currently 2015

Happy 2015 everyone! I'm so excited for a new year and for our Blogging Club to continue to learn and grow as writers and bloggers! Today I am sharing CURRENTLY for the Classroom, but a great teacher-blogger named Farley!

To participate in this linky, grab a screen shot of the worksheet below, fill it out, post it to your blog and link up! Then, don't forget to leave comments for the other bloggers!

And without further ado - here's my Currently for January, 2015!

Listening to...Taylor Swift Mash-Up
It's no secret that I love Taylor Swift (I just got tickets to her concert with one of my bff's yesterday!) but now there's a mashup of Blank Space and Style that is awesome. Taylor even tweeted to them that she was obsessed with it - how cool would that be, to have Taylor tweet to you? So amazing! Anyways, here's the video:

Loving....sleeping in!
I don't need to sleep in really late, but if I can not wake up to an alarm that would be awesome! I've been waking up around 8am and that is perfect for me!

Thinking...it was too cold for New Year's Eve!
I think it is supposed to be 0 today and for tonight! We have plans about two blocks from our home, so at least it's a quick walk over there, but to be this cold...with no snow? It seems almost mean! My mom and I skyped today and she said I could come down to West Palm Beach and put some sun tan lotion on, but that's not going to fly since I'm not rich :-) Anyways, I'm bundling up tonight when we go out, because Chicago weather be like:

Wanting...to write a book
One day I will do this. Today is not the day, but you know....got to put the things you want out into the world to make them happen, right? :-)

Needing...my cold to be gone!
It's been three days of sneezing and headaches and feeling bad. Must be on it's way soon!

One Little Word = tenacity
I was going to go with perseverance but when I googled synonyms, tenacity came up and that's better, right? I just want to really stick with my goals this year...like keep on going even when I think I may not be making progress. Tenacity. Sounds good.

Okay Kiddos, it's your turn! Grab this image below (take a screen shot), put it in Power Point, add your ideas with text boxes, and then write a blog post. Don't forget to link it to this post! Looking forward to reading your posts!

Also: One Little Word: What word will guide you through 2015?

(The linky will open on New Years Day!)

An InLinkz Link-up

Christmas Posts

My Tiger Bloggers are so excited for Christmas! Last week I asked them what they want their new link-up to be and they wanted to share their posts about Christmas. Look below this one to check them out, and remember, we always love comments!

An InLinkz Link-up

We are thankful!

Posted by: Ms. Brezek

Thanksgiving is near and it's a great time to think about all the things we are thankful for! Last week, I asked the students in the Tiger Blogging Club to share about a few things they are thankful for. So, please click through the blogs below and see what they have to say! I know I, for one, am so thankful for all the hard work they are putting into their blogs!

An InLinkz Link-up

So Proud of Tiger Bloggers!

Posted by: Ms. Brezek

Good Morning! I hope you are enjoying your long weekend as much as I am! I just have to brag a little bit about our student bloggers - I met with them for 30 minutes on Friday and showed them how to write a post. Over the weekend, not only have they written posts, but they've been commenting on one another's blogs, they have changed the themes of their blogs, and some have even figured out how to make an avatar!

I am so excited for what is to come! Currently I'm looking for other fourth and fifth grade bloggers so they can start to build their network by reading and commenting on one another's blogs!

Parents, teachers, community members - please check out their posts off to the left hand side of this blog (Meet the Tiger Bloggers!) and leave them a comment. Nothing like a comment for a brand new blogger!

Tiger Blogging Club

posted by Ms. Brezek

We have just begun our Tiger Blogging Club here at Emerson! Today 13 students came to our meeting and are underway writing their first blog. You can find all of our blogs listed along the left hand side of the Emerson Community Collaborative Blog! As soon as the kiddos publish their first post, I know they would love feedback from our community - leave them some love in the form of a comment!

Have a great weekend!
Ms. Brezek

International Literacy Day

On Monday, September 8th, children and adults from around the world celebrated International Literacy Day. This was our first time celebrating here at Emerson and it was a blast! For our celebration, Fancy Nancy (aka Mrs. Jantz), Amos (aka Ms. Brezek), and the Three Little Pigs (aka the PTA) hosted a character tea party. Children at Emerson were invited to donate $1.00 to dress and take on the persona of their favorite character. At the tea party, they got to enjoy pink tea, crumpets (crackers, popcorn, and granola bars), conversation with other characters, and a read aloud by Ms. Brezek and Mrs. Jantz. A check for $50.00 was donated to the World Literacy Foundation to support literacy education for disadvantaged children.  Here are a few pictures from the event, but make sure to follow the Emerson PTA on Facebook for more pictures!

