Book Talk Tuesday AND Two for Tuesday Linky Parties

Happy Tuesday everyone!!  Is it just me, or is the summer FLYING by??  Why can't it slow down so we can enjoy it even more?!?!

So here's what I'm doing today.  TWO different linky parties.  Is that two too many, do you think??  Let's see how this works out!!  First, I want to start with Book Talk Tuesday hosted by Mrs. Jump's Class.  I just LOVE this linky, since so very many awesomely wonderful books are being shared.  Since I missed it last week, I'm going to share two books from my classroom library today.

First, this is a book that I like to use during the beginning of the year when my kinders are learning all about what it means to be a student in our school.  It is one you may have heard of before, and may even have in your classroom.  Like usual, I got mine from Scholastic.  If you want one of your own, click on the image below to take you over to Amazon to get a copy for yourself.

This is a cutesy little story with plenty of rhyming, as well as opportunities to stop and talk about places in the school.  I enjoy the style that this story is written in.  Almost a comic book/graphic novel type style with panels of action and text.  The story starts off with students in a classroom working together to make a gingerbread man.

While we're reading, we talk about how important it is to work together to complete a task.  I also try to get them to predict the rhyming words when they are encountered.  It's a neat way to get them thinking ahead in the text to try to predict the ending of the sentence as well as the rhyming word.  I also make sure to point out the various text features as we encounter them.  On this page alone we talk about different color and size texts (like the very first sentence in red), labels (on the ingredients), and captions/speech bubbles (like the little girl with red hair).

The first few pages go through the steps needed to make a gingerbread man, and we talk about why it is important to follow the steps when you're trying to make something.  I also have them look at the pages and see if they can find any text features.

The class finished making and baking their gingerbread man and left him out to cool while they all went out to recess.  Apparently no one told the gingerbread man they were leaving, because he gets so upset at being alone he peels himself off the tray and head out in the school to find his new friends.  I take this time to talk to them about what they should do if they were ever to get lost/separated from their group (it's a good prelude to field trip safety).  At the end of the page you notice the gingerbread man gets stuck to a volleyball and goes rolling off down the hall.  Here my littles predict what part of the school he is going to visit. Some say the playground, some say the gym.

Our adventurous cookie winds up in the gym and meets the gym teacher.  The ever-observant teacher notices the cookie has hurt his toe.  I ask my kinders where in the school they would go if they got hurt and then ask them where they think the cookie is going next.

He goes to see the school nurse, of course!  That lady fixes him up with some glue and a band aid.  We compare how she fixed him to how she might help us if we got hurt or sick.  My babies are quick to point out that our Nurse Day would NOT glue their toes back on if they fell off (how cute are they??)

This page has a really awesome text feature of a blue print, which we talk about how it's like a map of the school.  Another important topic I point out on this page is that the nurse told the gingerbread man to slide down the railing of the stairs since that will be the fastest way.  At our school, we have stairs inside and out and I like to take this time to talk about how to be safe on the stairs and if sliding down the railing is a good choice or not.

Our cookie visits the art room....

And the principal's office, where he finds out his class has been missing him!  They have been looking all over the school for him, and even made 'MISSING' signs to hang up around the building.

With the help of the principal, our adventurous cookie makes it back to his classroom.  We talk about how our principals are people we can go to when we're scared or need help with a problem.

His class is so very excited  to have him back and they tell him they have made him a gingerbread desk, chair, and house to make sure he has everything he needs to be happy with them.  I talk to them about what things I have in the room to make sure they are able to be happy and able to learn.

The second book is one that I found at a little book store near me called 'Atlantic Book Sellers'.  This is a Puffin Book, and is also a lift-the-flap story.

This book, Teachers Are for Reading Stories, is another one I read during the beginning of the year.  I ask my kinders to tell me what they think teacher's are for.  There are ALWAYS some truly interesting responses to what it is they think we do all day, and at home!

The books lists and illustrates different things teachers do.  On almost every page is a flap to lift that has something else teachers do underneath.  As we read through the story we make sure to make notice of any ideas in the book that were shared by students before we read it.  They love to hear their ideas are in the book.  There are also things the teachers in the book do that I do not do, like serve snacks and juice.  We talk about which ones happen in our classroom.

What I love the most about this book is the very ending.  It talks about how teachers are for reading stories, which I make sure to mention how true that is.  I tend to go on a bit about how much I love books and why...  My absolute favorite part of this book is what story the teacher is reading.  Can you read the title??  Big Red Dragon.  How PERFECT is that??!!

Lift the flap and it shows the big red dragon.  I just love that part!!  I take this time to point out how the students are sitting when they're listening to the story and how that shows they are being respectful.

Since you've read this far through my extra long make-up post, I wanted to make sure you got a FREEBIE for your efforts!!  (and my post isn't quite done yet...)  I know that the book above can be tricky to find.  I couldn't find it on Amazon, but I did not check anywhere else.  I wanted to create a freebie that could be used with this book or one similar to it.  It is a simple response sheet where littles can write and illustrate about what they think a teacher is for.

DON'T FORGET to go back to Mrs. Jump's Class to follow all of the other links from the rest of the Book Talk Tuesday bloggers!!

For the final part of my post today, I'll be linking up with The Teaching Tribune for their Two for Tuesday linky party.

This linky is all about sharing two products at 50% off all day on Tuesdays.  To kick off my participation in this linky, I chose activities that I plan on using in the first few weeks of school this year.  For TODAY ONLY, I am listing them at half-off their regular price.

First up, one of my newest creations.  This is an ABC packet of activities that I am going to use for homework packets in this upcoming year.  I will have my littles use these pages to create an ABC binder that they can keep in their book boxes and refer to during their Read to Self or Read to Someone Else time.

This packet is 50% off for TODAY ONLY, which makes the packet an amazing $1.75 today!!  Even more awesome, the additional licenses are only $0.88!!!  You can get a copy for your entire team for LESS THAN $5!!  That's an amazing deal!!

Second, I have one of my very newest creations.  It is a great Write the Room activity to use during the beginning of the year when students are learning how to work independently during Daily 5 (language arts) and Daily 4 (math) rotations.

For today only, this awesome Write the Room product is on sale for $1.50, which makes the additional license only 0.75!!!  This could be a GREAT beginning of the year gift for your team mates!!

Don't forget to link back to The Teaching Tribune to see what other products are being offered at 50% OFF today ONLY!!