I'm excited to link up with Collaboration Cuties to share a mentor text with you. Since summer isn't slowing down, this weeks topic is back to school books. One book that I use during the first week of school is The Hundred Penny Box.
This book is about a boy named Michael and his Great-great-Aunt Dew. She has a 100 Penny Box that she loves. Each penny represents a year of her life, and there is a story for each year. The book talks about their relationship and the memories Aunt Dew still has at 100 years old.
I like to use this at the start of the year because it is a quick read-only 80ish pages and it is written on a third grade reading level. This means that most students are able to read it at the start of the year without too much help. I normally spread the story out over several days. I read some to them, I ask for volunteers to read aloud (it lets me see who my confident readers are early in the year,) I also have the students read with a partner so that I can walk about and listen to their fluency.
I also have the students create a penny book. Each student brings in a penny for every year of their life. The students brainstorm with their parents something that they have done each year of their life. (I ask them to do this in my welcome to fourth grade letter that goes home a few weeks before school starts.)The students and I work together to create a few sentences based on the information they brought in to school. It allows me to see where my students are as writers and spellers. The students create a picture book of their life in a little over a week. We push to have it ready for Back to School Night. The parents love having something that their child has already made, and I love being able to preassess the students in a nonthreatening way so early in the year.
What are your Back to School books and projects? I'd love to hear what you use!
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