Book Love

It's been forever!  While I thought once my job hunt ended I would have *loads* of free time (translation: seriously next to no free time still, but significantly more free time than during the epic job hunt), I quickly managed to fill up that time with one of my absolute favorite things in the world:

Books. :)

And no, I don't mean the books I'm supposed to be reading for my reading masters program...don't be silly.  I'm talking about young adult/teen fiction, duh!  I absolutely adore reading to the point where my attachment to characters is almost a bit much.  (You should have seen me when Harry Potter ended...)  

Tell me I'm not alone...

Every summer I read almost constantly, but this fall with the crazy stress that came along with the big changes in my school, reading fell completely onto the back burner.   (Which for me means just one book a month...)  Around Christmas I decided that stress aside, I was making time for reading in my life no matter what!  And then in the past few months, I have gone completely book crazy, finishing one a week, or more sometimes.  (In fact, I'm a tiny bit concerned about the fact that reading on my balcony has become a regular weekend evening event...seriously, I am 25 going on 50...)  

Stack of library books/loaners from friends that I'm currently working through...

Anyways, in my absolute reading frenzy, I have discovered so many wonderful titles and authors that I wanted to share.  Don't worry, they are exclusively from the Teen shelf at the library...(all cover photographs and italicized summaries courtesy of goodreads.com).

Looking for Alaska by John Green
John Green is without a doubt my current favorite author.  He is fantastic.  I picked up Looking for Alaska at the library per a friend's recommendation and devoured it.  From Goodreads.com: Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps." Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps. Looking for Alaska brilliantly chronicles the indelible impact one life can have on another.  It's a coming of age story with just enough seriousness to make it meaningful, humor to make it fun, and intellectual questions to make you really think about life and friendship.  Loved every page.



The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

After completely adoring Looking for Alaska, I put my name on the hold list at the library for John Green's newest book, The Fault in Our Stars, hoping it would be as good as my first Green experience.  I was so not disappointed.  From Goodreads.com: Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.  Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.   Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

As the protagonist is living with terminal cancer, this book has a more serious premise than LFA, but again John Green finds a way to pepper wit and humor throughout the story.  That being said, I sobbed for a good 60 pages.  I'm talking audible, nose blowing, pausing reading only to get more kleenex, weeping.  Here's the thing though--I wasn't weeping because this book was sadder than any other "cancer" book by Sparks or Picoult...those aren't really my scene.  I was bawling because I came to ADORE and care about the characters SO MUCH that I truly felt their losses!  If that's not the mark of a beautifully crafted novel, I don't know what is.  

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
From Goodreads.com: What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?  Samantha Kingston has it all: looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last.  The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. Living the last day of her life seven times during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

I fell in love with Lauren Oliver when I read her dystopian romance, Delirium last summer (see below!!).  This book was totally different, but equally amazing.  In the first few chapters, Samantha isn't even really likable, and neither are her "popular" friends.  But as she relives her last day over and over, she grows and changes, gradually figuring out how much more there is to life than parties and shopping, and eventually coming to understand that both her life and death have a greater purpose.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
From Goodreads.com: Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.  On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.


This book was, in a word, captivating.  My first thought was, what a depressing concept.  But this book is so much more than that.  I loved the way the story was told with almost two narrators--Clay, telling the story, and Hannah, whose voice we hear through the tapes.  I think this one is a must read for those who work with kids, especially teens, because it examines suicide and the events that might lead a teen to contemplate suicide in a different light.  Sad, but beautiful.


Okay, that's all the time I have for pictures and summaries, but here are a few more titles to add to your summer reads list... :)


If you are looking for a sweet, fun teen love story, check out Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins and The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy by Jenny Han.  (No Fifty Shades of Grey material here, just a few good old fashioned boy-meets-girl, drama ensues, boy-gets-girl-aww stories.)

And if you are still going through Hunger Games withdrawls, definitely add some of these teen dystopian fiction books to your pile.  No, nothing can ever measure up to the wonder that is Hunger Games, but some of these come pretty close! (Of course, all of them are part of trilogies...)

Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Matched and Crossed by Allie Condie

Delirium and Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Birthmarked and Prized by Caragh O'Brien

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

What's on your Summer Reading List?
What awesome books do I need to add to mine? 

A frozen run, a great book...and IS IT BREAK YET?

