Music Monday #8 (That's What Friends Are For)

We went way back today to the year 1985.  It was so fun to share with the writers about my memories of the song.  I got to teach my students about the 45 record which was quite a kick! 

The song for me has a lot of meaning and it is always a powerful moment when a teacher opens himself up to his students.  They see him as something more than just a teacher. 

While talking about the song, the artists, and the lyrics, I shared that the song reminds me of a very special group of people that were in my life during high school and have continued to stay in my life to this very day.  The fourth graders thought this was pretty cool and I would have to agree with them.  The song is all about friendship and that is a key component to all of my teaching.

The writers watched the video before we wrote and tried to identify the four artists that perform the song.  The only one they got was Stevie Wonder.  Each generation certainly is focused only on their music. 

Our Music Monday List for 2012-2013...

Music Monday #1 (What I Am by Will I Am)

Music Monday #2 (Proud by Heather Small)

Music Monday #3 (Good Time by Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen)

Music Monday #4 (Dreamer by Chris Brown)

Music Monday #5 (Home by Phillip Phillips)

Music Monday #6 (Count on Me by Bruno Mars)

Music Monday #7 (Louder by Charice)

Music Monday #8 (Thriller by Michael Jackson)

Music Monday #9 (Firework by Katy Perry)

Music Monday #10 (Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World by Israel Kamakawiwo ole)

Music Monday #11 (Hall of Fame by The Script with Will I Am)

Music Monday #12 (Shooting Star by Owl City)

Music Monday #13 (Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson)

Music Monday #14 (Do They Know Its Christmas by Band Aid)

Music Monday #14 (Do They Know Its Christmas from Glee)

Music Monday #15 (Take a Look at Me Now by Greyson Chance)

Music Monday #16 (My Wish by Rascal Flatts)

Music Monday #17 (Dream Big by Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand)

Music Monday #18 (The World's Greatest by R. Kelly)

Music Monday #19 (Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka and Glee)

Music Monday #20 (Rainbow Connection from The Muppets)

Music Monday #21 (One Moment in Time by Whitney Houston)
Music Monday #22 (One Day by Matisyahu)
Music Monday #23 (Surfin' USA by The Beach Boys)
Music Monday #24 (Vitamin String Quartet playing Bad Romance by Lady Gaga)
Music Monday #25 (I Believe by Yolanda Adams)
Music Monday #26 (That's What Friends Are For by Dionne Warwick and Friends)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (4/22/13)

Thanks to Jen and Kellee for hosting this idea on their site.  Here is a link to their site...

                

                 http://www.teachmentortexts.com/

Books I Read this Past Week...

The Runway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen

*This is our current read aloud in my classroom.

*We are LOVING it and each day the story just gets better and better. 

Giants Beware by Jorge Aguirre

*This book has been making the rounds in my room and the kids asked if I would read it.

*This was a fun read for me during a gloomy Sunday afternoon.

*5 STARS out of 5 Stars! 

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

*This was our BBC (Boy's Book Club) selection.

*I loved this historical fiction book and highly recommend it.

*4 STARS out of 5 Stars! 

The Water Castle by Megan Frazer Blakemore

*I saw this book recommended on Twitter.

*I am enjoying the story.

*Looking forward to seeing how it all ends. 

Books I Will (continue to) Read This Coming Week...

The Runway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Who Could That Be at This Hour by Lemony Snicket

*I put this book down and really need to get back to it. 

*I would like to see how it ends??? 
 

The Water Castle by Megan Frazer Blakemore

Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle

Music Monday #7 (I Believe)

We are back with our Music Monday selection.  I missed posting last week, but am excited to post our song from today.

I introduced the song "I Believe" by Yolanda Adams.  I first heard this song last year during an episode of the X-Factor.  The young singer Rachel Crow sang it and I feel in love with it immediately. 

The lyrics are quite powerful and send a wonderful message to the listener.  The song comes from the movie Honey.  I have not seen the movie, but after listening to this song and seeing clips of the movie, I do hope to see it one day. 

As soon as I played this for the class today I could tell that they liked it.  We had a wonderful discussion about the message of the song and what it meant to each of us.  The writers also enjoyed watching the video.  I've included several different versions of the video below.  My students watched the one from the movie and the clip with Rachel Crow from the X-Factor. 

Our Music Monday List for 2012-2013...

Music Monday #1 (What I Am by Will I Am)

Music Monday #2 (Proud by Heather Small)

Music Monday #3 (Good Time by Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen)

Music Monday #4 (Dreamer by Chris Brown)

Music Monday #5 (Home by Phillip Phillips)

Music Monday #6 (Count on Me by Bruno Mars)

Music Monday #7 (Louder by Charice)

Music Monday #8 (Thriller by Michael Jackson)

Music Monday #9 (Firework by Katy Perry)

Music Monday #10 (Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World by Israel Kamakawiwo ole)

Music Monday #11 (Hall of Fame by The Script with Will I Am)

Music Monday #12 (Shooting Star by Owl City)

Music Monday #13 (Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson)

Music Monday #14 (Do They Know Its Christmas by Band Aid)

Music Monday #14 (Do They Know Its Christmas from Glee)

Music Monday #15 (Take a Look at Me Now by Greyson Chance)

Music Monday #16 (My Wish by Rascal Flatts)

Music Monday #17 (Dream Big by Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand)

Music Monday #18 (The World's Greatest by R. Kelly)

Music Monday #19 (Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka and Glee)

Music Monday #20 (Rainbow Connection from The Muppets)

Music Monday #21 (One Moment in Time by Whitney Houston)
Music Monday #22 (One Day by Matisyahu)
Music Monday #23 (Surfin' USA by The Beach Boys)
Music Monday #24 (Vitamin String Quartet playing Bad Romance by Lady Gaga)
Music Monday #25 (I Believe by Yolanda Adams)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (4/15/13)

Thanks to Jen and Kellee for hosting this idea on their site.  Here is a link to their site...

