I am attending a big gathering of English teachers* that is held every year in November. This year it is in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Pernille Ripp, who created the GRA, is here, too! I went to her presentation today and got to talk with her afterwards. It was so fun to meet her in person! She is super nice. I learned that she loves blogging as a way for students to share their thoughts and ideas with others. And she loves to hear about what teachers and students are doing with the GRA. I am sharing a picture of the two of us. In case you have not seen her picture before, she is on the right. 🙂
–Dr. King
*National Council of Teachers of English Annual Conference
Our first attempt at Sketchnotes was very successful and we enjoyed trying out this new way of making notes while we read chapters 1&2. It was really interesting to see how different people in the class presented the same information in different ways!
We have been counting down for weeks from all corners of the globe. The time has finally come around for Global Read Aloud 2015 to officially start. Our group’s collaboration consists of 30 amazing classes, two books, 1 University and tech-savvy guest contributors. Over the next six weeks we will participate in a range of activities that will integrate reading comprehension skills, creativity, technology resources and digital citizenship. Join us in celebrating quality books, authors and promoting a love of reading.
We are a group of super 2nd graders in a suburb of St. Louis, MO. One thing that’s special about our class is that most of us were together in 1st grade, and looped to 2nd grade together! We’re excited to have many new friends joining us and are working on building a strong, respectful community of learners.
St. Louis is in MO, which is in the middle of the United States. We are close to the Mississippi River, which pretty much cuts our country in half, and is important for trade. Our town, which is called Kirkwood, is small and close-knit, even though it’s technically part of a big city. We have a small school district, too, with only 5 elementary schools. Kirkwood is famous for trains, and we have a really great downtown area around the train station where people (including kids after school!) like to hang out.  I love the close, family feel that the community has, even in the midst of a metropolis like St. Louis.
Here are a few pictures of places around town (our town and the big city!):
The Gateway Arch is a famous landmark in St. Louis.
We are home of the St. Louis Cardinals!:)
Our zoo is pretty fabulous and pretty famous–it’s FREE!
We love Forest Park, too, and the 1904 World’s Fair was held here.
We’re right in the middle!
Train station downtown Kirkwood
Our school is over 85 years old!
We are excited to read The Year of Billy Miller, and to learn from other readers around the world! We love to connect with other learners and share our knowledge as well. This is our first time doing the Global Read Aloud and we can’t wait for it to start. 🙂