Hi friends :)  I just don't seem to have the attention span for writing these days!  Anticipating that this week would be at least slightly hellish, I basically did nothing but relax all weekend to mentally prepare.  I did a little christmas shopping, browsed online for gifts for a few girlfriends, and spent about 10 hours on the couch reading.  BLISS.  I finished another YA fantasy-ish novel, then moved onto another YA book, Forgotten by Cat Patrick.  (Anyone else feel like they don't have the attention span for grown-up books?  Just me??)  This book was different than a lot of the dystopian YA books I've been so obsessed with ever since Hunger Games, but I LOVED it!  A little bit adventure, a little mystery, of course a little romance...I curled up with it around 6pm Saturday night and literally didn't move from the couch (except to make a bowl of oatmeal...nothing like gourmet cooking!) until I finished it around 1am.  Nothing's better than getting completely lost in a great book.

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 Here's the summary, courtesy of goodreads: Each night when 16 year-old London Lane goes to sleep, her whole world disappears. In the morning, all that's left is a note telling her about a day she can't remember. The whole scenario doesn't exactly make high school or dating that hot guy whose name she can't seem to recall any easier. But when London starts experiencing disturbing visions she can't make sense of, she realizes it's time to learn a little more about the past she keeps forgetting-before it destroys her future.   Part psychological drama, part romance, and part mystery, this thought-provoking novel will inspire readers to consider the what-if's in their own lives and recognize the power they have to control their destinies.

Oh, I did manage to tear myself off the couch for a 5.5 mile run Saturday morning, which just so happened to be the COLDEST day we've had yet this season--it was about 15 degrees when I left the house!!!

Dear God, Please don't let me freeze on this run!

I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous about the cold!  Thank goodness I had this awesome fleece scarf that my mom helped me make:

I wrapped it around my mouth and neck during the run, and even though my face was freezing, it sure helped!  The whole run I was thinking about the starbucks hot chocolate I was going to treat myself to after finishing.

Speaking of cold weather running, I am officially in love with winter night runs.  Perfect way to check out the Christmas lights!!  (Running on the sidewalk through quiet, safe neighborhoods, of course!!)

Clearly my brain is a scattered mess tonight, mostly due to the fact that today was QUITE the interesting (read: GOD AWFUL) day at school, so I think it's about time for me to give up trying to say anything that makes sense and read some more. :)  Seriously, thank you if you managed to make it through this whole post without giving up because I can't string two coherent thoughts together!  4 more days...THANK GOODNESS

How do you stay motivated to run in crappy weather? The cold ended up being better than I expected, but thinking about hot chocolate sure helped!

The End of an Era: On Growing Up with Harry Potter

Note: Don't forget, there's still time to enter my giveaway!!!

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I know it’s just a movie, and I know they’re just books, but as I watched Harry Potter battle Voldemort on the big screen this weekend, I was more than a little emotional.  It wasn’t just the heart-breaking scenes.  It was more that I felt like something big was coming to an end (and not just a multi-million dollar movie franchise).  See, I grew up with Harry Potter.  No really, I did.  And I don’t just mean that I grew up reading the books.  I could say that about the Babysitter’s Club or American Girl series.  I grew up along with these characters. 

A coworker of my mom loaned me Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone when I was 12 years old—just 1 year older than Harry at the series’ beginning.  At first I was skeptical—I wasn’t into books about magic and wizards.  But as any true book worm would do, I gave it a shot.  I don’t think that book left my hand for more than 10 minutes at a time until it was finished—having been thoroughly captivated by JK Rowling’s magical world of wizards and spells, I was completely hooked.  I devoured books 2 and 3 shortly after and eagerly anticipated book 4’s release the summer before I started 8^th grade.  At 13, It was the longest book I’d ever read at over 700 pages, and I remember beaming with pride when I announced that I had never read another book faster.

I was about 15 when the fifth Harry Potter book was released, and you better believe I got my copy at midnight, only to go home, down a few cups of coffee, and read well into the wee hours of the morning.  As I read the first chapters of the fifth book, I remember thinking Harry had become kind of obnoxious.  It wasn’t until much later that it hit me that he was obnoxious, not to mention moody, irrational, and emotional.  He was also 15.  Just like me.  Do I even have to tell you that I was more than a little moody and emotional those days too? 

