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
Friday, November 7, 2014
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
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!
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!
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| Fancy Nancy and Amos from Amos and Boris |
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| Hermione took a break from Hogwarts to enjoy some tea and crumpets. |
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| Can you name the characters in this picture? |
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| The Three Little Pigs. I mean, our fabulous PTA! :) |
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| Pinkies up! |
Saturday, August 16, 2014
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!
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!
Friday, August 1, 2014
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. :)
Saturday, July 26, 2014
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:
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
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
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!
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!
Thursday, July 10, 2014
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!
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!
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