Animoto

I have been playing around with the web 2.0 tool Animoto. The really great thing I discovered  is that I could get 50 free student accounts when I signed up. My 5th graders and I went to the computer lab to become familiar with the program today.    They will be using Animoto to make creative response videos for the latest book.  I am really excited to see what they create.

River of Words by Jen Bryant

I learned about poet William Carlos Williams this summer during the National Writing Project.  His name came up during some of our discussions about poetry and once again when one of the student’s strategy lessons incorporated the work of William Carlos Williams.  The lesson used the book Love that Dog by Sharon Screech.  It was excellent.   One of the many lessons I was inspired by this summer.    It made me examine my own instruction and realize the importance of incorporating poetry into my reading classes.  I just shared the book Love that Dog by Sharon Creech as a read aloud (inspired by my classmate). We have been learning about how a character changes over time.  The main character in the book, a young boy named Jack, doesn’t care much for poetry in the beginning and is reluctant to write.  Over the course of the book he develops his confidence and grows into a poet as he shares the heartwarming and sad tale of his dog Sky.  When I was looking for books to choose for my bibliography this one immediately caught my eye.   I am glad it did.  I loved this book.  My class and I talked about the poets mentioned throughout the book  Love that Dog.  I shared the River of Words with them to teach them about the life of William Carlos Williams.  It really excited their interest.   It is a great resource to incorporate in teaching my class about the work of William Carlos Williams.   The book is beautifully illustrated and adds to the simple beauty of the poems Williams wrote about the ordinary things in life.

In researching resources for my bibliography I came across the website: 

http://www.poetryarchive.org/childrensarchive/home.do   children can search the archive for information about the life of poets and examples of their work.  Kids can also just browse the archives for poems about the things that interest them.      I came across an annual art and poetry contest for children ages 5-19 sponsored by Saint Mary's College of education.   A perfect tie in because the contest is also called the River of Words.  Very Cool  :) http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/center-for-environmental-literacy/river-of-words

Advanced Reading Challenge

The 21 Balloons by William Pene Dubois

Beginning in October each year  we hold an Advanced Reading Challenge at my school.  The lists of books come from Imagine Schools. Students who choose to participate select books to read from a list developed for their grade level. After they complete the books they do a creative response project for each of the books.  The goal is for the students to read and respond to 25 books.  Students who complete the challenge earn a $100 savings bond from the Imagine corporation.  The Advanced reading challenge is a great way to provide enrichment opportunities for the readers in my class.  Initially, the program was designed for the higher level readers in my class, but I have a hard time excluding any students from participating.  I tell my kids that even if they do not complete 25 books the fact that they choose to challenge themselves as readers is an accomplishment to be celebrated.  At the end of the challenge I have a party for all the students who chose to participate.  I have read the majority of the books on the list and can recommend books that would be accesible to the majority of the readers in my class.  Every couple of weeks I hold an after school session with the kids to come and come up with project ideas and help them work on their projects.  It is honestly one of the most enjoyable activiites I get to do with my students.   I love seeing how creative my students are and giving them the opportunity to express it.  My 90 minute reading block is so jam packed with lessons and activities that those kinds of projects are often not given that chance.  I allow them to work on projects when they have finished their class assignments, but can focus more time and attention on helping them in out after school workshops.  I had the chance to work with one of my third graders on a project for the book  The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene Dubois.  She decided to create a hot Air Balloon and put facts and information about the book in the basket.  Originally, she used a regular balloon which deflated rather quickly so we decided to try covering the balloon with dilluted glue and water and cover it in different color tissue paper.  It was really great how the project turned out.  I am thinking we might have to add another layer to make it more sturdy, but so far it is holding up pretty well.   I went home covered in glue from  holding the balloon, while she covered it with the tissue paper, but we had so much fun doing the project.  Those are the interactions with my students that I treasure.  To see how excited and engaged they are about responding to books is exciting.