The sixth book did not disappoint, although by then I had surpassed Harry in age.  I was 18 by that time and getting ready for my first year of college, but had not outgrown what will never feel like a children’s series to me.  It was torture waiting for book 7.  TORTURE!  I’m not ashamed to admit that I speculated with friends about what the epic conclusion would bring for Harry, Hermione, and Ron.  I may have even visited a Harry Potter fan site a few times to read other readers’ speculations… (*blushes*)

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I was 21 by the time the 7^th and final book was released, the summer before my senior year of college.  I dragged a friend with me to a book premier event where we drank “butter beer” and laughed watching younger kids play “wizard duel” with plastic magic wands.  The soon-to-be-teacher in me beamed, thinking, How amazing is it that these little kids are up late waiting for a book to be released?  How amazing that they’re playing wands and not fists or toy guns?  I may have felt like I’d “grown up” along with the Hogwarts gang, but it made me so happy to see kids and adults of all ages waiting in line to get their copy at midnight.  When else have such colossal masses of people gotten so excited about READING? 

By this time, I was actually working in the summers and couldn’t devote hour upon uninterrupted hour to reading a book.  But…I *may* have carried it everywhere I went for 3 days until I finished, snagging every moment of reading time I could.  That included reading at red lights while driving to work, reading during the 5 minute “break” I gave kids during their sessions of tutoring, and reading while working out at the gym.  The book was…perfect.  Finishing it was both satisfying and heartbreaking, because I knew there were no others to come.  But that was okay—there were still a few movies to look forward to.

This weekend I sat in a movie theater and cried and cried watching the final movie in this beloved series.  I have grown up.  I’m 24 now.  I have a career, an apartment, and all of the responsibilities that come with both.  I couldn’t help but think as I watched the plot unfold on the screen that Harry Potter and his friends have grown up too.  I know that seems silly—they’re not real.  I get that. J  (I promise I’m not delusional.)  But it was still something special to see the way all of the characters really have grown and changed.  And something special to realize that I have too. 

I am grateful to have grown up with these books, and even more grateful that kids will have the opportunity to experience this special world for years and years to come.  As a kid and as an adult, JK Rowling transported me to a world where anything is possible, where friendship and loyalty, courage and honesty, goodness and love always win over evil.  Her characters showed me in powerful ways how important it is to stay true to who you are.  To follow your heart.  To confront your fears.  To make the right choice even when the wrong one is easier. 

Books are not real, but they can do powerful things.  They can take you on adventures.  They can teach you lessons.  They can become friends and safe havens and role models.  I hope that some of my students find the same lessons as I did in these books.  Or even that, through them, fall as deeply in love with reading as I did.  This year I will make a special effort in my classroom to put Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone into the hands of every 5^th grader I can.  I cannot think of a better gift I can give a young reader.

I Believe in Picture Books

I have many MANY passions in teaching and in life, but one of the biggest of these is picture books.  I read them constantly to my class, browse them at the book store, and there have been several occassions when I have found myself wandering into the picture book section of the library and standing in the (low, child-sized) stacks reading Eve Bunting or Patricia Polacco (and, let's be honest, occasionally shedding a tear or two...).  I teach big kids, 5th graders to be exact, but I read picture books to my students anyways.  Here's why...


Top 5 Reasons I Believe in the Power of Picture Books

~Picture books  teach important lessons and help my kids think BEYOND the obvious.
I love sharing a book with the kids that they have read before in an earlier grade and asking them to look at the story with a new perspective.  They may remember hearing the story as a first or second grader, but it is amazing to see the wheels turn in their heads as they think about complex topics like tone, theme, and character motives.  Also, while it's my job to teach kids to read and write and add and multiply, it's also part of my job to prepare my students for LIFE.  That definitely goes beyond the core curriculum.  When we need to tackle an important issue like gossip or bullying or caring for the Earth, a picture book goes a long way to start the discussion and to get their wheels turning.  Some of our most powerful conversations were after reading texts like The Giving Tree and The Lorax.


~Picture books help my kids LOVE READING.
Picture books can be just plain fun.  Silly, sweet, or serious, picture books might be the hook you need to grab kids who might otherwise not be reading.  Of course they are not the ONLY hook out there, but visiting favorite picture books can be a safe way to get kids STARTED on their reading journey.  Also, by sharing picture books with ALL of my students, it helps reluctant and emergent readers feel comfortable reading them when they might otherwise have been embarrassed to be seen with a picture book.  Reading picture books to the class sends the message that they are NOT babyish; they are for EVERYBODY to enjoy.


~Picture books make big, complex ideas like history and world issues accessible to kids.
I am constantly in search of picture books that pair with science and social studies units to intersperse with our text book reading.  They do a great job of helping kids understand the content at their level, especially if the characters in the book are also children.  I also find that the kids tend to more easily remember the content they learned in the picture book than the text book, and use that story to make connections to the topic of study.  Plus, they're a nice change of pace!


