Ten Reasons to Read Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

10.  It is Dahl's most realistic book.

  9.  Danny and his father are living in poverty and yet their poverty does not define them.

  8.  Danny earns the respect of his father and the other men he admires.

  7.  The story line is a little "dangerous."

  6.  The description of the MEAT pie Danny eats will make you hungry.

  5.  Danny realizes the great love once shared between his mother and father.

  4.  The book has you cheering for the "bad guys."  Or are they bad guys?

   3.  Two Words:  Danny's father.

   2.  Danny's feeling and thoughts are SPOT ON for a 9 year old boy.

   1.  There is something beautiful in Danny's deep love for his father.

The Art of Miss Chew: Ten Discussion Questions

I have a large collection of picture books because students are never too old for picture books. If you are looking to build a collection Patricia Polacco is a great author to start with! (Take a look at half.com if you are looking for great deals on a certain title. Half.com does not in anyway pay me to say that. :o)

 Here are some great discussion questions for The Art of Miss Chew.  Print these off and then keep them handy in your copy of the book.  When you have a 20 minute gap to fill in your day (For example, the JA teacher is running late) grab a book, read aloud, and discuss.

1. Describe Miss Donovan with three adjectives.
2. What does Miss Donovan do to help Patricia pass the test?
3. Who tells the story? Who is the narrator?
4. Patricia says she "danced on air all the way home." What does this mean?
5. Describe Miss Chew
6. How might the story be different if it was written from the perspective of Miss Chew?
7. Describe Mrs. Spaulding with three adjectives
8. Miss Chew called a meeting with "all the players." Why does Miss Chew call these individuals "players?"
9. Why do you think Patricia lets Miss Chew call her the wrong name? Would you do the same thing if you were Patricia?
10. How might Patricia's life be different if she never met Miss Chew?

Pax - A Quick Review

Pax by Sara Pennypacker has been on my nightstand for awhile and I'm happy to have finally finished it.  Pax is rumored to be in the running for this years Newbery Medal and is being hailed a modern classic by many.  Here are my first thoughts in list form.

-The book is heavy.  Peter, the main character is living with anxiety and trying to find more than just the fox that he loves (and that loves him). He is trying to find inner peace and the courage to confront his angry and emotionally distant father.

-The book is rich in character development.

-The book has a  modern tone and feel but could be set in any time or place.  Peter is a boy who loves baseball and his fox - there is not one mention of cell phones or snapchat.

-Peter is angry at his father and recognizes that he hopes to become a different man than his dad while fearing that will become just like his father.

-Peter and Vola's relationship is refreshing.  Vola is an middle aged woman Peter encounters on his journey.  Peter challenges Vola as much as Vola challenges him.

-There is a brief moment of self-injury in the book.

-Spoiler alert........In the end Peter learns to let go of Pax.  Letting go of Pax is really a symbol of letting go of so much more.

Discussion Questions and more on Pax to follow!

Teaching Kindness through Literature #1

I'll admit, I didn't realize how much of teaching involved teaching kindness, respect, and decency, but it does. We could sit around and complain about "kids today," or we can do something about it.  We can teach our students to be the best version of themselves and open the door of conversion about what kindness, respect, and decency look like and how these habits can change us and change the world really.

I have a small composition notebook full of great quotes from great stories (Literature geek here, I know).  I loved to pull a quote out and put it on the board for discussion.  The quote above is an example.  Here are some questions to consider when discussing this quote with your class.

1. What does this quote mean?
2. What does this quote tell us about the character who said it?
3. How can you apply insight from this quote into your daily life?

And of course, I would always put in a shameless plug for the book the quote came from, because getting my students to read GREAT books is always a priority.

Last Day Activities in the ELA classroom.

When I was a student teacher my cooperating teacher gave me a great piece of advice about the last day of school...GO ON A FIELD TRIP!  I agree this was sound advice, but unfortunately it didn't work with the how my school ran field trips.

If you are like me, and can't get your students out of the building on the last day, jump in with a great story.  I like to use the last class period as a great way to get my students hooked in and plugged into a great book or series for the summer.  I also include popcorn and something to drink as a little treat.  

Here are my top two picks for the last day of school summer reading.

*While Echo is not a series it is a long, and fantastically written book.  It is one of the few books I prefer the audio edition to the print edition because the music, that is so beautifully bond to the story, is heard in the audio edition.  I would certainly love to run into my students reading something as wonderful as Echo on the beach this summer. Also , WWII also sparks the interest of my students, and since this book is set during WWII, it draws my students into its story.

  

So much going on in this book.  The story has a strong narrator, but you will come to love all three sisters and their story.  Another novel I would be proud to find my students reading at the beach.  

Teacher Appreciation Sale

I had this great post planned for publication today on outside of the box vocabulary study activities.  I'm holding off on that post for a day because I have to let you know about the Teacher's Pay Teacher's Teacher Appreciation Sale.  If you're like me you use this as a time to stock up!

Great Read Alouds for the Last Month of School

It's that time of year...the countdown has begun; everyone has that end of year itch.  Here are a few read alouds (or audiobooks) that sing of summer.