Book Buddies

Every 5 weeks the students in my class participate in clubs.   At the beginning of the year they are given a list of choices of the clubs and choose the one they are interested in.  Last year,  I attempted to start a book club, but not a single student signed up.   I was still stuck on the idea when we were asked to provide a description of the club we would offer.  This year I decided to start a Book Buddies Club.  We have buddied up with one of the primary reading classes on club day.   During our first meeting, I helped my intermediate students choose books appropriate for their younger buddies.  It was honestly one of the most enjoyable days I have had in quite awhile.  Older and younger students alike loved reading the books together.   For our next meeting, the younger students are going to choose a book to read to their older reading buddies.   I am so excited for our next club day.   The interaction between the older and younger students is amazing to watch.  What a great way to encourage reading for both the older and younger students in the group.  I would love to have the opportunity to expand on this idea and have some of my struggling readers become reading buddies on a weekly basis.  It's motivating and engaging and lets them practice their oral reading fluency while practicing the books they share with their buddies.  It really is a shame that I am restricted in my ability to do this more often because of the pressure to perform on FCAT.  In my opinion the relationships, positive impact on self esteem, and the practice both groups get while reading to one another is invaluable.

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

I just finished reading the book The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg  by Rodman Philbrick. Set during the Civil War, The story chronicles the adventures Homer encounters in his search for his brother Harold.  Harold was sold to the union army by an unscrupulous uncle left in charge of caring for the boys after they are orphaned.  12 year old Homer runs away from his uncle and heads south in attempt to save his brother from the horrors of war.Homer uses his natural talent for lying to get himself out of some sticky situations on his quest to be save his brother from the war.  This book would be great to include in a unit of study on the Civil War.  It teaches students about the Civil War as well as the abolitionist movement.  The website http://suzyred.com/2012_The_Mostly_True_Adventures_of_Homer_Figg.html has some great resources to use in conjunction with book.
National Geographic http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/multimedia/interactive/the-underground-railroad/?ar_a=1 has a great webquest on what a slave may encounter on their journey on the Underground Railroad.  As students progress through their journey they are offered choices on which path to take.  The options they choose determine what path they take and the outcome of their journey.

Motivation to read

One of my biggest obstacles right now is engaging my reluctant readers.  I confer with my students regularly during their independent reading time to discuss the books they are reading, reccommend books that may interest them, and assess whether they are choosing books that are appropriate to their level.  It is extremely frustrating for me because many times I will sit with an individual student and "shelf shop" with them to match them with a book to read during independent reading time.Many times, after we have spent time choosing books, they come to class without their books or abandon the books they chose.  They are not consistent in their reading and hop from book to book.   They have developed a multitude of avoidance strategies to try and get out of independent reading time.  As soon as I transition my students to Independent Daily Reading,  the bathroom requests and the need for passes to the nurse begins.  I have attempted to address the issue with parents by contacting them and expressing my individual concerns.  The struggle I am facing makes me even more aware of the importance of motivation and engagement.  If I cannot connect with their interests and find something they are interested in reading, then I am limited in my ability to improve their comprehension.   It is extremely hard to do when some kids are fighting me every step of the way.

Flawed Dogs

When I was researching the books to include on my annotated bibliography I was excited to see that Berkeley Breathed had ventured into writing children's books.   I always enjoyed the Bloom County cartoons he had written and was a fan of the character Opus the penguin.  I liked the comic because of  it's dry, subtle humor.   I was hoping to find a similar style of writing in the book Flawed Dogs.   I was not disappointed.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.  
The main character in the book is a dachshund named Sam.   The story describes his beginning as a show dog,the tragic circumstances that lead him to become a stray, and the plot he hatches to seek revenge against the evil poodle Cassius, the one responsible for Sam being framed for a "crime" he didn't commit.  The challenges that Sam must face are heartbreaking, but are told in such away that the often tragic events in his life are at times funny. I found myself laughing and feeling such pity for Sam at the same time.  He is the type of character you end up rooting for.   The illustrations in the book add to the humor and help you to visualize the motley crew of dogs that Sam enlists to help him bring down Cassius and expose him for the evil fraud that he is.  I could not put this book down.   The whole time I read I kept hoping for the happiest of endings, not just for Sam, but the extremely lovable " unadoptable" dogs that join him on his adventure.

