Hi Friends,

 Today marks 4 weeks and 1 day left of school. I am ready for SUMMER! :)

I am sure you have asked your class more than once- What they want to be when they grow up?  The book I am going to share with you is a wonderful book to end the year. It is about being whoever you want and letting the world accept YOU! There is some vocabulary you might need to pre teach as you read. The book does offer a nice little film dictionary in the back. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Spread the magic of letting your dreams soar!


Hi Friends,

 Happy Tuesday! I have a BUNCH to share with you! Today will be more pictures than words because this gal is busy! This is my favorite time of year because I get to spend many hours in a warehouse full of children's literature. Really, does life get any better than that? When the sale first opened, I went to browse and see what Scholastic had to offer this year. I wanted to be ready to help my teacher friends. #alwaysaplanner!
Thanks to Catherine from Brown Bag Teacher for recommending Prisoner B-3087.I have been recommending to all the 5th graders this week during our Book Fair. So far,  7 kids have purchased the book! :)



On Saturday, a few Orange County bloggers got together, and we shopped the Scholastic Warehouse Sale in Anaheim. I offered to share my favorites with the attendees. I had a blast recommending my favorites, plus purchasing too! We also went to lunch at Nordstrom Cafe. YUM!
 Shared my love of books with
Kristen from Easy Teaching Tools 
Jessica @jgpreece


 I was so honored to meet these lovely ladies. Do you know Jen from Sparkling in Second Grade and Aris from Sailing into Second? Hearts of Gold I tell you!!!
 It was such a fun lunch with Beth, Caitlin, Jen, ME, Aris, and Kristen!



OK! Here are the wonderful books I recommended and purchased! It was fun learning about what books my friends loved too! So of course, I picked those up as well .
p.s. I am no photographer, just book lover! :)


 Thank you Kristen for recommending What if you Had Animal Hair? :)


If you have any questions about these books, please email me at ramonarecommends@gmail.com

ALSO! I am planning another teacher warehouse sale event. If you are interested in attending, leave your email below in the comment section. Also, jot down which date works best for your schedule. The sale is in Anaheim, California.




A colleague asked me today about some of my favorite poetry books for kids. As we all know, poetry isn't the favorite subject by most 5th graders. As she explained it, "Today there were a lot of grunts, groans, and more grunts, as I shared that we were starting our poetry unit." Ramona Recommends to rescue. Here are some of my favorite poetry books to help students get in touch with their poetic side.Poetry...it's a love hate relationship with most 5th graders. I have the perfect remedy to fix the grunts and groans during poetry. Yep, you guessed it PICTURE BOOKS. Here is my favorite poetry picture book Hi, Koo! I mean really can the title get any cuter? This book teaches how to write a haiku while learning about our 4 seasons. These books turn frowns upside down. Allowing students to see poems written so many different ways help them be able to write their own. During our poetry unit, students are asked to write a different styled poem each week. One student wrote a limerick poem called A Lime Named Rick. The nerdy teacher in me JUMPED FOR JOY!

 *Can be found at Scholastic Warehouse Sale
 This gem is my all time favorite. Jack Prelutsky is hilarious! Poems about school. love it. end of story.
 Molly from Lessons with Laughter recommended this book to me in February. Click here to read the post where she talks about poetry and writing letters.
Who doesn't love Shel Silverstein??!!??! My favorite poem is SICK.


 

Need an engaging way for students to share their poetic knowledge? My friends Cory and Carol from Carol and Cory's California Creations have a WONDERFUL resource. Side note- if you teach 4th grade in California, THIS STORE IS FOR YOU! These gals are so creative. The poetry analogy includes darling poem outlines for students to complete, peer editing sheets, and ideas on how to display the poetry in your classroom. I did the color poem last year for Open House and it was by far my favorite!!! The deep thought the students put into their poems is magical. 

Have a lovely day!
My favorite time of year! Children's Book Week. In honor of the cutest poster on the internet created my Robin Preiss Glasser, I would like to share my NEWEST favorite Fancy Nancy love! 
Have you read Fancy Nancy and the Wedding of the Century? Oh! it is magnificent, that is a fancy word for great! The word choice, character development, and sparkling pictures make this book a top pick off my bookshelf.I recommend this book for every girl in America.
Guess What!? About 2 years ago, I went with my mom to the Orange County Children's Book Festival. I was honored to meet Robin Preiss Glasser, illustrator of the Fancy Nancy, who is such a sweet and charming gal. Here is a picture to share in my glory. "Goosies"... I know!

Did you know that Fancy Nancy has a tour bus and they are going all over to promote their two newest creations? Click here to learn more. I hope Fancy Nancy stops in California!!!! 

By the way, I do own the Fancy Nancy doll, want to learn more... Come listen to Sheila Jane Blog Radio

 What is your favorite Fancy Nancy Book? 

Of Course, I had to do my blog post in Pink. I am sure Fancy Nancy wouldn't have it any other way! :) 


Happy Tuesday, Friends!

Disclaimer- I know I owe you a depth and complexity post. I am going to be honest, it is not going to happen today. Hopefully, it will happen before school starts next year. ;) promise!

