3.31 It’s Monday! What are you reading?

A new week, a new batch of books—both finished and being read. Today is…

Ring-the-Bell Monday & It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

This meme is originated by Jen and Kellee at TeachMentorTexts. Thanks!

{Celebrating the books we’ve read in the past week & the titles we are currently reading.}

Lots of student essay work. And…ummmm… I love March Madness. Not the best reading week I’ve ever had—but it was fun watching our “books” compete in the bracket.

NOW: Who wants to post his or her completed book and a quick writeup on this blog for next Monday????

THIS

SPACE

FOR

“RENT”

^^^^^Your book here.^^^^^^

What were PARENTS reading last week? Let’s check it out… 

(Thank you, commenters, for contributing to our book awareness. Reading is not a “school thing”.)

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For every parent who leaves a comment on TODAY’S POST with what you’re reading, I’ll give your child a BUSTED ticket…

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[Check back throughout the day for updates of my students’ reading.]

These past week, my 1&2 Class read

10 books

Come visit our Book Posts today!

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My 6&7 Class read

17 books

Come visit our Book Posts today!

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My 9&10 Class read

15 books

 

Come visit our Book Posts today!

The final installment to Powerless and Super. Looking forward to this ARC.

 

Thanks,

David Etkin

3.28 {BookFlix Friday} School for Good and Evil: World Without Princes

Today is

Few things can draw a reader to a new book like a book trailer can. Each Friday I will endeavor to bring a couple to you—some new or recent, some teasers of upcoming books, and a few “classics”. Get the popcorn ready.

Lights…Camera…Action!

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And…

in case you missed it at the MS Talent Show last friday…

Are you American Idol fans?

Did you SEE this performance Wednesday?

W.O.W.

3.27 NCAA BOOKbrackets

Your votes are in. Mr. Peterson and I have tallied up the results and found the sixth graders’ favorite books and series of the year. Each student in sixth grade had the opportunity to vote this year via a Google form, so this is the most accurate BOOKbracket to date. (Though last year’s was pretty cool, too.)

And here is your 2014 NCAA BOOKbracket!

We ranked each book by how many votes it received. The number of votes decided the book’s/series’ seed (or ranking). We assigned each book/series to a comparably seeded team in the NCAA Sweet 16.

So: If a team wins, the book it represents will move on. EXAMPLE: At 10:17 on Thursday, March 27, #1Arizona will play #4 San Diego St. Bookwise, this means that Prisoner B-3087 is playing Matched. If Arizona wins, Prisoner B-3087 will move on in the bracket to play the winner of Baylor (The Boy Project) and Wisconsin (Wonder). If San Diego St. wins, Matched moves on.

And so it will go until we make it to the championship book game on Monday, April 7th.

Check back next week for an updated BookBracket after all the weekend’s action.

Enjoy the tournament–and may the best book win!

3.26 {Whatever Wednesday} #WorldWaterDay Haiku Winners

Whatever Wednesday — a chance to post something I’ve seen that I’m diggin’: a cool quote or poster, a video, or simply a picture.

Enjoy!… and consider posting your own Whatever.
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Last night, Micah Challenge USA tweeted out that two of my students and I made the Top 5 #HaikusForCleanWater list. We posted thee for World Water day, which as this past Saturday. For this honor, they posted our submissions on their site—even taking the time to rewrite them on an applicable image. In addition, they’ll be sending t-shirts our way. Check out the site!

Soooo….

Congratulations to: (these are the originals)

Jess

Emily

(…and me…)

And all the students who submitted a haiku for this great cause.

3.24 It’s Monday! What are you reading? #Cress

A new week, a new batch of books—both finished and being read. Today is…

Ring-the-Bell Monday & It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

This meme is originated by Jen and Kellee at TeachMentorTexts. Thanks!

