Kellee – Page 263 – Unleashing Readers

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 8/19/13

July 27, 2015August 19, 2013 by Kellee

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA!

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It’s also a great chance to see what others are reading right now…you just might discover the next “must-read” book!

Jen Vincent, of Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join us! We love this meme and think you will, too.

We encourage everyone who participates to support the blogging community by visiting at least three of the other book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them.

Last Week’s Posts

**Click on any picture to view the post**

Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee: YAY! I finished Rump by Liesl Shurtliff and I enjoyed it so much. I am so glad that I am on Twitter because they put this book on my radar. I really enjoy fairy tale retellings and this was a great one. I cannot wait to review it for you all! I also read The Day the Crayons Quits and Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great and once again I thank my friends for sharing these titles with me and I cannot wait to share them with you!

Ricki: This week, I read an incredible book called Into that Forest by Louis Nowra. It is about a young girl who gets lost in the Tasmanian bush with her friend. They are adopted by two tigers and slowly morph into feral children. I can’t recommend it enough. It reminded me a bit of one of my favorite books, Endangered by Eliot Schrefer.

Then, I read Living with Jackie Chan by Jo Knowles. If you’ve read Jumping off Swings, you have to check this one out. It is told from Josh’s perspective, after the baby is born. Oh, and if you haven’t read Jumping off Swings, you still have to check this one out. It can stand alone and is incredibly good. This book will stick with me for a very long time.

This Week’s Expeditions

Kellee: Ah, school is back! The teachers were back this last week and the students start today. I have a new role as a reading coach which is so exciting; however, the work is so different than what I’ve done in the past, so I feel so, so busy. My hope this week is to finish Living with Jackie Chan by Jo Knowles this week then move onto either Guys Read: Other Worlds, Real Boy, or Stained – I haven’t decided yet.

Ricki: This week, I started Rose under Fire by Elizabeth Wein. I loved Code Name Verity for its complexity and depth, and this one is equally excellent. Unlike Code Name Verity, I immediately got into Rose under Fire. From the very beginning, I was hooked. I am actually itching to get back to it right now! Much of this story takes place in a concentration camp rather than an interrogation room, but the books are quite similar in their format and topic. That said, I am learning so much, so it is truly worth the read, especially if you liked Code Name Verity. Elizabeth Wein is a wealth of knowledge!

I am about finished with a professional development text, Black Ants and Buddhists by Mary Cowhey. This book is very inspiring. She gives great advice about how to enact social justice in the classroom. Even as a high school teacher, I could pull many ideas from this text, which is directed to elementary school teachers.

Upcoming Week’s Posts

So, what are you reading?

Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!

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Academic Games

April 22, 2023August 18, 2013 by Kellee

Last week, I shared my Genre/Format Introduction Lesson, where I stated that I play a pyramid review game with my students before the assessment. After saying this, I had a couple of people, including Julee M., ask me to share more about the pyramid game, so I decided to share my post about academic games.

I will say, none of these games were originally mine. As a teacher, though, we all borrow and share – so I am happy to share them with you.

Vocabulary Pyramid

Set up like the $25,000 Pyramid, students are given topics and they must have their partner guess each topic using the vocabulary and knowledge from the unit/lesson.

Talk a Mile a Minute

VERY similar to the pyramid game: Students get into pairs (A & B) and one faces away from the board/projector while the other faces it. A student gets a list of terms based on a topic that is being taught. They then go word to word giving clues and trying to get through all of the words. The fastest wins!

After the game, students should record the clues, illustrations, examples that helped them guess each vocabulary word.

4 Corners

4 corners is like an interactive multiple choice assessment/activity. This game begins with all of the students in the middle of the room. The teacher asks a question and each corner (or side) is an option. Students then go to what they choose or think is correct.

Swat It

For Swat It you will need 2 fly swatters. The teacher posts vocabulary words on a wall (a word wall would work) or makes a PowerPoint/Word document with the vocabulary words. Then 2 students go head to head. The teacher gives clues or definition and students have to swat the word. I have heard that using a fly swatter is the best way because it is obvious who is first; rulers make it much harder to see who was first if it was close.

