It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 4/14/2014

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 your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and I 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 visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them. 

Last Week's Book Adventures:

Jen Says: Last week I finished A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban. She's amazing. I also finished listening to Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot and am currently listening to Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks by Lauren Myracle. I'm having fun rereading in April! 

Reviewed Last Week:

 

Click on any picture above to go read my review/post.

Upcoming Book Adventures: 

Jen Says: I'm sure I'll finish Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks soon and then I'm going to listen to The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. I've actually been writing lately so I haven't been reading as much but I pulled Night Circus off my shelf last week and am excited to reread it. The writing is amazing, such great imagery in that book!

This Week's Reviews:

Check back throughout the week to read these reviews/posts. 

So, what are you reading this week? 

Link up below and don't forget to check out other blogs to see what they are reading!

To help build our community and support other bloggers, 

we ask that you comment on at least three other blogs before you. 

Also, if you tweet about your Monday post, don't forget to use #IMWAYR!

Let's Celebrate Classroom Visits!

It's time to CELEBRATE This Week with Ruth Ayres from Discover. Play. Build.  Every week Ruth invites us to share our celebrations from the week and link up at her blog. What a fun way to reflect on everything there is to be thankful for. 
ev

*                  *                   *

This week I'm celebrating classroom visits!

*throws confetti*

This week I visited eight different teachers in my district who are integrating technology into their instruction. These specific teachers all applied for and received laptops to use in their classroom. We have about 50 teachers who received laptops and I get to visit their classrooms, offer ideas, and gather feedback from them and their students for how to support technology integration across the district. It is so exciting to hear from kids about how the laptops change the learning they do in their classrooms.

I saw students...

• typing stories
• giving feedback to peers by leaving comments in Google Docs
• doing research on colleges and universities
• presenting Genius Hour projects using Power Point
• sending e-mails to ePals
• using Edmodo to access resources to learn about the scientific method
• peer reviewing presentations that were created with Google Presentation, Prezi and Padlet

More than that, I saw students...

• helping another student save a document
• thinking of a synonym to might use in a search to locate information
• using standard English grammar and punctuation so that her ePal would know she is able to write formally in English
• collaborating to create presentations that other students will be able to use as a resource
• evaluating a product and offering feedback

I've visited schools throughout the school year and have provided professional development for teachers but being in these classrooms and interacting directly with these students was so refreshing. After seeing what they are doing and talking with them, I have so many more ideas and so many more discussions to have. As the year winds down, I've been reflecting on the year and thinking what I have learned in this new role. While I've accomplished a lot this year, it's exciting to see a vision of what still needs to happen this year and then what I can plan to do next year.

This week was the beginning of many classroom visits that I have planned for the next month and a half. I'm so excited to hear from more teachers and students as I reflect on the year and think through how to support teachers in order to provide transformative experiences for students. It's an exciting time!

What are you celebrating this week?

Rereading A Crooked Kind of Perfect

Title: A Crooked Kind of Perfect 
Author: Linda Urban 
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers 
Publication Date: September 1st, 2007
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Novel 
GoodReads Summary: Ten-year-old Zoe Elias has perfect piano dreams. She can practically feel the keys under her flying fingers; she can hear the audience's applause. All she needs is a baby grand so she can start her lessons, and then she'll be well on her way to Carnegie Hall.