Fancy Nancy and Amos from Amos and Boris

Hermione took a break from Hogwarts to enjoy some tea and crumpets. 

Can you name the characters in this picture?

The Three Little Pigs.  I mean, our fabulous PTA! :)

Pinkies up!

Literacy plays a critical role in our day to day lives, so pick up a good book, read it, and have a conversation with someone about it! We can't wait for next year's event and hope to get even more participation from the students and teachers at Emerson!

Take a sneak peek into Emerson before the first day of school on Monday!

The month of August has been a busy one for the staff at Emerson! They have been working diligently to create warm and inviting spaces for the students to learn. Take a peek and see if you can guess which classroom might be yours when you get to school on Monday!

We cannot wait to open our doors on Monday and welcome all of you back for a year full of new learning experiences in an environment that is safe, welcoming, and fun!

Tree-top Reading from Mrs. Anderson!

Submitted by Mrs. Anderson, featuring her daughter, Sofia!

So we are here in South Haven, MI visiting our cousin's junque shop, Sunset Junque. We were not here very long when I looked up in the tree and found Sofia perched up in the tree reading a book. I ran in the house and got my camera...it was the perfect blog moment. I even collected some junk letters and set the stage.

It's always an adventure to visit our cousins in South Haven, MI and although there is a lot of Junque at this Junque shop to sift through, there is always time to read a book. What a better way than to climb your way up into a 300 year old tree and immerse yourself in a book adventure. That's exactly what Sofia did! Enjoy the rest of your summer and make sure to keep reading. :)

Never too early....

Submitted by: Ms. Feltz

Meet Elliott, Ms. Feltz' 11-month-old nephew! He loves reading books with his family, and as Ms. Feltz reminds us - It's never too early to be a reader. Elliott loves turning the pages all by himself!


We'd love to share the literacy practices of your family....please email your stories and pictures to:

in July - Ms. Brezek - mbrezek@bsd100.org

in August - Mrs. Jantz - cjantz@bsd100.org

When Response follows Reading

Submitted by: Mrs. Freeney, Aine Freeney, & Ms. Brezek

At the end of the school year, I happened to be in the office and Mrs. Freeney showed me a wonderful drawing her daughter, Aine, did:

I mean, isn't it great? The illustrations, and the text bubbles? And the meshing of the two stories into one?

 I then asked Mrs. Freeney how it came about and she said that her daughter had recently read two books: MacBeth on MyOn and Diary of a Wimpy Kid...

Which got her to drawing that picture up above that was a combination of the two. I thought it was so awesome, as it was an authentic response to reading that was unprompted by any kind of "work" that kids were required to do.

Response is one of the five components of Reading Workshop, which is the model of reading instruction that the teachers at Emerson strive to follow.

One quote about reader's response says, "Research on reader response theories has shown that it is a reader's personal response to literature that encourages that reader to return to literature experiences." So, how are your children responding to what they are reading this summer?

Is it through conversation? That's a natural response selection - and as an adult, when I think of my my favorite books, the first thing I want to do after I finish it is tell someone about it. And if they liked the book as much as I do, then I want to talk about it....sometimes for hours!

I happened on this quote on Twitter last week which supports this notion, "Literate conversations with peers (as little as ten minutes a day) improve students' reading motivation, comprehension, and test scores" (Cazde, 1988 & Nystrand, 2006).

So, this month and always, encourage reading in your home by helping your child to respond to it in any ways they might like...through conversation, through art, through writing. Let's encourage our kids to come back to literature experiences through their response!

Book Preferences Develop Early!

Submitted by: Mrs. Suomi

For one week every summer I am lucky enough to babysit my niece and nephew while their parents are at work and nanny is out of town. This week is always filled with reading and playing outside. In this picture my nephew Jack (6) is reading to my niece Leah (3). They are reading an ABC book about Star Wars. Both of them are huge fans! Jack is going to start first grade in the fall and loves to read. His favorite subject to read about is space, specifically the planets. Leah loves to be read to and her favorite book is any of the Pigeon books by Mo Willems. I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather this summer! 

Unbroken

Submitted by:  Shelley Titzer

Adults and teens, are you looking for an inspiring page turner to get lost in this summer?  Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is an INCREDIBLE story.  You will not be able to put this book down. 

