The Nerds Wife

I mentioned Twitter on my previous post.  Another great thing about being in the Twitterverse is discovering freebies and giveaways!  I don't participate in these very often, but this one was just too tempting!

What I learned today:  The Nerd's Wife is giving away two books.  One is a signed hardcover of Anna and the French Kiss.  I read this earlier this year and absolutely fell in love. (A five star for sure!)  The second book is a ARC of Lola and the Boy Next Door.  Both are by the amazing Stephanie Perkins.   I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Flip Snack

I honestly cannot understand why more educators are not on Twitter.  It is an amazing resource!  I am officially making it my mission to get more people Tweeting!   

What I learned today   I ran across this short video that explains Flip Snack, a site that turns pdf documents into flip books.  I can't wait to try it! 

Literature Map

I've said it once. and I'll say it again, I love ilearntechnology!  I always find something to whet my whistle.

What I learned today:  Literature Map is cool!  Put in an author's name and voila! a magical web of new authors' names appear. Here is the one I created for Jenny Han. In her informative post, Kelly describes how teachers might utilize this resource in the classroom.  Literature Map kind of reminds me of the Book Seer, a site that provides a reading list based on the book you just finished.   

The Nine Day Queen

If you have not subscribed to historyteacher's channel on youtube, I highly encourage you to do so.  There are a variety of videos to choose from, and they are a fun and interesting way to learn history.

What I learned today:   Sixteen year old Lady Jane Grey, great- niece of King Henry the VIII, reigned England for nine days before giving up the throne to Mary.  She was tried for treason and beheaded.  This little video teaser prompted me to put Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir on my TBR list.   

Blogging Break

After a long blogging break, I'm finally back to writing.  Why the absence?  I'm not sure, but it may have something to do with my thinking that posts need to be perfect, and so I put it off, and off, and off... However, I have recently been reminded that “It is not necessary to commit to perfection, but to progress." (A Higher Standard of Leadership:  Lessons from the Life of Gandhi by Kashavan Nair p. 103).  So here I am, sharing my learning again. 


I've decided to try a new format for my blog.  Hopefully, this will help me stay on track.  It will be short and simple, and updates will be more manageable for me.  

What I learned today:  Thanks to Donalyn Miller, I learned a new vocabulary word, epistolary.  She recently tweeted, "#bookaday Deadly by Julie Chibbaro. Epistolary novel about the 1906 NY typhoid epidemic and the search for Typhoid Mary."  I had no idea what this was so, of course, I Googled it.  I discovered that an epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents.  This immediately brought to mind a couple of examples in my own collection, Griffin and Sabine by Nick Bantock and The Jolly Postman: Or Other People's Letters by Janet and allen Ahlberg. Griffin and Sabine is a love story written as a series of hand painted postcards and letters.   The Jolly Postman invites readers into a wondrous world with a variety of correspondence between classic fairy tale characters.   Honestly, I had forgotten about this genre, so I am looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of Deadly.   Are there any other epistolary novels I should add to my TBR pile?

geoGreeting

"The surface of the earth holds a message for you.  You just have to look a little closer..."   This is what popped up when I visited geoGreeting for the first time.  Intrigued, I pressed the "click to view button" and my eyes lit up as I read a message made up of letters from places all over the world.  I was then invited to create my own message, which I did.  (Click here to see the geoGreeting I made.) This little gem is ridiculously easy to use and will be fun to share with teachers and students this year.  

Summer of 100 Books

Donalyn Miller, author of The Book Whisperer, issued a challenge to her followers in June. She challenged us to read a book a day during summer vacation.  Being a huge fan, I was excited to join her in what she called the "ultimate staycation."

I began the challenge on June 7th reading two books, If I Stay by Gayle Forman and Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko.   I finished Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater today, and it was my 100th book.

Throughout the summer, I read 33 fiction and non-fiction picture books.  Two of my favorites were Mom and Dad are Palindromes by Mark Shulman and Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. 

I Heart You, You Haunt Me was my first verse novel, and by reading it, I rediscovered my love of poetry.  It led me to choose 4 others:  Carver: A Life in Poems, Crank, Out of the Dust, and Who Killed Mr. Chippendale: A Mystery in Poems.

