It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 6/18/18

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

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 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!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, 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.

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Last Week’s Posts

 

Tuesday: Things We Do Over the Summer (Educators DO Work During the Summer!)

Wednesday: Women Athletes Who Rule! from Sports Illustrated Kids

Thursday: Review and Giveaway!: What Do They Do With All That Poo? by Jane Kurtz
Giveaway open until Thursday! Don’t miss out on entering!

Friday: Kellee’s End of Year Student Survey Results, Students’ Favorite Books, and Top Checked Out Books 2017-18

Sunday: Author Guest Post with Teaching Tools!: “Lessons of Past Wars” by Barbara Diggs, Author of The Vietnam War

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

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 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

First, I must share the awesome news that I had a team place TENTH IN THE WORLD and an individual place SECOND IN THE WORLD in their respective competitions at the Future Problem Solvers International Competition!!!! I am so proud of them!

  • I was not a fan of A Wrinkle in Time when I read it in 6th grade, and I was hoping that I’d feel different after the graphic nove, but, I’m sorry! I just didn’t love it. The story just doesn’t do it for me. I loved the graphics though!
  • I finished Harbor Me while at the FPS competition surrounded by kids from 41 different countries/states who all want to make a difference in this world. Both left me feeling hopeful. And Jacqueline Woodson is as amazing as ever.
  • Wonderland by Barbara O’Connor was shared with me by Augusta Scattergood because she had a feeling I would like it, and boy, does she know me! I loved spunky Mavis who wants acceptance but also won’t bend to be liked, and Rose needs someone to help her see how awesome she is. And then there is Henry–a much needed dog. It is a wonderful story!

  • Continuing my dog books this week, I read the first in the Vet Volunteer series by Laurie Halse Anderson, and I am so surprised that I don’t hear about these more. They have diverse characters and ANIMALS! And written by Laurie Halse Anderson! What’s not to like?!
  • This last year, both 7th and 8th grade teachers wanted to teach The Outsiders at the end of the year, and I just could not remember the story well enough after reading it 25 years ago to understand why they all felt this was the best novel for all students to read, so I wanted to pick it up. Now, I will say that after reading it I do wish some of the racist and sexist comments didn’t exist; however, they could lead to conversations of changes of language over time. Other than that, Man! I get it! Wow. What an awesome book! I do think there are some contemporary YAL that would fit the same themes and storyline, but I also understand why this book is loved.
  • Front Desk by Kelly Yang was on my Twitter feed constantly over the last couple of weeks, so I requested it from my library and was so excited when I got it to read. WOW! Perfection, everyone. Read this story about resilience and kindness and seeing light in all the darkness and family as soon as you can!

 

  • I guess we have officially added early chapter books into our rotation! He’s been picking them more and more, and Mercy Watson is definitely a favorite, so we read another one of her stories this week.
  • We also read Masterpiece Robot by Frank Tra, and I am SO EXCITED to review it for you! I think everyone will really love this book!
 Ricki

I read Aisha Saeed’s Amal Unbound in one sitting. It’s very, very good. I was drawn into the story and simply couldn’t put it down! This book will provide a lot of opportunities for rich classroom conversations. I recommend it highly.

I love A.S. King. She writes such thoughtful stories. I really appreciated the ways in which she delved deeply into economics and environmental issues. I’ve decided to adopt this one for my YA course next semester. It provides a different angle that I am excited to explore. Like most of A.S. King’s books, this book felt unlike any other book that I’d read. The twisting of the economics and environmental themes was really compelling.

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This Week’s Expeditions
Kellee

  • Ack! I almost wish we were still in school and not on summer vacation because I have 3.5 hours left of Anger is a Gift, and I just don’t have a lot of time that I listen to audio right now, but I want to finish it! I will be driving alone later this week though, so I hope to finish!
  • Two Truths and a Lie by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson was a favorite of mine when it comes out, so I am excited to read the second one that focuses on history.
  • Currently Trent and I are reading Tales of Sasha Book #1: The Big Secret by Alexa Pearl. He chose it out of the pile of books I gave him, and so far we’re loving the spunky Sasha.
  • I loved the first Vet Volunteers, so I plan on reading a few more for fun.
  • At the push of Ricki and with it being on my #mustreadin2018 list, I plan on getting to Me and Marvin Gardens this week as well.
Ricki

My blog partner took a look at my course syllabus and recommended that I switch one of my books out for this one. I will be reading Anger is a Gift immediately. 🙂 When Kellee demands that I read something, I read it.

