Next Moves

As the summer draws to a close, I have begun reflecting on my summer of reading. The most striking feature was my failure to read one book for each day of summer. While I'm not into making excuses, I do think that the why's of this can inform classroom instruction.

So why?

Well, I was busy. There were two weeks when I was doing MIMI, which sucked up most of my spare time. Then there was the week I was recovering from getting my wisdom teeth out. Then, there were all the days I was called by a friend to do something that sounded exciting, so I set my books aside and did that other thing instead.

We tell our students that they need to be reading every single day so that they can become better readers, but we (for the most part) are not doing this. We hold our students to a different standard than we hold ourselves. How do I justify this for myself?

I don't really know. I do know that I read a lot -more than most people I know. But I don't read every day. And yet, I'm a better reader now than I was when I joined Goodreads in January 2011, and a better reader of children's books now than I was at the beginning of the summer. I think I'm realizing that the message doesn't need to be "Read every day," but maybe, "Read more than you did before." I made a goal to read 20 books in 2011 (I didn't count children's books, but I only read four or five of those that year) and I achieved it. This year, before I decided to read every day over the summer, I set a goal to read 60 books (counting most children's books). Next year, I'll probably set a goal to read even more. Or I might set a goal to read different genres than I'm used to reading, or to finally tackle David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, which has sat on my bookshelf for close to two years.

When I think about teaching reading in the future, especially independent reading skills, I think I want to talk more about goal setting, and then how we set up a plan for getting there. When I set up my reading goal for this year, I originally only set it at 22 books. But then I realized that I was spending a fair amount of time with children's books as I prepared guided reading lessons, so perhaps those should count as well. However, children's books are much shorter, so if they count, then there should be more books in the goal. Hence 60 books. I think in the future, I'll set the goal even higher, knowing that I'll want to spend a fair amount of time reading children's literature.

Finally, I realized how important it is to continue reading books that are at your own reading level, not below. While I found a lot of joy in reading books meant for kids, I also missed the complexity of thought involved in adult books.

Moving forward, I think I want to keep reading and writing about children's books. I suppose this means I have to change the title of the blog, of course, but that's a small obstacle. I'm also forming a book club with some friends, so it will be nice to be practicing some of the skills I try to teach my own students. If anybody's out there, keep checking back to see more about the books I'm reading and my new endeavor with my book club.

Sequels Are So Tricky...

I pilfered this book out of the guided reading library, which I figured was a thanks to me for sitting through six hours of professional development on the second floor of an un-air-conditioned building. I'll return it in the morning.

Anyway.

I loved the original book in this short series, The Chalk Box Kid. I read it as a second-grader and thought it was an okay book, then read it this past year as an adult, so I actually understood it. I loved it. I loved how simple the language was and how effective it was in expressing loneliness.

The sequel, The Paint Brush Kid, was still a good book, just not as good. It's an interesting read, to be sure. Gregory and his friend Ivy offer to paint the house of an old neighbor and paint a beautiful mural of the man's childhood in Mexico. Then the state says they're going to tear down to house to build a freeway, so the town must band together to save the house.

I guess what didn't translate into the second book was the main character's internal struggle, and the process of growth he goes through in the story. Maybe this second one was a bit more exciting, but it didn't have quite as much literary merit (although both books are leveled at an M, so I'm assuming literary merit is not a criteria for leveling). I guess I would continue to use the first book as a guided reading book, since it has some things kids can really dig into, and use the second book as an independent reading book.

One For the Tomboys

It's been a while since I ran out of books that I had brought home from work for myself to read. I didn't get a chance to stop by my school, so I waited until this little goody showed up from amazon (after I ordered it, of course).

I absolutely adored this book. Marty Mcguire (the title character) loves spending recess looking for frogs, and spends her weekends searching for crayfish and pretending to be Jane Goodall in the forest. Then, she is cast as the princess in her class's third grade production of The Princess and the Frog. At first, she's convinced there's a mistake, but then she learns how to make the play be all her own.

It's an adorable little book, and it's part of a series, so there's more adventures to read about. The book gives girls a role model for somebody who enjoys getting a little dirty, and gives a different perspective on what makes something "girly." In some ways, this book makes it seem like it's fun to be a tomboy. Given the fact that middle-grade girls have some pretty outstanding female role models (Katniss Everdeen, from The Hunger Games, for example), it's exciting to see that there's another such role model for younger girls. (This last sentence, of course, leaves out Bella Whatsherface from Twilight, since her character wouldn't be a good role model for even the most faint-hearted Victorian-era girl.)

One of my favorite parts of the book is that a lot of the harder vocabulary words are defined right there in the book. For example, it talks a lot about "improvising," which isn't a word younger students would necessarily know. However, the author, Kate Messner, defines the word right in the dialogue of the book, making it seems effortless to teach students a new word. The word keeps popping up throughout the book in different contexts, reinforcing its meaning. Part of this genius with vocabulary is probably due to the fact that Kate Messner is an elementary school teacher, so she knows what words will trip students up and how to define them in simple, understandable ways.

Although it doesn't have a level on Fountas and Pinnell, it seems to me to be an N or O -something along the same lines as Amber Brown, only slightly more difficult. Regardless, it's a great book for the early-chapter books students who need a relatable, interesting character to learn from.

Throw This on the Pile of Read Alouds...

Oh man, this book got me in all my happy reading places.

I pilfered this book from my mom's classroom library, which I thought was only fair, given that I'd leveled and labeled (using the most elaborate book-labeling system known to teachers) well over 100 of her books. This copy would become mine, except that she wrote her last name across the top of it, easily identifying it as not my book. Clever girl.

Anyway, Drita My Homegirl by Jenny Lombard is one of my favorite books I've read this summer. The story centers around two fourth grade girls. Drita is Albanian. Her family has just fled Kosova (she explains that Kosovo is the English way of spelling it) because of the recent surge of violence there. They settle in New York, where she meets Maxie. Maxie is one of the popular girls in class who makes fun of Drita at first. Then, the teacher assigns Drita to Maxie as a social studies project, and Maxie begins to learn just how difficult life has been for Drita, and how much they actually have in common.

The book might have a theme that has been done over and over again (on the outside we're different, but on the inside we're all the same), but the author is so effective in her story telling that I just didn't care. I got all choked up in the latter parts of the book as the girls try to work through the pains they have suffered in their short little lives. Then I felt all giddy and warm as the book came to a rather predictable ending.

From a child's perspective, however, it's not played-out and it's not predictable. My guess is that, even though it's a higher reading level (T, according to Fountas and Pinnell), many students could benefit from hearing this story. Either they relate to what Drita has gone through (many of my own students have recently immigrated from Haiti, so they can relate to Drita's status as a refugee), or they could benefit from learning along with Maxie the importance of reaching out to those we can't always understand. I definitely want to use this book as a read aloud. Not only do I think it has actual literary merit, I think it should also be used to help build a better understanding of each other. The themes of this book are relatable to all the kids, and I think it's important that they hear all these themes.

Looks like I have to buy own copy...

Tesseract!

First of all, let me say that I do not remember there being so much stuff about God when I originally read this in fifth grade. Granted, A Wrinkle in Time was probably a little bit ahead of my reading level, so there's a lot of stuff I missed. However, I completely missed the God stuff.

Does it really add to or subtract from the book for me? No. In fact, I'm not sure why it's there. I think Madeleine L'Engle could have gotten to her point about Love in a much more straightforward manner by leaving out the God stuff, but that's just my opinion. I also haven't read the other books in the series, so I don't know if this comes into play more later on.

