9.29 It’s Monday! What are you reading?

Guess what today is!

 

{Celebrating the books we’ve read in the past week

& the titles we are currently reading.}

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

I DID read, but honestly, getting ready for the Water Walk presentations took a lot of my time. I did read, but not enough to complete a book. I hope to right that wrong this week.

Remember this? (Some pics are from the 7th and 8th grade presentations.)

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How many books have my students read? What are they reading?

Check out the reading totals and the handy SpinCam!

Click on each picture to see a 360º view of students and their books:

[this will be updated at the end of the day]

Period 1&2

11 books!

Period 5&6

17 books!

Period 9&10

12 books!

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Parents are invited to participate in our journey as well. 

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

Let’s have a look back to check for parent comments.

[I downloaded an advance copy of this for my iPad for night reading. It is captivating, but Rated M for mature.

Parents: If you ever have any questions about the maturity level of a book I post on here, please don’t hesitate to ask.]

[My daughter finished this last week and RAVED about it.]

 

 

Thanks,

David Etkin

9.26 {BookFlix Friday} Alex Rider

Today is

There are tons of great book trailers out in cyberland, and each Friday I will endeavor to bring a couple to you. Many will be new and recent books. Some trailers will preview a not-yet-released book. And others will look back a little further.

Lights…Camera…Action!

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Every year a couple kids start this series and get so wrapped up in it that they race through it to the end. Will it be YOU this year?

Cool site link here.

Read the books… watch the movie:

9.24 {Whatever Wednesday} #ReadWalkWater kickoff with UgandanWaterProject

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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Today is the big #ReadWalkWater kickoff. I’ve been anticipating this day since summertime.

Today is the day to share about this:

And this:

Yup, this too:And most definitely this……and THIS:

 

Who needs clean water? Hope International School in Bukwiri, Uganda. Here is a video I put together to show what their water is like and why they need some clean water.

Today James Harrington of Ugandan Water Project comes to the middle school to present to all THREE grade levels and prepare them for the big whole-school fundraiser. Here is the site they put together for people who want to donate on-line.

http://ugandanwaterproject.com/sweethome/

I’m so glad we get to do this together.

9.22 It’s Monday! What are you reading? #14thgoldfish

Guess what today is!

 

{Celebrating the books we’ve read in the past week

& the titles we are currently reading.}

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

Do you think finding the fountain of youth would be a good thing? If you could, would you want to be young forever? These are deep questions that we—and the main character Ellie—are challenged with in this cool new book. It was quirky and fun—just my style. I enjoyed Ellie’s awakening to looking at the world around her scientifically.

From Random House:

 

Believe in the possible . . . with this brilliantly quirky, thought-provoking novel from New York Timesbestseller, three-time Newbery Honor winner Jennifer L. Holm

Galileo. Newton. Salk. Oppenheimer.
Science can change the world . . . but can it go too far?

Eleven-year-old Ellie has never liked change. She misses fifth grade. She misses her old best friend. She even misses her dearly departed goldfish. Then one day a strange boy shows up. He’s bossy. He’s cranky. And weirdly enough . . . he looks a lot like Ellie’s grandfather, a scientist who’s always been slightly obsessed with immortality. Could this pimply boy really be Grandpa Melvin? Has he finally found the secret to eternal youth?

With a lighthearted touch and plenty of humor, Jennifer Holm celebrates the wonder of science and explores fascinating questions about life and death, family and friendship, immortality . . . and possibility.

I also roared and growled my way through a stack of Bob Shea’s books. If I had a young son, no doubt he’d love these.

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How many books have my students read? What are they reading?

Check out the reading totals and the handy SpinCam!

Click on each picture to see a 360º view of students and their books:

Period 1&2

14 books

Period 5&6

24 books

Period 9&10

19 books

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Parents are invited to participate in our journey as well. 

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

Let’s have a look back to check for parent comments.

Tom Angleberger recommended

 

 

Thanks,

David Etkin

9.19 {BookFlix Friday} #BoyProject #MazeRunner and Open House Video

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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Description

For anyone who’s ever felt that boys were a different species….

Wildly creative seventh grader Kara McAllister just had her best idea yet. She’s going to take notes on all of the boys in her grade (and a few elsewhere) in order to answer a seemingly simple question: How can she get a boyfriend?

But Kara’s project turns out to be a lot more complicated than she imagined. Soon there are secrets, lies, and an embarrassing incident in the boy’s bathroom. Plus, Kara has to deal with mean girls, her slightly spacey BFF, and some surprising uses for duct tape. Still, if Kara’s research leads her to the right boy, everything may just be worth it. . . .

Full of charts and graphs, heart and humor, this hilarious debut will resonate with tweens everywhere.

 

When you read this book, see me for SWAG that the author, Kami Kinard, sent for you.

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And now, the book that has become a movie:

 

 

 

 

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Don’t worry, I didn’t forget.

Here is the video we showed at open house.

9.15 It’s Monday! What are you reading? #ListenSlowly + TomAngleberger

Guess what today is!

 

{Celebrating the books we’ve read in the past week

& the titles we are currently reading.}

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

   I was expecting a book similar to Inside Out and Back Again, Lai’s award winning first novel in verse. Listen, Slowly was nothing like it. If you’re looking to take a trip to Vietnam with all of your senses, this is the right book for you. Mai Mai is a quirky, interesting character who describes her settings and observations in great detail. She is also a lover of language. This often digresses into explaining the different diacritical marks used in Vietnamese, a very complicated language. Mai Mai shares a lot of inner monologue and running stream of thought through the course of the book. Often it is interesting and clever. At others, it borders on overkill.

