Just finished reading

Just finished reading this book....and loved it!  So excited to find out when I finished that there would be more to follow as this is the beginning of a series.  There were some problems with development along the way, but once halfway through I was hooked and enjoyed the suggestive and suspenseful endings to each chapter, making me want to pick it up and read some more regardless of all other things that needed to be accomplished this weekend.  Thank you Meg Cabot for yet another interesting read...anticipating the next book!

Check out a copy from me today in class...or look for it at the Scholastic Book Fair this week!

3rd week of School

This week we are setting up our Writer's Notebooks and preparing to become everyday writers.  You may be wondering what a writer's notebook is and what it is to be used for. Writer's react.  Writers need a place to record these reactions.  That's what a writer's notebooks is for.  It gives you a place to write down what makes you angry or sad or amazed, to write down what you notice and don't want to forget.  A writer's notebook gives you a place to live like a writer.  In today's world we don't use notebooks anymore, we blog!  But for now, while we still do not all have easy access to a format where we can blog at a moments notice, this notebook will serve as your collection plate for ideas for stories, ideas, and thinking.  This notebook is YOURS!  It is not just for an assignment for this class so I would like for you to decorate the front and/or back as you see fit.     


Students are also expected to present their Ceiling Tile work on their Literary Term to the class on Wednesday.

If you would like to know what else we have planned for the week, check out our weekly agendas on the class wiki.   Have a great week!

GOOD News report

Runde's Room BlogI have been inspired by a fellow teacher about spreading Good News in the classroom.  Here is the blog entry that so inspired me to include current events in our lesson plans for this year. 


"The other day, a friend of mine posted a link about the importance of sharing good news stories.  The link reported the results of a study that confirmed people were inspired to do good when they read media stories about Good Samaritans' selfless acts.  You can read about the article here:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/03/29/bc-good-news-study.html

Inspired by this, I set out to find "good news" sites on the internet that I could share with my students:
Happy News:  http://www.happynews.com/index.aspx
Good News Stories (might be better suited for older students): http://goodnewsstories.org/
UpBeat News Stories: http://upbeat.net/
Optimist World:  http://optimistworld.com/
Dogonews:  http://www.dogonews.com/

I do current events activities with my students all the time.  This year I am going to focus on positive current events - sharing some GOOD news.  This could be done in many ways:

• One student per day could research and then present a good news story.  
• Good news stories could be used for guided reading groups - identifying the main idea and moral of the article, and practicing oral fluency.
• Good news articles could be used while studying the features of a news article.
• Good news articles could be used to practice summary writing.
• Good news articles could be used for shared reading activities.
• A good news story could be shared over the projector or overhead for students to read as they come into the class.
• Good news stories could also be posted over the projector or overhead during lunch or indoor recesses - students will read it.
• Students could write their own good news stories about events going on in their school or community.

I have created a printable to go along with this idea, and uploaded it to google docs.  You may print your own copy by clicking here or on the picture.

First Week of School

This is going to be a great year and I hope you are all excited about what all we are going to accomplish and experience during your time in 8th grade.  This blog is intended for students and teachers to communicate and explore our world via an online tool that we can access from school, home and just about anywhere!

Please look for an assignment to come in the next week where you will have to respond to a post with at least one complete sentence.  Be ready to get started with your own blog somewhere along the way too!

Getting Started with some book titles I've read...

So I'm currently reading The Bite Club by Rachel Caine.  It is part of the Morganville Vampires series, which has kept me hanging on for a few years now.  This is all in part to my reader friend, Jenny B., who is a vampire and other assorted dark creatures nut.  This series is full of intrigue, mystery and fist throwing action, but it also includes several love stories that are intertwined throughout.  It makes for a light read and doesn't require much thought to stay involved in the story line, which makes it perfect for summer reading.

Since this blog is just getting started out, I'm also going to include a short blurb about the book I finally got around to reading just before this one....The Maze Runner by James Dashner.  This is one book I literally could not put down once I got into it, and it only took me a few pages to get into it!  This another book that follows the theme of living without adults to make decisions for young boys (reminiscent of The Lord of the Flies) with a few major differences.  

Summary from Goodreads:

Imagine waking up one day in total darkness, unsure of where you are and unable to remember anything about yourself except your first name. You're in a bizarre place devoid of adults called the Glade. The Glade is an enclosed structure with a jail, a graveyard, a slaughterhouse, living quarters, and gardens. And no way out. Outside the Glade is the Maze, and every day some of the kids -- the Runners -- venture into the labyrinth, trying to map the ever-changing pattern of walls in an attempt to find an exit from this hellish place. So far, no one has figured it out. And not all of the Runners return from their daily exertions, victims of the maniacal Grievers, part animal, part mechanical killing machines.
Thomas is the newest arrival to the Glade in this Truman-meets-Lord of the Flies tale. A motley crew of half a dozen kids is all he has to guide him in this strange world. As soon as he arrives, unusual things begin to happen, and the others grow suspicious of him. Though the Maze seems somehow familiar to Thomas, he's unable to make sense of the place, despite his extraordinary abilities as a Runner. What is this place, anddoes Thomas hold the key to finding a way out?
In The Maze Runner, Dashner has crafted a creative and engaging novel that's both mysterious and thought provoking.

After finishing the book, I was irritated that I hadn't read it before now, since it's been out for so long and I've let my students keep it checked out all year. My favorite part about the story is that the boys have managed to work together to build a well-established community and not let their despair and condition overwhelm them.  I would highly recommend you pick this book up for yourself, if you haven't already read it!  As soon as I can, I will be purchasing The Scorch Trials (the 2nd book in the series!!) and will let you know how that one turns out. 

Times are A-Changing

Here's what I'm hoping....that my children will brush their teeth every morning and night, that I will get 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night, that my husband will not hurt himself today, and that we can stop using so much paper in our day to day work.  This list is doable, well everything is but the last one... It is my fervent hope that we will move forward in the education field within my lifetime as a teacher and embrace that which we all keep talking about but actually doing nothing about in the end.  Changing with the times, and boy these times are a-changing!
Check out this article http://teachpaperless.blogspot.com/2009/12/21-things-that-will-become-obsolete-in.html