{Celebrating the books we’ve read in the past week & the titles we are currently reading.}

I REALLY like this series. It’s such a cool combination of dystopian science fiction and space travel with a hint (or two) of romance. I’m so wrapped up in Cinder and Kaito and the rest of the crew that I hardly wanted to put the book down. It was total escape. Even the small breaks of humor—usually provided by the droid Iko—fit perfectly. I would have finished this sooner if it weren’t for March Madness. (More to come on this later…)

I recommend this series to any sci-fi fan. Here is the BookFlix trailer I showed earlier this year:

In addition, I happened to catch Marissa Meyer’s World Water Day Tweet:

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Speaking of World Water Day, did you see all the cool #HaikusForCleanWater that my students submitted? I posted them to a Facebook Album and also to my Instagram account: MrEtkinSHMS

What were PARENTS reading last week? Let’s check it out… 

(Thank you, commenters, for contributing to our book awareness. Reading is not a “school thing”.)

•

For every parent who leaves a comment on TODAY’S POST with what you’re reading, I’ll give your child a BUSTED ticket…

§

[Check back throughout the day for updates of my students’ reading.]

These past week, my 1&2 Class read

books

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My 6&7 Class read

  books

 

•

My 9&10 Class read

 books

 

The final installment to Powerless and Super. Looking forward to this ARC.

 

 

Thanks,

David Etkin

3.19 {Whatever Wednesday} #WorldWaterDay

Whatever Wednesday — a chance to post something I’ve seen that I’m diggin’: a cool quote or poster, a video, or simply a picture.

Enjoy!… and consider posting your own Whatever.

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March 22 is….

All this week I’m running videos during the school announcements publicizing the day and the needs around the world. This has become an issue close to my heart, thanks in part to A Long Walk to Water and our #ReadWalkWater initiative.

I borrowed clips from water organizations and added a little here and there.

Here are the videos in the order they’ll be shown. I’m particularly proud of the last one.

Feel free to use any of these in your classroom or hunt down your own. And don’t forget to search Twitter using #WorldWaterDay or #WaterDay on Instagram.

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If you want to see more pictures of our walk and the work that Ugandan Water Project did on their recent trip—including visiting “our” tanks—check out these Facebook links:

Water Walk

Uganda Trip

[And guess who’s planning on going to Uganda this summer…]

3.17 It’s Monday! What are you reading? #Enders #Cress

A new week, a new batch of books—both finished and being read. Today is…

Ring-the-Bell Monday & It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

This meme is originated by Jen and Kellee at TeachMentorTexts. Thanks!

{Celebrating the books we’ve read in the past week & the titles we are currently reading.}

I’m glad I got to finish this duology. It is interesting to consider having someone INSIDE my head and controlling me… and talking to me… This is one of those books where I couldn’t figure out who to trust. The characters felt the same.

How do you like the new covers vs. the old?

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I found this on the library Downloads2Go site. Interesting insights when told from a different point of view.

Is anyone going to see Divergent?

(I’m a little “nervous” about how it’ll be converted to the big screen.)

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What were PARENTS reading last week? Let’s check it out… 

(Thank you, commenters, for contributing to our book awareness. Reading is not a “school thing”.)

•

For every parent who leaves a comment on TODAY’S POST with what you’re reading, I’ll give your child a BUSTED ticket…

§

[Check back throughout the day for updates of my students’ reading.]

These past week, my 1&2 Class read

13 books

and are reading these books:

BookSelfies

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My 6&7 Class read

11  books

and are reading these books:

BookSelfies

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My 9&10 Class read

19 books

and are reading these books:

BookSelfies

WOO HOO!

I’m reading this aloud with my family:

My church is doing a church-wide book read. This is my “book club” book.

The final installment to Powerless and Super. Looking forward to this ARC.

 

 

Thanks,

David Etkin

3.14 {BookFlix Friday} The Boy Problem, the Rule of THRE3, Breadcrumbs

Today is

Few things can draw a reader to a new book like a book trailer can. Each Friday I will endeavor to bring a couple to you—some new or recent, some teasers of upcoming books, and a few “classics”. Get the popcorn ready.

Lights…Camera…Action!

