Thanksgiving Fun

The Peanuts Movie is out in theaters. Enjoy “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Full” video.

Try
Turkey Swap is to switch the locations of the turkeys and the pigs with as few moves as possible. You can move each tile by clicking on it. A tile can be moved to the empty space if the space is immediately beside it, or if there is one tile between it and the space.

Too Many Turkeys is a fun game for younger kids. The goal is to find Pete, the Perky Turkey in the bow tie as quickly as you can!

 

Gratitude

This month our Colors of Character Education Program is focusing on gratitude. Gratitude is being aware of and being thankful for the good things that happen; taking time to express thanks. We are encouraging students to show gratitude to someone at home, in school and to a veteran. Please comment on this post about how you will show gratitude toward others, your classmates and veterans.

Listen to our book of the month, America’s White Table.

Peter Catalanotto

Peter Catalanotto, author and illustrator, will be visiting our school on October 17th. My favorite book by Peter is Emily’s Art. Emily loves to draw and paint. She paints pictures of her family and daily activities. One day, her teacher announces an art contest. Every day the students are given time to paint. Emily begins to become very nervous about the upcoming contest. Watch the video below to see what happens.

 

 

Please respond with a well-developed comment. Consider these questions:

  • What are some things that you consider to be art?
  • What makes something a piece of artwork?
  • What is art?
  • Who decides whether or not something is good artwork?

Summer Reading Fun

Summer Reading Fun!

Check out this leveled book list that Mrs. Murphy and Mrs. Nadler recommend:Level Book Suggestions incoming 4th graders

Below you will find a small selection of Chapter Books and Chapter Book Series we recommend!

Avi:
http://www.avi-writer.com/

  • The Good Dog
  • Crispin: The Cross Of Lead                                  
  • Iron Thunder

Beverly Cleary:
http://www.beverlycleary.com/

  • Strider
  • Dear Mr. Henshaw                                            
  • Muggie Maggie

Andrew Clements:
http://www.andrewclements.com/

  • Lunch Money
  • No Talking!
  • The School Story                                            

 

Bruce Coville:
http://www.brucecoville.com/

  • My Teacher is an Alien                                    
  • Space Brats

Roald Dahl:
http://www.roalddahl.com/

  • The BFG
  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory                      
  • The Twits

Kate DiCamillo:
http://www.katedicamillo.com/

  • Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane                 
  • The Magician's Elephant
  • Because of Winn-Dixie

Candace Fleming:
http://www.candacefleming.com/

  • The Fabled Fourth Graders of Aesop Elementary School                                           

Cornelia Funke:
http://www.corneliafunke.de/en/index.html

  • Inkspell
  • The Thief Lord
  • The Dragon Rider                                          

Dan Gutman:
http://www.dangutman.com/ 

  • The Homework Machine
  • Back in Time with Benjamin Franklin                   
  • Nightmare at the Bookfair

 

Lois Lowry:
http://www.loislowry.com/

  • Gossamer
  • The Willoughbys                                                  

Louis Sachar:
http://www.louissachar.com/

  • Small Steps
  • There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom                      
  • Dogs Don't Tell Jokes

Jerry Spinelli:
http://www.jerryspinelli.com/newbery_002.htm

  • Crash
  • Loser
  • Eggs                                                                

Judy Blume:
www.judyblume.com

  • The Fudge Books
    • Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
    • Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great
    • Superfudge                                               

Georgia Byng:
http://www.meetmollymoon.com/creator.html

  • Molly Moon Books
    • Incredible Book of Hypnotism
    • Stops the World
    • Hypnotic Time Travel Adventure                  

Meg Cabot:

  • Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls Books
    • Moving Day
    • The New Girl
    • Stage Fright                                            

Matt Christopher:
http://www.mattchristopher.com/

  • Sports Books
    • Stealing Home
    • Skateboard Tough
    • Lacrosse Firestorm                                    

Beverly Cleary:
http://www.beverlycleary.com/

  • Henry Huggins Books
  • Ramona Quimby Books
  • Ralph S. Mouse Books                                        

Eion Colfer:
http://www.eoincolfer.com/

  • Artemis Fowl Books
    • The Artic Incident
    • The Eternity Code
    • The Opal Deception                                    

Suzanne Collins:

  • Underland Chronicles Books
    • Curse of the Bane
    • Curse of the Warm Bloods
    • Marks of Secret                                        

Cressida Cowell:
http://www.cressidacowell.co.uk/

  • How to Train Your Dragon                                   
  • How to be a Pirate                                       

Jack Gantos:

  • Joey Pigza Books
    • Joey Pigza Loses Control
    • What Would Joey Do?
    • I am not Joey Pigza                                 

Peggy Elizabeth Gifford:

  • Moxy Maxwell Books
    • Does Not Love Practicing the Piano
    • Does Not Love Stuart Little                         

James Howe:

  • Bunnicula Books
    • Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow
    • Bunnicula Strikes Again!
    • Howliday Inn                                          

Jeff Kinney:
http://www.wimpykid.com/

  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid Books
    • Rodrick Rules
    • The Last Straw
    • Dog Days                                                 

C. S. Lewis:

  • The Chronicles of Narnia Books
    • The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
    • Prince Caspian
    • The Last Battle                                       