Post-It Password

Students put a post it on their foreheads with a vocabulary word on them and then walk around the room having conversations with other students to figure out what their words are.

Draw a Conclusion

This is one of my favorites. It is a backwards circle map. Instead of starting with a topic in the middle and defining it in the circle, with Draw a Conclusion the teacher puts the clues in the circle and the clues have to be used to guess the topic.

Can you guess the answer?

That’s right—Jiminy Cricket!

Jeopardy

Self explanatory.

Word-O

Vocabulary bingo

Hint: Use Smarties and kids can eat them when the game is over.

Vocabulary Squares

Like Hollywood Squares. One team is X, one is O, and the team is trying to get tic-tac-toe by answering vocabulary questions.

Draw Me

Pictionary.

Vocabulary Charades

Memory

Cards with vocabulary words and then the definitions are flipped over on a table and students have to flip them over trying to find their match.

Find your Pair

Type up all of the vocabulary words and then sentences or definitions that go with the words. It is then the students’ job to find their pair.

I hope you have fun playing these in your classroom!!

Feynman by Jim Ottaviani

August 17, 2013 by Kellee

Feynman
Author: Jim Ottaviani
Art by: Leland Myrick
Coloring by: Hilary Sycamore
Published August 30th, 2011 by First Second

Goodreads Summary: Richard Feynman: physicist . . . Nobel winner . . . bestselling author . . . safe-cracker. In this substantial graphic novel biography, First Second presents the larger-than-life exploits of Nobel-winning quantum physicist, adventurer, musician, world-class raconteur, and one of the greatest minds of the twentieth century: Richard Feynman. Written by nonfiction comics mainstay Jim Ottaviani and brilliantly illustrated by First Second author Leland Myrick, Feynman tells the story of the great man’s life from his childhood in Long Island to his work on the Manhattan Project and the Challenger disaster. Ottaviani tackles the bad with the good, leaving the reader delighted by Feynman’s exuberant life and staggered at the loss humanity suffered with his death. Anyone who ever wanted to know more about Richard P. Feynman, quantum electrodynamics, the fine art of the bongo drums, the outrageously obscure nation of Tuva, or the development and popularization of the field of physics in the United States need look no further than this rich and joyful work.

Review: This book definitely showed me that I have HUGE gaps in knowledge in history, science, and math. Reading this book was so challenging for me – probably one of the hardest books I’ve read in a very, very long time. It took me 10 days because most days I didn’t read much because I’d find myself rereading or going online to research or just overwhelmed by the little bit I read. Makes me feel for our struggling readers who are given text that are too hard for them and not given scaffolding. If anyone ever tells you that graphic novels are not complex or challenging texts, hand them this book.

Now, all of this is saying things about myself, not about the book. The book itself was fascinating. I learned so much! I’ll be honest. Physics is still so over my head and most of the physics stuff talked about in the book (and that I researched) just didn’t make sense to me; however, this book also includes a great story of Feynman’s life and history about the atomic bomb, NASA, and the Nobel Prize. All of which I did truly enjoy and learn something from. It was also quite funny at times- Feynman was a character!

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: I cannot wait to show this text to the physical science teachers at my school. It is a great text to show content area teachers that there are wonderful texts out there that can be used in the classroom. This book then can expand to even more instruction on Feynman and all of his physics. You can even view Feynman’s lectures online!!

Discussion Questions: When Feynman was working on the atomic bomb, some of his colleagues felt that it was a devastating invention while others continued working on it without thinking of the destruction it would cause. How do you feel about the construction of the atomic bomb? Were the use/construction of them justified?; After watching one of Feynman’s lectures, why was he better at explaining physics than other lecturers?

