Understanding. Decoding. Absorbing. Whatever you want to call it, kids develop skills to dig into nonfiction text. They learn to pay attention to details and themes.
Continue reading “Understanding and Decoding Nonfiction Text”
Bumblebee Poetry and Nonfiction Writing at Midway Elem
Read The Bumblebee Queen. Pull out the chewiest, most evocative vocabulary and put it on sticky notes. Then move around the words to make a poem of your own.
Continue reading “Bumblebee Poetry and Nonfiction Writing at Midway Elem”
Vultures and Books Rule at Pleasant Hill
Who wouldn’t love books at this school in Lexington, SC? Librarian D’Etta Broam is a book dynamo. Yes, she really did meet me in this vulture hat to honor Vulture View. Of course, there was that on camera interview I did with their local vulture puppet, “Bill,” who rather likes the word REEK! Continue reading “Vultures and Books Rule at Pleasant Hill”
If I Were a Dust Particle . . . More from Indian Hill Elementary!
Here are some more great educational ideas from Indian Hill Elementary in Cincinnati, Ohio. These are from a school visit week in Feb, 2009. The first ones extend STARS BENEATH YOUR BED: THE SURPRISING STORY OF DUST.
The Writing On the Wall: Divine Writing!
Here’s a school honoring writing. Sandhills Elementary in Swansea, SC. A beautiful framed board where teachers can honor the greatest recent writing by their students. Bravo!
Analyzing and Honoring Writing at Sandhills Elem in Swansea, SC
See how the teachers at Sandhills Elementary honor writing and analyze books. Continue reading “Analyzing and Honoring Writing at Sandhills Elem in Swansea, SC”
The Dynamic Nonfiction Classroom: a Visit to Indian Hill Elementary in Ohio
It is going to take me quite a while to process all the great teaching techniques I witnessed at Indian Hill Elementary and Indian Hill Primary, two schools in Cincinnati. Just look at what Mrs. Bauer and her class were doing with nonfiction. This is a classroom full of words. You can see their process on the walls. Continue reading “The Dynamic Nonfiction Classroom: a Visit to Indian Hill Elementary in Ohio”
Vultures and Science Soar in Middletown, OH
Thanks to super science teacher Bobette Owen (on the right in the photo), I visited Miller Ridge Elementary on Feb 12, 2009. The students were great! I love that they have so much science in this school. Just look at how Ms. Owen combined science with writing and poetry. In honor of my book Vulture View (illustrated by Steve Jenkins and published by Henry Holt) her students wrote vulture list poems!
Interested in vultures? Buzzard Day in Hinckley, Ohio is coming up on March 15, 2009.
Hush Little Puppy Activities
These are from Hamilton Traditional School in Indiana.
