Getting Ready for Read Across America Day (week!)

As most of you know, Read Across America Day is next Tuesday, March 2nd. Due to some school scheduling conflicts, our school is celebrating it on Monday, March 1st, but here in the Media Center we are celebrating it all week.

Today, I am starting a collaborative lesson with a fourth grade class. We will be learning about how to write a book review with a little research thrown in. The class is divided up into 5 groups (about 5 students in each group), each group will choose a Dr. Seuss book to write a review of. All the students will read the book, then the students will write a review of the book. One student will be the researcher and will be in charge of finding one or two interesting facts about Dr. Seuss. The kids will then film a short book trailer (using the written review) using our new FLIP video cameras. The students will also include the cool fact about Dr. Seuss at the end of the review. I will then take the videos, clean them up a bit and we will air them, one per day, on our morning news show every day next week. I have done a quick little Google site to organize the project.

I am a little nervous that it will all get done by Friday, but I know that the kids are going to be SO excited to use the cameras and to have their work shown on the announcements.

My spring book fair is next week, so we will be very busy in here with that. On Monday, the literacy coach and myself have set up some guest readers (mainly, people in our school, such as the custodians, cafeteria ladies, school secretary, the principal, etc..) to read to each class. I am also sponsoring my 3rd annual faculty Dress Like a Book Character day (which reminds me, I need to figure out some prizes for that!) We are also encouraging all the teachers to include some special reading time in their day on Monday (but wouldn't it be nice if they did this EVERY DAY!)

Speaking of Dr. Seuss, Amy at Time to Renew has a cool Prezi presentation on the life of Dr. Seuss.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Today is the official day for Read Across America, but my school celebrated it yesterday in grand style.

After spying the new Melinda Long & David Shannon book, Pirates Don't Change Diapers, I was inspired to dress like this book character yesterday...

yes, although I look a little like Johnny Depp, I am really Braid Beard from the books How I became a Pirate and it's sequel I mentioned above.

I had some other teachers also dress up for my 2nd annual Dress Like a book Character day. I had Professor Trelauny from Harry Potter, I had the queen of hearts from Alice in Wonderland and I had a group of 1st & 2nd grade teachers dress as different colored crayons to represent the book My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss.

I had a sheriff deputy (in full uniform), a local tv reporter, the assistant principal, the cafeteria manager, the priest from the church and the church youth leader all come in and read to different classes.

Many of the classes held D.E.A.R. day (drop everything and read) and the highlight of that was a picture I took of one of the kindergarten teachers lying on the floor with a group of first grade girls reading to her.

And after wearing facial hair for the 2nd time in two weeks, all I have to say is, I am glad I am not a man, that stuff just gets in the way when you are trying to read!