First Grade students are back on the road again, and this week we reached a new continent: Africa! First stop: Nigeria.
Why the Sun & Moon Live in the Sky, retold and illustrated by Niki Daly, is a lovely Nigerian folktale about how Sun’s infatuation with Sea led to him and Moon retreating to the sky forever.
While folktales are a lovely way to imagine why nature is the way it is, we learned that a great way to discover actual scientific facts is by borrowing books from the 500s section of the library – Science and Nature!
Kindergarten and First Grade classes took a break from traveling this week to enjoy some poetry by famous poets like Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky.
We also learned about two more sections of the Dewey Decimal System: the 700s with books on Art and Leisure, and the 800s with (you guessed it!) Poetry, Plays, and Jokes!
First Graders had a ball in Australia this week!
What Made Tiddalik Laugh is a fun old aboriginal tale retold by Joanna Troughton.
It was hilarious to watch all the animals struggle to find ways to make Tiddalik the frog laugh. The illustrations featured all types of unique animals from Australia!
We also started chatting about the non-fiction section of our library and how it is organized by the Dewey Decimal System. The first section we learned about: History and Geography which can be found in the 900s!
This week Kindergarten traveled to Japan!
Kamishibai Man is one of the many amazing and touching stories by famed author/illustrator Allen Say.
Our hearts sang as the kamishibai man realized that his storytelling had touched the lives of generations.
This week First Grade moved on to visit China!
In order to review all that we’ve learned about Fiction books in our library, we played a quick game that challenged students to determine whether a book was a Picture, I-Can-Read, or Chapter book by looking at the call number.
Once each class was declared victorious, the prize was to watch a video version of the classic Chinese tale
Tikki Tikki Tembo as retold by Arlene Mosel.
This week we are traveling to the beautiful land of India!
First Grade students read Aani and the Tree Huggers by Jeannine Atkins.
We were all moved to find out that this book about a group of women who save their village from deforestation is based on a true story! In the 1970s, the Chipko Andolan (“Hug the Tree Movement”) was instrumental in protecting trees from being cut down. As a result, village councils today must meet to agree on exactly how many trees can be cut down in an area and new trees are planted each year.
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We also talked about the chapter book section of our library and how all the books have “FIC” on their call number, which stands for “Fiction.“
This week both Kindergarten and First Grade students moved on to an exciting new place: Russia!
One interesting fact we learned is that Russia is actually considered part of two continents: Europe and Asia. The part of Russia to the west of the Ural Mountains is grouped with Europe, and the part to the east is grouped with Asia.
In honor of this unique area, First Grade students read The Impossible Riddle by Ellen Jackson.
We loved trying to figure out how the old farmer might outwit the powerful tsar.
Since March is officially Dr. Seuss Month, Kindergarten and First Grade spent the 2 weeks before Spring Break visiting the land of Theodor Seuss Giesel’s ancestors: Germany.
There are so many classic Dr. Seuss stories to choose from, but this year we decided to share The Lorax since the movie version was released:
While we’re sure Hollywood did a great job, we wanted to be sure to honor the original work of Dr. Seuss and hear the story that came first:
It was also a great way to learn about our picture book section in general and how all the books have “P” at the top of the call number to indicate that they’re “picture” books.
Then we shared some of Dr. Seuss’s famous “I-Can-Read” books.
We discussed how the “I-Can-Read” books in our library have orange stickers on the spine and “E” (for “Easy”) at the top of the call number to indicate that they’re “I-Can-Read” books.
First Grade was in for a treat this week as we jumped from Ireland to Greece!
We were all on the edge of our seats as we read a true story: The First Marathon – The Legend of Pheidippides by Susan Reynolds.
We were in awe as we read about Pheidippides’s bravery. We never knew that the origin of marathons was so fascinating!
This week 1st Grade moved on to a new continent – Europe – and traveled to Ireland!
The Faerie’s Gift by Tanya Robyn Batt is a wonderful story about a poor man who wants to make everyone in his life happy with just one magical wish. Students loved the challenge of trying to figure out how he might word the perfect wish!
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