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Upcoming Week’s Posts

Tuesday: Student Voices: Reflections on Mrs. Moye’s Advanced Reading Class by Five of Kellee’s 2017-18 Middle School Students

Wednesday: Whose Boat? by Toni Buzzeo

Thursday: Penguin & Tiny Shrimp Don’t Do Bedtime by Cate Berry

Friday: Review and Giveaway!: Goodbye Brings Hello by Dianne White

Sunday:  Author Guest Post!: “Tweens to Teens–The Case of the Missing Category” by Elizabeth Foster, author of Esme’s Wish

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 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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Author Guest Post with Teaching Tools!: “Lessons of Past Wars” by Barbara Diggs, Author of The Vietnam War

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The Vietnam War
Barbara Diggs
Published May 1st, 2018 by Nomad Press

Summary: More than 58,000 American troops and personnel died in the humid jungles and muddy rivers of Vietnam during the 20-year conflict. But why? What were they fighting for? And how could the world’s most powerful military be defeated by a small, poverty-stricken country?

In The Vietnam War, kids ages 12 to 15 explore the global conditions and history that gave rise to the Vietnam War, the reasons why the United States became increasingly embroiled in the conflict, and the varied causes of its shocking defeat. The Vietnam War also pays close attention to the development of a massive antiwar movement and counterculture that divided the country into “hawks” and “doves.” As middle schoolers learn about how the fear of the spread of communism spurred the United States to enter a war that was erupting on the other side of the world, they find themselves immersed in the mood and mindset of the Vietnam Era.

About the Author: Barbara Diggs is a non-fiction writer who has written a range of historical articles for children. Her work has been featured in Learning Through History Magazine, History Magazine, and Renaissance, among others. A graduate of Stanford Law School, Barbara practiced law in New York for several years before becoming a professional writer. She and her family currently split their time between Paris, France, and Washington DC.

Author Guest Post: 

“Lessons of Past Wars”

For a kid, the Vietnam War might seem like it happened a long time ago. That was way back in the last century! But even if the war itself seems far off, understanding the lessons of the Vietnam war–and events of the era–is key to understanding current events.

In the 1950s, the communist country of North Vietnam was trying to bring South Vietnam under unified rule. The United States stepped in to support South Vietnam. The American government was worried that if communism was allowed to spread unchecked, it could eventually reach its own shores and threaten America’s free, democratic way of life. The United States was also concerned that the Soviet Union, a communist country and the United States’s ideological enemy, supported North Vietnam.

The war lasted for nearly 20 years and more than 58,000 American soldiers died. As the war dragged on, American youth formed a massive antiwar protest movement that defined a generation, created a deep rift in the nation, and profoundly impacted both the course of the war and American culture. To complicate matters further, political and military leaders proved themselves to be less than truthful about several crucial aspects of the conflict, leading to a widespread erosion of the public’s trust in the government.

Though long ago, this history is still relevant today. In my book, readers will recognize echoes of the Vietnam War era in the political protests, marches and movements of today, and will explore the different ways in which the youth of that generation made their voices heard. They’ll also learn to identify propaganda, analyze the role the media plays in influencing public opinion, and consider the balance between national security and the public’s right to information…all still hugely relevant topics today.

Not least of all, kids will look at the realities of war and recognize our shared humanity.

This war was the most bitter of conflicts. The loss of life and suffering that occurred on all sides was terrible. And yet today, the United States and Vietnam have a friendly relationship, despite Vietnam having a communist government. This perspective is something that’s especially important to learn and remember in these polarizing times: today’s enemy might be tomorrow’s friend.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: 

War still rages around the world, and the lessons we return to again and again only get more and more important. Here are a few activities featuring the Vietnam War that can serve as a jumping-off point for developing the critical-thinking skills kids will need as future leaders!

