Follower Love Giveaway Hop

The Follower Love Giveaway Hop event is organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer.  Over 200 blogs have signed up to host a book related giveaway and we are all linked up together so you can easily hop from one giveaway to another.  The hop runs from Tuesday, February 8th through Sunday, February 13th.

2011 Debut Author Challenge Giveaway Theme - I decided to giveaway two books that have been on my much wanted to read list.   

Giveaway # 1 The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

Description from GoodReads:
Freak. That's what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna's own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.

When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend—even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect.  

Giveaway #2 Clarity by Kim Harrington (Advanced Reader Copy - book releases in March 2011)

Description from GoodReads:
When you can see things others can't, where do you look for the truth?
This paranormal murder mystery will have teens reading on the edge of their seats.
Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It's a gift.

 And a curse.

When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case--but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother--who has supernatural gifts of his own--becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?

Rules for the Contest:

1. Please do not enter any personal information in the comments section, you must complete the Entry Form to officially enter the contest.
2.  The Contest runs from 12:00 a.m. PST on February 8, 2011 to 11:59 p.m. PST on February 13th.
3.  You must be a follower of this blog to enter.
4.  You must be 13 or older to participate in this contest.
5.  You must indicate which giveaway that you would like to be entered into.  You may enter both.
6.  If you are selected as a winner, I will notify you by e-mail.  If you do not respond within 48 hours, I will select a new winner.
8.  International participants are welcome to enter the contest.

Grandma's Pear Tree Part 1: The Literacy Café Experience

For those of you who have been following me on twitter, you have heard me refer to Book Cafés or Literacy Cafés.  The Café was developed from a brainstorming conversation I had with a parent (Angie) who was a former High School Teacher and Literacy Coach.  One of my goals for my school this year was for children and teachers to come together to form a reading community.  A place were books were important and where children were inspired to pick up a book and read.

After three years at my school, I was frustrated in the reading progress being made by the children.  Each year, the teachers and I discussed the concern of how to build greater reading comprehension and greater reading abilities in all children.  Each year we tried new strategies and techniques, and each year our students seemed to show less interest rather than more interest in reading.  Then came the concept of a Literacy Café.

What is special about a Literacy Café?
 Cafés are always centered around a book.  Cafés always include food.  Cafés are created to assist students in synthesizing the information that they have learned in the book and to take it to a new level.

How does a Literacy Café work?
Recently, Children's Author, Suzanne Santillan stopped by for a school visit.  In order to prepare the children in Kindergarten to Second Grade for her visit, a Literacy Café was developed.  Each Café is unique and often, we have learned so much from doing it that if we were to repeat it, the Café would look different the second time. 

In the case of Grandma's Pear Tree, we developed the Café to work with children in kindergarten to second grade.  Children rotated between the following three activities (remember each café has different activities).

Activity One: Retelling and Sequencing Grandma's Pear Tree

A kindergartner draws the beginning, middle and end of the story.

Objective One:  Children will be able to verbally sequence the events in the story using complete sentences.

Children were read the story Grandma's Pear Tree.  With the support of picture cards, children retold the story checking to make sure that all of the items were properly sequenced.

Objective Two: Using a flow map, children will be able to draw picture representations of the beginning, middle and end of the story.
 
Following the retelling/re-enactment of the story, children were given a flow map and asked to draw pictures representing the beginning, middle and end of the story.  The above map was created by a kindergartner. 

Activity Two: Pear Science

Children had a chance to feel, smell, look at, and taste pears vs. avocados.

Objective One:  Children will be able to compare and contrast the features/characteristics of a pear and an avocado. 

Children were asked to think like a scientist and to use all of their senses in comparing a pear to an avocado.  They looked at and held each fruit, compared the outsides and insides of the fruit, measured and weighed the fruit, and in the end got to do a taste test. 

Activity Three: Sensory Adjectives & Cooking

Recipe Card used by a child to make the salad.