~Picture books help students grow as writers.
I love using picture books as mentor texts during my writing workshop.  Sharing part of a picture book gives students a quick example of "good writing" that can spark their own creative writing processes.  While chapter books can of course make great mentor texts, I find that the picture book is less intimidating.  They are short and accessible, but still model the writing techniques we work on with our students like description, dialogue, onomatopoeia, point of view, and many other things.  I have found so much success in using picture books in writing workshop, and our picture book mini-lessons have been some of the students' favorites.

~Picture books keep my kids KIDS.

My students all act like they are 10 going on 18, which is probably NOT the best thing for kids.  During the school day, I look for little ways I can keep them from growing up too fast--ways I can keep them KIDS.  Gathering on the carpet and listening to a picture book is one of my favorite ways.  For those 10-15 minutes, they are not thinking about MTV or Jersey Shore or Grand Theft Auto or whatever other inappropriate media they spend time with outside of school.  They are just kids, taking in, processing, and (most importantly) enjoying a story.

This is the first in a series of posts I am working on about using picture books in the intermediate classroom.  I would love to hear suggestions of favorite picture books that you use in your classrooms.  Thanks!

Book Review: Pam Allyn's Best Books for Boys

School is out, but the learning never stops for teachers!  I have several professional development books on my radar for summer, but was excited to have the opportunity to read and review this excellent new book by Pam Allyn:

I am ALWAYS looking for ways to grow in my literacy instruction, and Pam Allyn's Best Books for Boys: How to Engage Boys in Reading in Ways That Will Change Their Lives did not disappoint.  Allyn begins the book by drawing attention to a glaring problem in our nation; this being that, more than ever, boys are both dropping out of school and ending up in prison at significantly higher rates than girls.  Could these problems be traced back to reading and literacy?  It certainly seems like it.  Allyn shares statistics about how girls tend to outperform boys on standardized testing, and boys overall report a more negative attitude towards reading and writing than girls.  For example, Allyn cites Scholastic’s 2010 Kids and Family Reading Report that “only 39 percent of boys say reading books for fun is extremely or very important versys 62 percent of girls” (page 7).  I don’t know about you, but I’d say that there is definitely a problem here, and it’s one that educators have the power to help solve at least in part.

Allyn outlines her ideas for fostering a love of literacy in male students using the acronym READ: Ritual, Environment, Access, Dialogue.  This model echoes some of my favorite literacy “role models” like Regie Routman and the “Sisters,” while at the same time sparking new ideas for how to make boys specifically fall in love with reading.  Allyn urges educators to create daily reading rituals, while encouraging boys (and girls!) to read in environments that are comfortable for them.  For example, if Bobby needs to stand up and rock side to side when he reads because sitting still just doesn’t work for him, let him!  Reading is reading!  Allyn encourages teachers to incorporate choice into reading as much as possible.  She takes choice to a new level, though, encouraging teachers to help students see that newspapers, instruction manuals, sports stats, and web pages are all text that we can offer as options to our students.  In the past, I’ve tried to steer my students (usually boys) AWAY from comics and graphic novels during the literacy block, but Allyn has definitely influenced my views.  It is counterproductive (and just ridiculous) for me to STOP a child who is happily reading!  What was I thinking before?! 

Moreover, Allyn reminds teachers that boys may not be as interested in reading solitarily as they might be in discussing a book with their peers.  This was definitely an “aha!” moment for me.  Earlier this week when I was at the beach with my head buried in a good book, I kept stopping my reading to share interesting fact or another from the book with those accompanying me.  I couldn't help myself; so many things in my book were too fascinating NOT to share with someone!  If this type of behavior is our natural instinct as readers, why then do we insist that our students not dialogue with peers while reading?  While there are times during the literacy block that should be kept as silent as possible, why not incorporate book buddy journals or pen pals to allow students to share their thoughts on the books they’re reading?  What a great way to celebrate reading and encourage our students to react to text in AUTHENTIC ways.