But when Dad ventures to the music store and ends up with a wheezy organ instead of a piano, Zoe's dreams hit a sour note. Learning the organ versions of old TV theme songs just isn't the same as mastering Beethoven on the piano. And the organ isn't the only part of Zoe's life in Michigan that's off-kilter, what with Mom constantly at work, Dad afraid to leave the house, and that odd boy, Wheeler Diggs, following her home from school every day.Yet when Zoe enters the annual Perform-O-Rama organ competition, she finds that life is full of surprises--and that perfection may be even better when it's just a little off center.  
What I Think: Six years later and I still love this book! Here is what I wrote about Crooked Kind of Perfect when I read it in April of 2008, " I loved this book! It is so cute. It is about Zoe, who dreams of playing the piano...but her agoraphobic dad gets roped into buying an organ instead! She ends up learning to play the organ and competing in the local Perform-O-Rama competition. I love how she goes through 10-year-old drama that any girl can probably relate to. What really got to me though when her dad is too freaked by all the people to watch her performance and her mom misses her birthday and then almost misses her perform because of her dedication to her work. I realized how most kids are just so desperate for their parents' love. Kids can be so forgiving when their parents let them down. It made me think about how much my parents mean to me and how much I really mean to Jordan now. I have to say, I did shed a tear at the end. There is also a little 10-year-old crush just to add a little romance to it all! This is a great story!"
     When I think of Linda Urban's writing, I love being able to think of her characters from A Crooked Kind of Perfect but also from Hound Dog True and The Center of Everything. All of her characters are so memorable. Linda does an amazing job of bringing her characters and their emotions to life. Her writing makes it hard for a reader to not empathize with her characters. As I read Zoe's story, I could feel her vulnerability. She wants her parents to support and believe in her, she wants friends she can connect with. Sadly, she doesn't have those things but we see how she stays true to herself and how things work out for her. I feel so connected to Linda Urban's characters and they have stayed with me to this day. 
     When I first read this book, Peanut was almost one and now he's almost seven. As a parent, I read this book with a lens for how much Zoe wants to connect with her parents. This book is just as great for adults as for young readers. I think the honesty in this book is what readers will connect with the most. As a mentor text, Linda is a master at developing characters and helping us see into their heads and their hearts.
Read Together: Grades 4 - 6 
Read Alone: Grades 4 - 7 
Read With: Hound Dog True by Linda Urban, Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo, Liar and Spy by Rebecca Stead
Snatch of Text:  

"I am not excited. I am the opposite of excited. Never trust an exclamation point."

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Visualizing  
Writing Strategies to Practice: Personal Narrative, Characterization 
Writing Prompts: Write about a time in your life when you were forced to do something you didn't want to do or that was different from what you expected. 
Topics Covered: Family, Friendship, Courage, Determination 

I *heart* It:

THRIVE Blog Tour!

Thrive Blog Tour!

     I'm thrilled to be kicking off the blog tour for Meenoo Rami's recently published book, Thrive. I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Meenoo at NCTE in Las Vegas in 2012. After the conversation we had over dinner, it was clear to me that Meenoo is a lifelong learner. She's curious and thoughtful in her questions; supportive and insightful in her responses. I'm the kind of person who is hopeful and optimistic and Meenoo is the kind of person who believes in ideas with me. I know that when I share an idea with Meenoo, she's going to say something along the lines of, "Do it!"

     More than anything, I believe in living a growth mindset. I believe in being open to learning and trying new things, to successes and failures and trying again. In my current position, my role is very much modeling the growth mindset and encouraging the teachers I work with to embrace it as well. When I interact with others who believe in the growth mindset, like Meenoo, it completely nourishes me and helps me believe that I am doing good work.

     In Thrive, Meenoo starts off by encouraging teachers to look for mentors around them - whether a school assigns you one or you find your own . Having mentors in our lives who can support us throughout our careers is vital. I'm constantly inspired by colleagues near and far. There are so many people in my life who shaped who I am today. Steven Layne calls these people "balcony people". I'm so grateful for all the balcony people in my life. I love that Meenoo points out that even experienced teachers need balcony people.

