Beginning the Year with a Mock Charlotte Huck Experience

Each year, we enjoy working with our 2nd graders and colleagues as we look at
books with a critical lens while participating in a Mock Caldecott. This award
takes place during the 2nd semester of the year, and we look forward to our
Caldecott work. Coincidentally, our class chose Dan Santat’s book, After the Fall
as our “Ross-Cruserecott”. It didn’t win the Caldecott, but it did win the 2018
Charlotte Huck award! This year, we are going to begin looking at criteria at the
beginning of the year with a new mock award. NCTE’s book award
announcements are in November, which will provide a jump start as we empower
our students to be the award experts. This year, we will begin the year diving into
reading books with the goal of choosing our class favorite to receive the Charlotte
Huck Award for fiction that has the potential to transform lives by inspiring
imagination, wonder, and compassion.

There is magic that happens when your class participates in mock book awards.
Classroom discussions are elevated as children are empowered with criteria.
They learn how to agree and disagree with specificity. They read, read, read
books that open their worlds to the experiences of others. These books help
them feel and help them learn about how to help themselves and others.
Teachers are facilitating conversations- not inserting their opinions, which positions
them as a learners alongside their students. Colleagues come together to discuss
books students are lifting up to the next level, and they are sharing books and
ideas with their teams and across grade levels. Books have the power to build
and strengthen communities.

For Students:

Shared Padlets: One for picture books and one for middle grade novels

Visible books stacks created by children

Posters advertising favorite books and hopeful award winners

For Teachers:

Goal for at least one teacher per grade level on campus to participate

Online collaboration: twitter, blogs, facebook

For Families

Much of our class life is captured by Seesaw, so parents will view pictures and
videos documenting our Charlotte Huck journey, which will give them insight and
encourage family conversations about books.

Nervous to start a mock project with your class?  Don’t be! NCTE has
created several resources to help teachers and students have a meaningful
mock award experience. Here is a link to help you get started:
http://www2.ncte.org/app/uploads/2018/06/Mock-Charlotte-Huck-
Award-Getting-Started-Guide-2018.pdf

NCTE has even created a kid friendly version of the Charlotte
Huck Award criteria:
Does the book make you feel what the characters are feeling?
Does the book help you imagine new things? Take you to new places?
Does the book make you think about your own life in new ways?
Does the book help you to see the world in new ways?
Does the book help you to think about how we treat others? 
How we relate to others?
Is the book well written? If so, in what ways?
How do the illustrations support your reading experiences? 
In what ways do they stand out?

Because we teach 2nd grade, we will spend most of our time with picture books. 

However, we know there will be some transitional books and novels released 

that will be inspiring to our students. We hope you will join us in the comments 

with ideas from your class. Here is a sneak peek of some of the titles we are 

excited to share with our class: 

Drawn Together by Minh Le and illustrated by Dan Santat is a beautiful book
about the power of art and how it can bridge generations and break down
barriers. The characters, a Vietnamese speaking grandpa and his English
speaking grandson navigating a visit. What will they do? What will they eat?
How will they communicate? The front matter reveals Vietnamese translations
featured in the dialogue between a Grandpa and grandchild.

For so many of our students, art is life. They adorn the backs of napkins or
use whatever they can find to create. For others, there is less flexibility
when it comes to creativity. What If… , written by Samantha Berger and
illustrated by Mike Curato reminds us that art is important and connects
us to our world.

Chalk Talk: Homework Shift to "Home-School Connection"

Have you been reading all of the research about homework? Are you thinking about taking the plunge and making changes to your homework program? Maybe you have children of your own, and you are noticing how homework is affecting family time or your child’s confidence. Or maybe you feel like conceptual learning is being outsourced for you to teach your child. Whatever the case may be, it is hard to hide from all of the research being posted to social media and inspiring blog posts all over the internet about homework.

After much reading of research on the effects of homework on young children, we decided to revamp our thinking about the traditional homework we have sent home for years now. In recent years, we used a homework log where children recorded the books they read, how long they read (at least 30 minutes daily), how they studied spelling, and how they studied math facts. We found that children weren’t always honest about their recordings. Perhaps it was because the homework log was not a meaningful exercise. It is also very possible that the homework log discouraged children from being authentic learners. Parents communicated they were setting timers to ensure their children read for at least 30 minutes.