Perhaps my biggest "aha!" moment occurred after I read Allyn's description of a memorable encounter she observed in another teacher’s classroom (pg. 9).  Allyn tells about a young boy who loved a particular series of books, having read it in its entirety.  One day, this boy excitedly approached his teacher to show her that he’d discovered a complete anthology of the beloved series.  Instead of sharing in the boy's excitement, Allyn recounts that his teacher responded by saying, "Sammy, you've already read these books!  Choose something else."  Oh my goodness.  How often this past year did I tell kids, "NO, you can't read Diary of a Wimpy Kid again!  Choose something new!!!"  Allyn is completely right that fostering a love of literacy and confidence in reading should be our primary goal as educators.  And what better way to do this than by allowing students to reread their favorite books, not only building comprehension and fluency, but building that oh so important passion for reading?  Haven't I read Harry Potter and The Hunger Games (and, okay, Twilight...) more times than I care to admit?  Does that make me a bad reader?  This is a mistake I definitely won’t make again with ANY of my students, not just my boys!

Allyn challenged me to rethink some of my ideas about teaching literacy, especially to boys.  The philosophy in the first parts of the book will be something I read again to refresh my memory as the school year starts, but just as valuable is the second big chunk of the book: a detailed annotated bibliography of book suggestions for boys, some of which include helpful “Talk About It” questions.  Gold mine!  If you are a teacher or parent, definitely add Best Books for Boys to your summer reading list!

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.  :)

Hello Hotlanta!

This morning I got an EARLY start...by early, I mean 3:40am.  Yup, someone (ahem...me...) had the brilliant idea to book a 6am flight...oops.  I was just eager to get to ATLANTA to see College Roomie!!!  I passed the time at the airport with some yummy Starbucks oats...

And a really great book...

(Book review coming soon!)

After a sleepy flight (on which the two other seats in my row were magically unoccupied--score!), College Roomie and I were at last reunited.  We had a great time today cramming as many fun activities as possible into our time.  First we visited Roomie's grad school, and I was introduced to this fellow...

Because every school NEEDS a skeleton statue, amiright?

And since we are book nerds to the nth degree, Roomie had to take me on a tour of the library.  Check out this newspaper volume from the 1930s...

Other events included a picnic in the park, a Trader Joe's adventure (obv), and FRO YO (Which we don't have in the midwest!  At least not where I live!  Tragedy.)...

YUM.

But the best part was our visit to...

 A visit to the Center for Puppetry Arts!!!  Yes, a PUPPET MUSEUM!!!  When I heard about its existence, I insisted we visit as soon as possible.  And friends, it did NOT disappoint.  We technically weren't supposed to take pictures...but I did sneak this one because honestly how could I NOT?!?

In addition to this slightly creepy but mostly awesome display of puppets, there were puppets from all around the world.  BEST of all though was a tribute to Jim Henson, complete with life-sized Big Bird!  :)  Best. Ever.

Then Roomie and I stopped at the craft store to pick up some supplies to make our race shirts awesomely fabulous.  Our team name is "We were infinite" after a quote from the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  In the book, a character is riding in a pickup truck sandwiched between two friends, driving fast through a tunnel with music blasting, and when they come out on the other side they see an awesome view of the city.  The narrator remarks, "In that moment, I swear we were infinite."  Love.

We also picked up some temporary tattoos we found in the dollar bin...a.maz.ing.

Tonight we have big plans to grill veggie burgers (Roomie is a veggie too!), bar trivia, and wrapping up the night with wine and some Real Housewives action...Best. Day. Ever.

Why yes, I AM a party girl :)

Tonight my big Saturday night plans were a date with a treadmill at the gym.  I realize that admitting this to you all  might ensure that no one ever reads my blog again because this officially makes me a pathetic loser, but I'm not embarrassed.  It was all I wanted to do tonight...well that, and lay around reading after!

While I was disappointed not to be running in the Bloom & Zoom 10K this morning, when I woke up at 9 to gray skies and rain hitting my windows, I was MORE than happy to hit the snooze and go back to sleep rather than layering on running clothes and slathering my IT band with Bio Freeze...We definitely made the right choice to pass on this race.  Instead, I spent my morning enjoying this yummy bowl of oats at Corner Bakery along with some Teacher TalkLife Talk with Miss R. :)

Since I wasn't 10King this morning, I decided I wanted to at least give running a shot this evening.  I haven't run since my Tuesday 2 miles, as my IT band was sore a few days after that, and I definitely didn't want to push it.  It's felt much better the past few days though, so I gave it another shot.

What, don't ALL the cool kids go to the gym Saturday nights??

Hooray!  I made it 2.5 miles without pain!  Again I felt a TINY bit of discomfort...not enough to stop, but just enough to remind me that I'm still injured and not to push it.  I'm excited that I actually seem to be on the mend, and pumped that I'll be able to start my training for the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in a couple of weeks.  Yay. :)

Slowly but surely...I'm coming back!

