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     I have been thinking about this topic quite often since this summer.  I spent a lot of the summer studying the standards and spending time getting to know them better.  At the Learning Forward conference this summer, I attended a session with Timothy Shanahan.  His session really helped me to understand the structure in the standards and how this structure really relates to close reading and shows the connection between writing and reading.  I know there are some critics out there of his ideas and I can see why because some of what he said could be controversial.  However, the essence of what he was saying about text complexity really made sense to me.  We need to spend time figuring out what makes text complex so that we can help students learn about those potential roadblocks.  We also need to give our students a chance to tackle short passages that are complex so that they learn how to do this.
     I don’t understand what the problem is with the Common Core State Standards.  It seems that there are a lot of people out there that really do not like the standards.  Why? Having standards that demand that we set high expectations for our students is not a bad thing.  These standards define a course of action for teachers and give us a way to make sure that the students read deeply.  I love it that there is a Range of Reading standard that asks us to ensure that students are reading a variety of texts and that there is emphasis on both literary and informational text.
     This summer I discovered the Nerdy Book Club and the many amazing educators that are on Twitter and share my same passion for reading.  Being a reader, I have read many books about literacy education and I wholeheartedly agree that the Reading Workshop is the best way that I have ever taught reading.  I work hard to match readers to books and get every student in my classroom reading and enjoying books.  This is no small feat seeing as how I teach 8th graders and they have decided that reading is “uncool” by this time in their lives.  It takes patience and quite a bit of stubborn tenacity to win over every student, but every year I get them all.  Most become readers and learn to enjoy reading. Some still would choose pretty much anything besides reading to do in their spare time, but they have read at least one book during the time with me that they admit was a good story.  Many of my students come into my classroom unable to answer the question that I pose about what the last good book they read was.  Many have been fake reading for a few years now and think that they will be able to fake their way through our reading conferences.  That is, until they realize that I have read almost all of the books that are in our class library and they aren’t going to get away with that.  Being able to have conversations with my readers about what they enjoy and what they don’t enjoy while reading helps me to get to know the amazing young people that I am working with.  I love being able to bring a book into school and put it in front of a student because that is who I was thinking about when I found the book.  I love reading workshop and I love teaching kids to love books.
     I say all this as a preface to my next thoughts, because I don’t want anyone to get the wrong impression.  I absolutely want to create independent, thoughtful readers who know what they like to read and I think it is incredibly important to match students to books they can read on their own so they don’t become frustrated.  However, I do not think there is anything wrong with asking students to stretch and read some things that may be too difficult for them.  It is my job as a teacher to make sure that my students move from where they are to where they need to be.  If I have students who are reading at a fourth grade level, that is absolutely the level of books I will give them to read independently.  But I will also work on texts at the 8th grade level and beyond with them to help them get there.  If I never expose these readers to tough text, they will never get a chance to learn how to tackle it.  I want to be able to scaffold reading so that my struggling readers can approach it.  I want them to be able to feel that sense of accomplishment from reading something that challenges them and getting it.  This maybe happens only during my mini-lessons in reading workshop, but it has to happen. I agree that we need to expose students to differing levels of text complexity so that they can learn the strategies we all use to get through texts that challenge us.  As an adult, I would so much prefer to read books that are easy and enjoyable, but I also sometimes am confronted by challenging text that is outside of my comfort zone.  I can’t choose to ignore it and I have developed ways of dealing with that type of text, but I know my students do not have this set of tools in their toolbox.  It is my job as their teacher to provide opportunities to fill up their toolbox with all kinds of tools.  Are they always going to love the things they are asked to read?  Absolutely not, and it is ridiculous to give them that false sense. What we can do for our students is to give them the tools necessary to be able to tackle tough texts without becoming frustrated.  If they never encounter difficult texts, how will we do that?
     Providing my students with a place in which they can learn to love reading is my first and most important goal.  Giving them choices about what they read is important to me as well.  But I must also provide my students with experiences that prepare them for the challenging texts they might encounter in their lives.  Part of my job as an 8th grade teacher is to prepare my students for success in high school.  This means helping them have the tools they need to be able to read complex informational text or to be able to read the required literary text that might not always be their choice.
     

Every week I participate in this meme hosted by the lovely ladies over at Teach Mentor Texts.  Jen and Kellee had the brilliant idea to adapt this meme to talk about the great young adult and children’s literature that we are reading.  Head over to their blog for more great reads and a plethora of recommendations of great kidlit.

