#IMWAYR August 29, 2016 + top 5

Join Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers and share all of the reading you have done over the week from picture books to young adult novels. #IMWAYR

Friday was the first day back for teachers in my district. I spent the summer thinking through my classroom design and, thanks to some encouragement from #3rdchat, I have decided to do a few new things this year. 

1. I'm not setting everything up. As you can see from the sign on my door, my students will have the chance to put their mark on where things go in the room, from closet hooks to construction paper.
2. I'm creating a #Classbookaday bulletin board and will read a picture book to my 3rd grade students every day of the year.
3. I'm creating a #IMWAYR bulletin board for my students to post what they read every week. I plan to create a #IMWAYR bookmark for this, but if any of you already have one, let me know! I love getting ideas from others.

My summer reading goal is complete. I read 11/10 picture books, 13/10 middle grade, 10 YA, and 1 professional book. I will finish writing book 2 of The Sweet Spot by September 1st (I promise).

Here are my top 5 summer favorites, from picture book to young adult:

#1

This sweet story that I shared on July 18th still brings tears to my eyes when I pass it in the library or bookstore. A great friend never leaves you.

#2

I shared this book on July 4th and have been recommending it to everyone I've met since. It is a story of good overcoming evil in the real world.

#3

I shared this book on June 27th and found it a perfect book for a middle grader. Not only does it tell an entertaining story, it shares the issue of drug use in an appropriate way for that age group.

#4

A Time to Dance is a novel in verse about a dancer who loses a leg and has to fight for the thing she wants most in the world. I shared it on July 18th.

5. 

This is a book I haven't shared this summer, but I loved it so much it had to go on my list. It is a reimagined version of the story of Shahrzad, the legendary story teller who prevented her death by telling her cursed husband tales until past dawn. I read the series in two days (the second book is even better than the first). It's a love story and a story of forgiveness.

I enjoyed so many of my summer reads that I really couldn't narrow it down to five. Here's some more favorites:

 

 

Have a great school year! Next week I'll share some of my new students' summer choices.

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If you like my reading choices, you can check out all the books I've read on Goodreads and please leave me a comment below.