Danny Walker must once again prove his stuff on the basketball court. Even though he may be the shortest guy out there, he has “the eye” and knows more about the game than anyone else. After being cut from the travel team and forming his own team of “rejects,” Danny led his team of underdogs to the national championship in Travel Team. Mike Lupica continues Danny’s story with Summer Ball (Puffin Books, 2007).
Now that he is at the prestigious Right Way Basketball Camp run by Josh Cameron, he’s not so sure he has what it takes to play with the big guys. Due to a computer mix-up, he’s stuck in a cabin with the ten to twelve year old campers. His coach, Ed Powers hates him because of past history with his dad. His biggest rival from the championship game, Rasheed, is on the same team and is out to get Danny, along with his bigger, badder friend Lamar. At least Danny has Will and Ty to lean on, but things are just not the same with Tess since tennis superstar Scott came to town.
Now instead of loving a summer of nonstop basketball, Danny questions if he even belongs here anymore. Fans of Lupica’s other sports books will enjoy this one. There is plenty of conflict both on and off the basketball court as the underdogs fight to prove their stuff.
What is your favorite basketball or underdog sports story?
Thank you, Miss Bowman, for teaching us all about citing sources for our research project. If you missed out, here is what you need to know. One reason for citing your sources is to prevent plagiarism. It also lets your readers know where they can check your facts or find out more on their own.
Don’t be like poor Wally. Make sure you have a Works Cited page.
Still not sure what plagiarism is? Check out the teacher I want to be here.
Now it’s time to put your knowledge to the test. Click here to play the Cite is Right!
When you write your paper and create your poster for your author research project, you will need to do two things.
Give an in-text citation. You should cite any information that is not common knowledge or that did not come straight out of your head. That means everything you took notes on should be cited whethe or not it is a direct quote or a paraphrase (in your own words). This citaiton is a shorthand code that leads your reader to your your Works Cited page. At the end of your sentence, put the author’s last name (if no author is given for your website, give the web site name or address) in parentheses. It looks like this (from the notes I took on Amelia Atwater-Rhodes yesterday): One place that Amelia Atwater gets ideas for her books is from people-watching (TeenReads).
Create a Works Cited page. This will be the last page of your paper. Center “Works Cited” at the top of your page. Use the Citation Maker from the Oregon School Library Information System to create the citation. List the entries in alphabetical order. I also added a link to the Citation Maker to the links on the right.
Monday
Last week you found three websites that gave good information about your author. You printed them off, so now you are ready to read and take notes. Use the Guided Note Taking Sheet to take notes from your websites. Use a different sheet for each source. Take most of your notes in your own words. If you copy any directly, put them in quotation marks. HOMEWORK: Read 30 minutes. Choose five words for Weekly Word Study.
Tuesday
Miss Bowman will be our guest today. She will share with you how to create your Works Cited page. HOMEWORK: Read 30 minutes.
Wednesday
ACUITY test. Homework: Read 30 minutes. Word Study due tomorrow.
Thursday
LIBRARY. You may look for additional sources if you need more information about your author. Then read a book of your choice. HOMEWORK: Word Study due today. Read 30 minutes. Get your reading log signed.
Friday
Read and take notes from your sources. HOMEWORK: Reading Log due TODAY. Read over the weekend.
Congratulations to the cheerleaders and dance team. They competed at the Game Day Spirit Competition in Louisville. The cheerleaders (7th and 8th grade) won first place in their division. The 8th grade dance team won first place in their division. The entire dance team won first place for their hip hop routine. Enjoy the pictures!
I don’t have pictures, but way to go archery teams! The red team from the middle school won first for the middle school division and second over all. The blue team came in second of all middle schools. Congratulations!
Rosemary Patterson’s life is topsy-turvey the year she enters sixth grade. Her elementary school is closing for good. She’ll start 6th grade at Robertson as one of the first African American students to enroll at the previously all white school. Her best friend, JJ Stenson, was her only classmate going to Roberson with her until he comes down with polio over the summer. Now Rosemary must face the first day of school alone. The only other student she knows is Grace the Tastelss Hamilton, whose family makes no secret of their prejudices. Once at school, Rosemary has to deal with the whispers and stares. Much to her surprise, she learns that Grace is just as disliked as she is, and the two girls forge an unlikely friendship.
