tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78726411765719498742024-02-07T07:25:56.776-06:00SWERSTY'S SWAP SHOPElementary Librarians and Classroom Teachers Unite!Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-72137088737574516562015-04-01T20:19:00.000-05:002015-04-01T20:19:23.424-05:00From Rocket Scientist to Reading Ninja<span style="font-size: large;">HI-YA! Forever and a day pretty much sums up how long it's been since I've paid any attention to this blog. My last post (from the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year) was about my space theme in the library, which was so fun! This year, I am doing a ninja theme, and it has been awesome! During orientation, I asked students to guess what this word is:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Many of them guessed "read", but it's actually "ninja", and I told them that we were going to be reading ninjas this year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A good friend helped me KICK up the decor with a few shower curtains and glue guns, transforming the entrance to the library:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are a lot of great picture books about ninjas, like this one:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The teachers are ninjas, too!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Decorations inside the library include paper lanterns and a fun entrance to our story area, renamed the "Reading Dojo" for the year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Students enjoyed walking like ninjas on the way hear a story and check out books!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ninja skills have been encouraged in the library all year long, and the kids continue to love this reading adventure!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">~Swersty</span><br />
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Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-33786586003804756392013-08-24T10:47:00.000-05:002013-08-24T10:47:14.645-05:00I am a rocket scientist!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">5, 4, 3, 2, 1...BLAST OFF! </span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">My new library will have a space theme this year and I am loving it!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Here's our rocket, with teacher and staff pictures:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Administration/office staff is in the nose of the rocket. I will be adding two more portholes of support staff in that area when I can get them all together to take pictures!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The library already has a permanent wild animal design scheme (our mascot is the leopard), but each August I like to decorate with an additional,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> different theme for the year. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">See how my teachers are floating in space? Imagine their surprise when I told them they wouldn't be standing up when I took their picture. ("Hi, teachers--I don't know you very well since I'm new to your school, but could you please all lie down together, fan out your hair and act like you're floating around? Thanks!") Ah, the magic of a green screen...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The rocket is HUGE (approximately 10 feet long) and took hours to make but I think it was well worth it. An unexpected bonus--the inflatable astronaut I ordered came with the perfect spot to insert a face. So not only am I a rocket scientist, I'm also an astronaut! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I'm not done with outer space decorating just yet, but at least I have a week before students start coming for library lessons. For now, mission accomplished. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A final thought on theme decorating in the library--one small step for a librarian, one giant leap for readers!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Roger, out...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">~Swersty</span></div>
Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-21731069100845554682013-08-07T01:09:00.000-05:002013-08-07T01:09:36.775-05:00My summer vacation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If I had to write a report on what I did this summer, it'd certainly include many days spent getting settled into my new library. Since the previous librarian (a close friend of mine) left it in such great shape, I have been able to spend time adding to her decorations and putting my own personal touches to it. Here are some photos of the progress so far:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">1. Leopard Library and Bluebonnet Award books</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8AwvQu7etuTNlFbejRWZfUUS7bFLHBQiOf_eo_e542vxDPDhNh2Usy4eOBZIN6hpypmujys5-rR0VpCPE7liByBOv3Q18JgBxZenmDgXwjIDo0ZpVyMN86LZHj7qkD9NSVgV9dKPcVawf/s1600/Bookcases.001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8AwvQu7etuTNlFbejRWZfUUS7bFLHBQiOf_eo_e542vxDPDhNh2Usy4eOBZIN6hpypmujys5-rR0VpCPE7liByBOv3Q18JgBxZenmDgXwjIDo0ZpVyMN86LZHj7qkD9NSVgV9dKPcVawf/s640/Bookcases.001.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The red and blue book-shaped bookcases were already in the library, but the posters are new additions this summer.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">2. Modified shelving unit for equipment</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiByvczxZhfrHMSTBaNX-93X671hpY62IdEk_julgFQdNyEJHD771OrG0V5Y-Uu-KDGWMRpQVPkDKZaeAitErQsGsR6Fa1yusjEefRmX_BXb7u497YgOMO6oi2lr22zjMPMpcLGgeAREr5i/s1600/BlogPostHLES.002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiByvczxZhfrHMSTBaNX-93X671hpY62IdEk_julgFQdNyEJHD771OrG0V5Y-Uu-KDGWMRpQVPkDKZaeAitErQsGsR6Fa1yusjEefRmX_BXb7u497YgOMO6oi2lr22zjMPMpcLGgeAREr5i/s640/BlogPostHLES.002.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "before" picture was taken as soon as I moved the equipment off of a large desk to this smaller shelving unit. I quickly realized that I would need to hide all of those cords! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJPB5H07R87WKnAmsOj7bdF3mNeEz81n-42zugR2DyQrnVN5ixkn1WIubWQScdrDDyZT7HElLSw7Nu8AoJHd7xnlHCCWSQjdzfM2Zwm_ANdt2Vb6MiSCzHe6i4798mlm4J6McYdLwoMe7/s1600/BlogPostHLES.003.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJPB5H07R87WKnAmsOj7bdF3mNeEz81n-42zugR2DyQrnVN5ixkn1WIubWQScdrDDyZT7HElLSw7Nu8AoJHd7xnlHCCWSQjdzfM2Zwm_ANdt2Vb6MiSCzHe6i4798mlm4J6McYdLwoMe7/s640/BlogPostHLES.003.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shelving unit needed a little more room to hold papers for the Elmo, so hubby added a shelf that swivels out. I love that it can be tucked away when not in use!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">3. Animal cages</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzscRwGVdo3dbLhBZZ3Ro0qQpDQVfi3bFKueHLI0h2BFvkI43BILPqrevwqT-7743tt440r4vJDqPidtXCf_qZ-jqM5B3LBURr7qSpn5wHaVGztNF-ixP6odErmyuIp7oIQqa1bNDjGeo/s1600/BlogPostHLES.006.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtzscRwGVdo3dbLhBZZ3Ro0qQpDQVfi3bFKueHLI0h2BFvkI43BILPqrevwqT-7743tt440r4vJDqPidtXCf_qZ-jqM5B3LBURr7qSpn5wHaVGztNF-ixP6odErmyuIp7oIQqa1bNDjGeo/s640/BlogPostHLES.006.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hooray! I get to use <a href="http://swerstysswapshop.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-wild-library-orientation.html" target="_blank">the same cages I made a year ago</a> for my last library! This summer I added fun signs above the cages to encourage reading.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">4. Section signs</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSf4CIt5KGmSRWiow-2S7Iwp-9pJoqJ-sQU1J1hhXDULIEFPpUmb4-vRpOPsJaALXXOWCqstAyILdK6POYZiLlUO-ZbmbozsZnYHIHvqEmAAG642Rysjm28QYXMEveoxHLANb8ZkGCct0/s1600/BlogPostHLES.004.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSf4CIt5KGmSRWiow-2S7Iwp-9pJoqJ-sQU1J1hhXDULIEFPpUmb4-vRpOPsJaALXXOWCqstAyILdK6POYZiLlUO-ZbmbozsZnYHIHvqEmAAG642Rysjm28QYXMEveoxHLANb8ZkGCct0/s640/BlogPostHLES.004.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I made signs (like the nonfiction one in the picture) for the different sections of the library. The awesome reading cabana and the "Hanging With a Good Book" display were done by the previous librarian.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">5. Animals of the World poster</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijuaMF9CpVymlnFsMDThX2E1zwm156CG7PYHhMVdIen8IopVkuEwTdDL4Izj_hGrLQ6GLmnlhJxIEHyBZS20qyZn6YP0HYHOwmod6ySkQOrKgMn6I6zPUEaSjSdCRreuCNlmaHRhglug3g/s1600/BlogPostHLES.005.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijuaMF9CpVymlnFsMDThX2E1zwm156CG7PYHhMVdIen8IopVkuEwTdDL4Izj_hGrLQ6GLmnlhJxIEHyBZS20qyZn6YP0HYHOwmod6ySkQOrKgMn6I6zPUEaSjSdCRreuCNlmaHRhglug3g/s640/BlogPostHLES.005.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I hung a very cool "Animals of the World" poster (photo top right) near the library mural. I've already posted about the beautiful mural, but I wanted to show that there's a fabulous area for story time and teaching directly behind it! </td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Although it's a lot of work to move, I have really enjoyed my time at the new library. This summer was not ALL work and no play, however; my family vacationed in Mexico and I fulfilled a childhood dream of mine when we visited Chichen Itza, one of the new wonders of the world!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYbRc0tXQplwo6uHhQNH8Ff2jgqlp7yF5hq3lCZ0Y0llQ7WFdP7yHM8P7Na5oqUadGbVrO72sFGZ8tk6MV8WOpygitS1J9gs_o5SaOZWBGzzmHfsnhgMC8JoTFFjsFhpfS1g73_exWT6Yn/s1600/Chichen.004.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYbRc0tXQplwo6uHhQNH8Ff2jgqlp7yF5hq3lCZ0Y0llQ7WFdP7yHM8P7Na5oqUadGbVrO72sFGZ8tk6MV8WOpygitS1J9gs_o5SaOZWBGzzmHfsnhgMC8JoTFFjsFhpfS1g73_exWT6Yn/s400/Chichen.004.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">School doesn't start until the end of August for my district, so I have a little more time to stay up late and sleep in. How about your summer vacation--did you spend part of it working at school, too? Hopefully it was relaxing <u>and</u> productive, like mine!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">~Swersty</span>Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-91539724867729683842013-07-15T18:38:00.000-05:002013-07-15T18:38:33.747-05:00Extreme Makeover, Part 2<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In my <a href="http://swerstysswapshop.blogspot.com/2013/07/extreme-makeover.html" target="_blank">last post</a> I wrote about redoing old foam letters for my new library. Today I went to school to hang them up and snapped this picture:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-T6nyyKKXMV0K6JwfYppJt1VnL58TOyYqi4h1HvaTUERrqhaZAlzkrAkKTGma1dHlsbm43lXq_QF9a02DKYFYZxA5NXwk8Wu0Ml-xdKAYKVWokKqh04KcETlN5kagLOXCVIo-QYXGtXCI/s1600/ExtremeMake.002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-T6nyyKKXMV0K6JwfYppJt1VnL58TOyYqi4h1HvaTUERrqhaZAlzkrAkKTGma1dHlsbm43lXq_QF9a02DKYFYZxA5NXwk8Wu0Ml-xdKAYKVWokKqh04KcETlN5kagLOXCVIo-QYXGtXCI/s640/ExtremeMake.002.png" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the entrance to the library--it's hard to miss that bright red wall post!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I absolutely </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">LOVE</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> the end result! Here are a few more pictures showing the original foam letters, a close-up of the newly improved letters, and the library mural that inspired the makeover:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBpOBoVjb_6-U94widEYSKM4bEi4wSUD7vOamKengz1qKE3wdCm_lYWgtPzexU9updibxpeh7FzArugL6BdwW32vwOoWm0ajoSmLTs8VW-cGEwL5iXonkodlfi5qJ3P0w7OUhWrQAkzBZg/s1600/ExtremeMake.003.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBpOBoVjb_6-U94widEYSKM4bEi4wSUD7vOamKengz1qKE3wdCm_lYWgtPzexU9updibxpeh7FzArugL6BdwW32vwOoWm0ajoSmLTs8VW-cGEwL5iXonkodlfi5qJ3P0w7OUhWrQAkzBZg/s640/ExtremeMake.003.png" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">My next project is to move in--not nearly as fun as redoing letters, but necessary none-the-less. Wish me luck!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">~Swersty</span>Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-49113875663703223262013-07-04T04:27:00.000-05:002013-07-04T04:27:48.539-05:00Extreme MakeoverIt's been forever and a day since I've blogged and I have big news! I am switching schools to work at a different elementary library in my district next year and I'm so excited for the challenge! Even though it's the middle of summer, I've already been thinking about cool things to do next school year. Take a look at the fun summer project I just finished for my new library:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxx5Uz5udnnSi1R24sLtYEDvSKP89U8bj_DfoNg5Lb_pUxlRv6vEn3GhEmY13NBzk91kCfQftkw2KX_6ukfIFJ_Lo0dfS6ddDdLB1sXYdF_vmf68eq72d01hHKp9g_069UqIbQWcXjsOV2/s1024/ExtremeMakeover.001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxx5Uz5udnnSi1R24sLtYEDvSKP89U8bj_DfoNg5Lb_pUxlRv6vEn3GhEmY13NBzk91kCfQftkw2KX_6ukfIFJ_Lo0dfS6ddDdLB1sXYdF_vmf68eq72d01hHKp9g_069UqIbQWcXjsOV2/s640/ExtremeMakeover.001.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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My new library (not actually a <u>new</u> library, but it's new to me) already had the letters to spell out the word "read", and there is this AH-MAY-ZING mural painted by the art teacher that inspired me to buy scrapbook paper, duct tape, and Mod Podge:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRXjjmZSO9zxo3zHz0D2Cti58gZqXK0APfUIQxlttwRmlWeUk28gdKsotSG54RoJrpsGNqrupIzMjJbrjpv2K7C7tTOgt9QakaSk1dZ0KjrehkydDF2K8cMv9ZgUafxuGeq1XDZ4lELnS5/s1024/ExtremeMakeover.002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRXjjmZSO9zxo3zHz0D2Cti58gZqXK0APfUIQxlttwRmlWeUk28gdKsotSG54RoJrpsGNqrupIzMjJbrjpv2K7C7tTOgt9QakaSk1dZ0KjrehkydDF2K8cMv9ZgUafxuGeq1XDZ4lELnS5/s640/ExtremeMakeover.002.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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The completed letters will hang vertically on a large, bright red post and will be one of the first things visible when entering the library. Hopefully this will always be a fun reminder for the students to read a lot of books!<br />
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Another project I completed for the new library is getting a poster designed and printed for a student-authored book section. I had one at my last school called the Lonestar Library <a href="http://swerstysswapshop.blogspot.com/search/label/writer%27s%20block" target="_blank">(you can read about that here)</a> and totally loved it! Here's a peek:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrPgDs8c0Rxr4JaPPQSlW_HLB5GVWSsMm5tk2QInx-Hp6L1WxHeA-Um1J8ly3mk2GpukGDGfsOg1YdDVHPhOpC7VkEsBDv7GlgmDECCWPosNNSp2LB4-NiMsXGHSfADCGShw4sbdkOriU/s1024/Leopard.003.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrPgDs8c0Rxr4JaPPQSlW_HLB5GVWSsMm5tk2QInx-Hp6L1WxHeA-Um1J8ly3mk2GpukGDGfsOg1YdDVHPhOpC7VkEsBDv7GlgmDECCWPosNNSp2LB4-NiMsXGHSfADCGShw4sbdkOriU/s640/Leopard.003.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I used "Reading Kids" clipart purchased from <a href="http://www.scrappindoodles.com/" target="_blank">Scrappin Doodles</a> on the poster, along with a fabulous leopard picture drawn by the talented art teacher. I love how it turned out!</td></tr>
