Here is a catchy song and video about non-fiction! Hope you like it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imjGDRj7INg

tol•er•ance noun \ˈtä-lə-rən(t)s, ˈtäl-rən(t)s\
: willingness to accept feelings, habits, or beliefs that are different from your own
: the ability to accept, experience, or survive something harmful or unpleasant

The start of 2015,a new year, and the days leading up to the celebration of Martin Luther King’s birthday is an excellent time to learn about tolerance. Martin Luther King Jr., dreamed of a world more tolerant than the one he lived in. Tolerance has the power to make a difference in student’s lives — and in the world those students will create.

What is your dream for the world?

Read Spork by Kyo Maclear

His mom is a spoon. His dad is a fork. And Spork, well…he’s a bit of both! Spork sticks out in the regimented world of the cutlery drawer. The spoons think he’s too pointy, while the forks find him too round. Will Spork find his place at the table?

Watch the tailer of this newly released book below.

To share and learn more about tolerance, consider reading the following books:

An Orange For Frankie by Patricia Polacco

Set during the Great Depression, this is a moving story about how the joy of giving can be contagious. Frankie, the youngest in the Stowell family, sees a poor hobo passing through town and gives him his favorite sweater to help the hobo stay warm. When his family hears of his generosity, they are moved and join together to give him a special gift.

The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

The Rainbow Fish is an international bestseller and a modern classic. Eye-catching foilstamping, glittering on every page, offers instant child-appeal, but it is the universal message at the heart of this simple story about a beautiful fish, who learns to make friends by sharing his most prized possessions

Hear the Rainbow Fish read by Ernest Borgninie by clicking here.

Give something that does not cost money!

Volunteer. Volunteering your time is a great way to be generous. If you want to be generous, then spend at least an hour or two a week volunteering at a soup kitchen, tutoring adults or children, cleaning up a community park, or doing some other good out there in the world. You can do different tasks, such as volunteering in a bookstore, or helping at a fundraising campaign for charity. Find something that gives you meaning while expanding your generosity.

Make someone smile. If you see someone who needs cheering up, whether it’s a stranger or one of your relatives, take a moment to make that person smile, whether you tell a silly joke, smile at them, or do a sweet favor for that person. Making someone smile can have a big impact on their day, and you’ll be generous for trying to make someone happier.

Hold the door for someone. No matter how busy, late, or tired you may be, you should never be too tired to hold the door for someone, or to take a moment out of your day just to be polite and kind to a person near you. This simple act will make you and the person feel better, and you’ll see that there’s always time to slow down and help out.

Know that being generous will make you happier. Though you shouldn’t be generous for the sake of furthering your own needs, you should know that people who are generous are known to be happier than those who are not: Being generous helps people feel more compassionate towards others, gives a stronger sense of community, and to establishes a higher self-image. While you are being generous towards others, you can also be generous toward yourself as well.

• If you’re happier, then you’ll have more of a positive outlook and more energy to do good in the world. The positive cycle will continue.

Be Generous! Pass It On!

Be inspired by the paper bag. Black Friday usually marks the start of holiday shopping. This year many stores are opening on Thursday. Here is an opportunity to “Respect the Turkey,” “Save the Earth” and design a gift by participating in the Paper Bag Challenge. Please visit the WOS Library Media Center website for additional information – The Paper Bag Challenge.

READ:

Thank You Sarah, The Women Who Saved Thanksgiving by Laurie Halse Anderson. Use Sarah’s story as inspiration. Think about things you can urge others to do to make a difference in your communities. Brainstorm a list of ways that you can make the community better. Use the Letter Generator to write a letter urging action, just as Sarah Hale did 140 years ago.

Additional Activity Websites:

• Thanksgiving Timeline This site provides information about how Thanksgiving has been celebrated through the ages-including President Truman “pardoning a turkey” in 1947 and the Native Americans’ day of mourning in 1970.
• The First Thanksgiving Use this interactive website to explore what it was like to travel on the Mayflower and live in Plymouth.

