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Showing posts with label Caldecott books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Caldecott books. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Freebie February -- Day 11

As the enrichment specialist for my building, I'm charged with creating ways to challenge everyone.  That's no small task!  So, I try to come up with things that will cover multiple grade levels. Story Sleuths is one such activity.  Originally, I designed it for gr. 1 - 3. However, kindergarten classes and 4th graders begged to join in on the fun.  So, of course, they were included.
This project begins with students reading (or being read) a specific set of 6 Caldecott Award winning books.  Since these books were recognized for their illustrations, it's important to draw students' attention to the pictures.  Not to mention that 1 clue in every set makes reference to the artwork.
After all 6 books are read, I distribute the week's clues for my detectives to devour. And, devour they do! (Have I every mentioned how much I love this job? Or that I'm the most popular teacher in the school!!) 
Because there are over 600 students in my building and only 1 of me, I require that the classes submit 1 solution as a whole group. (No way I'm slogging through 100s of guesses.) This results in some pretty amazing collaboration among the students. 

Each Monday morning, I deliver a certificate to the classes that guessed correctly.  Just to further enhance the enthusiasm, I don a Sherlock Holmes hat and carry an over-sized magnifying glass. (Have I mentioned that I'm the most popular teacher in the building?)
Each set of Story Sleuths has 4 weeks of clues.  The classes read 6 books so that they still have to think as week 4 rolls around. Process of elimination will only take them so far in this challenge. Also provided are book icons that can be displayed in the classroom. Per my recommendation, the icons for the books that have been used are taken down, helping the students focus on the remaining books.
You need not be an enrichment specialist to make this project work. Classes within 1 grade level could challenge each other or do it independently. I've had some teachers form teams within their class so as to promote the collaborative thinking. This also works well for the school librarian, especially near the annual announcement of the Caldecott Awards. The art specialist can add great depth to this activity by exploring the art techniques associated with each book's illustrations. 

Inasmuch as it's Freebie February, today I am offering Story Sleuths III for free. So hurry up and claim your copy. It's only free for 24 hours.




There are 3 sets of Story Sleuths so far, plus an economical bundle of the 3.



Sunday, June 29, 2014

Caldecott Books + Critical Thinking



Because I love Caldecott books and critical thinking skills, I combined them into a set of fun products -- Story Sleuths.

Here's how it works:
  • Read a specific set of Caldecott books to your students.


  • Post a set of clues that describe 1 of the books.


  • Students have 1 week to submit a guess as to which book is described.
  • On Friday, winners are announced and given a certificate.



  • A new set of clues is given on the following Monday.
  • Play continues in this way for 4 weeks/unit.

Story Sleuths are designed for K - 4 classes.  They are CCSS aligned.  Originally created for use by an enrichment teacher, librarian, or art teacher, they are readily usable by individual classroom teachers.

Students involved in Story Sleuths exercise many levels of Bloom's Taxonomy.  At the same time, they enjoy great literature, learn about artistic media, and participate in collaborative problem solving.  Better yet, they love these units!

Best yet . . . all Story Sleuth products are now on sale for 30% off the regular price.  Hurry!  They won't be marked down for long.




Even the bundle is on sale!!