This is, obviously, a classic. And for good reason. It's a great science fiction novel. I just don't really like science fiction that much, so this didn't really get me all excited in my reading-places. I felt obligated to reread it, since I know there are a lot of really strong readers going into one of my school's fifth grade classes who should probably give this book a shot -I thought I'd try to speak intelligently on it. Now I think I'll just let them read it and make their own connections. I don't really feel like I have a lot to say about it. Clearly, I'm a realistic fiction addict. At least now I can admit it.

The thing that makes me anxious about this book in terms of classroom use is who is really going to be able to read it. It scores a W according to Fountas and Pinnell, but even that is a little bit generous. I feel like maybe it should really be an X, although I don't read that many books at a W, so I can't be sure. The language structure and the vocabulary use are all pretty difficult to understand, as are the who's, what's, where's, and why's. I guess I can attempt it with my students who are already scoring reading levels of X and Y (of which we have three) and see if they can handle it.

As the summer starts to wind down, and I get busier with getting my classroom together, I'm also noticing that I'm more resistant to wanting to read children's books. I have a long (and ever-growing) list of books on my Goodreads account of adult books I'd like to get back to. I haven't had much time for them this summer, since I've been so busy with children's books. However, I do have some books from my school's guided reading library that I want to get through, so those can by my project in the coming days. As well as just trying to get the library put together *insert panic-faced emoticon here*

Oh Man, Series Books Will Be the Death of My Sleep

My sister, an avid science fiction and fantasy reader, has been complaining as of late that all sci fi and fantasy books are part of a series only because the author wants to make more money. Therefore, she hasn't read a sci fi or fantasy book in at least two months (which is the longest she's ever gone since discovering the genres in seventh grade). (As an aside, that was also the time that my parents started to worry about her strange sleep patterns.)

Well that all well and good in theory, but then you come across a series you get hooked on and suddenly all of your book-principles go right out the door.

No hard cover books? Broke that rule.

Material with some kind of intelligence? Broke that rule.

No series books by authors who are clearly banging out these series because Johnny's gotta go to Yale? Broke that rule.

But it was so worth it.

It was so worth it I stayed up TWO HOURS past my (old person) bed time of ten thirty.

I've been reading The Son of Neptune, the sequel to The Lost Hero, the first book in Rick Riordan's The Heroes of Olympus series. I bought it right after I finished The Lost Hero, but didn't get around to starting it until last week. I got hung up on a couple of other books, so I picked this up tonight around page 250 and just kept going until it was done. Did I mention I was only supposed to read for 20 minutes before bed?

Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed it. While the last book talked about Jason, Piper, and Leo and their quest to free Hera, this book picks up after that book chronologically. Percy (yes, that Percy Jackson) has had his memory wiped and has been hanging out with some wolves, training for who-knows-what. He finds his way to Camp Jupiter, where he meets Frank and Hazel. Frank is the awkward son of Mars, the God of War, and one of the most important gods to the Romans. Hazel is the previously-dead-but-now-resurrected-for-reasons-we-don't-know-yet-this-early-in-the-book daughter of Pluto, God of the underworld. She did some bad stuff in her last life that plays heavily into this story line. These three demigods must go up to Alaska on a quest to destroy a giant who will play a role in the end of the world as we know it.

Despite my hope for a nifty resolution quickly so that I may get on with my life and go back to being scornful of all things fantasy, I was not given one. In fact, the series will have five books in it and won't be done until 2014 (thank you, Wikipedia). So I can add this to my list of love/hate fantasy books that I love because they are exciting to read, but hate, because I don't want to wait five years for the next book (I'm looking at you George R.R. Martin and your shenanigans with A Dance With Dragons). The upshot is that I know the next book, The Mark of Athena is coming out in October, so I only have to wait a couple of months.

Again, is it necessarily high-quality literature? No. Is it exciting enough that I want to stay up two hours past bed time to finish it? Yes. Will I be mad because my students come in bleary-eyed from staying up too late reading this? Absolutely not. Because I will be in the same boat. After I've announced a surprise "Let's all read at the exact same time for as long as it takes before I get bored!" time so I can inch ahead of them in the book.

Too Much! (Chocolate) (And Books that Need Laminating)

Today's story was a cautionary one: The Chocolate Touch. John Midas is a young boy who is obsessed with sweets. His absolute, most favorite sweet in the whole wide world? Chocolate.

One day, he finds a shiny coin in the street with his initials on it. He finds this to be interesting, so he picks it up, and takes it with him to a new chocolate store he sees while he is supposed to be visiting his friend Susan. At the chocolate store, he buys a piece of chocolate. The next day, everything he eats turns into chocolate. At first, this is a gift but, much like King Midas before him, he sees there are greater consequences to what he has done.

The book is a cute little cautionary tale about the consequences of being too greedy. And of eating too much chocolate. It comes across as a little old-fashioned (the characters have names like John, Mary, and Susan, and the mother encourages John to eat a healthy breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice, and milk), but is still an enjoyable read. I also don't think kids will necessarily pick up on the fact that it was written so long ago (1952). This is another one of the books that I picked up to try and boost certain sections of my classroom library (leveled at an N), and I think it's a good addition. It is definitely enjoyable enough to read as an independent book. I think it is also a strong candidate for guided reading -there is a lesson for discussion at the end, as well as opportunities for discussing how and why John changes throughout the book. The language of the text isn't necessarily anything special, but taken on the whole it can make for a worthwhile discussion.

On a different note, now that it is August, I have begun work on setting up my new office. I'm teaching ESL this year as a push-in specialist, although students will probably be in and out of my room on a regular basis. I am therefore setting up my own classroom library and will allow my students to check books out with me.

As I prepared this library, I decided to laminate the books to make them last longer. I bought a 36 foot roll of clear laminating stuff, which showed up in just 2 days, thanks to the amazingness that is AmazonPrime. My project for tomorrow is to cover all of my books (that I have at home with me) with this material in an attempt to make them last longer. I buy almost all of my books brand-new, so the longer I can keep them in tip-top condition, the better. I already covered my copy of The Chocolate Touch just to see how it would turn out, and I'm pretty pleased with the result. The cover feels a little bit more slick, and it looks shinier, but it doesn't really affect the overall feel of the book. I'm big on reading as a multi-sensory experience (hence why I don't really have any interest in a Kindle or other e-reader), so it's important to me that it still feels the same. Low and behold, I didn't really notice a difference. Hopefully the laminate will help my books withstand the constant hurdling back and forth from backpack, to sticky hands, to bookcase, to backpack.

Down Memory Lane

When I was in second and third grade, my teacher used a more or less integrated curriculum. This means that all subjects were intertwined (some better than others). We studied the rain forest, wolves, Colonial America, and Native Americans. As part of this work, she always had a read aloud that went with what we were studying. While we studied American Indians, we read Sing Down the Moon, by Scott O'Dell. Fast forward some period of time and I find another copy of it in a used book store and add it to my classroom library.

Today I decided to revisit it. It was weird how much I remembered.

What's amazing about Scott O'Dell's work is how it still tells an amazing story forty years later. Bright Morning is a young girl living in a Navaho clan. When the Long Knives come through and burn their small village to the ground her clan is forced into captivity.

The story is based on The Long Walk, a trip the Navaho people had to make from northeast Arizona to Fort Sumner, 170 miles east of Santa Fe, New Mexico. This trip is akin to the Trail of Tears, although not exactly. While the Navaho were kept in Fort Sumner, they were kept as captives, guarded by the Long Knives. After a few years they were allowed to leave and ended up settling in the Four Corners area of the southwest (where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet).

