Slice of Life 29/31

My husband has a great book bag that he got a long time ago from WaldonBooks. It has a Thomas Jefferson quote on it: "I cannot live without books!" It's such a great quote and a sentiment that I share. I frequently lament, "So many books, so little time!" I love books. I dare say that I am addicted to books and to reading, and I've blogged many times about this.

Today I heard my familiar lament in an unexpected place and from an unexpected source- my 8th grade classroom on the lips of one of my 8th grade boys. C is one of the boys that got hooked on reading this past winter when I introduced the class to The Hunger Games. He has asked me on several occasions for books to read, and I have worked hard to match him up with books that will keep him reading. Right now he is working on Chaos Walking Book 1: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. On an almost daily basis C tells me that the book is really good and makes a comment about what is happening where he is in the book. Today when he told me, "This book is really good! I still haven't found out why he had to run away, and he's meet the girl, but SHE WON'T TALK TO HIM!", C went on to say, "There are so many good books out there, it's hard to find them and then have time to read them!"

My book loving English teacher heart swelled with pride and joy!

Slice of Life 28/31

We went for a walk after lunch today. It felt so good to be outside, walking through the woods. The MidState Trail runs through our neighborhood and we explored a part of it that we haven't walked yet. Our original destination was the stream that flows out of the lake. Long ago there were mills all along this stream. Seems hard to believe. We tried to imagine where the mills and factories were, but just can't picture it. The stream is so pretty, especially since we've had quite a bit of rain lately as well as the usual snow melt. We walked down the road along the stream trying to pick out where mill buildings might have once stood, then crossed a little bridge and picked up the MidState Trail and hiked up the stream on the other side. We followed the trail a few feet into the woods when it veered away from the stream, then headed back, leaving the woods for another day.

Slice of Life 27/31

Today I had lunch with a former student. Jenn was a fourth grader in my very first class, my very first year of teaching. She is now a senior English major at Plymouth State. I can't believe she's graduating! We had such a great time talking about everything from books to job interviews to where some of her former classmates are now, to "do you remember when". Before we knew it a couple of hours had passed and she had to get going. It was so much fun to connect with her as a friend, not teacher and student. To hear her opinions on things and the life lessons she's been learning in this transition period of being 21.

And it was nice to hear that the two years she was in my classroom (4th grade and 6th grade) were some of the best years she remembers of ,elementary school and that she thought I was a great teacher. That is always good for a teacher's soul!

Slice of Life 26/31

Driving home I was thinking about my day and what I would write about for today's Slice of Life. I'd just had two great days with my classes. Handling situations well, great activities and discussions about Lord of the Flies with my 8th graders, and a fun evening watching my students perform in Willy Wonka, Jr.

I had decided I was going to write something about how proud I was of my 8th grade boys: the ones who sang and acted so well in Willy Wonka and the ones who impressed me with their grown-up and helpful behavior selling tickets, snacks, and handing out programs, when I walked into the house and saw the large white envelope on the counter.

There it was, my very first ARC, advanced reader copy. This year I struck up a friendship with author Cynthia Lord. Her new book, Touch Blue is out from Scholastic in August and she had told me she would send me a copy when her galleys arrived. I am so excited to have it and can't wait to read it. I also can't wait to share it with my 7th graders. We just started Cindy's first book, Rules and the girls are loving it. I know that we will love Touch Blue.

I've been wanting to start writing book reviews, maybe this should be my first.

SoLC 25/31

Today I had to pull several of my boys out into the hall to address something they had done that had upset a volunteer the day before. I pulled them one at a time. I looked each in the eye, smiled, laughed, and firmly said, "I think you know that what you choose was not appropriate. What do you think your parents would say if they saw that in the year book? You need to choose a new verse and resubmit it." They understood, they knew they were wrong. They gave me sheepish grins and agreed to change their yearbook submission, then went back into the room. I didn't make a big deal. I wasn't mad. After all, they were 8th grade boys being well, 8th grade boys. They got over it and we moved on with our day. One of them, as I looked him in they eye, I had to look UP. What an experience; reprimanding a boy who is a foot taller than you.

SoLC 24/31

At the end of staff meeting today my principal picked up the book I'm currently reading (okay, one of the books I'm currently reading) and said, "You should be a book reviewer. You always make me want to read the books you tell me about. I really want to read this one. Why don't you tell everyone about it."

The book is Go and Come Back by Joan Abelove. It's about a native tribe in the Amazonian jungles of Peru. I'm only a few chapters in and really enjoying it. There is so much great information about the culture. I think I have permission to do it with my 7th graders next term- we're studying Peru in Cultures class.

I'm excited about it, but wish I had the time to fully develop a unit surrounding the book. There is so much that I could do, but I know I won't have the time and we won't do Cultures for another four years because of the rotating curriculum.

It really struck me when my principal said I should be a book review. I LOVE to read and am always reading and recommending books to my friends and students. But I've never written any reviews. I've thought about it. I really need to try my hand at writing reviews.

SoLC 23/31

As a writing teacher I know that I should be writing with my kids. I try, but I usually fail. I made the commitment to try to do the latest projects with my kids. Today my 7th graders started writing original African Folktales. We've been doing background research on the culture of Liberia and reading some African Folktales. Today we brainstormed settings, characters, themes, and problems and began drafting. It was fun! I had a little trouble starting out, but I began to get into the zone, just as our writing time ended. But, oh it felt so good!

My 8th graders are beginning the This I Believe writing project. Today we defined some values and choose 5 to focus on. Tomorrow we'll start looking at our experiences that formed those values. I'm looking forward to doing this project with the kids.