February - May Literacy Events

Safety Rules

The children dictated their experience of being safe.

"Safety Rules

1. Look both ways.
2. Wait until the car stops.
3. Stay with the group and watch where they're going.
4. Put your hand out. (point)
5. If there are cars going, don't go.
6. Look at the person driving the car. (eye contact)
7. Look at the signs.
8. Look for the (walk) sign.
9. Go on a crosswalk.
10. Press the button.
11. Walk on the sidewalk."

Books for March and April

Glaciers by Wendell Tangborn
My Arctic 1, 2, 3 by Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak
Follow the Polar Bears by Sonia Black
Hide and Sneak by Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak
The Inuksuk Book by Mary Wallace (picture read)
Turnagain Ptarmigan! Where Did You Go? by James Guenther
The Polar Bear Son – An Inuit Tale by Lydia Dabcovich
Bubba the Cowboy Prince – A Fractured Texas Tale by Helen Ketteman
The Polar Bear’s Gift by Jeanne Bushey
Snail Trail by Ruth Brown
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr.
A Prairie Boy’s Winter by William Kurelek (picture read)
Northern Lullaby by Nancy White Carlstrom
A Northern Nativity by William Kurelek (picture read)
The Arctic Coast – The Illustrated Natural History of Canada (picture research)

Arctic Alphabet – Exploring the North from A to Z by Wayne Lynch (picture read)

Habitats: Arctic Tundra by Michael H. Forman
Mama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joose
Very Last First Time by Jan Andrews (link between Arctic and Sea)
Animals in Winter by Stephane Poulin
Sammy the Sea by Syd Hoff
Get Me Another One! by Robert Munsch
Rainbow Fish to the Rescue! by Marcus Pfister
The Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mahy
Going on a Whale Watch by Bruce McMillan
I Can Read About Sharks by C.J. Naden
Seal Pup Grows Up – The Story of a Harbor Seal (Smithsonian Oceanic Collection)
by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
Beluga Passage (Smithsonian Oceanic Collection) by Lina Lingemann
The Little Mermaid by Walt Disney
Baby Beluga by Ashley Wolff (Raffi)
The Ocean Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta
All Kinds of Ships by Seymour Reit
Ships and Boats by Sally Hewitt and Nicola Wright
Great Classic Sailing Ships (picture research)
The Visual Dictionary of Ships and Sailing – Eyewitness Visual Dictionaries

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.
Polar Wildlife – Usborne World Wildlife by Kamini Khanduri
Yukon Reflections by Wayne Towriss (picture read)
The Dark by Robert Munsch
Because I Love You by Max Lucado
Big Al by Andrew Clements Yoshi
Pancakes for Breakfast by Tomie de Paola
The Seal – Animal World by Charlotte Knox
The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
Zoobooks – Sharks by John Bonnett Wexo
Sea Lion Roars (Smithsonian Oceanic Collection) by C. Drew Lamm
A Promise is a Promise by Robert Munsch
50 Below Zero by Robert Munsch
Penguin Pete, Ahoy! by Marcus Pfister
Penguin Pete’s New Friends by Marcus Pfister
Little Polar Bear by Hans de Beer
A Promise is a Promise by Robert Munsch and Michael Kusugak
Little Polar Bear and the Husky Pup by Hans de Beer
Little Polar Bear, Take Me Home! by Hans de Beer
Ahoy There, Little Polar Bear by Hans de Beer
Little Polar Bear Finds a Friend by Hans de Beer
“C” is for Canada by Vicki Berger Erwin
Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale by Marcus Pfister
A Beautiful Feast for a Big King Cat by John Archambault and Bill Martin, Jr.

Hopper Hunts for Spring by Marcus Pfister
Whales and Dolphins by Peter and Connie Roop
Cinderella by Charles Perrault
Trouble with Trolls by Jan Brett
Jesus Lives! A Pop-Up Book
The Rhyme Bible – Easter Story section
The Easter Cave by Carol Wedeven
Peter Cottontail’s Surprise by Bonnie Worth
Cottontails – Little Rabbits of Field and Forest – Books for Young Explorers
– National Geographic Society
Grandma and the Pirates by Phoebe Gilman
Show and Tell by Robert Munsch
Miss Mary Mack by Mary Ann Hoberman
Easter by Gail Gibbons
Beluga Whales by John F. Prevost
Killer Whales – The Whale Discovery Library by Sarah Palmer
Baleen Whales – Read All About Whales by Jason Cooper
Toothed Whales – Read All About Whales by Jason Cooper
Whales by Gail Gibbons
Bottlenose Dolphins by John F. Prevost
Humpback Whales by Sarah Palmer
Whales and Dolphins by Lionel Bender

