International Dot Day

International Dot Day

by recesstec Book Reviews tips

Sunday Sit, Sip, and “Sync” ~ 8-11-2013

“The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.”
  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Almost two years ago, we wrote about Fablevision, and some of the resources they have to offer to classroom teachers.

Since then, we were invited by Terry Shay to become Fablevision ambassadors, which we were proud to accept.

As I have shared with many of you in our recent workshops, I have accepted a 4-week substituting job in Shannon’s school district teaching fourth grade.

I can’t deny that I am excited and looking forward to this job.
These first weeks have always been one of my favorite parts of the school year
when we are all excited about the possibilities,
and the aroma of new crayons fills the air.

I will be in the classroom from “Day One”,
and as I looked at the calendar to begin my plans,
I noticed another date.
“International Dot Day” ~ September 15, 2013.
My temporary term as a fourth grade teacher will end with “Dot Day”.

The concept for “Dot Day” was created four years ago by Terry Shay when he shared Peter Reynolds’s “The Dot” with his students on the day it was first published. Since then, it has grown to be an international event.

Last year there were over 850,000 participants in this celebration. With this post, we invite you to celebrate, as well.

As you read more about “Dot Day” at “The Dot Club” website,
please take time to sign up to join the celebration. You will find a link to download a free educator’s handbook, and a seemingly endless source of ideas and inspiration.

We also encourage you to follow the “International Dot Day” Facebook page to stay current with reminders, suggestions, ideas and ways to collaborate.

With this, I want to share my absolute favorite video about “International Dot Day”.  Here you will listen as Shannon shares,
(with permission from Peter Reynolds, the author himself!)
Peter’s story, and the pictures the students at North Ward Elementary School in Tuscola, Illinois created for “International Dot Day”.

Enjoy…

FableVision

by recesstec Book Reviews tips

Monday Morning Message ~ 8-1-2011

North Star artwork on this web site copyright by Peter H. Reynolds/ FableVision

Through Twitter, we have become “online friends” with Terry Shay. First introduced to us as @tjshay, Terry teaches grades 4-12 vocal music and computer instruction at North Tama School in Traer, Iowa. He also teaches Computers and Instructional Technology for Upper Iowa University.

As their “Lead Ambassador”,Terry was the first to introduce us to FableVision. We first met Terry f2f at the NECC Conference in Washington, DC, (now known as ISTE) at the FableVision booth.

If FableVision does not sound familiar, you will soon recognize it as you explore these links.  Peter H. Reynolds is the artist behind FableVision which is a company co-owned by twins Peter and Paul.  

(I know, I know… I wondered where “Mary” was, too.)

The Wikipedia link provides a quick over-view,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FableVision ,

or you can go directly to their website for educators at:

http://fablevisionlearning.com/

Peter is an amazing artist and you can find more about him at

http://www.peterhreynolds.com/news.html

He is also the illustrator for Guyku, my favorite current book of poetry.
As a mother of four boys, I can relate to this book, and any teacher will, as well.
I dare you not to fall in love with it.

http://hmhbooks.com/guyku/

What we would like to share with you this “Monday Morning”, are the resources that FableVision provides for teachers at:

http://fablevisionlearning.com/resources/

Included is clipart that can be used for lessons, or for your classroom website.

http://fablevisionlearning.com/clipart/index.html

http://fablevisionlearning.com/northstar/make/index.html

There is also a FableVision Learning Blog with additional resources.

http://fablevisionlearning.com/blog/

I personally love his whimsical pictures, and they would find a place in my lessons, both on the SMARTBoard and my website.

We would also encourage you to sign up for their monthly newsletter with updates on offers of free posters and clipart, grant opportunities, and the latest news from FableVision.

Have fun with these as we begin to refocus on “Back-to-School”.

North Star artwork on this web site copyright by Peter H. Reynolds/ FableVision
My Dream...