Objective One: During a cooking project using pears, children will be able to generate sensory adjectives for all of the foods/tastes in a Pear Salad.  Children will use these adjectives in developing a name for the salad. 

Objective Two: Children will be able to follow simple directions (a recipe) in order to make a pear salad.

Children were assisted in creating a pear salad.  Once they had a chance to eat some of it, an adult led them through a process of identifying sensory adjectives that best fit their taste experience.  When done with that, they were encouraged to create a name using at least one of the sensory adjectives.

What we have discovered about Cafés? 

Here are just a few of the things that we have learned about cafés over the course of this year:
* Cafés bring books to life and make what a children has heard or read take on new meaning.
* Cafés allow teachers to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all learners - children with special needs, English Language Learners, and even Gifted children.
* Cafés develop a sense of community and shared experiences between learners and leaders (volunteers, staff, etc.). 
* Cafés are living and evolving all the time.  We are always trying to figure out new ways to help children grasp a concept and apply it in a new way.

I am thankful to Angie for her willingness to go on this journey with me this year.  Her creativity and passion has helped me put wheels and a mega-engine on my literacy goals this year.  Without her, I am certain I would be still floundering around.  I also want to thank all of the parents, community members, teachers and students who have been on this journey and who have taught me so much about learning and books.  And I want to thank Suzanne for letting me use her book and her visit to talk about our cafés. 

Tomorrow:  Suzanne Santillan visits San Rafael School to talk about Grandma's Pear Tree. 

100th Day Celebrations

Depending on when you first started school this year, you are either at or approaching your 100th day of school.  Since the beginning of the school year, we have been celebrating "Zero the Hero" for every tenth day of school.  Thanks to some very special dads, college age cousins, and even a spouse of a teacher, each Zero the Hero day comes with our very own hero in a cape. Teachers are busily planning for this year's 100 Day Celebration.

In honor of 100 Day Celebration, here are a couple of books that you might want to check out.

Jake's 100th Day of School by Lester L. Laminack
Illustrated by Judy Love

Jake and his classmates are excited about their 100 Day Celebration at school.  One friend has collected 100 paper clips, another has 100 bottle caps, and another has 100 signatures.  Jake has a memory book with 100 pages.  Jake's Grandma Maggie is even coming to school with a special surprise.  But on the day of the event, Jake forgets his project.  The principal comes to the rescue with 100 books from her office (oh my hero).  When Grandma Maggie arrives, she has a great surprise.  Also enjoyed the ending.

Emily's First 100 Days of School by Rosemary Wells

Rosemary Wells' bunnies tell the story of Emily who starts her first day of school never believing she or her classmates will get to 100 days. Each day is depicted with it's corresponding number and an activity. Emily has a surprise for her 100th day celebration.  Wells does a nice job providing readers with a great counting experience as Emily and her classmates move through 100 days. 

100 Ways to Celebrate 100 Days by Bruce Goldstone

Through the use of photographs, Goldstone depicts 100 different ways to celebrate the 100 Day Event at your school.  Everything from brushing your hair with 100 strokes or building a shape with 100 sticks or turning 100 fingerprints into 100 bugs/animals/birds.  There are some really creative ideas in this book and I particularly loved the 100 ways to say "hello".

Black History Month - Celebrate With Some of My Favorite Picture Books

February is traditionally considered a time that schools especially celebrate Black History Month.  I always found this a bit weird.  Do we or should we only focus on it one time a year?  Personally, I think not.  As educators, we should be seeking to include and incorporate the stories of African Americans in all aspects of our curriculum at all times. 

However, since this is Black History Month, I wanted to share a few of my favorite picture books.  As I tell my students, not all picture books are for preschoolers.  Many of these books span the age range from preschool to high school and beyond.  Some are geared more for 4th or 5th grade and older.  Whatever the age, they are nearly all award winning books and if they don't have a shiny medal affixed to their cover they should.