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I'm pretty proud of my summer so far--2 projects down and only a million more to go! What summer projects do you have planned? I'd love to hear about them in your comments!<br />
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~SwerstySwerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-85865392746049302222013-05-27T00:39:00.000-05:002013-05-27T00:39:20.203-05:00Morning Announcements<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Here's a peek at how each school day starts for me--with morning announcement duty! Our school has a talented team of 5th graders who work hard both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. Here's one of our news anchors:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAd1q8kjy6euSaNRxKG1pAbXQ5cOTjEdrICETaesy3PhO9eNS-2xVTZkd3ZDp9lyHD9t4EMO7aYKAmHFwy9D7qSs0ZJAibNxO_PK464tAODkr3T0nUuZgdee5_eSf_fUIaCcStfvuXOek/s1600/IMG_0433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAd1q8kjy6euSaNRxKG1pAbXQ5cOTjEdrICETaesy3PhO9eNS-2xVTZkd3ZDp9lyHD9t4EMO7aYKAmHFwy9D7qSs0ZJAibNxO_PK464tAODkr3T0nUuZgdee5_eSf_fUIaCcStfvuXOek/s640/IMG_0433.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The anchors read a script from a monitor, updated daily by one of our computer programmers:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Something we added this year to announcements is a daily "Did You Know" segment. Teachers and students send in interesting facts about things they're learning in class, and we feature one each day on announcements. One of our first grade teachers, the fabulous <a href="http://tunstalltimes.blogspot.com/2013/05/five-for-friday-holla.html#comment-form" target="_blank">Reagan Tunstall, has even made this into a center for her students!</a> Here are examples of some of the facts submitted by her class:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdo2NE9zIQi3M1j25_zWIqyKGbDQjVMjHmxjSXWPQ3vddG7_WiLsef-Pc6YzFPTLIsvS9qZrtJRq9vkt9TzY-SxFm6V6bv3SYbeBpw-W8sDEy5WlWl5GHc7TMijkDq-Ntv1qjmmupoN8G/s1600/IMG_0427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFdo2NE9zIQi3M1j25_zWIqyKGbDQjVMjHmxjSXWPQ3vddG7_WiLsef-Pc6YzFPTLIsvS9qZrtJRq9vkt9TzY-SxFm6V6bv3SYbeBpw-W8sDEy5WlWl5GHc7TMijkDq-Ntv1qjmmupoN8G/s640/IMG_0427.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDrkgtVEFNmnxfxGcx6-9VZaB19_wc3nv6qHYt-_H3ZARwO3ts871svrWZkmD3NP4IDhpT91_kRSdnniPoiuoOp8XgwcPQ3rKBerFMF8veDzAdJXbtZAcnOKgJYCPr1GzYMWCPOuidj-b/s1600/IMG_0426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDrkgtVEFNmnxfxGcx6-9VZaB19_wc3nv6qHYt-_H3ZARwO3ts871svrWZkmD3NP4IDhpT91_kRSdnniPoiuoOp8XgwcPQ3rKBerFMF8veDzAdJXbtZAcnOKgJYCPr1GzYMWCPOuidj-b/s640/IMG_0426.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Did You Know" facts--1st graders read about this in one of their small reading groups. Don't you love the pictures?</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">We also have national and local weather reports each day. Here is the script written for one of our weather reporters to read while in front of a green screen:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz4ETV3OeDsRBaTmp11_IQTkjRh3GqQizyMT2akJrwrw-4XUbbFeIC7b1FFAWCF1gf1r6fj3gFO3wkS2I5HsG13s-Li14AFFUY4Llsi3B35yQYxxWJJpB8Ob3BLMwnKmeQtY0ouaaCvF1A/s1600/IMG_0438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz4ETV3OeDsRBaTmp11_IQTkjRh3GqQizyMT2akJrwrw-4XUbbFeIC7b1FFAWCF1gf1r6fj3gFO3wkS2I5HsG13s-Li14AFFUY4Llsi3B35yQYxxWJJpB8Ob3BLMwnKmeQtY0ouaaCvF1A/s640/IMG_0438.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hmmm, an oversight on my part--we normally don't use the term "work week" during announcements, but I love the official-sounding weather vocabulary in the rest of this script! The students go to one of our local TV station's websites for weather forecast information and pictures.</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">And here's someone with a super important job--switchboard controller! He is in charge of the transitions between our two cameras and the computer, and makes volume adjustments when necessary.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-nq7utqyGoAB2CG6JPMNii5DuJWfOUs8Y7A048fiwziUr1qor-_jucO1JNmcCyRk9x7V5bKrnUoDfmlDTK3AiXpzIRshxR-INyu0AyyNKS_dnPhKB1cGne1TiNbz8wdZXoGHRggdO1KF/s1600/IMG_0440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-nq7utqyGoAB2CG6JPMNii5DuJWfOUs8Y7A048fiwziUr1qor-_jucO1JNmcCyRk9x7V5bKrnUoDfmlDTK3AiXpzIRshxR-INyu0AyyNKS_dnPhKB1cGne1TiNbz8wdZXoGHRggdO1KF/s640/IMG_0440.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Our teachers turn on announcements as soon as the bell rings. Before doing the pledge and patriotic song, we start each day with upbeat music and a funny picture like this:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg60dWCeao2XAbbGrP1uwUQ8DhzYKVFM7dDI_T07dcNQfVuXML2DDat3f0MBeika5uD-uYKHy0ZScA99cOORiLZebw2d7ItHHMcl_Jk5C6OatH0AKvKHI8WmBDCyB96yL1uhnWilU_jkPiL/s1600/IMG_0431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg60dWCeao2XAbbGrP1uwUQ8DhzYKVFM7dDI_T07dcNQfVuXML2DDat3f0MBeika5uD-uYKHy0ZScA99cOORiLZebw2d7ItHHMcl_Jk5C6OatH0AKvKHI8WmBDCyB96yL1uhnWilU_jkPiL/s640/IMG_0431.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Here's a short video sample from last week. Please note that this is not the entire morning announcements; I edited out a few things like the pledge, patriotic song, and moment of silence. I did include a little behind-the-scenes practice to give you an idea of our format: </span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dykJ2wPZ9BGquthGz_OYqCMiFSADDIw8B5HqqYdGMFriHomuGjZyIfd6Khoibj1o36Eilr4hs4vusKbTpYfrg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I really like the way we do our school announcements--in fact, it's a duty that I don't mind doing at all! By this time of year, the kids know exactly what to do and they are well-behaved, too.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">How about your morning announcements? Do you have a "Did You Know" segment, too (or something similar)? Please leave a comment--I'd love to hear about the cool things going on at other schools during morning announcements! </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">~Swersty</span>Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-65489978742546308812013-05-12T07:40:00.000-05:002013-05-12T07:40:57.128-05:00Biography Bonanza!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">One of my favorite collaboration projects with my 3rd grade classes this year was a biography unit, done in conjunction with the library's <a href="http://swerstysswapshop.blogspot.com/2013/03/biography-bowling.html" target="_blank">Biography Bowling lesson</a>. The teachers had each student select a famous person to research and then work with different technology tools to create what I'm calling a:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5_DmYBRRGkjWWEk-JVZXeCjROJYdbo5c9CtlD07JvjnkODYhRDXgZNZM5opmFMvaLd4-xq3Jsr_5OVrCRvWNLzo1VE6IiSeJo4ApBRhP6Iy7X11sawpKHrpZrtna7tmjSXsnIZLJz2Hw-/s1600/BioBonanza.002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5_DmYBRRGkjWWEk-JVZXeCjROJYdbo5c9CtlD07JvjnkODYhRDXgZNZM5opmFMvaLd4-xq3Jsr_5OVrCRvWNLzo1VE6IiSeJo4ApBRhP6Iy7X11sawpKHrpZrtna7tmjSXsnIZLJz2Hw-/s640/BioBonanza.002.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mary Kay, Milton, Albert, Paul and Elizabeth made an appearance at our Biography Bonanza!</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The students spent a lot of time reading about and researching famous people. For their final projects, the kids used Keynote (on Macs) and a really fun app called <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/funny-movie-maker-replace/id430623298?mt=8" target="_blank">Funny Movie Maker</a>. Have you used this app? It allows you to use any picture and insert a recording of your own mouth. For example, a picture of Albert Einstein could have <u>your lips</u> saying one of his famous quotes, such as, "Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile." Talk about bringing history to life for students!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> They proudly shared what they learned in a wax museum-style evening presentation at the library:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24sARc_g0hdAWx0bIyOc8zyumHMMMpTPit5nDKa2B5uks2czXhPGutWKKITkoP337DbsVkQJcU0aFBqh4l72PvhmatDqJ9lZLdmG5wAlJGhTLe-bkTwxufz7OoaU_nzd88phzGDRe-Vbm/s1600/BioBonanza.003.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24sARc_g0hdAWx0bIyOc8zyumHMMMpTPit5nDKa2B5uks2czXhPGutWKKITkoP337DbsVkQJcU0aFBqh4l72PvhmatDqJ9lZLdmG5wAlJGhTLe-bkTwxufz7OoaU_nzd88phzGDRe-Vbm/s640/BioBonanza.003.png" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">All in all, it was a great project, and one we're planning on doing again next year. And since my library has a <a href="http://swerstysswapshop.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-wild-library-orientation.html" target="_blank">"Wild about Reading"</a> theme this year, I'll sign off with this adorable picture:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfnJlm9LeJDYoZS_zusXHdY1LmP-qjv1UJ2FrIu5NOAwQFzX2gitbQboBxFMwDh3OhOY5hiOo8rvad3rGkzxFQULqCS1qNQ2P0q4oaTSL3ymHubIvnuVxyuJSNRppHCC3_eJTrlbA3Q3C2/s1600/BioBonanza.001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfnJlm9LeJDYoZS_zusXHdY1LmP-qjv1UJ2FrIu5NOAwQFzX2gitbQboBxFMwDh3OhOY5hiOo8rvad3rGkzxFQULqCS1qNQ2P0q4oaTSL3ymHubIvnuVxyuJSNRppHCC3_eJTrlbA3Q3C2/s640/BioBonanza.001.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">~Swersty</span></div>
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<br />Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-54414758875451147832013-05-07T00:22:00.000-05:002013-05-07T00:22:30.063-05:00Teacher Appreciation Sale<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">It's that time of year when teachers are recognized for doing what we do best--teaching! Join fellow educators in the annual TpT Teacher Appreciation Sale and save on lots of great resources:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpI_jkA6rZIEsZkwh_FKfU58ZSh3QrXlLggaWBBg-_sdznXumhZ0ck8-2crs_Be7E0SUjs-Yf5ZKeGPMYel44Ah6rwk8UVsYX4j2G2qhRMpTVXkiEnV8v9YpdC_G3rgfFrSTtHIdOjRuTr/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-05-06+at+11.50.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="82" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpI_jkA6rZIEsZkwh_FKfU58ZSh3QrXlLggaWBBg-_sdznXumhZ0ck8-2crs_Be7E0SUjs-Yf5ZKeGPMYel44Ah6rwk8UVsYX4j2G2qhRMpTVXkiEnV8v9YpdC_G3rgfFrSTtHIdOjRuTr/s640/Screen+shot+2013-05-06+at+11.50.55+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">My <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Swersty" target="_blank">entire store</a> is on sale, and here are a few of my newest products that might come in handy now that it's the end of the school year:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4goADKDYmjofzHL_yDrdiv_afMBwxWc3P43LSRsFOH0DxrxmwZkDF1u3fRjjkDCvvsRV_WBEPkZbDrvFOx7-1NyRQfW0ibZIkwEEq2jFonjtCAQj1VbJK2WygdelZHiu7odcTM-jE4RAN/s1600/PuppyAwardsCover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4goADKDYmjofzHL_yDrdiv_afMBwxWc3P43LSRsFOH0DxrxmwZkDF1u3fRjjkDCvvsRV_WBEPkZbDrvFOx7-1NyRQfW0ibZIkwEEq2jFonjtCAQj1VbJK2WygdelZHiu7odcTM-jE4RAN/s640/PuppyAwardsCover.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puppy Palooza-themed awards</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0PrOwrumIY2BpozFV5U5JMaaWG5R2x6ZtUDrwxRWMh61-3cJp2oOTiipZ7qPDuFxJc-Bu5NJZbrqKBu9skhL1YrDcaUMSBFTaHmc1DjtD2KdngBkDt6-erv_4W0ESSIzVlr-e4TC46lfY/s1600/BlankPeacockAwardsCover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0PrOwrumIY2BpozFV5U5JMaaWG5R2x6ZtUDrwxRWMh61-3cJp2oOTiipZ7qPDuFxJc-Bu5NJZbrqKBu9skhL1YrDcaUMSBFTaHmc1DjtD2KdngBkDt6-erv_4W0ESSIzVlr-e4TC46lfY/s640/BlankPeacockAwardsCover.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peacock-themed awards, blank</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeoFllIk3aJJCBRuviLk4nCHbYklo1saz4W3CSKUTm7tfVxdY21Cem_DCypWavK_AMJs17bmAWPVaxdaDFtsrO9-w6Y5a41BUx7vp-3-2-BlMJccZhqQmhysn3c-xMaG1hzrUKz7yz-k05/s1600/EndOfYearPeacockAwardsCover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeoFllIk3aJJCBRuviLk4nCHbYklo1saz4W3CSKUTm7tfVxdY21Cem_DCypWavK_AMJs17bmAWPVaxdaDFtsrO9-w6Y5a41BUx7vp-3-2-BlMJccZhqQmhysn3c-xMaG1hzrUKz7yz-k05/s640/EndOfYearPeacockAwardsCover.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peacock-themed awards</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Happy teacher appreciation, and happy shopping!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">~Swersty</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-49424234130230071402013-05-05T07:07:00.000-05:002013-05-05T07:09:34.603-05:00RANDOM THINGS I LOVE ABOUT MY LIBRARY<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">1. Library Light--v</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">isible from a long distance in my school so students know the status of the library before walking in</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMTdKOeXwTEd-Ovuy4T6DWUL77aaNIUEvQUXjApjAq_omWGvavMAVSrD9cn39KsUzbz_8zvjN39vxYOUZjmtbdasKXLSwEyRC4NiUfrspabyPOJhO3JD-YRTONP7-tFu5NLw-bk25S6wB/s1600/blogPost.001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMTdKOeXwTEd-Ovuy4T6DWUL77aaNIUEvQUXjApjAq_omWGvavMAVSrD9cn39KsUzbz_8zvjN39vxYOUZjmtbdasKXLSwEyRC4NiUfrspabyPOJhO3JD-YRTONP7-tFu5NLw-bk25S6wB/s640/blogPost.001.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">2. Mobile Bookshelf--for very young students who don't check out from the regular library shelves</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">3. Reading Wagon--up to four well-behaved students get to read in this awesome place</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGprjNnOM6u0h9hI4yf-5-HyttOz4z82hz1A8GIKOU9lC_GwbrnIOiOU1Hhc1si0_41vxqWlrxjaTepKbQ-SHF_Wit1wa74PhaSHOOXDuBir7M2EGvACL8rNYb-HWNSAChe_f0Prh0qQ0_/s1600/blogPost.005.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGprjNnOM6u0h9hI4yf-5-HyttOz4z82hz1A8GIKOU9lC_GwbrnIOiOU1Hhc1si0_41vxqWlrxjaTepKbQ-SHF_Wit1wa74PhaSHOOXDuBir7M2EGvACL8rNYb-HWNSAChe_f0Prh0qQ0_/s640/blogPost.005.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">That's it for today's post--short, sweet, and random! Please feel free to share favorite things about your school library (even if you're not the librarian) in the comment section below!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">~Swersty</span></div>
