Equinox
day time, night-time share
equally
The sky splits
evenly with dark and light
Autumn arrives
~Jone Rush MacCulloch
Amy is rounding up the poetry at The Poem Farm. (http://www.poemfarm.amylv.com/)
Month: September 2013
Nonfiction Monday: Gandhi: A March to the Sea
I just picked up Alice B. McGinty’s newest book, Gandhi: A March to the Sea from the library.
In 1930, Gandhi led a twenty-four day march from Ahmedabad to Dandi by the sea. It was a pivotal event in Indian history to break away from the taxation policies of Britain. The seventy marchers promised to break the laws of getting salt from the sea.
Gandhi was successful in demonstrating in a peaceful manner.
McGinty uses free verse accompanied by evocative illustrations by Thomas Gonzalez. It’s a book that illustrates an abstract concept of peaceful protest in such a way that young children will understand.
The book contains a map of the route and notes on British India along with source notes and a bibliography.
I have a third grade teacher who likes introducing students to social justice. This book will be a good resource for him. It would also be great to use with fifth graders and their study of the causes of the America Revolution and taxation.
Title: Gandhi: A March to the Sea
Author: Alice B. McGinty
Illustrator: Thomas Gonzalez.
Published: 2013
Pages: unpaged
Reading Level: 3rd grade and up
Publisher: Amazon Children’s Publishing
ISBN: 978-1477816448
Source: Borrowed from the public library.
Nonfiction Monday is at Sally’s Bookshelf.
Happy Monday.
Happy reading.
MsMac
Poetry Friday: Summer Swap Poem
Poetry Friday is being held today at The Opposite of Indifference today.
Isn’t this a fabulous photo? Can you see the water striders? I received it for the “Summer Poetry Swap” from Keri at Keri Recommends.
And the poem brought me back to the days when I taught fifth grade. Those were the days that we went to overnight outdoor school. Pond study was the best for observing water striders. Keri captures the essence of water striders perfectly.
Thank you, Keri for this poem. My favorite line, “the whispering waves.”
ANNOUNCEMENT! ANNOUNCEMENT! ANNOUNCEMENT! (Trumpeting….)
My CYBILS panelist/judges. A fabulous group.
CYBILS 2013
Round One
Ed deCaria, Think, Kid, Think!, http://www.thinkkidthink.com, @edecaria
Kelly Fineman, Writing and Ruminating, http://kellyrfineman.livejournal.com, @kellyfineman
Jone MacCulloch, Check It Out, https://maclibrary.wordpress.com, @JoneMac53
Anastasia Suen, Poet! Poet!, http://asuen.com/poetry, @asuen1
Sylvia Vardell, Poetry for Children, http://poetryforchildren.blogspot.com, @SylviaVardell
April Halprin Wayland, Teaching Authors, http://teaching authors.com, @aprilhwayland
Bridget Wilson, What is Bridget Reading?,
http://whatisbridgetreading.blogspot.com, @bridgetrwilson
Round Two
Linda Baie, Teacher Dance, http://teacher dance.org, @LBaie
Matt Esenwine, Radio, Rhythm, and Rhyme, http://matt forest.wordpress.com @mattforrestvw
Renee La Tulippe, No Water River, http://www.nowaterriver.com, @ReneeMLaTulippe
Julie Larios, The Drift Record, http://julielarios.blogspot.com, no Twitter
Irene Latham, Live Your Poem, http://irenelatham.blogspot.com, @irene_latham
Nominations open October 1,2013.
Happy Poetry
Happy Friday
MsMac
Poetry Friday: The Library
This is from the fabulous Poetry Friday Anthology, “The Library” by Sara Holbrook.I use this for a bookmark. It also makes a great painting with I Took My Frog to the Library by Eric Kimmel. It’s the book I love sharing with the kinders. It also pairs well with The Story of Fish and Snail by Deborah Freedman. Plus it ends with the name of my blog!
On the back of my bookmark I have this, a quick reminder of how to use the poem.
On Monday, September 16, there will be a big announcement regarding the panelists and judges for the CYBILS. Stay tuned.
Poetry Friday is at Teach Mentor Texts.
Happy Poetry.
Happy Friday.
MsMac
Nonfiction Monday
Wendy’s Wanderings is hosting Nonfiction Monday.
Have you ever wondered about lightning, eletricity, and static electricity? Nikola Tesla did at the age of three.
In Electrical Wizard, How Nikola Tesla Lit Up the World by Elizabeth Rusch, readers learn about Tesla’s fascination with electricity at an early age and his perseverance to understand it. He discovered that electricity could be so much more, and go further in the world with the use of alternating current (AC).
It wasn’t an easy road for Tesla. He needed money for his inventions and supporters. He was up against Thomas Edison, who believed in the power of direct current (DC).
Determination paved the way to success at the Chicago’s World’s Fair and Niagra Falls.
Rusch’s thorough research shows through in her writing. Author notes including scientific notes and bibliography will make this book a great companion in the classroon during science.
Oliver Dominguez’s mixed media art adds great visuals to the story.
Title: Electrical Wizard, How Nikola Tesla Lit Up the World
Author: Elizabeth Rusch
Illustrator: Oliver Dominguez
Published: 2013
Pages: unpaged
Reading Level: 3rd grade and up
Publisher: Candlewick Press
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5855-7
Source: Sent by publisher upon request for review.
Happy reading.
MsMac
Poetry Friday: Poetry Pairings
This year I am trying something new. I want to incorporate more poetry throughout the year so I am pairing poems with books, thus “Poetry Pairings.”
This week, I am reading Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson. Do you know the book? Each kindness done and not done affects the world. I found a great poem to pair with this story: “Something I Did” by Janet Wong. Both speak to friendship.
Something I Did
Something I did
made Alex
not like me.
Something I did —
but what?
If Alex would tell me,
if Alex would say–
then maybe
we’d fix things
and
we could play
together
at recess
like we used to do.
What did I do wrong?
I wish I knew.
By Janet Wong
Poetry Friday Anthology, K-5 Edition
Poetry Friday is hosted by Laura Shovan at Author Amok.
Happy Poetry.
Happy Reading.
MsMac
Check It Out 