Great Books for 2nd Graders

Check out the link below for some great books to interest your child!

Favorite Books for 2nd Graders via GreatSchools.org

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

First Day of Daily 5!

Today we began our introduction of The Daily 5, which is a large part of our Language Arts block. Almost all of us remembered D5 from last year, so today was mostly for review and practice.

Today we talked about "Read to Self." We talked about what Read to Self looks like and sounds like, and some students volunteered to model correct and incorrect behaviors. We did a great job pointing out what they wrong and how we could fix it.

Last, we had our first "stamina challenge" where we tried to read to self for 3 straight minutes without losing focus or getting off task. First we only made it to 28 seconds! (Harder than it sounds!) But our 2nd try we made it to 3 minutes and 20 seconds.

Here are some of us during the stamina challenge.

Today we also began our CAFE program, in which we'll be learning and practicing strategies to help us become better readers. CAFE stands for:
-Comprehension (I understand what I read.)
-Accuracy (I can read the words.)
-Fluency (I can read accurately with expression.)
-Expand Vocabulary (I know, find, and use interesting words.)

The strategies we practiced today were:
-check for understanding (comprehension)
-cross checking (accuracy)
-back up and re-read (comprehension)

Ask your child to show you our hand motions for cross-checking!

Happy 4-day week! :)

Listen to Reading Links

Students, you may choose from the following websites during your Listen to Reading Daily:

Tumblebooks
Log-in information on computer.

StoryLine

Starfall Fiction and Non-fiction

Starfall Folk Tales

Starfall Comics

Nat Geo Kids

Mighty Books

BookPop

StoryPop

Storytime for Me