Just One More Time!

I just couldn't resist showing off a 4th grade Prezi in action. Andrew Huang and Ethan Gray chose to research Viking mythology as their religion. Many of the children who chose to research mythology found the topic a little more difficult. It took them into history requiring them to think about the type of people that would have worshiped god in such strange ways.

They did a wonderful job of presenting their research and putting together a creative Prezi.

 

If you would like to view just Andrew and Ethan's Prezi you can view here.

As part of their assignment they had to choose another way to present their findings. Ethan and Andrew not only put together a great Prezi but they also wrote this delightful poem.

A Viking God Rhyme 

There is a woman named Freyda

Whose children are Frigg and Thor

Her Husband’s name is Odin

Who is the Viking God core.

If a NORSE person dies

Its not very cool

When they were buried

They were buried with every tool.

 

River Friendly River Wild

"A book about the nature of home, community and picking up the pieces" -Booklist

River Friendly River Wild by Jane Kurtz is an inspiring free verse poetry and picture book based on the author's personal experience with a flood destroying her home. The book is special because it not only identifies with victim's of natural disasters but allows the reader to live the real life experience of community working together to survive. At once beautiful and scary, the river is constantly changing as does the author during the course of the 1997 Grand Forks Red River Flood. There will always be times in our lives where we must face challenges and events that are out of our control. This book helps readers understand the emotions a flood victim, really any disaster victim, goes through. Somehow you must learn to put your life back together.

"The river is back in its banks again
and here we are,
alive.
I know now that
some memories live in things-
in old clothes and photographs,
drawings and trees.
Some of those memories we'll have to let go.
But Mom and Dad and Max and Kiwi
and Sarah and I
will make new memories
and hold tight to the old ones that stick."

Shrinking Days, Frosty Nights

This Falcon's favorite season is the fall. Sometimes, living in Southern California can be a bit of a disappointed when it comes to the fall. I long to see trees changing color, pick fresh apples, and feel the nippy air. Unfortunately, there aren't that many trees that change color, you have to drive pretty far to pick apples, and on days like today there is no nip in the air, only a forecast of 91F!!!!! EEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!

So I must turn to books and my own dreamy imagination to FEEL the fall. One book that I absolutely adore is a book of poetry that takes you from the first inkling of fall to the last flight of a birds journey south for the winter. Shrinking Days, Frosty Nights: Poems About Fall by Laura Purdie Salas is an excellent collection of poetry just right for Kinder-gardeners to 3rd graders. The text is big and the photography is vivid. The language is simple and easy to understand yet follows many familiar poetic patterns. There is even a section at the end of the book titles The Language of Poetry. Words such as Couplet, Rhyme, Rhythm, Haiku and many more are introduced and explained.

"Buried under crispy leaves
Squirrel finds a treasure
Tucks it in his hiding place for
Winter dining pleasure"

If there is one thing we have an abundance of it is Squirrels. Personally I think they are adorable creatures and I relish watching them play in the tree outside my window. They are often scurrying around hiding and digging up acorns. Really they make me laugh.

What is your favorite part of the Fall?

Los Gatos Black on Halloween

"Under October's luna, full and bright, the monsters are throwing a ball in the Haunted Hall. Las brujas come on their broomsticks. Los Muertos rise from their coffins to join the fun. Los Esqueletos rattle their bones as they dance though the door. And the scariest creatures of all? Wait until you see them!"

This book is a little bit Halloween and a little bit Day of the Dead but mostly it is a whole lot of fun! The narration  is poetic and the illustrations are haunting with a traditional Mexican flair. I enjoy reading this book to different classes for Halloween because of the mix of Spanish and English words. Perhaps the text is a bit redundant but it never seems to bother the children. I prefer having both the English and Spanish words because I am not very good with Spanish!

"At medianoche midnight strikes-
The witching hour the werewolf likes.
The bloodhounds bay, los perros howl.
Beware! The wolfman's on the prowl."

This book won the Pura Belpré Award for both illustration and text. The Pura Belpré award is given annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. I definitely agree Los Gatos Black on Halloween  has all that and more. The children love to see their favorite Halloween characters celebrating one of their favorite holidays.

Q is for Question

The 4th graders spend their year in the library learning about the Dewey Decimal System. We start at the 000's and end at the 900's. Some of the 10 major Dewey categories are difficult to understand. For example the students first learn that the Dewey system is reserved for non-fiction books. Yet one of the major categories is Social Sciences and includes fairy tales. If fairy tales are made up stories how can they be included in non-fiction? That is a very good question that the 4th graders will explore in a few months. This week and next week they will focus on the major Dewey category 100 also known as Philosophy and Psychology.

This is somewhat of a daunting lesson since even I find it difficult to understand these subjects of the mind. The first thing we did was read a Dewey 100's poem.

Who am I, really, and then who are you?
What is for real? Is the sky truly blue?
Spooks, ghosts and witches-where do they fit?
Does my mind have strange powers? What's the truth of it?
What's right and what's wrong? Can I reason it out?
Do my dreams hold the answers to what life's about?
Who were the great thinkers, and what did they see?
Did they sometimes feel silly or sad, just like me?
To explore these great mysteries, to be wise and to know, The Dewey 100s are the place to go!

We then discussed the different subjects and books that can be found in this section. I can honestly say I have never had more fun talking to a class before. Your children are all great thinkers who understand that we all have different ways of thinking.

We also read a fun book titled Q is for Question by Tiffany Poirier.
It starts at A with ANSWERS
:"Searching for answers? Let's begin! how are they found? Are they within...?"

It touches on mind boggling thoughts such as
E EXISTENCE
"What is existence? Can you define it? Is there a boundary? What is outside it?"
"At the edge of space, if you poked your fist, could you scoop in your hand what doesn't exist?"

It also has you think of slightly more concrete ideas such as
R RIGHTS
"What are your rights? Are rights equal for all? Which rights apply to an animal?"

And yet, it stays firmly in the realm of thoughts, ideas and beliefs...
S SOUL
"Is there a soul? Of what is it made? Who gets a soul? Do souls ever fade?"

While your children may not be quite ready for Plato's The Republic and his idea of The Cave, they certainly are able to discuss and understand logic, free will, happiness and nature vs. nurture. Talk to them about it! You might be amazed at their own philosophical ideas!

Librarian's of the Day

Today the library had two very special guest librarians. Miss Sarah Hankins and Mr. Dylan Hankins. They are both in 6th grade and won the Librarian for the Day at the SP Auction. We have had so much fun today! They wanted to share the books they choose to read to the 1st grade classes. So without further ado, I turn the Falcon's Fables over to them!

Hi! I am Librarian Sarah Hankins and this Falcon's Fables is going to be centering on Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. This book is a wide collection of poems ranging from the funny to the mysterious. The illustrations are interesting as well and help portray the story in the poems. The author, Shel Silverstein, is also the author of The Giving Tree and many other books of prose and poetry. My favorite poem is called The Loser. The Loser is about a boy who looses his head and talks about how he can find it. He runs into a problem. He can't look for his head, because his eyes are on it. He can't call to it because, his mouth is on it. But he couldn't hear it anyway, because his ears are on it. He decides to rest on a rock. The illustration shows that the boy was sitting on his head which was what he thought was a rock! If you like fun stories, this will be a wonderful book for you and you'll want to read every poem in the book in one day. Read it!!! Read it Now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!