We Flagged: “But then a miracle occurred. And it’s occurred again and again in my life, and it’s very lucky for me. The moment I start to think about physics and concentrate on what I’m explaining, I’m completely immune to being nervous. No worries about the audience and the personalities. I was calm, everything was good. My talk wasn’t good because I wasn’t used to giving lectures, but there was no nervousness until I sat down. Einstein appreciated that things might be different from his famous theory of relativity – very nice, and very interesting. Pauli had more objections, but Wheeler kept his promise and answered all of them.” (p. 48-49)

Read This If You Loved: Surely Your Joking, Mr. Feynman! and other books by Richard P. Feynman On a Beam of Light by Jennifer Berne, Who Was Albert Einstein? by Jess M. Brallier, Nonfiction physics books

Recommended For:

Imogene’s Last Stand by Candace Fleming

August 16, 2013 by Kellee

Imogene’s Last Stand
Author: Candace Fleming
Illustrator: Nancy Carpenter
Published October 13th, 2009 by Schwartz & Wade

Goodreads Summary: Meet Imogene, a plucky heroine with a passion for history.

As a baby, Imogene’s first words were “Four score and seven years ago.” In preschool, she fingerpainted a map of the Oregon Trail. So it’s not surprising that when the mayor wants to tear down the long-neglected Liddleton Historical Society to make room for a shoelace factory, Imogene is desperate to convince the town how important its history is. But even though she rides through the streets in her Paul Revere costume shouting, “The bulldozers are coming, the bulldozers are coming!” the townspeople won’t budge. What’s a history-loving kid to do?

Filled with quotes from history’s biggest players—not to mention mini-bios on the endpapers—and lots of humor, here’s the perfect book for budding historians.

Review: Imogene is awesome! Her whole life she has loved history and has promoted history. History is her passion. When she finds out that the Liddleville Historical Center is up for demolition, she does everything in her power to save the history center. This, in a nutshell, is what makes her awesome: she is intelligent, passionate, and willing to stand up for her passion. Because of this, and the history allusions throughout the book, make this such an excellent book to use in classrooms. Imogene is such a great role model for any child.

The history aspects of this book were done so cleverly. Throughout Imogene’s story, she uses famous historical quotes to express how she feels at certain points. For example, when she was trying to get others to stop the bulldozing of the historical center dressed in her Paul Revere costume, she rode around Main Street (on her stick horse) yelling, “The bulldozers are coming! The bulldozers are coming!” These clever quotes are throughout the book. Then in the back and front end sheets Imogene’s historical tidbits are shared explaining all of the quotes.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: Like I said in the review, this book is a great for promoting history, intelligence, and passion. Like many of the amazing picture books I’ve been reading lately, it also promotes inquiry because it makes history interesting and fun.

Discussion Questions: What is a historical landmark in your city? Find out about what made it a landmark.; Imogene is passionate about history. What are you passionate about? Share the essentials of your passion.

We Flagged: “Imogene loved history. When she was a baby, her first words were “Four score and seven years ago.” As a preschooler, she finger-painted an accurate map of the Oregon Trail. And as a kindergartner, she used her show-and-tell time to give a series of lectures on important woman in history.” (p. 6)

To see a preview of the illustrations, visit Amazon’s “Look Inside” for Imogene’s Last Stand.

Read This If You Loved: Abe Lincoln’s Dream and John, Paul, George, & Ben by Lane Smith, Of Thee I Sing by Barack Obama, Looking at Lincoln by Maira Kalman, Nonfiction books about the historical figures mentioned

Recommended For:

On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein by Jennifer Berne

August 18, 2013August 14, 2013 by Kellee

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and was started to help promote the reading of nonfiction texts. Most Wednesdays, we will be participating and will review a nonfiction text (though it may not always be a picture book).
Be sure to visit Kid Lit Frenzy and see what other nonfiction books are shared this week!

On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein
Author: Jennifer Berne
Illustrator: Vladimir Radunsky
Published April 23rd, 2013 by Chronicle Books

Summary: Albert wasn’t like other children. He didn’t speak; he thought. He didn’t play with others; he was fascinated with everything around him. But it is all of this curiosity that led to his revolutionary ideas.

Review: I love how this book focuses on how Albert’s creativity is one of the keys to what made him the amazing scientist that he is. Also, as a teacher of struggling and gifted students, I love the focus on how he didn’t do well in school. It shows how just because a student is different or a disturbance or thinks differently doesn’t mean that they aren’t intelligent. The book definitely promotes wonderings, thinking, and imagination!

I also loved learning about the fun side of Einstein and how he likes to not wear socks, he liked to eat ice cream cones, and overall he just did what he want to have time to think.