The book is leveled at V, so it is definitely for higher readers. However, it could be used as a read aloud with lower readers if it is part of a greater study of American Indians. It would also be great to use for guided reading, so I might invest in a few more copies. It is also just an enjoyable read, so it'll definitely keep its place in my classroom library as well. I'm excited to keep using it this fall. I can see why my teacher picked it as a read all those years ago.

Lying to Students Can Be a Good Thing

So I've come to this uncomfortable place in my summer where I'm starting to gear up for the school year, and therefore don't have as much time as I would like to be reading. Additionally, suddenly everybody and their mother wants to loan me books to read, but none of them are kids' books. So I haven't been reading like I should.

On Friday, I read Muggie Maggie. At a training. While I was sitting next to my principal. She applauded my effort in reading the students' books and agreed with me that Q&A sessions in a room of 100 people generally drag on a bit too long.

Clocking in at a zippy 66 pages, it was terribly easy to get through. And a cute little book. Maggie refuses to learn cursive, so her teacher makes her the class messenger and sends her all over the school delivering notes, all written in cursive. Maggie's curiosity gets the best of her, but she can't read cursive, she has to learn it herself.

A cute little story with a simple premise. It gets an O for a reading level, but probably only because some of the vocabulary is higher level. Otherwise, it could easily be an N. This book is currently in my classroom library, and I think I'll keep it there. I don't know that it's a strong enough example of an O to really use for guided reading, and I like to use books with a little more meat to them, so this might just stay a library book.

I am currently working my way through the second Heroes of Olympus book, which is why I'm not really reading anything else. I'm hoping to finish it tomorrow or Tuesday, and perhaps read another book between then and now. But I might be biting off more than I can chew, who knows?

Tug at My Heartstrings, Why Don't You

After a day at training, I wasn't sure I would be able to get through a book, but low and behold, I did. And I'm glad I did. This was a seriously cute book.

The Year of Miss Agnes is about a small village in Alaska that runs through school teachers faster than they change their socks. Since the school was started, they haven't had the same teacher twice. This year, however, Miss Agnes shows up. On the first day of school, she throws out the grade book and hides away all their textbooks. She takes them on a journey through learning that can only be described as magical, and opens their eyes to a whole new kind of world. Former reluctant students suddenly have a love of learning.

The story is told through the eyes of Frederika, Fred for short. Her older sister, Bokko, is deaf, but gets invited to the school to learn as well. It is there that she learns sign language and can finally communicate with others for the first time. This, of course, had the linguist in my wondering about how fluent she can be with language if she's never learned it and she's twelve, but this is a book for kids, so who cares.

What makes this book so wonderful is the sense of wonder and hope it gives. These kids have no knowledge of the outside world, but then this one woman comes along and opens their eyes. As the narrator says: "Now I wanted to go everywhere. And before, I never knew there was an everywhere." It's why we teach.

I've had this book for a couple of years, purchased as part of a book-buying spree to beef up my classroom library. Occasionally, kids will pick it up, but they never seem to finish it. Now I know how to pull them through the initial dullness they might experience to where the classroom excitement in the book really gets going. The class in this book is one any kid would like to be a part of, so most kids would like to read this book. It's leveled at a Q, but I would have some concerns for ELL's understanding some of the more specialized language. I don't think it interferes with meaning too much, so they should be able to hang.

I kind of want to do this book as a read aloud in January. Everybody's pretty tired and cranky around that time, a sort of in-between time where we know MCAS is coming soon, but not soon enough. This book could be just the thing to inspire students (and the teacher) to dive back into their work with a new sense of vigor.

It's amazing what little treasures I find in my own library. :)

A Giddy Return to the Second-Most Awkward Years of My Life

From the ages of 10 until about 13 I was obsessed with horses. And no, that word is not too strong. I had tons of books about horses that I read over and over again, I'd read all of The Saddle Club and Thoroughbred something or other, I had posters all over my room, and my favorite day of the week was whatever day my riding lessons were on. My obsession was so deep, I was the subject of much ridicule among my older brother and his friends, but he also used to like Korn, so I'd say we're even.

Today's book really brought me back. Wild Girl, by Patricia Reilly Giff, centers around Lidie, a young girl from Brazil who is finally going to move to Long Island, where her father and brother have been living for several years now. Her father trains race horses while her brother is an exercise rider, soon to be jockey. She goes into the move with high expectations, but quickly finds them all dashed. Her father and brother think she's still a little kid, nobody at school understands her, and the home she lives in now is nothing like the loud, wild home she grew up in.

Meanwhile, a young filly named Wild Girl, is going through the growing pains that all young race horses experience, after being separated from her mother and treated with less-than-kindness by her trainers. But then, she is purchased by Lidie's father and comes to live on the same farm as Lidie. There, they strike up a friendship and a deep connection that helps them both heal some aches in their hearts.

Outside of the fact that I would have loved (and analyzed for factual misrepresentations) this book to death as a kid, I thought it was a good book for students who have moved here from another country. Lidie goes through some serious pains that all students who are new to the country have to experience at one point, and I thought Reilly Giff did a really nice job showing how that initial embarrassment feels.

I have to say, I'm pretty pleased I stumbled upon this book in the used books section of the local bookstore. It definitely is a dense enough book to use for guided reading or book club, filled with opportunities for discussion of symbolism and turning points. The use of two different perspectives (Lidie's and Wild Girl's) adds a small layer of complication to understanding, but is easy enough to work out for one's self. I would also like to just leave this book in my classroom library and let some horse crazy reluctant reader (such as myself at ten years old) find this book. I can't find a reading level anywhere for this book, but if I had to guess for myself, I would say it's a Q or R. All in all, another great book by a trustworthy author.

Bunnicula: Still Better Than Twilight

I guess saying that this book is better than Twilight doesn't say a whole lot. You'll note that I didn't underline the title of Twilight. That's because I don't underline things that could have been written by a Xanax-adled sixteen-year-old, and therefore aren't really books.

Anyway, Bunnicula. I've had this book for a really long time, long enough that I don't remember where I got it, but I've been avoiding it for a multitude of reasons. First of all, the cover art on the edition that I have is pretty stupid, but that might just be because it's stupid to my adult eyes. Second of all, I thought the premise was pretty stupid.

It is not, however, a stupid book. It is narrated by a dog who lives lives with Toby, Pete, Mr. and Mrs. Monroe, and a cat. One day, the family comes home from the movies with a new pet rabbit. Quickly, the rabbit begins to display some strange habits, like sleeping all day. The cat, immediately suspicious, attempts to prove to everybody that he's actually a vampire, just one who sucks the life out of vegetables, rather than people.

The book's premise is not all that difficult, but the language is pretty tricky, which puts it at an F&P level Q (fourth grade). Here are some examples: (academic words in bold):

Now, most people might call me a mongrel, but I have some pretty fancy bloodlines running through these veins and Russian wolfhound happens to be one of them. (Pp. 8-9) 

I was aghast. (P. 49)

The corners of his mouth were pulled back in an evil grimace. His teeth were bared and gleaming in the morning light. He cackled menacingly and threw back his head as if he were laughing at us. (P. 56)

In terms of giving this book to my English Language Learners, especially anybody around the intermediate level, I would want to make sure that they have a strong enough vocabulary to get at some of the more specialized words (mongrel and bloodlines), and so that they can understand the biggest joke in the book: at one point, the cat read that he can kill Bunnicula by pounding a stake into his heart, so he uses a steak. Further proof of the the joys of the English language!

