Signs of Spring?

    

Some people can tell spring is coming when certain birds arrive, or when they begin to see grass again, I know when I once again find myself proctoring the standardized test. Here I sit, watching students slog through a test that they took on this one day at this one time could potentially keep them from graduating with their peers.
      I am trying to use this time to make my final book order of the year.  I'm looking for some good books beyond the few trending titles; books for the discriminating reader.  If you have one with good circulation in your library, drop me a note, and I will post a list. 

This is the book that is "hot" in my library right now, we are using it for Battle of the Books and students are coming back raving!  "I cried more at the end of this than Fault in Our Stars!

Even better, one of my students discovered this book and shared
it with me. 

It might be wishful thinking on my part, but it seems as though
I have more students reading for pleasure.  If not, more students
than ever are stopping at the circ desk to talk about what they
are reading. This is such fun; I am working on a way to use
this energy to share books using social media.

Ah well, these are the things I think about when proctoring,
everything I would like to do if I could only find the time!

How about you?

Lexie or love reading levels?

I love to read!  It is my escape, my refuge, my adventure.  I have wonderful friends in the series books I read and favorite places I visit in stories I love.  So why is it I am avoiding 3 books I must finish?  Because these are books not chosen by me; these are books I am required to read.  No really, I am working with a class and need to read what the students are reading so I can write the comprehension quizzes (here's where collaboration starts, folks!)  I have been doing everything I can possibly think of NOT to read these books.  Why?  Because they are not books of my choosing.  When I found myself cleaning my bathrooms before I got started reading, it made me think, "Is this how students feel when they are told they must read a certain book, one in their lexile range or in a required genre?"  The light bulb came on and I realized how those students feel, the one's who are at risk so teachers  select books for them?  Books that will be just right?  I am not looking to start a debate about the merits of self-selection versus correct reading level, but I am concerned about student engagement.  I did read my three books, I finshed them, even.  But I don't look back and think about the characters I met, I don't wonder about will happen to them next.  They were an assignment, pure and simple, and that is sad.
So here's the discussion starter: what do you do when students come to you with a lexile range and say I have to get  a book at this level?

Just sayin', have you read "The Book Whisperer" by Donalyn Miller or "Book Love" by Penny Kittle?

Testing, or Tested, that is the question

Education is not to reform students or amuse them or to make them expert technicians. It is to unsettle their minds, widen their horizons, inflame their intellects, teach them to think straight, if possible.
—Robert M. Hutchins


     I don't know about where you are, but here assessment, which should be spelling with a capital A, is taking over education.  Teachers as well as students are undergoing rigorous (yes, an other educational buzz word!) evaluation and another layer of assessment (also known as testing) has been heaped on students.  It all has me running like a hamster in its wheel, never actually getting anywhere.  We are in a time where there is so much to learn and so many exciting ways to teach it and it just seems a shame that we have this giant A hanging over our heads.  I am trying to continue with enthusiasm and encouragement for all.

      While I am fussing  over this state of education I decided to share a few books that deal with testing. I just finished reading "The Testing" by Joelle Charbonneau,  another dystopian novel in which w have almost destroyed the world with our wars and the authorities are looking for the brightest and best to help lead the world to recovery and further advancement. Students are chosen each year from their small communities, and if they can make it through the Testing they are admitted to the University. There is romance, treachery, survival and betrayal through the ordeal and in the end, your memory is wiped so you don't remember what you went through; or do you?

     In "Shadow and Bone" by Leigh Bardugo, all children are tested as small children to find out if they have a gift.  If so, they are sent to a special school to become a Greisha, a member of the magical guard that protects the country.Alina purposely fails the test as a young child so she can stay with her best friend, Mal. Eventually her powerful gift is discovered and Alina is tested on many levels, both with her gift and with the way of life.
One final thought about testing, what are you doing to improve the testing environment where you work? 

The psyche behind book selection!

I have been working hard, as I do every year, to encourage my students to challenge themselves as they choose books to read. "Try something different," and "Haven't you read that already?" are comments I hear myself say frequently as my kiddos browse.
Over the weekend I found myself trapped at the hospital waiting for a family member to respond to treatment.  I was stressed out!  I pulled out my handy ipad and made a quick purchase from Amazon, not one of those many professional books on my list, not one of those front runners for &YA awards, not even a thoughtful (read as challenging) adult novel, but a trashy pulp fiction novel with no redeeming qualities besides the fact that it was pure entertainment and escape.
Now I am reflecting on this choice, and wondering if I do a disservice to my students when I do not encourage truly "free choice".  Shouldn't they be able to make the choice to read what they want for whatever reason they have to read?  Which is my higher calling, raising those reading test scores, or raising individuals who will read for the rest of their lives?
Does anyone else wrestle with this issue?

What books are "hot trends" at my school this year!

