Date: March 3, 2008

Time: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. ET

Target Grade Levels: K-2

Requirements for Participation:

• MAGPI Members: There are 8 spots available in this videoconference program for MAGPI members. Interested members must have H.323 Videoconferencing Capabilities

• Non-MAGPI Members: : We have limited space for 4 non-MAGPI members. Schools interested in these spaces must have connectivity to the Internet2 Network and H.323 videoconferencing capabilities.

Description

Celebrate the 100th Day of School in this national celebration!

The 100th day of school is more than just a milestone worth noting - it's the perfect time to have fun with the number 100. Jake learned all about the 100th day of school in Jakes 100th Day of School , written by Dr. Lester Laminack. Read the book, create your own class 100th Day of School project and share your experiences with the author during this exciting videoconference event!

Dr. Lester Laminack will be talking to students about his book during this 60-minute interactive event. Participating schools will also have time to share their 100th Day of School projects with the author and the other schools connected on the videoconference call.

Every participating class will receive a copy of Jake's 100th Day of School, courtesy of Peachtree Publishers.

MAGPI is very pleased to partner with Peachtree Publishers and University of North Carolina-Asheville to bring you this program!

Videoconference Outline

About Dr. Lester Laminack

Lester L. Laminack, a full-time writer and consultant working with schools throughout the United States, is Professor Emeritus with department of Birth-Kindergarten, Elementary and Middle Grades Education, at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina where he received two prestigious awards for excellence in teaching (the Botner Superior Teaching Award and the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award).

Lester is an active member of the National Council of Teachers of English and served three years as co-editor of the NCTE journal Primary Voices. He also served as a teaching editor for the magazine Teaching K-8 and wrote the Parent Connection column (2000-2002). He is currently editor of the Children’s Book Review Department of the NCTE journal Language Arts (2003-2006). He is a former member of the Whole Language Umbrella Governing Board, a former member of the Governing Board and Secretary of the North Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children, and a former member of the Board of Directors for the Center for the Expansion of Language and Thinking. He served as the Basic Reading Consultant to Literacy Volunteers of America from 1987 through 2001.

His publications include several academic books, including: Learning with Zachary (Scholastic); Spelling in Use, co-authored with Katie Wood Ray (NCTE);Volunteers Working with Young Readers (NCTE); his contributions to The Writing Workshop: Working Through the Hard Parts (NCTE); two books co-authored with Reba Wadsworth - Learning Under the Influence of Language and Literature (Heinemann) and Building Bridges Across the Curriculum with Picture Books and Read Alouds (Heinemann); Cracking Open the Author¹s Craft (Scholastic); and Climb Inside a Poem (a K-2 Poetry project co-authored with Georgia Heard (Heinemann). In addition, he has several articles published in journals such as The Reading Teacher, Science and Children, Language Arts, Primary Voices, and Young Children.

Lester is also the author of five children’s books: The Sunsets of Miss Olivia Wiggins, Trevor¹s Wiggly-Wobbly Tooth, Saturdays and Teacakes, Jake¹s 100th Day of School and Snow Day. Also look for the forthcoming title, Three Hens and a Peacock, all of which are published by Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.

Resources

Dr. Laminack's Website: Learn more about Dr. Laminack and his books!

Preparing Students for this Event

Read and Discuss Jake's 100th Day of School : Students should be familiar with Dr. Laminack's book Jake's 100th Day of School. Peachtree Publishing will provide each participating school with a complimentary copy of the book.

100th Day of School Project: Complete a 100th Day of School Project with your students! The idea behind the project is that your students count to 100. What interesting things in your community can your students collect 100 of? Be creative! After you decide on your collection, prepare your presentation. Each school will have 1 minute to present their class's 100th Day of School Collection project. Your presentation should include:

• What your class decided to collect
• How you collected your items
• Why you decided to collect those items
• The most interesting thing your class learned by participating in the project

Presentations should be creative! Your class might want to perform a skit about their project, sing a song, create a news broadcast or more! Please remember that you only have 60 seconds.

Prepare Questions for Dr. Laminack: Have students come up with questions for Dr. Laminack about his work, his background, how he became a writer, etc.  As a class, choose the top 5 questions.  Make sure students are prepared to ask these questions as part of the videoconference event.  Each school will have a chance to ask 1 (maybe 2) –but by preparing 5, we can make sure that questions aren’t repeated.

Project Partners