Classroom Instruction that Works 2nd edi

This book is written by a team of authors: Ceri Dean, Elizabeth Hubbell, Howad Pitler, Bj Stone, and builds on the earlier work of the same title by Robert Marzano. I'm not sure if I mentioned him in my last class, and if I didn't, shame on me! Marzano is another one of the gurus you teachers should know. If you are interested in any of his work, he "resides" on the cart in my "office" DMH 218. Email me if you want to get in. Years ago, I attended a professional development workshop given by one of his cohorts. During the workshop, she quoted his research on the importance of teaching kids similarities and differences. There is all kinds of research that supports this importance and how it raises student scores...This book is not thick, but it has an entire chapter devoted to teaching similarities and differences!It was a freebie from ASCD, and is published by McRel (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning). You are welcome to borrow it from me.The book focuses on 9 strategies that have the most positive effect on student learning: 1)Setting objectives and providing feedback, 2) Reinforcing effort and providing recognition, 3)cooperative learning, 4) Cues, questions, and advance notifiers, 5) Nonlinguistic representations, 6)Summarizing and note taking, 7) Assigning homework and providing practice, 8)Identifying similarities and difference,and 9) Generating and testing hypotheses. You should probably This is one you should have!

The Berlin Boxing Club (398 pages)

Robert Sharenow (don't you love his last name?) has truly "shared" an outstanding YA read about the Holocaust. Now, I am NOT a boxing fan. I dislike it even more than football! But, as with Robert Lipsyte's book, The Contender, this isn't really about boxing. It's a book about coming of age, about self image, about family love, and I think it is a book that should replace many of Holocaust books that have been over-taught for years. It is my new favorite YA book! It is perfect for 7->12th grades. Please, do me a favor and get back to me after you've read it! Or add to this post....if it's possible. What do I know about Blogs????

The Fault In Our Stars (313 Pages)

John Green may be familiar to you as the author of Looking for Alaska. Although I didn't really care for that book(I know it won all kinds of awards, so what do I know?) this book I adored, and your students will also. I laughed, I cried, and the characters feelings became my feelings. It's just a wonderful read. I'm not going to say another word.

The Future of Us (356 Pages)

Jay Asher ( author of Thirteen Reasons Why) co-authored this book with Carolyn Mackler (author of The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things). The book offers one chapter in Josh's voice and the next in Emma's voice. Josh and Emma have lived next to each other for years. They have been best friends, until Josh perceived the relationship to be more, and Emma was shocked at the thought. "You're...Josh!" she said. And he felt shunned and embarrassed. He stays away from Emma until one day his mother sends him next door with an America On Line CD that offers 30 free hours of free web time, including email. Emma loads it on to the new computer her father has sent her, only to be amazed that it shows her life 15 years into the future! She calls Josh over and the same thing happens when he joins the service. How they live their lives making changes or not that effect their future is what the story is all about. It's a good read.

Brain Jack (347 pages)

Brian Falkner has written a book that will be a winner for any boys or girls who are "techies." It takes place in the future, after the United States has suffered from a nuclear blast that wiped out Las Vegas. The plot ranges from cyber stealing, to national terrorism. This book involves the character's using a futuristic cap that allows them to operate a computer without a keyboard, just by thinking what they want the computer to do. It's cool. And I'm definitely not a techie! Falkner is from New Zealand and this is the first of his books that I've read, but it definite;y won't be the last!

The Rag and Bone Shop (154 Pages)

Robert Cormier died just before The Rag and Bone Shop was published. It is not a new book, is a very short book, and it is not a difficult read. However, I think it is a very important book for students to read and discuss. Most kids think that if they are accused of something they didn't do, nobody could make them admit to having done it! This is a book that says otherwise. For this reason alone, students need to know that they should never answer any questions without a parent or lawyer present, no matter how innocent they may be. The interesting thing about this book, published in 2001, is that three years later, in 2004, I was in Virginia visiting family, and happened to pick up a local paper. There was a story that absolutely mirrors this short novel. I have the article, and if any of you want it, email me your address and I'll send it to you. It will scare the....out of your students. But sometimes it's good to be scared, if it protects you from potential harm! BTW, if you are considering this book, I'd get a copy asap before it goes out of print!

