Language Arts

Stories on Board Residency at Strehle Elementary, Avondale, LA Day 3 – Wednesday, January 12, 2011

by Dianne on January 13, 2011

1-12-10 Dianne de Las Casas telling The Gingerbread Man to Ms. Short's first grade class

Friends:

Today was the third day of my “Stories on Board: Creating Board Games from Favorite Tales” residency at Strehle Elementary in Avondale, Louisiana. My day began with my first visit to Ms. Short’s first grade class. The best way to start your day with with a hug and that is exactly how my day started. Ms. Short gave me the best hug welcoming me back to her classroom. Thank you so much, Ms. Short! I told her students the story of “The Gingerbread Man” and they loved the rollicking rhythm of the tale. Afterwards, we separated the students into groups to play the board game, “The Gingerbread Jam.” They did a great job taking turns and working together!

1-12-10 Ms. Short's first grade students play The Gingerbread Jam game

Next, I moved on to Ms. Lojszczyk (pronounced LOYS-chick) and her first grade class. It was my first visit to her class and many of the students remembered me from last year so there was a very warm receptions from the kids. I told the story of “The Gingerbread Man” and they loved singing the song. Afterward, they had a lot of fun playing “The Gingerbread Jam” board game.

1-12-10 Students in Ms. Lojszczyk's first grade class play The Gingerbread Jam

My next class was Ms. Guidry’s third grade class. It was my second visit to their class and they continued working on their board games. Their class was assigned the story, “Sody Sallyraytus,” an Appalachian Mountain tale in which a big bear jumps out from underneath a bridge. They had such great titles as “Bear Attack” and “Sneaky Squirrel Savior.” Very creative!!

1-12-10 Students in Ms. Guidry's third grade class create Sneaky Squirrel Savior board game based on the story, Sody Sallyraytus

Ms. Creecy’s third grade class was next. They were assigned the story, “The Gingerbread Man” and they had some very clever games and game titles such as “The Running Man,” “GB Jump,” “Granny Blast,” and “The Kooky Cookie.” This was my third and final classroom visit and they worked on finishing their games.

1-12-10 Students in Ms. Creecy's third grade class play their board game, The Kooky Cookie, based on the story, The Gingerbread Man

After they finished designing and coloring their boards, they were able to play and even exchange games with each other. They loved it! I even got in on the action, playing games with them. Awesome work, Ms. Creecy’s class!!

1-12-10 Dianne de Las Casas plays Granny Blast with a group of students in Ms. Creecy's third grade class

After lunch, it was time for Ms. Vega’s fourth grade class. It was my second visit to the class and the students had to work on designing their game boards. They were assigned the story of “Goldlilocks” and I loved their inventive games!

1-12-10 Students in Ms. Vega's fourth grade class work on their board game, The Escape of Goldlilocks

In Ms. Glass’ third grade class, they continued the work we started the day before. They were assigned the story of “The Three Little Pigs.” They planned, designed, and worked on their games with such fun titles as: “Wolf Tornado,” “Makin’ Bacon,” and “The Ravenous Wolf.” I can’t wait to see and play their finished games!

1-12-10 Students in Ms. Glass' third grade class proudly hold up their game, The Ravenous Wolf, based on the story of The Three Little Pigs

My last class of the day was Ms. Dempster’s fourth grade class. It was my second visit to the class and they created their game titles, planned their games, and began designing their boards. Their terrific titles include: “The Tortoise & The Wicked Hare,” “Reptile Road,” “The Crazy Chase,” “The Hare-y Situation,” and “Hare and Tortoise Challenge.” It is truly amazing to see the creativity and critical thinking skills these students display when creating their board games. They really enjoyed the activity and can’t wait to play their games.

