Reading your way around the world

With our 8th graders enjoying their Costa Rican adventure this week, my thoughts turned to reading and geography. A disappointingly small percentage of books published in the US (for any age group) has been translated from languages other than English.

To help promote awareness of the rich world of reading that awaits them, the American Library Association sponsors the Batchelder Award for books in translation. Like the ALA's more well-known awards, such as the Caldecott and Newbery, this one seeks out noteworthy contributions to the world of children's literature and is a great source of reading ideas.

Maybe you heard about blogger Ann Morgan who read her way around the world? Check out her site where she describes setting herself the challenge of reading one book from every country around the world!

What about you - when's the last time you explored a different country or culture through a book? My Goodreads page can be one place to start - I tag books across many characteristics including country. Why not start there - and please send me recommendations so I can start to fill in all the gaps!

Save the date for our annual book fair!

Shop at University Book Store in downtown Bellevue between May 9-11, tell the cashier you’re with Open Window School, and we'll get 25% of the proceeds! Stock up on summer reading, Husky gear, art supplies and a lot more!
 

Second graders' Hundertwasser/Gaudi-inspired house collages created in Ms. Leggitt's art classes will be on display during the book fair, and on Saturday from 10:00-10:30am, Ms. Arends’ recorders players will perform a concert!

There is free parking at the bookstore, conveniently located next to Bellevue Square Mall. We'll be distributing flyers with a map and more details in the coming weeks.

Bookstore hours are Friday: 9am–7pm, Saturday: 9am–6pm and Sunday: 11am–5pm. Hope to see you there!

Rwanda

Yesterday's middle school author visit connected to the 20th anniversary this month of the tragic genocide that tore apart the country of Rwanda. After teaching his students about the Holocaust and wanting to cultivate an awareness that genocide has happened in more recent times as well, Seattle Country Day School teacher Brian Crawford searched in vain for a middle school-appropriate book about Rwanda. Finally he decided to write one himself. That's how The Weaver's Scar came to be.

After immersing himself in research about events in Rwanda, Brian finally got to visit the country last year. You can view photos from his trip on his website, using the link above. In addition, he donates part of the proceeds from book sales to Richard's Rwanda, an organization founded by a 6th grader to promote educational opportunities for girls. Also check out this interview with Brian!

We were very fortunate to have him come to campus yesterday to speak with 6th and 8th graders! Many students read the book in advance and generated questions about the book, being an author and the Rwandan genocide. This was an experience that left them enriched and enlightened. 

Brian also shared a couple of writing tips that have worked well for him:

• Don't re-read your work as you write. You can go back and edit later on!
• Set yourself a daily word limit and be disciplined! Make yourself sit there and write until you attain your limit!

I hope you enjoy his book as much as our students and I did!

Power Browsing!

Today 5th and 6th graders got to engage in a fun assembly activity that I'd wanted a chance to try with our students for some time: Power Browsing! Also known as Book Tasting, Speed Dating with Books, Speed Rating, etc., it's an opportunity to quickly sample wide range of different books that you might not otherwise pick up.

In preparation we set up the gym with chairs, each with a different book and a rating sheet. I chose 40 nonfiction and 30 fiction books from a wide range of genres and subject areas. The only things they had in common were that they hadn't circulated as much as I'd hoped they would and that I believed that someone out there would find them appealing. This person simply hadn't met their perfect book match yet!

Each student chose a seat randomly, started browsing their book and then gave it a rating (from #1 for "Loved it!" to #4 for "Not for me"). After 5 minutes, they stood up, moved to the chair to their right and carried on. After about half an hour of sampling books, students grouped themselves by going to stand by the book they liked the best. They spent the next 10 minutes recommending books to those who had gathered near them - people who shared their tastes. It was an opportunity to connect with new people and get some new reading recommendations.

Finally, they chose the books they wanted to borrow - perfect timing with spring break coming up! Scroll down to see a few photos from our morning activity!

Starting off...

Engrossed in a book!

Comparing notes.



5th grade tech + K-3 picture books = lots of fun for all!

Animoto is a great site that lets users quickly and easily make their own videos using a variety of templates and different musical scores. Recently 5th graders learned all about Creative Commons, why it's important to use images that are licensed for re-use, and how to search for, download and save the URLs for these images.

They worked individually or in pairs, selecting one of the Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award nominees, and creating a video book trailer to promote their title. Along the way they also developed a greater appreciation of how trailers work - how to make them tantalizing by including a hook that catches your viewers' attention, and how to reveal enough, but not too much, of the plot.

In classes this week, K-3 students are viewing the trailers before voting. They deliberate seriously over their choices and wait with anticipation for the results to be announced! We will announce our school's winner next Monday but may have to wait a few weeks to find out who won at the state level - typically over 100,000 students vote every year!

All the 5th graders did a wonderful job with their videos. Here are a few for you to enjoy!

Out of This World: Poems and Facts about Space by Amy Sklansky - trailer by Zoe

The Monster's Monster by Patrick McDonnell - trailer by Lindsay and Tristan

 

Gilbert Goldfish Wants a Pet by Kelly DiPucchio - trailer by Thomas and Adam

 

Our 3rd & 4th grade book club: Ramin Ganeshram's Stir It Up!

This year our 3rd & 4th grade book club choice was Stir It Up! by Ramin Ganeshram. I chose this book thinking it would resonate with our students - and it certainly did! Stir It Up! tells the story of Anjali, a Trinidadian American girl of Asian Indian descent growing up in New York City. She is a talented and passionate cook who dreams of becoming a celebrity chef. But she is torn by her love and loyalty to her family who have worked hard starting over in America so that she can get a great education. Becoming a chef seems like a let-down compared to going to the academically exclusive Stuyvesant High School. What happens when Anjali has to choose between taking the Stuyvesant entrance exam and auditioning for a Food Network show? Read the book and find out!

 

 

Students role playing a crucial scene between Anjali and her parents.

Take a look at some of these wonderful letters students wrote to Ms. Ganeshram! The original book is sprinkled with mouth-watering recipes from Trinidad, as well as creative ones for success, inspiration, etc.  

 

 

 

Carmen Agra Deedy came to our school!

We were incredibly fortunate last week to welcome renowned storyteller and author, Carmen Agra Deedy, to our school all the way from her home in Georgia! She kept kindergartners, and first and second graders spellbound for a full 45 minutes with a hilarious Juan Bobo noodlehead story! Third and fourth graders got to hear one of her beloved Dill and Corky tales, about her early years in Decatur, not long after her family arrived from Cuba.


Carmen also did a mini workshop with third graders as well as conducting a full-day writing workshop with fourth grade. It was so rewarding for students to have a chance to learn tips for improving their creative writing and better understanding how a compelling narrative structure works.

Carmen's warmth, sense of humor and enthusiasm were contagious. I saw children brimming over with delight and, despite the long and intense day of writing, some couldn't bear to tear themselves away from their notebooks and go outside for a break.

 

Her visit supported our Spanish program and also gave students in our very diverse, multicultural community access to a successful, bicultural, bilingual adult role model! Teens and adults will enjoy her TED Talk, "Spinning a Story of Mama," and upper elementary through adult listeners shouldn't miss "My Father the Whiz: A Cuban Refugee's Response to Jim Crow."