At home, life turns upside down, too. Rosemary rescues a kitten from the railroad tracks where it lost a leg. The kitten miraculously recovers, but there is no miracle to make her parents fall back in love. The constant bickering between them only stops when Rosemary’s father moves into two rooms over his garage.
I enjoyed this trip back in time. McKissack brings the struggles of the 1950’s to life through a child’s eyes. Rosemary faces the challenges in her life with courage and humor. Each time she faces prejudice (such as Mr. Keggley, who is is sure that Rosemary needs remedial classes and awards her a gift certificate to a whites only restaurant for her second place finish in the spelling bee), she is bouyed by the support of many others ( including her teacher Mrs. Denapolis, who makes TOLERANCE the word of the year).
I seem to be revisiting the 1950’s (and 1960’s) frequently in my reading this year. What decade would you like to visit?
I know many of you sports fans have enjoyed Mike Lupica’s sports fiction. He is going in a new direction with his latest novel Hero. Enjoy the trailer.
If you could wake up one morning with just one superpower, what would it be? No question for me–I’d definitely want to fly.
Josh turns thirteen, and you know what that means. His parents are a complete embarrassment. Mom’s not too bad, but she sends Josh to live with his dad in Chicago so she can look after Grandma in Florida. Josh should have known it would be bad when he saw his dad’s new look–jet-black hair, thick sideburns, and a Hawaiian shirt with orange parrots. The news just gets worse. After losing his job as a shoe salesman, Josh’s dad is starting a new career as an Elvis impersonator complete with jiggling legs and swaying hips. Doesn’t he know that he is about to ruin Josh’s life?
All Josh wants is to fit in with the right crowd at his new middle school. A single homerun in gym class gets him an invitation to sit at the table by the vending machines with the cool guys. Only a few things stand in his way from keeping his new-found popularity. One is Ivory, the daughter of his dad’s new girlfriend. The other is an invitation for his dad to perform–as Elvis–at a fifties concert at his school. It is time for Josh to take control with desperate measures. Is there any way for him to get out of this mes withouth hurting anyone? Probably not.
I agree with Ivory’s assessment of Josh: “It’s always about you.” In spite of Josh’s self-absortion, he is a likeable character. His unspoken notes to himself and various characters–mainly his dad–add humor to the story. In the end, Josh learns something about himself and his dad and friendship–all thanks to the King. I enjoyed the quotes from Elvis’s hits that begin each chapter. All that was missing is the soundtrack. Reader’s will have to provide that for themselves as they dance their way through All Shook Up (Alfred P. Knopf) by Shelley Pearsall.
What would you do if your dad decided to become Elvis?
Monday
Now that the first round of ISTEP is over, it is time to pick back up with our author research project. Good research starts with good questions. Brainstorm at least 20-25 questions about your author. What do you want to know about this writer? We will also go over the steps in the research process. HOMEWORK: Read 30 minutes. Choose five words for Weekly Word Study.
Tuesday
Organize your questions for research. Cut apart your questions and group them in ways that make sense to you. What categories of information do you see emerge? Which questions seem more important or less important in learning about this author? These categories will guide you as you look for information on a vareity of websites. HOMEWORK: Read 30 minutes.
Wednesday
Begin looking for information to answer your questions. Use the links on the right hand side under Researching Authors to find possible articles about your author. Also complete a Google search to find websites about your author. Due to Acuity testing next week, we will not have access to computers. Use these two research days to find and print off articles about your author. IF THE WEBSITE DOES NOT GIVE YOU A CITATION, MAKE SURE YOU COPY THE REQUIRED INFORMATION TO WRITE YOUR OWN CITATION: Author of website, Website and/or article title, date of internet publication, date of access, URL. Homework: Read 30 minutes. Word Study due tomorrow.