     Reading Thrive, I anticipate that you'll feel like Meenoo is a balcony person for you through her words and encouragement. Each chapter shares ideas to empower teachers to know how to maintain their autonomy and to teach in alignment with their core values. She writes, "...I believe the essential work is to determine how we can align our teaching with our values" (p. 68). Holding true to your values and beliefs is imperative in teaching. I believe teachers enter the profession to make a difference in kids' lives but there are so many influences that pull us in different directions and it's not always easy to remember that ultimately, we have to make choices that are best for kids. Meenoo reminds us that teaching is complex. She tells us, "[w]e need to honor the complexity that lives in the art of teaching" (p. 44). Teaching is not easy. Teachers are constantly making decisions - whether it's in planning out lessons or changing direction in the middle of a lesson based on student feedback. Meenoo asks us to recognize the complexity in teaching and then to find a balance in our lives in order to stay motivated.

     Meenoo offers ideas for how to find intellectual joy in our work as educators to maintain our motivation. She reminds us to take care of ourselves so we can be our best for students. She explains, "[i]t is the very things that we think we don't have time for that may just sustain us through the rough patches of the year" (p. 54). She continues, "[t]hink about the last time you turned down an invite to coffee with a friend, seeing a concert, or going to the movies. These very things may provide you with the inspiration to find ideas and a necessary mental break from the rigors of the classroom. After all you're providing the inspiration for so many of your students; you need to find a way to get inspired by the intellectual pleasures, art, ideas, and movements of our time" (p. 54-55). I wholeheartedly agree with this and it speaks to me now that I work more directly with coaches and teachers than students. If administrators could recognize this and help teachers realize that they need to take care of themselves and nourish their own interests, it would make a huge difference in the motivation and inspiration they could bring to interactions with students.

     Thrive offers so many ideas for what new and experienced teachers alike might do to stay engaged and motivated in such a dynamic profession. For me, connecting with other passionate educators here on my blog and on Twitter but also in real life, keeps me energized. I've found that reading, writing, running and practicing yoga also help me focus my thoughts and feel empowered. I would love to hear what you do take care of yourself and/or nourish who you are so that you can be the best educator. Please share in the comments!

     Here's a summary of Thrive from Goodreads: "As a novice teacher, Meenoo Rami experienced the same anxieties shared by many: the sense of isolation, lack of self-confidence, and fear that her work was having no positive impact on her students. In "Thrive, " Meenoo shares the five strategies that helped her become a confident, connected teacher. From how to find mentors and build networks, both online and off, to advocating for yourself and empowering your students, "Thrive" shows new and veteran teachers alike how to overcome the challenges and meet the demands of our profession."

To order a copy of Thrive and connect with Meenoo, 
you can follow her on these links:

Thrive

meenoorami.org

Twitter

Facebook

Google Plus

THRIVE Blog Tour Stops!

Be sure to visit all these great blogs who are celebrating Thrive. 

Hear what they have to say about Thrive 

and read guest posts and interviews from Meenoo herself!

4/9/14

HERE at Teach Mentor Texts!

4/10/14

Franki Sibberson and Mary Lee Hahn at A Year of Reading

4/11/14

Alyson Beecher at Kid Lit Frenzy

4/12/14

Kira Baker Doyle at Kira J Baker-Doyle, Ph.D.

4/13/14

Sarah Mulhern Gross at The Reading Zone

4/14/14

Christina Cantrill at Digital Is (National Writing Project)

4/15/14

Kate Roberts and Maggie B. Roberts at Indent

4/16/14

Beth Shaum at Use Your Outside Voice

4/17/14

Linda Baie at Teacher Dance

4/18/14

Troy Hicks at Hickstro

4/19/14

Joy Kirr at Genius Hour

4/20/14

Tara Smith at The Teaching Life

4/21/14

Antero Garcia at The American Crawl

4/22/2014

John Spencer at Education Rethink

4/23

Kellee Moye and Ricki Ginsberg at Unleashing Readers

The One With a Rainbow #slice2014

On Tuesdays, I participate in the Slice of Life challenge at Two Writing Teachers. If you want to join in, you can link up at their Slice of Life Story Post on Tuesdays or you can head on over there to check out other people's stories. For more information on what a Slice of Life post is about, you can go here. 