10 fantasy and science fiction titles made my summer list.  I adored Shiver and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.  Life As We Knew It is still keeping me up at night.  

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, The Summer I Turned Pretty, and The Outsiders were my favorites out of the 14 realistic fiction books I finished, and Countdown, Flygirl, and The Book Thief stood out as the best of the 15 historical fiction titles. 

When I looked at my list of books, I was surprised that 17 were biographies, because I'm usually not drawn to non-fiction. However, Driven, A Photobiography of Henry Ford, Up In the Air: The Story of Bessie Coleman, and The Boy Who Invented TV:  The Story of Philo Farnsworth were all fascinating, and I learned something new from each one. 

2 more books, Writing About Reading and The Right to Literacy in Secondary Schools: Creating a Culture of Thinking made their way onto my professional bookshelf. 

Although I tried to read mostly middle grade and young adult fiction, I did manage to squeeze in a 4 adult titles.   The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was beautiful, and I can't wait to discuss it at book club this year.   I stayed up all night reading Confessions of A Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated by Alison Arngrim.  

So there you have it!  100 books in 66 days.  (My complete Book-A-Day list can be found on Goodreads.)   

I want to thank Donalyn and all the other book-a-day readers for their enthusiasm and encouragement.   I appreciated your comments and suggestions.  You have all inspired me to take my passion for reading and learning back to school.   It was a great summer staycation, and it will be a great year in my learning life.

Read-a-Thon Closing Comments

It was touch and go for a while there, but I finished my third book, Out of the Dust at 11:51 p.m.   I had wanted to finish before midnight, I made it with a whopping 9 minutes to spare!

What a great experience this Read-a-Thon has been!   I enjoyed each book, and I had fun following everyone's progress on Twitter.  Thanks to #bookblogchat, my TBR pile is now the size of Chimney Rock. 

Besides book recommendations, another perk has been discovering some cool new blogs.  In addition to Wallace's Unputdownables (the creative force behind this weekend's event) I'm loving Carin's A Little Bookish, Reese's Bibliophile Girl, and Michelle's The True Book Addict.  You all have inspired me to be a better blogger!

With the three books I've read this weekend, my summer reading challenge (more about that in my next post) stands at 75 books.  

Thanks again to Unputdownables for hosting this event, and to Donalyn for sharing it with me.

48 Hour Read-a-Thon

This weekend I am participating in a 48 hour Read-a-Thon.  This event is being hosted by the Unputdownables blog.   I hope to finish  The Watson's Go to Birmingham,  Al Capone Shines My Shoes, and Out of the Dust.    Mmmm, I guess I'm in the mood for historical fiction!

Panoramas

At jimmoulton.org, educators can find a wealth of technology resources.  As I was perusing the list, I came across panoramas.dk.   There are hundreds of pictures on panoramas.dk to choose from, and each provides a stunning 360 experience.  I clicked on New Year in Sydney and was absolutely amazed.    Next year I might try using this site with students.  I'm thinking I'll show part of the picture and have students do a "See Think Wonder." 

4 Square Brain Bender

Here are two HAL students trying to figure out this Brain Bender. Toothpicks are used to create 2 squares on top and 3 squares on the bottom. Next, moving only two toothpicks, students try to make the original 5 squares into 4 squares. Can you do it?

Journey North for Kids

Seasonal change is all around us. Children see it in the length of a day, in the appearance of a flower, in the flight of a butterfly. Journey North is a free internet-based program that explores the interrelated aspects of seasonal change. Classes can participate in projects, and by visiting the kids page, students can find engaging stories, photos, videos, and slide shows from the natural world. This great resource will build observation skills, inspire scientific thinking, and create fertile ground for discussions and new questions!

Spelling Songs

One of my favorite ways to differentiate spelling is by having students sing their spelling words.  Three, four, five, six, and seven letter words can easily be sung to well-known songs.   Here are some students spelling the word cool to the tune of  "10 Little Piggies."



The classic "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" can be used to practice a five letter word like world.


Here are the songs I have used:

3 letters:  Three Blind Mice
4 letters:  10 Little Piggies
5 letters:  Row, Row, Row Your Boat
6 letters:  Happy Birthday to You
7 letters:  Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

This activity gets students up and out of their seats and gets their brains working!  It is especially successful with your students who are music smart.

