100 Days of Possibilities!

Our Learning Community has rallied around this new school wide tradition with great amounts of enthusiasm and creativity. Our first 100 days at Mayport Elementary has been full of rich teaching and learning for both faculty and students! On Monday, February 2nd, the official 100th day of school, classes will go on a walking tour to view all the 100 Collections on display in our auditorium. One school wide bulletin board will be filled with student thinking throughout the day about "100 Things We are Thankful for at Mayport Elementary." In addition, a list of "100 Great Things Happening at Mayport Elementary" will be published in the weekly parent newsletter. Below are some of the magnificent displays that have already been set up for Monday's celebration.

Ms. Bumpus's first grade class showcased 100 balloons from their reading of our Book of the Month, The Red Book:

The office staff had a plethora of creative displays such as Ms. Lacsamana's collection of 100 bandaids from her work of the heart in the clinic:

Ms. Santana's 2nd grade class each drew a picture of what they thought they would look like when they were 100 years old!

The 4th graders produced a 100 square quilt of their favorite books:

Ms. Hastings' 5th graders represented 100 Reasons that Science is fun: We are going to have a 100th day full of celebration of all the possibilities realized in our first 100 days of school at Mayport Elementary!

January Book of the Month, The Red Book

This perfectly eloquent wordless book tells the complex story of a reader who gets lost, literally, in a little book that has the magic to move her to another place. On her winter-gray walk to school, a young girl spies a book's red cover sticking out of a snowdrift and picks it up.

I chose The Red Book because Lehman's story captures the magical possibility that exists every time readers open a book–if they allow it: they can leave the "real world" behind and, like the heroine in this story, be transported by the helium of their imaginations.


INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES:

PNWC Chart:
K-5 grade students can think through this wordless book by making Predictions, Noticings, Wonderings, and Connections about the story with teacher modeling during the minilesson. This incorporates a combination of reading strategies that students have learned and practiced with previous Books-of-the-Month and Readers Workshop Strategy Study to help students make sense of this text.

Response to Literature:
Using appropriate grade-level scaffolds, students will use the PNWC class chart to craft their own written response to The Red Book. Teachers should refer to the grade-level Response to Literature standard and student work samples to determine appropriate grade-level expectations for this written work. Teachers should refer to the grade-level Response to Literature standard and student work samples to determine appropriate grade-level expectations for this written work.

Student Thinking About The Polar Express

December Book of the Month, The Polar Express

The reindeer were excited. They pranced and paced, ringing the silver sleigh bells that hung from their harnesses. It was a magical sound, like nothing I’d ever heard.
Imagine…listening for sleigh bells and hearing the “sounds of hissing steam and squeaking metal” instead as you embark on an unforgettable journey to the North Pole on a magical train. A young boy makes this train trip amidst breath-taking descriptions of the wilderness, mountain peaks, valleys, snow-covered plains, and the Great Polar Ice Cap while struggling with his belief in Santa. Once he arrives at the North Pole, the young boy rejoices as he hears the sound that a friend told him he’d never hear – the sound of the ringing bells on Santa’s sleigh. He chooses the gift of a sleigh bell to keep as a reminder of that magical night and the sound of the bell that “still rings for me as it does for all who truly believe.”

I chose The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg to celebrate a special quality of childhood symbolized in this story by the sleigh bell – truly believing. From believing in the magic of the holiday season to believing in the possibilities that can be uncovered inside each child, we can all share in the joy that comes when we truly believe!


INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES:

K/1 (Reading Standard 2: Comprehension – create artwork or a written response that shows comprehension of the story that was read making Text-to-Self connections)

While reading aloud The Polar Express, pause periodically to think aloud about your Text-to-Self connections (____reminds me of____) while you are reading. Think aloud about how your connection helps you understand the The Polar Express better. Reread the story and ask students to raise their hand when they have a Text-to-Self connection to share (You may need to prompt them with ______reminds me of______). On one side of a class T-chart, record the part of the story the student is thinking about and on the other side record the student’s Text-to-Self connection. Write the student’s name next to their connection so that they can refer back to it during the work period. Next, demonstrate how you drew a picture of the part of the story where you made a Text-to-Self connection and how you wrote about your connection to that part of the story (_____reminds me of_____). During the work period, students will demonstrate comprehension of the text by drawing a picture of a part of the story and then writing their Text-to-Self connection.

2-5 (Reading Standard 2: Comprehension – discuss or write about the themes of a book; E1b … evaluates writing strategies and elements of the author’s craft.

Before reading The Polar Express, explain to the class that the author uses a concrete object, a sleigh bell, to share a significant theme with readers. Display quotes from the book that reference the sleigh bell to demonstrate how it continues to be important throughout the story. Ask students to think about what the significance or meaning of the sleigh bell might be while you read the story aloud. Pause and wonder aloud about the significance of the sleigh bell each time it is referenced in the story. When you are finished, lead a class discussion about what students think the significance of the sleigh bell is in the story (4th & 5th only: and why the author chose to use a sleigh bell to convey this message). Encourage divergent thinking asking students to justify their thinking using details from the text. To demonstrate comprehension, students will write a letter to the author, Chris Van Allsburg, explaining what they think is the significance of the sleigh bell in the story (4th & 5th only: and why they think the author chose to use the sleigh bell as a symbol).