Good News

I’ve gotten lots of good news this week. 

First, Tessa Gratton shared the cover for her new book, Blood Magic, coming soon on April 26.  For those of you keeping track, that’s Shakespeare’s birthday.  How appropriate for a writer who also acts and shares her performances of Shakespeare monthly.  Check out the cover here on her blog.  Isn’t it beautiful?  Now, who wants to buy me a copy in honor of the Bard’s birthday?

The next news is from last year.  Several students entered poetry and essay contests sponsored by Creative Communication.  I received the good news that Amy H. has a poem that will be published in the upcoming Celebration of Young Poets.  Six students had essays selected for publication in an anthology as well.  They are Carl C., Ali K.,  Claire M., Cammi S., Jesse S., and Tori W.  Congratulations!  If you are interested in entering one of your poems in their next contest, head on over to http://www.poeticpower.com.  You, too, could be a winner.

I have one other bit of good news, but I can’t share it until Friday!  Shhh….it’s a secret unti then.

Linger by Maggie Steifvator

I wanted to linger over Linger, the sequel to Maggie Steifvator’s Shiver, but I found myself turning page after page to find out what happens to Sam and Grace, Cole and Isabel.  Sam and Grace have found their way together, but forces outside of them threaten to tear them apart.  Will their love be strong enough to keep them together through angry parents and wolf blood?  Isabel is forever tied to Sam and Grace through their shared past.  Now she is drawn to one of the new wolves, Cole.  Cole brings his own set of problems to Mercy Falls.  Full of hurt anger, he would rather be a wolf and forget all human ties, but his past will not let him go.  Neither will the past let go of Sam, Grace, or Isabel. 

Just like in Shiver, Maggie Steifvator writes with haunting beauty.  I want to savor each word.  I find myself dipping into the book again and again just to let her words wash over me.  I hope I can write like that one day. 

Enjoy the trailer for Linger below:

Tis the Season

Saturday kicks off Banned Books Week (September 25 – October 2) sponsored by the Americal Library Association.  No it’s not a week to throw your least favorite books on a bonfire.  Instead it is a week to call attention to the fact that a few people would like to determine which books are available for everyone else to read.  I don’t know about you, but some of my favorite books are on the most banned books list.  Which of your favorite books are on the lists? 

This year the book banning started early.  Wesley Scroggins, a professor of management at Missouri State University wrote an opinion piece for the News-Leader of Springfield, MO, that calls for several books to be pulled from school classrooms.  One of these books is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.  I have not read the other books he criticizes, but I have read Speak and shared it with students.  Scroggins characterizes Speak as “soft pornagraphy.”  As I read his comments on Anderson’s book, I wonder if we read the same book.  I wonder if he read the book at all.  If you haven’t read Speak, go get it from your library now (before it is banned) and read it.  You won’t regret it.  Besides, the rest of this post will contain spoilers.  Go read it before I ruin the suspense.

In Speak, Anderson does deal with tough stuff–rape.  Melindea, the main character, is traumatized by being raped by a classmate at a party before her freshman year.  In her fear, she calls the police, but flees before they arrive.  She starts high school ostracized by her classmates (many of whom were busted at the party where she called the police).  Alone and afraid, she spirals downward and withdraws deeper into herself because she is terrified to speak the truth about what happened to her.  An art teacher gives her a way to express herself through working on a drawing of a tree.  Slowly, Melindea gains the courage to speak out about what happened to her.

I wish I could say that these things don’t happen to my students, but they do.  I have taught students who have been raped and worse.  My students live in some tough situations of physical and sexual abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness and more.  The stories they tell break my heart.  The stories told by authors like Laurie Halse Anderson won’t make their problems go away, but they can provide hope for these students.  Living through such trauma makes one feel isolated and alone.  Reading Melindea’s story can ease the isolation and give students the courage to find their own voice and ask for help.  Taking these books off of school shelves won’t protect students from harsh realit. These books give them hope and courage.

If you doubt the power of this book, listen to Laurie Halse Anderson read a poem she wrote based on letters from readers of Speak:

Savvy by Ingrid Law

     What’s your savvy?  That is, what is your special talent in the world?  As Mibs Beaumount approaches her 13th birthday, she dreams of unleashing a powerful savvy all her own.  You see, the Beaumounts are extra special.  When they turn 13, they unlock a special talent.  Mibs yearns for a powerful savvy–creating electricity like her brother Rocket or creating storms like her brother Fish.  But when her father is in a car crash the day before her birthday, all she wants is a savvy that will wake him up again. 