The school year is underway, and I am ready for the wild ride!  It is so great when a student pops their head in to say, "Can I check out a book?"  Yes, folks, a book!  Just to read because they want to, and usually its a print format too!  After a few class book talks, books are flying off the shelf.  Here are a few of the books I have shared:
Sylo -  an island community is shocked by the death of a high school football player, followed by rumors of other deaths.  Suddenly government officials appear on the island to isolate the "epidemic", but nothing is what it seems.  A suspense thriller that provides quite a ride, you don't know what is happening until the last two pages.  This is the first in a series.
Period. 8 - another great book from Chris Crutcher!  During the 8th period study hall type class students under the guidance of a seasoned teacher in his last year before retirement meet to talk about whatever is on their mind.  One of their classmates disappears and suddenly you realize that you don't really know that person you sat next to in class for all of those years.  Plenty of thrill and angst, loved it!
A Thousand Words - a timely story about a picture, a thoughtless moment, and the ramifications of an action.  Realistic characters deal with the consequences of sexting, a good story that shares what happens without preaching.

After such a great beginning, I can't wait to see what the rest of the school year will bring.

New books to share with students this fall!

Ready or not, the students are coming back to school tomorrow!  Full of excitement and promise, it is bound to be a great year.  My goal is for it to be a wonderful year inside the media center as well.  How to do this?  Have trending book titles, cutting edge technology, and a welcoming space where students feel at home.
I am in the middle of reading "Boy Nobody", a thriller about a teenage assassin, its full of mystery and intrigue, with the required teen angst and romance thrown in for good measure.  Another mysterious book is "The Brides of Rollrock Island" a story of selkies and witches, told as a cautionary tale full of melancholy and regret, told in lyrical language and with a setting of times gone by. 
These are just two of the new books I plan to share with my students; how about you?

I fell into a bookstore and ...

Took a trip to our local children’s book store, Cover to Cover, and bought some great books. Not all new titles, but still great. In a few weeks I will be attending the Virginia Hamilton Multicultural Conference, held every year at Kent State University. This year’s speakers will be Nikki Giovanni, Chris Raschka, and Charles R. Smith, Jr. and I picked up the following books to get autographed. The Grasshopper’s Song: an Aesop’s fable revisited was written by Nikki and illustrated by Chris, and is an interesting retelling of this famous fable. There is a trial to determine whether the grasshopper deserves a part of the ant’s winter supply of food, which is a new twist! The illustrations are rather subdued for a Raschka book, but the two work together very well. Another exciting purchase was The Mighty 12: Superheroes of Greek Myth told in rhyming form by Charles Smith. I love this book, with comic book-like illustrations by P. Craig Russell, it gives some information about the major gods and goddesses of Olympus, and without telling so much that I can’t put it in an elementary library! My boys will be so excited to examine this book as they continue to devour the Demi god series by Rick Riordin. The other book I picked up for signing that I believe will be very popular with my male readers was 12 Rounds to Glory: the story of Muhammad Ali.  Fantastic illustrations by Bryan Collier helped this title win the Coretta Scott King award, along with Smith’s poetic retelling of important events in the life of Ali.


I also picked up two books about rabbits, although they could not be more different. The Rabbit Problem by Emily Gravatt, really intrigued me as it attempted to explain the Fibonacci problem, a math study I had to read more about after I finished enjoying the book. On a back sale shelf I found a retelling of Snow White by Melinda Copper in which the characters are illustrated as rabbits done in a detailed oil painting method. The evil step mother is a beautiful, but evil white cat.

My last book, Story Time by Edward Bloor, caught my interest as I read the blurb on the back of it. “Welcome to Whittaker Magnet School, where standardized testing truly is the work of the devil.” A middle school tale with reviews like this; “ a dark comedy that skewers the national craze for standardized testing,” and “a no-holds barred, deeply subversive tale about modern education …” This sounds like the kind of book I wish I had written! I’ll report on it once I have read it.

What great titles have you come across during spring break? I would love to hear about them.