*          *          *

It's not Poetry Friday but it is April so I'm going to share a poem today! As I was driving home this evening, I looked up and saw a wonderful rainbow stretching all the way across the sky. It completely took my breath away. I've seen rainbows before but there is still something completely magical about rainbows. I've done a lot of thinking about my hopes and dreams in the last year or so and this rainbow reminded me that it's okay to imagine, that unbelievable things do happen, that's it's okay to chase my dreams.

Rainbow Dreams

up high

stretching across the sky

contrasting a cloud of gray

taking my breath away 

does everyone see what I see?

or are you there just for me?

to some, you may be simply an illusion

science can explain any confusion

to me, you are hope and possibility

an overwhelming sense of tranquility

you remind me

to believe in my dreams

to follow my heart

to hold on to what feels right

 to know it's worth the fight

 you are hope bursting through a gloomy drear

a vision of encouragement I needed to hear

What makes you believe your dreams can come true? What encourages you to keep at something when it feels like it might not be worth all of the energy you put into it? I know that in education it is easy to become overwhelmed, bogged down, or to lose sight of our purpose. Tomorrow I'll be sharing Meenoo Rami's book Thrive and her ideas for (Re)Invigorating your teaching. Today, this wonderful rainbow was exactly what I needed to nourish my heart and know that I'm on the right path.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 4/7/14

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 your next “must-read” book!

Kellee Moye, of Unleashing Readers, and I 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 visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them. 

Announcement:

The Pigeon Needs a Bath Giveaway Winners are:

Hepburn Library of Waddington

Jordan Gibbs

Paige Ysteboe

Thank you again to Disney Publishing for making this giveaway possible!

Last Week's Book Adventures:

Jen Says: Last week was a week when I finally got a lot of things accomplished! It felt great. I think it helped that my husband was on spring break and got a lot of stuff done around the house. I finished listening to Flora and Ulysses and absolutely loved it. I started listening to a reread of A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban which I loved when I first read it and am enjoying all over again. I finished Thrive by Meenoo Rami and am so excited to share my favorite quotes from this book when I kick off the blog tour on Wednesday. I also finished If Only, my first ever New Adult novel written by my friend, AJ Pine. We also spent some time at the bookstore on Sunday and I got in a stack of pictures books. My favorite was Tea Rex by Molly Idle. Super sweet. 

Reviewed Last Week:

 

Click on any picture above to go read my review/post.

Upcoming Book Adventures: 

Jen Says: This week I'm excited to continue listening to A Crooked Kind of Perfect and to review it here (since I wasn't even blogging when I first read it...). Then I think I'll listen to Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot as part of my rereading in April. I think I'll reread Night Circus as a physical book so I need to grab it and start reading away. I have some professional books and some poetry I would like to read as well so we'll see what I get to!

This Week's Reviews:

Check back throughout the week to read these reviews/posts. 

So, what are you reading this week? 

Link up below and don't forget to check out other blogs to see what they are reading!

To help build our community and support other bloggers, 

we ask that you comment on at least three other blogs before you. 

Also, if you tweet about your Monday post, don't forget to use #IMWAYR!

Let's Celebrate To-Do Lists!

It's time to CELEBRATE This Week with Ruth Ayres from Discover. Play. Build.  Every week Ruth invites us to share our celebrations from the week and link up at her blog. What a fun way to reflect on everything there is to be thankful for. 

*                  *                   *

This week I'm celebrating lists!

*throws confetti*

I love making lists and crossing things off of my lists. It's possibly one of the best feelings. Believe me, I totally get that this might be a little strange...at least to some people, but it's true for me. Lists are awesome. Not much compares to drawing a squiggly line through an accomplished task or ripping up a list. I've tried to switch to electronic lists but there's something about pencil and paper when it comes to writing up a to-do list. 

I keep a clipboard with a to-do list page for everyday. I also write out lists for bigger tasks like if I'm organizing an event or planning out writing goals for the week. I usually end up with sticky notes here and there with mini-lists, too.

