Friday, September 4, 2015

We have we been you ask?  Well, most of August was spent writing our math curriculum for the district.  It was a daunting task and is still not complete, but we feel good about what we've accomplished with some of our colleagues.  We were also getting our classrooms set up, and meeting and planning with our two new team members.  As exciting as it is to begin a new school year and to meet new kids and families, we have forgotten how busy this time of year is.

Now that we have a week and a half under our belts, we can blog again.  We want to tell you about more of the books we read over the summer.  We can't wait to use them with our new students.

This first book we chose to read because it correlates well with our first reading unit on tales.  It is called Isle of the Lost, by Melissa De La Cruz.  It takes place after all of the fairy tales have been told.  The villains have been banished to an island of their own.  They cannot use magic and must live a life of misery and hardship.  It is interesting to learn how the characters from various fairy tales interact with each other.  The end leaves you hanging, wanting to read the next book in the series called The Descendents by Rico Green.  It is the perfect book to introduce allusion.  The book allows for deep analysis of the characters and their actions and how those actions affect others in the story.

Another book that will go along with our tale unit is Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff.  This book takes place before the tale of Rumpelstiltskin.  Rumpelstiltskin is only twelve years old.  Everyone calls him Rump because he does not know his real name, which is unfortunate because he lives in a kingdom where your name is your destiny.  While searching for his identity, Rump has many obstacles to overcome.  Again, allusion can be taught with this book because there are other fairy tale characters referenced.  This would also be a good book for discussing point of view.  It would be really fun to compare this book with the original tale.

Throughout the year we will share new books we find exciting.  

Enjoy the long weekend!

Kim and Anne