Days-of-the-week story structure
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!
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!
Investigating another author
First graders explored the work of author/illustrator Denise Fleming during their library visit this week. In both Barnyard Banter and In the Small, Small Pond,the children noticed the rhyming and bright, bold illustrations that are characteristic of Fleming’s books. As Mrs. 
Miliano read Buster, she pointed out how that picture book is divided into chapters. The final story she shared was Alphabet Under Construction. She used that book to introduce the special shelf where all the ABC books are kept in the library. Afterwards, the class “constructed” an alphabet by having each student decorate the first letter of his/her last name. The letters, covered with pom-poms, stickers, crayon, buttons, or Cheerios, will be used in an activity next week.
Another author featured
Author/illustrator Rosemary Wells was featured during the first grade storytime this week. After sharing a bit about the author, Mrs. Miliano read three Rosemary Wells books: the classic Noisy Nora, the Max and Ruby story Bunny Cakes, and Yoko. In the last book, Japanese-American Yoko brings sushi to school for lunch. Her classmates make fun of her unusual lunch so the teacher has an International Day in which the students taste all types of foods. We didn’t have sushi to try, but we did taste-test Kit-Kats from Japan. Each class tried three flavors of the candy: apple, soybean, and watermelon or brown tea. (All the flavors seemed to be popular!) After sampling the Kit-Kats, we each got some of Rosemary Wells’ “bunny money” to use as a bookmark.
First grade fun
The first graders enjoyed hearing the new book Boo to You!by author/illustrator Lois Ehlert during their weekly visit this week. Besides participating in the retelling of The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams, the children worked in small groups to put on puppet shows. Each student used one of his/her puppet to act out one of three rhymes: “Squirrels,” “Five Little Jack-O-Lanterns,” or “Five Little Scarecrows.” The performances were delightful!