     Mibs’s birthday unfolds in unexpected ways with a larger than life birthday party, a wishy-washy salesman of pink Bibles, and a converted school bus.  Mibs and her band of rag-tag stowaways get more than they bargained for as they climb on board the bus to sneak to the hospital in Salina where Poppa lies in a coma.  Mibs’s savvy isn’t what she thinks it is, but no one will be the same after this trip.  Along the way, Mibs learns that something bad sometimes can lead to something good.

Read this story of mishaps and mayhem and you just might discover a savvy all your own.

Top Five Things about Teaching 8th Grade

5.  Telling people what I do.  The conversation goes something like this:
       New person:  What do you do?
       Me:  I’m a teacher.
New person: Oh, what do you teach?
Me: I teach Language Arts–what used to be English.
New person: What grade do you teach?
Me: 8th grade.
New person: I’m sorry. I guess someone has to do it. OR Do you get combat pay for that?

4. Having fun at work. Where else can I act this goofy and get paid for doing it? Clash day is tomorrow–watch out!

3. Sharing my passion for books. I love it when a student says, “I like reading now because I found books I connect with.” My evil plan is working–to make readers out of you. Besides, it’s my excuse to read great YA books.

2. See my students grow as writers and find their own voice. I love the poems you have been giving me. Each one keeps getting better and better. I can’t wait for you to share them on your own blogs.

1. Knowing and sharing secrets from great YA writers. Stay tuned to this blog for some exciting book news later this week. HINT: The one of Friday has to do with fins.

Week at a Glance: September 20 – 24

Monday

Today we will discuss our blogging guidelines.  We will need to consider many things in drafting these guidelines:  personal safety, audience, school expectations, effective comments, copyright and fair use of media. 
HOMEWORK:  Read 30 minutes.  Choose five words for Weekly Word Study.  Book project due TODAY!

Tuesday

Begin typing final drafts of the poems you have gotten back from me.  Make final copies beautiful and correct.  You should post your poems on your blog.  Your blog will be your writing portfolio this year.  The title of the post should be the title of your poem.  You may copy and paste the text of your poem into your blog post.  To do so, first, copy the text in your word processing document.  Then go to your blog to write a new post.  Click on last button at the top of the BODY section.  (It says “show/hide kitchen sink” if you hold your mouse over it.)  This reveals a second row of buttons.  Click on the button that says “paste from Word”–it looks like a “W” on a clipboard.  This pulls up a dialogue box.  Press CTRN+V on your keyboard to paste the text.  Click INSERT when you’re done.  Then PUBLISH your post. 
HOMEWORK:  Read 30 minutes

Wednesday

Continue typing your final drafts and publish on your blog.  Take time to read what your classmates have been writing.  There are some good poems out there.  Be sure to leave a comment that adds to the conversation:  point out what you like or ask questions of the author. 
Homework:  Read 30 minutes

Thursday

We will meet directly in the LIBRARY.  You will complete your Weekly Spelling Quiz while I check your completed Word Study.  You will need to look over the choices of memoirs that you will be reading.  Please list your top three choices along with reasons why each book is a good fit for you.  Hopefully, I can get your books to you tomorrow. 
HOMEWORK:  Word Study due today.  Three-five pages of writing due today!  Read 30 minutes.  Get your reading log signed.

Friday

Today is a reading day for those of you who have class.  In the morning, teams will be called out for a convocation to explain the school fundraiser.  In the afternoon will be our Spirit Week Convocation.  Practice the school song and team cheer! 
HOMEWORK:   Reading Log due TODAY.  Read over the weekend.

Reading log due today!  Read over the weekend.

Week at a Glance: September 13 – 17

Monday

We start spelling–or your weekly word study–this week.  You will keep a list of all the words that give you trouble.  Look for words you misspell in your own writing, vocabulary words from history or science or math, frequently misspelled words.  For you good spellers, expand your vocabulary with words from my SAT prep books.  Learn the definitions, too!

You will also complete an extension project over one of the books you have read since school started.  Check out the notes in your Reading Journal for more information.  The extension project is due next MONDAY.  Check out my collage and explanation for Unwind by Neal Shusterman here
HOMEWORK:  Read 30 minutes.  Choose five words for Weekly Word Study.