<br />Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-68088658881350114762013-04-14T07:42:00.000-05:002013-04-14T07:42:32.118-05:00Three Great Read-aloud Picture Books with Unique Activities<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Remember this guy from my <a href="http://swerstysswapshop.blogspot.com/2012/04/frogs-food-fun.html" target="_blank">Frogs, Food & Fun</a> post? Well, he's helping me celebrate the one-year anniversary of my introduction to the world of teacher blogs and TpT. Yippee!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A tasty "frog" for students to sample after reading the book "Gilbert de la Frogponde"</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">I can't believe that this blog is already over a year old! In honor of the occasion, I'm highlighting three of my favorite springtime read-alouds and their corresponding TpT units with fun extension activities that I blogged about when Swersty's Swap Shop was just a baby. Drumroll please: </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">1. "Gilbert de la Frogponde" by Jennifer Rae</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhVfh2XsLqvEN1FMLizH-nxhtGLVf7rqk1rCwiLNBbiv89TQInfXQZBrhzEZHKf0Sc-4Il83lTuCfSV20WqtdhWAi4iihkgzEGYSZ9FpaQym4OqVJR8_6uUNPH93vfJ5YqxkJe7KquxtvG/s1600/Misc.007.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhVfh2XsLqvEN1FMLizH-nxhtGLVf7rqk1rCwiLNBbiv89TQInfXQZBrhzEZHKf0Sc-4Il83lTuCfSV20WqtdhWAi4iihkgzEGYSZ9FpaQym4OqVJR8_6uUNPH93vfJ5YqxkJe7KquxtvG/s640/Misc.007.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Chef-de-la-YOU" target="_blank">Click here to go to my "Chef de la YOU!" TpT book study unit.</a> It's <u>FREE</u>!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho5JfWQINo8Fy_VWEQ3ePgucA5_DSi1sG8TzMJHb5li764zpfC-LshvE-i-9WtEH-HRuNI5DB1y3SBpfew_wnhllOOPRSrB3Ao5BsiDgN5jzUqamNnTmEu6qVV08uYb0oQ3dYLOXJ5NpEn/s1600/Misc.006.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho5JfWQINo8Fy_VWEQ3ePgucA5_DSi1sG8TzMJHb5li764zpfC-LshvE-i-9WtEH-HRuNI5DB1y3SBpfew_wnhllOOPRSrB3Ao5BsiDgN5jzUqamNnTmEu6qVV08uYb0oQ3dYLOXJ5NpEn/s640/Misc.006.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What's for snack? </td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">2. "Charlie the Caterpillar" by Dom De Luise</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOzZ3Wbu6J3z_ZI7whO9ZJS8hDpxqMidXCRP2DiEKT_SkoXAbZRHjhj3gqb5elb_evJnFR7JutbCfuuR2-J1ipDWeKfCKlO6TLPmYVB8mhLZBlMijgSPDD6v0H4DUyvqk0Te2DW_191bID/s1600/Misc.009.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOzZ3Wbu6J3z_ZI7whO9ZJS8hDpxqMidXCRP2DiEKT_SkoXAbZRHjhj3gqb5elb_evJnFR7JutbCfuuR2-J1ipDWeKfCKlO6TLPmYVB8mhLZBlMijgSPDD6v0H4DUyvqk0Te2DW_191bID/s640/Misc.009.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Caterpillars-Datapillars-Butterflies" target="_blank">Click here to go to my "Caterpillars, Datapillars & Butterflies" TpT unit.</a> It's on sale until Wednesday!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPo4eRYT7vwUJZx1frWPuJcMZr_7IewKhS4uGMW5ANgoTRpkNJeCcFdulQLppIqDk-aBZo9ZcM24txXOZ8G40RJW-14RYFyqSzuVFWwYSbj1TY42laSwHdJhA5Ddq1rSdN3GUI_ff3gaSV/s1600/Misc.008.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPo4eRYT7vwUJZx1frWPuJcMZr_7IewKhS4uGMW5ANgoTRpkNJeCcFdulQLppIqDk-aBZo9ZcM24txXOZ8G40RJW-14RYFyqSzuVFWwYSbj1TY42laSwHdJhA5Ddq1rSdN3GUI_ff3gaSV/s640/Misc.008.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making datapillars is a fun way for your students to record and display facts!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">3. "Surfer Chick" by Kristy Dempsey</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9c_3chkVcqf9NKytQCprsc36jdF_E9mzHUXUlbFUBcDkEvEg_fq1ZEdFG544HQ6jzr2DqVEvc0NAWLWCy4ksFQTA5kO8ALqMpL4j-hPZnZDVTGMk1Pl-vq-g_QxuEv9xlR4HT7vw7wJhe/s1600/Misc.011.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9c_3chkVcqf9NKytQCprsc36jdF_E9mzHUXUlbFUBcDkEvEg_fq1ZEdFG544HQ6jzr2DqVEvc0NAWLWCy4ksFQTA5kO8ALqMpL4j-hPZnZDVTGMk1Pl-vq-g_QxuEv9xlR4HT7vw7wJhe/s640/Misc.011.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Surfer-Chick-and-Her-Rad-Dad-Book-Study-Unit" target="_blank">Click here to go to my "Surfer Chick and Her Rad Dad!" TpT book study unit.</a> It's on sale until Wednesday!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhR7T6cr0IO1v-HnZJZwstZxzCL3n22ZAHXCH1n-dqZmPs0GUUDZPn8nPcCzSrjHtyzilVacReApAL4yCX9OFbxMdSvpBfiOiuqdDcXRxycOq3W8hgrZ2Hyjfia-nphoK1WOSAbipDC6t/s1600/Misc.010.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhR7T6cr0IO1v-HnZJZwstZxzCL3n22ZAHXCH1n-dqZmPs0GUUDZPn8nPcCzSrjHtyzilVacReApAL4yCX9OFbxMdSvpBfiOiuqdDcXRxycOq3W8hgrZ2Hyjfia-nphoK1WOSAbipDC6t/s640/Misc.010.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Make your own Word Pool center, complete with real water, dude!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Happy springtime reading, everyone! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">~Swersty</span></div>
<br />Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-45533465570791528242013-04-08T00:51:00.000-05:002013-04-08T00:58:03.536-05:00Me...Crazy about Biographies!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I recently posted about <a href="http://swerstysswapshop.blogspot.com/2013/03/biography-bowling.html" target="_blank">Biography Bowling</a>, something my classes will be doing this week in the library. Before we bowl, however, I wanted to introduce biographies to my students, so we read "Me...Jane" by Patrick McDonnell last week. If you haven't heard of this book, you are missing out! It's a beautifully worded, simple biography about Jane Goodall that reads like a picture book.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLxSXRq7M5IT5oMh1fkgeRQvjJcCFxNDfKBT3wCjeDZXtA2gQLqffBNyy_F-3kt8B6DZt1J-hMXeWMshVUhLEUVTeyOThc78jNt8IHfedSmNVKcEBCiEEVDTkpdpY40FKUP1eyFz2yxc0c/s1600/MeJane.002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLxSXRq7M5IT5oMh1fkgeRQvjJcCFxNDfKBT3wCjeDZXtA2gQLqffBNyy_F-3kt8B6DZt1J-hMXeWMshVUhLEUVTeyOThc78jNt8IHfedSmNVKcEBCiEEVDTkpdpY40FKUP1eyFz2yxc0c/s640/MeJane.002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">After reading the book, we watched some wonderful videos about chimpanzees from the <a href="http://www.janegoodall.org/" target="_blank">Jane Goodall Institute website</a>. The kids loved seeing the chimps and hearing about Jane Goodall's passion for animals and nature! (Our favorite video by far is one made for Valentine's Day called <a href="http://www.janegoodall.org/media/videos/sending-you-love-tchimpounga" target="_blank">"Sending You Love from Tchimpounga"</a>--check it out for 61 seconds of melt-your-heart moments starring chimpanzees!) Once the videos were over it was time for a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> quick trip to the biography section that prompted a discussion on how biographies are arranged on the shelves. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">During checkout time, a few well-behaved kids got some help finding books with one of the library's chimps, Jubilee (named after Jane Goodall's stuffed animal from childhood):</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Q9x8xOzY3RjLWAENOV362UKUHW2ZWhRIoFNznTGKDMJqx3bO9Kq95yhOs8_yGErznMw3fMTBCT6lKIFBJaQcolJ9y7uqvrwPx4c5-POI04O0NbJZlUTxW-B6ozp7qEpjEF2CF5XYsPvo/s1600/MeJane.003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Q9x8xOzY3RjLWAENOV362UKUHW2ZWhRIoFNznTGKDMJqx3bO9Kq95yhOs8_yGErznMw3fMTBCT6lKIFBJaQcolJ9y7uqvrwPx4c5-POI04O0NbJZlUTxW-B6ozp7qEpjEF2CF5XYsPvo/s640/MeJane.003.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Behavior management is so much easier with stuffed animals around!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Now we're ready to bowl in the library this week! Before I sign off, I have to include a short Biography Bowling video of my buddy <a href="http://tunstalltimes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Reagan</a> and her class from a couple of years ago. Will she get a strike? Watch and see!</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">That's what it'll be like in the library this whole week, and I can't wait!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">~Swersty</span></div>
<br />Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-2683743383365934042013-03-30T00:56:00.000-05:002013-03-30T01:00:34.508-05:00Biography Bowling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Looking for a fun way to promote the biography section of your library?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Why not try...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3M52iAe9aFSGjPSxxpYjZ3GWl6cJ063Gg1qkoIpnDwPx4MhUNnLuSHe8gpWqSyxU_W5SQwwq5dDaC6YZIvypvYBfQdk5SQYBdG1FgXEOz6IHhRDuG13AhzwOfGlf0c7ZSKo7UvwYTd5Xy/s1600/BiographyBowling.004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3M52iAe9aFSGjPSxxpYjZ3GWl6cJ063Gg1qkoIpnDwPx4MhUNnLuSHe8gpWqSyxU_W5SQwwq5dDaC6YZIvypvYBfQdk5SQYBdG1FgXEOz6IHhRDuG13AhzwOfGlf0c7ZSKo7UvwYTd5Xy/s640/BiographyBowling.004.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This is an activity I try to do every other year or so to teach the arrangement of books in this section, but I am waaayyyyyyy behind in introducing biographies to my students this year (the pictures are from a few years ago). </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Normally we do Biography Bowling in February, somewhere between the birthdays of Abe and George, but that just didn't happen this year. No worries, though--we can still bowl in April, right?!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghw34tTxRvxUBGfJ3oyka_2yyyvAACbERDia-g41e-A2Oz3JD6-JCYOXhdMHnunccjkMF0gfHCONK6rNca35jcH73D7v8PkdvTYarxumLGDHSWseivCO_kIf9BAN_4TPvhTyJCdZF1ROUW/s1600/BBowling.008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghw34tTxRvxUBGfJ3oyka_2yyyvAACbERDia-g41e-A2Oz3JD6-JCYOXhdMHnunccjkMF0gfHCONK6rNca35jcH73D7v8PkdvTYarxumLGDHSWseivCO_kIf9BAN_4TPvhTyJCdZF1ROUW/s640/BBowling.008.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">First I borrow bowling equipment from my P.E. coach (who is AWESOME--he lets me use hula hoops, footballs, and basketballs for different library activities throughout the year). </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I then type names of famous people from my biography section onto sheets of labels and attach them to bowling pins. I also run spine labels to match the biography names and attach those to the bottom of the pins.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi682cl6cCblX_vjiQ9LZpa7ydu58tOh8vUV5n82jko7jS9dJLqwqZBQqxxdvwosBz11BUmVnbbs4lQRd-z7t6tqBN7Q8xQhIkGL3CjUcSsFxerzo2Y7OiiVy7rpsQdwJ5A2aysdLG1stPr/s1600/BiographyBowling.006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi682cl6cCblX_vjiQ9LZpa7ydu58tOh8vUV5n82jko7jS9dJLqwqZBQqxxdvwosBz11BUmVnbbs4lQRd-z7t6tqBN7Q8xQhIkGL3CjUcSsFxerzo2Y7OiiVy7rpsQdwJ5A2aysdLG1stPr/s640/BiographyBowling.006.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Biography Bowling is fairly simple to set up once you make the bowling lane (made entirely out of bulletin board paper). The most labor-intensive part for me was the yellow end because of the black circles for placing the pins. I did laminate that piece to save me from making it again.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzEDmzIH22ju88hmyviPTIcrYfDkzWCO_Xv1Fr9urGmuEr27khMT6x2zepOObeLeouVGDDQLhHZdICVRkggzL6kqsitrLqwB7CK2fIpxuZoqNluNZNhadamxy1Tr8kCCjIrTQ-15vPZOnL/s1600/BiographyBowling.007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzEDmzIH22ju88hmyviPTIcrYfDkzWCO_Xv1Fr9urGmuEr27khMT6x2zepOObeLeouVGDDQLhHZdICVRkggzL6kqsitrLqwB7CK2fIpxuZoqNluNZNhadamxy1Tr8kCCjIrTQ-15vPZOnL/s640/BiographyBowling.007.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">To play the game, start with all bowling pins lining the sides. Students take turns grabbing a pin and going to the biography section to find a matching book to the sticker on the pin. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When a match is made, the pin gets placed on the yellow paper on a black dot. This part is timed, and I usually allow more time for the younger grades to find the matches than the older grades. When the time is up we count how many pins are on the yellow paper (the number of biographies the kids found to match the names on the bowling pins). That number is recorded on a sheet with other teachers' names from the same grade level. Here's a sample sheet showing that Mrs. Jones' class found 29 matching biographies during the allotted time:</span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8hZP-6z2u8DGviRt_bkmE1oij6xg7_LdLY3AmgBSFppMqh8q5l3I1YAtErXXipCMRi0cz3tTdkfUzY9X31zLgO1iGszHzv5IEJtq0RotEcTSlC7lEcWszcJrPLa_2JOVbvhx-6IvsZmfi/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-03-29+at+10.46.51+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8hZP-6z2u8DGviRt_bkmE1oij6xg7_LdLY3AmgBSFppMqh8q5l3I1YAtErXXipCMRi0cz3tTdkfUzY9X31zLgO1iGszHzv5IEJtq0RotEcTSlC7lEcWszcJrPLa_2JOVbvhx-6IvsZmfi/s400/Screen+shot+2013-03-29+at+10.46.51+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Each "x" is just for show to make the score sheet look similar to a real one.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Then I tell the kids that their teacher will get </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><b>one shot</b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> to knock down the pins in the yellow area. This invariably turns the students into super cheerleaders for the classroom teacher (who is more than a little nervous at this point)! Check out the before and after pictures from a teacher who got a strike. I just love the facial expressions and body language of her kids, don't you?!!</span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPnp5gGdy6LRF_aSdUfVSNBeoVHHvNmJYjmH7CjE0tzdgIrH9KuqlC7AGFf3rMLPD_XbpcEs5tk58-PgeNudctO-38zq5gzEvLnz44hlOgorZ_sE1EsVd58JVi1NhEieNm3m8zjPLNGaMp/s1600/BiographyBowling.005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPnp5gGdy6LRF_aSdUfVSNBeoVHHvNmJYjmH7CjE0tzdgIrH9KuqlC7AGFf3rMLPD_XbpcEs5tk58-PgeNudctO-38zq5gzEvLnz44hlOgorZ_sE1EsVd58JVi1NhEieNm3m8zjPLNGaMp/s640/BiographyBowling.005.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Once the teacher bowls, we count how many pins were knocked down and put that number in the "Bonus" column before totaling the two scores. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAhx5paHe8ndkEYvI-GKfelMBHvG6K36p_a0phyphenhyphen6UeEFKdanqwJ6C7KhwD50oKszbIk_XCx5reHMyYTBPAK5h-RvMglLeqb09MAdKsijuVoncM6-0oQ3ISdAfvsaZIwArcOdMkvf4RICLq/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-03-29+at+10.48.48+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAhx5paHe8ndkEYvI-GKfelMBHvG6K36p_a0phyphenhyphen6UeEFKdanqwJ6C7KhwD50oKszbIk_XCx5reHMyYTBPAK5h-RvMglLeqb09MAdKsijuVoncM6-0oQ3ISdAfvsaZIwArcOdMkvf4RICLq/s400/Screen+shot+2013-03-29+at+10.48.48+PM.png" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Here is an example of what a finished score sheet for one grade level might look like:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-Kmasdwn2LnTXsFupEqQv1Heqa0CSbt71PaC_X8fvRoA8qhlLqLpTYheAjpkYg1DUmHdBZ2eVR2VV7ZwLMW5Uwq3zA5utAXX4c8enNAVFcrUwmiNKJozPtxFvqGaS0ly0ezBEb0ito-l/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-03-29+at+10.54.42+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-Kmasdwn2LnTXsFupEqQv1Heqa0CSbt71PaC_X8fvRoA8qhlLqLpTYheAjpkYg1DUmHdBZ2eVR2VV7ZwLMW5Uwq3zA5utAXX4c8enNAVFcrUwmiNKJozPtxFvqGaS0ly0ezBEb0ito-l/s400/Screen+shot+2013-03-29+at+10.54.42+PM.png" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">In the past, I have announced the top scoring class for each grade level on announcements. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It's such a hit with my students that they always beg for another week of bowling! Of course there's always a huge increase in the amount of biographies checked out when we do Biography Bowling, and that counts as a lucky "strike" for this librarian!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">~Swersty</span>Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-28996834686389832082013-02-23T09:43:00.000-06:002013-02-23T09:43:34.456-06:00Great Picture Books to Read Aloud<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I ran across a great linky party about books! Denise at <a href="http://sunnydaysinsecondgrade.blogspot.com/2013/02/show-and-tell-tuesday-book-share.html" target="_blank">Sunny Days in Second Grade</a> is showcasing favorite books for her most recent Show & Tell Tuesday theme. </span></div>