Every week I participate in this meme hosted by the lovely ladies over at Teach Mentor Texts.  Jen and Kellee had the brilliant idea to adapt this meme to talk about the great young adult and children’s literature that we are reading.  Head over to their blog for more great reads and a plethora of recommendations of great kidlit.

I had an excellent reading week filled with some amazing books and authors!!!!

Books I Finished this week:

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin is a FABULOUS book.  I was haunted by Mara’s story and cannot wait to read the sequel.  Luckily, I won’t have to wait long for this one.  Michelle Hodkin is coming to the West Allis Public Library tomorrow night and I will be purchasing these two books to be signed.  I am soooo excited for this!

I seem to have impeccable timing reading this book.  I got it at the Scholastic book fair last week and was super excited to read it.  The Eye of the Storm by Kate Messner is a book that explores a future in which huge storms have made vast areas of the United States zones in which nobody can live.  The main character is going to visit her dad who is a scientist studying these massive storms and trying to find a way to manipulate weather.  He has figured out a way to create “Stormsafe” zones and she is living in one for the summer.  The “Frankenstorm” out East is eerily similar to the massive storms described in this book…

If I Stay by Gayle Forman was a tough book to read, but was a beautiful story.  Mia has a perfect life with great prospects on the horizon.  She loves her family, has a great boyfriend, and is fairly certain she will be accepted into Julliard in the fall.  In one split second everything changes for her and it is up to her to decide if she will hang on and survive or if she will give up and die.  The book explores the idea of what might happen for people who are in comas or barely holding on to life.  It is chilling and uplifting and heartbreaking all at once.  I highly recommend this book to teens and adults.

The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler is a printz award finalist book and part of my reading for the nerdprintz challenge.  As you might imagine from the title, it is about a girl who is overweight and very self-conscious about it.  Her problems are further compounded by the fact that her entire family is skinny and gorgeous and that her mother pressures her to lose weight.  I really could identify with the young woman in this novel, as I am sure many other women coud also.  I enjoyed the story and felt uplifted by the way the protagonist really learns to be a strong person by the end of the book.

I have read and enjoyed Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko multiple times.  Last year it was one of my students’ favorite read alouds.  This is the sequel to that book and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.  I love the characters and I enjoyed finding out about how Moose and the others on Alcatraz continue on with their lives after Natalie goes to the Esther P. Marinoff school.

What My Mother Doesn’t Know By Sonya Sones is a novel in verse.  I was really happy when I saw this one at the public library sale because I had seen other teachers write about how this is one of their students’ favorites.  I really enjoyed reading it and I know that my girls will love the story and enjoy the novel in verse format.

Books I am Currently Reading:

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan is the most current installment of the Heroes of Olympus series.  I am interested to see how the books come together in this one.  I also am listening to the audiobook of Blood Red Road.  I am really enjoying this audiobook.  I love the narrator’s voice!  It is a great motivation trick to get me working out.

Up Next:

I will probably read The Evolution of Mara Dyer right after I buy it tomorrow.  I also will finally get to The Diviners this week hopefully.

Every week I participate in this meme hosted by the lovely ladies over at Teach Mentor Texts.  Jen and Kellee had the brilliant idea to adapt this meme to talk about the great young adult and children’s literature that we are reading.  Head over to their blog for more great reads and a plethora of recommendations of great kidlit.

Books I Finished This Week:

The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Steven Chbosky is the favorite book of one of my students, so I had to bring it up to the top of the pile.  I liked the book, but I am not really a fan of this type of realistic fiction which really just examines the inner workings of a teenager’s mind.  I am utterly perplexed about how they made this into a movie.  The impression I got was that the protagonist had some sort of autism or a developmental disorder.  The way other characters talked to him and the way that he spoke about some issues really had me thinking that he did not have the same way of viewing the world as many other people would have.  I understand why some people really like the book, but it really didn’t do much for me.

I LOVED this one.  I have a bit of a crush on Perry and I loved how Aria learned how to be a strong woman by the end.  This is one of my favorite Dystopian books this season.  I will be anxiously awaiting the next one which is set to come out in January.  Meanwhile, I will enjoy reading the novella that the author released which tells Roar and Liv’s story.  I highly recommend this one to everyone.

I had the good luck of being able to use some Scholastic Dollars at our book fair to add to my class library.  I spent a lot of that money on some great new graphic novels.

This is a great story.  I enjoyed reading it and I know my students will love it also.  I love the full color graphics and the way the character is developed in this story.

I love all of Rick Riordan’s books.  The Red Pyramid is an excellent and fun book.  I enjoyed reading this story for a second time through this format.  There was a lot of text in this graphic novel and it might be too much for some students, but it would be a great way to get them thinking about the books.

I was so excited to read this one.  My students LOVE Ghostopolis and Bad Island so I was sure this one would be excellent too.  I love the creative story…how creepy that the cardboard took over.  It was reminiscent of Gremlins…I wonder if that was done on purpose. Doug TenNapel does not disappoint with this one.  I can’t wait to share it with my students!

Books I am Currently Reading:

Blood Red Road by Moira Young is the audiobook I am currently listening to.  I have found myself much more motivated to get my workouts in now that I have a great book to listen to.  I love the narrator on this audiobook!

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer By Michelle Hodkin is so intriguing so far.  I get why I have heard so many great things about this one.  I can’t wait to meet this author in a couple of weeks in Milwaukee and to purchase the sequel which comes out this week.

Books up Next:

I will probably pick up If I Stay by Gayle Forman.  I also have The Mark of Athena and The Eye of the Storm to read from the book fair.  I also want to get to The Diviners soon.  I guess I will see how I feel this week!

Every week I participate in this meme hosted by the lovely ladies over at Teach Mentor Texts.  Jen and Kellee had the brilliant idea to adapt this meme to talk about the great young adult and children’s literature that we are reading.  Head over to their blog for more great reads and a plethora of recommendations of great kidlit.

This week I had a better reading week.  I think I might be actually figuring out the balance to my reading and schoolwork.  Now, I just have to find writing time and time to workout!

Books I finished this week:

On a recent splurge at Barnes and Noble, I ended up with this gem.  I had heard a lot of good things about The False Prince by Jennifer A Nielson and I was not disappointed!  I love the way this book twists and turns.  Sage is an orphan who has just been purchased away from the orphanage.  He finds out that Connor, the man who has him, is planning a great deception and will be relying on one of the three orphan boys he has to pull it off.  It is an adventure story about survival and doing the right thing.  I will look forward to the other books in the trilogy.  I would recommend this book for middle grades and up.

On the same trip to Barnes and Noble, I purchased The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.  I was especially curious about this one, because The Scorpio Races turned out to be one of my favorite books ever.  I did not feel the same about the Shiver trilogy, and was curious to see how this series would be.  There has been quite a bit of good buzz about The Raven Boys and I have to say I agree that this is a great book.  The book was different from what I thought it would be, but I really enjoyed the characters and the interesting plot twists.  The existence of psychic energy is a fascinating subject, whether or not you believe it is real.  What I loved about the book was the depth of the characters, and the mystery that surrounds them.  What I hate about reading a first book in a series when it first comes out is that now I have to wait soooo long to find out what happens next!  I know that my 8th graders will love this book, and I can’t wait to share it with them.

I borrowed One for the Murphys from the public library and then proceeded to avoid it. I have this issue with reading stories that I think will be sad…but I had to see what all the buzz was about.  I did need quite a few tissues while reading this one, but it wasn’t exactly from sadness.  This book is so touching and so full of raw emotions.  Every person who works with children should read it to learn about what might be happening in the mind of a child when they test you.  I loved that the Murphys provided Carley with a safe place that gave her hope for the kind of place she would like to have in the future.  I need to go buy a copy of this book for my class library, because I think a lot of kids will really connect to Carley and that will help them learn empathy.  I can see why this book is ending up on many mock Newbery lists.  It is a beautiful book and everyone should read it.

I FINALLY finished this book.  The book is jam-packed with excellent ideas for helping writers to understand what makes good writing and to revise to accomplish their goals.  It took me a while to finish the book because it is so full of ideas I got a little overwhelmed.  I will have to go back to it often to find the ideas that work for the stage we are in with writer’s workshop.  I really want to find Jeff Anderson’s other books now because I know they will be full of excellent ideas of how to teach grammar in a writing class.

