In all my nerdy glory

Such a wonderful lazy Sunday morning...feels like it has been forever since I could say I have a lazy moment. Is it awfully nerdy of me that here in a rare quiet moment, I couldn't wait to put on some headphones, listen to a little Jason Mraz, surf a little Pinterest, and update my blog with the smell of the roast cooking in the crock-pot filling the room. Yum! Probably a little nerdy, but I don't care. This is my idea of a lovely morning!

Sarah, Katie Bird, and I just before our very wet run Saturday.

In all honesty, I believe a lazy moment has made an appearance this morning because I am altogether too sore to move. School started and all of my new-found fitness routines went out the window, so yesterday's 5K his left me moving a little slowly. Goodness, I hate to admit and share that, but it is what it is... I will for sure have to fit in a few more workouts before next weekend when Sarah, Katie Bird, and I try another one. 

Well on to all things school ~ the story of my life, hehe! 

So I am sure that I have mentioned, only once or twice, how much I love these next few weeks in writing workshop. Again, nerd alert ~ there is something so magical in words and phrases and how just the right word choice or phrase can move a reader. Over the years I have confessed my love of words and phrases to my students, stopping during reading (like we all do, I know) and professing how amazing it was what the author did "right there, just then, did you notice that? oh wow! I LOVED that!" Last year, anytime we used magazines to clip pictures or words from, my students would begin bringing me words and phrases that made them think of me, or they knew I would just LOVE it. I am now the proud owner of a number of Ziploc bags busting at the seams with words. Yes, thanks to my precious kiddos (my own nerdyness aside) I am a word collector. 

This week we will focus on the magic of figurative language. With all the sensory detail we used last week, we have already looked at and shared some bits here and there. OK, so the theme of the morning seems to be all of my NERDY glory, and if you had doubts, well, may I just dispel them for you now...I CANNOT wait to teach tomorrow's writing lesson. We will be looking at simile.

  

Of course you cannot go wrong with Crazy like a Fox A Simile Story by Lorren Leedy and I'm as Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood. Both are amusing little mentor texts packed full of simile, and they both make the concept very easy to grasp.

We will of course be revisiting Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. You can revisit that mentor for just about everything figurative - Jane Yolen is an artist with words! 

Yes, I know we are not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but we all do. I almost hate to admit that when I picked up this book I purchased it simply because of the cover and title - butterflies! Happily, it turned out to be a perfect purchase. Velma Gratch & the Way Cool Butterfly by Alan Madison. Such a easy theme to pick out and amazing word choice! Great similies...Velma with her sisters that "can sing like an angel" or "run like the devil." Lots of alliteration, too. Both sisters have "miraculous math and spectacular spelling."

Red Sings from the Treetops a Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski is full of personification, metaphor, and simile! So beautifully illustrated! I cannot say enough how wonderful this book of color poems is for sharing how magical figurative language can be in our writing.

I have some videos that I will share with my class as we continue looking at simile tomorrow. I love watching as my students start singing along with each artist, and before you know it, my kiddos are sharing all they songs that they find with similes. I am sure there are about a million of them out there. The first song that I shared with my class years ago was Smile by Uncle Kracker, but my list has grown. These are not the original videos as I like for students to see the lyrics when possible. The fun part is that most of these songs not only have simile, so we will definitely give another listen after we look at idioms, alliteration, and personification.  Here are a few of them...

One of our grammar focuses these next few weeks is still types of sentences. No surprise that for some of our writers, even the concept of compound sentences needs much review. The process of writing complex sentences can be over the top, but we will be sharing some fun mentor text sentences and books to help! Fun, fun and I have to share...My name is Tina Dunn and I am a Jeff Anderson stalker enthusiast. LOVE, LOVE me some Mechanically Inclined and how he lays it out so simply for all students to see! Why didn't I think of that? (lol, I say that about everything since I haven't had an original thought in forever, and I wouldn't be the teacher I am without all the amazing teachers willing to share!) 

Okay, mentioning the book Quick as a Cricket by the team of Audrey and Don Wood has made me want to share one of my all time favorite silly, little picture books. Don Wood is such a talented artist! And this next book is over the top silly but so much fun! We will of course mention the alliteration, but one of my favorite things to teach with it is story elements. I mean...we have a very clear look at character, setting, problem, and solution - a little oversimplified, but it is there in all its bare-bottom glory anyway! Help, King Bidgood's in the Bathtub and he won't get out!

I know I am rambling now, but you cannot say I did not warn you about how excited I was for tomorrow's lessons. I have just one more adorable book to share, so that I know I have shared at least one picture book a day since my last post.

A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker  is a winner of The E.B. White Read Aloud Award. Books are nominated for their universal appeal as a "terrific" book to read aloud, and this is truly a sweet read aloud! I use this often when we are talking about themes in reading. Although, we will focus much of this week on genre, from this point on with every book we share, we will most certainly discuss theme.  Here, Bear has made it very clear that NO visitors are allowed, but mouse has something else in mind. Kindness and friendship are very clear themes in this award winning read aloud.

We were sad to say goodbye to Grandma Dowdel as we finished up our read aloud A Long Way from Chicago. I even shed a few tears as the troop train rolled past in the end. Be sure to ask your kiddos what an amazing character Grandma is! We will be starting the Trumpet of the Swans by Mr. E.B. White himself tomorrow.

Happy Reading my friends!