Category Archives: Weekly Read-a-Louds

Mar 28 – Apr 1 Read-a-Louds

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Kids and adults alike love stories by Robert Munsch! This week, all classes will be reading Moose!, the newest story by Munsch. During the reading, I will be asking for “audience participation” to make the story more fun. Check out Robert Munsch’s website for fun and games based on some of his better-known characters.

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Mar 14 – 18 Read-a-Louds

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This week we will be reading a folktale from Iran, called The Secret Message by Mina Javaherbin. The first day of Spring, March 21st, is also time for the Persian New Year, or No-Rooz/Nowruz. Persian people celebrate the New Year with food, family, and festivities. No-Rooz Mobarak! (Happy New Year!)

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Mar 7 – Mar 11 Read-a-Louds

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For this week, all classes will be reading The Sandwich Swap by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan. This is a story about 2 girls who both eat the same sandwich for lunch every day – Lily eats peanut butter and jam sandwiches, and Salma eats hummus sandwiches. One day, Lily decides to tell Salma that her sandwich looks “yucky”, and thus begins a tale of tolerance and celebrating diversity.

Have you ever tried hummus? It’s a very tasty dip/spread made of chickpeas. Many middle eastern countries, such as Israel, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria eat it regularly. For a kid-friendly recipe to make hummus, click here.

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Feb 28 – Mar 4 Read-a-Louds

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This week, all classes (except Kindergarten) will be reading a book called What If Everybody Did That? by Ellen Javernick. It is a fun book that shows what can happen if people break the rules, especially if you think that it won’t hurt if it’s only you. Scenarios include what if everybody splashed “a little” in the neighbourhood pool – there would be no water left! Also, what if everybody threw “just one” soda can out the window – we would have an environmental disaster with pop cans everywhere! The main message in the story is that there are consequences to thoughtless behaviors.

The Kindergarteners will be reading Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin. This is a humorous story about colours and not getting upset when something goes wrong. There is also a song that goes with the book at HarperCollins Children’s books.

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Feb 21 – Feb 25 Read-a-Louds

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This week is Anti-Bullying week, and Wed. Feb. 23rd is “Pink Shirt Day“. The Kindergarteners and Grade 1 students will be reading Howard P. Wigglebottom Learns About Bullies by Howard Binkow. Check out Howard’s web page on bullying. Grades 2 and up will be reading Zero by Kathryn Otoshi, a story about self esteem and being yourself. Another powerful story by Kathryn Otoshi is One, where the colour red bullies all the other colours. Don’t forget to wear PINK on Wednesday!

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Feb 14 – Feb 18 Read-a-Louds

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This week, the primary grades will be reading “A String of Hearts” by Laura Elliott, a Valentines Day story. The intermediates are reading “Buzaak Chinie (The Porcelain Goat): A Traditional Afghanistan Folk Tale”. I chose a story from the Middle East as a “tie-in” to events occuring in several Middle Eastern countries, such as Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen. We will look at a map of the Middle East, and locate Afghanistan. We will also discuss similarities and differences between Western folk tales and Middle Eastern folk tales.

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Feb 7 – Feb 11 Read-a-Louds

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This week we are celebrating Black History Month. The Kindergarteners and the Grade 1’s will be reading “Peter’s Chair” by famed African American writer Ezra Jack Keats. All other grades will be reading “Back of the Bus” by Aaron Reynolds. “Back of the Bus” is an account of Rosa Parks’ arrest in December 1955, for sitting at the front of a public bus with the white folks. There are also many books on display in the Library relating to African American history, or stories written by African American authors. To learn more about African American history, especially in Canada, visit the following website:

Black History Canada

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January 31 – February 4 Read-a-Louds

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In recognition of Chinese/Lunar New Year on February 3rd, this week the Kindergarten classes will be listening to “My First Chinese New Year” by Karen Katz. Grade 1 students will be listening to “Bringing In the New Year” by Grace Lin. Grades 2 thru 7 will be listening to Jane Yolen’s “The Seeing Stick,” a folktale from China. This is the year of the Rabbit, and any students born in 1999 have the Rabbit as their lucky Lunar animal.

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