1-12-10 Students in Ms. Dempster's fourth grade class create Reptile Road board game based on the story, The Tortoise and the Hare

I look forward to tomorrow’s classes! :)

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Stories on Board Residency at Strehle Elementary, Avondale, LA Day 2 – Tuesday, January 11, 2011

by Dianne on January 11, 2011

1-11-11 Students in Ms. Johnson's second grade class play Gingerbread Jam

Friends:

Today was the second day of my “Stories on Board” Residency at Strehle Elementary in Avondale, Louisiana. I began my day in Ms. Johnson’s second grade class. As soon as I walked into the class, the students cheered and jumped up to give me hugs. It was so sweet. This was my second visit so, after a vote by the class, I shared the story of “The Gingerbread Man.” They loved the “running” chorus throughout the story (LOL) and kept signing it as they played the game, “The Gingerbread Jam.”

My second class was Ms. Hoadley’s Pre-K class. Ms. Hoadley gave me a GIGANTIC hug – sooo sweet! It was my first visit to the class and I told them the story of “The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza.” They were so adorable singing all the parts and making the motions. After the story, they played “The Little Red Hen’s Pizza Party.” What cuties!

1-11-11 Students in Ms. Hoadley's Pre-K class play The Little Red Hen's Pizza Party

Next, I went to Ms. King’s Kindergarten class. Ms. King always gives me such a warm welcome and tells me how much she loves my stories and books. Thank you, Ms. King. I <3 U too! I told the story of “The Gingerbread Man” and then the students played “The Gingerbread Jam.” It was a ton of fun.

1-11-11 Students in Ms. King's Kindergarten class play Gingerbread Jam

After the kindergarten class, I returned for a second visit to Ms. Creecy’s third grade class. The students astounded me with the work on their game boards. I can’t wait to see the finished products! Their class was assigned “The Gingerbread Man” and the titles of their games are “The Running Man,” “The GB Jump,” “The Kooky Cookie,” and “Granny Blast.” Awesome work, Ms. Creecy’s class!! Woo hoo for you!

1-11-11 Students in Ms. Creecy's third grade class work on their game, Granny Blast, based on The Gingerbread Man

In Ms. Lankard’s second grade class, I told the story of “The Gingerbread Man” and they ate up the story. Ha ha. They loved singing the chorus: “Run, baby, run, as fast as you can. You can’t catch me ’cause I’m the (clap, clap) Gingerbread Man!” Of course, there are fun motions to go with the chorus and they enjoyed the story. After the story, they played “The Gingerbread Jam.” They had fun getting past the granny, the pig, the horse, the cow, and the fox. :)

1-11-11 Students in Ms. Lankard's second grade class play Gingerbread Jam

Next, I went to Ms. Glass’ third grade class. They were assigned the story of “The Three Little Pigs.” Wow, did we have fun getting creative with that story! Some of their game titles are “Makin’ Bacon,” and “Wolf Tornado.” Ms. Glass challenged them to stretch their imaginations and come up with inventive titles. Unfortunately, I was so involved in helping them with their games that again, I forgot to take pictures. Don’t worry. I will definitely take some pictures of their super cool games the next time I visit their class.

After Ms. Glass class, I slipped into Ms. Dempster’s third grade class next door. It was the last period of the day and I had just enough time to go over the process with them and pass out their game boards. They weren’t able to begin work on their titles or drawings yet. I have two more visits with them so I am excited about what they will do with their story, “The Tortoise and the Hare.” One student already came up with a phenomenal game title, “The Hare-y Situation.” I love seeing the students’ minds in action!

It’s amazing what kids can do when they are taught a skill set and given some room for creativity. I am excited about my work at Strehle. More fun to come!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Stories on Board Residency at Strehle Elementary, Avondale, LA Day 1 – Monday, January 10, 2011

by Dianne on January 11, 2011

1-10-10 Telling The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza in Ms. Avist's first grade class

Friends:

This week, I started a new residency at Catherine Strehle Elementary in Avondale, Louisiana. We are doing “Stories on Board: Creating Board Games from Favorite Tales.” Stories on Board is one of my books published with ABC Clio, Libraries Unlimited.

For the lower grades (pre-K through 2nd), I tell a story and then they play a board game based on that story. For the upper grades, they are assigned a story that turn into a board game. It’s a fun process and there are a lot of skills involved for all the grades.

My first class was Ms. Avist’s first grade class. I told the story of “The Little Red Hen” and following the story, they played a game I created based on the story.

