This week first graders explored the concept of using the days of the week as the structure of a story. Several stories that have that structure were shared: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, On Monday When It Rained, Chickens to the Rescue, Mrs. Honey’s Hat, and Cookie’s Week. After noting the main character(s), the daily actions, and with which day each st
ory starts and ends, the children worked as a class to write a days-of-the-week story of their own. They determined the main character and the first day and then brainstormed actions for every day of the week. Mrs. Miliano recorded their ideas in quick sketches on a large chart and later transcribed the story. Next time they visit the library, Mrs. Sullivan’s students will illustrate their book, Gorilla’s Week. Mrs. Bemis’ first graders will add colorful drawings to their story, Supeboy’s Week. Both books are sure to be bestsellers so be on the look-out for them!
Days-of-the-week story structure
A good day for walking
This week’s kindergarten storytime featured two books about taking a walk. The first book, I Was Walking Down the Road by Sarah E. Barchas, is a simple story of girl who collects animals to be her pets. The children noticed the pairs of rhyming words on each page and participated in the reciting the refrain. The second book, How Do You Wokka-Wokka? 
by Elizabeth Bluemle, is very different. It features an urban setting and a multi-ethnic cast. The book is filled with movement, rhythm, and rhyme as it describes how individual children move. After reading that book, everyone took a “wokka-wokka” around the library, moving in all sorts of different ways!
Read for the Record
On October 8th, classes that visited the library participated in an annual event called “Read for the Record.” It is sponsored by Jumpstart, an organization that promotes early literacy. Each year Jumpstart selects a picture book to be shared with as many children as possible all over the world on October 8th. This year 2,019,752 children heard the story The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle on the same day! Fifty-five CJL students were among the millions who enjoyed a great picture book and helped to set a world record at the same time!
Acorn cap estimation
The library competition for the week of November 16th was an estimation contest featuring a jar full of acorn caps. Sixth grader Amber’s estimate of 134 acorn caps was the closest. There were 135 caps in all. Congratulations, Amber!
Which series do you like better?
After selecting new books during their weekly library visit, Miss Mallon’s second graders conducted surveys about popular
book series. First students selected graphs, each listing two different book series. Next they asked their peers which series they liked better. After obtaining eight or more opinions, the students interpreted their graphs. Here are the results:
- More people like I Spy books more than Where’s Waldo? books.
- More people prefer Mr. Putter and Tabby books to Rainbow Magic books.
- More people chose Amelia Bedelia than Frog and Toad books.
- Pigeon books are more popular than Black Lagoon books in Miss Mallon’s class.
- In Miss Mallon’s class, Star Wars books are more popular than Bone books.
- On one survey more people selected Ivy+Bean books over Junie B. Jones books, but when different people were polled, the results were the opposite!
Mrs. Sturtevant’s students conducted surveys during their book visit, too. Here are their results:
- Like Miss Mallon’s class, most students prefer I Spy books to Where’s Waldo? books.
- More students like Mr. Putter and Tabby books than Rainbow Magic books.
- The Pigeon books are more popular than the Black Lagoon books.
- Star Wars books are more popular than Bone books.
- Unlike Miss Mallon’s class, more students in Mrs. Sturtevant’s class say they like Frog and Toad books better than Amelia Bedelia books.
- More students chose Junie B. Jones books than Ivy + Bean books.
- More students like Henry and Mudge books better than Max and Ruby books.
- Arthur books are more popular than Biscuit books.