DEAR HOME

The Vietnam War was a terrifying, life-changing experience for the soldiers who fought there. The estimated average age of a soldier was 22 years old, and 61 percent of those who died were under 21. Many soldiers in Vietnam wrote to their families as often as possible and loved receiving letters in return. Being able to write home and receive letters helped them stay connected to the outside world and document their experiences.

Read some letters and excerpts of letters written by soldiers in Vietnam.

Paul O’Connell

Steve Flaherty

Charles Miller

After you read or listen to them, consider the following questions.

  • What were the reasons some of these men went to Vietnam?
  • What are some of the different tones and emotions expressed in the letters?
  • What surprises you about the letters?
  • How did the letter writers’ experiences differ? How were they similar?

Imagine that you are a combat soldier in Vietnam. Write a letter or email home discussing your experiences. What would you want to talk about? What would you want to know about back home?

To investigate more, imagine that you are a South Vietnamese peasant during the war who was evacuated because of the Vietcong threat. Write a letter to a relative outside of Vietnam describing what wartime life is like. How do you feel about the Vietcong? How might you feel about the United States? What are your fears?

MUSIC OF THE VIETNAM ERA

As the Vietnam War escalated, folksingers began expressing their condemnation of the war through music. These songs expressed the emotions and frustrations that many were feeling, and promoted a sense of unity in a highly divisive time. Singers such as Bob Dylan (1941– ), Phil Ochs (1940–1976), Joan Baez (1941– ), Arlo Guthrie (1947– ), and Barry McGuire (1935– ) were among the leading artists of the era. They became legends for their Vietnam era music and lyrics.

Search for Vietnam protest songs and listen to examples of anti-war music from this time.

  • Consider the following questions.
  • What are some of the different messages the songs tried to convey?
  • What different emotions did each song appeal to?
  • In what ways might these songs have influenced youth behavior?
  • Can you name any modern songs that relate to today’s political or social issues? What topics do they cover?

Write your own song or poem that expresses feelings and opinions about a current political or social concern.

  • What point of view will you write from?
  • What images will you use to get your point across?
  • How will you use rhythm to convey meaning or emotion?

To investigate more, imagine that you live during the Vietnam era and want to show your support for the war. Create a slogan to put on a placard or banner. Who would be your intended audience? What message would you want to deliver? If you were against the war, what would you come up with?

BLOWING THE WHISTLE

Daniel Ellsberg, the man who leaked the top-secret Pentagon Papers to newspapers, was the first major whistle-blower of the modern era. A whistle-blower is defined as a person who informs on a person or organization believed to be engaging in immoral, unethical, or illegal behavior. Whistle-blowers are usually protected by federal law, so they can report unethical actions without fear of getting into trouble. But such laws generally don’t protect those who reveal classified government information. Ellsberg did so knowing he could be jailed for life. Some Americans regarded him as a hero, while others viewed him as a traitor.

Learn more about Ellsberg’s motivations by reading the transcript of his interview with Walter Cronkite, which was held shortly after the release of the Pentagon Papers.

  • In what ways can whistle-blowing be beneficial to society?
  • In what ways can whistle-blowing be detrimental to society?
  • Do you think Ellsberg was a hero or a traitor? Explain.
  • Are there any circumstances where you might view a whistle-blower as the opposite of the
  • answer you provided above? Describe.

You can learn more about recent government whistle-blowers by researching Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning. Create a two-column, seven-row chart that compares and contrasts one whistle-blower with Daniel Ellsberg. Use the following questions as a guide.

  • How were the circumstances of each whistle-blower similar?
  • What were key differences in their situations?
  • What motivated each of them?
  • How did each of them reveal classified information?
  • What consequences did they suffer?
  • How were they perceived by the public?
  • Do you view one of them more favorably than the other? Why?

To investigate more, imagine that you have learned of an immoral, unethical, or illegal act that a person in authority, such as a teacher or club leader, is committing. Map out three different ways you could respond to the situation. Consider whom you might tell, evidence you might need, the potential consequences you might face, and the possible consequences of doing nothing. Of the three, which response would you be most likely to take?

Find more resources in the free classroom teaching guide!

Thank you so much, Barbara and Nomad Press!

Kellee’s End of Year Student Survey Results, Students’ Favorite Books, and Top Checked Out Books 2017-18

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Another school year is in the books! This was a special year. I’ve now been teaching advanced reading for 3 years, so there were 5 kids who were in my class for all 3 years of this elective. I’ll never forget all of my students, but these 5 will always be special because of that.