Found

by recesstec Book Reviews

AR Level – 5.0
Points – 9
Interest Level –Middle Grades – Upper Grades

Three words sum up this book…  Creepy time travel.  Haddix is known for her “creepiness” in the YA genre.  This book fits right in.  But it was definitely thought provoking, engaging, creepiness.  I am not going to lie, time travel gives me a headache.  Because I tend to try to understand it…and that is just not possible.  I can’t get my brain wrapped around how one instance in time effects the outcome of an entire life.  That must be why I have a serious love-hate relationship with Michael J. Fox in “Back to the Future”.  Ugh.  I love those movies, I mean I hate them…you get it.

Thirteen-year-old Jonah knows he is adopted.  He has always known it.  His parents have the proverbial bookshelf filled with titles like, “A Survival Guide to Growing up Adopted”.  Jonah’s new neighbor and friend, Chip, recently finds out he, too, is adopted.  But unlike Jonah, his parents never told him.  Nor are they willing to openly discuss this topic…at all.  When Jonah and Chip both receive a mysterious letter in a plain white envelope that states, “You are one of the missing”, they think it is a prank.  It isn’t. 

Katherine, Jonah’s sister (who isn’t adopted by the way), decides to team up with Jonah and Chip to get to the bottom of this mysterious letter.  Together, with the support and naivety of Jonah’s and Katherine’s parents, they begin to unravel a mystery that none of them could ever imagine.

Be prepared.  This is the first book in a series.  There is no definitive ending.  Which quite frankly I like, because it keeps kids reading!!! 

This is definitely a YA book.  I don’t think it is something I would recommend to my fourth graders to read independently even if they read at the 5.0 level. BUT, I can totally see reading it aloud to the right group of kids.  The science fiction mixed with the bit of creepiness would keep them engaged during story time.  However, I think I would wait until the end of the year when they are “almost” 5th graders.

I read this in two sittings and I honestly can’t remember any “questionable content”.  There are several mild “fight” scenes that involve tasers. I do remember the word “crap” at one point in the story and being relieved that is the word that was chosen.  A possible crush/love interest is mentioned at the beginning between Chip and Katherine, but it is not the focus of the story.

The Masterpiece

by recesstec Book Reviews

AR Level – 4.8
Points – 8
Interest Level –Middle Grades

I am torn.  Torn between whether or not to use this book as a read aloud or a novel unit.  It would be great either way.  So truly I can’t make a mistake here.  It is more about being selfish really.  Do I want to bring these characters to life through my own voice and expression?  Or do I want the kiddos to be able to do that themselves.  Sigh… decisions, decisions.

So I guess you can figure out that this one is a keeper.  A keeper in my collection of literature for children.  Actually I admit it is pretty good for adults as well. 

James’s eleventh birthday party is a flop.  His mother arranged it, invited all of the guests, and didn’t bother to ask James for any input.  Worse yet, the guests are all somehow connected to his mother’s real estate business prospects.  Pretty selfish huh?  James has a horrible time and feels very much like an outcast in his own life.  He appears to be all-around miserable.

Enter Marvin.  The beetle pictured on the front cover.   Marvin and his family live  behind the wall, under the kitchen sink.  They pretty much keep things together in the old Manhattan apartment in order to not be found out by any type of repairman or inspector.  When the microwave breaks, Marvin’s Uncle fixes it.  James’s mother, Mrs. Pompaday loses a contact down the sink and Marvin swims down in the murky drain water to fetch it.  The beetle family is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the Pompaday’s happy and away from the phone to call the plumber.

Marvin loves James.  He wants to make his birthday the best one yet.  He just can’t figure out what sort of gift he could give him in order to accomplish this feat.  He decides on a Buffalo nickle and rolls it into James’s room in the middle of the night.  He leaves it exactly where James will find it, in the middle of the floor.  Upon delivering James’s gift, Marvin stumbles upon a gift of his own…in a different sense.

