April’s Author of the Month: Seymour Simon

Seymour Simon has published over 200 books for children on topics  such as:

oceans, planets, trains, tornadoes, volcanoes, gorillas, earthquakes, and the human heart. He has also written fictional works that introduce children to science and computer principles, such as his “Einstein Anderson” and “Chip Rogers” books. Simon has written more nobooks about animals:  sharks, ants, snakes, birds, turtles, and dinosaurs.

Simon has won many awards, including The Washington Post–Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award for the body of his work.

Learn More about Seymour Simon at Reading Rockets: https://www.readingrockets.org/people-and-organizations/seymour-simon

Examining debris from fallen jet.

Artifact from Natalie’s family farm: Hand Held Corn Seed Planter

Natalie Kinsey-Warnock’s Storykeepers 3-day Workshop was a great learning experience!

Children were asked to conduct research on a family member, a family story, or family artifact. Students examined old photographs, primary and secondary sources, census records, artifacts, and newspaper articles to use in their own research.

Free online websites:

Coming soon: Author Visit with Natalie Kinsey-Warnock

Wednesday, March 27th-Presentation –All grades (K-6th)

Natalie will discuss various ways of uncovering family stories and how they might be used in students’ writing. She will share the inspiration for her many books and scenes of her home in Vermont and the animals she has rescued.

She will also show the book process, from the writing, through the illustrations, to the finished book.

Apr. 2nd, 3rd,4th-Author Residency: Storykeepers 

Natalie Kinsey-Warnock will lead a 3-day workshop for 3rd/4th grade students. 

Storykeepers: teaches students how to do historical research based on their family stories. Units include genealogy and family trees; photography; primary/secondary sources; artifacts; census records; and other online research sites.

Wednesday, February 7th, TES students joined millions of students around the globe to celebrate the power and joy of reading aloud by hanging out with children’s book creators as they read, drew, and chatted!

LIVE author event schedule

Each 30-minute event included the author and illustrators reading from their books during the first half, followed by live, interactive moments for kids to ask questions and even read live, too! TES students heard authors and illustrators discuss the process of writing and illustrating books such as:

Not Yet: The Story of an Unstoppable Skater by Zahra Lari

“An inspiring tale of self-empowerment and perseverance as we see the refrain — not yet — grow from a low, meek mumble to a mantra and promise filled with determination.”-www.scholastic.com

Image source:https://www.purewow.com

TES students have been working very hard in their library classes. In every library class, students choose “Just Right” library books, complete library assignments, independently navigate the library to find books and resources, and responsibly handle library books and materials. Most importantly, students create a fun library experience for all by being safe, kind, and responsible.

After each library class, our Library “Smile Chart” records how the class did for the day. After 10 stickers, the class earns a special treat! All the classes, K-6th, have been working hard and those classes who have reached their goal will have a special treat of watching the award winning animation short, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Lessmore.  The film was based on the book by the same title written by William Joyce.  The film was awarded the Best Animated Short Film at the 84th Academy Awards. Congratulations to all the classes for working so hard!

January 5th/6th Book Group Discussions:

AMBER & CLAY

By Laura Amy Schlitz

Attack of the Black Rectangles

By A.S. King

NEA Read Across America Books Discussion Resources

TES received 10 large maps free from Linking Lands Alliance (LLA). Students in grades K-6 have been reading books about maps and creating their own maps.

In 3rd/4th grades we have been partner programming at code.org to create Interactive Maps. Students are using the research from their US National Parks Project to create a state maps with Points of Interests, including information about their individually chosen US National Park.

On Wednesday, Nov, 29th Señora Jen, former TES Spanish teacher, came to visit us in the Library! We read Life by Cynthia Rylant together and translated animal names and colors in Spanish.

Students remembered many of the vocabulary words in sign language that Señora Jen had taught them. The students really enjoyed her visit and were happy to have Sir Earl meet their Spanish classroom mascots like , Mr. Froggy!

November is a wonderful month to express gratitude for the people in our lives. Students read the book, My Dog Just Speaks Spanish by Andrea Caceras. The book provided a great opportunity to write notes of gratitude to Señora Jen, TES’s former Spanish teacher. Señora Jen expressed her immense appreciation for the many kind words from TES students. Señora Jen will be visiting the TES library after Thanksgiving…..more updates to come after break!

Students prepared for our Veteran’s day assembly on November 9th by reading several books about Veterans. Students learned from the book, The Navajo Code Talkers by J Patrick Lewis and Gary Kelly, the very important role Navajo code assistance played in WWII: six Navajo Code Talker Marines successfully transmitted more than 800 messages without error.

Students also learned about the Military alphabet used for aviation communication. Students enjoyed using the Morse Code Translator website below to translate their names in Morse Code with both sound and light: https://morsecode.world/international/translator.html