As we reflected, we decided the homework log wasn’t an effective measure of accountability. Most importantly, the log didn’t encourage a love of learning. We wanted to send the message to parents that we truly wanted to partner with them to encourage children to learn through play, meaningful family time, and the natural curiosity children have if we give them time.

Our chalk talk to/with you is all about how we are trying to make it happen in our 2nd grade classroom. We hope you will be able to use this post as you rethink homework, create meaningful ways for your children to share their learning lives with one another (and with you!), and create an authentic way to embed accountability.

We have 66 families who have participated in our new program, and only 4  parents expressed the desire to have worksheets sent home (and we were able to redirect their requests by sending home one of our take home math kits). With any shift in thinking, there will always be some who voice concern- colleagues and parents. The request for worksheets was motivated by efficiency. They wanted a homework model that didn’t require time of them. These parents needed some support and ideas to help them understand we were not asking them to do more.   By and large, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. It all started with the following letter:

Dear Parents,

As we will be working closely as partners ensuring your child makes great home/school connections. We value you as your child’s first teachers and know you have wonderful, enriching conversations at home as a family. We also value the time and activities you plan beyond the school days and on weekends. We are not asking you to do more. We are hoping to capitalize on the wonderful experiences you already have with your child every day- with math, reading, science, and social studies. Our hope is to encourage a love of learning, curiosity, and social justice. So much of this can happen right at your dinner table, and through sharing our experiences from home. The only traditional homework will be unfinished classwork, and it will travel in a homework folder. This work will almost always be due the following day.

Next week, your child will have a menu to choose from each day (Tuesday-Thursday). Each day, they will share something they learned about either math, science, social studies, or reading. They will share something they learned at home about math by adding to a class padlet on the computer. They will create a “Did You Know” science fact, which will be used on a “Did You Know” Board inside our classroom (These facts will rotate until all of our facts have been shared). Each child will recommend a book they enjoyed at home on a recommendation display. For Social Studies, each child will create a picture with labels detailing their understanding about something they learned about history, notable people, geography, government, or economics.  Every week the students will choose from menu items representing different subject areas.

The children thought of creative ways to do this. Here are some of their ideas:

• Read, read, read, and read some more- for the fun of it!
• Counting allowance- They said this is math, but when you start talking about who is on the coins and their significance, it adds social studies!
• Looking at a Map- This is about geography, and there are a lot of great tools on a map- compass rose, map keys, and coordinates (which adds math!)
• Reading Nonfiction- This could be a blend of reading and science/social studies/or even math!
• Going out to eat! This creates an opportunity to read a menu, compare prices of items, or use a phone calculator to help add up the family’s orders!
• Visiting our 2nd grade website for some purposeful technology:http://casis2nds.weebly.com/
• Cooking! They were quick to point out that cooking blends science, math, and reading! We read Cook-A-Doodle-Doo. Attached is a picture of the recipe from the book.

We would love to have some pictures of your child growing their thinking about reading, science, math, and social studies at home!

Thanks,

Stacey and Brennan

**Here is one of the menus the children get at the beginning of the week. They choose 3 of the 4 activities during the week.

We have only experienced a couple of months of our “Home-School Connection", and we have been busy saving student samples, parent reflections, and the pictures parents are sending of their children learning at home. Next year, we will be armed with so many visuals and testimonies from children and parents, which will be a great help as we orient our new families.   This year we have seen so much enthusiasm from the students about their work at home and the conversations at school are inspiring other students to create, talk, and explore at home. Here are some pictures of our children learning at home.

This student was given the time and his parents’ trust to mix the ingredients for an organic glass cleaner. He was able to read the recipe, use fractions to measure the ingredients, and experience chemistry in a meaningful way as he built a sense of autonomy helping his family.