Book in an Hour

It's spring cleaning time, and I've been busy organizing, filing, and recycling all kinds of papers.  The best part of this horrible chore is discovering a lesson or idea that you once loved but had forgotten.

Buried in a pile of papers, I found a packet from a conference titled, "Intriguing, Inspiring, and Innovative Ideas to Make a Difference in Your Reading Classroom by Dr. Deb Wellman and Dr. Madeline Kovarik. As I flicked through the pages, the words "Book in an Hour" jumped out at me.  When I was still in fourth grade, I remember trying this strategy with the book Night of the Twisters by Ivy Ruckman. 

Book in an Hour goes something like this:   Pairs of students choose or are assigned a chapter from the book.  No one gets to read the first chapter or last chapter.  When they are finished reading, partners write down the "gist" of the chapter.  They also write down questions they have about previous chapters and questions they have about future chapers. 

When students are finished reading and writing, the class comes back together.  The first chaper is read aloud by the teacher.  The students then take turns sharing the information and questions from their chapters.  As their peers are sharing,  students have most of their questions answered.   The last chapter is then read aloud.  Any remaining questions or thoughts are discussed. 

Like I said, it had been awhile since I used Book in an Hour, but I thought it might be a good differentiated activity to suggest to teachers.   I was excited to be invited into a fourth grade room to "try it out." 

Unfortunately, it didn't go so well.  The lesson wasn't a total flop, but it was close.   After debriefing with the teacher and reflecting on my own, I madesome changes (more modeling, more practice, shorter book) then tried it again in another fourth grade classroom using the book Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner.   I'm happy to report that this time it went much better.   I was pleased with the inferences and questions that the students generated.   Best of all, students were engaged in an authentic task that resulted in meaningful discussion and a wonderful shared reading experience.  

So, "Book in an Hour" turned into "Book in a Couple of Days", but it was time well spent.  Wish spring cleaning was half as fun.

Making a Difference

A group of sixth grade students at Adams Middle School are discovering that they can make a difference in the world.  Their HAL coach, Lori Brouillette, used KIVA as inspiration.  Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe.  Click here to watch their story.

Teaching Content is Teaching Reading

"You're My Yoda"

During a recent Blackberry conversation, I received a text from a colleague that read, "You are my Yoda." Not knowing what she meant, I quickly typed back, "?????" I didn't get a text back, but later on that morning I had the chance to ask her what she meant. She explained, "You know, like in Star Wars? You are my Yoda. You're the person I go to when I need to know something."

I must admit I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it makes me feel REALLY old. Not so long ago, I used to be Luke. Young, enthusiastic, fearless, and ready to take on the galaxy (Or at least a group of fourth graders!) Now, suddenly, I'm an ancient, wrinkled, big-eared advice-giver?

On the other hand, it's kind of nice to know that I've helped someone. I've chosen to work mainly as a coach this year, and I have wondered many times whether or not it was a good decision. Being called a YODA makes me feel like maybe it was.

So, I'm a Yoda? Yeah, I can live with that.

Game On!

Last month, I attended the NAG Spring Conference. As anyone who goes to conferences can tell you, shopping at the vendor booths is one of the best parts!

I always look forward to seeing what new things Connie has at CR Toys. Not only does she display her items, she does workshops for teachers. After attending one of her sessions, I ran to her booth and bought You've Been Sentenced, Word Pirates, Camouflage. and Knockout/Muggins.

There are many benefits of playing games. Social play teaches students how to share and take turns, how to communicate, and how to behave in groups and on teams. Games can reduce stress and help students gain confidence in their abilities. Physical movement helps keep children focused and engaged. Games allow students to apply the skills they have learned in different situations.

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that challenging your brain with mentally stimulating leisure activities (including board games or cards, doing crossword puzzles, reading, writing, and playing musical instruments) is great for your mind. In fact, seniors who participated in such activities about once a week for a 20-year period reduced the risk of dementia by 7 percent. Those who engaged in these activities more often reduced their risk even more--by 63 percent.

So, come on teachers! Game ON!

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com