I definitely did find it to be an enjoyable read. At a level Q, I would be hoping for something with a little more literary merit, but this would definitely be good for roping in a group of kids who aren't so big on reading. It might even make a good guided reading book, although there isn't a whole lot for them to dig into. I'll keep it in my classroom library for now, and if interest in it picks up, I'll buy other books from the series.

And tomorrow, if I can track it down, I will finish Wild Girl.

What MIMI has taught me

For two weeks this summer (followed by three Saturdays this fall) I attend the Massachusetts Intel Mathematics Institute, which was magical. I found that the course was everything school is supposed to be: challenging, engaging, interesting, and informative. I thought about how much more math I know, now that I've taken this course. I finally don't know just enough math to stay ahead of my students -I am way above them now. (Unfortunately, it's still not a skill I can show off to my friends, as they don't care.)

The course is designed to give teachers better mathematical knowledge so that they will have an easier time passing this information along to their students. The major rationale behind this course is that we use TERC, a curriculum that values number sense and a deep understanding of the conceptual root of the mathematics these students are doing. The curriculum is certainly more closely aligned with the kind of mathematical thinking mathematicians have to do, and so the math is more difficult in some ways than the traditional "Here the procedure, please mimic" method of teaching. Therefore, teachers need a better grasp on math as concepts, rather than math as steps 1 through 5.

Then I started thinking about how useful a course like this would be for reading and writing. In my classes with Lucy Calkins, she would talk about how we start designing our minilessons by thinking about what it is that good readers or writers do. Well, what if I don't know what good readers or writers do? What if I'm not a reader or writer myself? Then how am I supposed to teach these skills to my students?

Think about the value this could have for the teaching of English/Language Arts. Imagine a class where we are expected to do what our students do: pick out books, read them, and report back. Talk about books. Write about books. Think about books. Write papers. Revise papers. Write with better grammar and spelling. Help our peers with all of these things.

Maybe I'm imagining this in a world where all teachers use the Reader's and Writer's workshop; my district certainly is not among them. We use a "managed curriculum," one that involves and "anthology" and countless "leveled books" that have us using "quotation marks" ad nauseum. But even within my district, we use the Writer's workshop, and we are quickly finding that our managed curriculum does not necessarily hold up to the demands of the new CCSS, so changes must be made. And if changes must be made, teachers need to know more about the subject they are teaching. I think we assume that just because teachers know how to read and write well enough to pass their certification tests they must know how to teach reading and writing to ever-increasing difficulty levels.

I would argue strongly in favor of a professional development similar to MIMI for reading and writing. Just like teachers need a better understanding of the mathematical concepts they need to teach their students, teachers need a better understanding of the difficult skills involved in being a good reader and writer. Reading is not just absorbing information, and writing is not just regurgitating it. However, that seems to be how most teachers treat these subjects -probably in large part because that's all they know how to do with each subject. If teachers were taught the skills necessary to be good readers and good writers, then perhaps they would be better able to teach their own students the skills necessary to be good readers and writers. I don't think it's enough to expect teachers to go out a read the (millions) of books out there on the subject, since they're not doing that. But by providing a space in which that is an expected behavior, maybe we can get more teachers on board with the same 21st century, college and career readiness skills their students are supposed to be gaining.

So this is how my students feel when they haven't done their homework...

Alright, I failed.  I gave in to the exhaustion my class caused me, followed by a full week of recovering from wisdom tooth removal (I am weak and the pain killers are strong). But I must get back to it. I have class again this week starting on Tuesday, but I think I'll be smarter this time about my reading. I'll also have a chance to go into my building and grab picture books that will ease the burden of some of my reading.

I did get a chance to read these last three weeks, just not as much as I should have. I started Wild Girl, by Patricia Reilly Giff, and started (and finished!) The Feminine Mistake, by Leslie Bennetts (not a children's book, and I definitely skipped major parts, so don't be impressed by the 300+ page count). All of this adds up to the fact that I did not read every day, like I was supposed to. Or like any human being should do to keep their mind sharp. But of course, I am human, and thus I err. I might not have even used that word correctly, I don't know, I'm still on pain killers (okay, fine, I'm on basically just suped-up ibuprofen).

Okay, so now I have to do some reflecting on how this slip-up will fit into my teaching. I've already been doing some thinking about how I don't want to have my students keep reading logs, and I don't want to make them lose recess for not reading, but I also have to acknowledge that, as a fourth grader, three weeks of little reading is a bad thing in terms of continued progress.

I think this highlights for me the importance of setting aside time every day for independent reading in the classroom. I always had a book with me when I was in class, but I never read because nobody else was reading, and so being the only one reading would make me look anti-social. But if everybody were expected to read at the same time, I think that would have gone very differently, I would have had a hard time putting my book down. On top of that, I would have been engaged enough to want to continue with the book later. When you go one day without reading, the second day without it seems to come easier.

And so, I will remember for future classroom practice that I need to stress the importance of having a sacred "Just Sit and Read" time, just to let us remind ourselves how much we enjoy the activity.

Math Fun Time!!

Okay, so this week and next week are going to be TOUGH. I have a math class that lasts all this week and next from 8:30-4:00, plus homework in the evenings. Which means that, between that and my suddenly blossoming social life, I'm going to struggle to find the time I need to just sit and read.

In that spirit, I chose a short book for today. Fraction Fun, by David A. Adler, is a cute little book that introduces the concept of fractions. He starts by describing different contexts in which students might have used fractions in their every day lives, then shows the most obvious example of fractions: pizza. Then, there are activities that students can do on their own to expand their knowledge of fractions. He also uses money and weight as examples of different ways to show fractions, and does a little bit on equivalent fractions. He then challenges students to find other contexts in their lives where they see fractions.

All in all, it's a good supplementary book for students who are just starting to learn about fractions. It might also be a good book for more advanced students who want an opportunity to try something new in their spare time. I'll definitely keep this one hand as a math mentor text.

Hopefully this week I can figure out a strategy for reading more often -I have some seriously good books planned.

Esio Trot...Or: How Lying Can Help You Get Married

I'm starting to wonder if this might have been easier to do when I wasn't on summer vacation. Thinking that I would have plenty of time to read today, I picked out a slightly longer book. Then I went to yoga, went to the pond to go swimming, enjoyed a delicious breakfast (at 2 in the afternoon), took a shower and cleaned my room, then went to dinner for my brother's birthday. I didn't actually read anything until about 8:45 tonight. So I picked a shorter book.

I read Esio Trot, another Roald Dahl book. Also acquired when I was desperate for books at a level N. I'm glad that I've read it. Now I know why my kids think lying is okay.

That's not true, they know lying is bad. But the protagonist in this certainly gets his way by lying. Or rather, by deception.

Mr. Hoppy loves Miss Silver. Miss Silver loves her tortoise, Alfie. (Side note: the author points out that all of this takes place before England put a ban on importing tortoises from North Africa, so all future events are okay, based on their historical context...basically.) Mr. Hoppy has never been able to act on this love because he is too shy to do anything about it. So, to win her affection, he tells her that her tortoise will get bigger if she whispers a little chant to him. He then goes out and buys 140 tortoises of varying sizes -but all with the same shell color - and slowly replaces her tortoise with a slightly bigger tortoise once a week, leading her to believe his chant has made her tortoise grow to just the right size.