1-10-10 Ms. Avist first grade students play The Little Red Hen's Pizza Party

After Ms. Avist’s class, I moved on to Ms. Giroir’s Pre-K class. Again, I told the story of “The Little Red Hen” and they played the game, “The Little Red Hen’s Pizza party.” Of course, because they are so young, they needed guidance and help. They played in groups of four and learned how to count game board spaces. There was also addition and subtraction involved so the little ones learned quite a bit.

1-10-10 Ms. Giroir's Pre-K students play Little Red Hen's Pizza Party

Next, I headed to Ms. Guidry’s third grade class. I went through my lesson plan, explaining the Stories on Board process. The students learned about perils and triumphs and how to apply them to a board game. After deconstructing the story, they began work on their game boards. They were assigned the story, “Sody Sallyraytus.”

1-10-10 Students in Ms. Guidry's third grade class work on their board game

Then it was on to Ms. Creecy’s third grade class. They were assigned the story, “The Gingerbread Man.” These students came up with some very creative titles such as “Granny Blast,” “The Running Man,” “The G-Man Jump,” and “The Kooky Cookie.” I loved their inventive ideas!!

1-10-11 A game in Ms. Creecy's third grade class called The Kooky Cookie, based on The Gingerbread Man

After Ms. Creecy class, I moved on to Ms. Vega’s fourth grade class. Once they settled down, they were intent on learning the process and creating their board game. They were assigned the story, “Goldie Locks.” Unfortunately, I was so involved in teaching and monitoring their progress that I neglected to take pictures! I will definitely snap some shots of their board games in progress as well as the finished product.

Ms. Landry’s fourth grade class was assigned the story of “The Little Red Hen.” They began work on their boards and came up with some great titles such as “Henopoly” (based on Monopoly) and “Chicken Path.” Again, I forgot to take pictures! I can’t wait to see the results of their creativity.

My last class was Ms. Johnson’s second grade class. They listened to the story of “The Little Red Hen” and then played “Little Red Hen’s Pizza Party.” They had a ton of fun and begged me to return to their class.

1-10-10 Students in Ms. Johnson's second grade class play Little Red Hen's Pizza Party

It was a great first day and I loved returning to Strehle. The teachers are so wonderful and welcoming. This is my fourth year at Strehle and I love working with the students at this school. It’s nice to come to a place where you feel like you are at home. Thank you, Strehle!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Bissonet Plaza Elementary Twisted Tales 5th Grade Winner: Rapperella

by Dianne on December 20, 2010

Rapperella's Magic Microphone

The Winner for the Twisted Tales fractured fairytale writing contest was a team from Ms. Dagneault’s 5th grade class. The story is based on the original tale of “Cinderella.” The winner was chosen by the fifth grade students. It was also voted “Best Twisted Tale Overall.” Congratulations to Jacob, Lance, Joshua, Brenden & Destiny!

Rapperella
By Jacob L., Lance W., Joshua P., Brenden B. & Destiny S.
Ms. Dagneault – 5th grade

Once upon a time, Ella was walking down the street. She ran into a rap crew. They started singing,

“Rapperella, Rapperella, Rapperella.”

She loved hearing the crew rap and she wanted to become a rapper herself. So she went home and asked her evil stepmother if she could go to the Royal Rap Battle.

Her stepmother said, “No, you must finish all your chores. Besides you don’t know to rap, not like my beautiful daughters!”

Ella’s mean stepsisters started rapping,

“Your rhymes are weak
Your rap is whack
Don’t talk smack
You better step back.”

Ella was so upset that ran to her room, crying. Suddenly, Fairy DJ Nonstop appeared with a magic turntable.

“Wiki wiki fresh.”

The fairy DJ said, “Why aren’t you at the Royal Rap Battle?”

Ella sniffled, “My evil stepmother and stepsisters said that I can’t go to the battle because I can’t rap.”

The fairy DJ said, “No problem. All you need is a magic microphone!”

So the fairy DJ scratched on his turntable and a diamond covered, gold microphone appeared in Ella’s hand. The fairy DJ scratched the turntable again and Ella was suddenly in a rhinestone-studded leather jacket, high heel boots, and stunner shades.