MY PEOPLE by Langston Hughes
Photography by Charles R. Smith, Jr.

From the moment, I flipped through the pages of this book I knew I had to have it.  Hughes' poem rises to new meaning as it is brought to life with the photographs taken by Smith.  I am already thinking about how I will use this book during National Poetry Month.

HENRY'S FREEDOM BOX by Ellen Levine
Illustrated by Kadir Nelson

Even if this book wasn't illustrated by Kadir Nelson, I would probably still love it.  The book tells of the decision Henry Brown, a slave, made to mail himself to freedom.  With the assistance of a compassionate white man, Henry packs himself into a wooden crate and is shipped to Philadelphia.  First, I can not imagine being in a box for any length of time, let alone the time it took for this crate - in less than ideal conditions -  to arrive north.  The story is powerfully told and will stick to the reader.

THE LISTENERS by Gloria Whelan
Illustrated by Mike Benny

Beautiful illustrations support this story about children of slaves who learned to "listen" in order to gain access to information to protect themselves and their families.  Often after a day in the fields, these young children would crouch outside the windows of their masters' homes to learn about the goings on and to discover what might be their fate.

MOSES by Carole Boston Weatherford
Illustrated by Kadir Nelson

I willing admit that I am partial to the work of Kadir Nelson. Weatherford presents a fictionalized account of Harriet Tubman's journey to free herself and others.  The focus of the book is on Tubman's spiritual connection to God and the message she believed that He was encouraging her to heed.  It is well done and offers a lot for discussion.

UNDERGROUND by Shane W. Evans

Through the use of simple text, and simple but powerful illustrations, the readers witness one family's journey to escape from slavery and find freedom.  Very different from MOSES (see above), the pictures and text come together to tell the story of slaves escaping for freedom. One page background information in the back of the book is helpful to teachers.

DAVE THE POTTER: ARTIST, POET, SLAVE by Labin Carrick Hill
Illustrated by Bryan Collier

There is a reason that this book walked away with a 2011 Caldecott Honor Medal and a Corretta Scott King Award for Illustrations.  The paintings in this book are amazing.  The story provides a look at a different aspect of the life of a slave.  One who had a skill as a potter, and was also able to read and write, and included poetry on his pottery.

SOJOURNER TRUTH'S  STEP-STOMP STRIDE by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Illustrated by Brian Pinkney

This story is not only a powerful book for Black History Month but could also be used to celebrate National Women's History (March).  Sojourner Truth was six feet tall at the age of 9.  As the story says, "She was big. She was black. She was so beautiful."  Sojourner Truth fought for the rights of blacks and women.  She was brave and not afraid to speak the truth. 

JAZZ by Walter Dean Myers
Illustrated by Christopher A. Myers

This picture book is comprised of 15 poems by Walter Dean Myers around the subject of jazz music. They capture the mood, rhythm and feel of jazz. There is an appendix at the back that includes music/jazz terms and one that includes a jazz timeline. Myers' son Christopher illustrated this book and the paintings nicely bring to life the text.

WE ARE THE SHIP Written and Illustrated by Kadir Nelson

I know that I can get all fangirl about Kadir Nelson's work but he really has done a fabulous job with this story.  Told in the format of innings each chapter follows the history of Negro League Baseball.  Nelson's illustrations provide are slanted it in a way to highlight these "giants of baseball" and truly make them seem "bigger than life".  Readers can nearly step into the illustrations and be transported back in history.  For grades, 5th and up.

FREEDOM SUMMER by Deborah Wiles
Illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue

This simple story of friendship between two children in the south during the tail end of segregation is very touching. Both boys have so much in common and yet because one is white and the other black, their worlds are so different.  When I got to the part about the pool, I nearly sobbed.

