It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It is Monday and again I am joining in the meme over at Mentor Texts.
Hop on over and join in over at the Mentor Text Blog. Just click on the picture below.

This past week I read:

A book for younger readers - 7-9 years would enjoy it and some of my 10 and 11year olds might as well.

Another great Marty McGuire book, and if a class is thinking about building a worm farm a really fun book for them to read.

An Abundance of Katherines which is a YA book.  I can't say I really connected with this book, it was my first John Green book. I think I will need to read another of his to judge if I like his writing. Perhaps this was not a good one to start with.

For professional reading:

This book is by Janet Angelillo. I found it really helpful for myself as Janet models a way to proceed with scaffolding students to think more deeply as readers.  I will be using her ideas in my classroom when I return in mid July. 

For the coming week I plan on reading Eragon by Christopher Paolini - fantasy. The series comes highly recommended by one of my students so I decided to read the first one in it.

It's Monday What Are You Reading?

It is Monday and again I am joining in the meme over at Mentor Texts.
Hop on over and join in over at the Mentor Text Blog. Just click on the picture below.

This last week I read See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles.  A very moving book that addresses a number of issues.  Mainly my sympathy was with 

Fern and the sense that she had at times that she was invisible especially to her mother.    I loved how Sara, Fern's older sister steps up and gets Fern and Holden to the homecoming dance.  The book bravely addresses the issues of a death in the family and homosexuality.  

I am not sure whether I will introduce this to my class, only the very older ones perhaps. If you've read it when would you introduce it into a class library? I wonder as mine I think are just say a year too young. (10-12 year olds)

Origami Yoda while still addressing issues important to middle graders, was far more lighthearted and I found myself chuckling a few times. I know there will be many readers in my class for this one.

I read this for my own professional reading.  I found it very helpful , especially the middle section that explored the telling of narrative.  Even if I was never to do digital storytelling in the classroom, this section gives a good approach to planning a narrative where there is tension and character development and change.  Something quite hard for younger writers to grasp. This book has given me some ideas on how to help them.

Apart from that I am going to try digital storytelling and I found this book very useful.

This coming week I will be reading Franny K Stein Mad Scientist  Lunch Walks Among us by Jim Benton and Marty Maguire Digs Worms by Kate Messner.

It Was Monday! What are you Reading?

It was Monday and again I am joining in the meme over at Mentor Texts.
Hop on over and join in over at the Mentor Text Blog. Just click on the picture below.

In New Zealand it was a long weekend and I was up in Tauranga at a wedding, bracketed each end by a perfect flight from and back to Wellington.  Those who fly in and out of there know that that is always a special treat!  Therefore I am running a day late. As I write this I have one ear to the TV as the concert celebrating the Queen's jubilee is live in England.  Paul McCartney is bringing back old times!

During the week I read The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.  I had read many comments by readers about this book and it didn't disappoint.  I know all the animal lovers in my class will enjoy reading this book.

While I was away some more books arrived in my letterbox from The Book Depository. I can't decide what to read first.  I think it will be See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles and The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger.

Happy Reading everyone.