New Biographies Grace the School Reading Room!

   This is exciting news especially for my MW colleagues! I have been able to order some fabulous new biographies for the school reading room. I have started processing the sets of 12 books by labeling them for their A.R. reading level as well as stamping the covers and taping the spine. As I add the sets to respective grade level shelves, I am also adding the titles in the reading room's inventory notebook. 

    You will notice that I have been incorporating older biographies onto various grade level collections. I've also been rearranging grade level shelves a bit for grades 2-5 in order to make room for the biographies. I will be relabeling the updated shelves once I receive a new label maker. :) 

    These people are great examples of fascinating American citizens. Many of these figures are important people represented in our state's standardized testing. If they are not one of the important people listed in the Standards of Learning, they are a person who is a part of a historical time period that is studied. Some of the books are simply about fantastic people that are great to explore while reading biographical material and applying nonfiction reading skills with real texts.

    Here is a preview of the titles courtesy of Google Books. Just click on a title to get a sneak peek at the new books. :) These will be something fresh and exciting to share with the students in January and February when biographies and nonfiction texts are genres that are highlighted!

From the On My Own Biographies Series from Lerner Publishing:
 

• George Washington Carver by Andy Carter
• Booker T. Washington by Thomas Amper 
• Bessie Coleman: Daring to Fly by Sally M. Walker 
• Cesar Chavez by Ginger Wadsworth
• Benjamin Banneker: Pioneering Scientist by Ginger Wadsworth  

From the Ready to Read Series from Simon Publishing:

• Susan B. Anthony: Fighter for Women's Rights by Deborah Hopkinson 
• Paul Revere and the Bell Ringers by Jonah Winter

From the Who Was.../Who Is...Series Published by Grosset and Dunlap:

• Who Is Barak Obama? Written by Roberta Edwards
•  Who Was Sacagawea? Written by Judith Bloom Fradin
• Who Was Thomas Jefferson? Written by Dennis Brindell Fradin
• Who Was Abraham Lincoln? Written by Janet B. Pascal
• Who Was Daniel Boone? Written by Syndell Kramer
• Who Was Thomas Alva Edison? Written by Margaret Frith 
• Who Was Helen Keller? Written by Gare Thompson

From the Time for Kids Biographies Series: 

• Eleanor Roosevelt: First Lady of the World
• Rosa Parks: Civil Rights Pioneer 
• Jackie Robinson: Strong Inside and Out
• Clara Barton: Angel of the Battlefield
• Harriet Tubman: A Woman of Courage
• Benjamin Franklin: A Man of Many Talents

    As a bonus for the upper grades, be sure to check out the website for Time for Kids to extend your real life application on expository reading skills. Keep your eyes peeled as I process sets in my spare time and continue to add them to the school collection. I hope you and the students enjoy them this school year!

Read for the Record Day is Coming October 6th!

     Read for the Record day is coming this Thursday, October 6th. It is sponsored by an initiative from Pearson called We Give Books.  It purpose is to promote early literacy by having readers read online or traditional books. Then, they ask readers to go to their website and choose a literacy campaign to support. It is as easy as clicking. Once to pick a group, the foundation adds another book to their donations which will be made to that cause. What a win-win situation! There is also a page on the website dedicated to educators, including a section devoted to Llama Llama.

     One of the really neat things about the We Give Books site is there are many books that are available to read for free. They are easy to select. Classroom teachers can even include this website on their classroom webpage or newsletter, too. You can click here to read Llama Llama Red Pajama right on your computer!

     Be sure to check out all of the FREE online trade books that you can share online in your class with a computer projector hookup. You can also simply share some of these books at home on the home computer with your child. There is a wide variety ranging from pourquoi stories to bestsellers to classics.  

    Jumpstart, a Pearson campaign for supporting early literacy in low-income neighborhoods, is a partner in this initiative. You can find out more about Jumpstart at:

•      Jumpstart's Website 
•      Jumpstart on Facebook 
•      Jumpstart on Twitter