The Always War (197 Pages)

If you're not familiar with Margaret Peterson Haddix, and if you are a middle school teacher, this is an opportunity to meet this wonderful author. I first read her book Among the Hidden (the first in the series The Shadow Children) and I was hooked. The premise for that series is that government has passed a law allowing parents to only have one child. (Sound familiar?) This is a story of a family that has a second child and does not destroy him, but hides him. It is a good read, and very appropriate for middle schoolers OR for high school kids who have not been hooked into reading! If they read the first book, they will probably be hooked to read the others. But enough of that. Haddix often writes in the "what if ?" genre. (I made it up, but it has become one of my favorites) "What if? examples would be stories like "What if all the birds in the world turned against humans for caging them and furiously attacked? This latest Haddix book is short, but the "What if?" may not be such a stretch of the imagination, unfortunately, to your students. What if all you have ever known was war? What if all your parents and grandparents had ever known was war. Now here comes the twist. What if there really was no war, and there had not been a war for a LONG time? It's a good read.

Crossed (367 Pages)

This is Ally Condie's sequel to Matched, and it will not disappoint the reader who enjoyed the first book. Once again dystopian society and a continuation of characters Cassia and Ky, the story is told from both characters' points of view. Even Xander enters the plot with a few surprises of his own! Cassia is determined to make her way to Ky, for whom she has deep feelings of love. But she was supposed to be matched with Xander, the boy she grew up with, the boy who knows her, the boy she knows and loves...Many of your students will be interested in Cassia's decisions in this sequel, and there can be some lively discussion. So now we have a 2 book series for dystopian book clubs with at least 3 different series. Hmmm, how to handle that?

The Adoration of Jenna Fox (265 pages)

Mary Pearson has written a book that will have your students talking/arguing about any number of issues brought up in this plot. Here is the story of Jenna Fox, a young girl who parents are intelligent people, her father a scientist connected to a university. The question is this; just how far will parents go to protect their children? Waking up from what she is told has been a coma lasting for one year, Jenna remembers nothing. She has been given pictures, home movies and although they spark something- it isn't really enough to bring everything back. Why won't anyone talk to her about the accident? And then one day, she cuts herself accidentally, but it is a deep cut and it is a cut that answers all those questions and brings up more....The book has some discussion questions at the end as well as questions for the author. This book would pair very nicely with Jody Picolt's My Sister's Keeper.

Wonder Struck (617 pages)

Don't panic! Although this book is hefty in length, at least half of it is composed of marvelous pencil drawings. Brian Selznick has created a novel following the same format that he used in his first, award winning book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. This has recently been made into a movie. Hugo is the story of a young boy who lives with his dad behind a large clock in the Paris train station. When his dad dies, Hugo carries on the work trying to figure out an invention his dad had started. The drawings are incredible, and many of your students may have already read this National Book Award winner. Where Hugo was set in Paris in the last century, Wonder Struck is set in the good old USA. However, the book is really 2 independent stories, each set 50 years apart. Two children (Ben and Rose) are both on a journey to find something important to them. After his mother's accidental death, Ben looks for the father he has never known. Rose looks for an actress she has been chronicling in a scrap book. Once again, the art work is amazing and reminds me of Chris Van Allsburg books which are also illustrated in pencil. I read 1/2 the book in one evening. It will not cause headaches to any of your students.

Miss Perrigrine's Home For Peculiar Children (348 pages)

This novel mixes fiction and photography, and author Ransom Riggs (yep, that's his name; can you believe it?!) has created a plot that brings World War II and today into one time warp. Jacob's grandfather always told him stories. Peculiar stories. Stories Jacob wasn't sure he believed, in spite of his grandfather's insistence that they were true. Then his grandfather dies quite mysteriously. Jacob got a glimpse of the killer, but no one believes him, and he is sent to a child psychiatrist. As many other bright children have done, he eventually plays the game, telling the doctor what he thinks the doctor wants to hear. It turns out that Jacob's grandfather was sent from Poland by his parents in order to escape the Nazi regime. People he didn't know hustled him across Europe to Wales where he ended up in Miss Peregrine's home. I can't begin to tell you the mystery that develops, or how Jacob ended up going to Wales with his father (who was a little peculiar himself- if you ask me-) and how once in Wales he begins to uncover his grandfather's stories which were really not so peculiar after all! You will adore the photographs and the story just transport you into another time and another place. Have fun with this one.

You Against Me (413 pages)

Jenny Downham (the author of the outstanding book Before I Die) has written a book that was not at all what I expected. I loved her first book, but thought this was going to be a book about teen sex. Yuch. It isn't. Mikey's sister has been assaulted. They are part of a poor family, and the boy who assaulted her is from a very prominent, wealthy family. Mikey wants revenge, and he sets out with his buddy to get it. And when he goes to the mansion where a welcome home party is being held for the boy who committed the assault on his sister, he meets the boy's sister, Ellie. They become friends, and eventually more than that. Mikey cares deeply for Ellie, but he also loves his sister and sees what an emotional impact this has had on her. The book is about loyalty, love, and having the courage to stand up for what is right. It's a winner!

elsewhere (276 pages)

Gabrielle Zevin has written an absolutely wonderful book, in every sense of the word. But why would I especially want to read a book that deals with death? For those of you who have not been in touch with me lately, let me give you some background information. Last year was ghastly. In January, my beloved grandson, Kyle, died unexpectedly. Although only 8 years old, he was a big part of my life and I was devastated. Six months later, my beloved husband, Ed, died two months after being diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Then in October, we received news that my sister has terminal cancer. Good Lord, I sound like a contestant on the old T.V. show Queen for a Day! But enough. Let me tell you about Elsewhere! It is the story of a 15 year old who is hit by a car, and who dies. She goes elsewhere....heaven? Not sure, but it is elsewhere. There she meets her grandmother who died before she was born. She meets many other people too, and they all become part of her coming of age! Coming of age? But she's dead. Ah, yes, but in elsewhere people age backwards, and then return to a new life wherever. What Liz learns in Elsewhere is more than she could have ever learned when she was alive. Believe me, your students will enjoy this book. There is much to discuss and write about whether it be knowing who we are, or knowing what we expect of others, or what it mens to do something meaningful. I think you'll enjoy it. I know it isn't true. I know I'm probably searching for comfort, but that is what I found reading this book- if for a little while: what if????

Divergent (487 pages)

Veronica Roth is a new author to me, but this book will be of interest to any of you who enjoyed The Hunger Games....I write that with some hesitation, as this book is similar, and will be a series, yet it is definitely different from the Hunger Games. There is much good about it, but I was a little concerned about the ending. That may be the link to the next book in the series; we'll see. It is a book set way into the future in Dystopian Chicago. Those of you who are familiar with Chicago will relate well to the text as you recognize Chicago "sites". Beatrice is a young girl who has lived with her mother, father, and older brother in what seems like a fairly normal nuclear family. The society has a tradition of requiring adolescents to choose the "path" they wish to follow. This path is either to stay where they are or go to a different faction. each faction has a its own "virtue." Both Beatrice and her brother choose not to stay with their faction. The plot includes more than enough exciting moments of fights, frightening tests of mental and physical endurance, and testing of loyalty. It's a keeper. This is a book that could be added to the possibility of a book club with a theme of dystopian reading.

Stay With Me (228 pages)

Paul Griffin, the author of this book may be familiar to you as the author of Ten Mile River. Once again, he writes about kids that are on the fringes of society; all facing some problem, often lack of money, lack of parenting, etc. In this book he tells us the story of two adolescents who fall in love, as adolescents are wont to do. Cece is a young girl, a little over-weight, who works as a waitress in a local restaurant. Mack, is a young man who has already had a run in with the law and has spent time in jail We learn that Mack has a learning disability- possibly A.D.D, and definitely has anger management issues. However, he is the original "dog whisperer." Mack is able to tame any dog making the animal comply with his commands. Mack has secured a job as dish washer in the same restaurant where Cece works. As their relationship develops Cece goes from not trusting Mack to believing that he'd never do anything to hurt her or the people she cares about. Then her brother goes off to training for combat in the army. He has done his best to get Cece to accept Mack because he believes Mack is a good guy. Cece idolizes her brother, so she allows herself to fall for Mack. Mack's dad is an alcoholic, and often not home, or when he is there, he's out of it. A man who lives in their building has threatened Mack's dog on several occasions. What he does to the dog, and Mack's reaction to this action reverses the road the book was taking. It is an amazing ending that will open up many opportunities for discussion or response with your students. It would make a GREAT book for a Book Club read.