February 2014 archive
I picked up Trash (David Flicking Books 2010) by Andy Milligan and read it along side my students. During each class I would share a summary of the bit I had read during that time. Soon students in each class were clamoring to know what became of the three dumpsite boys and the treasure they found in the dump. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), one of my students begged to take the book to read for herself before I could finish writing my response.
Raphael lives, works, eats, and sleeps in the steaming dump outside a major city in a developing country. (The country is unnamed in the story, but in the author’s note, Mulligan shares that it was inspired by his time in the Philippines.) One day he finds a bag that will change his life forever. It contains a map and a key, and the police are desperate to find it and get it back. Raphael and his friends try to stay a step ahead of the police (who are not the good guys in this story) to unravel a secret that can change their lives forever. But first they must survive.
Raphael, Gardo, and Jun-Jun (known as Rat) take turns telling their story (along with the priest and teacher at the mission school by the dump). Each one has a different perspective, but they remain loyal to each other. Raphael shows great courage in his encounter with the corrupt police, but he is innocent in many ways. Gardo is like a protective older brother who can also be sneaky and cunning. Jun-Jun is full of surprises and secrets himself. Their adventures are action-packed and engrossing as they put clues together.
But it is the setting that had the most impact on me. I have read and seen stories about children who live like Raphael, making their meager living from sorting through heaps of trash, but I was horrified to learn how much of the trash consists of human waste. I have seen stories of corruption and police brutality in the news, but seeing it through Raphael’s eyes brought it to life in a much more immediate way. I won’t soon forget their story.
I’m taking part in the weekly Slice of Life Challenge sponsored by Two Writing Teachers, where teachers write and share each Tuesday. Join in yourself or head over to check out what’s happening with other slicers. If you’re taking part in the SOL, leave a link to your post. I’d love to read it.
I have been wanting to read Donalyn Miller’s Reading in the Wild ever since I heard she was writing it. Reading her earlier book The Book Whisperer impacted my teaching in ways I am still counting, and I suspected that this new book would do so as well. I was right. My brain is spinning with ideas that I can take to make my teaching–and my students’ learning–richer and deeper.
I also did something different while reading this book. Friends on Facebook and Twitter had been sharing about a different way of note-taking through doodling. Even though I am not an artist, I wanted to try doodling my way to a deeper understanding. I normally think in words and dialogue, so capturing ideas through images was quite a stretch for me.
I learned things about myself by reading and doodling this way. It took me much longer to read this way–almost two months. One reason for the slow trek was that I wanted long chunks of uninterrupted reading time so I could get through an entire chapter in one sitting. Thank goodness for several snow days that gave me time to do so. I also found that I wanted more time at the end of each chapter to process what I had read. Looking back over my doodled notes, I am excited to see that they still make sense to me!
Here are my notes for each chapter and the ideas I am mulling over from each one.
Chapter 1: Time is the central issue. My students complain they don’t have enough time to read (I can’t wait to discuss edge times with them), and I complain I don’t have enough time to teach. We do find time for what we value. I can’t change the length of my class periods, but I can make choices on how to fill them with reading and writing lessons that I value.
Chapter 2: I do many of the things in this chapter to promote books to my students, but too many of them are still too dependent on me to help them find books. Here are ways I can encourage their independence and teach them the skills to take with them so they don’t experience that lost feeling I felt when I moved from the children’s room of my public library to the young adult and adult collections upstairs.
Chapter 3: I share the books I love with other readers, especially my students, but how often do I give them the opportunity to share the books they love? There are so many ways to share–face to face, online, displays, graffiti, and more.
Chapter 4: I often say that I have so many books I want to read that I can never die, but many of my students don’t see past the last page of the book they are currently reading. Summer will be here before we know it (in spite of the forecast for cold and even more snow). Will my students be confident that they will find and have access to books over break? How can I incorporate the cycle of planning and reflecting on reading throughout the year?
Chapter 5: I know what my preferences are for reading. How can I help my students discover their preferences?
Monday
Objectives:
- Use sensory details to describe a place.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Monday – parts of speech). Think of a place that is important to you. It might be your bedroom. It might be a spot outside that you like to visit. It might be a place you go to be alone or a place you go to hang out with friends. Use your five senses to brainstorm details to desribe this place and what you like to do there. What is your feeling about this place? What details help show that feeling? Use those details to write a paragraph–or two–to desribe your place.
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Test over Group 7 and Group 8 vocabulary Friday.
Tuesday
Objectives:
- Use RUPR to creat a plan for the writing prompt.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Tuesday – sentence parts). Use the steps of RUPR to create a plan for the writing prompt. I will time you for each step. Spend 2-3 minutes reading the prompt and underlining the key words. Then spend 10 minutes creating your plan for writing. Once your plan is complete, work with a partner to revise your plan. What other kinds of details can you add?
