Reading up a Storm

I'm having a GREAT reading summer!  I've been out of school for a week, and I've read 5 chapter books.  Woo hoo!  Every summer, Donalyn Miller (author of The Book Whisperer) challenges people to participate in the "bookaday challenge".  I see this as an incentive to read each day, not as a contest.  When I tweet about the book I'm reading, I use the hashtag #bookaday.  I didn't get stressed when it took me 4 days to read The Hunger Games last week.  The whole idea is to read and share what you're reading.
Here are the books I've finished during my first week of break, in between driving my teens around town:

Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech 
This was a great book to read in an hour.  I read it's prequel, Love That Dog, with my 5th grade group this year.  I'm thinking of sending them a copy of Hate That Cat, and I said as much on Twitter.  To my delight, Sharon Creech (the author!  the FAMOUS author!) responded that she loved my tweet!  I love her books!


The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I didn't think I would like a book about a killing game in a dystopian world.  Boy, was I wrong!  The characters are truly survivors you can relate to, and I can't wait to read the next book in the series. 




Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

This one is definitely a teen book.  This has been my heaviest read so far, but I still had to read it to the end to figure out what happened to Vera's best friend, Charlie.  There's some tough subjects (drinking, drugs, stalkers) in this book, but I wouldn't keep my teens from reading such a good story. 

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
This was a great read, especially because the book goes so much deeper into Mia's character than the movie (which I saw first).  I love that her father is in the book, and he's completely stuffy and royal.  Mia's Grandmere is a royal pain!  I plan to read more of the books in the series.

Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park
Here's the most refreshing book I've read this week.  Park writes a middle-grade novel about two friends, Julia and Patrick, who live in Plainfield, IL and participate in a club like 4-H.  Their project is to raise silkworms, but they have to find a mulberry tree.  The author takes a few pages in between each chapter to have a conversation with Julia about the book.  I really enjoyed these pages, and the whole story.

Now, it's back to the books!  I LOVE summer reading!

They're gone for the summer...

I felt a sense of loss at 12:00 noon on Friday.  I stood at the side of the hallway, watching all of our students leave the building on the last day of school.  I gave high-fives, hugs and pats on the back.
<sigh>

I feel like I didn't even get to half of what I wanted to read and learn with them. 

I'm happy that my students now get to spend more time with their families and friends.  I'm excited that they can enjoy lazy summer days at the pool, at the park, and on the soccer field without the interruption of the school bell.

I worry that some students won't see much outside of their apartment, as they must watch younger siblings or wait inside while their parents work long hours. 

I do plan on keeping in better touch with my students this summer.  I kept our Kid Blog site up, and I've got a pile of envelopes and summer notes to mail them throughout June, July and August.

I'm sure to stay busy this summer, reading books, collecting ideas for next year, and reconnecting with my own family and friends. 

I hope my students have a sweet summer as well, but it sure was tough to see them leave.

Thankful for my Twitter PLN

I think it's the first time in my 10 years of teaching (how did that happen?) that I'm not ready for the school year to end.  I'm usually the one who sneakily manages the countdown calendar in the teacher's lounge.  This year, I've been completely consumed by my Twitter PLN (personal learning network).  I haven't even counted the days we have left.

I'm not ready for the year to end! I still have lots of books and instruction to share with my students!

How does a Twitter PLN connect to my reading instruction?  Well, because of my PLN, I've done the following this year:

• follow & tweet with nearly 100 authors, teachers, librarians, and other book-minded people
• participate in a monthly #titletalk to hear about books I should be reading.  Then I post them...
• on my Goodreads account (in 2011 I've read and rated 40 books)
• tweeted with authors about their books and how much my students enjoyed them
• started KidBlogs for my 3rd, 4th and 5th graders (with additional encouragement from Michelle)
• follow a bunch of book-centered blogs
• created this blog to reflect on my teaching and books I love

WOW!  I plan to continue sharing and receiving ideas for books, using technology and planning great instruction throughout the summer for next year.  Thanks to Twitter, I can tap into the minds of resourceful people around the world anytime.

Pam Allyn's Best Books for Boys

Throughout my ten years of teaching, I’ve had the opportunity to teach a great mix of boys and girls.  I really strive to find the best books for each student, looking for titles that they will connect to.  I find that I can quickly rattle off many great reads for girls (I’m raising two daughters), but I don’t have the same knowledge when finding books for boys. 

Just when I was looking for a resource to help fill this gap, I was given the chance to read and review Pam Allyn’s book, Best Books for Boys:  How to Engage Boys in Reading in Ways That Will Change Their Lives.  This book is an excellent compilation of ideas for getting boys reading that includes a complete, resourceful annotated list of books, organized by categories.

Allyn starts the book with her reasons for the focus on finding books for boys and how detrimental our country’s focus on standardized testing has been to our boys.  She then gives advice, through a question and answer section, for helping boys become more engaged in reading.

As I read the question and answer section, I was thrilled to find many ideas for helping boys (and all readers) find that reading is a worthwhile activity.  Allyn urges teachers to provide social opportunities for readers, encourage reading across genres and formats, and above all, give students “reserved, protected time to read every day.”  YES!

Allyn created a wide-ranging, annotated list of books that will appeal to boys at emerging, developing and maturing reading levels.  The books are organized into categories, including standards like Sports and Humor, but she then delves into specific categories including Expeditions and Mechanics and Technology.  I was pleased to find a great number of appealing books, and I plan to use Allyn’s list to guide my summer reading and book purchases.

Best Books for Boys:  How to Engage Boys in Reading in Ways That Will Change Their Lives is a great addition to your teacher resource collection. 

*Electronic review copy provided

Year End Stress

I admit it. I usually have less stress than my fellow teachers at this time of year. I'm a resource teacher, and I've had the same role in my building since I arrived. Our classroom teachers have not been as fortunate. Over the years, they have switched grade levels, teams and classrooms. I try to be supportive, offering kind words and chocolate to those who need it.

Sometimes the teacher who faces change has a positive, glass-half-full attitude, but others are downright anxious and miserable. I have more to offer the positive teacher, and I try my best to steer clear of the negative teacher.

Change is hard, but the teachers who show the most professionalism leave the drama out of their classrooms. These are the people I admire. These professionals make sure that their students are getting the most learning in the final month of school, regardless of what's happening with teacher assignments.

Our students are the reason we teach. They deserve our time and energy until the final minute of the school year.

Poetry Frenzy

I am very thankful for my public library!  Today I had a wide-eyed stare from the gal at the check-out counter.  "Wow, that's a lot of books!" she proclaimed.  Working as a team, we had the pile of titles back into my book bags in a flash.

At my school this week we are hosting a poetry night.  I am ready with books!!  We plan to read aloud poems, and have parents and children read poems together (and enjoy the great illustrations).  Then we will see what happens when children and parents write poems together.

Before all this happens, I get to enjoy my stack of poetry titles, many by authors I haven't read before.  I plan to post my favorites.

It may be April 30th, but I wish you ...
Happy National Poetry Month!

Student Blogs

I'm a teacher-leader and a teacher-follower.  I can get my colleagues excited about books and crazy ideas, but I'm really good at taking other people's ideas and running with them!

My fellow reading teacher, Michelle, was the first to start up student blogs on kidblog.org.  I was reluctant to follow her lead with my students because I had many doubts and questions: 

Won't they treat kidblog like that social media site where we all spend too much time?
What will they blog about?
Will they have enough to say and will it make sense?

Michelle set a high bar for her intermediate students, and they dove into blogging head first.  I was in awe.  I was jealous.  I set up blogs for my students immediately!  I have been so tickled by they amount of ideas and writing and wonderful conversations my students have been having.  They are so appropriate and respectful.  They want to share so much about themselves.

The best part of this blogging experience came when a current student logged into the kidblog site from home.  Her older brother is a former student of mine, and he was instantly curious and tried to blog when she walked away from the computer.  My student was frustrated, so she asked me to add her brother to the site.  Now this former student, the one who would cringe each time he picked up a pencil, has posted all about his favorite basketball team and their path to the championships. 
He has become a writer.  My students now see themselves as writers.
I couldn't be prouder.