Mrs. Cockrell's Fave Reads!

Believe it or not, Mrs. Cockrell was once a 2nd grader, too!  And I looooooooved reading.  Still do!  In fact, I have read 4 novels in the past 2 weeks.  I don't usually read THAT much, but being sick has a few perks--including more time to read!  :)

Source: lastlemon.com

One goal I have as a teacher is to develop a love of reading in ALL my students, especially those who don't already enjoy reading very much.

One of my favorite things about reading is being able to use my imagination to visit another place--someone else's story.  You may not know this, but most adults don't get to use their imaginations as much as you do as kids.  We are so busy working hard and taking care of things in our lives, that we don't get to play and have fun as often as we'd like.  So reading is a great past time that allows us to imagine.

Source: quotes.orb

So now YOU imagine--imagine Mrs. Cockrell as a 2nd grader or a 4th grader, going to school with you!  As a student, I did really well in reading (probably because I loved it so much and had lots of practice) and did ok in math.  I talked a LOT, so I did get in trouble sometimes for talking at the wrong time.  It's important to try to use self-control even when it's tough, right?  :)

Now to the fun part!  I want to share some of my favorite books with you.  These are some books that I loved when I was in elementary school:

(Click the pictures to read more about each book on Amazon.com.)

The Boxcar Children mysteries
by Gertrude Chandler Warner

I read many of the books in this series as a kid.  If you like mysteries, I bet you'll like these books!

You know what's really cool?  The series were first written during World War II, back in 1942!  I think it's way cool to read something written during an important time in our history.

The Berenstain Bears series
by Stan & Jan Berenstain

I read every single one of these as a kid!  I loved them.  I love how they are funny at times and how they also deal with a real-life issue or situation and help us learn a lesson.

In recent years, they even came out with Berenstain Bears chapter books!  Click the book below to check them out.

Berenstain Bear Scouts chapter books
by Stan & Jan Berenstain

Amelia Bedelia
by Peggy Parish

We actually had an author visit at Lakeside a few years ago by Herman Parish, who is Peggy Parish's nephew.  He took over writing stories about Amelia Bedelia after his aunt passed away.  It's really neat that he is publishing more and more stories about Amelia so that she lives on.  He even has a chapter book series out now about Amelia Bedelia as a little girl.  Check them out by clicking the picture below:

Amelia Bedelia Means Business chapter book #1
by Herman Parish

Sideways Stories from Wayside School
by Louis Sachar

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Louis Sachar's series about Wayside School.

This school is wacky, weird, and crazy!  The weirdest, silliest things happen to the students there.

Good news!  This will be our next read aloud when we finish our book about Humphrey!  You will love it.  I promise.  :)

We will try to read the whole Wayside School series this year, but here are more more great books by Louis Sachar if you want to check them out:

Dogs Don't Tell Jokes
by Louis Sachar

Holes
by Louis Sachar

Well, I guess that's probably about enough!  I hope you enjoyed reading a little bit more about me and about my favorite books from childhood.  You can find many of these books in our classroom library and in our school library.  

No matter what you're interested in, there is a book out there that's for YOU; a book that will make you love reading as much as I do!  I am here to help you throughout your reading journey this year, so let's work together to find awesome books.

Source: http://busemd.edublogs.org

Leave a comment telling me about one of your very favorite books or why you love reading!

Happy weekend!

Love, Mrs. Cockrell

P.S.  Parents, here is a great link to Scholastic where you can search books to find out their reading level or enter a reading level and find books:

Scholastic Book Wizard

Mike Artell, author

Mr. Artell visited our students today, and he is a funny guy! We enjoyed learning more about him, listening to parts from some of his books, and learning some tips on drawing.

We learned that he lives near New Orleans, Louisiana, and that he can talk in a great Cajun accent!

A great drawing tip Mr. Artell gave us is: "Don't draw what you know. Draw what you see."

Mo Willems Day

Thanks to Ms. Fultz and her hard work, we had lots of fun celebrating author Mo Willems last Friday!

Stellaluna

Please check out this Voki to practice your vocabulary words for our story this week, Stellaluna!  Brought to you by yours truly, Mrs. C.  Hope you enjoy it!  Don't forget to practice your motions with the words like we practiced!

Book Trailers

Yesterday during Daily 5, we learned about what it means to pick "Good Fit" books to read during our "Read to Self" time.  (More on that later.)  :)

One of the questions we ask ourselves when selecting Good Fit books is: "Do I find it interesting; do I want to read it?"

Well, when trying to decide if I am interested in seeing a movie, I watch the movie trailer and ask myself if I want to see it.  Now there are BOOK TRAILERS! 

Below are some Book Trailers that students may view to decide if the book is interesting to them.













I hope you enjoyed these Book Trailers and found one that you might enjoy reading.  I will make this a regular blog update and will continue to add new Book Trailers to check out!

Keep reading!

Patricia Polacco: Author Study

This week, our Text Talk book is Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco.

Thunder Cake is a very descriptively written book about a grandmother helping her granddaughter overcome her fear of storms. The book contains beautiful, expressive language while telling an interesting story.

This week we will also be checking out some of Patricia Polacco's other books (Thank You, Mr. Falker is one of my favorites!). She is a great author to consider when visiting the local library, and her illustrations are beautiful, as well. :)

Check out some of her awesome books below...

Jan Brett Author Study

This week, as you know, our Text Talk is on Jan Brett's retelling of a Ukrainian folktale, The Mitten.  We already read the story today, and the kids loved it!

Throughout the week, we will be studying Jan Brett and many of her other books.  We will visit her author website when we head to the Computer Lab on Thursday, and hopefully we will learn more about her writing and illustrating  process.

Students will also have the chance to compare and contrast The Mitten to another story by Jan Brett.  I will choose a few of the best examples to showcase on our class blog.

Please check out some of the great winter books by Jan Brett below.

Bat Week!

Last week, our book for Text Talk was Stellaluna.  Therefore, we focused all week not only on the book, but also on studying all kinds of bats.

We read other books about bats to find more information, and each day, including today, we added more information about bats to our "bat lap board."

Check out some books we read on bats below, and enjoy the pictures of our completed bat lap boards.  We had a blast making them!

Johnny Appleseed Week!

Here are some books we will be reading next week for our unit on Johnny Appleseed.

You can even purchase them by clicking the links below if you'd like!