Ok, now that I got that off my heart, we can begin! Do you ever feel like you are on a roller coaster and it never stops? The end of the year (the last two months) always feel so crammed with work and fun. The book I picked to share with you today, reminds me to STOP and TAKE IN ALL THE BEAUTY AROUND ME. I get so caught up in life that I forget to breathe. We live in a fast pace society where everything is expected to happen ASAP. I look around and everyone is on their phone, late to appointments, and just plain rushing.

After I read this book, I really thought to myself. Wow, Courtney! You can sometimes get so caught up in texting, instagram, clothing for tomorrow, freeway traffic that you just forget to be thankful. So! Today, I take a pledge to STOP and BE THANKFUL and KNOWLEDGE MY LIFE!

http://www.amazon.com/Sticky-Stuck-Michael-Gutch/dp/0061998184
Now! You might be wondering how can I use this book in my classroom. Lucky you, I have some ideas....
The BIG PICTURE of this book- Learning how to work together, paying attention to the ones you love, and stopping to smell the "bubble gum".
I would use the picture book to teach
Enjoying the moment
Voice for Writing
Precursor to Group Work
Character Traits

I plan to read this book during summer school this year to guide student writing! :)

Need some student engagement cards to help you survive the end of the school year? How SWEET are these? AND! They are FREE! :) Enjoy

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sweet-Student-Partnering-Cards-End-of-the-Year-Fun-1242641

Did you hear my live radio show interview with Shelia from Shelia Jane Teaching? If you didn't...CLICK HERE.

Be Sweet!
Hello and welcome! I am so glad you are here for Ramona Recommends' Book Club. Last month we read, The Evolution of Calpurina Tate. Click here to read the comments about the book. It was wonderful!  If you are new to the book club, WELCOME! I am so happy to have you! If we haven't officially met (online), I'm Courtney, creator of Ramona Recommends. Nice to meet you. Click here if you want to learn how I started this blog.
For a friendly reminder, you might want to follow me on Bloglovin or Google to make sure you don't miss out on each month's reveal. Eeekkk!





May's book club will run from today, Wednesday, May 7th until Wednesday, June 4th.

For this month's discussion let's focus on the following:
1. If you are new this month--Introduce yourself to the group: Share your name, blog/instagram name, what grade you teach, and a little bit about yourself.  *Remember, you do not need a blog to be a part of this discussion. You can just leave a comment below this post. :)

2. How would use this read aloud to foster writing in your classroom?

3.Random: Share your thoughts on The Year of Billy Miller
 
Don't forget to follow me for updates :)

WANT TO HOST JUNE'S RAMONA RECOMMENDS' BOOK CLUB? Here is what you need to do:
1. Pick a children's literature chapter book or picture book that you love.
2. Email me Courtney at ramonarecommends with:
     Your Blog Address
     The Book You have Chosen 
3. Come up with 1-2 discussion questions
I will accept emails until May 25th. If you are picked, I will email you by May 26th.
Feel free to share the book club button on your instagram and blog pages. This is going to be fun. Again, WELCOME and thank you for your support!

Tonight my dreams came true! I was on a live radio show. Let's be real, who doesn't want to be famous? Honestly, I am so happy that I am able to share my love for reading with the teacher community. It warms my heart to share something I am so passionate about. Below is the LIVE BlogRadio Interview with Shelia from Shelia Jane Teaching.

New Education Internet Radio with Sheila Jane Teaching on BlogTalkRadio



In the interview, you will learn- what are my favorite books, how I keep my books organized, how to keep a book budget, why I think book reports are out, and so much more!

You will even learn why I love
PhotobucketIdeas by JiveyLessons with Laughter


Interview Links


Courtney (Ramona Recommends) Children's Literature Resource Guide


Molly (Lessons with Laughter)  Classroom Library Organization System




Catherine (The Brown Bag Teacher) Classroom Library Organization System


Storyline Online

Don't forget to hop on over to Shelia Jane Teaching to share what your favorite books are for the classroom!
Happy Tuesday! I am excited because I have several do-da's to share! The teacher in me made a list.
1. TONIGHT at 6pm (pst) I am joining the lovely Shelia from Shelia Jane Teaching on her LIVE Radio Show. Come learn about my love for children's literature and much more!

TO LISTEN:) Click Here
You can listen during or after it airs.
2. Do you hear Teachers Pay Teachers LOVES teachers! They love all of us so much they are doing a fabulous sale! You can get up to 28% off when you use the code TPTXO
Come shop Ramona Recommends. One of my favorite and newest products is: The Children's Literature Resource Guide. I love it! :) Click on the READ picture or here to go to product.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Childrens-Literature-Resource-Guide-GET-ORGANIZED-1215028



 3. Last week in 5th grade our reading standard was MAKING JUDGEMENTS. I found the perfect printable from Hello Literacy that worked like a charm. I read Library Lil by Suzanne Williams. It is an adorable story about a small town librarian.


There is a great mix of both boy and girl characters plots. After we read the story, my students were asked to make some judgements about either Library Lil or Bust em' Up Bill. Some of the questions were: Restaurants My character would like... because..., Stores my character would like .... because... The students really enjoyed this activity. I was able to level how I wanted different students to answer the questions. Some students were allowed to write only one because, while others wrote 3 reasons.




Next Week: Depth and Complexity Icons!!! :)

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