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From this morning’s announcements:

One shocking afternoon, computers around the globe shut down in a viral catastrophe. At sixteen-year-old Adam Daley’s high school, the problem first seems to be a typical electrical outage, until students discover that cell phones are down, municipal utilities are failing, and a few computer-free cars like Adam’s are the only vehicles that function. Driving home, Adam encounters a storm tide of anger and fear as the region becomes paralyzed. Soon—as resources dwindle, crises mount, and chaos descends—he will see his suburban neighborhood band together for protection. And Adam will understand that having a police captain for a mother and a retired government spy living next door are not just the facts of his life but the keys to his survival, in The Rule of Three by Eric Walters.

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Finally—the long-awaited sequel to student favorite

It’s…

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Selected by Indie Booksellers for the Winter 2012 Kids’ Next List

“Ursu pulls Hazel and Jack into the world of The Snow Queen in a way that makes complete emotional sense. There’s something here that will resonate with anyone who has ever felt that he or she didn’t belong. For voracious readers, there’s extra payoff in spotting nods to everything from Alice in Wonderland to The Phantom Tollbooth to Harry Potter.”

— Shoshana Flax, Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, MA

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Description

Once upon a time, Hazel and Jack were best friends. But that was before he stopped talking to her and disappeared into a forest with a mysterious woman made of ice. Now it’s up to Hazel to go in after him. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen,” breadcrumbs is a stunningly original fairy tale of modern-day America, a dazzling ode to the power of fantasy, and a heartbreaking meditation on how growing up is as much a choice as it is something that happens to us.

3.10 It’s Monday! What are you reading?

A new week, a new batch of books—both finished and being read. Today is…

Ring-the-Bell Monday & It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

This meme is originated by Jen and Kellee at TeachMentorTexts. Thanks!

{Celebrating the books we’ve read in the past week & the titles we are currently reading.}

A whole bunch of argument essays.

But I’m finished and back on the reading wagon. WOOT!

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What were PARENTS reading last week? Let’s check it out… and the week before…

(Thank you, commenters, for contributing to our book awareness. Reading is not a “school thing”.)

•

For every parent who leaves a comment on TODAY’S POST with what you’re reading, I’ll give your child a BUSTED ticket…

§

[Check back throughout the day for updates of my students’ reading.]

These past week, my 1&2 Class read

22 books

and are reading these books:

[click to see the picture spin…]

•

My 6&7 Class read

 14 books

and are reading these books:

[click to see the picture spin…]

•

My 9&10 Class read

23 books

and are reading these books:

[click to see the picture spin…]

My church is doing a church-wide book read. This is my “book club” book.

Ms Taylor just handed this book to me on Friday. I’m anxious to finish Enders so I can jump in.

I’ve heard great things about this one…

 

 

Thanks,

David Etkin

3.7 {BookFlix Friday} #IevenFunnier #vordak #EncyclopediaOfMe

Today is

Few things can draw a reader to a new book like a book trailer can. Each Friday I will endeavor to bring a couple to you—some new or recent, some teasers of upcoming books, and a few “classics”. Get the popcorn ready.

Lights…Camera…Action!

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A is for “Tink Aaron-Martin,” “Aardvark,” and “Amazing” in this wonderful alphabetical novel!

Tink Aaron-Martin has been grounded AGAIN after an adventure with her best friend Freddie Blue Anderson. To make the time pass, she decides to write an encyclopedia of her life from “Aa” (a kind of lava–okay, she cribbed that from the real encyclopedia) to “Zoo” (she’s never been to one, but her brothers belong there).

As the alphabet unfolds, so does the story of Tink’s summer: more adventures with Freddie Blue (and more experiences in being grounded); how her family was featured in a magazine about “Living with Autism,” thanks to her older brother Seb–and what happened after Seb fell apart; her growing friendship, and maybe more, with Kai, a skateboarder who made her swoon (sort of). And her own sense that maybe she belongs not under “H” for “Hideous,” or “I” for “Invisible,” but “O” for “Okay.”

Written entirely in Tink’s hilarious encyclopedia entries, THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ME is both a witty trick and a reading treat for anyone who loves terrific middle-grade novels.

And because it’s Friday—and because the Guest Teacher left a good report— I bring you a new Kid Snippets: