It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 6/15

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? --From Picture Books to YA is a weekly meme started by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their week of reading and share their plans for the next reading adventures they will take. Visit the host blogs for a list of great blogs participating in this meme and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.

I have two weeks worth of books to share today. I am hoping to get back on track with posting every Monday over the summer. 

Books I Finished This Week:

Shadows by Ilsa Bick is the second book in her Ashes series. It is a disturbing post-apocalyptic book about a world in which an electromagnetic pulse stopped the world and killed many people. The pulse also somehow caused all kids to turn into cannibalistic creatures. The books are quite graphic, but full of thought-provoking ideas. Ilsa Bick has a background in psychology and it really shines through in her books. Recommended for high school and up.

The Black Tower by Betsy Byars is a mystery in the Herculeah Jones series. It was a fun middle grade read. I will definitely be looking for more from this series soon. I think it could give some students the love of mysteries. I recommend it for grades 3 and up.

I love, love, love Kate Messner. I think this time-traveling dog is so fun. It would be a great book for middle grades to learn some more about history. The adventure on the Oregon Trail is a great story for the first one in the series. I am looking forward to more from Ranger.

The Princess in Black by Shannon Hale is really a fun book! I love the strong female character and I know that girls will love her too. I would recommend this for grades 2 and up.

Circling the Sun by Paula McLain (the author of The Paris Wife) will be out this summer. I got this book from NetGalley and really enjoyed it. This is a captivating story, rich with descriptions of a beautiful and wild African countryside. I was riveted to the story and could not believe the twists and turns that Beryl's life took. It is always great to read about a strong female character. It is even better that this remarkable woman was a real person who lived such an incredible life. I loved the way Paula McLain brought Beryl's experience to life.

I devoured this lovely book in one sitting, with tears streaming down my face almost the whole time. How to Speak Dolphin by Ginny Rorby weaves the stories together of a dolphin in need and a young autistic boy. In the book the narrator Lily is trying to keep moving forward and to help her step-father to care for her brother. There are many sweet moments of grief that Lily has from her mother's death. The book is full of emotions and brings up many issues that I think kids would be able to connect with. I definitely will consider this book for a read aloud this coming school year (if I think I can get through it without crying through the whole thing).

I learned so much about The Great Wall of China and China's history in this book. After reading this one, I went back to my classroom to grab all the titles I have in this series. It is a great reading level for middle grades and I am excited to learn more about all the topics. I highly recommend this one for grades 3 and up.

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead is going to be coming out in August. I got this one from NetGalley. It is another great book from this author! I really enjoyed the book and will definitely be ordering a copy for my class library. I recommend this one for grades 4 and up.



What's Next?

I will be rereading Teach Like a Pirate.  I am very pumped up after hearing Dave Burgess speak today at Summer Spark. I also just got a bunch of titles from NetGalley, so I will be reading my way through those. I am trying to improve my percentage for giving feedback there.

What are you reading? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

Celebrate 6/13

It's Saturday and that means it is time to reflect on the week and celebrate things both big and small. Join our community and celebrate this week by linking up or just stopping by the host Ruth Ayres' blog to read others' celebrations.
This week I celebrate the end of the school year...

A number of students who, when given choice time during our last week of school, asked "can we do another research poster?"

A student who has come out of her shell in a big way during the last few weeks. She is painfully shy (to the point of having her friends come ask me things instead of asking for herself). During the last three weeks, I have heard her voice loud and clear more often than during the entire rest of the school year. She has been coming to me, without her friends, to ask for things. Also, this young lady actually asked to present a second research poster in front of the whole class. I was so surprised and so excited to see her progress!

A trip to the bowling alley and the exuberant fun had by all.

A set of report cards finished and a classroom that is halfway to the cleaned up state it needs to be in for summer.

A lot of laughs and silly moments enjoying some free time during the last few days.