And now, I'm off to finish an awesome book...I've been reading Feed by M.T. Anderson.  It's another YA dystopian novel (sensing a pattern?), and it's really interesting/thought-provoking/different/GOOD.  I'm excited to see how it ends, and can't wait to tell you more soon in a book review.  Have a great Saturday Night!  Hopefully it's more exciting than mine. ;)

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Once there was a teacher...and she loved her students...

Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy...

And every day the boy would come and he would gather her leaves 

and make them into crowns and play king of the forest. 

He would climb up her trunk and swing from her branches and eat apples. 

And they would play hide-and-go-seek. 

And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade. 

And the boy loved the tree.......very much. 

And the tree was happy.

-The Giving Tree, Shel Silverstein

Here's the truth:
I have another cold-turned-something-awful (I'm thinking sinus infection...).
I am losing my voice AGAIN.
I am exhausted from having to repeat the same few directions over and over to the same few students.
I am overwhelmed that I now have SIX (yes 6) kids on behavior charts that must be filled out after EVERY subject.
I am frustrated that it's April and my neediest reader is still not receiving the services he needs, no matter how much I try to get them for him.
I'm tired.

But today, I read The Giving Tree aloud while 22 fifth graders sat at rapt attention in a circle at my feet.  And suddenly it was all worth it.  Sharing my favorite books with my kiddos is absolutely my favorite part of my job.  Watching them fall as much in love with them as I am is even better.

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Reading this story aloud and discussing the powerfully simple plot reminded me again how much potential my students have...to think...to wonder...to care...

Today 5th graders talked about how their parents are like the Giving Tree, because they are happy to give them what they need, and don't ask anything in return.
They talked about how they can be like the Giving Tree when they share with younger siblings.
They talked about how they should show more thanks to the people that you love, shocked that the boy in the story didn't say thank you to the tree.
They talked about how their grandparents are like the Giving Tree, because no matter how long they're away, they are so happy to see them.
They talked about how when you give happiness away, you sometimes get it in return.
They talked about being generous to those you love.
They talked about appreciating what you have.

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When, on the page where the boy carries off the tree's branches (like a knife to my heart, that one gets me every time...) I said, "This picture makes me feel a lot of things in my heart.  What does it make you feel?", the kind of question you might think 5th graders would laugh or smirk or reply sarcastically to...my class responded from their hearts.  And I was touched by their thoughts.

And even though sometimes I feel like the Giving Tree, bark and branches stripped away after I have given them every ounce I have during a school day...they are learning.  They are growing.  And I am happy.

I wanna...

I wanna lotta things, come to think of it. :)  But that's a topic for another day.  Today I want to share our latest writing pursuit in 5th grade.  I try to mix in creative Writing Workshop lessons with lessons geared towards the Big Three writing genres (expository, narrative, persuasive).  For the past few weeks, we've been writing persuasive letters.  We kicked off the project by reading the mentor text I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff (I will take any excuse to read a picture book in the classroom...) and discussed whether the character's reasons for wanting an iguana were valid or invalid.  We made this chart:

Next, we brainstormed things that we would like to ask someone (mostly moms and dads) for...

After choosing a topic, we worked hard to come up with VALID and CONVINCING reasons to support each topic.  For example, we did a shared writing piece in which the kids decided to persuade me to get a classroom pet other than a fish. (HAH!  Never gonna happen...In fact the kids don't know that I accidentally killed our fish over winter break.  I've just been telling them he decided to live at home with me...)  We discussed how "Teaches responsibility" and "Learning opportunity" would be more valid/convincing reasons than fun.  It was a great exercise in considering one's audience.

After we made it through the planning phase, the kids plugged away at the letters during Writing Workshop and Daily 3.  During a revising mini-lesson, we discussed persuasive language and I supplied these sentence frames:

The kids were instructed to go back through their letters and add in these sentence frames.  What a difference!  They really elevated the writing.

The final products have been trickling in and are pretty funny:

Kid logic rocks.  What is your favorite type of writing to teach?  I have to say, I really enjoyed this project!