She stepped into a pimped-out hummer limo. When she arrived at the Royal Rap Battle, everyone asked, “Who is that star?”

She stepped into the crowd and watched as the other rappers took the stage. Ella’s stepsisters began rapping. The crowd cheered. Then it was her turn.

Ella stepped on stage with her magic mic and said,

“Everyone from the 504,
put your hands up, put your hands up,
Everyone from the 504,
put your hands up, put your hands up.”

The crowd roared and chanted. She started singing…

“Under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh eh eh”

Then she started rapping. The crowd went wild and started screaming. She won the battle and the crowd sang her new name….

“Rapperella, Rapperella, Rapperella.”

Rapperella was offered a record deal that very night by Prince Diddy. Rapperella became a huge overnight success. She won the best new artist of the year award at the Grammys and her magic mic sparkled.

“Wiki wiki fresh.”

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Bissonet Plaza Elementary Twisted Tales 4th Grade Winner: Little Red Riding

by Dianne on December 20, 2010

Little Red Riding

The Winner for the Twisted Tales fractured fairytale writing contest was a team from Ms. Naugle’s 4th grade class. The story is based on the original tale of “Little Red Riding Hood.” The winner was chosen by the fourth grade students.

Little Red Riding
By Evelyn, Angelique, Connor, Chad, Lajosh & Timmy
Ms. Naugle – 4th Grade

Long, long ago in the dark woods, there was a little girl. She was called Little Red Riding because she had a hot red Corvette.

One day, with cookies in the front seat of her red Corvette, she started cruising to her aunt’s house. Then her car broke down.

Hiding behind the trees was a Big Bad Wolf. He jumped out, in a mechanic’s suit, and said, “I can fix your car.”

Little Red Riding said, “That’s great because I’m on my way to my aunt’s house to deliver these delicious, homemade cookies.”

So the wolf didn’t fix the car all the way. The big bad wolf laughed and said, “Muhahahaha! Now I’m going to Little Red Riding’s aunt’s house.”

On the way to her aunt’s house, Little Red Riding’s Corvette started smoking. BOOM! An explosion came from the engine. Little Red Riding said, “Oh no! I have to walk!”

Meanwhile, the wolf drove ahead in his black and gold Lamborghini to Little Red Riding’s aunt’s house. He tricked his way in, gobbled her up, and put on her aunt’s clothes.

Little Red Riding found a bike and began riding to her aunt’s house. When she arrived, she said, “Hello? Is anybody home?”

Then the big bad wolf, disguised as her aunt, came out and said in a deep voice, “Come in.”

Little Red Riding asked, “Why are you talking like that?” Little Red Riding started backing out of the house.

The big bad wolf turned and said, “Give me the cookies!”

Little Red Riding was about to cry and said, “Where is my aunt and what did you do with her?”

The wolf heard a noise. It was the uncle driving the red Corvette. Little Red Riding said, “In 5, 4, 3, 2…” Then the Corvette crashed into house, BAM!, crushing the wolf.

Little Red Riding and her uncle rescued her aunt from the wolf’s tummy and celebrated with big basket of cookies and milk. And Little Red Riding inherited a brand new black and gold Lamborghini!

The End.

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Bissonet Plaza Elementary Twisted Tales 3rd Grade Winner: Who Dats Crossing

by Dianne on December 20, 2010

Saints v. Cowboys

The Winner for the Twisted Tales fractured fairytale writing contest was a team from Ms. Fury’s 3rd grade class. The story is based on the original tale of “The Three Billy Goats Gruff.” The winner was chosen by the third grade students.

Who Dats Crossing! (based on “The Three Billy Goats Gruff”)
By Joshua, Brianna, Haley & Dwan
Ms. Fury – 3rd Grade

Once upon a football, there were three Saints football players. There was a tight end, a running back, and a linebacker. They wanted to cross the football field to score but the field was controlled by a BIG BAD COWBOYS quarterback.

The Saints tight end crossed the field like this:
“Who dat! Who dat! Who dat! Who dat! Who dat!”

