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!

Plump and Perky Turkey activities!

Boy, I wish I had found this last week, but better late than never, I suppose!

The publisher of A Plump and Perky Turkey has some games and activities over at their website.  Check it out HERE.

And below, click to listen to the story on YouTube!

Q & A with author Deborah Hopkinson

Deborah Hopkinson, author of Apples to Oregon, was so kind to answer some questions our 2nd grade students thought of for her.  Thank you, Mrs. Kubinsky, for contacting Ms. Hopkinson and sending her our questions!

Here are our questions and Ms. Hopkinson's answers:

How long did it take you to write the book Apples to Oregon?

 

It took about a whole school year, from the start until the end.

 

Have you ever grown an apple tree?  If so is that where you first got the idea to write Apples to Oregon? 

 

Well, actually we did have a couple of small apple trees in Walla Walla, Washington where I was living when I wrote Apples to Oregon.  Can you find another mention of Walla Walla in the book?

 

Where do you get the information for your books?

I got the information by doing research. I found an article about the real Luelling family and the rest I made up!

 

What is it like to be an author?

It is fun but hard work to write books, and lots of fun to visit schools and talk to kids.  I also have a day job at a college, raising money for scholarships so that kids can go to college.

 

What is your favorite book you’ve written?

I think that Apples to Oregon IS my favorite book!

 

Which book has been the most popular book?

The most popular book has been Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. Maybe you can find that and read it too.

 

Are you writing a new book?

I have three books coming out in 2012:  A Boy Called Dickens, Titanic: Voices from the Disaster, and Annie and Helen.

 

If you are working on a new book, what would it be about?

In addition to my three new books, I am writing another new one.  It is called A Trail of Coffins and it is a story about a boy who lives in London during a terrible epidemic.

I also just finished a book called, A Letter to My Teacher.

 

Did you like to write stories when you were in 2^nd grade?

I think you all are probably ahead of me.  I didn't start writing until I was in 4th grade. 

  

Do you have any advice for us as young writers?

 Keep writing and reading!

 

Have a great year!

 

All best,

 

Deborah Hopkinson

The Biggest Pumpkin Ever: Vocabulary Voki

Thanks to Mrs. Kubinsky for creating our vocabulary Voki so we can practice our words at home!

Author Study: Leo Lionni

This week we are reading Leo Lionni's The Extraordinary Egg.  The book is full of rich, robust vocabulary words and beautiful, unique illustrations.  Leo Lionni has many fabulous books.

Today we read Inch by Inch, which tied into not only our author study, but also our study of insect life cycles and our study of measurement in math!  Triple whammy!

Check out this great website about Leo Lionni's books:

Leo Lionni Site

Thunder Cake!

V.J.'s mom, Deena, was nice enough to take the recipe for Thunder Cake and make one for us to try out that Friday that we read the book.

The kids LOVED the cake! 

A big thanks to Deena and Maurizio, who also came up and helped serve the cake!

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.