Homework: Read a book of your choice for 15-30 minutes. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Test over Group 7 and Group 8 vocabulary Friday.
Wednesday
Objectives:
- Use participles to focus on details in writing.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Wednesday – clauses, sentence type and purpose). A participle is a verb ending in -ing (or -ed for a past participle). Even though participles are formed from verbs, they work like adjectives in a sentence because they describe a noun. We’ll look at some pictures and write sentences using participles or participle phrases to describe the picture. Not only do participles allow you to zoom in on details in your writing, they also give your sentences more variety.
Homework: Read a book of your choice for 15 -30 minutes. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Test over Group 7 and Group 8 vocabulary Friday.
Thursday
Objectives:
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Thursday – Correct capitalization and punctuation). I will check Writer’s Notebooks/Blogs for your writing during the month of February next week. You should have your posts about making up snow days and the Sunshine Award. In your notebooks, you should have the writing plan we did in class and the synonyms for said and walk. You should have at least two writings of your choice as well. Today, you may finish up any and all of the assignments you need. I will also work with those of you who did not quite get the questions on the Sierra Oscar Sierra story.
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Test over Group 7 and Group 8 vocabulary Friday.
Friday
Objectives:
- Set reading goals for the week.
- Test over Group 7 and Group 8 Vocabulary.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Friday – Sentence diagramming). Fill out the reading goal slip with the title and author of your book and write down what page you begin on. Read for 10 minutes and write down what page you end on. Subtract the beginning page from the ending page to find out how many pages you read in 10 minutes. Multiply that number by 6 to discover how many pages you should be able to read in 1 hour. Double that answer to find out how many pages you should be able to read in 2 hours. That is your reading goal for the week. If you finish or switch to a book that has a very different reading rate, you will need to redo your goal and let me know the new one. After you finish your reading, tell your partner what you read today. If you can’t remember anything you read, you are reading too fast. Vocabulary test today over Groups 7 and 8 Greek roots.
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Test over Group 7 and Group 8 vocabulary Friday.
How do I count the ways that I love this book? While I fell instantly in love with Eleanor and Park, it took me a little longer to get to know and adore Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. However, Fangirl (St. Martin Griffin 2013) is one of those books that lingers in my mind and heart. I haven’t wanted to pick up another book to read because I don’t want to leave Cath and Levi yet. There are so many things I love about this book. I think I will count them for you…or at least begin to count them.
- Cath is not just quirky. She might just cross over the line a time or two. After all, she lives more in the fantasy world created by a best-selling series than she does in the real world. In fact, she often spends more time and effort avoiding the real world because new people and new places creep her out. Despite her weaknesses, Cath shows strength and determination when it comes to protecting her dad and her sister. Did I mention that Wren is her twin sister–her identical twin who promptly dumps her once they arrive at college.
- Fanfiction weaves in and out of this story in poignant and hysterical ways. Yes Simon Snow is a boy wizard off to learn magic at a boarding school and destined to save the world from the evil Humbdrum. Rowell treats us to “Encyclowikia” entries about the series, excerpts from the first seven (of eight) books in the series), and best of all, excerpts from the highly popular fanfiction series Carry On, Simon by Magicath. (You guessed it. Cath writes this incredibly popular fanfiction that gets thousands of hits daily.)
- I wasn’t sure what I thought of Reagan at first. She did terrify her freshman roommate, Cath, at first, but I came to relish her tough love. Her brusque, matter-of-fact view of life is just what Cath needed.
- Levi is the perfect (slight spoiler alert) boyfriend. I appreciate the fact it took half the book for the romance to blossom. (I never liked that Nick guy anyway.) Besides being absolutely adorable, he respects Cath for who she is–quirks and all–and will drop everything to be with her. He’s even adorable when he messes up.
- Rowell deftly handles sensitive issues–mental illness and homosexuality–as part of the story but without making them ISSUES. Cath worries about her dad and about herself, but there different ways of seeing the world are just that–different, sometimes a challenge and sometimes a gift. Most of all, I cheered for Cath as she discovered the strength of her own voice.
There is much more I love about Fangirl, but you should really read it for yourself. Go get a copy while I wait for more books by Rowell.
I want a job at the New York Circulating Material Repository. It’s like a library, but it lends out objects of all kinds–teacups and spoons, paintings and sculptures, clothes and wigs (even one of Marie Antoinettes’s wigs). Deep in its basement is a secret collection–the Grimm Collection–where there are shelves and cabinets filled with magical objects straight out the tales from the Brother’s Grimm.
Elizabeth is thrilled when her history teacher recommends her for a job at the Repository, and she can hardly believe it when she learns that magic is real. As is usually the case with magic, things start to go wrong. Some of the items from the Grimm Collection are disappearing or losing their magic. Someone on the inside must be helping the thief, but who can it be? Who can Elizabeth trust? Surely she can count on her new friends Anjali, Marc, and even Aaron. All of them are hiding secrets, and soon their paths lead them to adventure and danger and even romance–but not too much.