I just watched Black Power and the Black Panthers via Discovery Education

This video gives a brief background of the Black Panthers role in the Civil rights Movement.  I think I would use this to build background for my students when reading One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia.  The video clip would probably be best suited for middle school age students.  It does describe how the Black Panthers original mission of providing free breakfast and "liberation schools" turned toward violence during the late 1960's.





I just watched Black Power and the Black Panthers via Discovery Education

One Crazy Summer

In the book One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia three sisters are sent to California to spend the summer with their mother who abandoned the family many years before.  The girls' father felt that it was time that they learned about their mother for themselves.  Reading this book brought me back to my own childhood visits with a father I barely knew.  It made me think of the awkwardness and the feeling of not knowing how to act or behave in the presence of a person that you barely know.    I could identify with the mixture of feelings and emotions that you experience when interacting with a parent that has been essentially absent from your life.  Wanting to hate them for not being there,wondering what was more important to them than being a parent, and secretly longing for them to be the parent you always dreamed of.   I remember struggling  to reconcile the fantasies I invented in my mind of what a parent should be and the reality of who the person actually is.  The main character has such and honest and straight forward way of expressing herself.  Garcia put into words thoughts, feelings, and emotions that I have had a million times in my life, but was never able to express.  In the beginning of the story I could not find anything I liked about the character Cecile (the girl's mother).  I thought of her as selfish, cold, and could not fathom why she would leave her children behind.  In the end, I felt real empathy for her.  I ended up viewing her life circumstances as tragic.  Especially because the hardships she had faced made her incapable of being a loving and nurturing mother.  I felt sorry for her that she missed out on being able to experience the unconditional love that only a child can bring.
I thought it was interesting how Rita Williams Garcia used Oakland, CA as the backdrop for the story.  She was able to intertwine the story of a young black girl struggling to learn about her mother with the civil rights movement.   The girls in the story attend a summer program run by the Black Panthers.  In addition to learning about their long lost mother they develop an understanding of the ongoing fight for equality, discrimination, and understanding their own racial identity.

Carl Hiaasen on Florida

This video demonstrates why I chose to focus on Carl Hiaasen for my author study.  His honesty, passion, and dedication to building awareness of the environmental issues and problems plaguing Florida.  He is not afraid to speak out against corruption, the over development of Florida, amd the destruction of Florida's most precious resource.    Using his books written for children can help them develop an awareness of these issues and understand how important it is to advocate for what you believe in. 

Interactive Media-Protecting the Northern Everglades | The Nature Conservancy

I have come across some really amazing resources while doing research for my Webquest on Florida Ecology for my Webquest on Carl Hiaasen's books.  The Nature Conservancy has a really beautiful slideshow of some of the animals that make the Everglades home.  Might be a great way to introduce students to some of the animals who make the Everglades their home.



