I know no one wants to think about going back to school. I mean, we just got out! But summer is the perfect time to freshen up your classroom library. You can take your time thinking about what books you wished you had last year and what books would work with various book studies or reading skill lessons for the upcoming year. I found quite a few that I'm in love with.

Water Sings Blue can accompany a poetry unit or ocean study. I just like it because it's about the beach and makes me think of summer, so it's a nice read before summer vacation.

The Fourth of July Story is a book published in 1956, but the story is timeless. I love the retro feel of this book. It's a read for older readers, but I can see myself using it as a read aloud with my third graders.

At the start of third grade, most of my students are not yet reading biographies or they just aren't interested in this genre yet because they haven't been exposed to it much. I like to stock my library with easier picture book biographies to get them interested. The following books will do just that.
Manfish: A Story of Jacques Cousteau is one of my favorites. I was fascinated with Cousteau and I LOVED watching his underwater adventures on TV when I was little.

Kids have heard of Einstein and I think they will enjoy these next two books that give you an insight into this genius's life.

On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein

Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein

The Watcher: Jane Goodall's Life with the Chimps is a simple story of how Goodall followed her passion.

The Boy Who Loved Math: The Improbable Life of Paul Erdos is wonderful for your math lovers.

I hope you found some new books to add to inspire your students! Thanks for stopping by!

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Beach Sand and Lesson Plans

One week from today I will be on summer vacation! WOOT! WOOT! I can not believe it! Someone pinch me! I am over-the-top excited for summer to be here. I mean I love my job and my little cuties, but summer is just soooooo nice!

To celebrate the beginning of summer time, Britney over at Tailor-Made Teaching has organized this summer hop!

As the school year comes to a close, I start to think about summer reading. While I love to read a good adult novel, I also enjoy reading young adult books or chapter books written for elementary students. There are some wonderful ones out there! I spend time reading these books because knowing about books helps me to motivate my readers and helps me help them find what interest them. I think it's vital to be up on what is NEW in children's literature.  I get it about "the classics" out there, BUT what kids want to read is what is new and popular, not old and tire. I'm talking about those books where the characters on the cover look like they walked out of the 70s. These are not appealing! Do you agree? So as you are packing up for the summer, take a run through your classroom library. If books on your shelves look old, yellow, or just plain unappealing...say goodbye! Over the summer, check out your local library or yard sales for book sales. Ask parents to donate gently used books to your classroom. Use up those Scholastic points you've been saving or go through your book shelves at home. Have your own kids do some summer cleaning. If the books aren't the right age for your classroom, share with other teachers.


Besides making kids read outdated stories, my other pet peeve is outdated summer reading lists! I don't send them home anymore and it drives me nuts when I see lists going out to kids with books I know are outdated. UGH! Drives me nuts! I like to encourage my kids to do what all good readers do to find books. Go to the library. Go to the bookstore. Talk with friends and get recommendations. Join Goodreads.com.  Check out the New York Times best sellers list. In Florida, we have the Sunshine State Young Reader's Award list and it always has a variety of levels and interests for elementary and middle school students. Find a series you love. Join a book club or start one with friends. Find a reading list online and see if there are books that interest you. I also encourage my parents to give their child the opportunity to self-select books. Teach them to find good books the same way YOU do!

Here are some of the books I will be reading and recommending this summer are:

Janitors, Book 1

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

A Tangle of Knots

Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures

I Funny: A Middle School Story

Cinder: Book One of the Lunar Chronicles

For professional reading, I want to finish up Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits

I hope you found a book or two to read and/or recommend to a student.


I created a little Summer Time Fun Time Activity Calendar of 30 fun activities to give your kids as they head off for the summer.

Specify the number of activities for them to complete and have them return it to you in the fall for a special back to school treat.

Now hop on over to Sparkling in Second for some more summer time fun and freebies!

Find even more freebies here:

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Beach Sand and Lesson Plans

Allowing time for students to be creative has always been a top planning priority in my room. I'm excited to be a part of the Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store #teachercreativity Blog Hop.

Do you find the traditional book report summary or one page typed research paper boring and, most of the time, copied from the internet?? I turn and run from these old-fashion projects. I much rather give my students a project that they will make unique and I know is not plagiarized. LOL!

These little Paper Bag Scrapbooks are super, duper easy to make and can be used for just about any subject and grade level.

Here are some of the supplies that I purchased at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft store. If you are going to have students create books based on a specific topic then purchase a variety of stickers and papers that match your theme or purchase a mix of basic paper and letter stickers. As time goes on, you will build a collection of scrapbook materials. Asking parents to donate or students to bring in supplies from home helps, too and adds to your collection. I knew that I was going to create a scrapbook based on Charlotte's Web and one about Abe Lincoln (my favorite president BTW!) I purchased materials that I knew would compliment both of those topics.

These card stock books are great and inexpensive. Check it out...$4. Get these when they are on sale or with your Teacher Reward discount. These books come in a variety of patterns and colors and there is plenty of paper inside! I also purchased those manila tags.

Ribbon, brads, or brass fasteners work great for holding these books together. A staple works, too.

Here are the quick and easy peasy steps to making a Paper Bag Scrapbook. Three paper bags will make a 12 page book which is plenty. Lay the bags on top of one another alternating them like this:

Fold all three in half. Use a hole punch to make a hole at each end of the crease, punching through all three bags.

 I used ribbon on this book to hold it together. I used brads on the other book.

Three pockets are created by the bag openings. The kids love these. I tell them they are good for holding secrets and surprises! Use the tags to place inside or cut more card stock and slip it.

What goes inside those pockets is open to so many possibilities. Encourage students to create the scrapbook from the perspective of a particular book character or president or famous historical figure. The pockets could hold memorabilia, theater tickets, important documents, letters, photos, or other trinkets. The sky's the limit and so is your students' imaginations. These books make for a perfect assessment tool. You will be able to see how well they know the topic!

I created forms students could use if you wanted to make a book report scrapbook or president scrapbook. You can find those HERE and HERE if you are interested.

If you want to start your collection of scrapbook materials for the classroom start by printing out this coupon.

If you have not signed up for their Teacher Reward program, you can do that HERE. You'll get 15% off your order every time you shop!!

Check out these other teacher bloggers and see how they foster creativity in their classrooms:

Tuesday Sunny Days in Second Grade

Wednesday More Time 2 Teach

Thursday Learning in the Little Apple

Friday Ms. Fultz's Corner

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Beach Sand and Lesson Plans