I loved this modern take on fairy tale fantasy. What could be more magical than a room full of charmed objects? Well, I would not want the magic mirror (from Snow White’s stepmother) hanging in my bedroom, though I did laugh at the evil images it showed. It may not be able to lie, but that doesn’t mean it has to tell the whole truth. There are fairy tale tropes–an act of kindness to a homeless woman leads to Elizabeth getting the job, and the act of kindness is repaid in a magical way in her time of need. There are evil witches (want anyone turned into a doll? ) and annoying little sisters. There’s even a stepmother and stepsister who, while not evil, make life difficult for Elizabeth.
You never know what you might find lurking in the stacks or flitting between the pages of The Grimm Legacy (Scholastic 2010) by Polly Shulman.
Monday
Objectives:
- Overcome distractions while reading.
- Choose books to read from library
- Define Group 8 roots.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Monday – parts of speech). Have you ever had the experience of reading and after a few pages you realize that you remember nothing of what you read? That often happens if your mind wanders while reading. Check out the strageties we discuss in class to focus on your reading. Which strategy will you try? Define the roots for Group 8.
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Group 8 Roots due Friday.
Tuesday
Objectives:
- Read “Sierra Oscar Sierra” and answer constructed response questions.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Tuesday – sentence parts). Look at the first question and circle the key words that tell you what to do and what content to look for. We’ll read the first part of the story together and underline the details that answer the question. Use the key words in the question to begin your answer by Restating and Answering the questions. Then Tie your answer to details from the story and Explain how they support your answer. Work with a partner to answer the second question the same way. For the third question, try it on your own.
Homework: Read a book of your choice for 15-30 minutes. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Group 8 Roots due Friday.
Wednesday
Objectives:
- Evaluate past ISTEP essays using the scoring rubric.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Wednesday – clauses, sentence type and purpose). We’ll read the prompt together and underline the key words. Then read the six sample essays and rate them from best (Score 6) to worst (Score 1). Using the rubric, give at least three reasons to explain your choice for each essay.
Homework: Read a book of your choice for 15 -30 minutes. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Group 8 Roots due Friday.
Thursday
Objectives:
- Use RUPR to creat a plan for the writing prompt.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Thursday – Correct capitalization and punctuation). Use the steps of RUPR to create a plan for the writing prompt. Once your plan is complete, work with a partner to revise your plan. What other kinds of details can you add?
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Group 8 Roots due Friday.
Friday
Objectives:
- Set reading goals for the week.
Daily Grammar Practice Week 13 (Friday – Sentence diagramming). Fill out the reading goal slip with the title and author of your book and write down what page you begin on. Read for 10 minutes and write down what page you end on. Subtract the beginning page from the ending page to find out how many pages you read in 10 minutes. Multiply that number by 6 to discover how many pages you should be able to read in 1 hour. Double that answer to find out how many pages you should be able to read in 2 hours. That is your reading goal for the week. If you finish or switch to a book that has a very different reading rate, you will need to redo your goal and let me know the new one. After you finish your reading, tell your partner what you read today. If you can’t remember anything you read, you are reading too fast.
Homework: Read 15-30 minutes in a book of your choice. I have nominated seven bloggers/students for a Sunshine Award. Each of them will then nominate seven more students. Once you are nominated, complete the directions as given here and check out the other posts here. Group 8 Roots due Friday.
First there was Cinder, the Lunar cyborg who risked her life to save her prince. Then there was Scarlet, the outspoken pilot who joined forces with a rebel wolf operative to find her grandmother. Now there is Cress, a brilliant hacker trapped in a satellite orbiting Earth. Marissa Meyer gives old fairy tales a sci-fi update in The Lunar Chronicles, and the third installment, Cress, is my favorite so far.
Cinder, Scarlet, Thorne and Wolf are on the run, hiding in their stolen Rampion. What they don’t know is that Cress has been shielding them by hacking into the surveillance satellites and turning them the other way. When Cress finally makes contact with them, they set off to rescue her from her lonely satellite. When the rescue goes horribly wrong, they are separated. Can they find each other again in time to stop Queen Levana from marrying Prince Kai?
I loved seeing how the separate storylines converge and how different characters have to learn to work together. Once Scarlet is wrenched from Wolf, he and Cinder must learn to work together despite his changed genetic makeup. They reunite with Dr. Erland, but Cinder is still not sure how much they should trust him even though he has information that is key to their success.