What really happened at the First Thanksgiving? Become a history detective and find out! In this fun activity, take on the role of “history detective” to investigate what really happened at the famous 1621 celebration. Along the way, you will see a few primary source documents which include a letter written by an eyewitness to the event, Wampanoag traditions of giving thanks, and a visit to Pilgrim Mary Allerton’s home. As a final activity, you can design and print your own Thanksgiving exhibit panel. Click the image below to launch the activity.

The Unites States of Thanksgiving is a post from the NY Times that I discovered via the post The Best Sites To Learn & Teach About Thanksgiving. Click through to see 50 Thanksgiving dishes gathered from each of the 50 unique states in the U.S. The cool thing is that it will show you your state first! Which dish will you help prepare for your Thanksgiving day meal?

http://youtu.be/nRzdGCC9wGo

During Writers Workshop we are working on our Authors as Mentors Unit of Study. We have read many books written by Angela Johnson, Mo Willems and Robert Munsch. We noticed these authors like to craft some words in their books, have repetitive lines, use speech bubbles, ellipses, and onomatopoeias! We are now challenging ourselves to write like these authors! I am amazed with how many children have included ellipses and bold print words in their personal narratives!

Enjoy listening to Robert Munsch's story, Stephanie's Ponytail!

grat•i•tude noun ˈgra-tə-ˌtüd, -ˌtyüd
: a feeling of appreciation or thanks

“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.” -Henri-Frederic Amiel Philosopher, Poet, Critic

Gratitude is being Thankful! Take one minute to watch the video, “Biker” from Values.com.

Dallas Clayton is an American author and illustrator best known for his children’s works in the Awesome Book series. Clayton’s adventure started a few years ago after he wrote and illustrated a book for his son called An Awesome Book!. The drawings were bold and the message was simple: Don’t ever stop dreaming, and when you do dream, dream BIG.

Not a single publisher was interested in the book, so he took matters into his own hands and published it himself. Clayton made the story available to read for free online. People started sharing his story and those people shared his story and so on so forth … readers of the Awesome Book exponentially grew and has impacted children as well as adults. Read, The Awesome Book, the book that started it all!

Dallas Clayton published a second book titled, The Awesome Book of Thanks!

A whimsical, Seuss-esque book that will inspire readers to appreciate the big and little things in life. “Deliciously childlike art…skips across the pages, sometimes silly, sometimes practical…and always appealing.” (Booklist)

Just like Dallas Clayton, you too can publish your own story online using mystorybook.com! mystorybook.com allows you to write, illustrate and publish stories as easy as one, two three! Choose your main characters, create a beginning, a middle and an end. Draw your story. Publish it!

Think about what it means to be grateful and start writing your online book! You can write with a partner or by yourself!

Take a look at this 30 Day “Gratitude Challenge” for inspiration!

Gratitude, Pass It On!

Thanksgiving is a great time of year to express gratitude. It is important that Americans give thanks for their freedom. The perfect way to do this is by thanking our active troops, our veterans, our heroes. It is important to remind students of the importance of showing gratitude for those who serve.

To honor our service members this Veterans Day, William O. Schaefer Elementary School will have a candy collection for our active troops in Afghanistan. Maureen Kelly from Vetiquette will once again be collecting wrapped Halloween candy for the troops. There is a big red bin in the front hall, across from the security desk, where families can drop off their donations.

If you would like your child to participate, please send in your wrapped candy by Monday, November 10, 2014.

Take a look at the history of the holiday honoring those who fought for America, both living and dead.

Learn how to say thank you to a veteran. I did!

Please note: I have not yet received the children’s password and usernames which allows the children to reply to a post on the blog. I apologize about this. Once I have this information I will send home a note explaining how to post. Sorry!

It is the season of Fall! What is your favorite activity to do in the fall? Why?
http://youtu.be/IU814MVE-ds

Pumpkin pies, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin munchkins – Everything is turning up pumpkins.  Watch this video from the History Channel – All About the Pumpkin