End of Year Survey

At the end of each year, I give my students a survey to help me grown and learn as a teacher but also for them to reflect on the year. Here are some answers from the survey:

I need to reflect on this one because most of the kids who chose the same or less are 8th graders. I saw a huge drop for my readers between 7th and 8th grade. Why?

Does my classroom library benefit students? How did it benefit you this year? 

  • I think that your classroom library does benefit students. It benefited me because there’s a lot of books. So many different types books makes it easier for me to find something that interests me. It also benefited me because having books in your classroom makes it easier to find books when I can’t buy some or can’t go to the school or public library.
  • I think that it does because students are able to have a wide selection of books.
  • Yes! Your classroom library benefited me this year by allowing me access to multiple books. It exposed me to multiple genres, authors, and adventures.
  • I definitely believe that it benefits students because since you’re usually here and we can kind of get some help on what to get by telling you our interests and things that we like to read about. Then you can help us find a book and it makes students feel like they have somewhere to go when they’re wondering what book to read.
  • Yes, by having a reading class that has an actual private library is very good for getting students to read because of this easy environment to get to books. By having this library situated right in the classroom allowed me to instantly check out another book anytime I’m done with one, allowing me to read more and more instead of having to plan about when to go to the library and having that planning becoming potentially postponed resulting in less reading.

What would you say to someone that says that a classroom library is a waste of money?

  • I would say it is not. It’s not because the teacher is helping students and providing them with books to help them in their classes.
  • It is really not. Being a in classroom full of books pushes the students to read more. Also, since the library is inside the classroom all the books are titles students are interested in.
  • It’s not a waste of money it is a preserve of knowledge.
  • I think that a classroom library as cool to have because kids have interesting books right at their fingertips since it’s in their classroom.
  • I would say they have to learn to appreciate the love of reading kids have because without a library in a classroom kids will have a harder time being encouraged to read.
  • I would, politely, tell them that they’re wrong. Classroom libraries help people get books easily. Students can find things that interest them in classroom libraries. Besides, you learn things while reading books.
  • I would have said that it doesn’t matter, the more books the more learning. The learning can improve students in their language.

Do you like how the classroom library was organized? Explain.

  • Yes because it was very quick and easy to find a book by just looking up the last name of the author.
  • I liked how the classroom was organized because it made things easier to find. For example, if an author wrote two series that are completely different genres it would be much harder to find because they wouldn’t be in the same place. But since you organized it in alphabetical order you could see all the different series written by the same author.
  • Yes because I can find books by my favorite author or genre.
  • Yes, it’s because not only is there a system given to us to find books of our interest, we could also stroll around the class searching for books that are there in a shelf organized by genre and finding books that we mostly likely wouldn’t find as fast in the systems.

What do you think the benefit of taking advanced reading is?

  • It helps me read more and it makes me be a completely different (in a good way) person.
  • You can find authors that you can follow for the rest of your life.
  • I think the greatest benefit of taking advanced reading it that we are really pushed to read more, and that improves our progress in language arts and all other subjects.
  • You’re vocabulary definitely expands because once you read enough books, you start to see a bunch of new words and you’ll get to learn what they mean as you read.
  • It helps with close reading and deeper thinking.
  • The benefit of advanced reading is that you get to read more for pleasure.
  • You learn more and it helps you become a better reader and writer and helps you a lot, I believe, in the real world.

What have you learned about yourself through the assignments in this class?

  • That I can do more than what I am capable of doing. I’ve learned a lot about myself for the past 3 years in this class.
  • I have learned that I need to stay more focused, and that I should pay attention to the news more often about other countries.
  • I learned that I actually enjoy non-fiction books even though I don’t read them often. When we did the non-fiction unit I enjoyed learning about animals and the Titanic.
  • I learned that nobody is perfect and that we should always strive to be a better person instead of flawless.
  • I have learned that I still have a lot of books I can’t wait to read.
  • I’ve learned about myself that I am a bookworm. I didn’t think I would be, but I am.
  • I’ve learned that I can be a very determined and hardworking person. 
  • Some things that I have learned about myself through the assignments is that I could do many things that I really didn’t enjoy in other years and now I do them nearly everyday now. Also I learned about things that I didn’t think I was good at and now that I know how to use them they are easy to use.

