Monarch Award: The Adventures of Beekle

Every year we make sure all second and third graders have read enough Monarch nominees (at least 5) to vote for their favorite in March.  Usually we read more than five because the books are so fabulous and give us the opportunity to learn about so many new things!  This year we started with the Caldecott winning book The Adventures of Beekle.  Students designed their own imaginary friends that reflect their personalities.

Illinois Student Choice Book Awards

Every year we are thrilled to participate in Illinois's Student Choice Book Awards.  In order to participate, students have to read a certain number of nominated titles in order to vote in February (the Rebecca Caudill) or March (the Bluestem or Monarch.)

All second and third grade classes at Disney are reading books from the Monarch nominee list.  There are some fabulous books this year!  As we read the books we also have lessons related to the books including research and writing responses.  We are keeping track of what we've read using a poster for each class.

Find this year's list of titles here.

The Bluestem Award is for 3rd-5th graders and opens up a world of chapter books.

Find this year's list of titles here.

The Rebecca Caudill is for 4th-8th graders and includes longer and more in-depth works.

Find this year's list of titles here.

Students have been hearing book talks about the nominated titles and have been practicing their note-taking skills as they write down what each book is about.  Students can check these books out from our library, the public library, or can even find them as e-books in both collections.  As they read these books, students can sign their names to the Bluestem and Caudill Hall of Fames in our library.