The following pictures are from an app called Reading Logs. The .99 cent version doesn't have as many features as I was hoping but it did allow me to create this list and upload it. If you are wondering what to read or you're having trouble coming up with a title, this is a good place to begin.
Over the weekend I completed the book, The Girl Who Could Fly, by Victoria Forester. Stella L. recommended it and it lived up to her praise. If you have ever felt like you didn't fit in for whatever reason, this book illustrates the difficulty of navigating experiences like this while sprinkling in a dash of humor and pain to keep you guessing how everything will turn out in the end. Don't let the title fool you into believing that Piper (the main character) only stands out because of her gift of flight. If only we all had a superpower that separated us from our peers rather than the usual shortcomings.
Have any of you read any books lately that the rest of us should read?
Until next time,
Mr. KJ
Professional Day 9.27.2013
Even though I have been a part of the blogosphere world for about ten years, this is the first time I have ventured into the digital realm strictly for classroom purposes. The blog your eyes are currently meandering across is a result of FedEx time. To be honest, I have considered embarking on a classroom blog for many years and with our 1:1 launch finally a reality, the idea has fully ripened.
Hopefully my students, coworkers and others in the worldwide web world who stumble across this blog will find entries worth reading/contemplating.
One of the true joys of teaching middle school aged students is that I get to read YA literature. I recall reading classroom assigned books when I was in sixth grade, but most of them were fairly short and were included in a basal text. I cannot say I enjoyed reading when I was twelve years old, in fact, I was one of those students who wanted to do anything BUT read most classroom assigned literature. When I got to seventh grade my love of reading did not increase either and I'm certain it was because I was assigned books like My Antonia, The Red Pony and The Old Man and the Sea. Even though I can make many connections today to Cather, Steinbeck and Hemingway I certainly had trouble doing so as a twelve or thirteen year-old.
How has this affected me as a teacher? For starters, I rarely assign students to read the same classroom reading book at the same pace at the same time. Instead, I read as much YA literature as I can and I make sure to give book talks about what I've read. Over the years I've found any book by Gary D. Schmidt is a must read. Anyone who enjoys a bit of history sprinkled with familial and peer relationship struggles would dive into Mr. Schmidt's work, losing sleep in the process.
I will continue to give book suggestions and a glimpse or two of my educational path in upcoming posts.
Until next time,
Mr. KJ
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