Behind

Working a great deal of hours at Godiva will put a damper on reading time.  I hope to have something else read soon.  I have a book to read for my new school called Young, Gifted, and Black: Promoting High Achievement Among African American Students.  So, I will be reading that this week and I still have the Vladimir Tod books.  I also hope to start The Scorch Trials by James Dashner, the sequel to The Maze Runner.  Lots to read!

The Hunger Games Trilogy

So, last night I finished listening to Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.  Wow.  I might have to reread them again just to get the taste of the words in my mouth - that's how good it is.  I might be able to teach The Hunger Games this year at my new school, so that is amazing and wonderful.  I'm not going to say anything more about this, except go read them.

Have you read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins yet?

Well, what are you waiting for?!  It is one of the best books I have read in years.  It is well-written with great pacing.  The characters are believable and dynamic, flawed but sympathetic.  Katniss, the main character, is strong and deeply flawed.  I truly enjoyed imagining her in her world.  She is my hero.  They are making it into a movie and I am confident in the outcome there.  The book is so beloved and smart.  It won the Truman Award and Gateway Award in Missouri this year and is being added to middle school curriculum.
Seriously, get this book.  NOW. 

Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer (First Review)

So, this past year, many of my students got into the Vladimir Tod books. I had read the first one, but got busy and forgot about the rest. Several students begged me to read them (you know who you are) and so I am taking time this summer to read the series. I started by rereading the first one since it had been so long. The writing is striking me as a bit oddly descriptive, but I will read on. I hope to read the Maximum Ride series this summer, but we will see.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner (Final Review)

SPOILER ALERT - THIS IS A FINAL REVIEW OF THIS BOOK AND CONTAINS SPOILERS

I just finished this book yesterday and loved it! It's a bit bleak, but his writing is so descriptive that it pulled me in. Thomas is a likeable character, especially the way he mourned Chuck. I also love that we (as readers) still know very little about the world in which these boys live. We have gone from the horror of the Maze to some new unimaginable horror. I bought The Scorch Trials and will be starting that soon.

literature elements CAN be fun!

We have been spending a lot of time going over literature elements (such as mood, setting, characterization, plot, and theme). We will be finishing up theme next week and starting to learn those roles for literature circles so we can start them really soon. Most of you seem to be enjoying your independent reading book and I love that! Keep it up! Make sure you record the books you are reading in your log and determine if it was easy, just right, or challenging. Monday will be the first time we take the Tungsten and I just know everyone will do really well. I feel like this year is going great and it will only get better! :)

You've come a long way...

This year has started out great! We have done our personality posters and I had a lot of fun learning about each of you. We also finished the reading autobiographies and I have enjoyed the ones I've read so far. I am only one third of the way through them. We started studying literary elements and will be working on those for the next week or so. We will be experts at identifying and using them very soon!

chew on what?

I am curious what fact has stuck with you from the chapter we read the other day. Please comment me and tell me (in complete sentences). The fact that stuck with me was the way marketing researchers will pay kids to go to sleepovers and ask them questions late into the night. Creepy!

Parental Involvement - Outsiders

I am curious how many of our parents, grandparents, or older brothers or sisters have had experiences with The Outsiders. This is where you can help your child earn some extra credit on the test we took today. I want to know what you think of the book - maybe you read it when you were in 7th grade, maybe you saw your child feverishly reading it and couldn't believe your eyes, maybe you watched the movie with your child and were amazed at how young Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, and Rob Lowe were. Please comment and make sure you let me know who your child is so they can get credit. :)