At this point, I should add (as a social commentary) that perhaps Dahl is also telling us that women can be duped. Easily.

Anyway, Miss Silver is so thrilled that her tortoise has grown that it finally gives Mr. Hoppy the courage to ask her to marry him. She agrees, and he and her and Replacement Tortoise all live happily ever after.

It was a very cute book, let me preface everything I have to say next with that, lest I appear humorless. It was cute how dumb she is, and cute how he uses deception to get her to love him. I suppose I would know I'm a good teacher if my students pick up on these things. Thus far, since I hadn't read the book before, the biggest inference I've seen my students make is that they realize that Esio Trot is tortoise backwards before they've gotten to the part of the book that explains that. Now I know what direction to lead them in.

A major math class starts for me tomorrow, which leaves me feeling like my summer vacation is over. Additionally, this adds a new level of difficulty in reading everything I want to read. Time management springs to mind. Although I skipped that class at my college's "Life Skills" seminar (yep, an actual class). I might be in big trouble.

Getting Near to Baby

Well, I finished. It really shouldn't have been as painful a process as it was, and yet...I struggled. Probably more due to the fact that I had a lot going on, rather than that the book wasn't interesting.

It was interesting, mostly. There were some parts where it dragged, the whole thing probably could have been a little bit shorter, but on the whole it was very good.

Willa Jo and Little Sister have climbed up onto the roof of their aunt's house to watch the sunrise, and have not come down since. They've been living with their aunt since their father left and their baby sister died, leaving their mom too grief-stricken to care for them. In spite of the fact that living with their mom does offer them a little more stability, they hate most of the things about living with her.

The book jumps back and forth between the present, in which they are sitting up on the roof, embarrassing their aunt in front of the whole town, and the past, in which they struggle with grieving over the death of their sister. As it goes back in time, the narrator (Willa Jo) talks about how she struggles with her own grief, while also trying to explain away to others why her sister has refused to talk since Baby died. While living with their aunt, the sisters friend The Fingers, a large family who lives across the street and who are largely frowned upon by the town's elite. While the author is not specific about dates in the book, there is a stage version which states that the action takes place in 1967, and there are some colloquialisms that aren't really used anymore, so that timing makes sense.

This book is perfect for any student who is currently grieving. I think there's a lot here that a child could relate to, and a lot of important lessons to be learned about grieving, such as the importance of just letting yourself cry sometimes. This book would, however, be tedious for some students who are not interested in exploring emotional issues experienced by the grief-stricken, so I think I will be judicious with whom I recommend this book to. I would love to do this as a guided reading book, since there are so many idioms I would like to explore with students. While the book does not have a level according Fountas and Pinnell, I would guess it's an S or T, because of the idioms and the non-chronological timeline. This non-chronological timeline would also be a great thing to explore with students, since such a style is what modern American fiction is all about.

All in all, in spite of occasionally erring on the boring side, the book is a great one for students who are looking for a challenging read and/or are grieving in some way. I'm excited to return it to its place in my classroom library.

Things Learned

This post isn't about a book, so much as it is about what I'm learning as I do this. When I initially started, all I wanted to do was read the books my students were reading so I could be a better teacher. However, in this process, I think I'm realizing certain things.

The first thing I realized is that I like to write about reading. I do it anyway, on my goodreads account (feel free to friend me), but I don't do it that often. With this, I've been writing almost every day. However, I write when I finish a book. During the school year, my school expects students to write about their reading five days a week. I think, now that I've been doing some pretty intensive writing about reading, that we should cut back on that. I can't imagine that I would have that much to say about a book that I'm only 20 pages into. I can see myself keeping post-its or marginal notes (a practice I employ anyway) throughout a book to keep track of major ideas I want to highlight later. However, I can only see myself doing extended writing when I've finished the book and I feel like I actually have something to say. Otherwise, writing about reading becomes an exercise in making things up.

Which brings me, more or less, to my second point. This requires some background. I started Getting Near to Baby, by Audrey Couloumbis, on Thursday. My reading was interrupted by belly dancing, followed by baby-sitting my nephew. So I picked it up again on Friday. Only I didn't pick it up until after I'd slept in late, gone to the gym, checked out every page on the internet ever, and tried on various outfits for that evening's night out. I read four pages yesterday. Today, my nephew is once again being baby-sat (he's napping now, thankfully), so I haven't done much reading. When he took a marathon nap this morning, I spent the entire time thinking that I'm supposed to be reading, rather than just getting lost in the eyes of a sleeping infant. But because I was suddenly "supposed to" I didn't really want to do it anymore. I read because I like to, not because I have to. I can have a pile of books as assigned reading, but I don't want to read those until I've read my "for pleasure" book to my satisfaction.

I think what I'm realizing is that I need to get out of my students' way when it comes to getting "pleasure" reading done. I'm lucky that my students are young enough that we don't assign them tons of other readings that need to get done, so there's no reason they can't do their reading every night. But I need to let them be in charge of it. I usually don't try to mandate much, but I do mandate a "reading log," in which they record how long they read for, and how many pages they read in that time. I check it every morning with their homework. However, I think I need to stop. I think I'll let them be in charge of that for themselves. I don't keep a reading log for myself, I just note how long it took me to finish a book. I'm a reflective reader, and I notice if I've stopped reading for a period of time so I can remedy that.

In thinking about next year, I'd rather have my students set up their own reading goals, much like I have done for myself on goodreads. I planned on reading 60 books this year (I was on the fence about whether or not children's books will count, but I've been counting them this summer, so I'm going to blow past that number). When I finish a book, I usually write a review of it, but I don't do it if I don't feel strongly about the book, or if I feel like I don't have anything new to say. I can see myself doing this kind of work with my students. They can set their own reading goal (with a few parameters), then keep track of their reading themselves. I'll know if they are reading because of my conversations with them. I don't need to beat them over the head with the need to read: they'll read because there is something innately pleasurable about it.

Now if only I could motivate myself to finish this book without feeling like it's something I'm "supposed to do."

Maybe in the swing of things?

Okay, I think I'm finally doing pretty good with this whole reading thing. Granted, it's easier to read as much as I'm reading when you're not working, but all your friends have normal people jobs, so you can read while they're at work. Next week might be trickier, since I have class from 8:30-4 every day. Plus the week I get my wisdom teeth out will be tough too. You see, I find it's best to make excuses for oneself before you start slacking. That way you avoid all those icky "guilty" feelings once you start slacking.

I'm also not happy that my books from Amazon haven't arrived yet. What good is Amazon Prime if your stuff doesn't actually show up in two days?!

Today's book was Anna Hibiscus, by Atinuke. This is one of my independent bookstore finds. When I found it, I didn't know this was the first in a series of books, but I'm glad it's a series. This was a really cute little book. Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa. Amazing Africa. She has a huge family, with too many cousins, uncles, and aunts to count, her parents, grandparents, and twin baby brothers, Double and Trouble. This book contains four vignettes in her life that focus around different small issues. Each story could stand by itself in its own book, but it's definitely nice to learn more about Anna Hibiscus.

There's no information about its reading level, but since the vocabulary is a little bit more difficult than Frog and Toad, I'd guess that this book is about an L. The structure, however, is very similar -there are little vignettes that focus around the same characters, but don't necessarily build on each other.

