Three Teachers Talk

Reel Reading: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Book Trailers, Readers Workshop April 25, 2013 Comments: 3

For their final project my English I students are to create their own book trailers. We’ve watched enough of them this year that they should have a pretty good idea of what an effective trailer should do: compel someone to read the book.

In a last ditch effort to get my kids to understand the task, we are watching student-made book trailers for the next little while. These are a couple that are done very well about the book IF I STAY by Gayle Forman.

In my experience, if you can get a kid to read just one of Forman’s books, she will read them all.

It’s Monday. What Are You Reading?

Amy Rasmussen, Books, Readers Workshop April 22, 2013 Comments: 8

Today I am reading something for me. All me.

I’m tired.

I’m tired of school and kids and teaching. I’m tired of testing (and my students’ tests has been over for a while now.)

I’m tired of reading YA novels about punk kids, drugs, gangs, and so much angst.

Get it? I’m tired.

So, this Monday? What am I reading? This inspiring book that has helped me see some things clearly for the first time in a very long time. I’ve written inside the front cover: “Stop trying to be God.”

It’s a start.

Reel Reading for Real Readers: SHIPBREAKER

Book Trailers, Readers Writers Workshop April 18, 2013 Leave a comment

Watching this book trailer, I am reminded of how much I loved this book when I first read it. I passed it off to my son who read it but also lost the book cover. Does anyone else have a difficult time getting kids to read hardback books that have no cover? Dark, thick, foreboding. I cannot get one kid to even try a book unless the cover is at least attempting to be cool.

So, a week ago I’m cleaning out closets, and I find the jacket to SHIPBREAKER by Paolo Bacigalupi, and I’m reminded of its protagonist Nailer and the beautiful girl who changes his life. I love these words in the front cover:

Even at night, the wrecks glowed with work. The torch lights flickered, bobbing and moving. Sledge noise rang across the water. Comforting sounds of work and activity, the air tanged with the coal reek of smelters and the salt fresh breeze coming off the water. It was beautiful.

There’s a mini-lesson on imagery in there, isn’t there?

Zombies and Test Prep–Who Knew?

Amy Rasmussen, Readers Writers Workshop April 17, 2013 Leave a comment

Let me tell you about my Zombie Project.

It all started when I heard my husband and sons talking about that one episode of “The Walking Dead.”

“Oh, man, I didn’t expect that ending.”

“Sheesh, he got it out of the blue, didn’t he?”

“Merle just died. Died. And he was the tough guy.”

I didn’t have a clue what they were talking about, nor why they were so talkative. (I live with four men. It’s true: they usually use up their word allotment by lunch time.)

So, I slipped into my teacher hat and asked some book-chat type questions: Tell me about this show that has you all riled up. Does this character remind you of anyone you know? Why do you think the show ended this way? Did the characters learn anything?

“Really, Mom?”

One thing led to another, and we were talking about how this zombie craze is a pretty good metaphor for our society.

Then, I talked to my friend Trista, and she told me she was doing this zombie project with her students.

Hmmm. I’m thinking.

Then, like a flailing limb, it hit me: Standardized testing. Test prep. Zombies. Pretty good metaphor.

I teach English I to mostly non-readers. They are sweet kids with bright smiles and fun personalities, but they are below grade level when it comes to reading and writing. Many of them need a lot more help than I can give them. We have little time for one-on-one when my class size is 32.

Our state testing date is looming. I know I need my students engaged, and I need them thinking and reading critically, and I need them writing effectively. The Golden Question: HOW?

The creepy, undead, flesh eating answer: ZOMBIES.

First, I made a list of the most pressing skills students needed to review, and then I became a zombie expert.

Did you know there are zombie poets and zombie poems?

Did you know there is an ongoing argument about which is more awesome zombies or unicorns? There’s even a Facebook page.

Did you know that a high school librarian, at a teacher’s request, can find 37 or so books that all have something to do with zombies?

Did you know that there are websites that “match” zombie-loving people to other zombie-loving people? and you can upload a picture and turn your image into a blood oozing zombie?

Really, now. Who knew?

So, I created this Zombie Project that included some pretty intense test prep and a whole lot of fun.

The video below is how I introduced it to my students. They watched it, and then on large poster paper at each table of four students, they did some silent thinking. I gave them each a different colored marker, and they had to write, based on the clues in the video, what they thought they’d have to do in the project.

You try it. Watch the video and see if you can come up with all the parts of the project. I’ll post more –handouts, articles, book lists, etc., as soon as I have a chance.

Mrs. Rasmussen’s Zombie Project

It’s Monday (or Tuesday). What are You Reading?

Books, Heather Cato April 16, 2013 Comments: 6

I’m fully aware that it isn’t Monday – The way I see it is it really is better late than never, right?

Books I read (or am still reading):

Scarlet

For those of you who have been following my posts, you know my feelings about sequels/trilogy/whatever, but I was drawn to continue reading this series because of the indirect relationship the series has with traditional fairy tales. In the first book Cinder, the author weaves the classic tale of Cinderella in a post-modern society. In the second book, Scarlet, the story of Cinder continues to unfold while at the same time a new character, Scarlet, is brought into the frame. Of course, Scarlet’s character is based of the fairytale Little Red Ridding Hood. It truly was fascinating to see how Marissa Meyer was able to intertwine both fairy tales all the while maintaining the futuristic story line. I am certainly curious to see how the series wraps up in the third book.

Books I’m reading (going to try to actually read) this week:

The Great Gatsby

My goal this week is to get through Gatsby. The Great Gatsby is one of the very few books I have ever read more than once and the only book I ever loved being required to read in school. Clearly, I was excited when I saw that the book once again was coming to life on the silver screen. While I have no notion that the movie is going to be an exact replica of the book I am, once again, excited to see someone else’s interpretation of this book that I have enjoyed.