An insightful student. On a reflection survey I asked students to tell what my strengths were. One student wrote "calming down." I was really surprised by this, but he is absolutely right. I can be really angry and losing it one minute and then I take a few deep breaths and calm myself and continue on in a balanced and patient way. (I hope to work on a blog post this week to talk more about the reflection survey)

A very busy calendar for the next week which includes two conferences that I am super excited about! I wish I had a time-turner like Hermione has in Harry Potter so that I could get to all the sessions I want to attend! I am so very excited for All-Write and the all-star power line-up there. Summer Spark is also going to be amazing. I will learn to Teach Like a Pirate, gamify my classroom, and do all sorts of innovative things. I need to find a special notebook for all the amazing ideas I know I will get.

Celebrate 6/6

It's Saturday and that means it is time to reflect on the week and celebrate things both big and small. Join our community and celebrate this week by linking up or just stopping by the host Ruth Ayres' blog to read others' celebrations.

Every week is full of celebrations if you just look for them. Here are my celebrations from this week:

• A new responsibility at school of keeping up our web presence. I have wanted to take this over for a long time, but did not want to step on the toes of the person who was responsible. So, when he asked for someone to take over the job, I jumped at the opportunity. It is overwhelming to think of the work involved in getting the website updated, but I am really excited about the opportunity to be able to share great resources with our families. 
• My DonorsChoose project was funded in less than a week. I am excited to receive some great STEM materials next fall to beef up my Science instruction. I also will have some great tools for exploration and a small Makerspace in my classroom. Yeah for people who are generous in donating to classrooms! 
• Some good things happening for my husband...can't elaborate yet.
• Measurements being done for a possible kitchen renovation. Still in the planning stages, but I can see the possibilities! 
• Given time to choose what they would like to work on, a number of my students chose to do another research poster. I love seeing the drive that some of them have. 
• The harmonious nature of our board game time on Fridays. It took all year to get to the point where students don't abuse this time, but the last month of Fridays have been glorious. I love having fun with my students. 

What do you have to celebrate this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 6/1

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? --From Picture Books to YA is a weekly meme started by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their week of reading and share their plans for the next reading adventures they will take. Visit the host blogs for a list of great blogs participating in this meme and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.

I cannot believe that it is already June! At times this year, I was pretty sure the school year was never going to end. Now, we are just two weeks away from the last day of school and summer! I am looking forward to a few conferences right away after school gets out. At Summer Spark, I am looking forward to hearing Dave Burgess speak and learning about innovative ideas for the classroom. Click on the image to find out more information about this really cool symposium in Milwaukee on June 15-16. 

I also am going to be attending the All Write Summer Institute. I am excited to attend that two days filled with all-stars! Seriously, I am geeking out about going. I also can't wait to meet many, many of the people that I connect with through this blog and through Twitter. 

Now, on to the actual purpose of this blog post--sharing my reading. I haven't done a Monday post since the end of April. I don't know how May slipped by so quickly. I will try to be short and sweet about sharing some of the books I have read since the last post. 

Adult Novels I have read:

Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio was an interesting read. It wasn't really my cup of tea, but I can see how many people have enjoyed this book. I did definitely like the fact that it made me think about what it would be like to have Tourette's syndrome without really knowing anything about the condition. I am so glad that we have more knowledge of disorders in this day and age. 

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon is a beast of a book, with 896 pages. This is the first book that I tried Whispersync with. I listened to most of the book, but also read some of it on my Kindle. It was really slick to do it this way. I really enjoyed the narration and I think I liked the character more because of the narrator's interpretation. I recommend this one to anyone who enjoys romance books. 

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George is a book I got from NetGalley. It will be out on June 23rd. I enjoyed the premise of the book. The protagonist is a man who owns a "book apothecary." He sells books to people like prescriptions for whatever is ailing them at the moment. He also has a particularly tragic story of a lover that died and his many years of pining for her and not moving on from this sad event. It is a novel that really focuses on how people make mistakes, but also how we must move forward and live our life that we have now. This is another one that wasn't quite up my alley, but I did enjoy the literary twists in the book. 

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain is a fascinating glimpse of Ernest Hemingway's life with his first wife. This historical fiction book captured me from the first page and I had a hard time putting it down. If you are like me and are a literature nerd, you need to read this book. 

Young Adult Books:

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins is one that really stood up to the hype. I had heard multiple really great reviews of this one. I am so glad I picked it up to read it. It is a really cute teenage love story and I really enjoyed it. I highly recommend this one for high school and up. 