The Cowboys quarterback cried out, “Who Dat’s Crossing my field?”

The Saints tight end answered, “We just want to play… football!”

The Cowboys quarterback yelled, “No way! I’m going to tackle you!”

The Saints tight end replied, “You should tackle my teammate!

The Cowboys quarterback said, “Ok, I’ll let you cross.”

So the tight tend began running across the field again like this:
“Who dat! Who dat! Who dat! Who dat! Who dat!”

Meanwhile, the running back wanted to cross the field. He ran across like this:
“Who dat! Who dat! Who dat! Who dat! Who dat!”

The Cowboys quarterback cried out, “Who Dat’s Crossing my field?”

The Saints running back answered, “We just want to play… football!”

The Cowboys quarterback yelled, “No way! I’m going to tackle you!”

The Saints running back replied, “You should tackle my teammate!

The Cowboys quarterback said, “Ok, I’ll let you cross.”

So the running back began running across the field like this:
“Who dat! Who dat! Who dat! Who dat! Who dat!”

Meanwhile, the linebacker wanted to cross the field. He ran across like this:
“Who dat! Who dat! Who dat! Who dat! Who dat!”

The Cowboys quarterback cried out, “Who Dat’s Crossing my field?”

The Saints linebacker answered, “We just want to play… football!”

The Cowboys quarterback yelled, “No way! I’m going to tackle you!”

The Saints linebacker replied, “You wanna bet?!” He ran forward and sacked the Cowboys quarterback, causing a fumble. The Saints linebacker picked up the ball and ran it in for a TOUCH DOWN! The Saints won the game and the fans chanted:

“Who dat! Who dat! Who dat say they gonna beat them Saints?! Who dat! Who dat?!”

The End.

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Bissonet Plaza Elementary Twisted Tales Residency Day 10 – Friday, December 17, 2010

by Dianne on December 20, 2010

12-18-10 Performing a draw and tell version of Let's Trim the Tree

Friends:

Friday, December 17, 2010 was my tenth and last day of my Twisted Tales residency at Bissonet Plaza Elementary. It was a fabulous day and I had so much fun with the kids. My ten year old daughter, Kid Chef Eliana, came with me and we had a blast.

On this day my third and fourth grade students were performing their fractured fairytales. I chose a winner from each class and they read their stories to their peers. After all the stories were read, they voted on the overall winner. In third grade, the winners were Joshua, Brianna, Haley & Dawn from Ms. Fury’s class for their story, “Who Dats Crossing.” The students loved the story and everyone really got into singing the chorus. The winning stories for each grade will be posted in separate blog posts.

12-17-10 Dianne with Ms. Fury's third graders performing their story, Who Dats Crossing

In fourth grade, the winners were from Ms. Naugle’s class: Evelyn, Angelique, Connor, Chad, Lajosh & Timmy for “Little Red Riding.” What a great story! Little Red Riding had a hot red Corvette. The big bad wolf was a mechanic. It was so cute. Good job, boys and girls! The students listening to the story really enjoyed it and laughed a lot.

12-18-10 Fourth graders performing their fractured fairytale during P.E. period

I performed stories for the other grades but second grade was a love fest for Kid Chef Eliana!

Kid Chef Eliana

I introduced her and her cookbook and they went gaga over her, asking her all kinds of questions! Kid Chef Eliana was a celebrity!

12-18-10 Second graders ask Kid Chef Eliana questions about food and cooking

Eliana and I had a fabulous day. Thank you so much to Ms. Lombardino, Ms. Kelly, Coach E, and Ms. Miller for their help and time. They are a fantastic team and I LOVE working with them!