Sharing the Love

Today was a tough and frustrating day in teacher land.  Not awful, just long, exhausting, and trying.  Instead of complaining or reliving, I just wanted to share a tiny moment that was lovely today.  In college, my professors places a lot of emphasis on sharing your "reading life" with your students.  I make it a point to talk to my students about how much I love reading, the books I read at home, and how I make time to read and talk about books with friends.  Part of that, also, is sharing my favorite books with kids.  Today's little happy was passing on a personal favorite to a special kiddo:

I read this beautiful book a few months ago and this morning I passed it off to one of my girls.  Sharing books with my kids in a personal way like this (I usually leave them on their desks with a note) is one of my favorite things to do.  It takes just 2 minutes to pull a book and write a note, but recommending books to my kiddos not only encourages reading just-right books, but lets them know that they are SO special to me that I took the time to choose a special book just for them.  What better way to build relationships with your students?  Plus, just like adults, kids are more likely to read a book if someone says, "I read this!  I loved it!  I think you will too!"  Of course I let the kiddos choose their own books too, but once in awhile, this is something special.  If you don't do it, I recommend giving it a shot!

Saturday Love

I love Saturdays that, like today, are filled with....

This shopping bag is embarrassingly full...

...shopping.  :)  I have to admit, one of my favorite Saturday activities is shopping.  Double win because my favorite store had a 30% off entire your purchase event today.  I always get a little credit card happy when the spring and summer clothes make their debut...even though it was still chilly here today, part of me must have decided that buying warm weather clothes will make spring come that much sooner.  Project for tomorrow = choose at least 2 items to return because I definitely got carried away!

...reading.  :)  I gave myself the gift of uninterrupted time with an amazing book today.  Tonight is book club night, and I somehow found myself with 200 pages left to read when I got up this morning!  Spending 4 hours reading today was...perfect.  Even better that the book, The Help, was...fabulous.  Review to come.

...sipping something yummy.  :)  I spent 2 hours at Starbucks this evening plowing through the final hundred pages of the book.  When I ordered my soy latte, I was pleasantly surprised to find that all beverage orders came with a free mini-dessert today!  Afternoon sweet munchie?  Yes please!  This red velvet whoopie pie was lovely.

I'm so happy my Saturday was filled with all of those things, and not with...

...grading and planning.  This is my untouched school bag, which will be waiting for me tomorrow... :-/

Until then, I am looking forward to a delightful evening of book discussion, home-made pizza (shut the front door, I actually cooked.  And something that is not PBJ or oatmeal!! MIRACLE.), movie, and girl time.  Bliss.

How did you spend your Saturday?
What are your Saturday night plans?

"My furry dog is as warm as a comforter fresh from the dryer"

^ My personal favorite simile from the simile love poems we wrote on Valentine's day.  :)  I really loved teaching this lesson, but I was floored by some of the finished products that have been trickling in this week!!

We spent about an hour on the actual Writing Workshop lesson (mini-lesson + writing time + sharing time). but the kids have been working hard on them during Daily 3/general Writing Workshop time.  I challenged them to get creative with their similes, not just saying things like, "His hair is as brown as chocolate," but going one step further with something like, "His hair is as brown as creamy rich hot chocolate."  Once they got the hang of it, the kiddos completely ran with the idea.  

Some of the finished poems: 

Turns out we need to work a little more on stanzas and line-breaks.  But for a first-crack at poetry, I'd say these babies are something to be proud of.

Between the individual books the kids wrote for Celebrate Reading and Writing last month, the class book of Pourquoi Tales we worked on together earlier this year, and now this book, we are starting to accumulate quite the collection of student-authored books!  The best part?  The kids adore reading each others' work.

Student Author Bin

One other thing I did before peacin' outta school today was pull books for my ISAT read alouds next week. Figured it was better to have them ready early than be scrambling Monday morning when I'm back from my trip!  Here are some of my favorite read alouds for during testing...

• Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! by Dr. Seuss--A hilarious testing must-read about a school that teaches all kinds of fun, silly things.  When testing time comes, the students are all super nervous until they realize that they are being tested on all the silly things they've been studying!  I remind the kids that we have learned all of the things on the tests too (partly true...), and that this is their opportunity to show off!
• Testing Miss Mararkey by Judy Finchler--This book is as fun for the teacher to read as for the kids.  It mostly highlights how uptight the parents and teachers get over testing!  Reminds kids how silly all of the stress is, and that things will all be back to normal soon.
• Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco--One of my favorites to read ANY TIME (although I always get a little choked up at the end!!).  A real-life story of the author's struggle with learning disabilities and the teacher who saved her.  I love reading this book and talking about the individual gifts we all have, especially at a time kids might feel a little stressed out or nervous.  
• Salt in His Shoes by Deloris M. Jordan--This story about Michael Jordan's childhood highlights the benefits of hard work and believing in oneself.  Michael Jordan is one of the skinniest, shortest kids on the basketball court, and even though he wishes and prays to be taller (sprinkling salt in his shoes even...), what really matters in the end is that he gives it his all.  The rest is history. :)

What are your favorite books to read aloud (on test days or any day)?