What was your favorite assignment or activity we did in class? Why?

  • The Rescued book was my favorite because of what Raja had went through, how it has to do with real events, and the Center for Great Apes.
  • Book trailers because I was able to tell people about a book that i really like and recommended it to many people.
  • I’d say book clubs because we get a chance to step into an unfamiliar genre that we aren’t used to reading but we get to read it along with our classmates allowing us to discuss details about the book, identifying the facts of it whether the book is more interesting than we think.
  • I think the nonfiction unit we did was very fun because it showed me that there are interesting nonfiction books and that not all of them are just boring facts.
  • My favorite assignment we did in class were word parts because it helped me a lot when I’m reading other books with a hard vocabulary.

Favorite Books My Students Read This Year

My students read A LOT this year! 1,514 books read by 41 students in my Advanced Reading class. That is an average of 37 books per student! I am so proud of them!

Here are the titles they listed as their favorites on our end of year survey
(click on either image to enlarge):

If you don’t have any of these, you definitely should get them:

Top Checked Out Books from my Classroom Library

Yearly, starting with 2012-2013 (and excluding 2013-2014), I have shared the most popular books in my classroom library:
2012-2013
2014-2015
2015-2016
2016-2017

From 2011-2013, I taught an intensive reading class with students who had not been successful on the state reading test; however, since 2014, I switched to teaching advanced reading, an elective that students choose to be in (and I still get to work with my striving readers through being reading coach–a win/win!). Students from all intervention reading classes as well as my class use my classroom library.

1. Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
2. See How They Run by Ally Carter
T3. Ghost by Jason Reynolds
T3. Sisters by Raina Telgemeier
T3. Take the Key and Lock Her Up by Ally Carter

 

T6. All Fall Down by Ally Carter
T6. The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart
T8. Drama by Raina Telgemeier
T8. The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi
T10. Double Down by Jeff Kinney
T10. Smile by Raina Telgemeier
T10. Sunny Side Up by Jennifer L. Holm

T13. House Arrest by K.A. Holt
T13. How to (Almost) Ruin Your Summer by Taryn Sounders
T13. Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
T13. Prince of Elves by Kazu Kibuishi
T13. Scythe by Neal Shusterman
T13. Swing It, Sunny by Jennifer L. Holm
T13. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
T13. The Girl in the Well is Me by Karen Rivers
T13. The Stonekeeper’s Curse by Kazu Kibuishi

Happy summer to all of my fellow teachers, and here’s to another awesome school year in the books!

Review and Giveaway!: What Do They Do With All That Poo? by Jane Kurtz

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What Do They Do With All That Poo?
Author: Jane Kurtz; Illustrator: Allison Black
Published: June 19, 2018 by Beach Lane Books

Goodreads Summary: Find out what happens to all of the poo at the zoo in this funny and factual picture book!

There are so many different kinds of animals at the zoo, and they each make lots and lots (and sometimes LOTS!) of poo. So what do zoos do with all of that poo? This zany, fact-filled romp explores zoo poo, from cube-shaped wombat poo to white hyena scat, and all of the places it ends up, including in science labs and elephant-poo paper—even backyard gardens!

Ricki’s Review: It brings me great joy to review this book. Really. This book is on our nightly reading list, and my son laughs and laughs as we look at all of the different types of poo. I’ll admit that I don’t like poop jokes and don’t find poop to be very funny. But this book is really funny and wildly entertaining. My son’s preschool teacher has recycled panda poo paper, and he learned from this book that this recycling process is made possible by a panda’s diet (see the first spread featured below). He was thrilled to share this scientific tidbit during his morning meeting. This book spurs curiosity. My son asks a lot of questions wen we read it, and we do a lot of comparing and contrasting across pages. I’ll admit that we’ve had great fun selecting which poo is the most interesting to us. I loved that one of the animals (no spoilers here) has cube-shaped poo! This book is sure to be a favorite in classrooms. Get ready to learn science in an entertaining way!