Finally, the Author’s Note puts all of Einstein’s theories together so that the reader also gets this information.

Teacher’s Tools for Navigation: This book is perfect for a read aloud to promote creativity and intelligence. It also has a direct connection to science since it is about Albert Einstein. It would be a great discussion starter for an elementary classroom and is also a great jumping off point for discussing the basic Einstein theories.

Discussion Questions: After knowing about Albert’s experiences in school, what would you go back and tell Albert’s teachers? What does his experience and then who he became tell us about behavior, students, and teachers?; Albert said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” What parts of this book supports this quote?

We Flagged: “Albert started asking questions. Questions at home. Questions at school. So many questions taht some of his teachers told him he was a disruption to his class. They said he would never amount to anything unless he learned to behave like the other students. But Albert didn’t want to be like other students. He wanted to discover the hidden mysteries in the world.” (p. 14-15)

To see a preview of the illustrations, visit Amazon’s “Look Inside” for On a Beam of Light.

Read This If You Loved: Odd Boy Out by Don Brown, Who Was Albert Einstein? by Jess M. Brallier, Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell, Jim Henson by Kathleen Krull, A Boy Called Dickens by Deborah Hopkinson

Recommended For:

Genre/Format Introductions

April 23, 2023August 11, 2013 by Kellee

Earlier this month on Twitter, Andrea P. and Shannon C. asked me about my genre introductions that I do at the beginning of the year with my students. This made me think that it since the new school year is upon us, it may be time to share the lesson I used the last few years to share genres and formats with my students. Now as my school’s reading coach, I look forward to sharing this post/lesson with my reading department so that they can continue to find the success that I did.

At the beginning of each school year, I know I need to acclimate my students to books and my classroom library. Since I teach intensive reading, many of my students are reluctant and struggling readers which means that they have not been around or fans of books, so my classroom library is a bit overwhelming. The best way I have found to introduce my students to my classsroom library and books in general is a mini-genre study. The way it works is I spend each day introducing a genre. I separate my genres into 7- realistic fiction, fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, informational nonfiction, biography, and traditional literature – and 3 formats – graphic novels, poetry, and short stories. Thus, the mini-study lasts approximately 10 days including 1 review day and 1 assessment day.

Each mini-study goes the same: After discussion about what students think each genre is, I define the genre (using students’ words when I could) and we enter the definition onto a tree map. Then, the students brainstorm aspects and examples of the genre using a circle map. In the circle of the map, students put words that define the genre and examples of what could be in the books while in the square (frame of reference) they put examples of books, movies, TV shows, etc. for the genre. For example, if we are doing “Fantasy”, the circle would include things like: magic, vampires, talking animals, dragons, couldn’t ever happen, etc. while the frame of reference would include: Harry Potter, Twilight, Amulet, etc.

Following our discussion of each genre I read a picture book of that genre and then we discuss how it is said genre. There are so many picture books for each genre, so have fun choosing! The picture books I used last year were:

Historical Fiction: Titanicat by Marty Crisp

Biography: Martin’s Big Words or John’s Sweet Dreams by Doreen Rappaport [I let the kids choose.]
or
Realistic Fiction: First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg

Fantasy: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Traditional Literature: Lon Po Po by Ed Young

Science Fiction: Zathura by Chris Van Allsburg
(though we discuss how this one could be considered fantasy as well)

Informational Nonfiction: Volcano by Patricia Lauber [previewed the book]

Poetry: Falling Up by Shel Silverstein (read Strange Restaurant)

Short Story: Nightmare Hour by R.L. Stine [read part of Pumpkinhead]
Graphic Novel: Into the Volcano by Don Wood [previewed the novel]

After each picture book/story, I use this opportunity to show students how to respond to writing like I am going to ask them to do weekly by modeling a journal entry after each complete picture book.

Next, I allow my students to access the classroom library. Each student gets to pick two books of the discussed genre (books are marked with a sticker to distinguish between the genres). I then do a book pass where students pass around the books they chose. With each set of books, the students get 2 minutes to preview the book and decide if they want to add it to their “Books to Read” list.

