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Saturday, August 1, 2015

Light a Fire with a Good Book - and a HUGE Giveaway!

It's that time again... the bitter-sweet back to school time. You're going to miss your summer terribly but you secretly get excited by the rainbow of school supplies now in the aisles!  What better way to smooth that transition than with some ideas and goodies?

Several of us bloggers have come together to give you some awesome ideas for Back to School Books! These books can be used to set up your classroom community, begin a good lesson, or just as a fun read-aloud.

The book I'd like to share with you is Sisters Grimm: Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley.  I know this isn't your normal first week of school read aloud but it is definitely a novel I love to start my year off with!

In book one of this bestselling series, sisters Sabrina and Saphne are sent to live with their mysterious grandmother, Relda Grimm.  The sisters learn they are descendants of the Brothers Grimm, whose famous book of fairy tales is actually a collection of case files.  The girls are the latest in a long line of fairy-tale detectives, and their new hometown is filled with Everafters (as magical folks like to be called) - some good and some very, very bad.  When a mysterious Everafter setes a giant loose on the town, it's up to the Sisters Grimm to save the day.

 

Here are just some of the reasons it's one of my favorites!

  1. It's about a town of fairy tale characters that we all know and love but they are not who they seem!  The villains might be bad guys, the good guys might be wicked, but you never know what anyone is up to in Ferry Port Landing (and that keeps my kids on their toes!).  The kids know most of these characters but I have found as the years go on, they don't necessarily know their stories - unless it was made into a Disney movie, lol.  So you might want to do some referencing or pre-reading :o)
  2. It's a mystery... my favorite! Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are on hot on the trail to find out who stepped on Mr. Applebee's farm and the even bigger mystery... What happened to their parents?
  3. It's a series!  There are 9 books total and a companion guide.  I read this my first year at my new school and our media specialist had to buy the rest of the series because so many kids came to ask if she had it! LOL So get book two ready to go!
  4. There are TONS of reading skills that can be taught using this book and with all the wondrous foods that their Granny Relda makes, you could easily have yourself an end of book celebration with those funky treats!

One of the very first skills I ever teach, and use with this book, is Point of View.  The reason for this is because it is an ongoing skill.  For every book we read after this, we can use our notes and skills from the Sisters Grimm to figure out the POV of our newest read aloud. Usually one of the harder skills for students to grasp, I have made it easier with a student friendly power-point, four different ways for them to take notes and a Point of View Road Map that will help them figure out what POV any story is written in!



And have you heard? Teachers Pay Teachers is having a site-wide Back to School Sale August 3rd and 4th, so you will be able to get my Point of View PPT and Notes Pack (along with the POV Poster Pack) 28% off using the promo code BTS15!


We know what else really "lights a fire" in you, and that is fabulous technology! We are giving away a brand new Kindle Fire HD6 to one lucky winner! 


Enter the rafflecopter below by hopping through each of our blogs and entering the secret word that can be found on the tablet in each of our posts. Also make sure to follow our TPT stores because the winner will be announced through a message in your TPT inbox! 


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We are also giving away a $25 gift certificate to Creative Teaching Press!

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Good luck! We hope you have a successful start to your school year! 


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