Monday Morning Inspiration

You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives. ~Clay P. Bedford

Just Finished Reading...

Zach's Lie by Roland Smith

Jack, his mother, and sister are awoken and roughed-up in the middle of the night. The intruders threaten to kill them if they go to the police. The DEA, however, is investigating the boy's father and make an appearance in the morning, leaving them suspicious that something may have happened the previous night. It turns out Dad was piloting for a drug cartel; his knowledge could help to put away Alonzo, the drug lord.

Jack and his family are put into the Witness Protection Program, while his father sits behind bars hoping to make a deal with the DEA. The family moves to Elko and Jack becomes Zach - you know, in case he slips us. He befriends the school's custodian and charms the daughter of the local Basque hotel. Things begin to go well for Zach in his new life, and of course, that's the perfect time for everything to fall apart.

I can see why this book is popular amongst the middle readers - boys and girls alike. There is action, adventure, suspense, and romance. The story moves quickly. Almost too quickly for me. I felt like I was reading Cliff's Notes, but again I understand the aim is to entice middle grade readers who don't always liked to be bogged down by details, nor do they have the greatest attention spans. My edition also had a slew of typos, as well.

Just Finished Reading...

Flipped by Wendelin VanDraanen

This story is told from two perspectives: Bryce Loski's, a boy who worries more about his image than what is the right thing to do, and Juli Baker's, a passionate, who-cares-what-others-think, spirited girl. Right from the beginning, Juli is enamored with Bryce's dazzling blue eyes, while Bryce thinks so much of Juli that he prefers to lock himself in his bathroom until he's positive she's gone. This story really begins to take heart when Juli's beloved Sycamore tree is in danger of being sawed down.

"Then I had an idea. They'd never cut it down if all of us were in the tree. They'd have to listen!" [...]"They just stood there, staring up at me." [...] "'Oh, Dad, it's okay. I'll get over it.' 'No, Julianna. No, you won't.' I started crying. 'It was just a tree....' 'I never want you to convince yourself of that. You and I both know it isn't true.'"

It is interesting to see the shifts in these characters as the story moves along. Both children learn to see what's underneath another person. And Grandpa Chet plays a significant role in this. Adults are an important of this story which I think is what makes this story stand out from other pre-teen "romance" novels. There is some real truth submerged in all the butterfly-in-the-stomach, infatuations. The ending is slightly hoaky in a She's All That (my generation) sort of way, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. This story would be great for compare/contrast, as well as studies in character, and character development.

Find teaching resources here:

Novelinks

Monday Morning Inspiration

Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater. ~Gail Godwin

Forget Cleaning, It's Spring Reading!

Katrina over at Callapidder Days has started a reading challenge for the spring. Create a list of books you'd like to read between now and June 20th. Then start reading! After the challenge is over, each participant is to write a post about how it went. Your list can be long, or as few as two books, so there's no pressure. This is a great way for me to dive into my TBR list. So, here goes nothing...

1. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
2. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli3. Zach's Lie by Roland Smith
4. Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
5. Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
6. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
7. Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
8. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
9. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
10. Animal Farm by George Orwell
11. Donutheart by Sue Stauffacher

*12. Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix

*13. Tunnels by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams

*14. Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

**15. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

**16. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

**17. Looking for Alaska by John Green

**18. Peony in Love by Lisa See

**19. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

**20. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

**21. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

**22. Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

**23. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

**24. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

*indicates new additions to list

**indicates even more new additions to the list

I stopped by the library on my way home from school today and checked out the first four books on the list so I've already got a good start. This list will more than likely change over time but I'm excited to finally sit down with some of these titles. What do you plan to read?

Monday Morning Inspiration

Who dares to teach must never cease to learn. ~John Cotton Dana

Story Time

I just read Never Too Old: Reading Aloud to Independent Readers By Donalyn Miller and here is my reaction:

I sometimes clam up reading aloud to my students. Part of it is I know I can't create the best voices for my characters but also I realize I'm being compared to our librarian, a true thespian who ranks up there with Meryl Streep. There's no way I can compete with that. I don't want my students to laugh at me for trying. Right now, I'm reading Elijah of Buxton and it's laced thick with the dialect of an 11 year old boy growing up in an escaped slaves settlement in Cananda. The are a lot of double-negatives, the word "ate" becomes "et," and "before" becomes "afore" to name a few. This is hard for an English major to wrap her tongue around! But I do my best, and I let my students draw and color while I'm reading, to hopefully distract them a bit from my somewhat lacking Elijah impression. Usually when my daily schedule gets tight, the first thing to go is story time. My children bemoan this decision and I tell them, "I'm sorry, but we've got to do X and Y."

I came upon this article this evening and it has made me to see story time in a different light. I am going to try hard to keep story time in my plans this week. I will admit, it's going to be hard. I've got to fit an entire CT lesson and SAT prep in with my regular plans, as well as get the classroom prepared for Grandparents Day. Check in with me next week and I'll share my success... or failure.

I'm also getting a tickle out of this quote: "Be mindful of what Jim Trelease (author of The Read Aloud Handbook) calls the 3 B’s: the breakfast table, the bathroom, and the bed---make sure kids always have something to read at these three locations." From Ending Readicide, again by Miller.

I think I've found myself a new blog to follow.