Most classes this week are hearing about the alphabet. Grade 4 is, with a reading of Sequoyah, by James Rumford. Sequoyah was the Cherokee man who created the Cherokee syllabary. Rumford's beautiful picture book biography is a nice followup to last week's discussion with grade 4 about the power of words. To see what all the grades are hearing please go to the Weekly Readalouds page of this website. Grade 1 is hearing The Numberlys, by William Joyce. (I will always have a soft spot in my heart for William Joyce: his A Day with Wilbur Robinson was the first book my husband and I bought as parents, to read with our own sons.) Grade 2 is hearing A Is for Musk Ox, by Erin Cabatingan. This book is on loan from the County of Los Angeles Public Library, from which I borrow a great many books each year for use during class library visits. I sure am looking forward to the reopening of our local branch, scheduled for April 2015.
Speaking of the public library, this Friday is the last day I will be accepting entries to the County of Los Angeles Public Library bookmark contest. Entries can be turned in at public library branches up 'til Saturday, October 11--the absolutely final deadline.
Grade 3 is the only grade specifically focusing in library on Fire Prevention Week, which this year is October 5 to 11. We will be reading together The Firehouse Light, by Janet Nolan. Fire Prevention Week provides an opportunity to talk with your family about fire safety. If you would like to know more about the firehouse light bulb that burned for one hundred years, you can visit the bulb's website at www.centennialbulb.org, which features a webcam--or rather "Bulbcam," listed under the tab "Video."
This week grade 5 really will take a look at the "Trusting Internet Sources" PowerPoint, which we didn't do last week, when we instead practiced searching for book report books and also learned how to review books online. Please remind your 5th-graders that the website "All About Explorers" should NOT be used as a resource for the upcoming explorer assignments.