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<a href="http://sunnydaysinsecondgrade.blogspot.com/2013/02/show-and-tell-tuesday-book-share.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXkd-l0FvyTL4AtVnLgjU-HH2MMBl5NQP3HfjbvBxbR5a7cLRQ7SXRiZVe7wzyOn0VC1OK_YI_-H3d6HSYJaJPKR0UEUm5HW-uECmJzrSy_2IocQGZE6X_BKqVXk50sp4Gu2PrZTnECxDY/s200/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+8.50.55+AM.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I just love a good read-aloud, so I'm linking up and sharing some of my personal favorites. Some of these books are linked to blog posts I've written that describe activities to go along with them. All of the following are picture books that have been kid-tested and approved by my students this school year!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="18" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s640/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" width="640" /></a></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4PeH8Fs0suDYNMBjMw2cK5NGv3nD5dRGPQi_dlE4uUfiGXKUJh8ymFH6j1i4FLhjCTj33GuZsiqhDMdAChyphenhyphenotLGz2XMmTmE5UiDD39ixXAAQSF9MP-ULAtN2AXbHg3QVRi80gRxmoQH-D/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-20+at+10.37.33+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4PeH8Fs0suDYNMBjMw2cK5NGv3nD5dRGPQi_dlE4uUfiGXKUJh8ymFH6j1i4FLhjCTj33GuZsiqhDMdAChyphenhyphenotLGz2XMmTmE5UiDD39ixXAAQSF9MP-ULAtN2AXbHg3QVRi80gRxmoQH-D/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-20+at+10.37.33+PM.png" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4PeH8Fs0suDYNMBjMw2cK5NGv3nD5dRGPQi_dlE4uUfiGXKUJh8ymFH6j1i4FLhjCTj33GuZsiqhDMdAChyphenhyphenotLGz2XMmTmE5UiDD39ixXAAQSF9MP-ULAtN2AXbHg3QVRi80gRxmoQH-D/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-20+at+10.37.33+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">"Pierre the Penguin" by Jean Marzollo</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This is a </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">must-have</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> for your penguin unit! It's the true story of a penguin who lost his feathers and the brilliant solution that helped to restore them. Pierre just celebrated his 30th birthday and still lives at the California Academy of Sciences, which features live penguin cams on their website to show your students after reading the story.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="18" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s640/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpEw6WqPHdwWksorEJZg6plf2Lw9xGyq1y9hOPmM-NeYg8RMH8ISmBLxLszjW_ZkwO0EXEVlEXdRNvLqaX97x9XyKgi3a7OPhkxFRTQoHgfMiYeCbfAurK_N3epO9UBmtVVfQwFVaR1tEo/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-20+at+10.55.04+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpEw6WqPHdwWksorEJZg6plf2Lw9xGyq1y9hOPmM-NeYg8RMH8ISmBLxLszjW_ZkwO0EXEVlEXdRNvLqaX97x9XyKgi3a7OPhkxFRTQoHgfMiYeCbfAurK_N3epO9UBmtVVfQwFVaR1tEo/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-20+at+10.55.04+PM.png" style="cursor: move;" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">"Moe the Dog in Tropical Paradise" by Diane Stanley</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A great book to read in winter-time when you're wishing for warm weather! </span><a href="http://swerstysswapshop.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-tropical-paradise-in-winter.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Click here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> for my blog post on this story.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="18" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s640/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0E05-yR6dqkvVB709HDC1lV2OYgatS2DAJ8eB0hMlUrW8U5UFM9BHXO7BgXtWZrvz451v8hSDyKsH1vRlcJEToTF0EivPmmmmVTwmvIfuiUVWszjeOtsARz80F30CDf639Rc9gcCQU3O0/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-20+at+11.00.48+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0E05-yR6dqkvVB709HDC1lV2OYgatS2DAJ8eB0hMlUrW8U5UFM9BHXO7BgXtWZrvz451v8hSDyKsH1vRlcJEToTF0EivPmmmmVTwmvIfuiUVWszjeOtsARz80F30CDf639Rc9gcCQU3O0/s320/Screen+shot+2013-02-20+at+11.00.48+PM.png" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">"Little Granny Quarterback" by Bill Martin Jr.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You don't come across too many books about a football-playing grandmother! </span><a href="http://swerstysswapshop.blogspot.com/2013/02/library-football.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Click here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> for my blog post on this story (scroll to the end of post to see activities my students did with the book).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="18" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s640/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUuFX_zoiypJOJxi6Q6qlAiNNDZdKRBl-11uikruQNhS5C5aR7-Zul2RdqS5zPBcPDGhL-unhKrTneEIFocHXh4Aoko85UziaXQHy4yLmQguUw4bz0nVZhALPSkou-nkzsPP0z30VoBQLU/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-20+at+11.16.02+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUuFX_zoiypJOJxi6Q6qlAiNNDZdKRBl-11uikruQNhS5C5aR7-Zul2RdqS5zPBcPDGhL-unhKrTneEIFocHXh4Aoko85UziaXQHy4yLmQguUw4bz0nVZhALPSkou-nkzsPP0z30VoBQLU/s320/Screen+shot+2013-02-20+at+11.16.02+PM.png" style="cursor: move;" width="233" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">"There is a Bird on Your Head" by Mo Willems</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Another hilarious Elephant and Piggie adventure! I read Elephant's lines using an elephant mask with a bird attached to the top and the kids were enthralled! This just might be my favorite book in the series.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="18" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s640/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkLPoFOEWmAL6Kf5kSLy_Br9wYokd2eAx5VjP7H0fS7MWyo9cahteE-xVR85LXgf1k52nIcZfsnMeWj4-56bvAGmNdR1XulbITSDrWGJmUIHmGLpc7hChED0oWVUSADpE0bgTffSOKFF2l/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-20+at+11.22.06+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkLPoFOEWmAL6Kf5kSLy_Br9wYokd2eAx5VjP7H0fS7MWyo9cahteE-xVR85LXgf1k52nIcZfsnMeWj4-56bvAGmNdR1XulbITSDrWGJmUIHmGLpc7hChED0oWVUSADpE0bgTffSOKFF2l/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-20+at+11.22.06+PM.png" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">"Little Dog Lost: The True Story of a Brave Dog Named Baltic" by Monica Carnesi</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This is the true story of a dog rescued from an ice floe in 2010. Students can see pictures of Baltic and a video of his actual rescue on the <a href="http://msc4art-books.blogspot.com/2011/12/blog-post.html" target="_blank">author's blog</a>! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="18" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s640/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswIwJwY9d0mam3Ojt8zr07kH6bWndcKYbbb24k0cMHRysX6b2HR02NAH-PTZxFHYlp-uVGqeZZSTJXiXo6p4hfxCX_ymFonzxetd_rAkK2Ms8Zl5IddcP7NNg7CuBVLgSJwLVPPwbViC5/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-20+at+11.43.24+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswIwJwY9d0mam3Ojt8zr07kH6bWndcKYbbb24k0cMHRysX6b2HR02NAH-PTZxFHYlp-uVGqeZZSTJXiXo6p4hfxCX_ymFonzxetd_rAkK2Ms8Zl5IddcP7NNg7CuBVLgSJwLVPPwbViC5/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-20+at+11.43.24+PM.png" style="cursor: move;" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">"Snowflake Bentley" by Jacqueline Briggs Martin</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This is a beautiful picture book biography of Wilson Bentley, a farmer born in 1865 who photographed and studied snowflakes. Students can use Wilson Bentley's pictures as inspiration for making or drawing their own snowflakes.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="18" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s640/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PgjK5SvhqHwDc3YFMjO0FpaRBhMO8lTKiNOycxSZ_yxJTfE5c379m1fNuoo20F3Fkgym5xP5L7HN5fFq5C6OtNMkJ3mWosho_Ik-uTl4XU_IBA6d4tgEKEJ_jZ7OiITMASsKsRTY5so4/s1600/RocketBooks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PgjK5SvhqHwDc3YFMjO0FpaRBhMO8lTKiNOycxSZ_yxJTfE5c379m1fNuoo20F3Fkgym5xP5L7HN5fFq5C6OtNMkJ3mWosho_Ik-uTl4XU_IBA6d4tgEKEJ_jZ7OiITMASsKsRTY5so4/s320/RocketBooks.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">"How Rocket Learned to Read" and "Rocket Writes a Story" by Tad Hills</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Rocket's got reading and writing covered! See my blog posts <a href="http://swerstysswapshop.blogspot.com/2012/08/bow-wow-its-puppy-palooza-and-huge-tpt.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://swerstysswapshop.blogspot.com/2013/01/whoooo-is-rockets-new-friend.html" target="_blank">here</a> for ideas and activities.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="18" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s640/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMuyAgoc4BeYxMau4azH2Udvy0Rv3kIoAY7CFIFd3JiHe82Rp59v7CExyk5ILEXua4cLJ9PMNg-Qz8rpUljCvBimT0sbK6R8ULinrzwiKX1n_lOnjWm9AhHFAu2NMSW-7TGEovgkFz7Hb/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+8.01.05+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMuyAgoc4BeYxMau4azH2Udvy0Rv3kIoAY7CFIFd3JiHe82Rp59v7CExyk5ILEXua4cLJ9PMNg-Qz8rpUljCvBimT0sbK6R8ULinrzwiKX1n_lOnjWm9AhHFAu2NMSW-7TGEovgkFz7Hb/s320/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+8.01.05+AM.png" style="cursor: move;" width="250" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">"Senorita Gordita" by Helen Ketteman</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This book is a Southwestern-style retelling of "The Gingerbread Man" and is so fun to read aloud! Kids will join in the refrain with enthusiasm ("with a flip and a skip and a zip-zoom-zip"), and comparisons to the original Gingerbread Man fairy tale are sure to follow. Spanish words are sprinkled throughout the book, so an introduction to a few of them before reading it will have your students thinking about language and making predictions based on prior knowledge of the original story.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="18" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s640/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" width="640" /></a></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1z-OaFMFVV49MY9OgaYNaBu4jPCmOVY7AQ7UpOzD93HXbldsGNfLkriWxavFSAUZwkjSbH8QLkKMA2v2_lkyh0hayFIZ1iOGfd0IwcwakGc5S8TWpxIazIPwWMnrK-_GSxDNa_amhyphenhyphenvvX/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+8.30.24+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1z-OaFMFVV49MY9OgaYNaBu4jPCmOVY7AQ7UpOzD93HXbldsGNfLkriWxavFSAUZwkjSbH8QLkKMA2v2_lkyh0hayFIZ1iOGfd0IwcwakGc5S8TWpxIazIPwWMnrK-_GSxDNa_amhyphenhyphenvvX/s320/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+8.30.24+AM.png" style="cursor: move;" width="268" /></a></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">"Porkenstein" by Kathryn Lasky</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> A fun Frankenstein-esque story to read at Halloween. Throw on a lab coat and safety goggles and start conducting science experiments after reading this book!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="18" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s640/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYPm6F-PbltuZd0SGpxdfjDKVJifLxb0H77U3LXA83LMom4ip3aUiyOw9xXC9U1ZKDR-l3ZkwiTD-DgPEdGJ_QSHo4wejWHrlnXlwbDfmTfg_bXw6yJgrQrtoc6Hl6folnVMD5qZZSWDb/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+8.41.21+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYPm6F-PbltuZd0SGpxdfjDKVJifLxb0H77U3LXA83LMom4ip3aUiyOw9xXC9U1ZKDR-l3ZkwiTD-DgPEdGJ_QSHo4wejWHrlnXlwbDfmTfg_bXw6yJgrQrtoc6Hl6folnVMD5qZZSWDb/s320/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+8.41.21+AM.png" style="cursor: move;" width="220" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">"The Library Dragon" by Carmen Agra Deedy</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A librarian has serious issues with kids checking out or even touching the library books in this awesome story. </span><a href="http://swerstysswapshop.blogspot.com/2012/10/library-characters.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Click here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> for my blog post on "The Library Dragon".</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="18" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz07XcArItkCjZt-84RVw_p-R4PQ2dZeE9G4VVmuwFY1poycB5q4GEzhK4zE8bN-3HUVrdjYzWsSCWUgciUeFF2euhyphenhyphen_7S7uCxr7w-moF22aE5zyTFByluTzS-K5DA20EO9dlmhLBf4Cv9/s640/Screen+shot+2013-02-23+at+9.12.31+AM.png" width="640" /></a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Be sure to check out other great picture book recommendations at <a href="http://sunnydaysinsecondgrade.blogspot.com/2013/02/show-and-tell-tuesday-book-share.html" target="_blank">Sunny Days in Second Grade's linky party here</a>!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">~Swersty</span></div>
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Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-21668622473331893462013-02-15T06:43:00.000-06:002013-02-15T06:43:19.770-06:00A Tropical Paradise in Winter!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">"Moe the Dog in Tropical Paradise" by Diane Stanley is one of my favorite books and perfect to read at this time of year because it takes place in winter:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiof8dH96222MlK_74UC1Au05OrSB0vDAAwDiwT5iGSqNyRdo0GJCeSwZmh5862HFGFW9bTQq1RocmbBWcMeuoRSESFknpPB0Dx-FE3OJMQt-ygH8QgTs7Glf_k9gn8yZaB5d1lTpNegXb/s1600/IMG_0154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiof8dH96222MlK_74UC1Au05OrSB0vDAAwDiwT5iGSqNyRdo0GJCeSwZmh5862HFGFW9bTQq1RocmbBWcMeuoRSESFknpPB0Dx-FE3OJMQt-ygH8QgTs7Glf_k9gn8yZaB5d1lTpNegXb/s640/IMG_0154.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">What images come to mind when you think of winter? Snowflakes? A blanket of white snow covering the ground? </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Ice-covered ponds and lakes? </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Well, winter in Central Texas is usually pretty mild, so unfortunately snow is a rare occurrence here. Last week was no exception with daytime temperatures in the mid-70's. Oh how we yearn for a little snow and ice once in a while!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVEu_OhK_mc3p0DnpDNVpHgGU9uFICgjeKV0yzv2cbnCkPKtcRXsrUlMArVvUYNDESi1k-dvLXyU9hKycRszqrJxqdsW-8OEDwHI2Ph7E-acjA-l62XLEOlWee86BFq5Wrdn_H_nZ314J0/s1600/IMG_0153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVEu_OhK_mc3p0DnpDNVpHgGU9uFICgjeKV0yzv2cbnCkPKtcRXsrUlMArVvUYNDESi1k-dvLXyU9hKycRszqrJxqdsW-8OEDwHI2Ph7E-acjA-l62XLEOlWee86BFq5Wrdn_H_nZ314J0/s640/IMG_0153.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">So you can imagine the surprise for my students when they found out that there was an ice storm in the library, complete with a snowman, igloo, and an ice tunnel!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOr5ApCx8K4auoIhTlKH0Y00Z0X3P9Q5mnzPDogsKfF20dHWkK8HPkZiZMmfAslme2jY0rn089LSw0iEAhK3IJfRHyPf3JAvYFI38u-zA1zNQGd5OGc-HNHdbmw8SAb80EKIV13GAbFf7/s1600/IMG_0115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUOr5ApCx8K4auoIhTlKH0Y00Z0X3P9Q5mnzPDogsKfF20dHWkK8HPkZiZMmfAslme2jY0rn089LSw0iEAhK3IJfRHyPf3JAvYFI38u-zA1zNQGd5OGc-HNHdbmw8SAb80EKIV13GAbFf7/s640/IMG_0115.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our story area was transformed into a giant igloo!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_apBx6koEl6-7zEDmDlTT45oxqQ7OnIzGHVWgXNJPELGQPm9-N-OqZcD8szkIUQ2byEs98O_RcfDhPP7nXUwrYikwoMqPQnptkTcogcT4sGVoWUAu4PHrduvdlOnnekcZhMIUQjMf2nta/s1600/IMG_0116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_apBx6koEl6-7zEDmDlTT45oxqQ7OnIzGHVWgXNJPELGQPm9-N-OqZcD8szkIUQ2byEs98O_RcfDhPP7nXUwrYikwoMqPQnptkTcogcT4sGVoWUAu4PHrduvdlOnnekcZhMIUQjMf2nta/s640/IMG_0116.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ice tunnel--brrrrr!</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">What <u>does</u> the inside of an igloo look like, anyway? Let's take a peek...