The Week in Pre-View 1/14

Whoa.  That's all I have to say.

If any of you follow me on twittter at @classicsixbooks , you'll know that I was suffering from Who Knows What and was down and out for four days last week.  The best laid schemes...

My Students With Autism Class - We are writing poems for the school poetry journal.  First we did some PebbleGo research and they selected the animals that were of most interest to them.  Their picks were panda, bulldog, and pug!  I created a SmartBoard lesson where they could fill in some of the words with photographs from a picture bank.  Our first poem was finished on Friday:  I Love Pandas!  If you want me to email the Notebook file to you, please email me at classic6books at gmail.com. (While you're on the subject, is anyone having a problem with their Notebook software crashing?!)

We March
Written and Illustrated by Shane Evans

Kindergarten - We are hoping that We March by Shane Evans scoops up some Caldecott love!  If you would like the worksheet I created to go along with the book, please let me know as well!

First - Ever notice that the word BEST is in the word DUMBEST?  I thought I had the DUMBEST idea for my firsties and it turned out to be the BEST!  I had all the letters of the alphabet cut out on little squares, took out the number of letter to get to the number of students (so for my class of 20, I removed 6 squares), called those my "mystery letters", handed out the rest of the letters to my students and had them line up alphabetically.  When we got to a missing letter, I checked (very dramatically) to see if it was one of the "mystery letters" I had in my pocket.  They LOVED it!   Love when last minute planning turns out to be such a success!

Mixed First/Second - We'll be using the fabulous ShelSilverstein.com site this week!  There's a great game where you try to guess the last line of a Silverstein poem.  Great for teaching kiddos how to look for patterns in rhyme or wordplay!

Second - Total steal from The Centered School Library website!  Creating snowflakes from...snowflake making materials (I didn't have the heart to tell them they were just coffee filters!).

Third - We read Wabi Sabi last week and this week we are creating our own haikus about our favorite books!  I LOVE this haiku organizer from ReadWriteThink - I use it every year.

Fourth - We are continuing our Smartboard lessons on Notetaking!  I think I actually have their attention!

Fifth - More to come, but we have been blogging and commenting up a storm on our book recommendation site.  We are co-blogging with another elementary school in the county and it is totally fabulous.  More later, as that could be an entire blog post in itself.

And also...remember how I told you I abandoned my MG novel?  Well I think the muses were sending me a sign because I dusted off my YA WIP from last year's NaNoWriMo and...it is all just falling into place.  I'm up to 32,000 and I'm just loving it!  It's a joy to write it!  Imagine that!  The working title (a title!) is OTHERWISE OCCUPIED.  How's your writing going?

As one of my tweeps said, you don't realize how good you feel until you're not feeling well.  Enjoy your health while you have it for, as the poet Jane Kenyon wrote, one day it will be otherwise.

A Happy Goodbye

Last night I bid a happy goodbye to my middle grade novel.

It's one of two fiction projects I've been working on in fits and starts for almost two years.

I love my main character.  She's got fire.  She's got moxie.  She's got, well, character.  And chutzpah.

But I realized last night that she doesn't really have a story.  At least not a compelling one.

She's a character in search of a plot.

And so, despite all her escapades and nosiness and dreams, I must bid her adieu.  For now.

I've taken out a fresh composition notebook, some colored Sharpies and am brainstorming a fresh start.

Clear the decks!

The Week in Pre-View 1/3 to... 1/4!

Happy 2013!!

Oh I just love a Winter Break.  Here's why:

i ) No evening rush to get homework done, dinner on the table, baths, books, bed

ii ) Time to watch mindless tv and let the kiddos play not-so-mindless video games

iii)  Time to read to self, read to others

iv) Pajamas 'til...

v) Time to think

Come to think of it, just vi) time in general with the family

But alas, all good things must come to an end.  Fortunately we have a VERY short week to ease us back into the routine.

Here's my brief week in pre-view:

My Friends with Autism Class:  We will be doing some poetry writing over the next several weeks, concentrating on animals.  I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing but it will probably involve the use of the Smartboard which they love!!  I'll be sure to share what I create.

Kindergarten - This week we examine another Caldecott possibility entitled Step Gently Out.  After I read this book to them, they will create a drawing of something very close up.  I really hope that at least ONE of the books I've selected wins the Caldecott or an Honor.  Those Kinders will be very disappointed in me if I mess this up! : )

First - I, er, uh, don't actually have a plan for my firsties yet.  I do, however, have a MEGA cart filled with new books.  My teacher work day will include selecting varies book talk titles.  I love seeing their faces when I introduce new just right books for them to pick!

First/Second - My mixed grade will be beginning their study of poetry, as are several other of the grades.  I just LOVE introducing students to poetry.  It's funny because until poetry and books of poems are introduced to them, my poetry books are largely ignored.  But once I work my librarian magic:  zounds!  Bare shelves!  Have any super suggestions for this age group?

Example of a Jake Maddox book.  EEEK!

Second - I am SO SUPER EXCITED to introduce my second graders to about fifty new book I received last week.  They are all from the Jake Maddox sports series!!!!  I heard about this series via twitter of course and I just think my students, especially my boy readers, are going to go absolutely ga-ga over them.  EEEEK!

Third - My third graders are also starting their poetry study.  I'll be concentrating on the Haiku form with them over the next several weeks, so I will begin with the book Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein, illustrated by Ed Young.

Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein, Art by Ed Young

Fourth - I really have absolutely no reason to show this video recommended by @kdmiller4  But I MUST!  In fact, it will be a nice little tie-in to a reading of Snowflake Bentley.  So there.

