What's Mr. Giso Making "Room to Read?" Pick #1

The Boy of the Three-Year Nap

By:  Dianne Snyder

Illustrated By:  Allen Say

I teach children's literature at the university level.  Anyone that knows me would be able to testify that it's a huge interest of mine.  In particular, but not exclusively, I LOVE the art of the picture book.  Three out of the four walls in my classroom are lined with them.  The fourth wall has storage cubbies which houses what?  MORE books!  It's no wonder why "Room to Read" was the obvious choice in naming by blog.

I came up with this new idea from a colleague to blog about my newest acquisitions in children's literature from time to time.  This is my newest book that arrived at my doorstep today.  By the way, I definitely recommend signing up for an Amazon.com credit card for all your book purchases.  You get money back to buy more books!  Totally worth it.  This one was free for me with points.  You can easily scroll down to the waaaaaaaaay bottom of my blog for a link to Amazon.com, and the book is a click away.

This charming picture book for my first pick, is a Japanese folktale.  To no surprise, it's a Caldecott Honor book.  The story can be told by simply "reading" the illustrations.  One of my undergrads chose it in her oral presentation on character--it was the perfect choice, so I just had to buy it to add to my library.  This book is about a very hard working widowed mother who has a lazy son Taro.  He could sleep for "three years at a stretch" if no one woke him, hence his name "The Boy of the Three-Year Nap.

One may think that this boy is good for nothing.  When a wealthy rice merchant, his wife and his daughter move to town and build a mansion next to Taro's shack, we soon realize what Taro is capable of doing to help his poor mother and to help bring food on the table.  The villagers by the river Nagara soon have a visit from the god ujigami which leads to this book's climax.  My favorite part of this book is when we learn that Taro is not the only one who has a trick or two "up his sleeve." 

Remember to sign up for updates and become a Mr. Giso's Room to Read" © blog member for updated "Bright Ideas" and "Book Picks."  All of my "Book Picks" should be linked at the bottom of my blog.  Happy reading!

Mr. Giso's Room to Read's Bright Idea #5

ME BAG First Week of School Activity

I've been asked to blog about this great idea I have been doing the first week of school for years, so here it goes!  As a fun way to welcome students back to school, they get a ME BAG on their desks.  It's filled with a few school supplies (pencils, eraser toppers, maybe a small notebook, etc.) as well as some fun things like a bracelet, puzzle, etc).  I also add some easy activities the children can do the first morning as I collect supplies, figure out bus routes, etc.

The students take the bag home and fill it with pictures, stickers and magazine cutouts that tell me all about them.  In school the third day, the bag returns and we cover the outside of the bag with these items brought from home.  It returns home from school a second time and comes back filled with five special artifacts about themselves.  On the fourth day of school, my students get a buddy where they examine artifacts and record and share what they have discovered about their new friends.

Check out my ME BAG!

My artifacts include these.
•Boston College mug:  I went there for undergrad.
•Shell:  I love to vacation anywhere there is a beach.
 •Dunkin' Donuts coffee:  I'm addicted. 
•Orange whistle:  Orange is my favorite color. 
• Photograph of my Christmas tree:  I collect ornaments.

The ME BAGS stay in my classroom until Back to School Night--they make a great display for families and friends.  Just click here to download this item from my store, free all week long!  I hope you enjoy this back to school activity as much as I do.  

All Week Freebie!

Have a shoebox from your Back to School shopping?  

It's time to turn it into a Compliment Box!

For the rest of this week just click here to download my compliment slips and brief directions free from my TpT store.  Here is my Compliment Box I made by just covering a shoebox with some fun wrapping paper.

All you need to do is to copy a bunch of compliment slips and model for your students how to give appropriate compliments.  I practice this several times, whole class, before we do the "real deal"--especially with the young ones.

Once a month, we sit in a circle and share compliments.  We are taught to receive a compliment with eye contact and a polite "thank you."  It's a great way to promote a sense of community which is key to effective classroom management!  Plus, who doesn't enjoy a good compliment every now and then?

On another note, I am up to 74 likes on my facebook page.  If you haven't liked Mr. Giso's Room to Read©, please do so.  I'm ready to get 100 likes by September.  Spread the word to all of your teaching friends too.  Your support is much appreciated!

Grab This New Item!

Why not make a Class Time Capsule for Back to School?

Students fill out this three page packet and take in a personal artifact from home.   When all questions are answered and when all items from home arrive, hold a class meeting.  Students share their answers and personal artifact and put both in a Time Capsule (make one out of a box--get creative).

The Time Capsule stays closed until the last day of school.  This fun project is community building for Back to School and offers great End of the Year closure for your students.  Get this in my store by clicking here.

Mr. Giso's Room to Read's Bright Idea #4

Make Your Own Fidget Basket and Get a Set of Brain Break Sticks!

This post is about two great ideas in one!  The best ideas are often the ones borrowed.  I came across the concept of a Fidget Basket from reading the blog by the Lesson Plan SOS Teachers this weekend.  The whole idea is to provide students with a chance to hold something in order to get out their "fidgets" in an appropriate manner instead of playing with their pencils, erasers, rulers and all the other fun stuff we take away from them during the school day!  I think this will work perfectly for my fist graders this year.  The Lesson Plan SOS Teachers explain how to model the basket's use and how to set the appropriate parameters.  This year, this neat tool will provide my wigglers the outlet they need to deal with a sensory overload and a case of the fidgets.  

I took my two dogs, Winston and Toby, on a hunt this Saturday to find things for my basket.  They love a good car ride--especially when it means they are not left home in their crates!  Check out my finds.

Here you see some eye masks with fun beads and jelly to squish around, baby teething rings, those squishy creatures, balls filled with glitter, pool toys, some neglected dog toys (cleaned of course) and bath sponges--all of different textures.  I hit up every dollar store in the Northshore.

Here is the complete Fidget Basket, and here is me getting out my Back to School anxiety by using one of the Fidgets--it really works!

The next idea I got was to make a set of Brain Breaks.  These were very easy to do.  I just printed them out, cut them and glued them to Popsicle sticks.  When my students need a Brain Break, I will just grab a stick and do the quick activity the stick names.  This item comes with directions for completing each of the Brain Breaks like "Tickle Torture," "Fold it Up," and "Crab Roll."  When we need to make a transition from one activity to the next, or when I look out and I have half of my first graders attention, I plan to put a Brain Break to work!  

To read about the blog entry on both of these "Bright Ideas" simply click here.  To get your hands on the materials and directions to make both of these new additions to my classroom visit the Lesson Plan SOS Teacher's TpT store by clicking here.  Here's one last pic of the sticks I was able to make from this great resource!

Let me know how these work out in your classroom.  I look forward to sending an update about using them once my school year starts.

Mr. Giso's Room to Read's Bright Idea #3

Make an Author Throne for Your Classroom!

Here's a fun idea to get ready for the new school year.  I decided to retire my old Author Throne and make a new one.  It was all chipped from years of use.  First, get a plastic lawn chair--they are pretty cheap the end of summer.  I found this one hanging around in Walmart, Inc.  It was really asking to come home to my classroom!

"Take me home, please!"

Second, spray paint it gold.  I used a can of Bright Coat Metallic Finish by RUST-OLEUM® and gave the chair a few coats.

Lastly, I used a hot glue gun to apply some acrylic jewels--I only burned my thumb once.  I had this sparkly pillow from my old Author Throne, so I decided to recycle it.  Here's the finished product--with a little glimpse of my new basement office.

I use the Author Throne for students to use when sharing their writing aloud from a journal or Writer's Workshop, finished product.  It inspires even the most reluctant students to share their writing in front of the class.  After sharing, the author gets a round of applause from my Classroom Clap Card of the day.  Be sure to download them while you're at it if you haven't yet.