Nonfiction March Madness 2019 ~ Announcing Our Elite 8!

Our 2019 Nonfiction March Madness reading tournament is in full swing!  On Wednesday, February 26, we kicked off our annual event with a school-wide assembly to announce our sixteen outstanding nonfiction picture books.

My colleague, Valerie Glueck, and I created Nonfiction March Madness four years ago as a way to celebrate our school community's love of reading.  I love that this event has become a highly anticipated tradition for our entire school! During the next month, classroom teachers will read aloud books on both sides of our bracket as students select their favorite books. We've found that our March Madness read aloud selections help students build background knowledge on a variety of topics.  More importantly, this event fosters creativity and instills an appreciation for nonfiction in our readers.  Many teachers have shared that their daily nonfiction read aloud and classroom discussions are their students' favorite part of the day.

As you may expect, students have very heated debates about each book pairing!  I love listening to students articulate why a text is worthy of moving onto the Elite 8 or the Final 4. This year many teachers have spent valuable time asking students to find connections or common messages between each pairing.  One student recently shared that it was so hard to choose between Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship and Joan Procter, Dragon Doctor because both of these amazing books had such inspiring messages.  Tough decisions lead to rich discussions and a deeper analysis of texts.  

Stay tuned for the announcement of our Final Four on March 27!

ANNOUNCING OUR ELITE 8!

The decisions were tougher than ever this year. Some of the books in our Elite 8 only "won" by less than five votes!  All of the books in our March Madness bracket were selected as outstanding nonfiction books, so they are all winners in my eyes.  I would highly recommend the following books for classroom discussions to spark wonder and foster deep conversations with students.

Must Read Titles for 2019

Thank you to Carrie Gelson at There's a Book for That for hosting this challenge! I'm excited to participate in the #MustRead community of readers again this year.  Last year I was ambitious in my #MustReadin2018 list by including 21 middle grade novels.  Although I read more than twenty novels last year, I didn't leave enough room on my #MustRead list for beautiful, unanticipated books like Front Desk or Amal Unbound. I'm following Michelle Knott's lead and creating a list of 12 Must Read Titles with the goal of making sure that these books are a priority in 2019.  By limiting my #MustReadin2019 list to twelve books, I am able to leave plenty of room for professional books, picture books and other amazing, unanticipated novels that find their way into my book stack in 2019! My #MustReadin2019 list includes middle grade novels that I can't wait to get my hands on in 2019 or novels from 2018 that are sitting at the top of my current book stack.

Happy Reading!

#MustReadin2018 ~ Final Update

It's time to update my #MustReadin2018 progress!  I am grateful for Carrie Gelson and the #MustRead community for encouraging me to make a reading plan for the year and track my progress.  2018 was a very busy year personally and professionally, so I wasn't surprised that I did not meet my #MustRead goal.  As I reflected on my reading more closely this week, I felt better about my progress when I realized that I did read more than 21 books this year, but many of the books were not included on my #MustReadin2018 list.  I'm excited to participate in #MustReadin2019, but I plan to be more realistic in my plan to account for new books that find their way into my TBR stack!

Books on #MustReadin2018 List That I Finished
The War I Finally Won ~ One of my favorite book series!  I highly recommend the sequel to The War That Saved My Life.




Just Like Jackie ~ One of my favorite heart print books of 2018!  I can't wait for Lindsey Stoddard's next book in 2019.



Fenway and Hattie: Up to New Tricks Grace and I are huge fans of Fenway and Hattie!  We've read every book in this adorable series.




You Go First ~ I really enjoyed this book by Newbery Winner, Erin Estrada Kelly.  I also loved reading Hello Universe this year even though it was not included on my #MustRead list.

Student Centered Coaching  ~ In my role as an instructional coach, I've been doing a lot of professional reading this year.  I also enjoyed Leading Student Centered Coaching: Building Principal and Coach Partnerships.

The Honest Truth - I've become a huge Dan Geminhart fan this year.  The Honest Truth was actually a book recommendation from my son.  I absolutely loved this book and plan to read more by Dan Gemeinhart in 2019.



Grump ~ Grace and I enjoyed reading Grump this summer.  It's our new favorite in this collection by Liesl Shurtliff.



Bob ~ I actually read this book twice this month. After I finished reading it the first time, I knew that Grace would love this story, too.  Bob is a special book that middle grade readers will love.

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus ~ Aven Green is one of my favorite book characters of 2018.



Books I Loved in 2018 That Were Not Included in My #MustReadin2018 Stack
These seven books are some of my favorite books from 2018. In hindsight, I wish I would have included them on my #MustRead list, but I'm so glad that they found their way into my reading stack!

Books Still in My Stack From My #MustReadin2018 Collection
Although I didn't find time in 2018 to read these books, I plan to keep them in my TBR stack!

Sticks and Stones


One Amazing Elephant


The List



Smart Cookie


Granted


The Train of Lost Things


Good Dog




Breakout

The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle

When Writers Drive the Workshop

Readers Front and Center

What Readers Really Do