Hello Book Bums families!
October is here which means baseball playoffs and spooky season have arrived. We have book suggestions for both this week. And if you're already wishing for Christmas, Dr. Christy has ideas for you too. Enjoy this week's newsletter!
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Word of the Week
exonerate (ex-ahn-uh-rate) verb/action word - to clear from blame or wrongdoing
The suspect was exonerated after investigators found evidence leading them to the true criminal.
Literary Calendar
- Edgar Allan Poe died on October 7, 1849 in Baltimore, MD at the age of 40.
- The official cause of death was listed as 'congestion of the brain' which means they didn't really know.
- There are many theories ranging from alcoholism to foul play.
- Poe's work is perfect for spooky season. An anthology from the library will provide a buffet of short stories and poetry to scare you.
Wordology Workshop
• The Latin root oner means burden.
• You can find it in our Word of the Week, exonerate.
• Also using the prefix ex, meaning out or from, exonerate means to take the burden of blame from someone.
• You can also find oner in words like onerous and onus.
From our Bookshelves
Well, the Cincinnati Reds made it to the playoffs, so I am inspired to recommend another great baseball book that’s written for kids in grades 4-8 (but I’m an adult and I loved it). Heat, by Mike Lupica, is about a twelve-year-old Cuban American boy who is an outstanding baseball player, but has some great obstacles to overcome.
Though Heat was written in 2007, the book feels particularly relevant today. Lupica addresses immigration and the hardships many migrants face in a way that feels authentic and can really give kids some perspective about kids with whom they may go to school or play ball.
The book addresses lying and could be a great book for a family read aloud. It’s a story that reminds us to be kind to everyone, because we simply cannot know a person’s whole story. If we did, we would respond to others differently.
Tips for Families
Forgive me. I know that Christmas is 12 weeks away (Holy smokes! Only12 weeks?!), but if you’re interested in this project, you’re going to need some time.
Perhaps you have a dollhouse no one uses anymore, or maybe you’d need to go thrifting to find something like this, but . . . Isn’t the transformation from cheap-o dollhouse to fabulous gingerbread house incredible?!
To complete the dollhouse transformation, you may choose to use:
a formerly-loved plastic dollhouse
spray paint made for use on plastics (tan, brown, or terracotta)
yarn, ribbon, pompoms (maybe)
inexpensive, fake Christmas candy pieces/miniature holiday decor
glue gun and glue sticks
fine, white glitter
fake miniature trees/greenery
paints and paint brush (for details)
white puffy paint or quick drying caulk
white spray foam (insulation) –maybe
You’d better hurry to the thrift stores, because this could be me soon!
Do you feel like getting crafty?
Tips for Raising Readers and Writers
I hate scary stories, but if your kids like them, this is the perfect time to promote reading at your house. I wouldn’t do this at bedtime, but for early evening fun, try making some s’mores around a fire and tell lots and lots of ghost-ish stories. Read the room. Scary for your kids is something you’ll know best. Grab a stack of books and get your spooky on!
BONUS ACTIVITY:
Grab some chocolate Cheerios and make words with o-o saying /ew/ (like we see in spooky). You can make words like smooch, poof, toot, booth, zoo, tooth, and mood.
Practical Grammar
Top Ten Errors Made by Adults Week 6/10
Using Me vs I incorrectly.
I believe some folks feel the word me is less formal than the word I and they switch I for me feeling that’s the thing to do. Simply inserting the word I for the word me isn’t using good grammar. Each word has its proper place.
Before I share the tip, take the quiz. Determine which of the following are correct and which are incorrect.
1. If you have any questions, ask Mr. Blackmore or me.
2. Everyone attended except my brother and I.
3. The money is to be shared between you and me.
4. He is stronger than me.
5. She got donuts for my sister and I.
6. No one is a bigger Reds fan than me.
7. My friends and me bought tickets for the show.
8. Grandma gave the recipe to my cousin and I.
9. You’re taller than my brother and I.
10. When you get this message, please call Jill or I.
Let’s see how you did.
Quiz Answers
1. Correct 2. Incorrect 3. Correct 4. Incorrect 5. Incorrect 6. Incorrect 7. Incorrect 8. Incorrect 9. Correct 10. Incorrect
Here’s the scoop:
Both I and me are pronouns and they’re used to take the place of our names.
I is a subject pronoun, and it is the one used when doing an action.
Me is an object pronoun, and it is the one used when receiving an action.
Tip: Remove the other person and see what sounds right.
Example Error: "Me and John went to the store." (Me went to the store doesn’t sound right, so we use I instead.)
Fix: "John and I went to the store." (Generally, we place the other person before ourselves in sentences we write, so rather than saying I and John went to the store, we place John’s name first.)
News from Book Bums
My husband has a saying that’s been passed through his family that says, “Paper will lie still and let you write anything on it.” He says it when folks begin sharing interpretations from data. Honestly, we all roll our eyes when he says it, but his point—that we can make sunshine and roses from the same information others are crying about—is legitimate.
So, how are our schools doing, really?
At Book Bums, we serve students from at least a dozen school districts, public and private, in SW Ohio, but we serve mostly students who live in the Lakota School District (my mission field). Below is Lakota’s report card from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
Of course, my interest is in the Early Literacy Realm, so let’s dig a little deeper there. I clicked on “View More Data” and this is what I found:
I am sharing this, not to shine ill light on “my” district, but because this is the area where I’ve chosen to invest my best efforts. I want to see my district shine, and I love being a small part of the solution. You know we serve many, many Lakota students, and we also had the opportunity to lead Lakota’s summer school program for struggling readers. When I look at these scores, I know we had a part in the growth, but I also know we can do more.
If you know someone who’s child is struggling with reading and spelling, we’re ready to help!
Tips for Teachers
Planning as a grade level/team doesn’t always work. Here’s why:
No two classes have students with identical needs.
Even if classes begin the year with similar needs, inflexible pacing (dictated by other team members’ classroom needs) can result in the restrictive and ineffective use of classroom teachers’ single most valuable asset: time. In addition, educators must be flexible enough to stretch beyond grade level curricula, so every student is equipped with the skills they need to demonstrate excellent progress. This cannot be accomplished when one teacher is blindly following the lead of another.
Teachers must be aware of what each of their students are doing well and what they are confusing. Responsive educators know the end of year goals for their students, and they do what it takes to get them there. Sometimes that even means using curricula below or above the grade level they’re teaching. But one classroom will vary vastly from another.
I used the conferencing sheet I’m sharing here to monitor my students’ reading, their writing, and their mathematics. I worked diligently, every single week, to ensure I’d observed my students doing something, individually (observed through conferencing or anecdotally) in each area. (Note: This document can be personalized. Make lots of copies, keep them on a clipboard—one for reading, one for writing, and one for math—and note at least one thing for each student that you can coach into. When you note multiple students need the same instruction, add that skill to your lesson plans. This, my teacher friends, is a game changer. When a parent asks what they can do to help their kids from home, you’ll have, at your fingertips, exactly what you’ve been focusing on with your students—one conferencing sheet for every week of school.
Today schools are evaluated by the state, the results are shared through the State Report Card (as shown above), and classroom teachers are to do their best to: promote student achievement, demonstrate student progress, close gaps between student groups, move students toward successful high school graduation—and my favorite: provide strong early literacy skills. It’s a high call, and you can do this. You’ve got a better shot when most all your day is spent doing what your students need most. You’re going to be running around like crazy noting what kids are nailing and where there’s some confusion to guide your planning for the next week, but you can do this! Remember, your student just may be your cardiologist one day. We want them to be the best they can be.
Just for Fun
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