In terms of usage, I would love to have this whole series for a classroom library. Just another series to keep kids engaged across multiple books. Additionally, I think I'll shell out the cash for four more copies so I can use it for guided reading. It's a good book to build comprehension and vocabulary. It's also nice to read a book about somebody who lives in a place very different from our own. At one point, Anna Hibiscus wishes she could see snow. My school has a huge number of immigrants, the majority of whom are from tropical regions, so our newest students have never seen snow. I know that my students will remember that excitement about seeing snow for the first time (followed by the bitter disappointment they feel upon realizing that it gets into every space your clothes don't cover and it's seriously cold). This book is just another nice way to remind students about the different types of places people can live and the different experiences we all have growing up. This book will be a great addition to my classroom library.

One Crazy Summer

Spent almost the entire day indoors, so I managed to not only read a book today, but also glut myself on crime shows. It was a good day indeed.

Today's book was One Crazy Summer, by Rita Williams-Garcia. The picture I have shows the same cover art on the copy I have (or more precisely, the copy my mother, a fellow teacher, owns, but that I have pilfered from her classroom library), except my copy is covered with FOUR awards. And the awards are: Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Award, and National Book Award Finalist. It was also named a best or notable book of the year by just about every organization that has anything to do with children's literature.

And you can see why. Williams-Garcia does a wonderful job of weaving together a personalized family story with historical context. Three sisters -Delphine, the oldest and the story's narrator; Vonetta, her "showy and crowy" sisters; and Fern, the youngest -were abandoned by their mother when they were very young. Now, in the summer of 1968, they are traveling from Brooklyn to Oakland to spend 28 days with their mother for the first time.

Instead of the warm reception they expect, their mother makes clear that they are not wanted there and makes them spend all day at a community center run by the Black Panthers. There, they learn about their rights, and what it means to be black in 1968. In one scene, the girls are asked if they are white or black, since the youngest one, Fern, is holding a blonde-haired, blue-eyed doll. Fern says that she is "colored" so her older sisters go along with it. The Panther asks why she carries "self-hatred around in her arms." They clearly have never considered why her doll is white.

What makes this book great is how the author weaves together the story of the good fight the Panthers are in the middle of with The Man and the good fight the daughters are in the middle of with their mother. At one point, the narrator talks about her mother as being The Establishment.

Once again I found my calm, steady voice and brought our demands to Cecile at our next sit-down dinner. That's what the protesters did. They brought their protest songs and their demands to the Establishment, because the Establishment was in control. The Establishment was someone over thirty year old who had the power. I didn't know Cecile's exact age, but she had to be over thirty. That, plus her holding on to the money Pa had given us, had made Cecile the Establishment. (117)

By drawing a parallel between the two, the author shows multiple layers in the experience of Delphine (primarily, her sisters secondarily) throughout this tumultuous summer.

I am excited to use this book in my classroom. I'd like to use it as a read-aloud with the whole class. This would be especially great to do whole-class close reading of some really interesting sections of the text (and there are many, many sections that beg to be dug into deeply). I'd love to use it as a guided reading book, or to recommend it for independent reading. I could even see it being used as a book to supplement a unit on the Civil Rights Movement, although this would be trickier, since it doesn't have that much information about the Movement. It is good, though, to discuss how the identity issues Blacks were going through at the time. Delphine describes the way her grandmother expects her to behave around white people, then shows how it's different from what the Panthers expect her to do.

All in all, I'm excited to buy this book for myself and add it to my classroom library. Time to get some book talks going!

Playing catch up still...somehow

So as I was counting my book numbers, I realized that I'd left out Ender's Game, which I finished a couple of weeks ago. That made me a little bit sad. But not really. I also realized that I am behind (again) because...I can't count, probably. I thought I was caught up, but apparently not.

About Ender's Game. A highly enjoyable book, and I won't bother talking about it too much, since it's been talked about a million times before. My only issue with it was that the part where the author gets to his point, the lesson of the book, is so short, it's easy to miss. I would have liked to see more on that lesson, but I have no suggestions for how the author could have done that, nor do I think anyone cares about my opinion on the matter. Unfortunately, this book is way beyond the majority of my students, so I would save this for either a student who is super advanced (I have one in mind already), or for sixth or seventh grade students. I do think it is an essential read, but I don't think any of my kids are ready for it.

Speaking of things my kids aren't ready for, I tried to read the book I bought last week, The Cruisers, by Walter Dean Myers. Found out in the early pages that it's not appropriate for my students. In one scene, the narrator is talking with his mom about how he's going to throw a party and drink beer while she's away (he's in eighth grade), and she tells him she wants him to wait until he's at least sixteen. She may or may not be being sarcastic, but I'd rather not let a fifth grader make that decision. I stopped reading it shortly thereafter since I knew it wouldn't be read by any of my students. Off to the book swap it goes.

By adding these two books, I will now finally be caught up. Unless I counted wrong. Again.

I have been inundating myself with books to make sure I stay on top of my reading goal. On Sunday I ordered The Son of Neptune, the second in my new Heroes of Olympus series, and Un Lun Dun, by China Mieville. It was recommended to me by somebody on Reddit, so I thought I'd give it a try. Then today, while waiting for a friend to meet up for lunch, I popped into a local independent bookstore (that also happens to offer amazing teacher discounts) and bought Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke, and Fraction Fun, by David A. Adler. To top that off, I borrowed The Feminine Mistake, by Leslie Bennetts, on the recommendation of a friend. I have five new books to read this week, on top of the thirty or so books I brought home from my school. I had better get to reading all this.

Rabbit Hill, The Forgotten Newbery Book

In the greatest of "Girl, don't do that" teacher moves, I leveled this book. I leveled this book WITHOUT HAVING READ IT. Mistake. Now I know I was off. Way off. Let's look at some evidence as to just how off I was.

There are some seriously difficult sentences with some major academic words. Case in point (on page 2, no less): (I bolded the academic words. You're welcome.)

Do try to adopt a more optimistic attitude. This news of Georgie's may promise the approach of a more felicitous and bountiful era. Perhaps it would be well if I were to indulge in a short stroll about the neighborhood and seek confirmation of this most auspicious rumor.

Shut the front door. What kind of elementary school student knows what "auspicious" means?

"The pictures will be helpful to understanding!"I thought to myself. They're not. Generally, the pictures give some vague indication of who is present in the page you're reading, but they do little to add to meaning. The whole book would probably be better off without them.

And on top of all that, it's pretty boring. Some animals live on the property of this house that used to be a wonderful place to be a small woodland creature, but since then has fallen into disrepair. Now the animals are sad. But wait! New people are moving in! Excitement ensues!

Oh wait, no it doesn't. It just stays boring. It stays boring all the way until page 40, which is where I gave up. Considering the fact that the whole things is only about 117 pages, it should be interesting by then. But it's not.

It's times like this when I'm glad I buy from used book stores (sometimes). This book only cost me $2.00, so I don't feel bad that I'll never finish it, and few of my students will ever read it.

Also, please note the occasional not-so-politically correct phrases, such as when the author writes that the skunks walked in "Indian file." The book was written in 1944 (which is probably why there is no F&P level), so I'm guessing the author just didn't realize that's not the most precise way of describing a single-file line, but I'm sure it will confuse the crap out of some kids.

I originally leveled this at an R, but I'm guessing I would now level it at a T, since it will take a future lexicographer to be able to understand what the father rabbit is saying. Also, I probably just won't recommend this to many students. Unless they like books about animals that have first world problems.

Roald Dahl...But Before He Was Famous

I didn't originally think I would have time to read a book today, which left me concerned about my abilities as a role model. Luckily, the oh-so-important thing I needed to do today (go to a surprise party) was pushed back by two hours, so I had time to get in a book and a blog entry.