Below, this student combined purposeful play to create a pulley system using her own body weight to lift her little sister in a homemade chair made from a rope. With supervision, time, and some simple household items, this proud 2nd grader built her own machine! Unbeknownst to her, she was using play to learn about force and motion.

The students below used a weekend afternoon to make lemonade. They shopped for the ingredients, read the recipe, measured ingredients, decided on a price, and sold lemonade to neighbors. They made change, and when the day was done, they counted their money. What a great way to learn economics, mixing solids and liquids, counting money, and saving money!

To help students and parents, we have created a check out system for math games. We call them our Take Home Math Kits. Most of the games have been recreated from the book Well Played by Linda Dacey, Karen Gartland, Jane Bamford Lynch. To organize a self checkout system, we have a bulletin board, and each child has a clothespin labeled with their name. Each game has a notecard with the game’s name on it, and when a child checks out a game, they place the card in their clothespin. This helps us know who has games checked out. These games generate strategic math discourse.

Just like our students, we are growing our thinking. We know we will continue to refine how we tap into the wealth families offer at home. The beauty of it is time with children doesn’t cost families anything. Something as simple as a dinnertime conversation can enrich children, and when they bring this enrichment to school, it enriches the classroom community. WIN-WIN!

Articles we read:

http://www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/readerleader/reading-logs-how-do-you-know-if-theyre-reading

http://www.lifehack.org/385878/research-finds-the-effects-of-homework-on-elementary-school-students-and-the-results-are-surprising

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/whose-school-project-is-it-anyway_b_9637310.html

http://willrichardson.com/9-elephants-classroom-unsettle-us/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2012/11/26/homework-an-unnecessary-evil-surprising-findings-from-new-research/

http://community.today.com/parentingteam/post/heres-why-i-said-no-to-homework

http://www.salon.com/2016/03/05/homework_is_wrecking_our_kids_the_research_is_clear_lets_ban_elementary_homework/

Wrapping Our Children in Picturebook Love

credit: Jarrett Krosoczka @studiojjk

The #hugsfromkidlit movement on social media has gained serious traction over the past couple of days.  Whether we are teachers, librarians, parents, or book creators, we all want to create a safe space for our children.  One way we do that is with the books we feature and share with our students.  We recently contributed to a post on Book People’s blog about building a thoughtful library.  You can see the full post here: https://bookpeopleblog.wordpress.com/2016/09/07/modern-first-library-starting-the-conversation-with-aisd-educators/  In the post we discussed how a book can be a spark for deeper thinking and open up conversations about a wide range of topics.  The books we choose for our collections are opportunities. Opportunities for children to learn how to share and spread kindness.  Opportunities for children to see others that are the same, and different from them.  Opportunities to learn how to help others who might be feeling lonely or scared.  By opening the door to these conversations, children have a safe space to discuss situations that might seem difficult or scary, and figure out what they can do to help others.  When we share diverse books with children, they see themselves, and others, in important positions.

credit: Lauren Castillo @studiocastillo

Librarians can be a great resource when teaching children about diversity, tolerance, and empathy.  They can help parents and teachers gather books and resources that will teach and empower their children to be better friends and citizens.  By teaching our children about tolerance and empathy, children will feel more empowered when they see someone being mistreated.  In order to begin this empowerment, school and public library collections, as well as personal library collections need to be diverse.  At the end of this post, you will find a digital advocacy story that was created for librarians, teachers, and parents to explain the need for a diverse library.

We have collected a few books we believe are important to share with our kids.  Many have been included both for how they embrace diversity as well as how they build empathy and empower children.  Some of them were chosen simply because they are about spreading love in the world. We recognize that this list is by no means complete.  We encourage you to use the comments section on this blog post to continue the list.  Help us fill our libraries with rich and meaningful books.

Reading books about sensitive topics requires us to tune into our own perspectives and biases.  If we feel uncomfortable to approach these books and conversations, we must seek our own truths. Courage to have an authentic moment before, during, and after reading “door opening” books can have transformative effects for individual children and the classroom community as a whole.

Book List:

Be A Friend

Author and Illustrator: Salina Yoon

Treat others how you think they would want to be treated

Big Bob, Little Bob

Author: James Howe

Illustrator: Laura Ellen Anderson

Finding connections despite differences and standing up for one another.

