Summer Reading Lists

Summer is around the corner and I have been busy wrapping up a number of things going on in the library. First of all, we received our second order of new books! It is like Christmas in May. I'm excited to include many new Spanish books to our collection as well as introduce our new Bluebonnet books! During our Spring book fair I had a chance to write down a list of my very own Summer Reading Recommendations. I have read all of these books and enjoyed them, so I hope you will too!

 

Grades 3 & up

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
Under the Blood Red Sun by Graham Salisbury
Candy Bomber by Michael O. Tunnell
Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by by Brian Selznick
A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gridwitz
La Linea by Ann Jaramillo
A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Grades K – 5^th

Walt Whitman: Words for America by Barbara Kerley
Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake by Michael B. Kaplan
Larf by Ashley Spears
I’m Bored by Michael Ian Black
Big Mean Mike by Michelle Knudsen
Blackout by John Rocco
Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match by Monica Brown
A Curious Collection of Cats by Betsy Franco
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
The Llama Who Had No Pajama by Betty Fraser
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems
The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred by Samantha R. Vamos
Tweak Tweak by Eve Bunting
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
Actual Size by Steve Jenkins
I want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
Stuck by Oliver Jeffers
The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers 

Inquiry Based Learning

This week and last week, I have been working for an hour each day with a 5th grade group of students on Inquiry Based Learning. Students have to ask a question and then research and answer their own questions about a topic. This topics in this group have ranged from Benjamin Franklin to the Trojan War. They have spent the last few days conducting research and they will present their topics soon. I am so excited to watch them present their work! Some students have chosen to present using Prezi. I have seen them working hard all week, focused and organizing their work.

 

Here is a short summary of what an Inquiry Based Model follows:

Inquiry - asking a thought-provoking question

Research - researching the question and providing background information

Organization - organizing research and preparing for presentations

Presentation - Presenting research

Evaluation - Evaluating their work and the work of their peers.