Day 60- Project Big Book

We began a new project today during our whole group reading time. Since we are studying fables, I thought we should make a big book on one of the stories. What is a big book? Well, in this case, it's when I find a story online, download it, cut it up into strips, and we illustrate it. Basically, we become the illustrators.

I used to do this with children's songs, we made Musical Big Books. (like with Down By the Bay, or I am a Kid- by the Olsen twins) My students like getting to create the illustrations and then getting to share our book with others once it is finished.

We started the lesson by reading the real book version. The Lion and the Mouse.

The fun thing about this book: it has no words! Aside form some onomatopoeia words (the sounds that the animals make) there are not any actual words to tell the story. The reader has to infer what is happening from the illustrations.

I wish I had gotten pictures of my students' faces. They were gasping and holding their breath. (I have a very dramatic bunch)
After 'reading' the book, I showed my students the non-illustrated big book.

I loved this quote from this brilliant Soldier:

Student- "Mrs. Delk! That book is like a turn-around fact!"
Me- "Really? How?"
Student- "That other book had pictures and no words. That book has words and no pictures. It's a turn-around fact!"

One of these days my students will understand the difference between things being opposites and things being turn-around facts. Until then, I can appreciate their ability to make connections between the different subjects. :)

So, we read the story and the students got to choose which page they wanted to illustrate.

 Hopefully we will have all of the illustrations done tomorrow so I can laminate it and make it look more book-like. I'm sure I can find a wonderful Celebrity reader for it once it is done!

** I have an announcement to make**

My students are BRILLIANT! This morning I put a domino on the board and my students had to write the addition fact, the turn-around fact, and the matching subtraction fact. AND THEY DID!! By themselves, no one had to ask me a question, no one had to ask a partner, BY THEMSELVES!!
I took up their papers and I gasped, "You all are brilliant! Kiss your brains!"
Well, apparently my gasp was loud enough to be heard across the hall, because Mrs. Hughes came in and wanted to bask in my students' brilliance as well! She was duly impressed. :)

What does their brilliance mean, you ask? This means they are beginning to recognize Fact Families in math. Addition can be turned into subtraction, and vise-versa. Next step, make both subtraction facts along with both addition facts. This is exciting! We will conquer Fact Families!

I mentioned yesterday possibly taking video of our math game today, to show you how brilliant my students are. Well, we didn't get to a math game. Seriously, we were SO engrossed in our lesson, it took our whole math time, right up until lunch. Maybe tomorrow?

In science we worked more on our space songs. I gotta admit, I love when everyone yells, "Balls of gas!" during the Sun song.

So we sung our songs, answered space questions for team tickets, and were sent home with this special homework challenge.

**Homework challenge**
Any students who goes home and sings one or more of the space songs will earn $5 Cub Cash into their account tomorrow! All they have to do is get a parent signature that they sang the song. There are 3 songs, and they are worth $5 per song. That's $15 Cub Cash if they sing all 3!!

Literacy center pictures:

 Spelling texters, Read, Build, Write cards

 Rhyming word matching game

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