Emmanuel’s Dream

Author: Laurie Ann Thompson

Illustrator:  Sean Qualls

A true story of adversity and perseverance

Hello My Name is Octicorn

Author: Kevin Diller

Illustrator:  Justin Lowe

Octicorn is a little bit different, but he just wants to be included.

Home at Last

Author: Vera B. Williams

Illustrator: Chris Raschka

A child finds safety in this story of adoption.

Lailah’s Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story

Author: Reem Faruqi

Illustrator: Lea Lyon

A story of Ramadan, courage, and acceptance

Last Stop on Market Street

Author: Matt de la Pena

Illustrator: Christian Robinson

Giving back to community, Being Thankful for what you have

Maybe Something Beautiful

Authors: F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell

Illustrator: Rafael Lopez

Even small children can have a big impact on a community

One Word From Sophia

Author: Jim Averbeck

Illustrator: Yasmeen Ismail

Creativity, perseverance, and adaptability make Sophia a strong character.

A Piece of Home

Author: Jeri Watts

Illustrator: Hyewon Yum

An immigration story about holding on to tradition in a new home

Sidewalk Flowers

Author: JonArno Lawson

Illustrator: Sydney Smith

Small gestures of kindness are transformative

Strictly No Elephants

Author: Lisa Mantchev

Illustrator: Taeeun Yoo

Kindness and inclusion are at the heart of this story.

The Sandwich Swap

Authors: Queen Rania of Jordan Al Abdullah and Kelly DiPucchio

Illustrator: Tricia Tusa

A tale of friendship and learning tolerance and understanding

Two White Rabbits

Author:Jairo Buitrago

Illustrator: Rafael Yockteng

An immigration journey through the eyes of a child

Worm Loves Worm

Author: J.J. Austrian

Illustrator: Mike Curato

Love is love.

Here are some helpful links to aid you in building diverse libraries: 

http://www.imyourneighborbooks.org/  

http://booksthathealkids.blogspot.com/  (look at the links on the right side)

http://weneeddiversebooks.org/

http://weneeddiversebooks.org/where-to-find-diverse-books/ (multiple links to different resources and award lists)
http://www.ncte.org/awards/charlotte-huck NCTE's Charlotte Huck Book Award

Courtney made this digital presentation about the importance of building libraries with diverse texts.

Courtney Ewing worked with us on this blog post. She is a 2nd grade teacher at Casis Elementary. She has taught for 10 years and is currently getting her masters at Texas Women’s University in Library and Information Sciences.

Cricket Song

Anne Hunter’s watercolor and ink illustrations of Cricket Song softly portray two different continents and the ocean connecting them. Through story and pictures, Hunter reminds readers of the interconnected magic between people, animals, and Earth. Commonly, young children, by nature, are egocentric, and Cricket Song gently portrays the world as bigger than our home, yard, and gently encourages us to imagine beyond what we can even see.

The story begins with a child being lulled to sleep by the song of crickets, whose song blends with the “kreck kreck kreck” frogs and the calls of the poorwill. This interconnectedness continues by way of smell and sound through one continent, over and ocean, and into the sleeping room of a child far away on another continent. Hunter gifts the reader with an additional panel of illustration on the bottom of each page aimed to reveal the bigger picture giving a “zoom in” “zoom out” effect. Each page turn begs for conversation and noticings much like a “seek and find” favorite.

Cricket Song is sure to appeal to animal lovers. Curious children will want to learn more about the animals Hunter carefully places on each page. The story is a reminder to young writers to use their senses as they write to help their reader create strong mental images vivid settings. Hunter’s illustrations add a layer of story creating synergy between text and picture. This is the kind of book children can use when they are looking to add pictures that can enhance their writing. The use of onomatopoeia for the songs of many animals is made clear to the reader with italicised text.  Themes of cultural diversity and interconnectedness offer a multitude of opportunities for talk.

Mentor Text Ideas: Illustrations, onomatopoeia, Using Senses for Visualization