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen is a retelling of the story of Robin Hood, with a little bit of love mixed in. I found myself laughing out loud at many points during this book. The protagonist is quite witty. I loved this one and highly recommend it for high school and up. 

Middle Grade Books:

The Orphan Army by Jonathan Maberry is a science fiction adventure book. You may know this author from his Rot and Ruin series. This new series is a lot more geared for younger students, but still brings in a post-apocalyptic world full of aliens who are taking over the world. We were lucky enough to have this author come for a school visit this month. What fun it is to be able to provide fabulous experiences with rockstar authors! I highly recommend this series for grades 4 and up. 

How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O'Connor is a heartwarming, but also heartbreaking story about a girl who is homeless. She knows her mother needs money and when she sees a reward poster for a missing dog, she comes up with a plan to steal a dog and return the dog for a reward. As you can imagine, things don't quite go as planned. This is a great book for helping kids to build some empathy and I think it would make a great read aloud. I highly, highly recommend this one for grades 3 and up. 

Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile by Marcia Wells is a fun detective story about a boy who has a photographic memory. When he is called into the police station to describe a suspect in a crime he witnessed, he is not satisfied with the police sketch. He asks to sketch the person himself. He does such a great job with the sketch that the police enlist his help in the case they are working on. I am a sucker for mysteries, so this book was right up my alley. I am sure many kids would really enjoy this book as well. I recommend it for grades 4 and up. 

The Brixen Witch by Stacy DeKeyser is a retelling of the Pied Piper story that looks into who the piper is and why the village finds themselves in the position of needing someone to remove the rats. It is a fun book and I recommend it for grades 3 and up. 

Books I am Currently Reading:

I am reading Shadows by Ilsa Bick right now. It is the second book in the Ashes trilogy. 

What's Next? 

I just ordered some professional books for summer reading, so I will probably get started with one of those. I also want to read the NetGalley copy that I have of Circling the Sun by Paula McLain. I will also probably pick up a couple middle grade titles. With report cards and end of the year records to do, I may not get in much reading. I guess we shall see. 

What are you reading this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments! Have a great reading week!

Celebrate 5/30

It's Saturday and that means it is time to reflect on the week and celebrate things both big and small. Join our community and celebrate this week by linking up or just stopping by the host Ruth Ayres' blog to read others' celebrations.

This week I am celebrating...

A friend who will always be in our hearts and the good memories of good times with him. 

A student who persistently asks to read with me and her great gains this year in reading. 

A fun field trip to the local science museum to learn about water treatment and conservation. 

Students who have gone above and beyond for their final research project. I actually really put together this inquiry project as a way to keep them engaged in the last couple weeks of school. They have taken it and run with it. One student even asked her parents to buy her a presentation board and paint in order to have a great poster. I am looking forward to hearing their presentations next week! 

A fun week of math class. Finding angles in real world objects and classifying them on a group poster. Some of the angles they found are so fun! 

A weekend without any plans. Time to read and write and clean and relax. 

Finishing the ridiculous amount of paperwork that we now have to do in Wisconsin. A new evaluation system based on the Danielson framework seemed to me like a good idea until we were given requirements for what we needed to do for this system. I had to upload artifacts for evidence for all 22 components of the framework for my district requirements. The platform for uploading and tagging the documents is really unwieldy and difficult to navigate. I am so glad I have finished for this year! I am at the end of an evaluation year that was far from ordinary and I am glad it's done. 

An anonymous donor that generously gave $100 to my project on DonorsChoose. 

What are you celebrating this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments! 

Celebrate 5/23

It's Saturday and that means it is time to reflect on the week and celebrate things both big and small. Join our community and celebrate this week by linking up or just stopping by the host Ruth Ayres' blog to read others' celebrations.

This week has been a whirlwind of the particular chaos of this time of year. There is a ridiculous amount of paperwork, the kids are starting to look forward to summer and get squirrely, the weather plays with us in Wisconsin, and all the while all I want to do is sit on a secluded beach somewhere, relaxing. 

