Shared Reading

Reading the Article on “Shared Reading” I realized that those big books are still in the book room. None of the teachers have requested them year. Why? They say that the big books are too hard to handle and finding a storage spot is too difficult. I wonder if these teachers read to their students? Yes! They do but only “Read Alouds. Most of the teachers a talked to did not denote the difference between “Read Alouds and “Shared Reading”. Once I made the inquiry and asked them to help me understand the difference of the two, the teachers stated that a Shared Reading was just like a Read Aloud. I think the big books should get some of the dust wiped off and used but what do I know I am Just an aide.

This would be a great lesson have the girls read I Am the Ice Worm by MaryAnn Easley and boys read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. Have them compare and contrast the books.

I Am the Ice Worm by MaryAnn Easley (Boys Mill Press, 1998). This book is sort of a girls' version of Gary Paulsen's classic Hatchet. In both stories, a teenage character is stranded in the wilderness following a plane crash. In I Am the Ice Worm, 14-year-old Allison is rescued from the Alaskan wild by an Inupiat trapper, who takes her to his village to stay until she can be reunited with her mother. Allison's upbringing in an upper-class family in southern California certainly didn't prepare her for this icy adventure, but she turns out to have courage and adaptability that she didn't expect. Though Allison may initially seem too "girly" for boy readers, this novel has a great blend of adventure, wilderness and family matters that will captivate boys and girls alike.

MaryAnn Easley, author of several middle grade novels that include "I Am the Ice Worm," a Junior Library Guild Selection, "Belly Up" and "Dog Woman," is a certified master teacher with over 25 years experience. Teacher of the Year, she has appeared on radio and television and is the recipient of the Reading Association's Award of Excellence. A frequent speaker at schools and book clubs, she teaches creative writing to middle grade students as well as classes in literature at the university level.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (Simon & Schuster, 2007). The story is about Brian, 13, and how he manages to survive 54 days in the Canadian wilderness after a plane crash. Brian was flying to visit his father when the pilot dies of a heart attack in mid-flight. Brian crash lands the plane into a small lake and swims out of the wreckage. He has his clothing, a tattered windbreaker and a hatchet (a gift from his mother). The novel takes us through Brian's days, how he learns patience through his experiences with failures and small successes: building a fire, fishing and hunting, making his shelter a safe one. He endures a porcupine attack, a tornado and being utterly alone for almost two months. This is a tale of adventure but, more importantly, it is a tale of character growth.

Gary Paulsen, is not one of those make-it-up-as-you-go-along kind of writers—Paulsen lived it. Paulsen describes the actual real-life events that he incorporated into Hatchet and the "Brian" books, giving young readers a keen insight to how a writer's personal experiences feed the narrative. He hoped Guts would answer some of the 250-400 letters a day he receives about the series. Hatchet is a series of 4 books.

Non-fiction

Spooky Graveyards is a non-fiction series of books that are perfect for 5th- 7th graders.
I think getting kids interested in a book that is a series, helps them to read more books. Winner of children’s choice book award 2009.

Readers will find out in this scary trip through 11 of the world’s spookiest graveyards! Among the stops: Chestnut Hill Cemetery in Rhode Island. That’s where a little girl named Mercy Brown is buried. In the late 1800s, her family was hit by tuberculosis. First, her mother and sister died. Then Mercy herself became sick and died. In desperation to save his tubercular son, her father—who had become convinced that Mercy was a vampire rising from the grave each night to suck the life blood from her sibling—dug up her body, cut out her heart and burned it, and served the ashes to her brother. Such compelling historical nonfiction will keep readers eagerly turning the pages in this macabre exploration of the world of the dead.


The Complete
Scary Places Series:

Abandoned Insane Asylums-Creepy Castles-Ghost Towns-Haunted Hotels-Haunted Houses-Spooky Cemeteries

Who would have thought this was non-fiction!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trilogy

Germany’s beloved children’s author Cornelia Funke made her stunning U.S. debut with The Thief Lord, which spent 19 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was named New York Times Notable Book Of The Year. Since then, she’s enchanted millions of fantasy lovers with her wildly successful novels, including but not limited to Dragon Rider, the highly acclaimed New York Times bestselling Inkheart trilogy (which inspired a major motion picture), the Ghosthunter series, and Igraine the Brave. No wonder she’s been dubbed the “German J.K. Rowling”!

This is a trilogy that involves the girl’s adventure. Maybe modern day Nancy Drew!

Inkheart

Meggie’s father, Mo, has a deep secret: he possesses an extraordinary magical power. When he reads aloud from books, he brings the characters to life—literally! Mo is forced to reveal his secret when he learns that Capricorn—an evil ruler he released from a book called Inkheart when Meggie was just a baby—is still on the loose and wants to destroy Mo’s copy of the story…no matter what it takes. Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books. Can she and her father shift the course of the story before their lives are forever changed? (Ages 9-12)

Inkspell

Although a year has passed, not a day goes by that Meggie doesn’t think of Inkheart, the book whose characters came to life. Now Dustfinger, the fire-eater brought into being from words, is desperate to return to the tale. But when he meets Orpheus, a crooked storyteller with the magical ability to read him back, Dustfinger plunges into the medieval world of his past, leaving behind his young apprentice, Farid. Before long, Meggie is caught inside the book as well. And the story is threatening to evolve in ways none of them could have ever imagined. Ages 9-12.

Inkdeath

Ever since the extraordinary events of Inkspell, when the enchanted book Inkheart drew Meggie and her father, Mo, into its chapters, life in the Inkworld has been more tragic than magical. But are the tides about to turn in the final tale of the captivating trilogy? The fire-eater Dustfinger is dead, having sacrificed his life for his apprentice Farid, and now, under the rule of the evil Adderhead, the fairytale land is in chaos. Even Elinor, left behind in the real world, believes her family to be lost—lost between the covers of a book. Facing the threat of eternal winter, Mo inks a dangerous deal with death itself. There yet remains a faint hope of hanging the cursed story—if only he can fill its pages fast enough. (Ages 9-12)

Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel
by Eoin Colfer http://www.eoincolfer.com/

For the first time ever in graphic novel, read all about this 12-year-old criminal mastermind's villainous venture to restore his family's fortune and a plan that could plunge the planet into a cross-species war! (Ages 9-12) the planet into a cross-species war!This is a series of Graphic Novels that do get kids reading. The Graphic Novel or the term I grew up with Comic Book some people will argue this point. Kids in the age range from 9-12 love to read these, personality when kids take AR test on the Graphic Novels they do not score well.
Eoin Colfer was born in Wexford on the South-East coast of Ireland in 1965, where he and his four brothers were brought up by his father (an elementary school teacher, historian and artist of note) and mother (a drama teacher). He first developed an interest in writing in primary school with gripping Viking stories inspired by history he was learning in school at the time!
He says, "I will keep writing until people stop reading or I run out of ideas. Hopefully neither of these will happen anytime soon. He lives in Ireland with his wife and two children.

Shel Silverstein, was born September 25, 1930 in Chicago and died sometime between the days of May 8th and 9th in the year 1999 of a heart attack in Key West..The first cartoons that he drew were for adult readers of the Pacific Stars and Stripes in the 1950’s during the time he was in Korea and Japan as a G.I. During this time he picked up playing the guitar and started writing songs, and this talent is something that would go on to produce songs for Dr. Hook and Johnny Cash.It was never in Shel Silverstein’s plans to become a children’s writer, which is a surprising fact since his books went on to become much beloved by children and adults alike. Shel Silverstein’s books are available around the world in excess of 30 languages. One of the most notable and best loved books by Shel Silverstein is The Giving Tree, which is still a best seller even 45 years after it was published.
http://www.shelsilverstein.com/

The Giving Tree is a tale about a relationship between a young boy and a tree in a forest. The tree always provides the boy with what he wants: branches on which to swing, shade in which to sit, apples to eat, branches with which to build a home. As the boy grows older he requires more and more of the tree. The tree loves the boy very much and gives him anything he asks for. In the ultimate act of self-sacrifice, the tree lets the boy cut her down so the boy can build a boat in which he can sail. The boy leaves the tree, now a stump. Many years later, the boy, now an old man, returns and the tree says, "I have nothing left to give you." The boy replies, " I do not need much now, just a quiet place to sit and rest." The tree then says, "Good! A tree stump is a great place to do just that! Come boy, sit down and be happy." The boy obliged and the tree was happy.

whimpy kids

The Diaries of Wimpy Kids by Jeff Kinney have students
Reading. Some kids never picked up a book before this series.
I personally don’t get the draw but I am not 9-13.
Boys and girls fight over these books in the library.
Jeff started out wanting to be a cartoonist.
His first Wimpy Diary was published in April 2007 and
Now has published 4. The website is full of information.


http://www.wimpykid.com