Monday, September 17, 2012

It's Monday! What Are We Reading?

We decided to join into this Monday blog tradition today! We wanted to share some of the books our 4th grade class has been reading.

CAPTURE THE FLAG by Kate Messner
There are three main characters in this book.  They are Anna, Jose and Henry. The flag from the Smithsonian was stolen. Right now there is a huge snowstorm so the characters are stuck in an airport and they think the person who stole it would be in the airport.  They have two suspicious characters.  They meet a boy named Sinan. Senator Snickerbottom thinks his family or part of their orchestra stole the flag.  

We read this book during read aloud time near the end of the day every day.  We jot down our ideas in our notebooks.  We sketch pictures and make predictions in our notebooks too.  We also talk about the book. We are learning to just jump into the conversation and keep it going.

In this book, there is a little girl named Goldilocks. And there are three dinosaurs. There is a mamma dinosaur, a papa dinosaur and a little dinosaur from Norway. The three dinosaurs wanted to eat Goldilocks so they made chocolate pudding to distract Goldilocks. They made sure she could get in.  Goldilocks went to take a nap...

This book is related to Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  But Goldilocks got "caught in the wrong story".  Mo Willems put the pigeon in this book (and in every book he writes)  so look for it!  There is a funny lesson at the end.  We think this book is for all ages.


PICTURES FROM OUR VACATION by Lynne Rae Perkins
In this picture book, there is a family who went to a farm to visit their grandparents.  Before they went they got cameras. It rained a lot while they were there. It rained for days. Then they went to a beach and had fun.  It rained again. They went to a party. The pictures in the book are photos of their vacation. They weren't all that good.

This book is realistic fiction. It helps us write personal narratives.  It helped us think about looking at pictures and remembering what our life was like.  


THE ESSENTIAL 55 by Ron Clark
This book is called The Essential 55 and this book is by Ron Clark.  He is a 6th grade teacher.  He has 55 rules in his classroom.  Once in a while our teacher, Mrs. Sibberson, reads us a rule.  We've read four rules so far.  One is about Doritos. One is about saving spots in the cafeteria. One is about saying thank you and one is about bragging. For 10 minutes, we highlight the important words that we want to talk about.   We are learning to share our opinions and learning about other people's opinions. We go into groups and we are learning to keep the conversation going.  


A BUS CALLED HEAVEN by Bob Graham
A Bus Called Heaven is by Bob Graham.  It teaches us to be leaders.  It's about a bus called Heaven and a towing guy. The towing  guy is trying to tow the bus. But the people didn't want him to because it is important to them. They worked together to make it into a kind of "clubhouse".  A girl challenged the towing guy in table soccer.  Whoever wins gets to decide what happens to the bus.  If you want to know who wins, read the story.




MARSHFIELD DREAMS by Ralph Fletcher
This book is about Ralph Fletcher's childhood.  We read a story in our class called "Statue".  The story is about when Ralph Fletcher pretended to be a statue. His parents wanted to buy him.  They bought him and took him home. They put him in the front yard without him moving.  This is only one of the stories in the book.  This is the only one we've read so far.

Ralph Fletcher drew a map in the front of this book to help him think of his ideas.  He drew a map of his neighborhood. Some of us drew maps of our neighborhoods, parks, and houses to help us think of personal narrative ideas.

We'd like you to read it and tell us what you think of it in the comments.





22 comments:

  1. these books look greart thaks

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  2. I just finished reading Capture the Flag. I loved it! I think I'm going to read it to my 3rd grade class. Do you think they will like it?

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    1. Yes! We love it so we think they will love it too!

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  3. What a wonderful blog! I look forward to reading more of your posts in the future. Your reviews have made we want to expand my reading list. I bet my students will enjoy several of the books you introduced. Thanks for the recommendations.

    I hope you’ll drop by my blog at: http://speakwellreadwell.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-rope-of-friendship.html

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    1. Thank you for the comment. We will try to visit your blog soon.

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  4. I just read that Mo Willems book last week. I found it funny, but I still prefer Knufflebunny.

    I loved Capture the Flag. You have me curious about the Ralph Fletcher book. I will see if I can find it. I just read a book called Fig Pudding. I am wondering if that is the same person. Thanks for the recommendations!

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    1. Ralph Fletcher did write Marshfield Dreams and Fig Pudding. Most of us like Knufflebunny better too!

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  5. I added A Bus Called Heaven to my to-be-read list. I've seen it pop up a few times, but haven't read it myself yet.

    And I'm so looking forward to getting my hands on that Mo Willems book. He's such fun! My preschooler giggles through just about anything he's written, though my favorite will always be the Knuffle Bunny books.

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    1. We also think that Knuffle Bunny is a really good book.

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  6. Thank you for writing about your class reading! My favorite part is how you captured your thinking in your notebook. I might have to borrow a few ideas for my 5th graders at BES.

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  7. Marshfield Dreams is one of my favorite books. You will like learning about all of Ralph's siblings.

    I am rereading 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny by Phillip Done. It is a book like Marshfield Dreams where each chapter tells a different story. I read some of the chapters at the beginning of each school year and the stories always make me smile!

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    1. We don't know that book but we might get it for our classroom!

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  8. Thanks for sharing all the books you are reading! I have Capture The Flag, but still haven't read it, but it sounds good. I love Marshfield Dreams & have used it with my own students when they write about memories. I keep hearing about the MO Willems book-his books are so funny, so I expect this one is too. The other three all sound interesting, the vacation one, the bus one and the 55 rules. I'll put them on a wish list which grows longer every Monday! Thanks again!

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    1. We have a variety of books here too and we like the Monday reading thing too!

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  9. I usually enjoy reading reviews written by adults about children's books, but it was even more fun to see what books you chose to share and what you thought about various titles. I plan to share your reviews with students at the OSE Media Center as examples of well thought-out and well written reviews. I bet your work will inspire them to write book reviews, too. Nice work!

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  10. Oh now I have a new book on my list! Bob Graham is one of my favorites, and I cannot wait for this one. Do you have ROSE MEETS MR. WINTERGARTEN?

    This weekend I saw the musical version of KNUFFLE BUNNY and while waiting for it to begin, read GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE DINOSAURS. Mo Williams really is a crack up.

    What a helpful blog - I will come back often for new book ideas. Off to buy the bus book and CAPTURE THE FLAG too! (I have and love the others...)

    a.

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  11. Hi, It's me Drew. Mom and I realy like our class blog

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  12. Dear 4th graders in Mrs. Sibberson's Class,
    Thank you for writing such amazing reviews, thoughts and reflections about your reading life at school. I was wondering what book have you enjoyed the most? And Why? Are there particular books that you're hoping to read this year? i read Capture the Flag this summer and I think it's fascinating how they mystery got solved. The book had tons of action for sure!
    Thanks for your words, and hard work.
    I appreciate them.
    Sincerely,
    Stella Villalba

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  13. Great idea to post what you're reading in your class! We have a class blog about our read aloud right now, Wonder. Take a look! http://muellersreaders.blogspot.com/2012/09/star-wars-summer-and-point-of-view.html
    It's fun to talk about books with students outside of class. We can really share what we're thinking!

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  14. What a wonderful share! You have listed some books here I haven't read yet, so I'm very happy that you all have joined It's Monday What Are You Reading!! I can learn a lot from you and will be sharing your books with my 5th grades at GRE.

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