Finding small moments to celebrate seems especially important as my principal starts conversations about next year and most of the staff in my school turn to negative thinking. New leaders bring new ideas and change, which is needed. This is somehow threatening to a lot of the people on staff at my school. Therefore, my days could be filled with noxious clouds of negativity. But I am a positive thinker and I don't let that get to me most days. On other days, it is this ritual of looking for celebrations that is my saving grace. I am most grateful for this weekly tradition. Even in the weeks that I do not write a post, I find myself picking up on the small celebrations and rejoicing in them. 

Things to celebrate this week:

1. One of my students got a new baby brother on Thursday night. We were excited when the office called to tell him that his grandma would be picking him up from school on Thursday. Sure enough, his mom was in labor and at the hospital. The new baby was born at 9:41pm so my student hadn't seen the baby yet when he got to school on Friday. Boy, was he chomping at the bit to leave at the end of the day. I love celebrating this kind of good news with students!

2. On Wednesday, we had a local company come in to our school to volunteer. We do "JA in a day." The employees of this company who volunteer in our classrooms come in and do a whirlwind day full of Junior Achievement lessons. We had two welders visiting our classroom. It is always a fun experience to hear a little about other people's jobs. They always leave with a much better appreciation of a teacher's job as well. 

3. I started going to Barre class at a local studio. This workout is killer and seriously challenges me, but I have loved every minute of it (once I actually am finished that is). 

4. I am looking forward to the summer and some great travels and conferences. It always starts to be much more real once the arrangements are being made. 

What do you have to celebrate this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

 

Celebrate 5/16

It's Saturday and that means it is time to reflect on the week and celebrate things both big and small. Join our community and celebrate this week by linking up or just stopping by the host Ruth Ayres' blog to read others' celebrations.

This week I am celebrating:

1. Fancy new cars:

We traded in our old car for a fun, new Toyota Venza. It is so much fun to drive and I love the bluetooth audio that will pick up my phone's audio player. I have loved being able to listen to my audiobook on the drive to and from school.





2. Professional Development opportunities: Last week, I attended EdCamp Milwaukee. I absolutely love the opportunity to hear about innovation in other people's classrooms. I left with a head full of ideas for gamification, makerspaces, and tweaks to my genius hour time. I am also looking forward to SummerSpark, which is another conference in the Milwaukee area. I cannot wait to hear Dave Burgess speak! I was able to get on the website and register for my sessions this week and I know I will have a great two days there.  I also sent in my registration for All Write summer conference this week. I am so excited to drive down to attend that conference full of rock stars. I also can't wait to meet people face to face!

3. Author Events:

I saw on Twitter that Jarrett Krosoczka was doing free virtual book talks on May 5th as part of the publicity for his new Platypus Police Squad book. We tuned in to see him talk and answer questions from classes all over the United States. This was such a cool and interesting thing to see. My students loved that they were able to see the author in real time.

We also had Jonathan Maberry visit our school on Thursday. The students were enthusiastic and listening with rapt attention as he spoke to them about his books and about being a writer. His new book The Nightsiders: The Orphan Army is a middle grade fantasy book. He also talked to the kids a little bit about his Rot and Ruin series. The graphic novel of Rot and Ruin just came out on Tuesday, by the way. The questions our students asked were amazing and I loved that we learned so much from this visit. I love being the person who is responsible for bringing this type of experience to our students. It is worth every extra second I spend on organizing.

4. Time with Family: In the last two weeks, we have spent more time with family. Two weeks ago, we participated in WalkMS with my parents, my uncle, my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. It is nice to walk in an event like that with the support of loved ones. Then, we went to my brother's house for my nephew's fourth birthday party. The day was spent surrounded by family and enjoying our time together. Then, last weekend, I had everyone over for Mother's Day. I was happy to be able to cook a nice meal for my mother and to have another great time together. My nephew is such fun to be around!

An action shot of my nephew playing with my husband. Yes, that is me in the mirror. Not the best photography, but what can you do?

5. Winding down the school year: We have four weeks left to go. It is so close to the end of the year.  We will be sprinting for that finishing line as we cram in some more learning. My students are eagerly working on some inquiry projects that I hope will sustain momentum. We have finished all the testing and now we need to continue to learn, but also celebrate our time together. I have had a really topsy-turvy school year and I am looking forward to some time off this summer and a new group of students next year.