Interactive Media-Protecting the Northern Everglades | The Nature Conservancy

Expository Non-fiction

      Maybe it is because of my background as a math and science teacher that I am so passionate about teaching my students how to read different types of non-fiction.  When I worked as a middle school science teacher the common complaint amongst the members of the department was that the kids just "didn't get it".  Many times the blame game was played. Responsibility for their lack of knowledge was placed on elementary teachers, language arts teachers,  or students' lack of effort or caring. I remember as a first year teacher asking for suggestions on how to help my kids to be able to read the text.   I was often told it was not "our problem" because we were not reading teachers and "they should know this by now".   There was part of me that knew better. even though I found myself teaching middle school, my teacher preparation was in elementary education.  My internships taught me that the majority of the day was focused on reading/language arts and math.  In my experience science and social studies were not strongly emphasized.  Occasionally students would do a thematic unit relating to a science or social studies topic, but it was not taught everyday. Many of the schools I was at didn't even use a science or social studies textbook. Most of the reading done in the classroom focused on narrative text.
After struggling to get my students to understand a middle school science textbook, I realized it was my in fact my problem.  As middle school teachers we were operating under the assumption that the students had prior exposure to reading content area textbooks.  In many instances, the students had little or no experience with reading that kind of text.   I have been working for the past several weeks with my classes on learning non-fiction text features, questioning nonfiction text, and stopping to ask questions as they are reading nonfiction text.   It has made me even more aware of how much kids enjoy reading non-fiction texts and how important it is to include in my classroom library.  

My students have been working on creating a text feature sharing board.   Each student chose an expository  non-fiction book to create their sharing boards.  I found the idea for non-fiction sharing boards on Laura Candler's website  http://www.lauracandler.com/.   I modified it to fit the text features we have been working on.   You could honestly spend hours on this site looking for lesson ideas and graphic organizers.  Love this SITE!!!

An Unlikely Hero

10 year old Newt Newman is the kid that most people overlook.   The spotlight in his family is directed at his older brother Chris, the Filmore High School football legend.  The busy family focuses the majority of their energy supporting Chris and his football.  One of the biggest events in town is Filmore's yearly Big Game against cross-town Rival Merrimac High School.   When the night of the Big Game finally arrives, the entire town is focused on seeing who will win the big game.  All eyes are on Chris on the night of the big game to see if he can lead the Filmore team to another victory.  Tragically, the game takes an unexpected turn and Chris is tragically injured and goes into a coma.  The families first priority becomes standing vigil by Chris's bedside hoping for him to awake from his coma and recover.  Unfortunately, Newt is not allowed in the hospital and finds himself facing the reality of what is happening to his brother on his own.

 Newt's friends decide to boost his spirits by getting him into the spirit Halloween.  Newt ultimately decided to become a character called Captain Nobody.  He finds dressing as the character Captain Nobody makes him feel powerful and important.  He makes the decision to continue to wear the costume even after Halloween has ended.   Newt's two best friends fully support his choice and remain on the lookout for situations that can only be handled by Captain Nobody.  Newt ends up finding himself getting involved in some precarious situations as Captain Nobody.    I think most kids could identify with Newt's feelings of not quite fitting in, often feeling invisible to the adults in their world, and the desire to stand out and be noticed.

 Activities:

1.  design your  own super hero  like the ones designed by Newt in his sketchbooks.  Include the following information about your hero.

• Name your super hero. 
• Describe the unique powers and abilities possessed by your super hero.  
• Create and illustration of your super hero. 
• write a story involving an adventure that their super hero would have. 
• design their super hero costumes and dress up as their character. 
• Would you want to be a super hero?  Explain the benefits and possible problems that a person might face if they had some sort of super powers?

Flush

In the book Flush Noah, the main character, finds himself trying to find any proof to corroborate his father's claim that a local Casino Boat the Coral Queen is dumping raw sewage into the harbor. Noah's dad is being held in the local jail because he sank the Coral Queen in attempt to bring attention to the environmental damage the boat is causing. The beaches in the area often have to be shut down because the sewage is contaminating the water, making it unsafe to swim. Proving the Coral Queen is the one behind the pollution is not going to be an easy feat. There is corruption at every turn and many people have a vested interest in not allowing the truth to come out. One of the themes throughout the book is standing up for what you believe in even when the deck is stacked against you. Noah finds some unlikely allies in his quest for the truth. Lice Peeking, a former Coral Queen employee with a penchant for hard drinking, his girlfriend Shelley, the former fiancee of the Coral Queen's owner, and his younger sister Abbey join forces to expose the truth and clear his father's name. I particularly enjoyed the video trailer about the Book posted on the Scholastic website. Carl Hiaseen discusses the book and discusses where his motivation for writing the book comes from. I liked the portion of the interview where he discusses some of the adult characters he included in the book. The Scholastic Site has a wide variety of book trailers for some of the most popular children's/ young adult book. I think the videos would be a great way to build student interest and engage them in reading the books.