Books I am Currently Reading:

I moved The Perks of Being a Wallflower to the top of my pile because one of my students LOVES this book.  She is a voracious reader and has read this one 5 times.  I had to find out what was so wonderful about this book.  So far, I really enjoy the voice of the narrator.

I also started Under the Never Sky on my Kindle.  I love those daily deals (my wallet does not love them)!

I started listening to Wake by Lisa McMann, but I think I will stop and look for the book.  The person reading the book sounds really young to me and the voice is annoying.

Books on the Horizon:

I have Mal and Chad: Food Fight from the library.  I will also read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer in anticipation of a visit to a local library from Michelle Hodkin on Oct. 30th.  This week is parent conference week so that may be it for me, but if I do have time I will also read If I Stay by Gayle Forman or The Diviners by Libba Bray.

I borrowed the Blood Red Road audiobook from the library so I am excited to start listening to that during my workouts this week.  Maybe it will be the motivation I need to get the workouts in!

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind.  I am still working on balancing home and school and finding time for reading and writing.  During the last two weeks I read quite a few graphic novels.  I have been feeling overwhelmed with too many books to read and to little time in which to read them.

One highlight of the last week was going to see Libba Bray speak at the library.  It was so much fun–the book store provided live jazz musicians and there was a costume contest as well.  Of course, I also bought a few books which added to the to read pile…

Books I Finished in the last two weeks:

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa was a fun book.  I really enjoyed the character Grimalkin.  The adventure through the fairy realm was full of surprises and I am very interested to read the rest of the series.  I love those Amazon Kindle deals!  I would recommend this book to students in middle school and up.

Joe Bright and the Seven Genre Dudes by Jackie Mims Hopkins is a great book for reviewing genres with students.  I love fractured fairy tales!



                                   

Last, but certainly not least, was Going Bovine by Libba Bray.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading this fantastical adventure.  I loved the references to Don Quixote.  This book definitely deserved the Printz award!

Books I am Currently Reading:

The False Prince by Jennifer A Nielsen

Books up Next:

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, The Raven Boys, The Diviners

This summer I began following many teachers and fellow book bloggers.  I was so intrigued by all the talk about the book Wonder that I had to go out and find it to read.  Reading this book was an amazing experience: I laughed, I cried, and I spent time thinking about how to best use this amazing resource with my students.

My wedding with all the siblings.

Enjoying a Brewers game together.

When we moved in with him, it was very difficult at first.  My mother, my sister, and I were not used to being stared at everywhere we went.  We had to learn how to be the people that were the center of attention in every public place.  We had to learn to ignore the stares and the whispers.  At first, I was angry all the time, just like Via is in the book Wonder. Then, I learned to ignore the stares and I just enjoyed being around such a great guy.  

The book Wonder treats this issue in a wonderful and real way.  I connected in such a powerful way with the family, and I knew that I needed to share this book with my class.  I loved how Auggie was so matter-of-fact about how his life has been.  It is so important to me to help my students learn empathy for people who are different so that they can go out in the world and advocate for kindness.  Auggie’s voice is so honest that a reader can’t help imagining what it would be like to be in his shoes.  

Jeff and my stepdad at Christmas

This school year I am reading Wonder aloud to my 8th grade class.  We started at the beginning of the school year and have just begun Part II.  I was reminded today of how much I connect with Via’s character as we started the section that is written from her point of view.  My students have shown incredible depth in their responses so far and I heard an audible, collective gasp when I read about Halloween.  (If you haven’t read the book, you need to read it and then you will know what I mean)

I will have my students take the pledge to choose kind during the month of October for National Bullying Prevention Month.  This is such an important issue and I love that I have a good piece of literature to help bring up some important but difficult topics.  I am using ideas from the teacher resource guide provided as response ideas. I am asking my students to connect to the book in their own personal ways and I will share my connections to the characters and my experiences of being in a family that got stared at everywhere we went.

If you are interested in taking the pledge to Choose Kind or to find out more about this WONDERful book, visit the tumblr page by clicking on the logo.  

Enjoying some live music.  Jeff loves when we sing and when my husband plays guitar.

This is a weekly meme that gives bloggers an opportunity to share the books they have been reading.  This one is hosted by Jen and Kellee over at TeachMentorTexts.  Head on over to get more ideas of great books to read.