1. A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck.

Set during the great depression, the book tells the story of Joey, his sister Mary Alice, and  and their outside of the box grandmother: Mrs. Dowdel.  The book chronicles nine summers spent with Grandma Dowdel, with each chapter representing a new summer.  Please Note; This book requires  deep inference as much of the humor is indirect.  It also contains some "questionable" content, such as when the children and their grandmother come across the town sheriff and his buddies on a fishing trip.  The men are drunk, in their underwear, and acting obnoxious - you might want to avoid if you think your students are not mature enough for this or they will find this offensive.

2. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit.

Set during one HOT August week, Tuck Everlasting tells the story of a family that lives forever.  This book is sure to get your students thinking even if they are already have "checked out" for the year.

3. No Talking by Andrew Celements 

Andrew Celements just gets school politics, student-teacher relationships, and student to student interactions, and he proves this best in No Talking.  This book tells the story of two smart kids, a exceptionally talkative fifth grade class, and a boys vs. girls no talking competition that turns into so much more.  This book is GREAT if  you have a 5th grade class preparing to graduate to middle school.  Also, it is lighter reading than numbers 1 and 2 on my list if  you are looking for something not quite so heavy.

4. Bud, Not Buddy
Bud, from Bud, Not Buddy, is in my opinion one of the most enduring child characters in the great hall of children's/young adult literature.  Bud's story is told through humor, emotion, and beautiful figurative language. The story is set in the summer months and is usually well received by students.

"You are almost there, the light is at the end of the tunnel, deep breath, finish strong."  I told that to my students daily during May and that first week of June, but little did they know I was really telling myself that too!   I hope you dig into a book or two from this list as you round out your year.

Audiobooks in the Intermediate Classroom Post 1

I'm a big fan of audio books in the classroom for several reasons.  Today I will focus on one.  They are practical way to fill time that might otherwise be wasted.  In other words, they help make the most efficient use of time in the classroom.

I preferred audiobooks instead of reading aloud to my class as I felt they made more efficient use of my time.  My read aloud time was scheduled for right after lunch.  At the building I taught in we were not lucky enough to have bathrooms connected directly to our classroom.  We had bathrooms in the hallway on our floor.  So as a general rule students from our floor used the restroom directly after leaving lunch recess.  I gave my students 5 mins to use the restroom and then they had to be back in the classroom. I found, knowing they were coming back in the room to an audiobook, usually hurried students along in the restroom as most of them did not want to miss the audiobook.  Also, it gave me time to take attendance and deal with any fires I might need to put out after recess.  In other words, the audiobooks allowed me to find in my read aloud time while taking care of attendance and handling recess issues.  Think about your day and evaluate if there is a time that audiobooks could help fill and make more productive.

In this series, I will focus on the audiobooks kids love and present best practices ideas for introducing and using  audiobooks.

Teaching Tuck Everlasting

Sometimes in that phase of half asleep and half awake, Tuck and Mae, Miles and Jesse will sneak into my mind.  Thinking of the Tucks leaves my mind heavy and so so so... tired.  I think about them wondering around the world, frozen as they are, while the world passes them by.  Sigh...

While Tuck Everlasting can be difficult for students to understand, I found the thought of living forever and never dying captivated and haunted them, just as it does me.

Here is a brief list of "tip and tricks" for teaching Tuck Everlasting.

Tuck Everlasting can be complicated.  Simply because there are many long descriptive passages.  Make sure your students are aware of this.  When I introduce the students to the novel I make sure they are very aware of this fact:  "Guys, this book is great!  Be aware as your reading that the author gets really descriptive with the setting and the setting includes the weather.  Don't "zone out" during your reading just because you have come along something descriptive.  Stay focused!"

 It sounds so simple  but this statement does help them.  When we are reading as a class and we get to one of those really descriptive parts, I'll pause the reading and remind them...."This is one of those descriptive parts.  Hang in there.  Stay focused."  The prologue sets up the really the perfect opportunity to do this.

When I teach the book we read one section at at time. A section is 3 chapters at time with the prologue and epilogue considered chapters.   First, we read the section together as class and then discuss what we have read.  I open the discussion by asking the students to help me jot some notes about what we read on the board.  We record the characters that appear, a few of the characters emotions in that section, the setting (place, time, and weather), and a few of the key events that occurred.  I found that my students start to naturally "train" their minds to look for these things as we move along in the novel study.

Next we move onto chapter work (usually completed as guided practice and then transitioned to independent practice as we move forward in the novel study).

Also, make sure the students understand the names of the Tuck family - Jesse, Miles, Mae, and Angus.  However, Angus is often called the family last name "Tuck."  I found Tuck's name really was a source of confusion for almost every class I taught. Make sure to provide clarity and explanation.

We we have finished chapter work we go back and re-read the section.  I can't tell you how much I my students comprehension sky rocketed when I introduced the second reading. I might also use the second reading as a time to introduce and discuss figurative language.  Tuck Everlasting is chalked full of figurative language, specifically personification followed by similes and metaphors.

I have a free worksheet packet for Tuck Everlasting in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.  The packet includes a figurative language record, as well a 20 questions True/False Review, Quote Identification, and Identifying Theme through textual quotes review.

Free Worksheets

I also have a few paid products including a workbook with chapter work and old maid vocabulary game, a final test, and a product that bundles the workbook, old maid game, final test, and includes a smart board quiz game.
Tuck Everlasting Workbook and Vocabulary Card Game
Tuck Everlasting Test
Tuck Everlasting Bundle