Kitty Kerplunking Book Report

Kindergartner, Madeline, was told to choose her favorite book for her book report. As you can see, she chose KITTY KERPLUNKING.

And what a great job she did illustrating Preppy's lunch with a friend. :-)
Thanks, Madeline, for sharing your book report, and here's a wish for lots of great reading this summer!

Children's Book Council Awards

The 2010 Children's Choice Book Awards were announced last week. Take a look and see if one of your favorites was picked.

What book would you nominate for the award?
Which author or illustrator???

More on Helping Kids Become Readers and Writers

Sorry I don't have photos yet to share of my school visit at Point Elementary last Friday, but the Mehlville School District has posted a press release of the event with a photo. Click on the link to read all about it.

I'm nearly finished reading all the great stories the Point students wrote and shared with me. They showed what great imaginations they have--so much creativity! And lots of the stories have great humor as well.

Today I read a second grade writer's story. All the main writing points I'd shared with the students on Friday, she'd woven into her brief story.

She had a story arc: beginning, middle, and end.
Her dog character had a problem and found a way to solve it.
With dialog and some descriptive words, she quickly revealed her characters to the reader.
It was clever. It was fun. It was truly amazing!

Students usually need little encouragement to create their own stories. The earlier they begin to put their own ideas into words the better. They will become more accomplished in both their reading and writing. They'll master spelling, grammar, and punctuation more easily. And they'll have so much fun bringing their imagination to life to share with others.

Below is a list of websites with information/opportunities for encouraging children writers.

Guardian Angel Publishing Contest for School Children
http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/angeltoangel.htm

Poetry for Kids
http://www.poetry4kids.com/

Giggle Poetry for Kids
http://www.gigglepoetry.com/

Graphic Organizers
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/

Publishing Students’ Work
http://www.asuen.com/literacy/write.publish.kids.shtml

Young Authors and Artists Group
http://yaagroup.org/

Writing By Children (ALA)
http://www.ala.org/gwstemplate.cfm?section=greatwebsites&template=/cfapps/gws/displaysection.cfm&sec=21

List of Children’s Authors & Illustrators Websites (ALA)
http://www.ala.org/gwstemplate.cfm?section=greatwebsites&template=/cfapps/gws/displaysection.cfm&sec=16

Favorite Children’s Stories (ALA)
http://www.ala.org/gwstemplate.cfm?section=greatwebsites&template=/cfapps/gws/displaysection.cfm&sec=19

Children’s Authors Who Teach Children How to Write (Blog)
http://www.teachingauthors.com/search/label/Writing Workout

School Visit to POINT ELEMENTARY

I had a great day last Friday, May 7, visiting with all the students at Point Elementary in the Mehlville Schools in St. Louis. As I walked into the library, I was met with this great banner. Judy Carter, the school librarian, welcomed me. What a fantastic job she did arranging my day. I had the incredible privilege to meet about 450 students from Kindergarten through 5th grade.

Unfortunately, my camera was not working that day, but Ms. Carter and the students took lots of photos. So as soon as I receive some of their photos, I'll post some of the day's highlights.

And don't forget, today is the start of CHILDREN'S BOOK WEEK.