On Tuesday, Feb. 27, we had our Shrove Tuesday, our Pancake Day. I kept to our theme and read "The Seal" during our gathering story time. However, after our experience of cooking and eating the pancakes, I read the books "Pancake Breakfast" by Tomie dePaola and "Little Black Sambo". Now before you start getting agitated, I will explain... I have loved the story of Sambo ever since my own children were little. It has such a magical "gasp" when the pace of the story culminates in the tigers melting into a pool of butter that was eventually cooked into the pancakes. So, I have been struggling with the issue of "to read it or not to read it..." About 5 years ago, after I realized it had been pulled off the shelves for being "politically incorrect", I read it to my classes omitting the word "Black" throughout the text. I used the same book, quickly flashed past the cover (keeping the back cover facing front by my chair), and then reading orally with NO tracking finger and NO reference to the print. So it required huge concentration on my part, because part of the rhythm in the story is Black Jumbo, Black Mumbo, and Little Black Sambo. Of course, it's not right to do that, but when you have learned a story one way, you have an oral language memory that kicks in to help you predict - just as children do when they're learning to read. The more repetition they have with text, the better success they have of reading the text. Well, when you are trying to specifically leave out print that is offensive, it is very difficult. But the effort was worth it again today.  The children were so "high" having mixed up the pancake batter from scratch, cooking their own pancake, flipping it, and loading it up with the extras, and then doing free choice activities while waiting for the others to finish their turns cooking and eating. As soon as I started with this story, the noise stopped, the children were soothed into their story listening attitude, and they were in the "palm of my hand" waiting eagerly for the next part of the story. This is so stressful for me... because I don't want to "mess up", and color their oral language hearing, and put negative images into their language pattern. But it is so worthwhile to have their reaction, when the tigers have whirled round and round the tree so fast that they just melted into butter...  The children's words? Few - non-verbals mostly -a few small gasps with intake of air, a lot of mouths dropping in surprise, and always, always one skeptic who blurts out "Tigers can't melt!" I just love this response. Because some of the other children are not quite sure, they are still unable to fully distinguish between reality and fantasy. Some of them still wonder, "wow!" until that statement comes out, "Tigers can't melt!" It happens every time, just like this. They are spell bound in the story, and then the surprise, and then the critic. So, my comment to the critic/skeptic? Is this make-believe or real? "Make-believe" they always say, and then they always sit back with a small smile to enjoy the rest of the story. It is such a rich story because of the predictable text and pattern with a wonderful motif (child and wild animal), with such a rich lesson about real and make-believe.  It needs to be redone and reprinted for us all. I might be the only person in the world who still uses this "discarded" book - politically incorrect. My fear is that my voice will betray me, or that the children who read, will challenge my reading. Neither has happened yet. This is risky business, this teaching. I am prepared, though, for the time someone will challenge my reading, with a mini-lesson on discrimination and human integrity with critical thinking. But it wasn't needed today...

On Monday, Feb. 26, we began a Pinniped research booklet. I spent yesterday on the Internet researching seals, sea lions, and walrus to follow-up on Friday's excited learning. The booklet is 13 pages long, and has a lot of photos on each page. One page gives characteristics of Pinnipeds (marine mammals, fin-footed, ...), three are given to characteristics of each of seals, sea lions, and walrus. The others are photo pages of specific issues or types. Harbor Seal, Fur Seals, Elephant Seal, Babies, Moms and Babies, Endangered. 

I prepared a folder for each student and a cover page with letters only. They decorated the page and glued it on their folder. Every day, they will get another one or 2 pages to add to their folder. Contributions other than mine can be added for individual interest. They will either need to draw or write something on each page to interact with the information.

It's that time of year when we start gathering things together for portfolios and assessment of learning... and this may be a good contribution.

A group of us teachers at the school and a couple of others have decided to launch another telecollaborative project on The Sea, to document resources, creative ideas and information for students and teachers. Our Pinniped Unit will be part of that project.

On Friday, Feb. 23, I introduced the children to "Research". I first asked them what Research was ("finding out information about something") and where they could do Research. They amazed me with their answers: