Trailer Thursday #133 (Kathi Appelt Books)...

Novels by Kathi Appelt

Life Lesson #25 (Be a Sportsman/Sportswoman)...

"Be a Sportsman/Sportswoman"

*It is Thursday and that means it is time for another "Life Lesson" video clip.

*Fourth graders sometimes have a hard time with competition.

*For awhile it seemed we took all competition out of the classroom and life.

*Personally, I think young people need to learn how to deal with competition.
Both wins and losses!

*I'm always trying to find ways to help my students reach their full potential.  

*Each Thursday I feature a different video with a "life lesson" in it.  

*After viewing the video once or twice, we chat a bit about it as a group.

*I then have the writers record their thoughts in their writer's notebooks.

*They can write their thoughts, reactions, connections, wonderings, learnings, or whatever is on their mind regarding the video.

*Encouragement is also given to reflect on the "message" of the clip.

*After about 5-10 minutes of writing, we listen to a few of the students share what they wrote.

*It is my hope that through these "life lessons", my students can become the best young people they can be.

Life Lessons (2015-2016)...

Lesson #1 - Be Courageous 

Lesson #2 - Be Kind
Lesson #3 - Be Courageous (part two)
Lesson #4 - Be Motivated
Lesson #5 - Be a Buddy, Not a Bully
Lesson #6 - Be Inspired
Lesson #7 - Be Spooky (Halloween Edition)
Lesson #8:  Be Kind (Kindness Retreat)
Lesson #9:  Be Shoutful
Lesson #10:  Be Happy
Lesson #11:  Be a Reader
Lesson #12:  Be Powerful
Lesson #13:  Be Merry
Lesson #14:  Be a Team
Lesson #15:  Be Giving
Lesson #16:  Be Brave (part two)
Lesson #17:  Be Positive
Lesson #18:  Be Dance Like
Lesson #19:  You Can Do It
Lesson #20:  Be a Hero
Lesson #21:  Be a Friend
Lesson #22:  Be Kind (Part Three)
Lesson #23:  Be Brave and Courageous
Lesson #24:  Be Fearless

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman...

How I Heard About It:  While at NCTE15 here in Minneapolis this title was brought up and talked about several times.  I believe it had just won the National Book Award.  I added it to my TBR list.  While browsing my 3M Cloud Library app, I came across the title and downloaded it.  I was curious and interested to read the book since I knew nothing about it; except for the award it received.  

What It Is About:  This is a bit difficult to do because I had a hard time truly understanding this story.  Caden is a sophomore in high school and suffering from mental illness.  Part of his world is his family, friends, and school.  The other part is in his mind as he travels to the most center point of planet Earth on a ship called Challenger Deep.  He tries to keep these two worlds separate but it becomes more and more difficult.  As life in his "real" world gets incredibly complicated, his parents admit him to a hospital where he can hopefully get the help he needs.  Even while in the hospital, Caden continues to travel on Challenger Deep with an odd and unique cast of characters.  As he spends his days at the hospital he forms different relationships with some of the other patients.  

What I Thought Of It:  The beginning of this book completely confused me.  I also had a friend at school that was reading it at the same time and we both struggled with the beginning.  Once I read a review that stated Caden was suffering from mental illness, the story started to make more sense.  The plot goes back and forth between real life and the life that Caden was creating in his mind.  I enjoyed the "realistic fiction" aspects of the story, but had a hard time connecting to the voyage he was taking on the ship.  My friend abandoned the book, but I wanted to finish it.  I'm glad I did, but overall it didn't touch me the way it did with so many other readers.  

Who Should Read It:  The book is targeted toward the high school audience.  Maybe they will have an easier time truly understanding the plot.  For some reason it was a challenge for me.  I also think there will be many adult readers that will find great satisfaction with the story.  The author's writing is excellent and the story is different from other "mental illness" story lines.  I can see why it won the National Book Award because of the writing and content in the novel.  Happy Reading!  

Rating:  3 STARS out of 5 Stars

Picture Wednesday #27 (Guitar Land)...

"Guitar Land"

*A co-worker knows that I have my students write about an image each week.

*She sent me a link with "cool" pictures from around the world.  

*This one is from a farm in Argentina where they planted trees to form this guitar.  

*I'm pretty sure my writers will find lots of write about this week.  

*Each Wednesday we write in our writer's notebooks about a particular image.

*They can record their thoughts, reactions, connections, likes/dislikes, reminders, noticings, or anything else they would like.  

*Some of the writers choose to write a fiction story based on the picture.

*We write between five and ten minutes and then do a quick share at the end.  

*The photos always lead to lots of conversation and the sharing of ideas.  I try to get them to write first and then we can share what we wrote and what we were thinking.

*The writers are really enjoying writing and talking about these photographs.

Wonder Wednesday #133 (Historical Fiction - Part Two)...

Wonder Wednesday: Historical Fiction

*Our current ELA unit is "historical fiction".

*We have been having a great time reading from a variety of historical fiction picture books and chapter books.

*The main target of this unit is to compare and contrast historical fiction to realistic fiction.

*One main goal our team had was to expose our students to high quality picture books within this genre.

*We have had the most meaningful discussions and conversations focused on the story lines of the picture books.

*Here are another FIVE books that I have used with my students that we highly recommend...

Historical Setting:  1849 (Slavery)

Historical Setting:  1903 (Baseball in Minnesota)

Historical Setting:  Early 1900's with orphan trains

Historical Setting:  1880's Women's Suffrage

Historical Setting:  1955 Civil Rights Movement

Treat Tuesday #133 (Book Release Tuesday)...

Treat Tuesday:  Rhubarb Dump Cake

*We love rhubarb in our family.

*Found this recipe via Facebook.

*A great springtime treat!

*More like a crisp than a cake, but it doesn't get much easier or yummier than this!

Ingredients...

1 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/4 inch pieces (between 3 and 4 cups)
1 cup white sugar
1 (3 ounce package) strawberry jell-o
1 package yellow cake mix
1 cup water
1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions...

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. 

Spread the rhubarb evenly in the bottom of the baking dish. 

Sprinkle the sugar over the rhubarb, followed by the jell-o, and finally the cake mix. 

Pour the water and melted butter over the top. 

Do not stir. 

Bake for 45 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender. 

Treat Tuesday:  Middle-Grade Novel

 Puppy Pirates - Sea Sick (#4) by Erin Soderberg

*Released today!

Treat Tuesday:  Young-Adult Novel

The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith









Treat Tuesday:  Adult Novel

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeny

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (3/21/16)..

Thanks to Jen and Kellee for hosting this idea on their site.  Here is a link to their site...

                

 http://www.teachmentortexts.com/

Books I Read this Past Week… 

The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout

*5 STARS out of 5 Stars! (Adult Novel)

*









Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

*3 STARS out of 5 Stars!  (Young-Adult Novel)

My Book Review








Books I Will (continue to) Read this Week… 

After You by Jojo Moyes

*My adult novel

*I've taken a break from this book, but will return.

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor

*My middle-grade novel

Writing my Wrongs by Shaka Senghor

*Adult memoir

The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson

*Adult novel (Reading for by book club)