MBUSD schools are dismissed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Distance learning is in place until further notice.
To my dear Grand View parents: During this time we are apart the classes are receiving library content from me via Zoom. Students unable to participate in the sessions are welcome to enjoy the content here. There will be a fresh posting each Monday.
Mrs. Snively Reads to You Click here to view a few videos of me reading out loud. Publishers have waived copyright restrictions during this time of social distancing.
To my library colleagues around the country: you are welcome to borrow any ideas that may work for your own students.
Mrs. Snively Reads to You Click here to view a few videos of me reading out loud. Publishers have waived copyright restrictions during this time of social distancing.
To my library colleagues around the country: you are welcome to borrow any ideas that may work for your own students.
Week of April 27, 2020 - TK - Ugly Ducklings... Beloved Older Books
 Published in 1957 |  Mrs. Snively circa 1957 |
Little Bear, by Else Holmelund Minarek (1957)
Minarek worked as reporter before becoming a first grade teacher and recognizing the need for children's books with simple words. She wrote over 40 children's books during her lifetime. Little Bear was her first. Little Bear is locally world famous as the singular text that taught Mrs. Snively to read before she was old enough to start Kindergarten.
Minarek worked as reporter before becoming a first grade teacher and recognizing the need for children's books with simple words. She wrote over 40 children's books during her lifetime. Little Bear was her first. Little Bear is locally world famous as the singular text that taught Mrs. Snively to read before she was old enough to start Kindergarten.
Week of April 27, 2020 - Kindergarten
Ugly Ducklings... Beloved Older Books
 Published 1950 - click for read aloud |  Manhattan Beach Pier 1950s |
Petunia, by Roger Duvoisin (1950)
Video See and hear the book read at justbooksreadaloud.
When Petunia finds a book in the barnyard she believes she is wise because she carries it under her wing. But when her advice to the other animals goes all wrong she realizes that to be truly wise she must learn to read.
Video See and hear the book read at justbooksreadaloud.
When Petunia finds a book in the barnyard she believes she is wise because she carries it under her wing. But when her advice to the other animals goes all wrong she realizes that to be truly wise she must learn to read.
Week of April 27, 2020 - First Grade - Ugly Ducklings
Compare and Contrast Beloved Older Books with Newer Books
 Published 1956 - click for read aloud |  Published 1969 - click for read aloud |
 Published 2015 - click for read-aloud |  Published 2018 - click for read aloud |
Harry the Dirty Dog, by Gene Zion (1956)
Video See and hear the book read by Betty White on Storyline Onlne.
Harry is a white dog with black spots who loves everything . . . except baths. One day, before bath time, Harry runs away. By the time he returns home, Harry is so dirty he looks like a black dog with white spots and his family doesn't recognize him. Presented on Zoom; accessed via Epic.
The Sky Dog, by Brinton Turkle (1969)
Video See and hear the book read by Rachel White.
A little boy is convinced that the white dog he finds on the beach is the same one he used to see playing among the clouds overhead.
A Dog Wearing Shoes, by Sangmi Ko (2015)
Video See and hear the book read by Maya Condos.
Mini finds a dog and begs to keep him. Based on a true story. The author's niece once found a lost dog with shoes on, and after returning him to his owner, she adopted a dog named Ray. Sangmi lives and works in Seoul, South Korea, with two adopted dogs, White and Malti.
Found, by Jeff Newman (2018)
Video See and hear this wordless book presented by Carole Walker.
In this wordless story, a young girl who has lost her own dog bonds with a stray and makes a tough decision about doing the right thing when the dog's owner is found.
Video See and hear the book read by Betty White on Storyline Onlne.
Harry is a white dog with black spots who loves everything . . . except baths. One day, before bath time, Harry runs away. By the time he returns home, Harry is so dirty he looks like a black dog with white spots and his family doesn't recognize him. Presented on Zoom; accessed via Epic.
The Sky Dog, by Brinton Turkle (1969)
Video See and hear the book read by Rachel White.
A little boy is convinced that the white dog he finds on the beach is the same one he used to see playing among the clouds overhead.
A Dog Wearing Shoes, by Sangmi Ko (2015)
Video See and hear the book read by Maya Condos.
Mini finds a dog and begs to keep him. Based on a true story. The author's niece once found a lost dog with shoes on, and after returning him to his owner, she adopted a dog named Ray. Sangmi lives and works in Seoul, South Korea, with two adopted dogs, White and Malti.
Found, by Jeff Newman (2018)
Video See and hear this wordless book presented by Carole Walker.
In this wordless story, a young girl who has lost her own dog bonds with a stray and makes a tough decision about doing the right thing when the dog's owner is found.
Week of April 27, 2020 - Second Grade
Ugly Ducklings... Beloved Older Books and Poetry
 Published 1957 |  Published 1991 - click for a read aloud |
 Published 2011 |  |
The Outside Cat, by Jane Thayer (1957)
Samuel wants to get inside. He finally does, only to discover that the family and cat who were living there have moved. Now Samuel wants out, but he’s trapped in an empty house.
Six-Dinner Sid, by Inga Moore (1991)
Video See and here the story ready by Story Time with the Shakesbies.
A clever cat lives with six families.
Won Ton : a Cat Tale Told in Haiku, by Lee Wardlaw (2011)
A cat arrives at a shelter, arranges to go home with a good family, and settles in with them, all the while letting them know who is boss and, finally, sharing his real name.
Website poets.org A traditional Japanese haiku is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count. Often focusing on images from nature, haiku emphasizes simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression.
Activity Haiku worksheet
Samuel wants to get inside. He finally does, only to discover that the family and cat who were living there have moved. Now Samuel wants out, but he’s trapped in an empty house.
Six-Dinner Sid, by Inga Moore (1991)
Video See and here the story ready by Story Time with the Shakesbies.
A clever cat lives with six families.
Won Ton : a Cat Tale Told in Haiku, by Lee Wardlaw (2011)
A cat arrives at a shelter, arranges to go home with a good family, and settles in with them, all the while letting them know who is boss and, finally, sharing his real name.
Website poets.org A traditional Japanese haiku is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count. Often focusing on images from nature, haiku emphasizes simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression.
Activity Haiku worksheet
Week of April 15, 2020 - Third Grade
Poetry Month - Creating Book Spine Poems
 |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |
Hit the Road, Jack, by Robert Burleigh
Celebrates the life on the open road and the joys of traveling across the country, loosely inspired by Jack Kerouac's On the Road. Presented on Zoom; accessed via Epic.
I'm Just No Good at Rhyming, by Chris Harris
Read the title poem as an introduction to the activity.
Book Spine Poems Print worksheet It’s fun! It’s easy! It makes a bit of a library mess! Oh, well! Select three to six books with titles that inspire your poetic fire. Stack the books flat, one on top of the other, so the spines are visible. Move the books around until you like the way it reads, top to bottom. Write the titles in the diagram the way you want the poem to read, top to bottom. Go over the titles with marker. Shade in each rectangle lightly with a different color crayon to create book spines.
Celebrates the life on the open road and the joys of traveling across the country, loosely inspired by Jack Kerouac's On the Road. Presented on Zoom; accessed via Epic.
I'm Just No Good at Rhyming, by Chris Harris
Read the title poem as an introduction to the activity.
Book Spine Poems Print worksheet It’s fun! It’s easy! It makes a bit of a library mess! Oh, well! Select three to six books with titles that inspire your poetic fire. Stack the books flat, one on top of the other, so the spines are visible. Move the books around until you like the way it reads, top to bottom. Write the titles in the diagram the way you want the poem to read, top to bottom. Go over the titles with marker. Shade in each rectangle lightly with a different color crayon to create book spines.
Week of April 27, 2020 - Fourth Grade - Poetry Month
 |  Physician and Poet William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) |
| | |
River of Words : the Story of William Carlos Williams, by Jen Bryant
This picture book biography of William Carlos Williams traces childhood events that lead him to become a doctor and a poet. Presented on Zoom; accessed via Epic.
Video The Canvas Williams and the artist Charles Demuth knew each other at university. I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold (1928) is one of a series of eight abstract portraits of friends, inspired by Gertrude Stein's word-portraits, that Demuth made between 1924 and 1929. This painting pays homage to a poem by William Carlos Williams and consists not of a physical likeness of Williams, but of an accumulation of images associated with him. Williams' poem The Great Figure describes the experience of seeing a red fire engine with the number 5 painted on it racing through the city streets.
Activity Video United Art and Education Project #170 Instructions for drawing a number then precisely segmenting the drawing in the style of I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold.
Note The usual Fourth Grade poetry month activity, making Blackout Poetry using discarded books, was presented by the teachers this year. For instructions, click here and scroll to the week of April 15, 2019.
This picture book biography of William Carlos Williams traces childhood events that lead him to become a doctor and a poet. Presented on Zoom; accessed via Epic.
Video The Canvas Williams and the artist Charles Demuth knew each other at university. I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold (1928) is one of a series of eight abstract portraits of friends, inspired by Gertrude Stein's word-portraits, that Demuth made between 1924 and 1929. This painting pays homage to a poem by William Carlos Williams and consists not of a physical likeness of Williams, but of an accumulation of images associated with him. Williams' poem The Great Figure describes the experience of seeing a red fire engine with the number 5 painted on it racing through the city streets.
Activity Video United Art and Education Project #170 Instructions for drawing a number then precisely segmenting the drawing in the style of I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold.
Note The usual Fourth Grade poetry month activity, making Blackout Poetry using discarded books, was presented by the teachers this year. For instructions, click here and scroll to the week of April 15, 2019.
Week of April 27, 2020 - Fifth Grade - Poetry Month
Finding Hidden Poems in the Pages of Discarded Books
| |  |  |
 |  |
I'm Just No Good at Rhyming, by Chris Harris
Read the title poem and selected others as an introduction to the activity.
Hidden Poetry Choose a page from a discarded book and rip it out neatly. Don't read the words on the page. Draw the outline of any object and then choose your words from within the object. Look for words that fit your drawing. You will be surprised when they seem to emerge like magic from the object you have drawn. Lightly underline the selected words with pencil. When you are sure of them, box them in. And now you can draw freely, filling in the details of your object.
Video Hidden Poems by Miriam Paternoster (running time 3:28)
Read the title poem and selected others as an introduction to the activity.
Hidden Poetry Choose a page from a discarded book and rip it out neatly. Don't read the words on the page. Draw the outline of any object and then choose your words from within the object. Look for words that fit your drawing. You will be surprised when they seem to emerge like magic from the object you have drawn. Lightly underline the selected words with pencil. When you are sure of them, box them in. And now you can draw freely, filling in the details of your object.
Video Hidden Poems by Miriam Paternoster (running time 3:28)
RSS Feed