Louis Zamperini, who died yesterday at the age of 97, is an inspiration not as much for his service to our country (though that in itself makes him a true hero!) or for his athletic accomplishments as an Olympic athlete or for his enduring of such suffering and overcoming such obstacles in his life...but for "The hardest thing" he ever did: forgive. Are you holding a grudge? Is there someone you struggle to forgive? Read Unbroken and start living! RIP Louis Zamperini:Unbroken - Louis Zamperini - CBS Sunday Morning - 5-27-12

Month 2 of Summer Vacation Already!

Submitted by: Ms. Brezek

Greetings Emerson families!

Hope you had a great June and are excited for what is yet to come still this summer!

Last month was pretty busy for me, traveling in Europe with my best friend and five of her high school students. It was an amazing trip! Here's one of my fave pics of our group:

When I was in London, I happened upon a bookstore and found the section of books about the city, including 1984 by George Orwell. This is a book that has been on my to read list for awhile now...so I thought it would be perfect to buy it in London as my memento (is that how you spell that?) from that city. Then I had lots of opportunities to read it as we took trains from city to city.

Here it was like 7am waiting on the Eurostar from London to Paris. Never thought I'd share a pic with no makeup, but for the love of reading, I will do anything! (Ok, maybe not anything...!)

Was a little bit more cleaned up on the trip from Venice to Rome, but hair was always in a bun because I burned up my flat iron and broke my friend's electricity converter thing with my blowdryer....all in the first day. But hair done or undone, kept at it with the book:

I haven't finished it yet but it's just crazy how the government in this book uses "big brother" to control the masses. Makes me wonder....anything similar to that now? Is all of our social media tracking us? (Sorry for the conspiracy theory - but books can get you thinking things that you hadn't before!)

Has anyone else read this book? Thoughts? (Please, no spoilers!)

Well, before I go, just wanted to let you know that I'm the point person for this blog in July. We've only had one family submit a post...so please help us out and send some stories in!

All you have to do is type up what you want to say and send a picture (or a few) via email to me (mbrezek@bsd100.org) and I will publish it to the blog for you. Easy peasy! :-)

Have a great night!

Ms. Brezek

READING AND WRITING GO HAND IN HAND

     My son is eight years old and going to be in second grade.  After discovering and devouring both Stick Dog books and a little encouragement from a school assembly with the author, he started creating his own Stick Dog books. Each book follows Stick Dog and his friends in an attempt to get some kind of food.  So, he decides which type of food they are going to try to get and he writes and illustrates his own version.  We even co-authored one version, of course my ideas were generally shot down for his much more creative ones.  :)  What do moms know anyway?

After he finishes his books, we add them to one of our book baskets.  He is an author after all!  Adding a child's work to works of published authors makes them feel more confident and valued.

Imitating a mentor text isn't just for independent readers and writers.  If you have a young child, you could read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie or Brown Bear, Brown Bear.  These books have very predictable patterns that your child will recognize and be able to imitate.  You can record your child's ideas and then he/she can illustrate.

- Ms. Bless

Sixth graders, parents, and teachers...!

Submitted by: Ms. Brezek

Just found this list of books for young adults! You might want to check out some of these books!

Click the picture to go to the website I found this at!

I've already read The Fault in our Stars, Speak, and 13 Reasons Why. They're all amazing! If that's any indication of this list, these should be great reads!

Anyone read anything else on this list? Please leave us a comment and share your review!

Berwyn Public Library

Do you cringe at the thought of hauling your kids to the Berwyn Library to get books?  Completely understandable!  However, if you know which books you want you can request them from the library online and then you receive an email when they are ready to be picked up!

Type in the book you want here. Then click "Request" and enter your library card account number. 

You can also download eBooks from the library!  http://berwynlibrary.org/books-more

First, I love this blogging idea!  It will be a great resource for book ideas for the whole family.  I loved the 5th grade post about where they like to read.  For my family, we all do most of our reading in bed at the end of each day.  So, when I saw the post about the bookshelves, I decided to take pictures of all of the nightstands in our house.

My 12  year old son also reads on his Kindle.  Currently he is reading “Al Capone Does my Shirts” by Gennifer Choldenko.  This is a story of a boy whose father’s new job as a prison guard at Alcatraz means a move to a new place.  The main character, Moose, has to take care of his autistic sister, make new friends and deal with a girl named Piper who lures him into a scheme that involves collecting laundry from classmates for Al Capone to launder at the prison!

