Week 2 Post

One of my favorite children's authors is Andrew Clements. As all of you saw, I did the book talk on "The Landry News" in class on Tuesday. As mentioned, this is a terrific book to use in your Reading or Social Studies class. As a final project for the book, my students had to create a front page of a newspaper. It turned out awesome! It was such a teachable moment too because we could examine different sections of the newspaper and go on scavenger hunts looking for certain information. It's critical that you scan through the paper that you bring in for any inappropriate material or controversial issues your students should not be exposed to.

Another Andrew Clements book is "Frindle". I read parts of this book to the students at Bradford School. It is about a boy named Nick who likes to start trouble in class and torment his teachers. He gets this fifth grade teacher, though, who is as tough as nails and he realizes it's going to be hard to get to her. He decides to create a new word for "pen" and eventually word gets around to all the students and they don't call a "pen" a "pen" anymore. If you're interested in the outcome (which has a surprising ending), read this book. It's excellent for third graders through fifth or sixth graders. Extension activities to this book could be enhancing dictionary skills. The students can also bring out their creative side and create made up words for classroom items, as well!

Week 1 Post

I enjoy reading Young Adult books for pleasure. Most people my age enjoy books from Oprah's Book Club or the Star Ledger Best Seller List. Not me! I like a good page turner from the Young Adult section of Barnes and Noble. My latest book that I am reading is "Impulse" by Ellen Hopkins. Hopkins writes her books in free verse, so the book might be 500 pages, but one page might only have 50 words on it.
Anyway, "Impulse" tells the story of three teenagers who all tried to take their own life. These three characters are all admitted to the same treatment facility. Hopkins writes the book in first person from each character's point of view. It is amazing to read what each character is thinking about a similar situation that occurs in the facility.
If you like a book that is a bit out of the norm, I would strongly recommend "Impulse". I am only half way through it, but I can't put it down!!
This is a good book to read to help you realize that a teenager that you could have in your class could be facing similar issues.