Fifth - Fifth grade will be continuing their blogging project by commenting on book recommendations made by students at another school in our county.  That is...if I can manage to swindle my way into the computer lab this short week!

What does your week look like?

Slooooow Motion

Those of you who know me know that I have been tortured by writing a middle grade fiction book for, oh... forever almost two years now. Not really an long time in the history of writing a middle grade novel but sometimes it just feels like things are moving in slow motion.  A big kick in the butt-ski, however, was the critique I received at my regional SCBWI conference in October.  I basically started fresh, with the same plot, and suddenly my work in progress is looking fresh again.  Now, to keep up the momentum...

Lately I've been finding Amy Fellner Dominy's blog very helpful {yes, Amy, I am all the hits from Northern Virginia}.  She's been providing me {Yes, me personally.  I know she's speaking only to me, LOL!} with some very beneficial strategies and things to think about.  Last night I went back and divided my nebulous novel into chapters.  After each chapter heading I wrote:

Purpose: {What is the purpose of this chapter?}

Want: {What does my main character want in this chapter?}

Research: {What things do I need to research to enhance this chapter? This keeps me from yelling "to the cloud!" every time and getting distracted.}

Already things are looking a little less murky and I'm feeling a little more focused.  Thank you, fellow Amy!

In a Word: Inspiring Postings

This winter break has allowed me some much needed time to peruse the blogs and tweets of published authors and published authors to-be.  While nothing takes the place, obviously, of just sitting down and writing, it's nice to "check in" every once in a while with some inspiring writers.  Here are some blogs that I've been reading lately as I work on my early reader series and my two middle grade WIPs.

Sarvenaz Tash, as I mentioned in my previous post, is the author of The Mapmaker and the Ghost.  I love her blog and website because it just makes her seem so darn friendly (maybe she's not, but I doubt it).  Her blog fascinates me because it gives us a glimpse into her pre book release journey and it provides some great links to other writers whose books debuted in 2012.  In a word:  Inspiring!

Cynsations is always a worthwhile read because its author, Cynthia Leitich Smith, has the most interesting links and tidbits (maybe bookbites is a better term) to share .  For someone like me who is just beginning her writer's journey, Cynsations is valuable because it keeps me from getting too overwhelmed by all of the author resources on the web.  In a word:  Focusing!

Jessica Love Writes is the final blog I want to highlight today.  Don't ask me how I stumbled upon her blog, but I did and it's one that I check in on regularly even though we're not even writing for the same age group.  She is recently rep'd by Jill Corcoran and I am just so, so hopeful that her YA book will be on its way to publication pronto.   She is such a cheerleader for other YA writers - her time is coming soon!  In a word:  Optimistic!

Are there any blogs that inspire you or help you navigate through the often overwhelming?

What I've Been Up To...

Phew!  It was a long four weeks since Thanksgiving, with the last one being horrific.  Just a thank you, thank you, thank you to teachers and first responders who are just some of the most selfless people I know.  Thank you.

I was honored to have a post of mine up at Nerdy Book Club.  I was very nervous about it as @colbysharp will testify.  I mean, what more could possibly be said about Charlotte's Web?  Thank you to all of those who commented and shared their experiences with that damn chapter 21.

I've read two great books so far this winter break. The first one was The Mapmaker and the Ghost by newbie author Sarvenaz Tash.  Without meaning to, I'm sure, she hit on two areas of the Virginia curriculum:  explorers and Tesla.  This book will be an enjoyable read for my third and fourth graders - even without those "curriculum ties"!

The second book seems rather implausible if it weren't for the fact that it's based on a true story!  Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri is a about a boy named Cole who joins his father in Philly...as an urban cowboy.  A fascinating story with beautiful illustrations by Jess Joshua Watson.  Based on a 2005 article in Life magazine.  See a wonderful clip from This American Life here.

And finally, some of you know I've been working on an early reader series.  This winter break I hope to get a draft done of the second book in the series; my first book is out for review.  My goal for 2013 is to find an agent who will be as excited as I am to get this series into the hands of our youngest emergent readers.  One of my most favorite parts of being a school librarian in getting a book into the hands of a first grader, seeing that match between book and reader made, and then being able to say, "Yes!  There are more in the series!".

Happy New Year to all of my dear friends.  The InterWebz has allowed me to meet so many librarians, writers, and all around general do-gooders this year.  It's been wonderful!  Peace.

The Week in Pre-View (12/10)

Hey everyone!  I hope you had a relaxing weekend!  My parents were visiting from up north and marveled at the "summer like" weather we're having!

This is a full week with a twist of half day early release.  But it's going to be another busy one.  Here's the run down:

Can you guess what book we looked at?
Picture by G.

Kindergarten - This week we begin reviewing possible Caldecott winners.  Can you tell what book we looked at first?  Isn't that just the cutest picture you've ever seen?

First - We are finishing up our picture dictionary activity.  This week they'll write the definitions of their words and if we have time, we'll put our dictionary together...in alphabetical order of course!

Second - We'll be reading one of my most favorite books for this time of year:  Recess at 20 Below.  It's rare that we get temperatures of 20 Above around here, so my students are always curious.

Some second and third graders will be writing animal poems based on Martina the Beautiful Cockroach.  Thanks to @booksandbytes for the great idea!

Third - Third grade will be reviewing the thesaurus again.  Thankfully my very own blog reminded me of a fun holiday time activity I did several years ago.  You can steal the handouts there if you so choose.

Fourth - Fourth grade will be finishing up their YAPPY Online Safety bookmarks.  I hope they take there time since the third graders will snatch those bookmarks up, no doubt!

Fifth - Fifth grade will begin blogging this week!  I will post the link to their book recommendations once we have a few up there to share.

What are you up to this week?