MARCHING FOR FREEDOM: WALK TOGETHER CHILDREN AND DON'T YOU GROW WEARY by Elizabeth Partridge

As I mentioned above, not all picture books are for little ones.  The photos in this non-fiction book clearly tell the story of the landmark march from Selma to Montegomery in 1965.  Between the powerful text and the stunning photos, I felt transported back in time.  The fear, the pain, and the courage of those who made that journey rise off the pages of this book.  An inspiring look at the fight for the right of African Americans to vote. To be used with grades 4th and up.

SIT-IN: HOW FOUR FRIENDS STOOD UP BY SITTING DOWN by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Illustrated by Brian Pinkney

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Woolworth's lunch counter sit-in, this book told in poetic prose shares what happened when 4 college students took Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's words to heart and dared to sit at a "whites only" lunch counter.  This book is perfect for 4th grade and higher. 

MARTIN'S BIG WORDS by Doreen Rappaport
Illustrated by Bryan Collier

Through the use of Martin Luther King Jr.'s own words, the history of his life is simply told.  The book begins with Martin as a child as he begins to understand the inequity between whites and blacks and begins to question the words that he has heard.  The story follows through King's life and provides children with a sense that they can accomplish significant things with their life as well.  At the end of the book, there is a list of significant dates and a bibliography of resources which can be used by educators as part of a classroom curriculum.

OUR CHILDREN CAN SOAR: A CELEBRATION OF ROSA, BARACK, AND THE PIONEERS OF CHANGE by Michelle Cook

This picture book is actually comprised of the illustrations of many individuals.  Each page looks at the life and contributions of significant African-American athlete, politician, activitist and his/her contribution to the quest for equality and freedom and ends with Barrack Obama.  This is certainly a book for anytime and for all children.

Kindle Giveaway!!!

Yes, you heard it right-- it's a kindle giveaway! This was an idea started by Mavie (The Bookologist) and Reggie (The Undercover Book Lover) and that Lisa and I hopped in on.  We are hosting a really big joint contest! Lisa over at A Life Bound by Books , Mavie over at The Bookologist, Reggie over at The Undercover Book Lover, and I have decided to each chip in for a Kindle. Since we didn't want to spend too much, we're buying the Kindle Wi-Fi that costs $139 for our giveaway prize.

Holds over 3,500 books: The ultimate travel companion, Kindle weighs 8.5 ounces and holds up to 3,500 books. No longer pick and choose which books fit in your carry-on. You can always have your entire Kindle library with you.

Get books in 60 seconds: Whispernet utilizes Amazon's optimized technology plus Wi-Fi networks to enable you to wirelessly search, discover, and download content on the go. Your books and periodicals are delivered over Wi-Fi via Whispernet in less than 60 seconds. Wireless download speeds can vary based on file size.

Battery life of up to one month: A single charge lasts up to one month with wireless off. Keep wireless always on and it lasts for up to 3 weeks. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as shopping the Kindle Store, web browsing, and downloading content.

Only 8.5 ounces: When reading for long periods of time, we know that weight matters. That’s why we worked hard to make our newest Kindle lighter than ever – only 8.5 ounces – so you can read comfortably for hours with just one hand. Kindle is lighter than a typical paperback, and thinner than a magazine. Just a third of an inch in profile, Kindle fits perfectly in your hands.

Never gets hot: Unlike a laptop or tablet, Kindle never gets hot so you can read comfortably as long as you like.

Screen rotation: Manually rotate the display from portrait to landscape to view maps, graphs, tables and Web pages.

and so many other cool features and specs....

"The Kindle is Amazon's #1 bestselling item for two years running. It’s also the most-wished-for, most-gifted, and has the most 5-star reviews of any product on Amazon. Now it's even better."

Official Information:

• To enter, fill out the form below (make sure to follow and read carefully)
• Only one entry per person (this means you can not submit an entry from all four sites)
• This is only open to U.S. residents
• The contest ends on March 4, 2011 at 11:50 p.m. PST.
• The Kindle will be ordered from Amazon & will be shipped directly to the winner
• Entrants must be 17 years of age or older to enter
• For more information check the Bookologist's contest policy