Book Talk Tuesday: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

A big thanks to Mrs. Jumps Class for hosting the Book Talk Tuesday linky. 

Like many of our fellow Canadian teachers as we get up this morning we start another school year. I tried to think of a nice light hearted book that gets us all pepped and excited for the school year, but nothing came to the top of my head right away. Instead, I've been listening to our four year old daughter talk about how nervous she is to be moving into Senior Kindergarten, and it got me thinking about those students who are also nervous about coming to school for whatever reason. This got me thinking about my good buddy Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst.

Virost, has graced us with a series of books about Alexander who always seems to be down on his luck. However, she also reminds us that although the present day might seem awful there is another day around the corner and it had a great chance to be a better day.

In "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" our down on his luck friend Alexander wakes up gum from last night in his hair, tripping on his skateboard and noticing that his sweater was in the sink and the water was still running. He had a sense that it was going to be a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day."

After watching his two brothers eat his favourite cereals. He also discovered they found the prizes he wanted he could feel the day slipping away. He even contemplated moving to Australia. We all know how things get better when you move away right?

As the day continued at school Alexander ran into problems with friends, counting, an uncool lunch treat, a terrible spot in the car, and a bad trip to the dentist. We could only hope for some good fortunes to be bestowed on our friend Alexander. Instead, his day kept getting worse. The shoes he wanted didn't come in his size, the food for dinner wasn't his favourite, and his bath was way too hot.

I am sure tomorrow we will all come across some students like Alexander. Heck, we might even feel like Alexander ourselves. However, we need to reminder ourselves that it's just one day and things will get better. Instead, of thinking of the negatives or the nerves we need to think of the positives. We are partaking in one of the greatest jobs in the world and we get to start a whole new year of it. I am looking forward to it even if I have to go to Australia for it. Best of luck to everyone in your start up.

Change Up Those Book Talks

There are lots of ways to change up the mundane activities that we do in the classroom. One of those things that we often do that needs to be thrown a curve ball is how we conduct book talks. You remember those nice 2 minute book talks when a student gets up front of the room and sounds as boring as the teacher from Ferris Buller while trying to convince, their peers to really read this book. Yeah good-luck on that job and if it works you are going to be a real estate mogul!

The front of the bookmark

The back of the bookmark

Instead of having a student just retell about the book why not tap into their creativity and have them create a bookmark about the book they just read. On the front of the bookmark have them come up with a creative hook that represents the book they just read. On the back they can write a quick summary of the book and why they enjoyed it. Here is an example of a bookmark done for the classic Roald Dahl book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory".

For the whole package with templates and rubric take the Great Glass Elevator over to our site on TPT.

Review time!

Let's admit it we've all picked up or received a book and have wondered how on earth we could use it in the classroom. At Christmas our little one received this beauty "The Day the Crayons Quit" by Drew Daywalt from her Aunt. Of course, right away we had to read it. Then we read it again, and again, and well again, I think you are starting to see where I am going with this. It quickly became a household favourite not just with her, but with us as well.

The message is great for a classroom setting. It teaches us that we all need to get along even if we aren't exactly thrilled with what's going on. As each crayon writes a poignant letter to their owner Duncan they explain their point of view and beg him to unleash their beautiful colours onto the pages he's working on. This book has multiple uses no matter what grade your in as Jeff experienced this past year when he took it in with him for both his Kindergarten kids and with his Grade 4's.

In Kindergarten, a few of the classes that Jeff visited where discussing cooperation and also primary colours. He used the book as a fun story to read and also for a chance to explore colours through a funny story. The kids got the message has his office wall was quickly decorated with colourful pictures they would be drawn over the following week.

With his Grade 4's he tied it into a final assessment piece for the Rocks and Minerals unit he was teaching. He read the book to the class and then handed out their final assessment piece. They were given the choice to create sports trading cards of rocks and minerals OR to create their own version of the book. He got many different responses as you can see from the pictures below. If you are interested in the assessment you can find it here on our Teachers Pay Teachers site with the rubric to match.

Some of the different cards with book

 

One of the several stories that students wrote

This book is one that you can link to language, social skills, and just about anything else you can come up with.  We give this book an RclassroomsRus salute!