James’s father is an artist.  He bought James a pen and ink set for his birthday.  And while James really showed no interest in the gift, Marvin stumbles upon the set and becomes transfixed while dipping his front legs in the ink and placing them on the art paper.  What he creates while James sleeps is his first masterpiece.  It is a miniature pen and ink drwing of the scene outside the bedroom window. 

Upon waking the next morning James discovers the nickle.  He is thrilled with the find.  But he is even more thrilled to find the drawing.  So is his mother.  And now she wants to show it to prospective real estate clients for possible sales to decorate their homes.  Even worse…she thinks James has drawn the picture….and James hasn’t led her to believe any different.

Marvin and James become close friends even though they can’t communicate in traditional senses. Even more close when James is asked to copy a miniature Dürer masterpiece as part of an undercover art heist at the NY Met. 

This book is thoughtfully written. It includes a perfect mixture of relationships, integrity, virtues, art history, action and suspense.  I love it.

Now…how am I going to decide how to use this one in class this year?

PS…NO questionable content.  LOVE THAT!

Diamond Willow

by recesstec Book Reviews

AR Level – 4.3
Points – 2
Interest Level –Middle Grades

Ok.  It is official.  I may have a new favorite book.  I love, love, love this one.  Diamond Willow by Helen Frost touched my heart.  Actually it reached out and stole it.  12 year-old Diamond Willow lives in Alaska with her parents, brother, sister and Alaskan sled dogs.  She wants to learn to “mush” independently to visit her grandparents.  Her parents don’t think she is old enough.  Classic case of child wanting to grow up even though his or her parents are not really sharing the same interest. 

How is this book different?  Why do I love it so much?  It is original in the fact that it is written almost entirely in diamond poetry format.  Not “Diamente”.  It is really free verse that ends up being shaped into a diamond.  The originality comes in the bolded words that stand out in each poem that gives the reader a hidden meaning in the poem.  I can’t wait to incorporate this style of writing in my classroom.  I can’t wait for the kids to read about Diamond Willow.  And I especially can’t wait to hear their thoughts on the different points of view coming from Diamond’s ancestors.  You see, they have all been reincarnated as some type of animal that watches this story unfold.

Plus…it is about a girl and her dog.  Seriously, I think I am in love…with this book…and of course, Buddy the Dog.

PS: As a side note I am trying to decide how to handle one line in one poem of the book.  I wish it weren’t there.  Suggestions?  It goes like this, “How do little kids learn all the things they’re not supposed to talk about?  Poop and farts and sex, Uncle Henry’s drinking, Mom’s gray hair?”  That is the ONLY questionable content in the book. Ugh, how I truly despise “questionable content” from a teacher’s perspective!

Hachiko Waits

by recesstec Book Reviews

AR Level – 4.7
Points – 2
Interest Level –Any Grade

Ok…apparently I am one of the only people who didn’t know about this book prior to reading it.  How did I stumble upon this little fun fact?  I closed the book last night right before turning out the lights as my daughter came in to my bedroom ready for a “tuck-in”.   I told her that she would really like this book since she is pretty much a lover of any dog that will give her the time of day.  She took the book, looked at the cover, and said, “Oh, Hachiko…yeah…the dog who waits for his owner at the train station.  You know they even have a statue of him.”  You can only imagine the look of surprise on my face as she said this to me since I had never heard this story.  The conversation really took a turn when I asked her how she knew about Hachiko.  She informed me that he was on an episode of Scooby Doo.  Geesh.  So that means the entire youth of America knows the story of hachiko through the eyes of Scooby and Shaggy…nice.

Well my review continues…

I enjoyed the story.  I didn’t however enjoy the writing style of this book.  It was pretty dry in my opinion.  It read more like a Basal Reader excerpt than a novel, but I honestly don’t think kids who love dogs would mind.  In fact, I truly think that any student who has a connection with a pet will be able to identify with this story.  Not to mention learn about loyalty, friendship, honor, and Japanese culture all thrown in for good measure.  I would definitely use this book in my classroom to incorporate all of the aforementioned themes into a literature based unit.  I think it would be VERY cool to be able to find a Japanese school that would be willing to let us interview them via Skype about the statue and what it represents to them in their culture.

