters had.  How did they solve their problem?
Memory
Importance of events in story
Sequence of events
Character traits

Reading strategies
Retelling stories
Characterization
Literary analysis
Literary themes


*This is called Picture Walking, and I recommend it when you don’t have time to tell the whole story, too!)

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Pirates!

Intent
 September 19 is International Talk Like A Pirate Day.  We celebrate the seafarin’ life all week long in the library with songs, dances, stories and costumes.  Join the crew and get ready for fun.

Introduction
Bring students to carpet, get them settled.

Welcome Song (To London Bridge is Falling Down)

        Welcome to the library, library, library. Welcome to the library,
        Please come inside and read. 

        We’re glad to have you here today, here today, here today. 
        We’re glad to have you here today, today’s a special day.


Finger play: This is Big (source: traditional)

This is big big big                 Hold arms out to side
This is small small small    Cup hands together
This is short short short       Hold hands w/palms facing each other
This is tall tall tall                  Reach one hand above head
This is fast fast fast               Circle fists quickly
This is slow slow slow         Circle fists slowly
This is yes yes yes               Nod
This is no no no                    Shake head


Library Expectations:
“4 finger rules” of the library:
quiet (finger to mouth)
watch teachers (fingers to eyes)
listen to stories and directions (cup ears)
and always walk (walking fingers.)


Mystery Bag:  What’s inside the mystery box today?  The object inside the box will give us a clue what our story time is going to be about.  (Object this week is tall ship model.)

Welcome!  This week our object is a boat.  It’s not a new boat, though, it’s an old one, with a mast, sails, and ropes everywhere. (Point to parts of boat.)  Our story time today is about pirates, men (and some women) who sailed the seas to find treasure and adventure.  Today we’ll read two stories, sing a song and do a pirate dance.  Join me crew!


Word of the Week: say it, syllabicate it TEACHER draws it in the air, invites students to “air write” with her. 

English:  Pirate
Spanish:  Pirata (Pee-RAH-Tah) (notice similarity?)
ASL sign: Here is the sign for PIRATE.  Take your right hand and cover your eye like an eyepatch.  Pirates wear patches over their eyes: you did it!  That’s it!

Resource
How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2003.) (Caldecott Honor!)

Before: Who here would like to be a pirate?  This is a book about a boy who gets to go off with the pirates and what happens to him.

During: Check for understanding.  At what point did he decide he did not want to be a pirate? Why is the treasure so easy to find?

AfterNote he’s on the “pirate” soccer team.

Activity
Action Rhyme & SONG:  If You’re A Pirate And You Know It
If you’re a pirate and you know it, swab the deck.
If you’re a pirate and you know it, swab the deck.
If you’re a pirate and you know it and you really want to show it,
If you’re a pirate and you know it, swab the deck.


If you’re a pirate and you know it, draw your sword.
If you’re a pirate and you know it, draw your sword.
If you’re a pirate and you know it and you really want to show it,
If you’re a pirate and you know it, draw your sword.


If you’re a pirate and you know it, say ARRRRRRR!
If you’re a pirate and you know it, say ARRRRRRR!
If you’re a pirate and you know it and you really want to show it,
If you’re a pirate and you know it, say ARRRRRRR!


If you’re a pirate and you know it, do all three. (swab the deck, draw your sword, say AAARR!)
If you’re a pirate and you know it, do all three.
If you’re a pirate and you know it and you really want to show it,
If you’re a pirate and you know it, do all three.

Resource
 Poem:  Buried Treasure by Douglas Florian in Shiver Me Timbers: Pirate Poems and Paintings (2012.)
 
The illustrations really help with the mood of the poem.  It also goes along with the story we just read.

Resource
Pirate Boy by Eve Bunting (Holiday House, 2012.)

Pre-Reading: Like the boy in the previous book, Pirate Boy wants to go off with the pirates.  Let’s see what happens.
During Reading:  predict what happens next…
After Reading:  Note similarity of conclusions of both books… they both want to be back with their families at the end!

*This one is a kid-tested winner!  I’m so happy I used it- turns out it’s the best-received pirate book I’ve ever read.

Activity:
Action Rhyme:  One-Eyed Jake

I’m One-Eyed Jake, the pirate chief
(cover one eye with hand as if covering eye with a patch)
A terrible, fearsome ocean thief
I have a peg upon my leg
(Stand on one leg)
I have a hook and a dirty look
(One arm in the air, curving hand into a hook shape—make exaggerated mean face)
I’m One-Eyed Jake, the pirate chief
A terrible, fearsome ocean thief.

This is a fun one to use cumulatively. Add action after action, until the child is standing balanced on one leg, an eye covered, arm in a hook. They'll giggle as they try to stay upright. It isn't easy for me to do (especially in heels).


Activity
Talk Like A Pirate Day has eyepatches to print online.  Students make eyepatches with scissors and yarn and a little adult help.  http://www.talklikeapirate.com/partykit/eyepatch.pdf

(alternately, there are lots of coloring sheets with pirate figures.)

Check Out
Today we check out books!  Go over basic book selection ideas. (Good fit, how to care for a book…) Then kids check out.

Wrap-up
Review: word of week and intent. 
Goodbye Song:
Open, shut them.
Open, shut them.
Raise your hands up high.
Open, shut them.
Open, shut them.
Wave and say goodbye.


This Week’s TEKS:  1 (A) words represented by print
                                    1 (C) 1:1 correspondence word/print
                                    1 (F) Conventions of Print
                                    1 (G) Parts of A Book
                                    2 (B) Identify Syllables in spoken words
                                    3 (A) Identify common sounds letters represent
                                    4 (A) Identify what happens next based on cover, illustration
                                    4 (B) Ask & respond to questions about text
                                    6 (A) Identify elements of a story: setting character, key events
                                    6 (C) Recognize sensory details
                                    7      Poetry has regular beat, similar word sounds (rhyme, alliteration)
                                    8 (B) describe characters in a story and reasons for their actions
                                    10 (D) use titles/illustrations to make predictions about text
                                    10 (B) retell important facts in an expository text
18 (A)  use phonological knowledge to match sounds to letters
19 (A) ask questions of classwide interest (with adult assistance)
20 (A) gather evidence from provided text sources (with adult assistance)
                                    21 (A) listen attentively by facing speakers and asking questions
                                    21 (B) Follow oral directions that involve a short, related sequence of events
                                    RC(fig 19) (D)  make inferences based on cover, title, illustrations and plot
                                    RC(fig 19) (A) discuss purpose for reading & listening to various texts
RC(fig 19) (A) discuss purpose for reading or listening to various texts
                                    RC(fig 19) (B)  ask and respond to questions about texts



OUT-TAKES: These are ideas and books from past years that are taking the year off.  You might like to use them for variety.
Action Rhyme:        Fierce Pirate




I’m a fierce pirate,
(Brandish sword or dagger)

Captain of my ship.
(Stand at attention)

I stride the deck
(Walk in place)

With hand on hip.
(Put hands on hips)

Our big black flag Shows a skull and cross bones.
(Hands over eyes, or look through telescope)

Everybody moans.
(Throw up hands and moan)

Out of the hold Dark and dank,
(Climb ladder with hands)

We bring the captive
(Hands together behind back)

Who walks the plank.
(Walk fingers of one hand off index finger of the other hand)

Without our gold and silver,

Away we go With many a SHOUT
(Cup hands around mouth)

And a YO-HO-HO!
(Say loudly)

Some Pirate Jokes
What is a pirate’s favorite school subject?  Arrrrrt

What are pirates afraid of?  The Daaaarghk!
Where do Pirates put their trash?  In the GAAAARRRRRRghbage can
 What grades did the pirate get in school?
(High C's!)

What do you get when you throw a million books into the ocean?
(A title wave!)

Everyone knows pirates ride the ocean in boats, but what’s a pirate’s second favorite mode of transportation?  A Caaaaarrrgh!

Where does the pirate put his car when he’s done driving? A PAAARRRGHking lot!
Pirate Story Time
What do you call a pirate that skips class?
Captain Hooky!)

Why does it take pirates so long to learn the alphabet?
(Because they spend years at C!)

·         Pirate Pete’s Talk Like A Pirate Kim Kennedy ( Abrams, 2007) (had some harder words, might be better for 1-3rd grade)
·         Shiver Me Letters, a Pirate ABC (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006)
·         The sequel to How I Became a Pirate is 2007’s Pirates Don’t Change Diapers. Both Long books are on Tumblebooks, if you subscribe.
·         How I Became A Pirate was also made into a musical.  If you can catch it, do so.  My son loved it.  You can watch clips, including some songs, on You Tube.
·         International Talk Like A Pirate Day websiteL  http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html
Here's a great booklet you can make with pirate sight words:  http://www.kidzone.ws/kindergarten/learning-letters/ib-book-pirate.htm