Another Great Read...Another Great Reader!

Hi Mrs. Wollmering,

          I hope your summer is going well. The best book I read this summer was The False Prince by Jennifer A. Neilson. I received the book as a prize for completing the St. Paul Public Library summer reading program. The False Prince is about a boy named Sage who is caught up in a plot to install a false prince into the throne of Carthya, a fictional kingdom. The book is dramatic and is set in medieval times. Sage and two other boys are tricked into trying to become the false prince. Treachery and deceit are woven in the story along with fast-paced adventure. I liked this book because it was very entertaining and there wasn’t a lot of talking but there was a lot of action and a lot of unexpected twists. The ending was surprising and entertaining. I would recommend the book to other people.

          I look forward to seeing you when school starts.

Zooming Along With Zoomer

I just love the emails I have been receiving from my Reading Leaders. Here is the latest one from a very enthusiastic 1st Grader.

Hi Mrs. Wollmering:

My favorite story I read this summer is Zoomer by Ned Young.  The story was
about Zoomer and his two brothers and their dad trying to get them ready to go
to school but Zoomer kept doing all kinds of funny things like building a
castle with his food.  He always would tell his dad he was not going to school
today when his dad asked him to get ready.  The funniest part was when the dad
finally got the two brothers off to the school bus snd then Zoomer landed at
the bus stop in a space ship he built.  His dad asked him why he didn't want to
go to school today because Zoomer liked school and Zoomer said BECAUSE TODAY IS
SATURDAY. So then they went back to their house and had a picnic with a big
water slide into a pool.

I have been reading all summer.  My mom reads me a book and then I read her a
book.  See you soon.

Silverlicious Is Delicious!

This was waiting for me in my email inbox last week. It is so much fun to receive these messages from my students. I love hearing how excited they are about books and reading!

Dear Mrs. Wollmering,

My favorite book this summer is Silverlicious, by Victoria Kann.  I like it because it's about Pinkalicious and the Tooth Fairy.  The best part is at the end of the book when Pinkalicious learns she needs to act nicely for things to taste sweet again.  I also like how the cupid, easter bunny , the elf and the tooth fairy visit her.  I like how they decorated her room each night.  Pinkalicious shares the silver chocolate coins she gets with her brother, Peter.

Greek Gods Grab Another Reader

I received this post from one of my incoming 5th graders. I was so excited to see that he had found an author and a series that excited and ignited him. He will definitely be one of my "Go-To" guys for Fantasy Fiction recommendations.

Dear Mrs. Wollmering,

I have read the whole Percy Jackson series. It is 5 books. And I read The Son Of Neptune. I really liked the series. I liked learning about the Greek gods. What should I read next?

I hope you are having a fun summer.

Reading With Dad Makes Summer Reading Hot!

Congrats to this Judy Blume Fan who was the first student to respond to my Summer Reading Challenge. What are the rest of you reading? Send me your picture and thoughts in an Email and I'll share your message in a blog post just like this one.


Dear Mrs. Wollmering,

I am reading "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" with my Dad. The funniest
part about the book is when the kid named Fudge said, "Goodbye, Rat Face."
Another funny thing is when Fudge's friend said, "Do you want to make
something of it." I like this book because Fudge is funny. I also like when
we get to the end of the chapters because then we can start a new one. And
also, in the first chapter, when Fudge didn't eat his food and his dad
said, "Eat it or wear it." I liked that part, too. And also, when Fudge's
dad poured the food on Fudge's head. I thought that was funny, too.

Summer Reading Is Hot!

Research has shown that it is critical for children to continue to read over the summer months when school is not in session. Here is information about the Summer Reading Program that I created for my students.

Summer Reading Is HOT!!

Mrs. W's Summer Reading Club For Holy Spirit Students 

Everyone knows the more you read the more you grow, so come on board and join Mrs. Wollmering for a Summer Reading Adventure Fill In the lines below with favorite books that you have enjoyed during June, July, & August. You may read the books, listen to the books, or have the books read to you. Pick your most favorite book and go online to send an Email to Mrs. W: wollmeringm@holy-spirit.org. Write a paragraph telling Mrs. Wollmering why you liked this book. Be sure to include your Name, the Author and the Title of the book. You may also send me a picture of you reading that I will include in a Blog Post about your Reading Adventures. Everyone who sends Mrs. Wollmering an Email by August 31st will receive a free book when they return to school in September. 

TITLE                                                                                       AUTHOR  ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

QR Codes In The Classroom

As part of our Children's Book Week Celebration my 3rd grade Media students created a QR Code Display using popular Picture Book Characters as the subject. Group of three and four students worked collaboratively using wordle.net to create Character Word Clouds describing their characters. After creating their wordles they found images of their characters to embed into a QR Code. We used qrcode.kaywa.com to generate the codes. We hung the display in the hallway outside the Media Center and invited students and staff to come by and interact with the display using a mobile device to scan the codes. This project supported collaboration, problem solving, and creativity.

How To Get Started With Infographics

Information Graphics, i.e. Inforgraphics are visual displays that illustrate information, data, or knowledge. I ran across this article while I was surfing Pinterest for tech inspiration. I've seen a lot of examples of Infographics popping up in my pinning feed and they have totally intrigued me. Since my background is in research I knew I was just scratching the surface on what these delightful objects are. Hence, I dug deeper and came up with this gem to share. I can't wait to try one of my own, and to have my students give designing one a try. Stay tuned for some examples.

How to get started with infographics

When is Enough, Enough?

I read a review of this book by Patrick Rhone in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Ever since then I can't help but wonder how do you create a balance between being submerged in the digital world and being powered down in order to be present to the ones you are with. I began my career as a librarian, a respected, noble profession, some might say. Within the last 365 days I have morphed into a techie. My dilemma is, How do I reconcile my two worlds, and, Do I really need to? Can I continue to ping pong between page & ink and screen and come out as a stronger, more respected educator. Insert: A Resounding YES! The trick is to give yourself permission to switch everything off, including your brain, and focus on other loves you might have. Try it, I promise you you'll still be empowered to engage, you'll also be a better human being.

Anti Bully Campaign

This is an example of an anti-bullying movie that I created using http://animoto.com/ My Middle School students will be using this site to create their own anti-bullying messages which they will then share with our school's Intermediate students. Anti Bully Campaign

Engage Me!

I ran across this video while I was searching the key terms: Digital Learners.  Even though it was produced in 2009 I feel it has even more relevance today.