Cress and Thorne must make their way across the desert, and they have earned a favorite place in my heart. Thorne is still a charming rake, but he just might have found a reason to care for some one other than himself. As he and Cress struggled over dune and dune, I fell for him every bit as much as Cress did. Cress believes that she is worthless as a shell, but she discovers strengths she didn’t know she had. Earth is quite a bit to take in when your only glimpse has been through a satellite window or newsfeeds. I gasped along with her at every new revelation–and there are many surprises in these pages.
We even see a glimpse of Winter, the star of the fourth and final book. Since each book in this series has gotten better and better, I can’t wait to read it. Write fast, Marissa!
I’m taking part in the weekly Slice of Life Challenge sponsored by Two Writing Teachers, where teachers write and share each Tuesday. Join in yourself or head over to check out what’s happening with other slicers. If you’re taking part in the SOL, leave a link to your post. I’d love to read it.
I have never quite understood the whole concept of selfies, but my world is filled with them. My teenage daughter sometimes shares the selfies she and her friends take and send to each other. (At least most of them disappear thanks to SnapChat.) My Facebook feed is filled with selfies from a variety of young friends. One of the girls in my Sunday School class did a study of selfies by taking a different one every day of summer vacation. Of course, if my students have time with a picture-taking device, they start snapping away.
Since I certainly can’t do away with the trend, I thought I might have some fun with a new style of selfie–the literary selfie. Since the postal service was kind enough to deliver a new box of books to my house last night, I decided to try out a few with the latest books that have landed atop my TBR pile.
Marissa Meyer’s THE LUNAR CHRONICLES have been very popular in my room this year. The third installment, Cress was released last week. Now I can show my students who are clamoring for it that I am reading it first!
I have a feeling that Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl was be up next.
And in honor of Black History Month this month, I have a collection of poems honoring civil rights activists in When Thunder Comes by J. Patrick Lewis.
I will be ready to teach nonfiction writing when I finish Finding the Heart of Nonfiction by Georgia Heard.
These are some selfies I could have some fun with! I’m imagining costumes and props and settings! What will your literary selfies look like?
In the author’s note in the back (yes, I’m that geeky reader that reads those, too), David Lubar shared that he did not want to write a sequel to Hidden Talents. I am glad he gave in to reader requests and wrote True Talents (A Tom Doherty Associates Book 2007).
Trash, otherwise known as Eddie Thalmeyer, wakes up in a concrete cell and knows he is in trouble. He is seeing gorillas on the wall and has vague memories of pain. A guy named Bowdler insists that he use his mind to move a marble across a table. If he can use his powers and his strength and his wits, he just might be able to escape. But who has him and why do they want him? Who can he turn to once he escapes?
Even though this story focuses on Trash, all the other guys from Edgeview Alternative School find themselves drawn to Philadelphia. As they come together to first help Trash and then rescue Lucky. This time the bad guys are much worse than a few school bullies. Along the way the pull on their powers, and more importantly, they count on each other to discover their true talents.
I enjoyed the shifting points of view that allow glimpses of each of the boys and their different paths to Philly. Martin still runs his mouth, but he is learning to control it around everyone except his dad. My favorite, though, is Torchie. Torchie has taken up a new hobby–playing the accordion. He is in constant wonder at the generosity of the neighbors, who gladly take up a collection to send him to accordion camp (in Philly, of course) and then to purchase a piano. Too bad they won’t get to enjoy any more of Torchie’s traveling concerts. Flinch has put his impeccable timing to use in a stand up comedy routine. Cheater meets his match when he tries to outplay a group of poker playing friends who don’t like losing money. Poor Lucky is finally driven over the edge by the voices of lost objects.
Picture by Dave McLear
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmclear/4373175765/%5B/caption%5D
As you may have noticed, we’ve missed quite a few days of school due to snow and cold. (We’re up to 13, if I haven’t lost count.) Since we are required to be in school for 180 days, we have to make up the days we’ve missed. We’ve made up one day (on Martin Luther King Day). We’re scheduled to make up two more on President’s Day and the Monday after spring break. Here are some of the options being considered to make up the remaining 10 days:
- Attend school on Good Friday (make up 1 day).
- Attend school one Saturday a month (up to 4 days).
- Attend school on Memorial Day (make up 1 day).
- Extend the school day by an hour to make up the additional time (1 hour/day for 6 days = 1 makeup day).
- Offer online instruction on Saturdays.
- Add any remaining days to make up on to the end of the school year. (Scheduled last day was May 23. Adding all 10 days to the end of the year would extend school until June 9.)
What are the pros and cons of each option? What do you think we should do to make up the days? It might have to be a combination of the above ideas.
I picked up Trash (David Flicking Books 2010) by Andy Milligan and read it along side my students. During each class I would share a summary of the bit I had read during that time. Soon students in each class were clamoring to know what became of the three dumpsite boys and the treasure they found in the dump. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), one of my students begged to take the book to read for herself before I could finish writing my response.
