Basketball Sort and Read Across America Week Linky

I posted a new product on my Teachers Pay Teachers site today!!! It is an adverb and verb sort.  I am using it as a must do in my Daily 5 word work this week.  You can use it as a center, a small group lesson, an early finisher activity, or any way you see fit.  So far my students are enjoying the activity.  They have to sort the basketballs on the court, adverbs go on one side and verbs go on the other side. After they sort they need to record the words on the recording sheet and write 5 sentences on the back.  I purposely had them record in boxes instead of lines so I can use as many basketball cards as I wanted to meet each students needs.  

I also wanted to link up with Primary Chalkboard for the Read Across America Week Linky! I can't guarantee that I will be able to do every day, but I am going to see what I can get in.  Today is Favorite Children's Author and Books.

My favorite children's author is not one I read in my classroom. If the students have read it I will discuss it with them, but it is above my grade level.  My favorite children's author is J.K. Rowlings, for many reasons.  Not only are her books great, but she has been an excellent role model.  She shows what hard work and following a dream can do.  

I discovered the Harry Potter Series when I was in college.  I went to see the first movie with a friend, and they wouldn't tell me what happened next.  So, I went home and borrowed my little brothers books and read them all in a week.  After that whenever a new book or movie was to be released I would reread the series.  I still will read, listen to, or watch Harry Potter when I need that comfy feeling.  The amazing thing is before Harry Potter I HATED reading.  I would do the bare minimum that was required and that was it, I could not stand sitting and reading.  Since I was introduced to this magical world I absolutely love reading.  I will even tell my students my story so they know it only takes one book to turn your life as a reader around.  They know I now read whenever I can, and they know that I listen to books on my 40 minute each way commute to school. They think it is funny that I always have 3 books going, one paper, one digital, and one audio.  I hope I can inspire them to love reading as no teacher was able to inspire me.  They did try, I give them credit, but sometimes its the book that inspires!

In my classroom I don't have a favorite author, I just can't pick.  I do know we absolutely love reading in my room.  I try to foster that love of reading and show my excitement about reading.  I have found a new (to me) series this year that my kids are absolutely enthralled with.  

It is the Who Is series, yes I do have Who Is J.K. Rowling? in my classroom, and most of my students have read it because they know I love her.  It is amazing how they come up to me with facts about her. I also love Apple so I have Who was Steve Jobs? and to be fair I have Who is Bill Gates?.  I just love when they compare Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, I do point out that Jobs was nuts and Gates does wonderful things for humanity.  They do love how Jobs was his own person and the products he helped create.  I have now purchased over 40 of these books for my classroom, I can't help it, they are so excited.  I don't know if my class is just that into non-fiction or if other classes will get into these books as well.  If my next class is into them half as much as this years class it is still a win.  This series is definitely worth a try!