   Overall, I kept reading because I was anxious to find out what was going to happen with Mai Mai’s Grandmother’s search for her long-lost husband. The ending included some wisdom about the ebb and flow of life and death, and the presence of happy and sad events and emotions in our lives. I already shared that part with a friend of mine.

Summary from Barnes and Noble:

This remarkable novel from Thanhhà Lại, New York Times bestselling author of the National Book Award–winning and Newbery Honor Book Inside Out & Back Again, follows a young girl as she learns the true meaning of family.

A California girl born and raised, Mai can’t wait to spend her vacation at the beach. Instead, though, she has to travel to Vietnam with her grandmother, who is going back to find out what really happened to her husband during the Vietnam War. Mai’s parents think this trip will be a great opportunity for their out-of-touch daughter to learn more about her culture. But to Mai, those are their roots, not her own. Vietnam is hot, smelly, and the last place she wants to be. Besides barely speaking the language, she doesn’t know the geography, the local customs, or even her distant relatives. To survive her trip, Mai must find a balance between her two completely different worlds.

Perfect for fans of Rita Williams-Garcia and Linda Sue Park, Listen, Slowly is an irresistibly charming and emotionally poignant tale about a girl who discovers that home and culture, family and friends, can all mean different things.

 

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How many books have my students read? What are they reading?

Check out the reading totals and the handy SpinCam!

Click on each picture to see a 360º view of students and their books:

Period 1&2

7 books

Period 5&6

13 books

Period 9&10

13 books

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Parents are invited to participate in our journey as well.

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

Let’s have a look back to check for parent comments.

Before I share my current and on-deck reading with you, check this out…

I shared with you on Thursday that I was going to see Origami Yoda author Tom Angleberger on Saturday since he was at Clarence Middle School to kick off his book tour of Emperor Pickletine. He was great. What a funny dude!

After being led onto the stage by Star Wars characters, Mr. A made it VERY clear that there is an “R” in his name… because if we forgot to  say the “R”, his name would be…. yeah, AngleBOOGER. It’s great when people can poke fun at themselves. I had him sign a book for the kids of my friend from college.

And then I asked him if he wanted to go out for real Buffalo Chicken wings while he was in town. We’ve been Twitter acquaintances for a bit, so he kind of “knew” me…

It turned out that he DID want to get wings—so I picked him up Saturday night and we headed to Duff’s.

[Mandatory selfies Yes, he took some too.}

   Ok, so he has to work a little bit on his “heat tolerance”, but we had a great time talking about teaching, writing, books, kids, getting published, and much more. Tom was so real. I appreciate that he didn’t feel like he had to act professional around me.

   For my students, he was very clear on the importance of reading aloud your own writing before deciding that you’re finished with it. Hi said the first test for his writing is to read it aloud to his sons to see if they like it and to make sure it sounds the way he wants it too. I agree with Mr. A.  So many times I have read my writing aloud and thought, That does NOT sound aloud the way I thought it would.

While finishing up at Duff’s, Mr. A Drew a few pictures for my classroom and the library. Check these out!

   Thanks, Mr. A, for a great evening. Good luck on your book tour, book sales, and keeping up with CeCe’s new hit El Deafo.

And a stack by Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great author Bob Shea:

Tom Angleberger recommended

 

Thanks,

David Etkin

9.8 It’s Monday! What are you reading? The first share of the year

Guess what today is!

 

{Celebrating the books we’ve read in the past week

& the titles we are currently reading.}

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

This is a quick post of my summer reading.

Each book takes us on a vacation. Another place in the world, another life, another world altogether. It’s a chance to be someone else and to live a different life. Walking in another’s shoes can be interesting… scary… intimidating… hilarious. This is where I vacationed this summer; this is whose shoes I wore:

A cat being invaded by aliens—

A goat who thinks he is nothing compared to a unicorn—

Thinking about how we can help those in need without doing harm to them—

Katie, who just graduated from high school and moved to Uganda, Africa, and finds herself falling in love with the needy, beautiful children there—

Sasha Zaichik in Stalinist Russia—

Arcady, an orphan and enemy of the state—and darn good soccer player—in Stalinist Russia—

Ally, who can’t read and thinks she’s stupid—

Amira, a girl in Sudan who wants to get an education, but instead finds herself on the run from the Janjaweed—

Donn, a twelve-year-old who gets separated from his family while hiking in the mountains of Maine—

Charlie, who is visiting his father’s home town, when he finds himself out in the magic and muck of the sugarcane fields—

Steve Harmon, a New York City teen on trial for his involvement in a grocery store murder.

I’ve been a lot of places—and people—this summer. How about YOU?

Monday is our day to celebrate books that we have finished reading in the past week and get a look at the books you are currently reading.

On Monday, students get to ring the bell for every book they finished the previous week. This is a cool time of celebration and encouragement.

I also try to capture—in one form or another—the books that students are currently reading.

I’m thrilled to get this reading journey underway.

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Parents are invited to participate in our journey as well.

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

 

Thanks,

David Etkin

Another week of water and travel

Here is the link to the second major post I wrote from Uganda. There is more to come… I promise.

Another week of water and travel.