Oggie Cooder

by recesstec Book Reviews

AR Level – 5.1
Points – 3
Interest Level – Lower Grades

This is definitely not the type of book I would choose on my own.  But since it is up for the newly created Bluestem Award in IL, I decided to give it a shot.  Oggie Cooder is quirky, at least that is what his teachers have indicated on his report cards in the past.  His schoolmates refer to him as a weirdo or dork.  He is definitely an individual…that is for sure.  Oggie’s parents own the local second-hand thrift store and supply him with his eclectic gently used wardrobe.  He can be found wearing seersucker pants with a plaid duck hunting shirt to school with confidence that he is indeed dressed.  That is his only concern…fashion and fitting in is not.  He is shunned by the popular girls and never invited to play basketball with the jocks until he is discovered by the Hidden Talents television show for “charving”.  That is a combination of chewing and carving.  Oggie is able to take an American cheese slice and “charve” it into the outline of any state in the US.  Definitely quirky. 

What I loved about this book…Oggie’s individuality and the fact that he is comfortable with it.  He does not conform for any reason.  In fact, he doesn’t even realize that he is different.  I like this possible connection for kids who think they are different in any way.  It is a cute, quick read with some quick witted humor. I also like that it has a higher reading level with content for a less mature audience.  Sometimes a perfect mix for a 4th grade boy.

What I didn’t love about this book.  It sort of read like any Nickelodeon kid show.  Think dim-witted parents and teachers, snot nosed popular girls, and sarcastic insults between students.

While this is not necessarily on the top of my reading list for the upcoming school year, it might make for a quick read aloud during milk-break time if we have an Oggie in our class for which a connection needs to be made.  After all, he is a pretty likable kid that some kids just never take the opportunity to get to know.  Ya know?

The Mailbox

by recesstec Book Reviews reflections

AR Level – 5.0
Points – 6
Interest Level – Middle to Upper Grades

“Vacation” allows me a little more time to sit on our porch and read.  I did just that this weekend and was able to complete my first “student” novel of the summer.  It was “The Mailbox” by Audrey Shafer.  A first novel by Shafer but I am sure not her last.  The genre is hard to pinpoint, something between a mystery and gripping drama.  The main character is a middle school aged boy named Gabe.  He has had a difficult childhood being shuffled from foster home to foster home until he is placed with his gruff elderly Vietnam veteran uncle.  The two have what seems an unconnected relationship until Gabe comes home from school one day to find his uncle dead.  Afraid he will be placed back into foster care and unsure of what to do, Gabe decides to do nothing.  The next day as Gabe is coming home from school he discovers a note in the mailbox that reads “I have a secret, don’t be afraid.”  He is afraid (who wouldn’t be…right?).  He walks in to his house to find that his uncle’s body is missing, and whoever took the body also took his gun collection.  What happens next is only described as touching.  A deeper relationship that rarely surfaced while Gabe’s uncle was living is discovered; unconditional love for a new “family member”, a large black dog named Guppy, flourishes; and Gabe’s rocky living arrangements finally appear to have a smooth ending.

I will not be choosing this for my book club this year, but not because I didn’t like it.  I think it is a little too deep for 4th graders.  And while I was able to connect to the story on many levels, I am not sure most 9 year olds would be able to do the same.  My connections stem from the fact that the teachers are VERY involved throughout this story and I find myself empathizing with the school staff regarding this quiet troubled boy during the school scenes (most teachers have been there, done that regarding kids who sneak their way into your heart with little you can do to help them in their personal lives). Gabe’s relationship with Guppy is warm and fuzzy and heart wrenching all rolled in to one.  While most kids can relate to the pet connection, I was easily sucked in since I am in love with a certain dog named Buddy.   And finally, I was also able to connect to the military portions of the story through Mom’s Army Brat child rearing. 

