Romano's Readers & Writers

Nina in Snow

Nina in Snow

Well, 2011 is coming to a close. Our team is collecting donations for all of our furry friends who may not have a forever home yet. Suggested donations include cat litter, kitten & puppy food, blankets, cat litter, paper towel, cat food and cat litter. (Some things are more needed than others.)

Thanks to all of our wonderfully generous students who have graciously donated items in November for Gleaner’s Food Bank and our recent Hat Day, which rasied money for the Salvation Army. We have a great group of caring and thoughtful students! The CDRW Team is so very proud to call you our own.

Let’s keep some puppies and kittens happy this holiday season.

Happy (almost) 2012!

Well students, we are halfway through October and we’re enjoying the crisp autumn air. I have a propensity to write too much, but I will try to limit my words to the non-superfluous.

Is your mouth watering yet? Are you tasting these wonderful STARBURST words?!

Congratulations to the Starburst Word Winners of the Week: Meg Milarch and Abby Ferris!

I challenge all of you to respond using some of your very best Starburst words–even without the promise of candy. Your reward is your enhanced vocabulary. So cogitate and pen me some wordsmithery!

On a dressery uppage note, please remember that our October celebration will be on October 31st. If you choose to dress up, please make sure you are school-appropriate. I am not fond of being scared, disgusted or offended. Let October continue!

As the 20011-12 school year approaches, I’ve been preparing for some exciting lessons and wondering who my students will be. I am looking forward to another great year with the CDRW Team and cannot wait to meet our new 6th grade students!

Welcome to our team!

Since we have been getting our feet wet with poetry, I thought I’d try to gather some rhymes from all you poets!

Challenge: Respond by adding your best rhymes. Challenge others to match the same rhyme or add their best rhymes. I’ll start with…

divine twine

Help the Cat-in-the-Hat earn his stripes!  

 

So far, Ms. Drafta’s class reached their end-of-March reading goal two weeks early so their stripe has been realized! Congratulations to all who are making reading a committment: for the month of March and beyond. I am so proud of all our readers. Keep up the good work!

The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

2011 Medal Winner

Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool

The town of Manifest is based on Frontenac, Kan., the home of debut author Clare Vanderpool’s maternal grandparents. Vanderpool was inspired to write about what the idea of “home” might look like to a girl who had grown up riding the rails.

2011 Honor Books

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

Sassy eleven-year-old Turtle finds her life turned on end when she is sent to live with her aunt in Depression-era Key West. With vivid details, witty dialogue and outrageous escapades, Jennifer Holm successfully explores the meaning of family and home… and lost treasures found.

Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus
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Shipwrecks, whaling, a search for home and a delightful exploration of cultures create a swashbuckling adventure. This historical novel is based on the true story of Manjiro (later John Mung), the young fisherman believed to be the first Japanese person to visit America, who against all odds, becomes a samurai.

Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman

Welcoming her readers into the “wild, enchanted park” that is the night, Joyce Sidman has elegantly crafted twelve poems rich in content and varied in format. Companion prose pieces about nocturnal flora and fauna are as tuneful and graceful as the poems. This collection is “a feast of sound and spark.”

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

The voices of sisters Delphine, Vonetta and Fern sing in three-part harmony in this wonderfully nuanced, humorous novel set in 1968 Oakland, Calif. One crazy summer, the three girls find adventure when they are sent to meet their estranged poet-mother Cecile, who prints flyers for the Black Panthers.

Happy Reading!

As you know, publishing is the +1 trait of the 6+1 traits of writing. I am proud of the wonderful picture books our students wrote and illustrated. Later than I anticipated, here they are on our blog. You may preview both books on the Shutterfly website, and upon our return to school in 2011, we will read them on the big screen!
Hope you are all enjoying your vacation time with family, friends and…books!
Happy New Year!

I know we are all looking forward to time away from our daily school routine. I am excited to spend time with my family and pets, and catch up on my reading! I plan to read some Newbery books, investigate which books may be in the running to win the 2010 Newbery Award (announced in January, 2011!), and see some movies with my family. What are you looking forward to doing during our holiday vacation from school?

Since we are just starting our Newbery reading project, you will be choosing a Newbery book you have NOT read yet. (A NEW-to-you Newbery!)

Do you have a Newbery book you have read, that you would like to recommend to others? List the title, author and why you recommend it to others. (No “Black Hole” words, please!)

Newbery Medal

You will soon be choosing your own Newbery award-winning book to read for our next study in reading. The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association for the most distinguished American children’s book published the previous year.
That means in January, the Newbery Award Winning book will be announced. If you were an author and were talented enough to have your book published, imagine how excited you would be to win the Newbery Award!
The awards committee may also cite other books as worthy of attention. Such books were referred to as Newbery “runners-up” but are now called “honor books.”
Look for the gold or silver Newbery medal and choose a Newbery book to read for yourself. You’ll be glad you did!