Definitely a full-moon kind of week...

Oh my, another long day.  You know it's going to be a rough one when you get into the car and are greeted with this:

Actually, it continued to drop to -6 by the time I got to school.  Yikes!!!  And yet, some of the kiddos still showed up with unzipped jackets and no hats and gloves...parenting at its finest... For a four day week, this week certainly was insane...but isn't that always the case?  Plus it was a full moon on top of it all.  I will never understand how full moons and kids' behavior are linked, but trust me--they are!!!  (For example, Mrs. Literacy Specialist was told by a student today that she was going to "punch her in the face."  f'real.)

This pretty much sums it up

Today, though, it wasn't so much that my kids weren't behaving.  It was just that they all seemed to develop partial hearing loss.  For example:

Miss Teacher: (passing out the math extended response) You'll see on here that it asks for the mean (average) number of letters in the names of the group of students.   Who remembers where the poster is in the room with the formula for mean?  (kids point)  Very good.  Plus, we just took a quiz on finding the mean so you should all be experts at it.  A good first step here would be to count the number of letters in each kid's name.

[60 seconds pass]

Student: Miss Teacher?  What does it mean by "find the mean"?
A very disgruntled Miss Teacher:  Are you kidding?  I'm not going to be answering that question, I'm sorry.
Another student: Miss Teacher?  What do I do?
An even more disgruntled Miss Teacher:  *sighs in disgust*

Thank goodness it's Friday.  All I have to say is that this day started with copying a million ISAT practice pages and ended with being screamed at on the phone by a lunatic parent.  I still don't actually understand what her problem was, but I did successfully convince her not to come into school to continue the discussion...or just flat out tell her, "No, you can't come to school now.  Absolutely not."  Can we say CRAZY??

I've had a couple of complain-y posts in a row now, so let me share some "little happys" of today and yesterday:

This one almost brought tears to my eyes today--that should be an indicator of how stressed I am!  I have a computer cart in my room with 12 laptops in it.  Students from another class have been in and out all week borrowing them, and they were just plugging them into any random power cord or shoving them in.  They were A MESS!!!!  The disarray was killing me, but I knew that fixing them would take longer time than I had to spare.  So as we were packing up at 2:50 I had the brilliant idea to ask which students walked home and wouldn't mind staying 10 minutes to help me.  I was shocked when at least a third of the class raised their hands!  An untapped resource!  Why hadn't I thought of this before?!?  I picked two girls to call their moms, and then put them to work plugging the power cords into the correct outlets, winding up the cords, and arranging the laptops.  They finished so quickly, and here is the final product:

They must have thought I was a lunatic with my reaction to this--I practically hugged them and wept. :)  Then I proceeded to show off my beautifully organized cart to two other teachers.  God, is it sad that that was one of the highlights of my week???

Another little happy was this spelling error on a quiz.  The question asked which type of figurative language was used in the text, and the answer was simile.  Or, smiley as the case may be. :)

And okay, yesterday wasn't a COMPLETE train wreck.  Actually, it had a very happy part.  One of the wonderful things about my district is a literacy initiative they have to help teachers build their classroom libraries.  Every month they have a "book room" day that the newer teachers can go to and take up to 100 books.  You can do this until you have gathered 1,000 books!  Technically the books belong to the district and if you leave you are expected to donate them to another teacher or the school library.  But I don't think there are exactly book police....Well, the books are usually a collection of gently used cast-offs plus some new titles.  But this month I'd been tipped off by Mr. Principal that TONS of new books had been purchased and would be available!  My loot:

100 brand spanking new books, including new copies of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the entire Percy Jackson series, several Maximum Ride books, and too many others to count.  Part of why I was at school so late last night was that I was putting my name in all of them and hand-picking a new book for each students' book box.  Yeah, it's tedious, but they LOVE when I tell them, "I picked this book JUST FOR YOU!"  And I love it too :)

So the week wasn't a total wash.  But let's just say it's a good thing it's the weekend, because if I had to endure 1 more day I might have strangled someone...

(Weekend dilemma: Do I attempt my long run this weekend if my tibia is still acting up?  I'm thinking give it a good rest tonight and see how it feels tomorrow...:-/)