All of the books I've read so far are either books I bought for my classroom or books that come from my school's guided reading library. This book, The Enormous Crocodile, by Roald Dahl, comes from my classroom library. I bought this my first year of teaching when, after leveling my books, I found that I had exactly 7 N books and 11 N readers. I then went on a buying spree, purchasing pretty much anything that was an N. Normally, I hesitate with buying something by Roald Dahl that I haven't read first, since there can be some kind of racist stuff in his writing, but I was desperate, so I bought it anyway. I also knew that Dahl is a writer most of my kids have probably heard of, but since his most famous writing is higher level, this less-famous book would be a good entry point into this particular writer.

Now I can safely say that this won't offend anybody. Except people who are offended by crocodiles who scheme to eat children.

In typical Dahl fashion, he takes something that should be legitimately terrifying to children (a crocodile who disguises himself as playground equipment so he can eat you) and makes it funny (his plans are foiled at every turn because he was dumb enough to tell all the jungle creatures what his plans were). In the end, the crocodile gets what's coming to him and everybody can be happy.

While this book is not long on depth or meaning, it is an entertaining story for kids to read. The pictures are heavily complementary to the text, which makes understanding a little bit easier. What I did like about the book is that in the opening sequence, all of the information that we gather about this crocodile and his past is done through dialogue. I can definitely see myself using these first pages as a mentor text in writing to help students understand how dialogue can be used to reveal character and move the plot forward. In most of my students' writing, when they use dialogue it is extremely bland and unnecessary to the story. This dialogue is so essential to the story, so it makes for a great mentor to help students see the importance of good dialogue.

Other than that, I think I'll just throw this back in my classroom library and let the kids enjoy it for the sake of enjoying it.

Oh, Series Books

Somebody on Reddit suggested that I add graphics to each entry, so this fancy looking cover is my attempt at doing so. I also went back and added pictures for some other entries as well, but then I got tired of copy/pasting, so I stopped. Does it look fancy yet?

I finished The Lost Hero, but I don't feel finished. It's a series book, so now of course I have to go and order the sequel.

Anyway, an awesome book. For those of you who have read or heard anything about Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, this book follows that one. I haven't read Percy Jackson, nor did I even realize that this book was at all related to that book until I started reading it, so having read it is not essential to your understanding of this book.

The Lost Hero seems to have picked up where Percy Jackson left off: the Titans have been defeated and things have more or less returned to normal. Except that one day, this kid Jason wakes up on a school bus with a girlfriend (Piper) and a best friend (Leo), but zero recollection of either. He and his friends eventually find their way to Camp Half-Blood, which is the same place Percy Jackson went to when he found out he was related to a Greek God. Because that's what this camp is for: the demi-god children of Greek Gods and Goddesses. Leo finds out he's the son of Hephaestus, the God of the force; Piper finds out she's the daughter of Aphrodite, Goddess of love; and Jason finds out he's the son of Zeus, God of the skies. Then they have to go on a quest, because if they don't the whole world will end.

Coming from somebody who hasn't read Percy Jackson, I can guess that this book more or less has a similar plot to the other one. Do I care? Not at all. The story line was compelling enough to keep me reading (I read 200-odd pages today), the characters were interesting, and the ending was cliff-hangery-enough that I'm going to buy the sequel so I can find out what happens next (and maybe how it ends).

The characters were actually one of my favorite parts. Being that Jason is the son of Zeus, he is somehow the star of the book. However, unlike in Harry Potter, his two sidekicks, Leo and Piper, are given equally interesting backgrounds and unique characterizations. In fact, my favorite character was Leo, the sarcastic son of a mechanic and Hephaestus. His humor and ingenuity throughout the book made him one of the more important characters. Whereas J.K. Rowling seemed to have to work to make Ron Weasley important to Harry, Leo is an invaluable asset to the success of the quest. And the necessity of Leo comes naturally to the story.

In terms of classroom usage, this is definitely useful for getting students excited about learning about Greek and Roman myths. The story talks a lot about Jason and the Argonauts (duh), along with references to Medea, King Midas, Gaea and Ouranos, Kronos, and the roles each of the Gods plays in making the world function (or not, as the case may be). I know that I didn't remember that much of Medea, which left me clicking on link after link on Wikipedia, trying to learn more about her story (while, of course, forgetting the garlic bread in the oven and subsequently burning it -what a dangerous game we lifelong learners play). I can definitely see putting this book in the hands of a couple of readers eager for some adventure, then hooking them into Greek mythology so they can better understand the significance of the myths as they are told in the book. While the book is probably too long to work as a read aloud (550 pages, approximately), if enough students read it, Greek myths could be the next big thing in a classroom. The book isn't leveled by F&P, but if I had to guess I'd say it's a Y or Z, so hang onto this book for upper level readers.

Oh, and read it yourself, because it's just that good of a book.

Making up for lost time...oops

Fourth of July is a busy time. That, and I was reading a much longer book (The Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan) that kept me distracted from the task at hand: read a book a day. More on that book later when I actually finish it (which hopefully will be later today after I go to the gym). But, so, I skipped a book on Tuesday and Wednesday in favor of sleeping in too late, getting mac'n'cheese (which I need a regular supply of), seeing Ted (which didn't end up happening), going swimming at the nearby pond (No Swimming Allowed signs be damned), and barbecuing. Any empty spaces in there were filled with The Lost Hero.

This morning I read five picture books in an attempt to catch up. They are as follows:

A Picture Book of Paul Revere
A Picture Book of Sam Adams
A Picture Book of John and Abigial Adams
(all of the above are by David Adler. Sam Adams and John and Abigail Adams were illustrated by Ronald Himler and Paul Revere was illustrated by John and Alexandra Wallner)
Heroes of the Revolution, by David Adler
Helen Keller: Her Life in Pictures, by George Sullivan

Let's group them, shall we?

A Picture Book of... is always a good series, and now this has been confirmed to me by me. The research is always quality and the illustrations are usually pretty good. I saw David Adler speak, thanks to a professional development I did at the JFK Library and Museum. His assigned topic was about how he came to write historical nonfiction and how he does his research. He had some pretty interesting things to say. First of all, he told about how, when he was growing up, he read a historical fiction book that had dialogue between George Washington and another person. When he asked his mom how the writer knew what George had said, his mom told him that the writer probably made it up. This left him with a bad taste in his mouth about historical fiction. When he became a writer, he decided that he wanted to be as historically accurate as possible, so he uses as many primary resources as possible when he researches. At the time, he was writing a book about Harriet Tubman. The majority of the books about her are written for children (I think there are only two or three books for adults that have been written about her), so he found a book from 1890 that had accounts of escaped slaves, several of whom had escaped with Harriet Tubman. He said he was using this book to write a lot of the information about how she lead slaves to freedom.

Anyway, that's part of what I like about David Adler's books: I know that there has been some painstaking research that has gone into it, so I can trust the information provided.

My favorite of these was the book about John and Abigail Adams. Maybe it's just because I like her, but I thought that this provided the best information about the subject(s) and the illustrations were far superior to those done by John and Alexandra Wallner for Paul Revere. Those illustrations looked a little hokey and young to me. These books are great books for students up through fifth grade to gather information about these people, so the illustrations should strive for some kind of artistic merit. I felt like these pictures belonged in a picture book for younger readers.

As for Sam Adams, I enjoyed it, but the book was more largely focused on the events surrounding Sam Adams, rather than Sam Adams himself. This is fine, since it gives a good context for his life, but I also like getting to know the person when I read a biography.