The last thing we do, and this was new this year (an idea that I stole from my friend), was after the book pass, as an exit slip, they needed to tell me why the book at least one of the books they wrote about on their “Books to Read” list was the genre we are discussing. For example, if a student had Suck it Up by Brian Meehl they would put that Suck it Up is fantasy because it has vampires in it and vampires don’t exist.

After going through all 7 genres and 3 formats, we review by playing the Pyramid Game and 4 corners and we finally end with an assessment which includes multiple choice, short answers, and students writing a story of a specific genre. By the end of the unit, students have a long list of books they want to read from all the genres and know how to find books in the classroom library.

This is the beginning of cultivating readers.
Happy growing!

Walden Award Winner!: A Review

August 10, 2013 by Kellee

Today we are happy to share our review of the winner of the

2013 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award!

The Fault in our Stars
Author: John Green
Published January 10th, 2012 by Dutton Books

Summary: Hazel has been preparing to die since she was thirteen and was diagnosed with Stage IV Thyroid Cancer. Now, she is sixteen, a modern medical miracle and living with the side effects of the medication and of the cancer. Hazel finds herself between the levels of normalcy and dying. When she meets Augustus Waters, she begins to feel normal for the first time in a long time. Through this amazing friendship, both Hazel and Augustus learn how to truly live.

Ricki’s Review: Every once in a while, a book comes around that changes you. Admittedly, I am a huge fan of John Green and am always biased toward his books. While others may not agree with me, I would argue that this is definitely his best work. I have twenty books on my “favorite books” shelf, and this addition was a no-brainer. (I won’t tell you which one I removed to put this one on the shelf.) The characters are intelligent and witty, and I was continually laughing out loud. This book sends readers on a roller-coaster of emotions. It is the first book in a long time that made me truly feel a sense of catharsis. And Augustus recognizes my emotions as both worthy and real: “‘That’s the thing about pain,’ Augustus said, and then glanced back at me. ‘It demands to be felt'” (p. 63). The language and word choice make dozens of pages flag-worthy, and teachers will love doing close readings with this text. It is liquid gold for classroom teachers.

This is not a predictable cancer story because it is incredibly honest. Hazel recognizes the “perks” she gets as a cancer patient, and she has no trouble admitting that she doesn’t really have friends. When she goes shopping with her one female friend, she secretly wants to be anti-social and pull out a book to read. But when she meets Augustus, everything changes. If you haven’t read this book yet, be grateful–I am envious of you because I want to read this book again for the first time

Kellee’s Review: I’ll be honest—I had a really hard time writing a review of this book. I just don’t know if I am going to be able to do it justice. It is one of those books that as you read, there are so many good things and so much you love, and you know that it is something so special. Even now, as I sit here, I don’t know what to say. I know that I wish that it was more appropriate for middle schoolers so I could share it with more students, I know that it is a book that everyone should read, and I know that it is a book that I am glad to be sharing.

The Fault in our Stars is not only an emotional and funny book, it is beautifully written. As I read, I knew I wanted to mark quotes for a review, but it was hard to find a page to not mark.

John Green has a way with words. If you have read anything by him, you know what I am talking about. I think what makes this book even more powerful is that it is a combination of John Green’s voice and a deep, amazing story. Put the two together, and you get a masterpiece.

Discussion Questions: Hazel has a book that is her favorite and means so much to her; what book do you love that you could not live without? Choose your favorite line or quote from the book and discuss why you connected with it so much.; Who is someone who made an impression on you but who you have lost touch with?

We Flagged: “Sometimes you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read that book” (p. 33).

“It wasn’t even that the book was so good or anything; it was just that the author, Peter Van Houten, seemed to understand me in weird and impossible ways. An Imperial Affliction was my book, in the way my body was my body and my thoughts were my thoughts” (p. 36).

“My thoughts are stars I can’t fathom into constellations” (p. 311).

Read This If You Loved: Looking for Alaska by John Green, Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan and John Green, Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick, The Survival Kit by Donna Freitas, A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, If I Stay by Gayle Forman, Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Recommended For:

Have you read The Fault in our Stars? Did it affect you the way that it did us?

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