A special thank you to Ellen Miller, Librarian; Ms. Easley, Principal; and Ms. Hammernick, Assistant Principal. Much love to my diva office ladies: Donne, Tammy, and Kristie! Bissonet rocks!!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Bissonet Plaza Elementary Twisted Tales Residency Day 9 – Thursday, December 16, 2010

by Dianne on December 17, 2010

Friends:

I am up soooo late so this blog post will be rather short. Today was the 9th day of my Twisted Tales residency at Bissonet Plaza Elementary in Metairie, Louisiana. Today, I saw all the students during their P.E. period. The winners from each class performed their fractured fairytales: “The Gummi Frog and Princess Laffy Taffy,” “Sleeping Ugly,” and “Rapperella.” The stories were fantastic. I let the students vote on their favorite and by an overwhelming majority, “Rapperella” won the “grand prize.” It will be published on my website on Monday! Congratulations, Jacob, Lance, Joshua, Brenden and Destiny!

For the rest of the grades today, I performed and it was so much fun! I even debuted another new story — a “physical fairytale” version of “Jack and the Beanstalk,” with lots of movement. It was a great day and I really enjoyed being with Ms. Lombardino, Ms. Kelly, Coach E, and Ms. Miller of the P.E. department. They are a fantastic group to work with!!

Friday is my last day. My third and fourth graders will be performing and again, I am sharing stories with the lower grades during their P.E. period. It should be tons of fun!!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Bissonet Plaza Elementary Twisted Tales Residency Day 8 – Wednesday, December 15, 2010

by Dianne on December 15, 2010

Friends:

Today was Day 8 of my Twisted Tales residency at Bissonet Plaza Elementary in Metairie, Louisiana. The school librarian, Ellen Miller, brings me in each year on a grant administered through the Arts Council of Louisiana as part of the Decentralized Arts Funding through Louisiana Culture, Recreation and Tourism.

My day began in Ms. Mora’s 4th grade class. I enjoyed being in the class. The students were so productive and really did a great job working on their fractured fairytales. Their class was assigned “Henny Penny” and they had such creative ideas. The standout story of the class was “The Foxy Corvette” by Dakota, Carrington, Qossay, Joycelyn A. and Patrick C. I also loved the story of “Froggy Loggy” by Sierra, Jade’, Eligha, Bobby and Ramiroon. The entire class did a wonderful job and I am very proud of them!

12-15-10 Dianne de Las Casas with Ms. Mora's 4th grade class

There was a scheduling snafu with third grade because they had Christmas play practice. After working it out with Pre-K, I was able to re-arrange and see Mr. Boone’s third grade class. As the students worked on their stories (the original story was “Goldilocks”), I helped a group with their story, “Monkeylocks.” It turned out so cute!

12-15-10 Dianne works with students from Mr. Boone's 3rd grade class on their story, Monkeylocks

My next class was Ms. Vizzini’s second grade class. Oh what fun we had with Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach!

12-15-10 Monsieur Roach from Ms. Vizzini's second grade class

After the story, Ms. Vizzini’s class made their story shakers. Love those creative second graders!

12-15-10 Ms. Vizzini's second graders and their story shakers

After a wonderful lunch of Thai food with Ms. Ellen Miller, the school librarian (Thank you, Ms. Miller!), it was time for Ms. Lemoine’s happy first graders.

12-15-10 Dianne de Las Casas with Ms. Lemoine's first grade class and their story shakers

I told the story of Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach to raucous laughter. They loved seeing Madame Poulet slurp up the roach!

12-15-10 Madame Poulet eats up Monsieur Roach in Ms. Lemoine's first grade class

After the students created their story shakers, Ms. Lemoine had them shake them to music. It was so much fun! She also printed one of my book activities so that later the students could do a writing activity (writing a letter to me).

12-15-10 Telling Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach to Ms. Lemoine's first graders

I ended my day in Pre-K. Because of the scheduling conflicts with the Christmas play practice, the Pre-K teachers graciously allowed me to combine them and see them at the same time. I had Ms. Muller’s and Ms. Joy’s Pre-K classes together in Ms. Joy’s room.

12-15-10 Telling Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach to Pre-K

The two Pre-K classes did very well together. They loved the story and cracked up laughing!