Tuesday

We will complete this week’s word study together so that you thoroughly understand the process.  Don’t cheat yourself by not taking the breaks!  All the steps can be found in the Word Study section of your binder.  Use class time to complete your third poem or work on your book project.
HOMEWORK:  Read 30 minutes

Wednesday

Considerations for final copies.  Now that I’ve had a chance to read and respond to your poems, you are ready to make your final draft.  Consider your audience when making decisions on your final draft.  Make it inviting and beautiful.  You should post one copy of your final draft on your blogs (once I have them all set up).  How else will you share your writing–give as a gift, enter a contest, submit for publication?  Check the notes in your Writing Handbook for more details.  Use class time to complete your third poem or work on your book project.
Homework:  Read 30 minutes

Thursday

Weekly Spelling Quiz.  We will walk through your first weekly quiz together.  These are for your information.  If you miss a word, circle it on your word list and study it again next week.  If you get a word right, put a check mark by it.  There will be pop quizzes throughout the year on words you’ve mastered.  Complete one of the punctuation reviews on the NetTrekker post below.  Keep working on your last poem and book project.
HOMEWORK:  Three-five pages of writing due today!  Read 30 minutes.  Get your reading log signed.

Friday

Welcome to our blog!  You will write your first post today:  The top five things about JCMS or Team Pioneer.  After you write your post, visit your friend’s blogs.  Check out the notes in your Writing Handbook for tips on getting around your blog.  These blogs will post on my blog.  Soon you will have your own. 
HOMEWORK:   Turn in your last poem for me to edit if you haven’t done so!  Remember, extension project over your books is due MONDAY. 

Reading log due today!  Read over the weekend.

Welcome to NetTrekker: A Punctuation Review

I spent Friday morning learning how to find lots of web resources to create more work for you.  I hope it will help you improve your writing and reading this year. 

Today we are going to review some punctuation conventions that some of you struggled with in the first poems you turned in.  Dig out your poem from the drafts section of your binder.  What conventions did I ask you to add to your Proofreading List? 

If you added the conventions below, click here for a set of review activities. 

*Punctuate poetry as you would prose.
*Watch out for run-on sentences or sentence fragments.

If you had no conventions added or any other conventions added, click here for your activities.

Follow the directions in the folder.  Your username is middle123.  Your password is student.

 sentence sense.

Finding Stinko by Michael de Guzman

Newboy has had finally had it.  He has been shipped from one foster home or institution to another his entire life.  Most of them are miserable places.  At the age of nine, Newboy opened his mouth and no words came out.  He hasn’t talked since then.  The only constant in his life has been his desire to escape.  Now that he is with the Knox’s, he has one chance–and it is tonight.  He leaves with nothing but an old copy of Robinson Crusoe and $27.40 to make a life for himself on the streets.  When he finds a broken down ventriloquist’s dummy in a dumpster Newboy rediscovers his voice.  With the newly named “Stinko” at his side, Newboy faces the dangers of life on the streets:  robbers, police, the Knox’s green van. 

I enjoyed this book.  It’s a short, quick read that left me feeling good.  It is not, however, a gritty, realistic look at life on the streets.  I suspect that life on the streets would not be so kind to Newboy’s dreams as this telling is.

Week at a Glance: September 6 – 10

Monday

Enjoy Labor Day!

HOMEWORK:  Read 30 minutes.

Tuesday

Crafting a good title.  Good titles don’t just happen, and they are more than a label.  A good title invites your reader in and sets up the poem for them.  We will look at examples of titles that work and some that don’t.  Refer to your notes for a list of ideas to consider when crafting a good title.  Brainstorm all the possibilities.  During class, do what writing work you need to do to finish the next to poems to turn in this week.

HOMEWORK:  Read 30 minutes

Wednesday

Read to build your vocabulary.  What do you think these words mean:  gloaming, gloriole, glossitis, gloxina?  Don’t look in a dictionary!  In class, I will show you these words used in context, and you can revise your definition.  What do you think will happen to your vocabulary if you read a lot?  During class, do what writing work you need to do to finish the next to poems to turn in this week.
Homework:  Read 30 minutes

Thursday

LIBRARY!  After returning, renewing, and checking out books, you may continue to work on your poems:  revise, edit, and peer conference.

HOMEWORK:  Three-five pages of writing due today!  Read 30 minutes.  Get your reading log signed.

Friday

 Considerations for final copies.  Now that I’ve had a chance to read and respond to your poems, you are ready to make your final draft.  Consider your audience when making decisions on your final draft.  Make it inviting and beautiful.  You should post one copy of your final draft on your blogs.  How else will you share your writing–give as a gift, enter a contest, submit for publication? 
HOMEWORK:   Turn in your next two poems for me to edit!  Reading log due today!  Read over the weekend.

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