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: Mary Cowhey’s Black Ants and Buddhists is one of the most beloved elementary school professional development texts. In the book, Cowhey describes a moment in her teaching career when a student wondered aloud about where the poo goes after he flushes the toilet. Cowhey set up an exploratory learning unit based on this question. What Do They Do with All That Poo? follows this spirit (with a focus on zoos and animals).

Teachers might ask students to go home and return to class with an inquiry question about the world. Then, they might (as a whole class, in groups, individually) explore their question(s) and design a picture book or picture books to reflect their new learning.

Discussion Questions: 

  • What did you learn? What do they do with all that poo?
  • Which animal poo was the most interesting to you?
  • Select one animal. What is one interesting fact about the animal’s poo (beyond the shape)?
  • Which animals weren’t featured in the book? What is their poo like?

Flagged Passages: 

Read This If You Loved: Caring for Your Lion by Tammi Sauer; Strange, Unusual, Gross, and Cool Animals by Charles Ghigna; Pink is for Blobfish by Jess Keating; Animal Planet & National Geographic nonfiction such as Real or Fake?, Ocean Animals, Awesome 8, Animal Atlas, or the Animal Bites series    

Recommended For: 

readaloudbuttonsmall classroomlibrarybuttonsmall

Giveaway!:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author: Jane Kurtz was born in Portland, Oregon (where she now lives), but when she was two years old, her parents decided to move to Ethiopia, where she spent most of her childhood. Jane speaks about being an author at schools and conferences—in all but eleven of the United States, so far, and such places as Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, France, Germany, Romania, Russia, Oman, England, Indonesia, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Japan. She helped start Ethiopia Reads (EthiopiaReads.org), a nonprofit that is planting libraries for children and printing some of the first easy-reader books in local languages in Ethiopia. She is the author of many books for children, including Water Hole Waiting and River Friendly River Wild, winner of the SCBWI Golden Kite award for picture book text. To learn more, visit her website: janekurtz.com.

Twitter: @janekurtz

RickiSig

**Thank you to Barbara at Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review!**

Women Athletes Who Rule! from Sports Illustrated Kids: The 101 Stars Every Fan Needs to Know by Elizabeth McGarr McCue

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Women Athletes Who Rule! from Sports Illustrated Kids: The 101 Stars Every Fan Needs to Know
Author: Elizabeth McGarr McCue
Published June 5th, 2018 by Sports Illustrated

Summary: The fifth book in the Big Book of Who series from Sports Illustrated Kids profiles extraordinary athletes who shaped the narratives of their sports. The best women athletes–past and present–including Billie Jean King, Serena Williams, Nadia Comaneci, Simone Biles, and dozens more are grouped into these categories: Superstars who reinvented what it means to be a sports celebrity, Wonder Women who transcend sports and created seismic shifts in our culture, Trail Blazers who broke barriers and paved the way for others to follow, Record Breakers who set new standards for excellence, and the Champions who showed heart and gumption as winners. All of their stories bring excellence in women’s sports to readers hungry for empowering stories for kids–girls and boys alike. 

Review: Although I wish there were just more women in a book called ATHLETES WHO RULE, I am happy to have a book that celebrates female athletes that kick butt in their sport! This book celebrates firsts, amazing accomplishments, broken records, and champions. I adore that it spans from the early 1900s to today looking at women who paved the way for the extraordinary athletes that are superstars of today.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation: The text is structured like a Guinness Book of World Records book making it quite friendly for kid readers who want to read the whole text or for readers who want to browse for fun facts. It could also be a great resource for a literacy activity in a physical education class.

Discussion Questions: 

  • How did the women of the early 1900s help pave the way for women athletes today?
  • How are women athletes treated differently than male athletes?
  • Which woman athlete was a new name to you and impressed you with their accomplishments?
  • How was the book structured? What other ways could it have been organized?
  • How did the “Fast Facts,” “Did You Know,” and “Wow Factor” sidebars help with the intrigue the book built?

Flagged Passages: 

Credit: Excerpted from Women Athletes Who Rule by the Editors of Sports illustrated Kids. Copyright © 2018 Liberty Street. Reprinted with permission from Time Inc. Books, a division of Meredith Corporation. New York, NY. All rights reserved.

