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6/14/2016

I've been impressed with the Who Is/Who Was books. They are pretty quick reads and are great for learning history. I learned quite a bit about these two.

I am also trying to find that first great read aloud for the year. I stumbled upon Among the Hidden, not realizing that it was published in 2000 and is part of a series. This is a great introduction to dystopian fiction and applying Notice and Note strategies.

Fly Away Home and The Wall are also great classics by Eve Bunting. The first touches upon homelessness and the second explores feelings of the survivors of war veterans.

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more good reads

6/12/2016

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While many of my colleagues around the globe are participating in the National Book-A-Day Challenge (where educators average reading 1 book per day of their summer vacation), I have decided to simply read more than last summer. With Montessori and STEM training, I think this is enough.

Mostly, I am reading books that are already on my student shelves, and that they have approved, but I have not yet read.

Absolutely Almost is very touching, as we see life through the eyes of ten-year-old Albie. Articulate when narrating the book, he is not seen as smart in real life, and we are taken on a ride as he comes to terms with how people see him versus how he ultimately sees himself.

Next is a graphic novel I bought a few days ago (yes, I couldn't resist). I have been wanting an independent book that tells the story of desegregation that is appropriate for my fourth and fifth graders. The Story of Ruby Bridges is a good introduction, but I wanted something meatier, with more historical facts. Lions of Little Rock is also good, but I haven't gotten many boys to read it, with its female protagonist.

This graphic novel is exactly what I need. It is short, but packed with accurate historical information that is sure to inspire further research. There is use of the "n" word, and another expletive, but I feel it lends to its authenticity.

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famous scientists

6/8/2016

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I am obsessed with anything written on Albert Einstein, and I love a good picture book. This one is a great introduction, including his early academic struggles and happy personality. Easily a good research resource, it also speaks to having a growth mindset.

Neo Leo surprised me. I expected a discussion of his famous paintings (Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, etc.), but instead it focused on how his inventions predated many that are well-known to us. Art and science can go hand in hand. Another great research find for kids.

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joys of reading

6/5/2016

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Four years ago, I read a book that forever changed my views on reading in school. Donalyn Miller's The Book Whisperer for many of us is still considered the Bible on all things literary. There are many others as well: Pernille Ripp, Nancy Atwell, Katherine Sokolowski,...

They and others have impressed on me that what we want is for our children to be lifelong readers, to know what it feels like to love a book, a character, an author. To reach their reading "zone". That is why my students choose books from our classroom library.

I take pride in knowing that I can almost always select a book for even the most reluctant reader that they will love, and that nearly all my students become readers for life, even if they didn't enter that way. Yep, no reading logs or daily assigned reading, but rather reading in class that seeps into reading after class.

So, I am busy reading all those books on my list this summer before my Montessori training begins. Here are some more finds.

Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci is a wonderful account and explains the heart of a mathematician.

The Scar had me in tears from the first line! I have already decided to read it aloud in September.

The Friar Who Grew Peas is the story of Mendel as the father of heredity.

I also read Freedom River, which is definitely a keeper because of its historical importance. I think we all deserve to know more names than Harriet Tubman.

Currently, I am reading Roots (I can't believe I never read it in all these years) and Absolutely Almost, which I have been trying to read for years.

What are you reading?

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