Thursday
Continue looking for information to answer your questions. Use the links on the right hand side under Researching Authors to find possible articles about your author. Also complete a Google search to find websites about your author. Due to Acuity testing next week, we will not have access to computers. Use these two research days to find and print off articles about your author. IF THE WEBSITE DOES NOT GIVE YOU A CITATION, MAKE SURE YOU COPY THE REQUIRED INFORMATION TO WRITE YOUR OWN CITATION: Author of website, Website and/or article title, date of internet publication, date of access, URL. HOMEWORK: Word Study due today. Read 30 minutes. Get your reading log signed.
Friday
What do you do when you read something hard? How do you figure out what it means? We will discuss strategies readers use when encountering a difficult text. Then you may read the rest of the period. Bring your book with you to class. HOMEWORK: Reading Log due TODAY. Read over the weekend. End of 3rd grading period.
Here’s the deal. You can order great books through Scholastic. Sometimes they even give you a great deal. (Always check out the $1 book on the front page.) An even better deal, the more books you order, the more free books I can get for our classroom library. There are two ways to order:
1) Fill out the paper form and bring it with your money (checks made out to Scholastic) by Friday, March 11.
2) Order online at Scholastic (for parents only). On the parent page, click the “REGISTER” button under “First time here,” then register for your own user name and password. When prompted, enter the one-time activation code code (GPBPV). This code ensures that your orders are sent to me. Select the books you want from over 500 titles. Take advantage of on-line only discounts and specials. SEND your order to me on-line. I will deliver the books in class.
Here are some of my top picks from this flyer:
Ten Great Mysteries by Edgar Alan Poe – meet the creator of horror and detective stories.
Battle Dress by Amy Efaw – Mistina highly recommends this story about Andi trying to survive The Beast (basic training) at West Point.
Storm Runners by Roland Smith – This looks to be packed with action and adventure, just as his other books are.
The Compound by SA Bodeen – Miss Bowman chose this as one of her picks earlier this year. Eli and his family are trapped (by dear dad) in an underground shelter after surviving a nuclear war.
Firegirl by Toby Abbott – a Young Hoosier book a few years ago. Would you be brave enough to befriend the new girl–who is scarred from horrible burns?
Cut by Patricia McCormick – An intense book that lets you inside the mind of Callie, who can’t stop cutting herself.
Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick – Two odballs–Freak who is small but smart and Max who is strong but slow–team up to take on the world.
How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier – looks like a humorous take on the little winged creatures.
The Chronicles of Vladmir Todd by Heather Brewer – action packed adventures of a half-vampire, half-boy who is being hunted by those afraid of his very existence.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – Bod was raised by ghosts in the cemetery. Can he still escape the murderer who killed the rest of his family?
The Giver by Lois Lowry – Don’t miss this dystopian classic where no one remembers the past and everyone must be the same.
Maus and Maus II by Art Speigelman – These graphic novels chronicle the story of the author’s father as a European Jew during World War II.
Miracle on 49th Street, Heat, and Summer Ball by Mike Lupica – Packed with baseball and basketball sports action.
Night by Elie Weisel – a memoir from the H0locaust
I Am a Star by Inge Auerbacher – another memoir from the Holocaust.
An American Plague by Jim Murphy – be prepared to be grossed out as you learn about this still incurable disease.
Parents: I would like to offer a book giveaway at the end of school. Many of my students have few or no books of their own. I would like to give every student a high-interest book for the to take home–and hopefully read–for summer vacation. If you would like to help, there are several ways you can contribute.
If you order online, I earn $3 to spend on books for each online order.
You can also buy books on my wishlist (on the Scholastic site) to donate. All books on the wishlist will go for the summer give away.
The upcoming spring bookfair is buyone, get one free. Buy a book for you and donate one to the giveaway.
Clean out your bookshelves of teen books in good condition to donate. Some of the most popular authors are Nicholas Sparks and Stephen King.
Danny Walker must once again prove his stuff on the basketball court. Even though he may be the shortest guy out there, he has “the eye” and knows more about the game than anyone else. After being cut from the travel team and forming his own team of “rejects,” Danny led his team of underdogs to the national championship in Travel Team. Mike Lupica continues Danny’s story with Summer Ball (Puffin Books, 2007). 
