Books Worth a Look #2 'Pax'

This is the second in a series of blog posts on some good books that I have come across while teaching a variety of classes. (I have purchased these books myself and do not receive sponsorship/freebies for reviewing them!)

The second book is 'Pax', a new-ish book to me. It is one that I really enjoyed reading myself. It is written by Sara Pennypacker and has lovely illustrations by Jon Klassen.

Theme/Overview

The main theme of this book is friendship. It is about two friends who are separated, it just so happens that one of them is a boy (Peter) and one is a fox (Pax).In order to be reunited, both of them face many obstacles including war (yet war is not the main focus of the book).  The book explores how true friendships can overcome even the most difficult and dangerous situations.

I particularly liked how it is written from perspective of both Peter and Pax, in alternate chapters. Personally, I would do this with a senior class as it does refer to war from time to time. It is important to note it does deal with the loss of a parent so may not be suitable to do if a child has experienced such a loss.

Activities/Ideas

• Research foxes- create a report piece of writing (click on image to get blank templates)

• Use the book as a stimulus to explore the theme of war (book does not specify which war)

• Fill a backpack (Peter brought some useful items and treasured possessions with him), ask the children what they would bring. They could draw a backpack with their chosen items inside.

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• Visualisations: This story lends itself nicely to working on the comprehension strategy of visualisation. 

• Traits of a good friend: Discuss the important traits of a good friend.

• Friendship recipe: similar to the idea above, choose the most important traits of friendship.

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• My pet: Discuss or complete a project on their pets and their favourite things about them. If some children don't have pets try the next activity.

• If I could have any pet it would be.....

• Read the poem 'The Dentist and the Crocodile' by Roald Dahl

• Do some art inspired by foxes!

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Check out the other Books Worth a Look posts:

Books Worth a Look #1 'The Dot'

Books Worth a Look #1 'The Dot'

This is the first in a series of blog posts on some good books that I have come across while teaching a variety of classes. (I have purchased these books myself and do not receive sponsorship/freebies for reviewing them!)




First up is 'The Dot' by Peter H. Reynolds which I will be doing with my new students on the first day of school as I introduce our classroom rules.

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Theme/Overview

The book is about a child struggling with an Art activity (but really I think it can be applicable to all subjects). It is about trying, even when it is difficult and you feel you can't do it...YET!  Even though it may be daunting or make us feel uneasy, making a start is important or as we say in Irish 'Tús maith leath na hoibre!' It ties in nicely with the idea of Growth Mindset. 

It encourages us to be creative in our learning and teaching (that there isn't just one way to do something) which is why I have chosen to read it on the first day back to school.

Activities/Ideas

These are just some ideas to pick and choose from that you could use alongside the book.

• Discuss before reading the story what it feels like when faced with a new beginning or start (first day back to school, new pupil in the class etc.)

• Read the story again but change it to another subject, for example Maths to show the children that the main idea of the story is applicable to more than just Art

• The book could also be a stimulus for an Art lesson for the children to make their 'own mark'

• Chat about how the children could make their mark this year (what they would like to achieve, what they would like to improve on) 

• Do some Pointillism Art using dots and look at artist Seurat

• Do some Kandinsky inspired 'Dot' Art

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• create a class contract for the year to always try our best and 'make our mark'. Each child can sign their name beside their dot (perhaps their fingerprint).

• Design a Growth Mindset Poster for displaying in the class. Have a look here at some examples or click the image for others.

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They now even have an International Dot Day which is the 15th September this year! More details can be found here where they have more ideas for the book.

5 printable resources for First Day Back (all Freebies!)

Here are five sheets I will have printed for my first day or two back in the classroom.

1. Checklist Page for Homework Diary

I print this out each year and get the children to attach it to the inside cover of their homework diary. It does take some training in getting them to use it, but it does give them clear expectations on what you expect from homework.

You an download it here.

All About Me Sheet

A nice way to get to know the children on the first day back. Other ideas of Back to School Activities can be found in another post by clicking here. Click on the image to download it for free.

Mental Maths Sheet

I stick this into the back of their mental maths book.  During the first few weeks back to school, we add key maths language for addition, subtraction etc. as we come across them in our book. This can be used as an aid for the children as the year progresses. Children can also add in their own facts and maths language that they find tricky. You an download this freebie  here.

                                                 

Bookmarks

I print these on card to make them a bit more durable. The children can decorate them and the idea is each time they complete a book they record the name of it on the bookmark, seeing their collection grow (hopefully!) as the year progresses.

                                

Summer Memories Worksheet

This is another freebie that is differentiated and can be used in all class levels. It is useful as an oral language activity,  to revise recount writing and to see the starting point for each child. I sometimes bind them altogether and make our first class book of the year. Click on the image to download 3 different options.

                                               

If you find these useful, please rate them on my TPT store! :)

Find other Back to School Posts here:

First Day Back to School Activities

(An Actual) Back to School Checklist!

The Back to School 'Survival' Checklist for Teachers

Finding time for Mindfulness....

It has always been an area I have found interesting to try out in the classroom but for many reasons (probably excuses really) I have never actually implemented it as part of our routine in the classroom. From being too busy with such a varied curriculum to having a split class it isn't easy to find that extra 5 minutes a day. In fact, it can be hard to even find 5 minutes in the week! However this year, I am going to try to incorporate mindfulness into our daily routine particularly as it will be well suited to my students this year.

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Last year, our school had a copy of the following CD and many teachers loved it and felt it had a real calming effect on the children.

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Even better it is now available as Gaeilge aswell. That is where I hope to start this year! If budgets are limited there are a huge amount of mindfulness resources on the internet that you can also use. (The Mindfulness Matters resources are also cheaper if you chose to download them rather than purchase a hard copy.)

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If you know of any other resources that have been tried and tested leave a comment below to help get us started.