April.. Earth Day, Poetry, and Wimpy Kid... oh my!

There are so many great topics to choose from this month, that it's difficult to choose what to focus on sometimes.  

Last year, I taught so many great poetry lessons and had some great centers too.  But, I've had so many projects going on this month that I haven't had a chance to read any poetry books yet. :-(  I am definitely going to work on putting together a Lego poetry center.  Mrs. Lodge describes it on her site.
Mrs. Lodge's Library

The 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders LOVED the riddle poetry race center I had set up last year.  I had copies of riddles in sheet protectors and stopwatches.  The kids had so much fun timing themselves. I'll have to look around and see if I have any pictures to post.  

I also covered a table with craft paper and students could add their own poems.  Students loved reading poems from other grade levels and were inspired to write their own, especially after reading poems written by younger students.  I only wish that I had wall space to hang them.  Our library is pretty small so it is lined with book shelves and windows.

Earth Day, April 22
This week, I'm going to read, Me...Jane, Wangari's Trees of Peace:  A True Story from Africa, and Micheal Recycle.  I actually have to be out for meetings on Monday and Tuesday, so I bought an Earth Day mini book on TPT and made a response/color sheet to go with Me...Jane.

WimpyKid.com  has information about Wimpy Kid month.  I'm going to print the 9th book Do it yourself cover sheet for a center.  The Wimpy Kid series is the most popular in my library.  On April 28 at 9:00 am, Jeff Kinney will reveal the cover, title, and color of Wimpy Kid book 9. During the webcast, he will share a few cover designs during the webcast.  So, I want to give our students a chance to enter their designs.

Next week..... Book Fair!!!