Bad Kitty

 My students always laugh and say that I always like the bad guys in the books we read.  I have fallen in love with the character Bad Kitty :).   I was cracking up laughing at kitty's antics while reading the book Bad Kitty Gets a Bath.   Maybe it is because I have spent the last 12 years with my own bad kitty.  Not only is this a great story, the illustrations are hysterical.  I will certainly be adding the entire Bad Kitty to my classroom library.
After finishing this book, I immediately brought it to school to share with my kids.  I sat on the rug with two of my third graders reading the book.    They really loved flipping through the book and showing me their favorite parts.  It is a really fun read.  

Kitten's First Full Moon

When Kitten sees her first full moon she mistakes it for a big bowl of milk.  Her quest for the big bowl of milk takes her through the fields, up a tree, and into a pond where she sees an even bigger bowl of milk(the moon reflecting off the pond.)  I really liked this book.  A really cute story about curiosity, adventure, and perseverance. 

Here is a link to an author video and links to lesson plans related to the book.

http://www.teachingbooks.net/author_collection.cgi?id=61&a=1

www.teachingbooks.net

When I was looking around for web resources to include I came across the website www.teachingbooks.net.   The website includes a variety of multimedia resources  meet the author movies, links to lesson plans related to books, and links to author websites.  It had a several of the books on my bibliography.  I am definitely going to poke around on this site somewhere and see what resources they have for the books I use in my interactive read-alouds.

Elijah of Buxton

I think one of the things I like about reading historical fiction is having the opportunity to learn about places and events in history I had no idea about.  The book Elijah of Buxton is about a eleven year old boy who was the first child born free into a settlement in Buxton, Canada started by runaway slaves.  I think this book would be great to include in a unit of study of the underground railroad, slavery in the United States or the abolitionist movement. 

I really ended up enjoying this book, but have to admit I really struggled in the beginning.  Christopher Paul Curtis is extremley detailed and spends a long time introducing the characters and setting in the story. I have to admit I began wondering when he was it was going to get to "good part".  I think I was almost 100 pages into the book before the action started picking up. Fortunately, I found the main character very likable so I stuck with it.  I am not sure many of my students would be willing to invest that much time in the book before giving up.  I keep trying to teach them that sometimes you have to give the story time to build.  A lot of readers want action from page 1.  I would definitely say it would be most appropriate for middle school age students. 

Author Study

I have to say that I am really enjoying sharing books by Carl Hiaasen with my fifth grade class.  I actually have been having a hard time getting my hands on a couple of the books because everytime a student returns it to my classroom library another is waiting to check it out.  The school librarian is very supportive of my kids and their verocious appetite for books and ordered more copies for the kids.   I have to say just reading some of the Reading responses about the books have made me laugh out loud.  I am particularly looking forward to getting my hands on my copy of Chomp.  My kids are getting such a kick out it.  I can't wait to read it!! It makes me feel so good to see kids so engaged in reading.  I am very fortunate with this particular class because my biggest obstacle is not getting them to read, but having enough books on hand for when they finish their latest book.  Sounds funny, but when I offer this class a list of options of things we could do as a reward they always choose Independent Reading Time.  There are times when they follow me around at recess to talk about their books.  It definitely motivates me to keep reading the latest books to share with students.  

Just Right Books

I think the most difficult part of the beginning of the school year is helping students select Just Right Books for their Independent Daily Reading (IDR).  It can be particularly hard matching some of my boys with books.  I am struggling in my fifth grade class because they have read their way through several series including the Lightning Thief and Red Pyramid Series by Rick Riordan.   My struggle this past week has given me a good idea about what my literature unit is going to focus on.  I am on a quest to find interesting books and series that will appeal to the boys in my class.