Fantastic Book Friday

One Crazy Summer is the story of eleven year old Delphine and her two sisters, Vonetta and Fern.  It is the summer of 1968, and the three girls have been sent to Oakland, California to spend a month with the mother who walked out on them years ago.  Coming from Brooklyn and their loving Papa and Big Ma, this is a significant shift in their reality.  Their mother, Cecile, is cold and unwelcoming and makes her displeasure at having these house guests readily apparent.

Cecile, who has rechristened herself "Nzila," wants nothing but to be left in peace and quiet so she can work on her poetry and printing.  As it is at home, Delphine is tasked with watching over her sisters and keeping them well fed.  Cecile sends the girls to a summer day camp run by the Black Panthers at the nearby People's Center.  There, the girls slowly make friends and learn about Huey Newton, Bobby Hutton, and how to protect their civic rights when dealing with the police. 

Will the girls ever develop a relationship with their mother?  How will the rest of their summer play out?  Find out in the award winning book One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia.

Check out the official book trailer

Fantastic Book Friday

Wolfie the Bunny is a sweet story about a bunny family who comes home one day to find a baby wolf in a basket on their doorstep.  Mama and Papa are smitten, but Dot isn't so sure.  She fears that Wolfie will one day eat them all up!  As Wolfie grows, Dot becomes convinced that one day the Bunny family will be his dinner.  Will Dot's prediction come true?  Or will she realize that families can come in all shapes and sizes?   

Check out the book trailer to help get you excited about Wolfie, Dot, and the rest of the family!

Introducing the Thalberg MakerSpace

The Thalberg Media Center is thrilled to announce the opening of its new MakerSpace.  Here, the students will be able to work collaboratively to explore, create, discover, and invent.  It is located in the library.  I know this is going to become an integral part of our school.  Take a look at this video to find out more information.

Thank You!

Many families purchased books for our library from the Book Fair.  Thank you so much.  The Thalberg students will certainly enjoy reading these new titles.

Thalberg Students are Practicing Keyboarding Skills

Students in Grades 1 - 4 have been practicing their keyboarding skills.  They are working hard on keeping their fingers on the home row keys, while becoming accustomed to the placement of each letter on the keyboard.  

The Home Row Keys

"QWERTY-home-keys-position" by Cy21 - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:QWERTY-home-keys-position.svg#/media/File:QWERTY-home-keys-position.svg

This has been difficult for many students who would prefer to "hunt and peck" for each key with just their pointer finger.  However, by utilizing the proper finger placement, their typing will become quicker and more accurate.  This is something that you can encourage at home when they are on the computer.

First grade students have been using Dance Mat Typing.  This is a game they can play at home, as well.  Here are some first graders working on their keyboarding skills.

Students in Grades 2-4 have been working with Type to Learn 4.  This can be downloaded on your computer at home for free.  For instructions and the access code, please email me at jgrodzicki@southingtonschools.org

Keep up the great keyboarding work!

Book Reviews Written by Students

Evaluating literature and sharing your opinion with others is an important part of Southington Public School's Elementary Technology Curriculum.  In Media Skills class, fifth graders are working on how to write polished book reviews.  This is something we will work on throughout the year.  This week, fifth graders each posted a book review of a favorite book on Scholastic's website.  This is a great place for students to write their own reviews and read reviews written by other students from around the country.  You can check out their reviews and more by clicking this link.      

Fantastic Book Friday

One of my favorite books that I read over the summer was The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate.  Inspired by a true story, this emotional novel tells the tale of Ivan, a silverback gorilla who lives in a cage at the Big Top Mall. Ivan has friends at the mall, an elephant named Stella, a dog named Bob, and a little girl named Julia.  They perform for humans every day of the year.  While Ivan has resigned himself to his life at the mall, he is not entirely happy.  But all that changes the day Ruby arrives.  Ruby is a baby elephant who has a tragic past.  She was brought to the mall from a circus, where she was treated very poorly.  All of a sudden, Ivan's life has a new purpose; to keep Ruby safe.  If his plan succeeds, Ivan, Ruby, and everyone else involved with "The Littlest Big Top on Earth" will have their lives changed forever.  Winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal, The One and Only Ivan will stay in your heart long after you've finished the last page.

Check out the book trailer for The One and Only Ivan.

Katherine Applegate answers questions from students about The One and Only Ivan.