12-15-10 Madame Poulet comes after Monsieur Roach in PK

On Thursday, December 16, the 5th graders are performing the fractured fairytales that I rewrote and turned into story theater scripts. On Friday, December 16, the 3rd and 4th graders will perform the story theater scripts from their fractured fairytales. It’s going to be so much fun! I better start getting those scripts ready!!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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Bissonet Plaza Elementary Twisted Tales Residency Day 7 – Tuesday, December 14, 2010

by Dianne on December 15, 2010

12-14-10 Telling Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach to Ms. Anchissi's Kindergarten class

Friends:

Today was the 7th day of my “Twisted Tales: Spinning Stories into Fractured Funnies” residency at Bissonet Plaza Elementary in Metairie, Louisiana. I started the day signing books in the Teacher’s Lounge for all the students who ordered books. My first class was Ms. Anchissi’s kindergarten class. We had a lot of fun with Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach. They loved the story and enjoyed making their story shakers.

12-14-10 A row of chicken story shakers from Ms. Anchissi's Kindergarten class

My next class was Ms. Frechette’s third grade class. They were assigned the story, “The Gingerbread Man” to fracture. While each group had fantastic stories (“Easy as Pie,” “The Beignet Boy,” and “The Rat Race”), the stand-out story was “Easy as Pie.” Since the students had finished their stories, we worked on a final of “Easy as Pie,” with me typing the story on my iPad. The students were so amazed and watched on the Smart Board as I demonstrated my iPad using the Elmo. The refrain in the story is so cute: “Roll, roll, roll as easy as pie. You can’t catch me, I’m the pie guy!” Adorable! Needless to say, I chose this story to turn into a story theater script that the students will perform on Thursday. Phenomenal work, Ms. Frechette’s class! Woo hoo for you!

12-14-10 Easy as Pie by Ms. Frechette's third grade class

Next, I headed to Ms. Morrow’s fourth grade class. They had not progressed as quickly as I had hoped but they certainly worked hard while I was in class! The stand-out story of the class was by Jasmine, Dairon, Bennett and Madison. It is titled, “The Big Yellow Lion,” a fractured version of “The Little Red Hen.” I loved how the story was set in the jungle with a big yellow lion making a mud pie (chocolate mud pie, that is) and included a cute refrain: “Me oh my, a mud pie? I won’t help you, no, not I!” It will be so much fun to perform as a story theater!

12-14-10 The Big Yellow Lion from Ms. Morrow's 4th grade class

After 4th grade, it was on to Ms. Chieffo’s 2nd grade class. As soon as I walked into the room, they cheered for me. And it cheered me up because I had been feeling under the weather all morning. Ms. Chieffo asked me to quickly show them how to fold their “Ma Farmer’s Down Home Cookbook.” They are cute little recipe books made into an origami 6-page book using a single sheet of 8 1/2 X 11″ paper. After performing a rousing rendition of Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach, they made their stylish story shakers. It was such a pleasure to be in their class because they were so well-behaved.

12-14-10 Second graders from Ms. Chieffo's class with their story shakers

I spent my lunch in the teachers lounge again, signing books for all the classroom teachers I have working with during my residency. After lunch, I went to Ms. Tonguis’ 1st grade class. She asked me to share Mama’s Bayou and I happily obliged. Afterward, I performed Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach, and the students created their fanciful story shakers. Ms. Tonguis is so much fun to be around! She even acted out the part of Monsieur Roach, complete with lying on the ground with her “legs up” to simulate a roach’s early demise. Too funny!

12-14-10 Showing Mama's Bayou to Ms. Tongui's first graders

My last class was Ms. Dagneault’s 5th grade class. The students worked in their groups, completing their fractured fairytales. They were assigned “Cinderella” and turned it into “Cinder Man,” “Raparella,” “Cinderella Gone Bad,” and “Minirella.” Phenomenal creativity flowed in this class!

12-14-10 Ms. Dagneault's 5th graders work on their fractured fairytale

It was such a wonderful day at school (except for the part about me being under the weather). This year, I have not written one behavior report. I haven’t had to counsel any students on their behavior and all the students have been super polite and helpful. Thank you so much, Bissonet students, for being so terrific! A special shout-out and thank you to Destiny in 5th grade, who helps carry my bag down the stairs every day! Ms. Easley, if you are reading… YAY for Bissonet!

Until next time…

Warmly, Dianne

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