Lois Lowry:
http://www.loislowry.com/

  • Anastasia Krupnik Books
  • Sam Krupnik Books
  • Gooney Bird Greene Books                                  

Megan McDonald:
http://www.meganmcdonald.net/

  • American Girls Books
  • Dear America Books
  • Judy Moody Books                                            

Jenny Nimmo:
http://www.jennynimmo.me.uk/

  • Children of the Red King Books                             
  • The Snow Spider Books
  • Griffin's Castle

Rick Riordan:
http://www.rickriordan.com/index.php/books-for-children/

  • Percy Jackson and the Olympians Books     
    • The Sea of Monsters
    • The Titan's Curse

J. K. Rowling:
http://www.jkrowling.com/en/

  • Harry Potter Books
    • The Chamber of Secrets
    • The Prisoner of Azkaban
    • The Goblet of Fire                                   

Louis Sachar:
http://www.louissachar.com/

  • Marvin Redpost Series  
  • Stories from Wayside School Series                     
     

Lemony Snicket:
http://www.lemonysnicket.com/

  • A Series of Unfortunate Events Books
    • The Reptile Room
    • The Wide Window
    • The Miserable Mill                                   

Gertrude Chandler Warner:

  • The Boxcar Children Books
    • Surprise Island
    • Blue Bay Mystery
    • Snowbound Mystery                                  

Jane Yolen:
http://janeyolen.com/

  • Young Merlin Trilogy
  • Tartan Magic Trilogy                                        

Summer Reading Contests:

The Public Libraries have contests with tons of fun prizes! Go to the library this summer and ask about their summer reading contest!

Barnes and Noble Summer Reading: Students read 8 books and log them on Barnes and Noble’s book log form. Students bring the form into the store and choose a free book from the list on the back of the reading log.

Chuck E. Cheese Rewards Calendars: Students read for ten days, log it on the rewards form, and they will receive 10 free tokens.

Scholastic Summer Challenge: Allows students to earn digital awards by entering the number of minutes they read each day.

TD Bank Summer Reading Program: Read 10 books, log them onTD Bank’s form and receive $10 for your saving account.

Websites to Support Summer Reading:

Book Spot:
www.bookspot.com/readinglists/
Links to dozens of other sites.

Carol Hurst’s Children’s Literature Site:   http://www.booksintheclassroom.com/allreviewed.php
Starred reviewed titles for grades K to 6th+.

Dewey Browse: 
http://www.deweybrowse.org
A good search “by Dewey” website for students familiar with the Dewey Decimal System.

Guys Read:
http://guysread.com
A website collection of titles that appeal to young guys, middle guys, and older guys (and perhaps some girls) to encourage their interests and reading.

Inventive Kids:
http://www.inventivekids.com/indexFlash.html
This website gives third grade+ students an opportunity to explore the books available about inventors and/or inventions. Includes quiz to see if they have what it takes to be an inventor.  

Kids Reads:
http://kidsreads.com/reviews/index.asp
Lists of book reviews from A-Z and more for kids of all ages|

Read Kiddo Read:
http://www.readkiddoread.com/home
A terrific new website for parents, teachers, librarians and kids to help them find unforgettable titles.

The Reading Corner:  
http://www.carr.org/read/index.htm
For grades 2-8th, this website offers lists for all categories such as new books, non-fiction and fiction titles, and award-winning books, to name a few.

Reading Rockets:  
http://www.readingrockets.org/books/summer
Summer buying guide for children’s books to enjoy.

Side Kicks
http://www.noflyingnotights.com/sidekicks/
Graphic novels’ website offers choices in this new format for kids.

 

Space Project

As we prepare to send Cottage Lane's winning pace experiment to the International Space Station (ISS) we should reflect on how on amazing this really is! This footage, taken from the ISS, allows us too see our history, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and the human condition. Please comment on your thoughts atfter viewing this amazing video.

Time-Lapse | Earth from Bruce W. Berry Jr on Vimeo.

Book Clubs

Many classes have launched book clubs. Below you will find some information about these exciting clubs!

Why Book Clubs? 

Book Clubs provide a new and enjoyable way for your child to develop many literacy skills. Simply by reading books in preparation for book club meetings, your child will increase his/her fluency. Also, your student will have an opportunity to apply their own personal reading process to the novel. Through the discussion that takes place at book club meetings, your child will develop a deeper understanding of books, consider other readers' points of view on the same book and practice analyzing the books he/she reads. Finally, book clubs help children develop important language skills. Book discussions help children practice turn-taking, encourage them to use language to analyze, make predictions and solve problems, and provide them with opportunities to try out new vocabulary words.
 
How do Book Clubs work?
 
Once book matches (by level) are made, the students meet with their group to determine what they will have to accomplish on a daily basis to reach their goal of completion. Once the clubs are up and running, the students read their assigned pages either during ELA or at home. Every day the students are given a job to give them a purpose for their reading that day. The students will bring their answers to the next book club meeting to discuss with the other members in the group. When students are given a purpose for their reading, they are more successful with comprehension of the text. Book clubs will meet daily for 10-15 minutes to discuss what was read the day before and to make sure everyone is at the same place in the book. 
 
How can parents help?
 
The best way to help your child be successful in their book club is to make sure that they have time carved out of their day to complete the reading assignment and answer the guiding questions of the day. Talk to your child about what they are reading. The children should be able to give you intelligent, well crafted answers to questions about characters, setting, theme, inferences, connections, or their opinion of the writing itself. Engaging your student in conversation will show the child that you value what is happening in the classroom. Help hold your child accountable. The rest of his/her book club is relying on your student to do his part. Please make sure that the reading is completed daily.