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| Slice of Life stories are hosted by Two Writing Teachers |
It's Tuesday!!
What's so great about Tuesdays at my school?
It's BOOK TALK TUESDAY!
This calls for a t-shirt with some reading celebrities!
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| Wonder Shirts |
"It's Book Talk Tuesday," announces one of our 5th grade anchors.
"I wonder what reading tip we'll learn today," muses the other anchor.
We've talked up books, BIG TIME, this year:
- we discussed finding a good fit book
- we talked about the SHINY Newbery and Caldecott medals
- we shared how fun it is to READ a book (we read "It's a Book" by Lane Smith)
- we've interviewed other teachers about their reading (thanks, Karen!)
On Tuesdays, when kids from all over the building (even the littlest bilingual kindergartners) see us in the hallway, their eyes light up.
"I saw you on the TV!"
"I like your shirt!"
"It's BOOK TALK TUESDAY!"
When we talked about the SHINY Caldecott and Newbery medals that adorn many books in our library, we added a little sparkle of sound... a little riff on the xylophone (psst... Michelle - that was brilliant!). After school, I was standing across the room from three 5th graders. One called my name. As I looked over, the three of them mimicked playing the xylophone and in unison exclaimed, "SHINY!"
I have to admit, this Book Talk Tuesday bit is the highlight of my week. Yes, we plan to get students on board and share their books, but right now I'm enjoying the conversations we are creating throughout the school. Classroom teachers are using our BTT topics as a springboard for more book conversations in their classrooms. We've built a bulletin board to track our topics.
All this... and we're just talking books.
I love it!
*****
P.S. Michelle talked about BTT on her blog back in September. Enjoy her post here.
Aw, LOVE this post! You have captured the essence, the fun, the beauty, the joy, the everything of reading and books and sharing them both! I hope, hope, hope it's making a difference in the reading lives of our students and teachers.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, we originally thought we would not do BTT every week, but we are on a roll and we can't stop now! It's a highlight of my week too -- and, of course, the BIG part is doing it together as a team with YOU!
How fun! I like the sparkle sound of the Caldecott and Newbery.
ReplyDeleteI'm envious of this weekly tradition. How lucky your school is to have the two of you creating fun with BTT! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteChris, it sounds like you & Michelle are having way too much fun! What a delightful way to get you point across to students and teachers. Focusing on books this way can only make it more fun and interesting for everyone!
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