Keeping lists helps me stay organized with all of the ideas I have floating around in my brain. There is never enough time in the day for all of the ideas I have. Some of my ideas aren't worth hanging on to but others are little gems I know are worthwhile so adding them to a list so I can get to these ideas sooner or later feels great and also helps me keep my brain uncluttered.

Last weekend, the biggest things on my list was making valances for my office. I have been showing them off all week! 

I cut a pice of fabric out and glued it to a square canvas so I also have this artwork to go along with it! I was feeling very vibrant and hopeful when I chose the word, "Live" for this piece.

I have a pretty colorful office so my valance fit right in. 
Can you spot my pointy, red hat a la I Want My Hat Back?

I had one more thing on my list that I finally got to! I've been wanting to paint my nails red for a while now. I snatched up this wonderful red color from Essie weeks ago but haven't found the time to sit long enough to paint them and let them dry. Finally, I added it to my list and, ta da! Red nails! Hooray for spring!

No matter what goals I have, I know that making a list and breaking the large goal down into manageable action items makes a huge difference for me. I found myself talking to students about this and talking them through how to break down a seemingly large goal into do-able baby steps. This is a great way to share the growth mindset and to help students believe that anything is possible. Any big seems like it can be accomplished once you see the little steps it can take to get there.

How do you keep track of things to do or attack big goals?

What are you celebrating this week?

Poetry Friday - Firefly July

It's been a while since I participated in Poetry Friday but I have some great poetry books to share and April is Poetry Month! Today, Poetry Friday is hosted by Amy at The Poem Farm so be sure to head over there and visit all the great poetry posts!

Title: Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems 
Author: Paul B. Janeczko 
Illustrator: Melissa Sweet 
Publisher: Candlewick 
Publication Date: March 11th, 2014 
Genre/Format: Fiction/Poetry/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: Celebrated poet and anthologist Paul B. Janeczko pairs with Caldecott Honoree Melissa Sweet for a collection of short poems to sample and savor. 

It only takes a few words, if they’re the right words, to create a strong image. Whether listened to in the comfort of a cozy lap or read independently, the thirty-six very short poems in this collection remind readers young and old that a few perfect words and pictures can make the world glow. Selected by acclaimed poet Paul B. Janeczko and gorgeously illustrated by Melissa Sweet, Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poemsinvites children to sample poems throughout the four seasons.  
What I Think: I was so excited to see a collection of seasonal poems illustrated by Melissa Sweet. The blend of poems and her artwork is wonderful. While this is an illustrated collection of poems, there are definitely thought-provoking poems that can be used with older readers. The poems in this book are organized by season and there is a blend of different types of poems. Most are short, some rhyme, all are wonderful to read aloud. In Passing happens to be my favorite because of the words. The illustration shows old fans stacked up in the bed of a truck. I love the link between the title and the poem itself. It's a random thing to write about but this would be a great discussion to have with students about writing inspiration. I can just imagine Gerald Jonas looking up to see this haphazardly-filled truck driving by and realize inspiration for this poem. This poem is full of great imagery and wonderful language as you will find in other poems from this collection as well.  
Read Together: Grades 2 - 12 
Read Alone: Grades 3 - 12 
Read With: A Kick in the Head by Paul B. Janeczko, Bananas In My Ears by Michael Rosen, Outside Your Window by Nicola Davies 
Snatch of Text:   

In Passing

Open-backed dumpy junktruck

stacked full of old floor-fans,

unplugged, unsteady, undone,

free-whirling like kids' pinwheels

in a last fresh breeze ---

What a way to go!

-Gerald Jonas

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Making Inferences, Visualizing 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Descriptive, Figurative Language, $100 Words, Alliteration, Simile
Writing Prompts: Take time to notice the world around you as a writer. Choose something seemingly ordinary and mundane and craft a poem to bring it to life for your reader using descriptive language.   

I *heart* It: