Rude Cakes {Book Review}

Amazon knows me. It's scary sometimes, but also nice because the book suggestions that pop up are how I stumbled across this adorable book that is just right for back to school! 

Rude Cakes by Rowboat Watkins

I took one look at the cover and the title of this book and knew that I had to have it. When it came in I couldn't open it fast enough and let me just say, it doesn't disappoint! 

This little gem will be the perfect, light hearted way to talk about manners! I can't wait to read this one with my firsties...I can hear the giggles now. 

Here is what Amazon has to say: 

Who knew that cakes were so rude?! In this deliciously entertaining book, a not-so-sweet cake—who never says please or thank you or listens to its parents—gets its just desserts. Mixing hilarious text and pictures, Rowboat Watkins, a former Sendak fellow, has cooked up a laugh-out- loud story that can also be served up as a delectable discussion starter about manners or bullying, as it sweetly reminds us all that even the rudest cake can learn to change its ways.

And since I can't help myself I'll leave you with this picture of one of my favorite pages from the book. 

Happy Reading! 

Virginia is for Book Lovers

Welcome to the Virginia is for Book Lovers blog hop! I'm so glad to be teaming up with some fantastic Virginia bloggers as we share our favorite books and resources to go along with them! 

 The book I'm sharing today is one of my all time favorite finds! It seems to not be a very well known book, so I take any chance I can to tell people about it! Yes, I do teach 1st grade now, but Raymond and Graham Rule the School by Mike Knudson was "the book" for my 4th graders and I've got to get the word out! 

I love to laugh with my students and this one makes me laugh so hard that I cry. I've literally laughed/cried so hard I couldn't keep reading and had to pass the book off to the sped teacher! 

The story begins as Raymond and Graham begin 4th grade, their last year in elementary school, and they plan on being the top dogs in the school. Despite some really good plans, things don't go the way they'd hoped and they have some hilarious misadventures - prunes, dentures, and an accidental arm kiss! 

This was always the first read aloud I did because it gets even the most reluctant reader hooked. Even though I read it in the fall it'd be a great book for any time. There are also other books in the series!

If you'd like to try Raymond and Graham Rule the School in your class I've got a few freebies to get your students thinking and writing after you read. Just click the picture below to download a story map and character changes activity. 

These freebies are part of my Raymond and Graham Rule the School Novel Activities. It includes quizzes, response questions, sequencing, a group project, and much more! Check it out by clicking on the picture below. 

I'll be giving away a copy of Raymond and Graham Rule the School and a copy of my novel activities to one lucky reader. Check out the Rafflecopter below to enter. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The next stop on the hop is Melissa at Don't Let the Teacher Stay Up Late. 

Five Favorite Activities for the First Days of First Grade {Five for Friday}

We finished our eighth day of school today! I dreaded going back so early, but now that we are in the swing of things I'm glad we've already got those first few days under our belts. Did I mention I'm in love with my little first graders? Oh my, I can't remember when I've had so much fun at work!

I wanted to give you a look at some of my favorite activities we've done over the past few days and what better way to do that thank linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching?

I'd read so many blog posts about having play dough on students' desks the first morning and it sounded like so much fun so I just had to try it. It was a HUGE success! The kids were so engaged and didn't mind at all to let go of mommy and daddy and start playing. I still have a little guy who asks if we can play with play dough! 

We read First Day Jitters and did some of the activities from Abby's Fun with Firsties pack.

I used this adorable pitcher a student gave me last year for our Jitter Juice. Yes, it was pink because I procrastinated! I didn't pick up the ingredients until the night before school started and it was late and the small grocery store I stopped at didn't have Hawaiian Punch, so Kool Aid works just as well...ya know, in case you ever need that little bit of info!

We had so much fun with Pete the Cat!! I'd never really "met" Pete until this Summer and I was so excited to share him with my new firsties! We read the book, sang the song maaanny times, and drew ourselves in our school shoes for a class book. 

That adorable coloring sheet and a class book cover were FREE at TPT! Click here if you want to pick it up. 

We read this book and used it as a springboard for a talk about making new friends and keeping old ones, too! 

A few days before school started I stumbled upon this fantastic little book about the beginning of the year. Each child in this class makes a wish about the school year. Just like in the book we all sat in a circle and told about our wishes for first grade and then they all drew a picture to illustrate their wish. After that we all sat back down in a circle again and we all spent some time sharing and getting to know one another. 

If you'd like to do this activity with your class just click the picture above for a freebie. I created sheets for K-4. 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a blessed weekend! 

Book Finds for Struggling Readers in Upper Elementary {Tried it Tuesday}

A couple months back I was having trouble finding books my struggling 4th grade readers would enjoy. This particular group is reading somewhere between a low 1st grade (with a few lower) to high 2nd grade range, so I was having a tough time finding things that look like they were "big" enough to be cool and keep them interested. 

I made a big order, thanks to my principal, on Scholastic and we've really been enjoying our new books. We've had the books about a month and the kids have definitely picked out some favorites, so I thought I'd share them for my Tried it Tuesday with Holly from Fourth Grade Flipper. 

Sorry for the major glare on that last book. School lighting just doesn't cooperate for pictures sometimes! 

We love Fly Guy! I can't get enough of those books to satisfy my kiddos! I'll have some kids with 3 in their book bags at a time. These are perfect for some of my lowest readers.

Magic School Bus is a classic, of course, but this version is a little easier to read and the kids are starting to discover how much fun they are. 

The Weird School series by Dan Gutman is the perfect chapter book series for those 2nd/3rd grade level readers. 

What parts I've read of Roscoe Riley Rules are hilarious! I'm actually planning on doing this one as a fun read aloud with the class in the next few weeks. It would be a good chapter book for beginning or middle 2nd graders. 

I ordered several books in the Rookie Biographies series and I was pretty impressed. They definitely have a lot of great information and are very readable. They have about a paragraph on each page, which is nice for some of the more advanced readers because they don't zoom through them so quickly!

The Boris books were so popular that I couldn't even find one in the library to get a picture of! It seems like every day I have a kid tell me he's finished with his Boris book and needs a new one. This series has been especially popular with the boys and that is usually the toughest crowd!

These books have literally changed my reading class. Everyone begs for silent reading time and they are just devouring these books because they are interesting on their level. I'm thrilled with the progress we're making and how their attitudes about reading have changed! I'm just hoping I can keep enough books to keep their interest up! 

What other books would you recommend for my reading friends?