Read This If You Love: Sports!, Sports history, Sports Illustrated Kids

Recommended For: 

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**Thank you to little bigfoot for providing a copy for review!**

Things We Do Over the Summer (Educators DO Work During the Summer!)

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Ah. Summer is here! That means teachers are going to nothing for the next nine weeks, right?!
NO! Here are just some of the things we’re up to this summer during our “free” time.

(We ended up combining our lists because there was a lot of overlap; some are for one of us but most are for both–it turns out that we do a lot of similar summer prep!)

Attend the Future Problem Solvers International Competition

Write common final exams for the school district

Plan curriculum and write syllabi

Attend the American Library Association Annual Conference

Blog!

Read for pleasure

Read professional books that we never get to all year

Read all of the journals we’ve gotten all year and have not had time to read

Write teaching guides

Answer emails for questions about summer reading and course-related questions

Go into school when test scores come in to analyze them

Meet with counselors to help with reading and language arts scheduling

Meet up with teachers who want to chat about curriculum or books before the start of the school year

Professional Learning Community pre pre-planning days

Host a Summer Book Club

Start planning for NCTE and ALAN presentations

Leadership Team meetings planning for pre-planning

See past students who are in town for the summer from college

Take part in Twitter Chats with my PLN for e-PD

Go to doctor and dentist appointments

Go to the bathroom whenever we want (Ricki admits that this has become possible year-round now that she teaches college)

Submit a book proposal

Read dozens of books seeking new material for course adoption

Write manuscripts for publication (Publish or perish at the college level, right?)

Meet with colleagues to plan and streamline college courses

Write dozens of letters of recommendation for preservice teachers seeking jobs

Review for academic journals

What are you doing this summer during your “free” time? 

 and

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? #IMWAYR 6/11/18

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

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 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!

Kellee and Jen, of Teach Mentor Texts, 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.

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Last Week’s Posts

Tuesday: BOOK TRAILER PREMIERE!: Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast: Mission Defrostable by Josh Funk

Wednesday: Startalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson: Young Readers Edition

Thursday:  Nocturnals: The Slithery Shakedown by Tracey Hecht

Friday: Teaching Rescued by Eliot Schrefer in a Middle School Reading Classroom

Sunday:  Author Guest Post with Teaching Tools!: “How can we tell we’re living in a global village?” by Carla Mooney, Author of Globalization: Why We Care About Faraway Events

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

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 Last Week’s Journeys

Kellee

I am writing this post on Wednesday the 6th before I leave for the Future Problem Solvers International Competition.
If I am going to be completely honest, I do not have much to share with you that I have read since Monday. I think the beginning of summer is one of my hardest reading times because my brain just wants a break. Hopefully it’ll get back to normal soon 🙂

I did get a chance to read two upcoming picture books (both September) that are VERY different but are both must get books, and Trent and I also listened to some new books in the car:

 Ricki

I LOVED Josh Funk’s Mission Defrostable. This is one of my favorite children’s book series. Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast are very funny, and the books provide a lot of great classroom opportunities.

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson is well worth the hype. I really enjoyed it. I’m adding it to my book list for the fall. It’s that good. I did a lot of Kindle highlighting. There is much to talk about with this one.

Amal Unbound was also incredible. I had a lot of good luck with books this week. I read this book last night and stayed up until three in the morning because I was desperate to find out what happened next. This book is set in Pakistan, but it discusses human rights issues that are a reality across the world.

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This Week’s Expeditions
Kellee

We’ll see how much reading I can get done at FPS! I’m still listening to Anger is a Gift, so I hope to get some time on the plane and shuttle!

Ricki

I am trying to finalize books for my Fall syllabus. I have a few tough choices to make, and I want to read this book to consider whether it will fit within one of my weekly themes.

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Upcoming Week’s Posts

 

Tuesday: Things We Do Over the Summer (Teachers DO Work During the Summer!)

Wednesday: Women Athletes Who Rule! from Sports Illustrated Kids

Thursday: What Do They Do With All That Poo? by Jane Kurtz

Friday: Kellee’s End of Year Student Survey Results, Students’ Favorite Books, and Top Checked Out Books 2017-18

Sunday: Author Guest Post with Teaching Tools!: “Lessons of Past Wars” by Barbara Diggs, Author of The Vietnam War

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 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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