Welcome back to my blog! I am very excited for this semester. I am reading some very cool books and I can't wait to tell you all about them!

 

This week I will be talking about Layla's Happiness by Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie, Mentor Texts by Dorfman and Cappelli, and Textbook by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. I will also take you along with me in my Writers Notebook this week. 

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Have you ever been happy? I hope so. I wish I could bottle up the feeling of happiness and use it when I'm not having a good day. Layla's Happiness reminds you of all the little things that make you happy. As a future educator, I can't wait to read this book to my students. I think about all the activities I could do with my students. As you look at the illustrations in the book, by the amazing Ashleigh Corrin, they draw your attention to how beautiful life is by the simple drawings. Corrin's illustrations are really intriguing and I would have my students observe them and create their own drawings. While reading Chapter 2 of Mentor Texts, I loved the technique "Think About It, Talk About It, Write About It". I would introduce Layla's Happiness to the class by making connections about feeling happy. We would discuss the things that make them happy and why it makes them feel that way. We would also discuss the people or places that make them happy. We would then read Layla's Happiness. After reading, I would have the students revaluate the things that make them happy and have them revise if needed. They will add an entry to their Writers Notebook and write about what makes them happy and use adjectives. 

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Alright, I have to brag about Textbook by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. When I opened this book, I was immediately glued to it. Amy's sense of humor is similar to mine, sarcastic. In this book, there is a text feature where you can talk to a robot-Amy which I am intrigued by. You never know what you're going to read when you flip the page, which is why I love this book. Amy's book is organized yet disorganized. But it's interesting to read. I like to think of student's notebooks like Amy's book. It doesn't have to be perfect, you can mark stuff out, scribble, write in pen, anything! It's a place where they put their thoughts to paper which can be an extraordinary thing.

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This week, I wrote a rough draft of my "Where I am From..." poem. It's not perfect, but it was interesting to do. I really had to think of my traditions, family, things I say, favorite places, memories, etc. I have included an image below of my poem.