The thing I like the best about these books in general is that Adler always has an author's note that expands on or, sometimes, corrects the information given in that actual narrative. I think sometimes this is done to exaggerate a point in the narrative -as he does in Heroes of the Revolution when he describes John Paul Jones as shouting "I have not yet begun to fight!" in the narrative, but in the author's note, he says that it's more likely that he said "No, I'll sink, but I'll be damned if I'll strike [surrender]."

These three books, along with Heroes could all definitely be used as part of a research project during a unit on the Revolutionary War. Heroes gives a good context for who all the different people are, while any of the A Picture Book of... books could be used to give more depth to each person's life. They could also be used as mentor texts during a unit on reading and writing biographies, or they could be used just to conduct research during these units. All in all, I think any of the books are a great addition to the elementary school classroom.

Helen Keller I have a harder time coming up with uses for. The example she sets is definitely one to mimic. She overcame a lot of adversity, and definitely deserve recognition for that. The book does not have actual illustrations. Instead, it had pictures taken throughout Helen's life, with a narrative intertwined that described Helen's life. I think I struggle with coming up with a classroom purpose for this book because it doesn't really address any standards. I thought about using it as a text to springboard discussion about how people with disabilities are treated, but other than "they're just like us" there isn't really that much discussion. Yes, they're just like us, but what do you do when they get treated differently? Why does the kid with the behavioral problems get to have a chart with some pretty easy stuff to do on it ("Don't leave the classroom") and then he gets time on the computer? How's that fair?

I guess I keep this book around my classroom library so that I have another biography of another person important to the history of our country around. I do believe that Helen Keller made a difference in the lives of many people, especially the blind and deaf-blind. But I'm a little bit stuck for what to do with this book past keep it as an independent reading book.

Later today (maybe...don't count on it though) I'll write about The Lost Hero.

Desperate to catch up...

So today I went to the bookstore. I'm usually pretty good about not buying too many books, and today was no different (4). While some readers can't help but pull 20 books from the shelves, I like to pull as many as I think I can read, then read then, then buy more. Hence doing lots of trips to the bookstore, but leaving with fewer books. It's how I convince myself I'm not spending too much money.

What did I buy?

Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing, by Judi Barrett (of Cloudy, With a Chance of Meatballs fame) (I originally bought this for my nephew, but I think I'll buy another copy in paperback as a mentor text...more on this later)
A touch-and-feel book for my nephew
Franny K. Stein Frantastic Voyage, by Jim Benton
The Cruisers, by Walter Dean Myers


Since I got home, I managed to read the two books meant for my nephew to him. Oh, did I mention that he's 3 1/2 months old? I don't think he absorbed very much from them, but he smiled a little bit and kicked his feet around, so I'm going to guess that this is a good thing.

I realized as I would reading Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing that it would make a great mentor text for a persuasive writing unit. It makes a claim (Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing), then gives reasons (sheep would be too hot, a camel would probably wear it the wrong way), then provides evidence (pictures with animals looking ridiculous). I have a bunch of mentor texts that I got through Donor's Choose, which I keep in my office for other teachers to borrow when they get to a certain writing unit. I'll throw this book on the pile. It would be great for kindergarten and first grade teachers to demonstrate how they can use persuasive writing in the lower grades. The text isn't leveled according to Fountas and Pinnell. If I had to guess myself, I would say an F or G. The concept isn't difficult, but some of the words are definitely pretty tricky for new readers to sound out.

The next book I read was Franny K. Stein: Frantastic Journey. Franny K. is a series of books about a young girl who is a mad scientist. She conducts evil experiments, is followed around by bats, and has a dog named Igor. He can't talk, but he is anthropomorphized in other, equally awesome ways -such as being prone to suggestion by commercials he sees on television.

I enjoy this series as an easy read, and so do my students. There's very little here that's complex, or worthy of discussion. But, they are nonetheless enjoyable to read, probably because of the lack of complexity. I think I'll keep this (and other Franny K. books) in my library. If anything, it's something to get my reluctant readers to start reading ANYTHING. It is nice to hear kids laughing out loud at a book, even if I know that the joke is a pretty low one. Franny K. is leveled at an N according to Fountas and Pinnell, but it is definitely still enjoyable to kids who are way past it.

I now only have to read one extra book at some point this week, plus the book I need to read for today because the books I read today only count as making up for the deficit. MATH. Go me.

Falling Behind Like Whoa

One of the good things about telling myself that I'm going to read a children's book a day and write about them is that I see just how time consuming this really is. I haven't finished a children's book since Thursday, but I am chock full of excuses about why:

Friday -last day of curriculum planning project. Got home at 3:30, took a FOUR HOUR nap, then felt too groggy to read anything for the rest of the night.

Saturday -errands in the morning, brunch around noon, swimming at the pond in the afternoon, then helping my mom move her stuff upstairs (long story), which consumed the rest of the night. I should have just brought a book with me so I could read at the pond, but I didn't. Damn it.

Sunday -super busy day. Early session at the gym, followed by a trip to a national park to go bouldering (a type of rock climbing), then dinner with my mom (roast chicken...yum), followed by dinner numero dos with friends I had gone rock climbing with. I didn't even get home until around 1 in the morning.

Which brings me to today. I did actually read a book, so there is something to report back about. But I also learned an important lesson this weekend about prioritizing reading.
1. I need to ALWAYS have a book on me. I could have been reading yesterday while I was waiting for people to be ready to go at the rock gym, or I could have been reading while I was at the pond.
2. I need to read books I'm excited about reading. The book I had picked out for Friday (which then became Saturday, then Sunday, then Monday) wasn't one I was terribly excited about, so I didn't really care about reading it. Which meant that I didn't read it. So next time, if I don't like a book, I'll just move on.

So the book I did read today (which means I still have to read three extra books at some point this week) was Felita, by Nicolosa Mohr.

I didn't like it, as I alluded to earlier. The book was published in 1979, which plays into some of the race relations that happen in the book. A young girl, about 9, moves with her family from one neighborhood, which is deemed no good, to a nicer neighborhood with better schools. Unfortunately, because the family is Puerto Rican, they are met with gross, obvious racism. They decide to move back to their old neighborhood. Then some other bad stuff happens which is completely unrelated to the first half of the book. Then the grandmother dies and the book ends.

Can you tell I didn't like it?

If I'm looking for a book that speaks to racism, I might choose The Jacket, by Andrew Clements, which has a more modern take on racism. This book is about white/black relations, but it discusses a more subtle kind of racism than the kind in Felita, which is pretty blatant. It dawns on me now that I can't think of a children's book that I liked that talks about race from the perspective of a Hispanic person. This is kind of a shame. As I wrote this, I went through a list in my head of black/white race relations books for children, but couldn't come up with anything about being Hispanic. Wait, I lied. I would rather use How Tia Lola Came to (Visit) Stay. This is a higher level book (an R, according to Fountas and Pinnell), while Felita is a P. Perhaps I would have students read this book as an introduction to racism with Hispanics, but then move into Tia Lola to help advance their thinking.

The second half of the book I felt like was a completely different story from the first half. Felita has some issues in her neighborhood that are pretty much just normal growing pains and have nothing to do with her being Hispanic, other than that her Abuelita helps her sort through some things. Interesting, but unrelated to the beginning. In fact, race only applies to the first half of the book, not the second. I'll keep this as a guided reading book, but it is certainly not one of my favorites.

Two books I liked better: