Chop, Chop, Chop!

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How are you at using Chopsticks? We got some great practice last week after we read the book Chopsticks by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. This book about how two chopsticks learn about independence  when one chopstick breaks his “stick” and then can’t do everything with his partner while he’s resting and healing. It’s a book about chopsticks, friendship, independence and learning new skills.

chopsticks

Chopsticks is book one in our six week Amy Krouse Rosenthal author study. Amy was chosen as the featured author in the 2015 Global Read Aloud program. This project started October 5th and will run for approximately 6 weeks.  The idea behind it is very simple; teachers around the world read the same book aloud to their students and then use technology to share the reading experience with these other classrooms.  It is a free project and it fits perfectly into the standards we have to cover.

During the project, our class will be reading and connecting with students around the world who are reading the same book.  We will use technology tools such as Twitter and this blog to facilitate these connections and conversations.

The founder, Permille Ripp, a teacher in Wisconsin, started “GRA” in 2010 with one goal in mind: Connect the world with one book. Now it’s grown to over 500,000 children in 60+ countries around the world.  This project will allow for our students to use technology tools in a meaningful way, as well as learn about other cultures, all while listening to a fantastic read aloud.
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Our school is one of the red markers hovering over Washington. There is only 1 marker per state or country. Each week we will be reading one of the selected picture books and then connecting with other classrooms around the world via Twitter. Students will get an authentic global experience by talking about books with other librarians and students.

Speaking of connections – we have a new school Twitter account! This account is only for our library classroom use only. If you are a family member,  teacher or librarian with a designated library/classroom account, please follow us. Search for @CRidgeLibrary and you will see our #GRA15 updates live from our library.

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Families who would like to participate at home can also join the GRA movement. I highly suggest you visit the Global Read Aloud website. You will find the books chosen per grade level and connections you can make with the books and sometimes the authors.

Happy Reading!