LET'S DANCE!

​​Last Week's Winners!!

Big congratulations to:
Brandy Bellittera!  Brandy won a PB Critique from me. I can't wait to read one of your stories, Brandy!
and
Steena Hernandez!  Steena won the copy of HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!  Steena, I'll be in touch to get an address to mail the book!

Video Interview with Valerie Bolling, author of LET'S DANCE!

VIDEO CREDITS:
PBJamz logo -- Allison Strick
Theme song co-creators/vocals -- Annie Lynn & Tonnye Fletcher
Theme song sound engineers -- Walt Wilczewski & Chris Arms
Guest -- Valerie Bolling

Join me as I interview Valerie Bolling, author of LET'S DANCE,  about musical connections, teaching points, and her new projects!

And, stay tuned NEXT WEEK when Vivian Kirkfield is with me talking girl power, music and star power, discrimination and friendship with the book MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD.  It is a PB Biography about the wonderful friendship between Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe. Don't miss it! It drops next Thursday!

PB (Picture Book Tasting)

This book is an absolute joy!  From the very short rhyming couplets to the diverse and beautiful illustrations, it exudes happiness and movement! There is one spread (2 pages) of back matter (informational text) in the back of the book that explains and gives a bit more detail about each dance and its place of origin. This book is a wonderful introduction of dances of the world and would be a tremendous addition to a classroom library for classroom teachers, music teachers, and dance teachers.  It would be an integral part of a Music Around the World unit or a Dance Around the World unit, and would be a wonderful addition to a social studies unit focusing on world studies, dance, the continents, etc. For families, it is a beautiful bedtime book as the last spread ends with a child snuggled in bed counting sheep.  There are so many amazing ways to use this beautiful book! Illustrated by Maine Diaz, published by Boyd Mill Press 2020.

A Little Jam. . .(The Music Kind)

A super-sweet and fun little song -- perfect for Preschool - (maybe) 2nd grade.  It goes through different body movements and how music makes our bodies want to move. It begs for interaction.  You can download the music on Nancy's website 

Teacher Tips/Curriculum Tie-ins

• Here's a book review done by Kristen Larson with some teacher tips.
• Rhyme!
  • Make a list of rhyming words from the book on flash cards, worksheet, plastic egg halves, etc. and students match the rhyming words.
  • Have students try their hand at writing simple rhyming couplets.
• Vocabulary!!
  • Onomatopoeia --
    • tappity tap, etc. Find the onomatopoeia in the book.
    • Here's an excellent video from Jack Hartmann that teaches them how to spell it as well as what it is :-) 
• Verbs!
  • Swirl, twirl, tap, etc.
  • Find all the verbs (action words) in the text.
  • Brainstorm a list of other verbs that tell you how to move (hop, jump, run, etc.) 
  • Use that list to make cards and play charades or drawing games and allow students to guess the action word.
• Multi-cultural/Geography
  • Integrate with social studies for a dance field trip around the world. Read the book and ID the places on the map/globe.
  • Show videos of dances from those places.
  • Extend the study by looking at video or photos from those places.
    • ID animals, important plants, tourist attractions, etc.
• Diversity
  • The illustrations show lots of examples of diversity.  Use that as a jumping-off point for a discussion of how dance is for everyone.  Everyone is different in some way, but everyone enjoys moving their bodies to music.. (Be sensitive to the fact that some cultures and religions don't allow dance.)

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Tips and Topics for Music Teachers

• Movement, movement, movement!  This book is a great way to build movement in -- even as part of a read aloud, you can invite kids to move along with the words.
• The book covers key dances from around the world.  There are many ways you can integrate these into music lessons:
  • Show video clips of the various dances from around the world (check out the YouTube playlist  in the extensions and links section) 
  • Try some of the dances (There are some tutorials in the YouTube playlist :-)
  • Use the back matter to build vocabulary surrounding the various dances
    • Create an interactive bulletin board or game where students match the style of dance to the country/geographical area
  • Listen to the music associated with each form of dance.
  • Add musical vocabulary, too -- what instruments are popular in that culture?  What instruments do you hear in this music?
• Make instruments to match some of the dances (could also be an extension activity/home project
  • Castanets for Flamenco, etc.
• April 29 is International Dance Day.  What a fun day to focus on dances from around the world!

Writing Prompts/Author Tips

Writing Prompts:

• Write about your favorite dance
• Write about a dance gone wrong
• Write about someone who's not a great dancer, but LOVES to dance!
• Write rhyming couplets (2 lines that rhyme)
• See if you can write 5 rhyming couplets about a topic.
• Can you try for 10?
• Write about a time you danced -- what was it like?

Author tips:
Valerie offers writing classes.  You can find out more here.

Beginning author tips from Valerie:
​1. READ as many books as you can in the genre you intend to write. Some people say that you shouldn't write a picture book until you've read at least 100 of them.
2. STUDY the basics of writing by taking a class or going to writing conferences with workshops. I teach classes. Here's my page: https://www.westportwriters.org/valerie-bolling. 
3. WRITE those ideas down and turn them into stories.
4. GET FEEDBACK on your stories. Find a critique group.
5. JOIN writing communities, like SCBWI, 12 X 12 Picture Book Challenge, and Black Creators HeadQuarters*.
 
*(if you’re Black, of course) 

Links, More Fun, Extensions for Families and Everyone!

• Let's Dance While Learning (YouTube channel with lots of great activities)
• Interactive StoryTime article
• Pinterest board PBJamz -- LET'S DANCE *
• YouTube playlist with related videos*
• **These are works in progress, and I will continue adding items as I find things that are appropriate.  If you find videos that would be good additions, please put them in the comments, and I would love to check them out.  
• Coloring sheet
  • https://126937885-323297170273893094.preview.editmysite.com/uploads/1/2/6/9/126937885/lets_dance__coloring_sheet.pdf

PBJamz Snack (Peanut Butter Dip with Fruit!)

https://www.peanutbutter.com/recipes/creamy-peanut-butter-dip 
Full confession -- this is not my picture :-(. I ran out of time this week and didn't actually try this recipe, but it is definitely on my radar.  If you try it, let me know how it was.  I'm planning to make it soon!  Since we're talking about dancing this week, I wanted something light, but still full of protein, and this fit the bill as a very healthy and protein-rich snack!

Guest Links and Giveaways

 Valerie's website
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Follow Valerie on Twitter  
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Valerie's Instagram 
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Valerie's FB
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Giveaways:
We still have 2 thumb drives of Annie Lynn's music available and
Valerie's publisher is kindly giving away a copy of the book LET'S DANCE

In order to be eligible for the giveaway, please comment below either:
1. A favorite dance memory
2. A tip for teachers for integrating more movement into their classrooms
3. Your favorite dance from the ones featured in the book LET'S DANCE. 
AND
if you are a teacher or NOT a teacher. 
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You must comment by Wednesday, March 9 at midnight EST to be eligible for the prize, but comments are welcome any time if you found something helpful or have a question!