My 10 year old daughter is reading Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell.  We are reading this aloud together and it is a great story about a young girl left by her tribe on an island.  She has to learn to survive on her own.  Great adventure for girls or boys!  She also reads a magazine she got from the Easter Bunny and keeps a journal in which  to write her own stories.

My 8 year old is in the top bunk.  He is reading the Guardians of Ga’hoole series.  I love a good series to get through the summer.  This one involves a community of owls that are kidnapped and enslaved by an evil owl for some reason.  Too complicated for me to follow, but my kids really got INTO this series, so it must be good for them!

The bottom bunk belongs to the 2 ½ year old who sneaks out of it as fast as possible as soon as I leave the room after tucking him in.  Before that, though, our bedtime routine includes reading some books together.  Currently, his go-to bedtime story is Grover Sleeps Over.  He furrows his brow every time the part about Grover’s mommy leaving him comes up and he snuggles a little closer.  I guess he is not ready for sleepovers!

Lastly, The dresser next to my bed always holds my kindle.  Currently, I’m reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.  It is a WWII era story set in New York City.  Joseph,  young cousin of 18 year old Sam arrives in the middle of the night having seemingly escaped Nazi occupied Prague.  The story of both young men unfolds as they get to know each other while pursuing the publishing of their comic book.  Honestly, it has been a challenge to get into this book but it is an interesting story.  You’ll also notice other distractions on my bedside table:  a current events magazine, a book I’m planning to read with the kids (Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet) and my ipad.

Looking forward to hearing about what other families are reading this summer!  Thanks for setting up the blog.

- Shelley Titzer

Because (bookshelves make) me happy!

(sing that to the tune of Pharrell's happy!)
Submitted by: Ms. Brezek

Have you seen the Wordle that our fifth grade created about the places you can read? Well, as I was thinking about what to tag that blog post,  I got to thinking about reading habits. Then I got to thinking about reading rituals and that got me thinking about all of my bookshelves!

I love my bookshelves, especially when they are super organized. (I just fixed up my home book shelf before I did it's photo shoot!) Here it is:

This is from IKEA and it's survived move after move. I don't think it's going to make one more though, but I love it so much I'd buy it again.

Anyways, across the top I Have some of my favorite books - I was obsessed with Nicholas Sparks and used to read everything he would release. By the 10th book, it was the same story over and over again - set in the charm of the South by water with a love story that has some kind of terrible problem. But, loved them when I was into them! 

Then of course you see the Twilight books. Don't judge! Twilight was the first book I reread - I went through that series when I was doing my reading specialist certificate. Loved them...and I will always have a special place in my heart for those books!

Across the middle row I have lots of books about teaching and professional topics. I brought a few home from work that I need to revisit this summer. Then I have another favorite author, Jodi Picoult:

She's in the middle of that one - I had more of her stuff but took them to school when my eighth graders were nearing the end of our time together....The way she unexpectedly twists her stories will leave you like....whoa! Highly recommend her stuff- some of it is darker than others, but great stories.

Some of the other books in that stack I tried but didn't finish - like Anna Karenina and Wuthering Heights - I think I need to try again. The Promise of Stardust - don't remember the plot of that one but I remember it was super good. So how is that for a recommendation? :-)


Well that's what is at home, along with assorted books laying all over the house:

At work, I have two more shelves - This one (also from IKEA) houses all my professional reads:

and this one holds all the picture books that Mrs. Jantz and I have:

This is some $20 book case that is on it's last leg, but it holds fiction on the top and NF on the bottom. When I was in grad school that's when the major book purchasing began happening. Here are a few of my favorites to teach with:

This one is about a rat who has a lisp and gets bullied. Then one day, his lisp comes to his aid as he (unintentionally) makes his school community better. This book is adorable and great for building community in your classroom!

Chato's Kitchen is a book about a low-riding gangster cat. I love this book because I totally do voices for the cat and the mice. Pretty sure there are some other books that feature Chato, too. 

I love Chewy Louie - it's a great text for an easily identified plot line. The dog chews up everything and the family goes through all these steps to help the dog stop chewing, including a singing therapist lady. Great book!

I've used Freedom Summer as part of my middle school Social Justice unit. This story is set in Mississippi in 1964 and is about two boys - one of which cannot do the same things as the other because of his race. It's a great way to open conversations about racism - in the past and current day!

So there you have it, all of my book cases! What about you? Where do you keep your books at home? We'd love to have you share...just shoot some pictures and email them in (to Ms. Bless: jbless@bsd100.org) along with a short description. We're still awaiting our first post from one of the Emerson families!

Have a fabulous weekend!