Reflecting on this past school year, I think the reason I really enjoyed “Shooting the Moon” last summer was because it reminded me of the stories my mom told me about growing up as the daughter of an Army Officer.  I also loved the photography connection throughout the story.  As I read it aloud to my class this year, I could feel the disconnect from my students.  That is something that I have always been able to easily detect when I read aloud to the kiddos in class.  I think “The Mailbox” would have the same impact (or lack thereof).

I do, however, recommend this book for middle school literature circles.  The right group of mature kids would enjoy this book immensely.

The Lemonade War

by recesstec Book Reviews

lemonade-war110.) The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies

AR Level – 4.1
Points – 4
Interest Level – Middle Grades

One of Mom’s and my favorite saying is “It isn’t how smart your are…it is how you are smart.”  That is perfect tie-in #1 to this book.  Evan who is getting ready to begin 4th grade is smart.  People-smart.  He is good at making friends, reading people, talking with adults, and knowing when the girls in his younger sister’s class are not being nice.  His younger sister, Jessie, on the other hand, is also smart.  School smart.  She can easily do math problems in her head, write poetry, and read fluently.  So much so that she is skipping third grade and entering 4th grade right alongside her brother.  She is excited…he is not.  However, since Jessie lacks the necessary skills to figure people out, she can’t understand why her brother is annoyed with her.  They maintain a very close brother-sister relationship and are even more protective of each other since their parent’s divorce.  So why IS Evan annoyed with Jessie for being in his class? 

Evan is not good in school.  At all.  He can’t figure out math and is the slowest reader in his class.  He is terrified the other kids will think he is even dumber now that his super-brainy sister will be shining as the smartest girl in 4th grade even though she is suppose to be in 3rd.  But he doesn’t tell Jessie this and she is not socially smart enough to figure it out on her own.  What results from this end of the summer conflict is a brother-sister war.  They have decided to challenge each other to a Lemonade Stand War.  The last days before Labor Day are scorchers and whoever can sell $100 worth of lemonade first is the winner.  Winner takes all.  All the money that is.

The second perfect tie-in for this book is the cross-curricular connection with math.  The author does a fabulous job of integrating math problems with which kids can identify.  Most students have had a lemonade stand at some point in their lives or have wanted one.  These real-world math problems are great lead-ins to solving story problems.  I love that!

This is a great book with not one swear word…yahoo!  It is very current with popular phrases such as “oh snap”.  I think my 4th graders will love it.  Make sure you take a look at the book’s website.  It is fantastic. http://www.lemonadewar.com/

A Crooked Kind of Perfect

by recesstec Book Reviews reflections

crooked_kind_of_perfect9.) A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban

AR Level – 3.9
Points – 4
Interest Level – Middle Grades

This book has been perfectly titled.  6th grader, Zoe is living a crooked kind of perfect life.  She has just been replaced with the popular girls by her best friend and is realizing that she doesn’t quite belong…with them.  She has a dream of being a famous pianist like the great Horowitz but when her crooked kind of perfect father goes to purchase her a piano, he returns with a Perfectone D-60 organ…sigh.  Her smart and pretty mom seems to prioritize work before family. And while there seems to be a pattern of conflict within Zoe’s life, she takes things in stride, keeps her head on straight, and makes the most of each situation.  You can’t help but to love this girl.  (Don’t get me wrong, she is not superhuman…she is 11.)  I wish I had her in my class!  I think the best part of this book (within a school setting)  is the fact that it will generate discussion that everyone has his or her own problems with which to deal even if not brought to the forefront at school.  Zoe is inspirational.  I wish I would have been more like her when I was her age.  Great read…add it to your middle grade bookshelf (grades 3-5).  There is no questionable content…ANOTHER reason to love it!  I guess I am still pondering the question, “Why DO author’s feel the need to add the token swear word in an otherwise perfectly good book?”  Thank you to Linda Urban for not doing so.  This will be on the my book club list this year!