Update on my Newbery contenders

I want you to know that I did read the books I listed, and be fore any winners are announced I thought I would share my thoughts.  I loved "One Crazy Summer".  Period. The characters were so believable I felt as though I was there in California in the height of the Black Panther movement.  The author did an amazing job of juxtaposing the traditional behavior of the time for African Americans with the attitudes of this "new" group.  Here were 3 sisters swept into the middle of it all.  With this as the setting, the story is actually a quest to connect with the mother who left them right after the youngest sister was born.  This opportunity is ever so slowly developed throughout the summer, leaving the reader to implore the mother to "act like one!"  Excellent book all around, and certainly deserving of the Newbery.
I kept putting "Out of My Mind" to the bottom of the pile.  Hard as it is to believe, I don't always enjoy Sharon Draper's books.Finally it was the last book yet to read, so I picked it up.  Wow! Melody is someone I will continue to think about forever.  She is has Cerebral Palsy, essentially a quadriplegic, and cannot talk.  I know this sounds like a real downer, but talk about amazing character development~I know this girl.  She is in 5th grade, and finally is getting mainstreamed into classes.  This is great because she has a photographic memory and is brilliant.  Melody is also a 10 year old with the concerns and ideas that come with the age.  Definitely not a character to pity, she is feisty, and determined to find a way to have a "voice" to share her thoughts and ideas.  You, the lucky reader are privy to these and so share with her wishes,  dreams, and frustrations.  If this book doesn't win, I will be shocked; but I know that Melody would rise from that disappointment as well, an even stronger character!
Other quick mentions, "The Night Fairy" grew on me.  I really wanted to love it, I'm a sucker for fairies, but initially she was such a self-absorbed creature it was really hard. When disaster strikes, we get the opportunity to see her true character develop.  In much the same way Edward Tulane grows, so does this tiny creature.  A very nice job of describing the setting from the point of view of a tiny protagonist.
More later, and I will share my thoughts about ALA Midwinter .....

Back to school tomorrow!

I believe I am ready.  Clothes chosen, alarm set, attitude ~ great!  My plan of action, to find the joy in little things, and little people. This means sharing books I love, web sites I find interesting, and technology that will spur curiosity.  I do realize this will be difficult as we are so tied to data and testing scores, but I have been thinking, reflecting actually, and I think that making this small difference daily in the lives of my students will enable them to better handle all the content and stress that is present in their school lives. 

This week at school I have offered to teach a quickie picture book evaluation lesson and then have students use that to vote for the book that they think will be the Caldecott winner.  Many teachers have accepted the offer, so my days leading up the the ALA midwinter will be immersed in Caldecott discussions, fun! 

I am also opening at selected recess times for students to learn about websites with great activities.  There is never enough time to share these in a formal setting, so I'm going to try this.  Maybe I'll even bring back the Lunch Bunch book clubs.  Whatever I can to do to bring joy into my teaching day.  I'll bet I will learn more about joy from these activities with students than I can possibly teach them.

Finally ... a day of reading!

It has been a busy break, lots of cleaning and cooking, then cleaning some more!  At last, a day with no obligations but one, to start/continue reading the books that have been on suggested Newbery lists.  I am currently reading, "Keeper" by Kathy Appelt ~ not far enough along to make a judgement but I do like what I have read so far.  I like her descriptive language, I can see those blue crabs with markings on their backs, and the dark swirling waters.  (I still don't know why she is called Keeper, hope there is an answer!)  I am finishing the "Night Fairy" by Laura Amy Schlitz which was very different than I expected.  Usually fairy "tales" (sorry, couldn't resist!) are light hearted, even if the fairies are mean or indifferent; but this one is darker, and yet intriguing in a fairies version of survivor way.  Left in my stack are "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia and "Out of my Mind" by Sharon Draper.  Other titles I need to at least skim are "Just Like Falling off the World"  (I have it somewhere in an ARC) and "Dreamer" by Pam Munez.  My now lofty goal is to have all of these read completely before I get to the ALA Awards ceremony on Monday, January 10th, but if I can't read them all, to have at least skimmed them so I have an inkling of what they are about.  Of course, I am prepared to be totally surprised if some book comes out of nowhere to win, isn't that the fun this whole thing, but at least I can chat and commiserate with other folks in the awards audience.
So, if you don't hear from me for a while you know I am happily ensconced in front of my fireplace (on or off) indulging myself in my own read-a-thon! 
And if you are in my Librarians Who Read book club, you can probably guess what titles I will be talking about at our next get together!

Buckeye Children's Book Award promotion ideas!

Here are a few ideas to promote this award with your students!  Here's the website: http://www.bcbookaward.info/

Purchase the nominated books


Work with teachers to promote the books

Set up a voting booth for kids

Use displays, booktalks, and other activities to promote the books & election

Work with local businesses (newspaper, radio)

Host a BCBA “Character Day”

Feel free to share your ideas, or email if you want my actual lesson plans, with relevant Ohio Standards.

Ready for a new school year!

As I get ready to start a new year I am deciding what focus I want. Of course, I want to do it all; reading support, curriculum integration, cutting edge technology; but I know the reality is, once school actually starts, and the nitty gritty of daily life begins, it will be hard to stay out of a rut.
My current thoughts include: a rotating book display with student reviews (literacy), grade level teacher technology classes (technology), and monthy tech nights for families (community outreach).
Will I be able to follow though with all of this? I hope so. My overarching goal is to implement the AASL standards for 21st century learners; primarily concentrating on reading and inquiry.
Feel free to share with me any ideas you have for this year.