Books I read this week:

Mike Lupica’s Hero was a really fun read.  I could really understand how confused Zach was about the role he was learning about and about who to trust.  It would be very disconcerting to find out that your dad had been a superhero and that you were destined to continue the fight against the “bads.”  I think all kids grade 4 and up could relate to this kid and his extraordinary situation. 

I have been waiting for Tiger’s Destiny by Colleen Houck for what seems like eons.  The third book in the saga had a ginormous cliffhanger at the end and then readers had to wait to find out what would happen.  I have really enjoyed reading this series.  I love the premise of the Tiger’s curse and the girl who can help the tigers get free from it.  Kelsey is maddeningly unsure of herself and there were a few times throughout the saga that I was ready to throw the book across the room because I was so frustrated with her stubbornness.  I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect way to end the story than what was in this book.  I don’t usually like epilogues that tie up loose ends, but in this case I was happy to have the happy ending.  I highly recommend the series!!!  (I even went to buy this one in hardcover because I just couldn’t wait for it at my library…that does not happen very often)

I enjoyed reading Amulet and will be looking for the rest to add to my class library.  I can see why so many kids enjoy the story.

Books I am Currently Reading:

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa surprised me by having a protagonist that is a normal teenager to begin with.  I thought the story would start out in the fairy realm, but I am liking having the perspective of a protagonist who does not have a clue about what is going on.  It makes the book more suspenseful.  I can’t wait to see if Meghan is able to save her brother from the winter court.

Books up Next:

I will probably read Between Shades of Gray this week and then it is a toss up about what book I choose from my pile. 

This is a weekly meme to celebrate what we are reading.  Head over to Jen and Kellee’s blog www.teachmentortexts.com to get more great ideas of what to read.

I am still working on getting back my reading rhythm.  During the first few weeks of school planning for class takes more because we are working on setting up routines and procedures for the whole school year.

Books I finished this week:

I picked up Trance by Linda Gerber because I was intrigued by the cover.  Then, when I started to read it, I looked closer and realized this is the same author as the Death by Denim mystery series.  I really enjoyed those books and I really enjoyed this one.  In this book, Ashlyn and her sister have always had trances that seem to tell them when something bad is going to happen.  Ashlyn did not listen to her sister the last time she had a trance and she got in a car accident in which their mother died.  Ashlyn is coping with the guilt of having been the driver in that accident and has just gone back to school and work when her trances start again.  This time they come more frequently and she is sure she needs to solve the mystery to prevent another tragedy.  I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to students in middle school and older.

Waiting for Normal by Linda Connor is a book that I have been meaning to read for awhile.  When it came up in a student’s letter to me as being her favorite book, it moved up in the to read list.  Then I was lucky enough to spot it in a new collection of books purchased for our school.  I loved this book.  It paints a picture about how the laws of guardianship and adoption sometimes work out poorly for children.  Addie is living with her mother who does not take care of things and seems to be addicted to the internet.  Addie does not want her mother to get in trouble, but she is often left alone to fend for herself and does not like that life.  She hopes one day to get a normal life.  I was rooting for Addie throughout this book and I loved the other adults in her life who worked hard to make things right for her.  This is an amazing book and I would recommend it to anyone grade 5 and up.

I finally finished the audiobook for Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.  I like the story and whoa what a twist.  I will definitely have to look for the second one when it comes out.  I know that my students will enjoy this book so I will have to look for a copy to add to my library.

Books I am Currently Reading:

Books on the Horizon:

This is a weekly meme hosted by Jen and Kellee at www.teachmentortexts.com.  Head over to their blog for more links to great blogs with a lot of great titles.

Okay, it’s the first week of school and my reading rhythm has almost stalled completely.  I will catch up soon, but having a good start to the year takes precedence right now.  I also am going to need to carve out time for writing every day as I am making that commitment to my students as well.

The best part of my reading week this week was pairing each and every student in my class with a book that they are excited to read.  Can’t wait to do more booktalks to get them thinking about others they would like to read.  I also started reading aloud Wonder by RJ Palacio.  I can’t wait to have the discussions with my students that I know will come from this excellent book.

I am also excited to share Goodreads with my class.  They all signed up for an account and had fun exploring and rating books.  This week I will show them how to add books to their lists and track progress on the book they are currently reading.  I have created a private group for us so I will be exploring to see what I can do with that as well.

Books I Finished:

Books To Read This Week: