Virginia is for Book Lovers Blog Hop

A special thanks to Sarah from There's No Place Like Second Grade for our amazing graphics! 

I am thrilled to be joining my fellow Virginia bloggers for a blog hop that embraces our love of reading! Each of us is happy to share a book and resource that we LOVE to use in the classroom for this very special hop. Not only that, but you'll find a book giveaway on each page of the hop, with a super huge giveaway at the end, which just happens to be here! 

My love for reading began at a very early age in the lap of my grandmother. She would read to me every single day. We'd spend hours at the library where I'd take out the maximum amount of books and then bring them home to read together. Those wonderful memories of reading with my grandmother are some of my favorite childhood memories and those years instilled in me a love of reading that will last a lifetime. As a teacher, I've always considered it a bonus that I am able to share my love for reading with 20-30 students each year, and hopefully pass my passion on to them. In fact, it's a first day ritual for me to tell them that they will love reading before they finish their fifth grade year. 

It's so hard to choose my read-alouds each year because 10 years in the classroom has given me the chance to experience so many wonderful books. Being a fifth grade teacher makes me extra lucky because I have so many different books to choose from. I love bringing in picture books for lessons, and I love to read chapter books. In my classroom, I do my chapter book read-alouds a little bit differently. I give each student a copy of the book (thank you Scholastic for your many $1 deals over the years and eBay for always having exactly what I need). I don't make the students read the book with me, but I give them the option of following along in the book or listening, and then, often, I might use a part of the book for a specific lesson, which makes having a book in each hand even more beneficial. I try to always do something different that builds on their skills and strategies and sticky notes are a must-have for predictions, favorite parts, or anything else students want to make notes of during our reading. 

Which brings me to one of my favorite stories, a newer one that I LOVED the instant I read it, The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. This story is filled with so much emotion, and students absolutely embrace the characters, the story, and beg me to read "just one more" chapter. The One and Only Ivan is one of those stories that a teacher should fill her classroom with, to show students that reading is a fabulous, wonderful journey that is not to be missed. 

I'm sharing a freebie to accompany your reading of The One and Only Ivan. This freebie includes vocabulary, comprehension questions, and an activity to go with the first 50 pages of the story. It is a small sample of my The One and Only Ivan Literature Packet. Click on the image below to grab your freebie from my store. 

In addition to this freebie, I'm giving away a copy of my book in the Rafflecopter below! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To celebrate our love of reading, Virginia bloggers have also put together an additional mega-giveaway. One lucky winner will win ALL of the books (that's 19 wonderful books) in our hop! Each blogger will send you the book they've talked about. Imagine receiving 19 wonderful books for free on your doorstep and sharing them with your lovely students! Enter below for the chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thanks so much for hopping by! If you haven't had the chance to hop through yet, be sure to click below to head over to the beginning of the hop at Comprehension Connection! You don't want to miss any of it!










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22 comments

  1. Rachel, you are simply amazing! Thank you for organizing this great hop! I'm so excited to be a part of it!

    Tiffany
    KTeacherTiff

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    1. Tiffany, thank you so much for the kind words! I am only amazing because of the awesome ladies that I'm hopping with! :-)

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  2. Thank you for getting this hop together!! I'm so impressed with our group and proud to be a part of it! Thank you!!

    Haley
    Owls and Lessons, Etc.

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    1. I concur, Haley! What an amazing group of teachers to be in the company of!

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  3. So many books I'd never read! This one too! I have this group of advanced readers this year that I don't hardly know what to do with. This is a great solution. Thanks for putting the hop together - we'll have to meet up soon and wine and dine!
    ~Heather
    The Meek Moose

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    1. Definitely! If you ever need any additional suggestions for the higher kiddos, let me know. I've been in 5th long enough to grow a pretty lengthy list of recommendations! :-)

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  4. This was SOOOO fun!!! Thank you for all of the time you put into making this hop so amazing!
    Julie
    The Techie Teacher

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  5. Lovely blog hop! Two of the links in the rafflecopter don't work - Karmen and Sarah.

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    1. Thank you for letting me know, Jana! They should be working now! :-)

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  6. Great activity! Thanks for all your hard work on this HOP! It was awesome!

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    1. Thank you for being a part of this wonderful hop! Can't wait to do one again!

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  7. Thanks so much for organizing the hop! It is so much fun, and all of the activities are so wonderful! This book has been on my list of to-reads for a long time. I am going to have to read it now!

    Andrea
    Reading Toward the Stars

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    1. You will love it, Andrea! I just read it again and I think it actually gets better every time!

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  8. The hop is fantastic! Thanks for all your hard work organizing. Teacher confession: my favorite thing to see is when I'm reading aloud and a student puts down the book, closes her eyes, and you can see the story come alive in the expressions on her face! It's priceless! I love that you give your students the option of following along or listening!
    Courtney
    Polka Dot Lesson Plans

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    1. Courtney, I LOVE when I see students experiencing an emotion along with a character. A chuckle or furrow of the brow absolutely warms my teacher heart! :-)

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  9. I love that you get all of your students a copy of the read aloud so that they can follow along if they choose!

    This is an amazing hop! Thank you for organizing it! :)

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    1. You're very welcome! Thank you so much for participating!

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  10. Finally made it through the hop, and I just wanted to say thank you again for organizing everyone. I passed the link to your unit on to my friend in fifth grade. I think she'd love it, but I wish my students could handle this book. I will file away for another day. :-)

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    1. Thank you for sharing with your friend! I'm lucky to hop with so many wonderful bloggers! I'm constantly learning from each and every one of you!

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  11. Thanks for your hard work to make the hop possible! I've enjoyed reading the posts and making a very long book list!

    Blessings,
    Sarah
    mrshankinsonsclass@gmail.com
    Learning is for Superstars
    follow on Facebook

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