Virginia is For Book Lovers

(SPECIAL NOTE TO VIRGINIA TEACHERS!  Make sure you check out 

the info on the SOL FB pages at the very end of this post!)

I am so fortunate to have formed some wonderful friendships with an amazing group of Virginia bloggers! And while we have come to know each other well and found lots of things we have in common, the one unifying interest and topic of conversation is what goes on in our classrooms. Every few months or so we like to come together to share what we love so this time around we choose our love of books.

Each of us will share a book and resource that we LOVE to use in the classroom for this very special hop. Not only that, but you'll find a book giveaway on each page of the hop, with a super huge giveaway at the end!

Since I can't make a decision to save myself, I am actually going to share 2 freebies and books! The first freebie is derived from my Scaredy Squirrel Literacy Pack for one of my all time favorite books. A school year would not be complete without Scaredy Squirrel:)

The second book is a special treat because it was written by a teacher! As a matter of fact, the teacher who teaches just down the hall from me! The book, Kevin and the Seven Lions, is the first book in the Kevin series written by Martin Tiller.

I'm giving away a copy of both books in the Rafflecopter below! And the Kevin book will will be signed with a personal message from the author!!

First up - Scaredy Squirrel

Scaredy squirrel is a neurotic, obsessive little creature after my own heart.  He likes things just so and gets really nervous when things stray too far.  I love this book for the classroom for so many reasons.  

It sure is nice for the kids to see a book character they can identify with.  All kids have fears and some of them are irrational - just like Scaredy - but that doesn't make them any less real.

And in the end, Scaredy doesn't make some earth shattering 180 degree turn around and all of a sudden all is right with the world like some books.  He makes a change for sure, but it is a slight change.  Kind of like real life.  We rarely make full 180 changes when we are working on our issues.  We chip away at them little by little.  Scaredy makes us feel good about moving towards a goal even if it's a baby step:)

I also use Scaredy  as a mentor text.  We label pictures, make lists, schedules, and step by step instructions.  The illustrations in the book are wonderful catalysts for our writing!  I have compiled a bit of a sample of my Scaredy Squirrel pack so you can learn to love Scaredy as much as we do:)
Click on the picture to grab the pack.

Next up - Kevin and the Seven Lions

Kevin is a typical third grade boy, bright and capable, but VERY distracted!  He would much rather daydream about lion taming and aliens than do multiplication facts.  But his teacher has a solution - she channels Kevin's creativity into a notebook and he begins to write about all the things he imagines.

I created a small pack of activities to use with with this book so your students can channel their creativity, too:)  Of course, I threw in some comprehension activities, too, so we can use a fun book to hit those skills!

Be sure to check out the two sequels to this book because your kids are going to love Kevin:)

Don't forget to enter the giveaway below for 

Scaredy Squirrel and Kevin and the Seven Lions.

Also, one lucky winner will win ALL of the books (that's 20 wonderful books) in our hop! Imagine receiving 20 wonderful books for free on your doorstep and sharing them with your lovely students! Enter at the end of the hop for the chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for hopping by! 

Click below to turn the page to see what The Meek Moose has to offer:)

VIRGINIA TEACHERS:

Recently, I moved to fourth grade and found that without 20 years of materials in my cabinets like I had in my first grade classroom, materials to teach the SOLs were often hard to find.  So I set up a series of private FB groups just for VA teachers.  They are a place for Virginia teachers to share ideas, resources, links, and ask questions of each other specifically related to teaching VA SOLs.  There are 5 groups for different grade levels and the links are below.  If you would like to join, just click on the join button and I will add you to the group!  Please feel free to share this link with teachers in your schools.  The more teachers involved, the more sharing there will be!