</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhngjC20V6O1CSKY-6S5ne8oFczMTdzH-dtIw8Dl2gGZqVe7iLl2YdS1PlWOI6H1BOBC4YhzdeiJasHUhB5xlfQcrTAtNv5cj1pBN9Mf3gTkeXtSo1gQ6-JvJOF0zj6h7d3PW98w274kYIN/s1600/IMG_0156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhngjC20V6O1CSKY-6S5ne8oFczMTdzH-dtIw8Dl2gGZqVe7iLl2YdS1PlWOI6H1BOBC4YhzdeiJasHUhB5xlfQcrTAtNv5cj1pBN9Mf3gTkeXtSo1gQ6-JvJOF0zj6h7d3PW98w274kYIN/s640/IMG_0156.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entrance to the igloo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBBBFV6s4sC_IR-BS5j59okWHDoa6jBFxWlSBuvtrCXl6SVxtVLhnRTeZJQXFtTHeBEHUPOtIyxAqmUVPj_DtA31Ef0qfUr7xTHKC6sYylhknZ3C1V9Br15EK0_0-MDnrRREI7JQj17KSR/s1600/IMG_0157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBBBFV6s4sC_IR-BS5j59okWHDoa6jBFxWlSBuvtrCXl6SVxtVLhnRTeZJQXFtTHeBEHUPOtIyxAqmUVPj_DtA31Ef0qfUr7xTHKC6sYylhknZ3C1V9Br15EK0_0-MDnrRREI7JQj17KSR/s640/IMG_0157.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Hmmm, not quite what you might expect...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2paQonro6U9lhKiHgMHe5QNrAl__jofbjLAzV6Ri4N-kZe_1XGy1zrxUHEQpO0lWfWvEaoDJ1JbfpLgv441hpI3xulFbOs9SMlmbhAWVUmJ30U8X6LHbvpq7IGDpojFQtVSh7APD7WRF/s1600/IMG_0122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2paQonro6U9lhKiHgMHe5QNrAl__jofbjLAzV6Ri4N-kZe_1XGy1zrxUHEQpO0lWfWvEaoDJ1JbfpLgv441hpI3xulFbOs9SMlmbhAWVUmJ30U8X6LHbvpq7IGDpojFQtVSh7APD7WRF/s640/IMG_0122.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3bPDBN26juzWGwXfp_wR4zI_Yj6yAILxdiXk5RtUiPmAHAyd7fgpBs3BDxqidXqik6I6sLpHBZ9Wt68e4X9zkppTZFjZ-4g14p8EP5pIRTGQSa6KBXbXr3AMth9sup2Mu8KMuIHaWbeP/s1600/IMG_0117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3bPDBN26juzWGwXfp_wR4zI_Yj6yAILxdiXk5RtUiPmAHAyd7fgpBs3BDxqidXqik6I6sLpHBZ9Wt68e4X9zkppTZFjZ-4g14p8EP5pIRTGQSa6KBXbXr3AMth9sup2Mu8KMuIHaWbeP/s640/IMG_0117.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwgksS60zO_B3d2EeThIINHhiQ-84PcAVB4arHkfEyYlFs2xgcmbWW1J1WfQjblvWjd_zVqZh40-62J26OS2rNImL6D-AvSy3L7wK48OVvDnabhaX9iSPkkqDF_roUutYG8YwLwPKymSOj/s1600/IMG_0118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwgksS60zO_B3d2EeThIINHhiQ-84PcAVB4arHkfEyYlFs2xgcmbWW1J1WfQjblvWjd_zVqZh40-62J26OS2rNImL6D-AvSy3L7wK48OVvDnabhaX9iSPkkqDF_roUutYG8YwLwPKymSOj/s640/IMG_0118.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">The tropical decor shocked the kids, but it made sense after hearing the story. And they really loved leaving the story area through the ice tunnel:</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP5hAKNss7Cg1aaiZig3G8g4SsEQb1FaJNRFl-fCag64b5iqzvLwAtp6KF1uGlISeX0hD4q9FpGvU8SKbPPUzG2TtMyZIh0ooV5l1_UmL9GMEC81D1wbTvIo3YkDkpfBHBh9dagTCLU3xv/s1600/IMG_0124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP5hAKNss7Cg1aaiZig3G8g4SsEQb1FaJNRFl-fCag64b5iqzvLwAtp6KF1uGlISeX0hD4q9FpGvU8SKbPPUzG2TtMyZIh0ooV5l1_UmL9GMEC81D1wbTvIo3YkDkpfBHBh9dagTCLU3xv/s640/IMG_0124.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik5jGNvVp3E4lDKYkVPloFIqUCdvSUAuMm1DNG85_jq-wPNzbUbRtFfoG3wSRS0opB50TIWb-i0vmP1xkCwRzmXoUVRnMid70nR_ID_A9pLs04_utvHl8mJa113QtIvk9Ou8Q0grOQEVuY/s1600/IMG_0145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik5jGNvVp3E4lDKYkVPloFIqUCdvSUAuMm1DNG85_jq-wPNzbUbRtFfoG3wSRS0opB50TIWb-i0vmP1xkCwRzmXoUVRnMid70nR_ID_A9pLs04_utvHl8mJa113QtIvk9Ou8Q0grOQEVuY/s640/IMG_0145.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRPNyM-Ys6FvW_KE2Y4-hht8cfjciPTjp_8l5GI_pXEahXFPgrzzLm8qspW0kAmUt4ygEpacmtSdcfCALtvs3M-L32Bohyphenhypheng_8ukG4nqu59SqfCJ7zeETJxeEyYoisRAVwhFYvS-dJKKPZy/s1600/IMG_0152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRPNyM-Ys6FvW_KE2Y4-hht8cfjciPTjp_8l5GI_pXEahXFPgrzzLm8qspW0kAmUt4ygEpacmtSdcfCALtvs3M-L32Bohyphenhypheng_8ukG4nqu59SqfCJ7zeETJxeEyYoisRAVwhFYvS-dJKKPZy/s640/IMG_0152.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">The story doesn't actually have an igloo or an ice tunnel in it, but I couldn't resist adding them. And in case you're wondering about the extravagant set-up, I didn't do it all by myself. I had help from my daughter and her friend, who were completely in charge of the tropical paradise area while I tackled the icy parts. We had fun decorating, and the students had a blast with this story! The setting prompted great discussions about weather, with students comparing warm and cold climates. Personally, I enjoy living in a warm location, but wouldn't mind a nice snowfall once every winter. How about you? </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Zv24HivYm4LNPHwBQ_fYsiLb_bly-yBI5RDgrNR5eUZ4yyPVvo_5xFGnWdUVepBvdhOYpXGNNHoFSWO1Cs0uUg5zxFRkk1Ttq-Y0ACAvVZePZZ5KHw6iaHjDHHjc0qxyjOUK7QiPpu4S/s1600/IMG_0149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Zv24HivYm4LNPHwBQ_fYsiLb_bly-yBI5RDgrNR5eUZ4yyPVvo_5xFGnWdUVepBvdhOYpXGNNHoFSWO1Cs0uUg5zxFRkk1Ttq-Y0ACAvVZePZZ5KHw6iaHjDHHjc0qxyjOUK7QiPpu4S/s640/IMG_0149.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">~Swersty</span>Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-55794745331514591712013-02-03T22:11:00.000-06:002013-07-30T23:46:34.768-05:00Library Football<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Give me an "R"! Give me an "E"! Give me an "A"! Give me a "D"! What's it spell?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQSUad629FVWJy0fXCRgNEVTmg3keMGh3-8xVAzJdsyJsHvPXMzw7jlu7bPdxBK85zabbrQevHmpMxqMIZ5U-2KkXzjZrzoBYxRgQPT2chdPITt735wTlJBzuq2sey8UFz5i4vJDcKbjuM/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQSUad629FVWJy0fXCRgNEVTmg3keMGh3-8xVAzJdsyJsHvPXMzw7jlu7bPdxBK85zabbrQevHmpMxqMIZ5U-2KkXzjZrzoBYxRgQPT2chdPITt735wTlJBzuq2sey8UFz5i4vJDcKbjuM/s400/photo.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Have your kids ever played library football? It's kind of like real football, except no tackling is allowed, and the Dewey Decimal System is an important part of the game! The week before the Super Bowl is when my 1st-5th graders play this totally loud but very fun game. Students are immediately greeted by </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">marching band music and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">this guy when they come to the library for their lesson:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LtZymEvKYVk2g1gtKLRfnfr06tfXxp1wc1fCMlTN5RkiO0fK7ZPGvnxj1BhrYm7Wu19TnLF_QeZMqob8k7tiZvn2nSfZfpYRDEdyx1Zwqn3-NOkw1fEEwV-2hrbvDAG6FGev2JryGMlq/s1600/IMG_0112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LtZymEvKYVk2g1gtKLRfnfr06tfXxp1wc1fCMlTN5RkiO0fK7ZPGvnxj1BhrYm7Wu19TnLF_QeZMqob8k7tiZvn2nSfZfpYRDEdyx1Zwqn3-NOkw1fEEwV-2hrbvDAG6FGev2JryGMlq/s640/IMG_0112.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I have this awesome football field rug that comes out each year for the big event:</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLPz0IYSXpsZGW2lynaEb_wHu-hbmf0VKeN46hdw31RWFYLHmG8YQ7aV_SiK0ChAm-X022uhSFuG6ToWa1Mm0h3DFasrrvaJ32ldz_sCVlfojOF5A6Q6_gDMwW9ksSYN1CHVKM0GoPfMi/s1600/IMG_0107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLPz0IYSXpsZGW2lynaEb_wHu-hbmf0VKeN46hdw31RWFYLHmG8YQ7aV_SiK0ChAm-X022uhSFuG6ToWa1Mm0h3DFasrrvaJ32ldz_sCVlfojOF5A6Q6_gDMwW9ksSYN1CHVKM0GoPfMi/s640/IMG_0107.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The kids get suited up in red and blue jerseys (courtesy of our P.E. coach) and the ref (yours truly) goes over the rules of the game, the most important of which is to quickly find a book that matches the Dewey Decimal number on a card.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUu3eeW1w_jri-Jk9_Sac9N9OkteDrgWMg6DTQi4Zx4p6w6pJiSWXM05UOTa4EK7GtSxIbOAn5HURB3_rOj8xJqPVAojDJyV8GDXKOL-OccB0y1njDCEofuCVl40_-WXLok4z0eZ2o9gml/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="489" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUu3eeW1w_jri-Jk9_Sac9N9OkteDrgWMg6DTQi4Zx4p6w6pJiSWXM05UOTa4EK7GtSxIbOAn5HURB3_rOj8xJqPVAojDJyV8GDXKOL-OccB0y1njDCEofuCVl40_-WXLok4z0eZ2o9gml/s640/photo.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Here's a sampling of the cards that students use during the game:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuhU_KxTdu6C7OnEtYJihETJ3hekgL1zwQsJygrBb0RSUxM33IN6hDlJl3CGScj0Z25zExJAZIF3osC_x1qnyd-OzXMfOGWCZfA5R2Jbk8QOp1OWVgUvrTIli2bwXTrvLUurgH3DqZdcW5/s1600/IMG_0111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuhU_KxTdu6C7OnEtYJihETJ3hekgL1zwQsJygrBb0RSUxM33IN6hDlJl3CGScj0Z25zExJAZIF3osC_x1qnyd-OzXMfOGWCZfA5R2Jbk8QOp1OWVgUvrTIli2bwXTrvLUurgH3DqZdcW5/s400/IMG_0111.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">And here is a student finding a book to match his card. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ihCLrcm_Hn6FmqZNg6ztpJ4qq68WLBBG4GJvwM1cdemS-Q8IhyUBvCc_chcNDHl_3UChlECbT6BUGYXCTcT-1c62wjfNqwFqaJWewL9lG398rDUJVqPeZMZoybIWQhUBjczp6cxHxj3k/s1600/IMG_0104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ihCLrcm_Hn6FmqZNg6ztpJ4qq68WLBBG4GJvwM1cdemS-Q8IhyUBvCc_chcNDHl_3UChlECbT6BUGYXCTcT-1c62wjfNqwFqaJWewL9lG398rDUJVqPeZMZoybIWQhUBjczp6cxHxj3k/s640/IMG_0104.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Once a match is made it has to be verified by the ref, and then a real football is moved down the field by the classroom teacher. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QuCsQla3_N_DoH87AmhqVCS4aWcAqwudFPF8p9y1eya5CH9DXJ_9tXAGqGQ2jDUQNBHTIYmvuMXiMwkbQj9ug3vPCI5NsW1y4254diEpNVY2cEvSEC1FxgH2HY94LOEBAdM3ScOD7ZyD/s1600/IMG_1543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QuCsQla3_N_DoH87AmhqVCS4aWcAqwudFPF8p9y1eya5CH9DXJ_9tXAGqGQ2jDUQNBHTIYmvuMXiMwkbQj9ug3vPCI5NsW1y4254diEpNVY2cEvSEC1FxgH2HY94LOEBAdM3ScOD7ZyD/s640/IMG_1543.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZB-ah1vAu32_3gY1HCxnWEASpPfEdipjcZf1oEpONmrjHSiM2vOv3Mt1cLp1YYfUg0GevSQqDbgTHS5VTSPcmgk9NhaEbco5kbh7mlChOxlaAr3eoka6XU0sZOCjrYYF68bMXx3_Mh9E/s1600/IMG_1536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZB-ah1vAu32_3gY1HCxnWEASpPfEdipjcZf1oEpONmrjHSiM2vOv3Mt1cLp1YYfUg0GevSQqDbgTHS5VTSPcmgk9NhaEbco5kbh7mlChOxlaAr3eoka6XU0sZOCjrYYF68bMXx3_Mh9E/s640/IMG_1536.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A touchdown is worth 6 points, and the scoring team answers a question about something we've learned in the library to get the extra point.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When the game is over, students shake hands with the other team:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi11gB1rWaPe53GGw1tlgqxI9jtmwzLrA6G8c2ZOu9lTvrVSiZuGLV_dxkVWbY2NbVhwbndxerkKfuGMvZyPrAczWEbSDy-7RD4mKPiAWOgvlejHEnbLQQ7FXi7t_AhmUD1W4Ij2ytlTfFK/s1600/IMG_0101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi11gB1rWaPe53GGw1tlgqxI9jtmwzLrA6G8c2ZOu9lTvrVSiZuGLV_dxkVWbY2NbVhwbndxerkKfuGMvZyPrAczWEbSDy-7RD4mKPiAWOgvlejHEnbLQQ7FXi7t_AhmUD1W4Ij2ytlTfFK/s400/IMG_0101.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEf4YgAsnCOF-m4L4rB8OhlaXkYzska8wgEOM-9CODWMeqX_0Sx3vaS6Ri2L1P86XbiYvLI7unnf7B7O9Yxw8xq4X8BCYotahehfsSzi2LWBFGTTx8B5mceeSn1yOYzv2yCWtd6SV7b6XR/s1600/IMG_0102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEf4YgAsnCOF-m4L4rB8OhlaXkYzska8wgEOM-9CODWMeqX_0Sx3vaS6Ri2L1P86XbiYvLI7unnf7B7O9Yxw8xq4X8BCYotahehfsSzi2LWBFGTTx8B5mceeSn1yOYzv2yCWtd6SV7b6XR/s640/IMG_0102.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The kids LOVE this game--probably because it's the one time I tell them to be loud and run in the library! Something else they love is discovering books from the nonfiction section, especially sports books!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSqrpT30mQ-IPtTSB3gYufbx5c9mu6QxOTAs0b0gcx2q4Hsn1-msFcNPEawZlVfbar0GTbbbJDHAdIdpVksvBJetgViPbq2D-3vQEJl7StES93oAX0n3kJIEA089FbZBnjk6SprEwrTKh3/s1600/IMG_0106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSqrpT30mQ-IPtTSB3gYufbx5c9mu6QxOTAs0b0gcx2q4Hsn1-msFcNPEawZlVfbar0GTbbbJDHAdIdpVksvBJetgViPbq2D-3vQEJl7StES93oAX0n3kJIEA089FbZBnjk6SprEwrTKh3/s640/IMG_0106.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I am not brave enough (or crazy enough) to do this with kindergarten. Instead, I take this opportunity to compare nonfiction and fiction books. First I read them a simple nonfiction book about football and then we read "Little Granny Quarterback" by Bill Martin Jr.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmn7MzeRNzhnBoI8AOXfF2nP9tj_cPW1U63G7XI6DcdP0XIOV9QFrKrFknm_-OdCwIfGofjgzcg3Ihnr-UghyY9nYhsvAXTs9CCfQ2jQIglLAbMajj0P21OyN-GnfA2SxxJGWl4k8Nxr5X/s1600/IMG_0113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmn7MzeRNzhnBoI8AOXfF2nP9tj_cPW1U63G7XI6DcdP0XIOV9QFrKrFknm_-OdCwIfGofjgzcg3Ihnr-UghyY9nYhsvAXTs9CCfQ2jQIglLAbMajj0P21OyN-GnfA2SxxJGWl4k8Nxr5X/s640/IMG_0113.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Have you heard of this story? It's one of my favorites, and they really enjoy holding the <a href="http://swerstysswapshop.blogspot.com/2012/12/woo-hoo-i-got-story-clue.html" target="_blank">story clues</a> from this book!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWeYrF4ZNGobbMUtLKqEoE8f-DpIrTGGJXBC5JQcmpt76UcDkrzV5CpUR3FR4VBX2aepgZsA8F9msDZ2gLSVvo4L-gYF3oeRb1ABWorBhyIxTgM0ETg-cBzEWaR2igpHlsWeNKAJDCbMuQ/s1600/IMG_0096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWeYrF4ZNGobbMUtLKqEoE8f-DpIrTGGJXBC5JQcmpt76UcDkrzV5CpUR3FR4VBX2aepgZsA8F9msDZ2gLSVvo4L-gYF3oeRb1ABWorBhyIxTgM0ETg-cBzEWaR2igpHlsWeNKAJDCbMuQ/s640/IMG_0096.JPG" width="640" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">After reading the books, we play a quick game of library football, kindergarten style. Basically the kids toss the ball to each other down the field until everyone has had a turn. Each catch counts as a point for the whole class, and we clap and cheer at the end. Believe it or not, they love it!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">TOUCHDOWN, TOUCHDOWN</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">SIS BOOM BAH</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">READING IS FUN</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">RAH RAH RAH!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Oops--looks like my inner cheerleader has been unleashed!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">~Swersty</span></div>
Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-85398158337910497272013-01-20T14:03:00.000-06:002013-02-12T04:13:37.892-06:00"Whoooo" is Rocket's New Friend?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUwTg2-pyq4klPN-8qZ2iXe9gdTGYNZPjdzZ7T7N0P4K47K3aJMILeZN6p6p_d_mt2v7Td5aykvvlJs9POUeVB-F7xwvcULStudtDH_Gelaiboy4uymPf6kMYcXOhqSbi5S4FvkY5tLmjN/s1600/photo_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUwTg2-pyq4klPN-8qZ2iXe9gdTGYNZPjdzZ7T7N0P4K47K3aJMILeZN6p6p_d_mt2v7Td5aykvvlJs9POUeVB-F7xwvcULStudtDH_Gelaiboy4uymPf6kMYcXOhqSbi5S4FvkY5tLmjN/s640/photo_2.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Last week in the library we made some new friends. We literally MADE friends--for one of our favorite story characters, <a href="http://tadhills.com/rocket" target="_blank">Rocket the dog</a> from the book "Rocket Writes a Story" by Tad Hills! In this sequel to "How Rocket Learned to Read", Rocket befriends a shy owl and learns about the writing process at the same time. The kids </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">loved</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> this project! Take a look at a few of their masterpieces:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinlYqiuQrqbyq8Be9pymkrvtZXqEYVEUbYubt0OVhxDfYtWy1Uaa1p0DydgWa4IyFS-FTJvyxtOMNcPuDeg3bqIQTyuc9IpuTKWvqZWyXVZYMb2HVqmHWw1uu7z429lK5zcghToiNXEdxA/s1600/IMG_0087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinlYqiuQrqbyq8Be9pymkrvtZXqEYVEUbYubt0OVhxDfYtWy1Uaa1p0DydgWa4IyFS-FTJvyxtOMNcPuDeg3bqIQTyuc9IpuTKWvqZWyXVZYMb2HVqmHWw1uu7z429lK5zcghToiNXEdxA/s640/IMG_0087.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGvYS6o9j5hYQTjoMyRVMJLrsplXeiPlwaQeNjQtMzaQmdUd7Bty5PxRs6YVK82s3aDYYEP0q6BU-dvaGPFbvZG4tiwAjxQS5jQVTQgfxR9FSfF9h0sPEJk22I_GoF-qoxfrADbaDVzoFD/s1600/IMG_0083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGvYS6o9j5hYQTjoMyRVMJLrsplXeiPlwaQeNjQtMzaQmdUd7Bty5PxRs6YVK82s3aDYYEP0q6BU-dvaGPFbvZG4tiwAjxQS5jQVTQgfxR9FSfF9h0sPEJk22I_GoF-qoxfrADbaDVzoFD/s400/IMG_0083.JPG" width="267" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiejW8qe_CZpaJ1lkew7cQ_NQmPqzGIp1MjEzEFfJPy4uvNWr8xsBlsnAEZ7Bzkmdlycg8y8zEUBJKekp7yXjPxZp4Jj9NklUpL8hse5bJ7SFbbH_92jDBdBcWrfNNWV-oYncJyuESsgdIB/s1600/IMG_0089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiejW8qe_CZpaJ1lkew7cQ_NQmPqzGIp1MjEzEFfJPy4uvNWr8xsBlsnAEZ7Bzkmdlycg8y8zEUBJKekp7yXjPxZp4Jj9NklUpL8hse5bJ7SFbbH_92jDBdBcWrfNNWV-oYncJyuESsgdIB/s400/IMG_0089.JPG" width="262" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMgtaO_idjvBDD1vHSl3BeYvg3Anhu1NK9SsovOTyHjeZur1Wldsw0OGppWmSgNpW7M-jYjqKwU96E6clhcdpbN4wszbr9X3GTUpaS_lzHnOxns5E4MIse5MMgx8oKaeRQxiW8pRfhS1PN/s1600/IMG_0084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="473" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMgtaO_idjvBDD1vHSl3BeYvg3Anhu1NK9SsovOTyHjeZur1Wldsw0OGppWmSgNpW7M-jYjqKwU96E6clhcdpbN4wszbr9X3GTUpaS_lzHnOxns5E4MIse5MMgx8oKaeRQxiW8pRfhS1PN/s640/IMG_0084.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">These new friends are cute for sure, but also WISE, because they have the very important job of holding word cards for their primary-grade owners. First, have students write words they can use in their own stories: </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-VyPBN5pDqeFdlC4o2o68nv6oOi2a2JOQ3f0IPpka2CQVcV8M6_ejVaKAvcmBULyYNisD-_bbw79IpiY_RxZt5dxVTe0PDy5xTWmuRk8n-nVx_vKhxUgGx0meYnWJCs6yKlIz1W7z2ppx/s1600/IMG_0079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="590" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-VyPBN5pDqeFdlC4o2o68nv6oOi2a2JOQ3f0IPpka2CQVcV8M6_ejVaKAvcmBULyYNisD-_bbw79IpiY_RxZt5dxVTe0PDy5xTWmuRk8n-nVx_vKhxUgGx0meYnWJCs6yKlIz1W7z2ppx/s640/IMG_0079.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Each student's cards are then stored inside the owl, providing motivation to collect lots more great words to use when writing stories!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">If you are interested in more unique and educational activities to go with the Rocket stories, click the following links that will take you directly to my TPT store and the corresponding unit for that book:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Puppy-Palooza-2-Rocket-Writes-a-Story-Book-Study-Unit" target="_blank">"Rocket Writes a Story" Book Study Unit</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Puppy-Palooza-How-Rocket-Learned-to-Read-Book-Study-Unit" target="_blank">"How Rocket Learned to Read" Book Study Unit</a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I can't resist one more picture of these cuties before signing off. "Whoooo" else thinks they're adorable?!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8YBJaHgglGwbqH6Mz9r-H91T0s4nD50Is6rosaX5fV_90XUIvla-BODT4p_tQkE7cD3zrnCRV_QH1cJr58BYfxuqIfIwLLqqGOcHTLfKL_pivE5qONXnxBkSd62F0agzY5Y8vDzW7RdcE/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8YBJaHgglGwbqH6Mz9r-H91T0s4nD50Is6rosaX5fV_90XUIvla-BODT4p_tQkE7cD3zrnCRV_QH1cJr58BYfxuqIfIwLLqqGOcHTLfKL_pivE5qONXnxBkSd62F0agzY5Y8vDzW7RdcE/s640/photo.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">~Swersty</span></div>
Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-39706113451897472092012-12-18T21:59:00.000-06:002012-12-18T21:59:29.445-06:00Woo hoo! I got a story clue!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJGFx684-WheMEujQhjJDSIpJzDyOTMVGimwH7S-aTda59Uq0Kpzp0WRViA3D9sqH8VRwcKW84tVnX7f-HGH3wsmjMVdztb4pmqqX-8PC6GjCD5mLtzn6nwi6IXOdsK_NG5iLk_ZphULvy/s1600/StoryClues.001.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJGFx684-WheMEujQhjJDSIpJzDyOTMVGimwH7S-aTda59Uq0Kpzp0WRViA3D9sqH8VRwcKW84tVnX7f-HGH3wsmjMVdztb4pmqqX-8PC6GjCD5mLtzn6nwi6IXOdsK_NG5iLk_ZphULvy/s640/StoryClues.001.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">See the smiles on these kinder kids' faces? They were happy because they got to hold story clues during last week's story time. Before reading a book to kindergarteners, I show them 3-5 objects that relate to the story. They try to guess what the story is about using the clues, which helps to develop good speaking and listening habits along with a host of other language arts skills. It's so neat to see the progress they make in their story predictions from the beginning of the year to the end!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Story clues are easy to incorporate into story time and kids eagerly await their turn to hold them. Stuffed animals and inexpensive small toys make up the majority of my story clue collection. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">So how many of you use story clues when introducing new books to your kids? If you do, I'll bet you've noticed that behavior instantly improves with the mere mention of the word "clues". And good behavior paired with a good story will get a "WOO HOO" from me any day!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">~Swersty</span><br />
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Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-46453798295405753872012-10-27T17:18:00.000-05:002012-10-27T17:18:44.634-05:00Book Fair Fun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It's book fair time! This coming week the library will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair and the kids and staff are so excited! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Hosting a book fair is a huge job because, for starters, it doesn't magically set itself up. In fact, it takes a lot of work to get a book fair ready, as one of my 5th graders reminded me last week. My book fair was delivered on Monday, and on Tuesday this student poked his head into the library. Here's how our conversation went:</span><br />
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Kid (shouting urgently): "MRS. WERSTERFER! YOU HAVE TO START SETTING UP THE BOOK FAIR!"</div>
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Me (looking up from my computer): "Huh?"</div>
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Kid: "THE BOOK FAIR! IT'S NEXT WEEK! YOU NEED TO SET IT UP <u>NOW</u>!"</div>
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Me: "Don't worry, I've got it covered. Now get back to class!"</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">That thrill over a book fair never seems to go away. Even adults get excited at the mere mention of the the event! Friday afternoon some of my wonderful library volunteers and PTA moms helped me unpack and arrange our school's fall book fair. I think it looks really good. Take a look! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">(Cue the "ooohs" and "ahhhs"...)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgktHnS0UYUlkdweRxdUjezeT7t8VQJOj7avQYdWraPn7K9tl68Q6qh1qwtYEHZsLcb7UjMeeVjO7522PrLuiHN3mpWiD5s3VZyCuljQz0HYgXB86E5rJH0GZJlxoLm5HBkF3kT4GOYRT7V/s1600/IMG_0682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgktHnS0UYUlkdweRxdUjezeT7t8VQJOj7avQYdWraPn7K9tl68Q6qh1qwtYEHZsLcb7UjMeeVjO7522PrLuiHN3mpWiD5s3VZyCuljQz0HYgXB86E5rJH0GZJlxoLm5HBkF3kT4GOYRT7V/s640/IMG_0682.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I have a big smile here because this was a </span><s><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">posed</span></s><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> completely spontaneous picture to show the joys of selling items at a book fair. I'll be the first to admit that hosting a book fair is not always sunshine and lollipops. Allow me to present the photo above as exhibit A--note the non-cluttered cash register table--very nice, right?! By Tuesday it will be covered with stacks of books and miscellaneous items to put away because people either: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>a.) </b>changed their minds about what to buy, or <b>b.)</b> couldn't afford them in the first place. This table will also be littered with a collection of random papers, book fair flyers, sticky notes, trash, and pens. (Speaking of pens, the Murphy's Law of Book Fairs holds that they will mysteriously disappear <u>the exact moment</u> someone needs one to write a check.)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zZh-JoWN3Qltj6k5jVdcyKlRNzVP34_AFK3IEFeIFZ0kQLqWXNelQBLPyr9HxrT72glEwhP2P_cErWNYadxBv0G2u_7757B4NG4KUwDHpCgHewiLa6fhi5iY8RhRER4I8n7JcP25Gtgu/s1600/IMG_0684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0zZh-JoWN3Qltj6k5jVdcyKlRNzVP34_AFK3IEFeIFZ0kQLqWXNelQBLPyr9HxrT72glEwhP2P_cErWNYadxBv0G2u_7757B4NG4KUwDHpCgHewiLa6fhi5iY8RhRER4I8n7JcP25Gtgu/s640/IMG_0684.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Exhibit B--no long lines of restless students and stressed-out parents here yet, but come Monday morning this place will be a zoo! And let's not forget about clueless kindergartners who can't count money but are laden with baggies full of pennies and nickels. You don't see them in this photo, but they are sure to make an appearance! </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Don't get me wrong; there are many things I like about the book fair. I enjoy the smell of brand-new books and the thrill of finding awesome stories to share with my classes. However, the best part of having a book fair is seeing so many kids get pumped up over books. All the hard work and effort put into running a book fair is worth it when a student says, "Yessss! You have the book I want to read!" </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">~Swersty</span>Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-70494228013842208272012-10-20T17:10:00.002-05:002012-10-20T17:10:18.622-05:00Library CharactersI'm ba-ack! It has been a while since my last post and my only excuse is that I'm finding it a challenge to juggle family activities/schedules, work responsibilities, and blogging stuff.<br />
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Our library has had a few visitors since the beginning of school! One surprise guest in September was Miss Lotty, a.k.a. the Library Dragon!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yep, she sports a dragon tail and stylish beehive hairdo!</td></tr>
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If you're not familiar with the story <u>The Library Dragon</u> by Carmen Agra Deedy, it's about a librarian named Miss Lotta Scales who is hired to guard the books at an elementary school. She starts out as a real dragon by not doing story time or letting the students even touch the library books. Of course, by the end of the story she transforms into Miss Lotty, a more kid-friendly librarian who allows the books to be checked out and even introduces story time in the library! A sequel book, <u>Return of the Library Dragon</u>, was recently published and I feel certain my students will be seeing more of Miss Lotty in the near future.</div>
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<a href="http://swerstysswapshop.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-wild-library-orientation.html" target="_blank">Jumoke the baby gorilla</a> continues to make occasional appearances at our library, but most of the time she is "napping" in the back office. Almost every class wants to know where she is and when they'll get to see her again, so to preserve my own sanity this past week I told them that she was away visiting a zoo! Who knows, that zoo trip may turn into an extended stay...<br />
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Last week's story <u>Porkenstein</u>, by Kathryn Lasky, brought out my inner scientist/inventor persona:</div>
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This is a great Halloween story that I read to pre-k through 4th grade classes. After the story, we had fun with science experiments. Please note that I use the word "science" loosely here, as the experiments involved water-filled beakers, cake sprinkles, an old TV cable, and a singing pig stuffed animal! Suffice it to say that I probably won't be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry any time soon.</div>
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That's all of the library characters for now, friends. I'm signing off but am determined to do a better job of keeping up with the blogging world from now on. Who knows, maybe my next character will be called Super Blogger!</div>
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~Swersty</div>
Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-1033432234482531712012-09-09T16:56:00.000-05:002012-09-09T16:56:14.485-05:00A Wild Library Orientation!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The library finally opened to students last week with a "Wild about Reading" theme. My new library aide, Jumoke the pet gorilla, helped to make the lesson super fun for the kids!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Look closely at my right hand--it is totally a fake! My real right hand is shoved up inside the gorilla to operate the puppet. </span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> I named her Jumoke because it is a real gorilla name and means "loved by everybody" in Nigerian. Although she didn't say a word, the kids were fascinated by her and wanted to know if she was real! Jumoke and I led the kids around the library to check on the animals and make sure none of them had escaped from their cages.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh02aYUc8a1U3kcCcKXZI8jrTZba2DMaY05kRKqZ0qLBy-LnE98tUO76erKgs_RQJENiPxqOld1MWZRmrOraXex-nnr2aGIyqsll_6gwb9kIlp9O6aZiwM85AI0SXIqu_wl4w5mZ5xgLxDf/s1600/WildOrientationLookingAtTigers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh02aYUc8a1U3kcCcKXZI8jrTZba2DMaY05kRKqZ0qLBy-LnE98tUO76erKgs_RQJENiPxqOld1MWZRmrOraXex-nnr2aGIyqsll_6gwb9kIlp9O6aZiwM85AI0SXIqu_wl4w5mZ5xgLxDf/s400/WildOrientationLookingAtTigers.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">For each cage there was at least one animal that had "escaped", which the students had to help find and return to the cage. Of course all of the escapees were discovered reading books not too far from their cages! This activity served to give the students a tour of the different sections of the library and a chance for me to go over rules and procedures. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xNQ0Rxbo_Q3oaMiYRdIdhK7TJaIYkMjxtf-JQjd7dD0b0YMb5vPm64jVHnlZRKuvySdrGcBsTbCKo3YBiCW1sZdDthdGp50AkxLkk_bCwU_W20-6VOy2WFLNXIN1tat04GANsGlX-VVK/s1600/OrientationCages.020.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xNQ0Rxbo_Q3oaMiYRdIdhK7TJaIYkMjxtf-JQjd7dD0b0YMb5vPm64jVHnlZRKuvySdrGcBsTbCKo3YBiCW1sZdDthdGp50AkxLkk_bCwU_W20-6VOy2WFLNXIN1tat04GANsGlX-VVK/s640/OrientationCages.020.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Wild animals have taken over the library! These 5 cages are placed in different sections of the library and will stay out all year long.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">This has been a fun theme to decorate for because animal print is so popular and easy to find. I did have to make the cages (with a little help from hubby). We used 1x2 boards to make the frames, then primed and painted them. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirIhBQ4-x3CCx6HnEUNrNoyE3oB5IQ3UVLeMiiD-FOBsJ8-qgLbG2leLMY1aNsOCq8Kkr8LvbZTCe12EAxRgXYox5xNlOcBewUYOVxThvYt386MxUzsCwLSY8OAYLg-5XnWy6ofk27fd-i/s1600/100_0751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirIhBQ4-x3CCx6HnEUNrNoyE3oB5IQ3UVLeMiiD-FOBsJ8-qgLbG2leLMY1aNsOCq8Kkr8LvbZTCe12EAxRgXYox5xNlOcBewUYOVxThvYt386MxUzsCwLSY8OAYLg-5XnWy6ofk27fd-i/s320/100_0751.