Selecting the last read aloud of a school year is so darn hard! In this video I share how I selected our final read aloud, the title, and why I picked it.
I don’t read a ton of young adult fiction, so I am super selective of the titles that I read. I’m really glad that I decided to read Cynthia Leitich Smith’s Hearts Unbroken. It is an amazing 2018 young adult novel that readers are going to love.
When Louise Wolfe’s first real boyfriend mocks and disrespects Native people in front of her, she breaks things off and dumps him over e-mail. It’s her senior year, anyway, and she’d rather spend her time with her family and friends and working on the school newspaper. The editors pair her up with Joey Kairouz, the ambitious new photojournalist, and in no time the paper’s staff find themselves with a major story to cover: the school musical director’s inclusive approach to casting The Wizard of Oz has been provoking backlash in their mostly white, middle-class Kansas town. From the newly formed Parents Against Revisionist Theater to anonymous threats, long-held prejudices are being laid bare and hostilities are spreading against teachers, parents, and students — especially the cast members at the center of the controversy, including Lou’s little brother, who’s playing the Tin Man. As tensions mount at school, so does a romance between Lou and Joey — but as she’s learned, “dating while Native” can be difficult. In trying to protect her own heart, will Lou break Joey’s?
I had an opportunity to buy some things for my classroom. Teachers don’t often have money to buy things for their classroom, so we always agonize over how to spend any money that we do have.
A lot of people share pictures/videos of what their classroom looks like at the start of the year. I thought it might be fun to share what is looks like with just 3 weeks left. It is messy. It is dirty. It is wild. It is awesome.
Barbara O’Connor is back with another unforgettable middle grade novel. Readers are going to fall madly in love with the the characters in Wonderland. I cannot wait to share this book with my fifth graders.
Book description (from the publisher):
From Barbara O’Connor, the beloved author of Wish, comes a big-hearted story about the meaning of friendship, the challenges of growing up, and one lovable runaway dog.
Mavis Jeeter is fearless and bold, but she has never lived in one place long enough to have a real best friend. Her flighty mother has uprooted them again to another new home and taken a job as a housekeeper for the Tully family. Mavis wants this home to be permanent–which means finding herself a best friend.
Rose Tully is a worrier who feels like she doesn’t quite fit in with the other girls in her neighborhood. Her closest friend is Mr. Duffy, but he hasn’t been himself since his dog died. Rose may have to break a few of her mother’s many rules to help Mr. Duffy–and find someone who really understands her.
Henry has run away from home, but he craves kindness and comfort–and doesn’t know where to look for them.
When Mavis and Rose hatch a scheme to find Mr. Duffy a new dog, their lives and Henry’s intersect–and they all come to find friendship in places they never expected.
I had a blast participating in the Teachers Love Teachers Gift Exchange. The teacher YouTube community is amazing. Kate the Sleepy Teacher did an awesome job wrangling a bunch of teachers, and making sure we all took care of business.
I had a blast trying a YouTube teacher tag video. Thank you to Darin Darin Nakakihara for suggesting people try it. Check out Darin’s video.
Here are the questions I answer in the video!
1. What grade do you teach and how long have you taught that grade?
2. What adjective best describes you as a teacher? And why?
3. If your life as a teacher was made into a movie, what movie star would play you?
4. Think of a lesson from this year that you’re especially proud of. What made it so special?
5. Tell us about a student that you think you’ll likely remember forever.
6. At this point in the year, how do you feel about the teaching profession?
7. How do you keep your job fun and engaging (no matter how long you’ve been teaching)
8. What has surprised you the most since the school year started?
9. Social Media – Who are your favorite teacher tubers? Teachergramers? TeacherTweeters?
10. Who would your dream teacher collaboration be with?
11. What is the last thing you took a picture of? Show us.
12. Sing the last song you listened to?
13. Complete this sentence. If I weren’t a teacher, I’d be……
14. Who is your teaching hero? Tell them one thing that you really appreciate about them.
Jess Keating’s The World of Weird Animals series is amazing! The latest book in the series, Cute as an Axolotl is sure to be hit with young readers.
Book description (from the publisher):
The Internet pretty much runs on cute animal photos, but “cute” is so much more than clickbait kittens and insta-pups. Cute is for feathery-gilled axolotls (pronounced: ax-uh-LOT-ulz), shy pygmy hippos, poisonous blue dragons, and armored pangolins. All of these animals are cute, but they’ve also adapted remarkable ways to survive in their unique environments.
With her signature blend of humor and zoological know-how, Pink Is for Blobfish author Jess Keating shows how cute animals can be more than just a pretty face in this latest installment of the World of Weird Animals.
I love taking a closer look at the books my students are reading. In this video I share the book each one of my students is currently reading. It is pretty wild to think about how their reading preferences has changed during the school year. I sure am going to miss these kids when they head to the middle school.
I’m always fascinated by how people grow as educators. In today’s video I talk about the coaching model that Battle Creek Lakeview had in place when I was a teacher there. Having a coach was the single most important thing in my development as a teacher.