Reel Reading: Crackback

Book Trailers, Books April 11, 2013 Comments: 3

Brandon’s asked me every week if I had any books about football. Sadly, my classroom library is lacking in sports books. Then, while shopping at the EF book sale, I found this gem. I’d like to put Brandon’s name on it, but I won’t. I’ll show the trailer and let him beg for it in front of the class. I’m mean like that.

Crackback by John Coy

Prior Knowledge: Helping our Struggling Readers

Heather Cato, Readers Workshop April 10, 2013 Leave a comment

Every day we must make decisions, and somehow, whether we realize it or not, we are accessing our prior knowledge to make these decisions. For example, there is a restaurant that I will never eat at again. 15 years later, I still remember the time I got violently ill after consuming one of their calzones. Now, someone brings up that restaurant–I cringe.

Sometimes my prior knowledge doesn’t come from real life. Sometimes it comes straight out of a book. A few weeks ago I had to make a really tough decision. As I sat weighing the pros and cons of my choices, Beatrice, from the book Divergent, and the struggle she had making a difficult choice came to mind. I found myself relying on her experience because that in fact was exactly how I felt.

Prior knowledge can come from a multitude of places, but it is the experiences I have had–along with the books I have read– that fill my storehouse of prior knowledge. So what about prior knowledge and our struggling readers? Their storehouse of prior knowledge is barren. In talking specifically about early literacy, Nancy Lee Cecil explains that, “What readers bring to the activity in terms of prior knowledge … determines how well they will be able to derive a rich meaning from the text,” (Cecil, 2003). So, what about our students who do not have a rich background of prior knowledge? Whether it be a lack of experiences or a lack of reading–my question is:

What are we doing as educators to support students creating a bountiful array of prior knowledge experiences?

The most important thing teachers can do to help equip their students with a wealth of prior knowledge is provide opportunities for them to read–and read a lot. It isn’t about assigning book after book as a whole-class novel. It is about Independent reading. “Independent reading is all about capacity building,” (Kittle, 2012). By allowing students the time to vicariously live through the lives of characters in books, we in turn are allowing them to store up experiences. As teachers it is our responsibility to, “pay attention to the quantity as well as the quality in their reading lives (Kittle, 2012).” If students are to truly live culturally rich lives, then we must be more intentional about how we are making this happen in our classrooms.

Cecil, N. L. (2003). Striking a balance: best practices for early literacy (2nd ed.). Scottsdale, Ariz.: Holcomb Hathaway, Publishers.

Kittle, P. (2013). Book love: developing depth, stamina, and passion in adolescent readers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Photo credit: TunnelBug / Foter.com / CC BY-NC

It’s Monday What Are You Reading? ONCE, THEN, NOW

Amy Rasmussen, Books, Readers Workshop April 8, 2013 1 Comment

Once I escaped from an orphanage to find my Mum and Dad.

Once I saved a girl called Zelda from a burning house.

Once I made a Nazi with toothache laugh.

My name is Felix.

This is my story.

A friend told me about these lovely books a long while ago. I love the covers. The simplicity, the intrigue of the soft pictures: a boy on a barbed-wired tightrope, a boy and a girl on that same tightrope, a locket in the shape of a heart. Heather, you should have tied me up and forced me to read these tender books much sooner?

I want to expand my students’ thinking and get them thinking about the world beyond their neighborhoods. I want them to learn what empathy is and the value of it in their own lives. In past years, I’ve taken students to the Holocaust Museum in downtown Dallas. These books are a sweet reminder of why that is such a worthy activity.

The author reads the first chapter: “Once I was living in an orphanage“

Reel Reading: Fat Angie

Book Trailers, Books, Readers Workshop April 4, 2013 1 Comment

“There was a girl. Her name was Angie. She was happy.” ~E.E. Charlton-Trujillo

How can you not love a book with a cool title? My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece is my favorite book title of all time. The book itself was pretty good, but oh, that title!

Fat Angie has rested on my whiteboard rail for some time now. I decided I needed to make it move and found this awesome book trailer. I know the perfect student for this book, but I’ll show the trailer and let her see why it screams “Read me!” for herself.

Close to the top of my favorite things to do: match the perfect book with the perfect kid. Hoorah!

Spine Poetry: A Hit and a Bonus

Amy Rasmussen, Books, Strategies to Add Some Zip April 2, 2013 Comments: 2

I didn’t carefully read this post Wanted: Any and All Book Spine Poems, but I took the idea and ran with it. Now, I need to let 100 Scope Notes know about our fun as we kick off National Poetry Month.

The Friday before spring break I needed something engaging to do with students whose hearts, minds, and souls were already on vacation. Classes were short, and we only had 35 minutes.

Creating spine poetry did a few key things:

1. Students had to read book covers–and, BONUS, some kids even checked books out from me after class.

2. Students had to think about words that would create topics and themes in order for their poems to make sense.

3. Students had to read their poems aloud, making sure that even without punctuation, their poems could be read with some kind of rhythm.

4. Students got a little introduction to the much more rigorous study of poetry we will do this month.

The Process: I have eight round tables in my room. I took a big stack of random books from my classroom library shelves and stacked them on each table. I showed the one model in the link above, and told students to get to work.

Create a poem, using only the words on the spine of the books.
Your poem must make sense–if it has a theme, even better!
You must use at least five books.
Someone in your group must read your poem aloud to the class.
Let me know when you are finished creating, so I can take a picture of your stack of books to show the class.

Here’s what my 9th graders created. Some make me proud.