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Once they were painted black, it was time to add the "bars". We cut pieces from a 1/4 inch soaker hose (50 feet per package) and stapled them to the cages. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGs10Jo218HlBr4rsaTO6eEm1KgHcSnL6oZ8BCXJ5QX208FWLJYenT-NVWX095RhkB9i48gHCdMTloL-xPRpHTd9hRyVUMhrDGeRXG7GVa0fhzsKHSRx5rWnVwQ-5pVDHnoKq66RpPtDg/s1600/100_0756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGs10Jo218HlBr4rsaTO6eEm1KgHcSnL6oZ8BCXJ5QX208FWLJYenT-NVWX095RhkB9i48gHCdMTloL-xPRpHTd9hRyVUMhrDGeRXG7GVa0fhzsKHSRx5rWnVwQ-5pVDHnoKq66RpPtDg/s320/100_0756.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">They were fairly easy to make and inexpensive, although I have no idea where I'll store them next year! Here's a close-up of a finished cage:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyawjdUyf_yEiBsd4-n3rIVC3iXujXzLsIyelaysLQSm09rLa8Bpd76ez9gHQGqRpqDgxq2OURvD0flYfKxlSGYwPQmLKFXR26J3kCex_vBTPdSBuy02FQ8P6bRi6cnQ1T65PUiXYKrxaP/s1600/100_0767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyawjdUyf_yEiBsd4-n3rIVC3iXujXzLsIyelaysLQSm09rLa8Bpd76ez9gHQGqRpqDgxq2OURvD0flYfKxlSGYwPQmLKFXR26J3kCex_vBTPdSBuy02FQ8P6bRi6cnQ1T65PUiXYKrxaP/s320/100_0767.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The kids fell in love with Jumoke and begged to touch her. She was a big help with behavior management--if a class was too noisy she would hide her head down into my side until they got quiet. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKP3ayjON-5Lb6rQx-SsGCYeRttp0QOMEN3BA2ybSfrFz2RQeXZT76pRHYFxDDkZt6rkedzThf3x2QkPTMBujIJeuc7bbWAtMs8z6LOG9vV2IY80vHB9EGfSM0p_-sIlI65i4TZKq12zRi/s1600/WildOrientationTrey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKP3ayjON-5Lb6rQx-SsGCYeRttp0QOMEN3BA2ybSfrFz2RQeXZT76pRHYFxDDkZt6rkedzThf3x2QkPTMBujIJeuc7bbWAtMs8z6LOG9vV2IY80vHB9EGfSM0p_-sIlI65i4TZKq12zRi/s320/WildOrientationTrey.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLpzwg4oVHwJLUih3hlXq2iZ3I7C_8taq_pMSj_hlgVBxI2Rbluf3AGxP8RQIsn9CMPPytA7gzKRM45-l-HdRqC4En0dm6UxNWrJlBPYbrUPsdseQsRaVwPfVa2i9qllKQbwO0TjeuOXCt/s1600/WildOrientationKids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLpzwg4oVHwJLUih3hlXq2iZ3I7C_8taq_pMSj_hlgVBxI2Rbluf3AGxP8RQIsn9CMPPytA7gzKRM45-l-HdRqC4En0dm6UxNWrJlBPYbrUPsdseQsRaVwPfVa2i9qllKQbwO0TjeuOXCt/s320/WildOrientationKids.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Jumoke was such a hit with the students that she'll definitely be coming back to visit. So far we're off to a great start, and hopefully with Jumoke's help my students will be WILD about READING this school year!</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgROsG_dVdDPidzBXmJPOYsLnQ0ZeGMZkEFtZVC6YJcg5AUDLL_KkwFNxQZJMm_oGwb7zNYICqnbnt3mzwOAj5ibcwyn1S2MriXOKuhd7CKUnWpUtTCSNzv3NLwF6pnlRfJ86Ndb9q5UIn6/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgROsG_dVdDPidzBXmJPOYsLnQ0ZeGMZkEFtZVC6YJcg5AUDLL_KkwFNxQZJMm_oGwb7zNYICqnbnt3mzwOAj5ibcwyn1S2MriXOKuhd7CKUnWpUtTCSNzv3NLwF6pnlRfJ86Ndb9q5UIn6/s640/photo+2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">~Swersty</span></div>
Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-77145262867527223772012-08-25T10:35:00.000-05:002012-08-25T10:35:58.390-05:00Wild about Reading!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhZiLAOi5pdhyphenhyphenSpRBKOKwHi1c1VpNw66aJdDEFGOnWj5deB_e1JEY6X_93vs6xz9RdCqa6Sf3QXJZqXFSgzYCjU2ooIZbEd_xpbR6SmS7dMVvP496oaKr4BptAf4O5LRDMc49oUiOMCk2/s1600/100_0748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhZiLAOi5pdhyphenhyphenSpRBKOKwHi1c1VpNw66aJdDEFGOnWj5deB_e1JEY6X_93vs6xz9RdCqa6Sf3QXJZqXFSgzYCjU2ooIZbEd_xpbR6SmS7dMVvP496oaKr4BptAf4O5LRDMc49oUiOMCk2/s640/100_0748.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">TA DA! My bulletin board is finally done. Every year I <s>embarrass</s> showcase my teachers on the library's bulletin board. Students love to see their favorite teachers promote reading by flying, cooking, or, as is the case this year, squeezing into child-sized animal masks! (I have to add that my teachers are such good sports! There was hardly any grumbling at all about taking a picture while wearing a silly mask. I think they secretly liked it...)</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Can you "spot" my pigeon-loving <a href="http://tunstalltimes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">bloggy buddy Reagan Tunstall</a>?</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSA744qCaQRpERP4xOsXMsrtzpvQAn_1aXZHGgQndZG_QWu4kOxvP9avyq3a1AcIuM-tP2Bj7PqrEDjKE9LniV6_Mb9jwnI6z01dSGOjJeO_-x_QAR301CxZ0KdonC2ahXAwOKVMJGVvpb/s1600/100_0747.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSA744qCaQRpERP4xOsXMsrtzpvQAn_1aXZHGgQndZG_QWu4kOxvP9avyq3a1AcIuM-tP2Bj7PqrEDjKE9LniV6_Mb9jwnI6z01dSGOjJeO_-x_QAR301CxZ0KdonC2ahXAwOKVMJGVvpb/s640/100_0747.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">This year our whole school has adopted the popular "wild about learning" theme, and I already have some fun surprises up my sleeve for the students and their teachers! Classes will experience a wild library orientation lesson beginning the first week of September, where my goal is for kids to totally go BANANAS for BOOKS! Be sure to stay tuned--I have a feeling that some "wild" pictures from that orientation will be posted here soon!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">~Swersty</span></div>
Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-32109898743901843402012-08-11T14:46:00.000-05:002012-08-11T17:18:24.091-05:00Bow Wow! It's a Puppy Palooza and a Huge TpT Sale!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What do you get when you mix puppies, learning to read, and learning to write stories?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">These two great books!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://tadhills.com/" target="_blank">Click here to learn more about Tad Hills and his awesome books!</a></span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Some of you will remember that I've recommended Tad Hills' "Rocket" stories before, but with the start of school right around the corner for many of us, I wanted to remind everyone about these fabulous books. They are perfect for the beginning of the year! And what kid doesn't like puppies?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Even before the first "Rocket" story was published, we were mixing puppies and reading here at my house.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW65QlkXMkC1d8ZHZBe667tIE5eSXv8Wip9RFWO3SKRxRVQIh1v0l6ntjc0XSuLzWLz8imQ9FWdNq3Sm7WmxO1fyKqmXi1EF-_Pz8gxvhzQb0EVVMx7XEqoNw5pIpY8nWpQCTPBFS9eLeI/s1600/GretchenReadingToPuppies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW65QlkXMkC1d8ZHZBe667tIE5eSXv8Wip9RFWO3SKRxRVQIh1v0l6ntjc0XSuLzWLz8imQ9FWdNq3Sm7WmxO1fyKqmXi1EF-_Pz8gxvhzQb0EVVMx7XEqoNw5pIpY8nWpQCTPBFS9eLeI/s400/GretchenReadingToPuppies.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">That's my daughter (in 2008) reading to Butterball and Samson, our brand new Labrador puppies!</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Samson and Butterball were birthday gifts for my kids, and were featured on my daughter's 8th birthday invitation in this picture from four years ago:</span><br />
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Two high-energy puppies, a hammock and one 8-year old girl made for a fun photo shoot!</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">When Samson and Butterball were about 6 months old, we took them to our church for Animal Blessing Day. And believe me, they needed all the blessings they could get because, let's just say they were not always on their best behavior!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZyN5cXceOBcjGkzby0M8296GwvvIVwZFTym-xn2-4RDbOUXHSS9untU7Z-4cXPFSq4hIwMWm3bN94n6SEmCcqHBeZE7Z99CwUC1ySLuO49VPtQ4xnJ8Z64hjlndR_APtBZdMmWhFnf9m-/s1600/AnimalBlessingDay4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZyN5cXceOBcjGkzby0M8296GwvvIVwZFTym-xn2-4RDbOUXHSS9untU7Z-4cXPFSq4hIwMWm3bN94n6SEmCcqHBeZE7Z99CwUC1ySLuO49VPtQ4xnJ8Z64hjlndR_APtBZdMmWhFnf9m-/s400/AnimalBlessingDay4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">2 dogs + holidays = FUN!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWvFwjuspkYYWNZRvHi2YagO5QCo6XVLqHJly4RueIxr4DvpiAPFjgens2OTCyQL4i7wt-EfXBK0niwBFP36JCMmmTly3BRsTkpp0aXc2L2Dfef07TQiRk-sCNME-pb5lBALYDNnQ3h0Q/s1600/IMG_0471.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWvFwjuspkYYWNZRvHi2YagO5QCo6XVLqHJly4RueIxr4DvpiAPFjgens2OTCyQL4i7wt-EfXBK0niwBFP36JCMmmTly3BRsTkpp0aXc2L2Dfef07TQiRk-sCNME-pb5lBALYDNnQ3h0Q/s400/IMG_0471.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Halloween 2008</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Sts5v20FBuRpE8DcJ1R1_3GbGOASB7AaBQgjo6JRuY8_O4noYHigtJ-6JOJiCDCoGYC1NnoYZoKSm9wRk3kQeZOoQwWDiduYfURPzFFkxDvN5wPm104Q5P9bhHslA7afjT2GpoLoajwJ/s1600/IMG_0507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Sts5v20FBuRpE8DcJ1R1_3GbGOASB7AaBQgjo6JRuY8_O4noYHigtJ-6JOJiCDCoGYC1NnoYZoKSm9wRk3kQeZOoQwWDiduYfURPzFFkxDvN5wPm104Q5P9bhHslA7afjT2GpoLoajwJ/s400/IMG_0507.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas 2008</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">But out of all the "kids with dogs" pictures, these two are my favorites:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSerVdx5vkn3vcvi8cEdlRp_cdZAaLPGGOEY2uXic5CajUlFhyphenhyphen4Sfz2LkHQ5uWvmFsKF2_RS-eu7yt3dVB0wFmtOLYo7yf94JqJzegFDtFHHsZ5MaKd4U7j8eFju4ket3mHQw_eFftPmDM/s1600/Kids%2526Dogs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSerVdx5vkn3vcvi8cEdlRp_cdZAaLPGGOEY2uXic5CajUlFhyphenhyphen4Sfz2LkHQ5uWvmFsKF2_RS-eu7yt3dVB0wFmtOLYo7yf94JqJzegFDtFHHsZ5MaKd4U7j8eFju4ket3mHQw_eFftPmDM/s400/Kids%2526Dogs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQj3SxQhpviJAjvmYsABu-gGgD4FqWttamNwKT1SiLpnkRqS8jwMoc-OE9Plk-sX6EVrdWGPP1Iuc2rWzLtO5uwwIkZ7BH_0HMJg8I02OmGn59i0urHi_NkP6BC-__VSj609qZ6O4cO4Gq/s1600/IMG_0072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQj3SxQhpviJAjvmYsABu-gGgD4FqWttamNwKT1SiLpnkRqS8jwMoc-OE9Plk-sX6EVrdWGPP1Iuc2rWzLtO5uwwIkZ7BH_0HMJg8I02OmGn59i0urHi_NkP6BC-__VSj609qZ6O4cO4Gq/s640/IMG_0072.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Now that's some serious Puppy Love!<br /></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">It's obvious that kids and puppies are a good mix. Look what happens when you share "How Rocket Learned to Read" and then introduce your class to a basket of puppies (the stuffed animal kind):</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKIQQJscyHesETBGQbdmMwaC5NM28k111FiGs7NCmCi1du9KTXvTNC1u1uT863Zr7ZXNr2ETrVi_srp7zYwL9aUoWInGPuiyrvAjbU_P6d9VBIpvom8nfkH2wmWGWTAF0Emm9U1m2S-71/s1600/IMG_2075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirKIQQJscyHesETBGQbdmMwaC5NM28k111FiGs7NCmCi1du9KTXvTNC1u1uT863Zr7ZXNr2ETrVi_srp7zYwL9aUoWInGPuiyrvAjbU_P6d9VBIpvom8nfkH2wmWGWTAF0Emm9U1m2S-71/s320/IMG_2075.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Adopt us!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrcaIghOnLFZnrNvnabNNbi5kkUPNr8Ws2uETVQrGIPWS1JnQdRdH_xAJ7Ufa3Nh2pHZEzU8eQNyqlpxnAY4Q14_qLQZYBAsMlztbaRvCSnyqNc1WNQnWNLICtFG87VeKCs42pXNeejMDr/s1600/SchoolNamePick.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrcaIghOnLFZnrNvnabNNbi5kkUPNr8Ws2uETVQrGIPWS1JnQdRdH_xAJ7Ufa3Nh2pHZEzU8eQNyqlpxnAY4Q14_qLQZYBAsMlztbaRvCSnyqNc1WNQnWNLICtFG87VeKCs42pXNeejMDr/s1600/SchoolNamePick.JPG" /></a></div>
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Choosing a name collar for puppy</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ3vxGFRnbQ_sCSl-FLDnNEN8ZY0z7x80EKSz5mK_Qh6tkUHY1LwQZipdjYrtpy0mdwK1-6xZk7HpJ7itWWCG4djJWx0W000D_xBd_arZu8a9BRKu6mxOncy8rONYv-Mz5pJsn-3-8hcOS/s1600/SchoolPuppyLove.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ3vxGFRnbQ_sCSl-FLDnNEN8ZY0z7x80EKSz5mK_Qh6tkUHY1LwQZipdjYrtpy0mdwK1-6xZk7HpJ7itWWCG4djJWx0W000D_xBd_arZu8a9BRKu6mxOncy8rONYv-Mz5pJsn-3-8hcOS/s1600/SchoolPuppyLove.JPG" /></a></div>
We're gonna be best buds!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynua6h0THsBymD-AQrte5BTJnFalr2jtEUOqi3PxTnf7jhwqNJpn7cNV16Gjeq-UJmtW9BD_vQVcmcxLczruf46pYfzDfU_w1KnhpPe9yoJqHGVyFvFuPVM09RZoHNjfcDv_LZ89a9-BN/s1600/SchoolPuppyReading.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynua6h0THsBymD-AQrte5BTJnFalr2jtEUOqi3PxTnf7jhwqNJpn7cNV16Gjeq-UJmtW9BD_vQVcmcxLczruf46pYfzDfU_w1KnhpPe9yoJqHGVyFvFuPVM09RZoHNjfcDv_LZ89a9-BN/s1600/SchoolPuppyReading.JPG" /></a></div>
Reading to puppy<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG59x4JWNLmQmaT-EU56mU2DSxNvqdE-XrY8MUOaMlbOsCsMFh2FXDtPbP4sBmkv6QwFlk6XSX_nOjp4-Vxst9N0ykJZ6TAtS8MqOWCT3eWEgdQX647pByg-bA4di0In0Epo8e42Jwx6Ts/s1600/SchoolVocabPuppy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG59x4JWNLmQmaT-EU56mU2DSxNvqdE-XrY8MUOaMlbOsCsMFh2FXDtPbP4sBmkv6QwFlk6XSX_nOjp4-Vxst9N0ykJZ6TAtS8MqOWCT3eWEgdQX647pByg-bA4di0In0Epo8e42Jwx6Ts/s1600/SchoolVocabPuppy.JPG" /></a></div>
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"Teaching" puppy to read important words</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyyaBuQJyEpXQdUCB9uhrdFbTXLQHtl1rMJy4vWFFGGwBOFQxod0e-G9lrBlfId8jkQ-O5Tzc8n8KYP3n-gAqo_PK9M5-bSRq7OiB4mJir_hhsPU-mr6vVrLLhm-VJq-AQjxn2SwbZRng/s1600/IMG_2077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyyaBuQJyEpXQdUCB9uhrdFbTXLQHtl1rMJy4vWFFGGwBOFQxod0e-G9lrBlfId8jkQ-O5Tzc8n8KYP3n-gAqo_PK9M5-bSRq7OiB4mJir_hhsPU-mr6vVrLLhm-VJq-AQjxn2SwbZRng/s320/IMG_2077.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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All ready for a Puppy Reading Parade!</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">See all the cool stuff that can happen when you add puppies to your classroom? Go out and buy "How Rocket Learned to Read" and "Rocket Writes a Story" by Tad Hills and then head over to </span><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Swersty" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">my TpT store</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> and pick up both "Puppy Palooza" units for a whole lot of fun, educational activities to go along with the books. The units are only $4.00 each, but TpT is having a gigantic sale August 12-13, so you can get them (and everything else in my store) for nearly 30% off!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwv-lWtvd5DKK8DIoOKycOB8a0eCDUfdkdVSRhBOSkoXfFziEjgAoAoPfwN8AT8bb1oK7z9SKPd0U_vADTaHmD5lzHE8s7hrObjPt91xsrE3jseEg7grFIGa93Yw-yQXbWXxfTV8QgRue/s1600/2049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcwv-lWtvd5DKK8DIoOKycOB8a0eCDUfdkdVSRhBOSkoXfFziEjgAoAoPfwN8AT8bb1oK7z9SKPd0U_vADTaHmD5lzHE8s7hrObjPt91xsrE3jseEg7grFIGa93Yw-yQXbWXxfTV8QgRue/s400/2049.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">While you're there, take a look at a few other "puppy" items in my store you might be interested in as well:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8-xA6qv9q-rPB7s2fy_A2vnqbEg2_ymAbkoph8pWpVNgtJin997nucEAkZ5dwHCYUgX0oeHQtc8m8Bo_jwLjtTXR1B489AE3_EstUVIhOdEdypSfHPuCrU-j7-Wawj3BW2ptT98_Obch/s1600/PuppyBracelets.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp8-xA6qv9q-rPB7s2fy_A2vnqbEg2_ymAbkoph8pWpVNgtJin997nucEAkZ5dwHCYUgX0oeHQtc8m8Bo_jwLjtTXR1B489AE3_EstUVIhOdEdypSfHPuCrU-j7-Wawj3BW2ptT98_Obch/s400/PuppyBracelets.JPG" width="307" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Puppy-Palooza-Themed-Classroom-Transportation-Bracelets" target="_blank">Puppy Palooza Transportation Bracelets $2.50</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2oUjjAwKAYShyBt14Hcn8t32JFtNK2itRvPdZjfg53IeyJN7z40KIAcRsg5pVUEgMtOjS76BHc646-T_ehN76yqEMiZVc2-32GG9_CV0bBPP1qf8MENz9BjXWA6YXg4iAEYLbkxKoe69H/s1600/PuppyTag.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2oUjjAwKAYShyBt14Hcn8t32JFtNK2itRvPdZjfg53IeyJN7z40KIAcRsg5pVUEgMtOjS76BHc646-T_ehN76yqEMiZVc2-32GG9_CV0bBPP1qf8MENz9BjXWA6YXg4iAEYLbkxKoe69H/s320/PuppyTag.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Puppy-Palooza-Themed-Student-Desk-Tags" target="_blank">Puppy Palooza Student Desk Tags (5 different designs) FREE!</a></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Here's hoping that you find enough goodies in TpT's Back to School Sale to say "Bow WOW"!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">~Swersty</span></div>