                

                 http://www.teachmentortexts.com/

Books I Read this Past Week...

The Runway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen

*This is our current read aloud in my classroom.

*We are LOVING it and each day the story just gets better and better. 

The Center of Everything by Linda Urban

*I really enjoyed this story

*I think this book would work best for students to read on their own.

*I would give it 4 STARS out of 5 Stars! 

Hide and Seek by Kate Messner

*I was so excited to get my hands on this book.

*This second book in the series did not disappoint.

*4 STARS out of 5 Stars! 






Books I Will (continue to) Read This Coming Week...

The Runway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Who Could That Be at This Hour by Lemony Snicket

*I put this book down and really need to get back to it. 
 

Giants Beware by Jorge Aguirre

*This book has been making the rounds in my room and the kids asked if I would read it.

*It will be a quick read for me!  (Once I finally get to it)

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

*This is current book club selection for our BBC (Boy's Book Club)

*I am about 100 pages into the story and really enjoying it. 

Music Monday #6 (Surfin' USA)

With it being the week before spring break, I wanted to get my students in the "spring break" frame of mind.  Last Monday, I shared with my class an old classic.  Our Music Monday song was Surfin' USA by The Beach Boys. 

I was surprised how many of my students actually knew this song.  It was fun to play, fun to watch their faces while they listened, and extremely fun to watch them write as they listened to the music.  I think we definitely got in the spring break mood after listening to this song.   

I shared a video (included below) with the class and they enjoyed looking at all the surfing pictures while listening to the song.  One of my "jobs" for over spring break is to come up with an idea for next Monday's song when we come back after break. 

Our Music Monday List for 2012-2013...

Music Monday #1 (What I Am by Will I Am)

Music Monday #2 (Proud by Heather Small)

Music Monday #3 (Good Time by Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen)

Music Monday #4 (Dreamer by Chris Brown)

Music Monday #5 (Home by Phillip Phillips)

Music Monday #6 (Count on Me by Bruno Mars)

Music Monday #7 (Louder by Charice)

Music Monday #8 (Thriller by Michael Jackson)

Music Monday #9 (Firework by Katy Perry)

Music Monday #10 (Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World by Israel Kamakawiwo ole)

Music Monday #11 (Hall of Fame by The Script with Will I Am)

Music Monday #12 (Shooting Star by Owl City)

Music Monday #13 (Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson)

Music Monday #14 (Do They Know Its Christmas by Band Aid)

Music Monday #14 (Do They Know Its Christmas from Glee)

Music Monday #15 (Take a Look at Me Now by Greyson Chance)

Music Monday #16 (My Wish by Rascal Flatts)

Music Monday #17 (Dream Big by Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand)

Music Monday #18 (The World's Greatest by R. Kelly)

Music Monday #19 (Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka and Glee)

Music Monday #20 (Rainbow Connection from The Muppets)

Music Monday #21 (One Moment in Time by Whitney Houston)
Music Monday #22 (One Day by Matisyahu)
Music Monday #23 (Surfin' USA by The Beach Boys)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (4/1/13)

Thanks to Jen and Kellee for hosting this idea on their site.  Here is a link to their site...

                

                 http://www.teachmentortexts.com/

Books I Read this Past Week...

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

*This was our last selection for our BBC (Boys' Book Club)

*It was a great mystery, but nothing spectacular.

*I would give it 3 out of 5 stars! 

The Runway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen

*This is our current read aloud in my classroom.

*We are LOVING it! 

Out of my Mind by Sharon M. Draper

*We had our "Breakfast with Books" book club on Friday, March 29th.

*We had an awesome discussion about this book and I was so impressed by what my fourth grade readers got from this book. 

*5 Stars out of 5 Stars! 

The Magnificent Twelve:  The Call by Michael Grant

*This book was recommended to me via Twitter.

*I read it in about two sittings and picked it for our next "Breakfast with Books."

*4 out of 5 Stars, but I know kids will eat it up! 






Books I Will (continue to) Read This Coming Week...

The Runway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen

*Actually I won't be reading this during the week because we are on spring break. 

*I can't wait to get back to it though.  We are so enjoying it! 

The Center of Everything by Linda Urban

*I'm about 1/2 way through this and really enjoying it. 

Who Could That Be at This Hour by Lemony Snicket

*I'm about 3/4 of the way through this and I think it is an OK story. 
 

Giants Beware by Jorge Aguirre

*This book has been making the rounds in my room and the kids asked if I would read it.

*It will be a quick read for me! 

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

*This is our newest book club selection for our BBC (Boy's Book Club)

*I had heard about this book for many years and I'm so excited to finally read it.