<br />Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-62802616451922503962012-08-02T12:17:00.000-05:002012-08-02T12:17:26.001-05:00Help! I've (bloggy) fallen and I can't get up!Yikes! Is it August already? Seriously? Where has the summer gone? I have less than 2 weeks left before district meetings, work days, inservice, etc. start up again and I am NOT ready, people! I didn't get all the things checked off my summer "to do" list yet, <u>and</u> I have been an absentee blogger to boot. <div>
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What happened to June and July? You didn't ask for it, but here it is--my summer in pictures: <div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDpVWTh_LtpG4OR4B0NuYAOi51xl3BkzjWBW6fM2vxQB1YBOTE0gY6E0hZiPJ5RyH8QEPKMQ59ihk3qOBtaCdFise6hoOBA2tSk2biHXHvoFluMGNWUszPOQk3g35O_IAmEhhW0tWS4XF8/s1600/IMG_2188.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDpVWTh_LtpG4OR4B0NuYAOi51xl3BkzjWBW6fM2vxQB1YBOTE0gY6E0hZiPJ5RyH8QEPKMQ59ihk3qOBtaCdFise6hoOBA2tSk2biHXHvoFluMGNWUszPOQk3g35O_IAmEhhW0tWS4XF8/s320/IMG_2188.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">JUNE ~ We kicked off summer with a marshmallow roast in the backyard!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zM_T24ST0QAFUXC3McNwhpzMxTU6wxl9_TGMFiskoiVLtvNUamfwKT9aYjpy7zSarjRXf3qL6VvvKqX5mKjESFXg7ZQN1pJqO7HdaV6pOF8pMAoctVanI0i_044CPBIhoRfJdt1raoJv/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zM_T24ST0QAFUXC3McNwhpzMxTU6wxl9_TGMFiskoiVLtvNUamfwKT9aYjpy7zSarjRXf3qL6VvvKqX5mKjESFXg7ZQN1pJqO7HdaV6pOF8pMAoctVanI0i_044CPBIhoRfJdt1raoJv/s320/photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I listened to the sounds of summer in June. A LOT. This noisy bug evidently loves Texas and was out in force. Multiply him by like a gazillion and you have so much noise you can't hear yourself think! </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixon8-NKm-yA6ONwPbPaKjSt59SGjtXV-gAjJfzlm9Iu6rehV_HZWOMJYnpcyAcWJgdTx9lHfaAYBHRtQY4k3VF6AAqa7SqsCEB5GM3CSCX1McA4xjaw6cO2VheBWHxiJyFOXQzhmqR3Ej/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixon8-NKm-yA6ONwPbPaKjSt59SGjtXV-gAjJfzlm9Iu6rehV_HZWOMJYnpcyAcWJgdTx9lHfaAYBHRtQY4k3VF6AAqa7SqsCEB5GM3CSCX1McA4xjaw6cO2VheBWHxiJyFOXQzhmqR3Ej/s320/photo.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I met (and melted) with a <a href="http://goingnuttyinmisssquirrelsfirstgrade.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Squirrel</a> at the Central Texas Blogger Meet-Up!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Went to Mexico with the family, but left early due to a <a href="http://swerstysswapshop.blogspot.com/2012/06/it-is-with-heavy-heart-that-i-write.html" target="_blank">family situation</a> back home. Definitely the low-point of my summer.<br /><br /></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">More melting! Fun in the sun at Six Flags Fiesta Texas with Reagan.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I played a lot of Words With Friends and even got a word worth 143 points! Can you say "word nerd"? How sad is it that <u>this</u> was a highlight of my summer?!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicJfoc_n5vokeE74Gr8GBgTFKWSqTFcygx0uWEwBmwI74Yozd5wAcePBZZtSZH52ExtzRYFz-SjGPqVZxvqA1ZCik3iT1mllneXmKSLIp8wYmHGSe_CvRIocV8vTnhJNQ6qWA6OvSALKtI/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicJfoc_n5vokeE74Gr8GBgTFKWSqTFcygx0uWEwBmwI74Yozd5wAcePBZZtSZH52ExtzRYFz-SjGPqVZxvqA1ZCik3iT1mllneXmKSLIp8wYmHGSe_CvRIocV8vTnhJNQ6qWA6OvSALKtI/s320/photo.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Umm, speaking of words, I learned some new ones. I found time to do a little summer reading (and blushed 50 shades of RED)!!! I'm pretty sure if I had an "inner goddess", she'd be blushing, too.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I finally got a new car! Well, new to me, anyway--it's a 2010 Acura MDX. Here I am trying to be patient while filling out all the paperwork. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPaCjIpmWilYz8JK7sBlXeGKj_ZZTQ20i88Ek5Ine9L7z-32qvBZJs5YzNuGyzAFXqCCs0y-ZBGbKI9xLPrPCY2RzmomdXNvMfbLGenEU34HIN5LBn7c2S7n12yKjD1uy1lKnXtaw2zu6X/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPaCjIpmWilYz8JK7sBlXeGKj_ZZTQ20i88Ek5Ine9L7z-32qvBZJs5YzNuGyzAFXqCCs0y-ZBGbKI9xLPrPCY2RzmomdXNvMfbLGenEU34HIN5LBn7c2S7n12yKjD1uy1lKnXtaw2zu6X/s320/photo.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And here it is in my driveway--ain't she purty?!!</span></td></tr>
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Did you notice that there was no mention of school? That's crazy because I have a <u>ton</u> of stuff to prepare for this year and I haven't really worried about it, at least not until I got this text from an <a href="http://tunstalltimes.blogspot.com/2012/08/classroom-progress-2012.html" target="_blank">over-achieving friend</a> yesterday:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUvJ8RWjrv0X8YqIG9saNEKyhQuwjuLnZ-ZEYek6TX4ymtwZGywIQHx4ibSnCkO6mT72gH_SIcnDmMlLu7nliuHiXwoUVE_lQI9Y9p0Vp3ap93YH3MRuxuTtGqrrD9qzj1lz1VpUrVrTbD/s1600/photo.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUvJ8RWjrv0X8YqIG9saNEKyhQuwjuLnZ-ZEYek6TX4ymtwZGywIQHx4ibSnCkO6mT72gH_SIcnDmMlLu7nliuHiXwoUVE_lQI9Y9p0Vp3ap93YH3MRuxuTtGqrrD9qzj1lz1VpUrVrTbD/s320/photo.PNG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />I love her last response! "Forever" isn't much of an exaggeration--that girl has been working hard and her room is looking so good! In fact, while I've been writing this post I got another text from her about going up to school to work! I'm sure many of you, like Reagan, are spending your time off working on school projects--I just haven't fully gotten into "school mode" yet.<br /><br />The only school-related project I have worked on is another Puppy Palooza unit for my TpT store. Puppy Palooza 2 is based on the book "Rocket Writes a Story", which is a sequel to "How Rocket Learned to Read" by Tad Hills.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pb5NNGoVezILNlelN3312XxmQLXOqps1XdChQn0GLDqP3nwz8AEfq9e_L8lfrpa-u_i_sDtY8qMsrTZif1SxEvgoTky0XbTIx2Uc9h3yCaW3us-sig1Vic32lovuImrRFiD6LMPuEQZN/s1600/100_0668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1pb5NNGoVezILNlelN3312XxmQLXOqps1XdChQn0GLDqP3nwz8AEfq9e_L8lfrpa-u_i_sDtY8qMsrTZif1SxEvgoTky0XbTIx2Uc9h3yCaW3us-sig1Vic32lovuImrRFiD6LMPuEQZN/s320/100_0668.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is a great book and perfect for primary-aged kids just beginning to write! Even if you don't get the unit, consider buying this newly-released book--you won't regret it! </div>
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If you are interested in fun activities to go with the book, <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Puppy-Palooza-2-Rocket-Writes-a-Story-Book-Study-Unit" target="_blank">click here to go to my TpT store</a>. For some reason, there are glitches with downloading the preview file from TpT that haven't been resolved yet, so I've included the preview here:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDh1mhrLqfCkFck1Ge-URReu4LX0C4QYG_alLPeWkk_DvRLWvsI5tVaag51D6xi3nVR4DuVuuUA65BysW2dy6tFJo7APhDqOZtrdiEH2-ParGMNV6NwIsC9car6lqHy6hExa-bv3UQRYnE/s1600/PupPalooza2Preview.044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDh1mhrLqfCkFck1Ge-URReu4LX0C4QYG_alLPeWkk_DvRLWvsI5tVaag51D6xi3nVR4DuVuuUA65BysW2dy6tFJo7APhDqOZtrdiEH2-ParGMNV6NwIsC9car6lqHy6hExa-bv3UQRYnE/s640/PupPalooza2Preview.044.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Are you wondering about all the owl stuff in a unit called Puppy Palooza 2? Rocket's new friend in the book is a shy owl, so there you go...</span></div>
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And here I go--off to soak up the summer sun and NOT think about school!</div>
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~Swersty</div>
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</div>Swerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-63483197406336261292012-07-13T11:52:00.000-05:002012-07-13T11:55:23.091-05:00A freebie!With the start of school right around the corner, I thought I'd share a fun little freebie with everyone. If you have an ocean/beach/surfing themed-classroom, you may want to download these student desk tags from my TpT store:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Ek2O05UsAz6ZBoBnXzYUvG28Cbpf6t1K0hV7jDoGlEitCrBaiaGJ6ETl1_8PjIdf60TB5Uj_A05WJlKx4QOK_xc1NPsIIu9dgvp4oVWAZLPNheROat1eecmuHYjczTdkR3CEJPJVJX5t/s320/SurfingDeskTagsPics.001.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Surfer-Themed-Student-Desk-Tags"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Click here to grab this freebie!</span></a></td></tr>
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There are eight different surfboard desk tags, with the alphabet and numbers 1-20 on each.<br />
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And don't forget to link up to my <a href="http://swerstysswapshop.blogspot.com/2012/07/old-school-new-school-linky-party.html">Old School, New School linky party!</a> You have the rest of July to dig out those old photos and share your first year teacher stories!<br />
~SwerstySwerstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15618881540326667962noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7872641176571949874.post-29908892841503873392012-07-09T15:26:00.000-05:002012-07-09T15:34:02.068-05:00Old School, New School Linky Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Do you remember being a brand-new teacher? I was looking at some old photo albums the other day and stumbled across pictures from the first few years of my teaching career. I started teaching in 1990, so needless to say the fashion trends from back then are, ummm, no longer in style. Cringe-worthy, even. I'm talking big wooden "teacher" jewelry, button covers for shirts, floral print dresses (remember Laura Ashley clothes?), shoulder pads, and white Keds shoes with socks to match the outfit. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, you must be very young, which makes me very jealous!<br />
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My teaching career started with my college graduation:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My mom and me, May 1990. Despite not having a job yet and just a month away from getting married, life was good!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs. Wersterfer's very first class (otherwise known as my 1st grade guinea pigs)! I was hired one week before school started. I remember freaking out at Meet the Teacher Night when a student's dad introduced me to his son as "the lady who is going to teach you how to read". Yikes--that's a lot of responsibility!</td></tr>
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That first year I cried almost every night. I had a challenging group of kids and I was so overwhelmed!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Field trip to the San Antonio Zoo. See the parent volunteer on the left? When this picture was taken I had no idea that she would end up being my principal at a different school one day!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6LLd9B5zrz-lhu5tlmMkXUi-Ae6PiDYAqVZin4xmN0VkPp08yYx51HUgB2RXWQ8UOcNpp8vdXUDZ9l7Y0f-1A9s2s0-S-Cr0OPV8Ed7fH_WIkaK4y6Ko6SEpxvq49poMwkFFm0rcabOGR/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-07-09+at+11.37.47+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6LLd9B5zrz-lhu5tlmMkXUi-Ae6PiDYAqVZin4xmN0VkPp08yYx51HUgB2RXWQ8UOcNpp8vdXUDZ9l7Y0f-1A9s2s0-S-Cr0OPV8Ed7fH_WIkaK4y6Ko6SEpxvq49poMwkFFm0rcabOGR/s320/Screen+shot+2012-07-09+at+11.37.47+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The last day of school with my first class (sure could have used Reagan's Candy Awards then)! I remember feeling relieved and a little sad at the same time. My students learned a lot that year, and I did too!</td></tr>
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After surviving my first year, I started to get the hang of this teaching thing. By my third year, I was planning with an experienced teacher who taught meaningful lessons, had great classroom management, and really enjoyed getting to know her students. I learned so much from her, and most likely would have left the profession had it not been for her willingness to share! I was eager to learn, and wearing the latest fashions in teacher apparel.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-sRpN7SeJFjGKZaDRvSWrDXTQNRZkTRoRlyl7oj1f0xM3zveVlAUOU8a_FJENX_3jNPav0YOSUC2466L1xbmfhcJ0Kc3YIVcpEzqGxgG69UpZkggUDazTWzpZMlhyphenhyphenCl1S0shM55LqQYPM/s1600/Library+Themes.006.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-sRpN7SeJFjGKZaDRvSWrDXTQNRZkTRoRlyl7oj1f0xM3zveVlAUOU8a_FJENX_3jNPav0YOSUC2466L1xbmfhcJ0Kc3YIVcpEzqGxgG69UpZkggUDazTWzpZMlhyphenhyphenCl1S0shM55LqQYPM/s640/Library+Themes.006.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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Aside from the obnoxious clothes I wore, the pictures brought back a flood of memories about those early years of teaching. I realize that although there have been lots of changes in education, there are still many things the same about it. For one, sharing great books with kids is instrumental to their learning!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOHFBNAhsKuujagbCfyRTorhT8YBrJwinyGKvOwIz0Ur3sHu7GayoAyx7bdpQWTqh5a25sDmuRZiIWHaBDGlhmzniV1rhMQBnRBXR33LuWwsMGDklucZZdgXWQjdW-usH7zZjazTzRD2Wz/s1600/NewSchool.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOHFBNAhsKuujagbCfyRTorhT8YBrJwinyGKvOwIz0Ur3sHu7GayoAyx7bdpQWTqh5a25sDmuRZiIWHaBDGlhmzniV1rhMQBnRBXR33LuWwsMGDklucZZdgXWQjdW-usH7zZjazTzRD2Wz/s400/NewSchool.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"New School" picture--about to read to first graders. Yes, that's a chef's hat and apron I'm wearing, and years from now I'm sure I'll be laughing at this! Will I ever learn?! </td></tr>
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This got me to thinking that every teacher probably has similar "old school" pictures and memories tucked away, and how fun it would be to share them with the blogging world! So now that you've taken a walk down memory lane with me, link up with your own "Old School, New School" blog post! This is my first ever linky party, so hopefully things will go smoothly. You have until the end of July to link up--plenty of time to dig out those old photos. </div>
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I'm hoping that I've been a better teacher than a fashionista. And please remember that although trends may come and go, year in and year out teachers have the awesome responsibility to make a positive difference in children's lives (regardless of what the current fashions are)! Now go link up--I can't wait to read your stories!</div>
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~Swersty</div>
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