Middle School Reading

Sixth grade students read Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli and The Cay by Theodore Taylor. The students have been busily working in our maker space to create a physical representation of something meaningful to them from the reading.

Students worked as individuals, pairs, or in small groups depending on what they wanted to represent. Students are also presenting their creations, including specific quotations from the book that relate to their symbol. This process required further analysis of the text beyond simply reading, encouraging students to think deeply about word choice and meaning.

Below is a brief slideshow of images from the design process.


Two-Sentence Reviews:
Stargirl: Mica High is very normal, full of very normal students - until Stargirl appears on the scene. Will Leo choose Stargirl and individuality, or fitting in with the crowd? (4 out of 5 stars)
The Cay: A white boy and an old black man are stranded on a small island after a shipwreck. The two must get along to survive.

Toms River

Don Fagin's Pulitzer prize winning work on Toms River is eye-opening for the reader. This book caught my eye recently when a new order of non-fiction was delivered to the library. The reason it was so alluring? First, the name of the town (and title) stand out on the cover and spine in a prominent white font. Secondly, my parents lived in Toms River during the 1970s and 1980s, where one of my older brothers was born. An award-winning book with a personal connection made Toms River a must read for me.

The modern day story begins in the 1950s, when a chemical plant is constructed in Toms River, New Jersey. The journey continues through to the present, where there is no clear conclusion, as the story continues in other locations (mainly China). Interspersed with the current happenings of Toms River is a detailed history of chemical manufacturing, environmental regulation, and the development of epidemiology. The chemical plant is not the only cause for concern, as other illegal dumps and shady deals happen in this normally sleepy coastal town.

Toms River was an excellently crafted story clearly deserving of the Pulitzer Prize. Fagin was masterful at weaving the history and modern events together to create one unified story. The cast of characters was dizzying, and the details throughout the years were numerous, yet Fagin's writing spurred me to keep reading. A bit technical at times, this was not a quick read. I would recommend Toms River to readers interested in non-fiction, especially history or science.

If you want a second opinion on the book, Abigail Zuger, M.D., of the New York Times wrote a review of Toms River entitled "On the Trail of Cancer".

Read Newbery Challenge

In the Design Den this week, an Upper School English class is creating symbols from their reading of Siddhartha. This picture shows some brainstorm sketches on the IdeaPaint whiteboard walls. It is great to have entire walls dedicated to brainstorming, sketching, and creating! I may write a dedicated post later on this project with more details, but wanted to include a brief update for now.

Later on in the week Middle School Geometry will be creating cardboard shapes using the laser cutter and Microsoft Publisher. It will be interesting to see what students create.

In addition to the Design Den projects going on, this week I had the pleasure of giving a brief presentation to the 6th grade reading classes at my school on the Read Newbery Challenge. The students are participating in a class-wide Newbery challenge, where each student must read at least three books from the Newbery winner or Newbery honor lists. I talked with them about my Read Newbery challenge, where I read all 93 (at the time) winners, in order, then blogged about each one. I also made a settings map. The blog and map are linked on my Google Slides presentation.

Haikus

I am trying to make a dent in my "to read" pile of library books. I feel somewhat guilty keeping these books to myself - if the books are on my shelf, no one else has the opportunity to read them. I decided one way to make myself feel better was to get the children's novels out of the way, since I knew that I could complete them quickly.

Each of these books took about an hour to read - Olive's Ocean maybe an hour and a half. All were enjoyable, but my favorite of the three was Lois Lowry's The Willoughby's. I am not surprised, one of her Newbery winning novels, The Giver, is one of my all time favorite books to read.

To add some variety, rather than writing a traditional review or synopsis, I decided to get out of my comfort zone and write a haiku poem for each one. Please excuse the quality, I do not think I have written a haiku poem since I learned about them in fifth grade English.

Olive's Ocean

Girl learns to grow up

at her Grandma's ocean house.

Getting old is hard.

The Willoughby's

Lois Lowry - win!

Absurd, clever, so funny.

Maybe happy end?

The Magician's Elephant

Two orphans, alone.

Elephant! Alone, no more.

Magic makes it real.

The Magicians Trilogy

I first read The Magicians and The Magician King in 2012, when I discovered the then incomplete trilogy in our school library. As a huge Harry Potter series and fantasy genre fan, I was thrilled to find a "grown-up" magicians world in which to immerse myself. Lev Grossman relies heavily on classic and popular fantasy writers, yet masterfully creates his own unique world. This fall, I was happy to re-read the first two books in preparation for reading the final installment of the trilogy, The Magician's Land.  

In the trilogy, Grossman explores how flawed human beings would react when presented with the dangerous yet powerful potential of magic. Grossman's world is dark and filled with dynamic, flawed characters that make the reader want to root for them - in spite of their many, major mistakes. From college to adult life, Quentin Coldwater and his classmates learn about magic, then learn about how to live with magic. The answer is not always easy, but the journey is life-changing. 

Highly recommended read for any C.S. Lewis, Harry Potter, or other high fantasy fans!

Notable quotes from The Magician King

And she had those things that one likes about magicians: she was disgustingly bright and rather sad and slightly askew. (32)

The beginning, the laying down of the fundamentals, was always the worst part, which he supposed was why so few people did it. That was the thing about the world: it wasn't that things were harder than you thought they were going to be, it was that they were hard in ways that you didn't expect. (97-98)

Genuinely social people never ceased to amaze him. Their brains seemed to generate an inexhaustible fund of things to say, naturally, with no effort, out of nothing at all. (206)

Magic: it was what happened when the mind met the world, and the mind won for a change. (232)

We can't all be heroes. Then who would the heroes fight? It's a matter of numbers really. Just work out the sums. (265)

Everything was chance and nothing was perfect and magic didn't make you happy, and Quentin had learned to live with it, which it turned out most people he knew were already doing anyway, and it was time he caught up with them. But you didn't forget that kind of happiness. Something that bright leaves a permanent afterimage on your brain. (291)

They were fixing the world. But Quentin preferred it broken. He wondered how long it would take. Years, maybe - maybe he could go home and not think about it and it would all happen after he was dead. But he wasn't getting that impression. Quentin wondered what he would do if magic went away. He didn't know how he would live in that world. Most people wouldn't even notice the change, of course, but if you knew about it, knew what you'd lost, it would eat away at you (...) Everything would simply be what it was and nothing else. All there would be was what you could see. What you felt and thought, all the longing and desire in your heart and mind, would count for nothing. With magic you could make those feelings real. They could change the world. Without it they would be stuck inside you forever, figments of your own imagination. (304-305)

Why should the gods be the only ones who got magic? They didn't appreciate it. They didn't even enjoy it. It didn't make them happy. It was theirs, but they didn't love it, not the way he, Quentin, loved it. The gods were great, but what good was greatness if you didn't love? (305)

Fangirl

Another win for Rainbow Rowell. Her books all read differently - mostly realistic fiction, with some fantasy peppered in - but different styles make each book unique.

Fangirl is about Cath, a fan-fiction writer, becoming an adult during her first year in college. She encounters hardships - boys, difficult classes, fighting with her twin sister Wren, a roommate - but through it all, still writes in Gemma T. Leslie's alternate world of magic and mystery.

The Simon Snow series reminds readers of Harry Potter, both in the subject of magic and huge popularity among youth. The experiences Cath has dealing with loving a children's series and yet growing up are experiences I can relate to as a huge Harry Potter fan.

Cath is a quirky but fun protagonist that has a strong cast of supporting characters in her world. Even the villains of Cath's world are interesting additions to the story, providing challenges for Cath to overcome and grow as a person.

You won't be disappointed in Fangirl if you love fan-fiction, quirky romances, nerds, and Rainbow Rowell's writing!

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Ready Player One is a debut novel by Ernest Cline, published in 2011. His second novel, Armada, came out this summer. A film version of Ready Player One is in the works, produced by Steven Spielberg. The difficulty lies in obtaining rights to the myriad of 80's pop culture references - music, movies, video games, and entire literary worlds are experience in the global virtual reality environment called the OASIS.

This book was an absolute pleasure to read. Even though I did not grow up in the 80's, the references were so well described that it did not matter. I enjoyed experiencing virtual worlds with the unlikely protagonist, Parzival/Wade3/Wade Watts, a poor kid from the mid-west.

If Willy Wonka was the creator of a global virtual reality in a dystopian future, that would be Ready Player One. Read it if you grew up in the 80's, if you love video games, dystopian fiction, virtual reality, or are a nerd of any kind.

Smart Girls in the 21st Century: Understanding Talented Girls and Women

Smart Girls in the 21st Century: Understanding Talented Girls and Women
Barbara A. Kerr & Robyn McKay

The book resonated with me not because of its useful advice, but more for its validation of what it means to be a smart girl. My copy has many highlights and notes, below is a selection of quotes I found interesting or meaningful.

Notable Quotes
"One of the most important messages that we can communicate to smart women is that some portion of society will condemn you no matter what choice you make - so you might as well "lean in" to your most beloved vocation and demand support for your choice to work toward your full intellectual potential as well as toward your dream of family." (23)

"What has suffered most in the lives of today's children, according to many social scientists, is play. Over-scheduled  middle class children seldom have time to develop their own ways of playing and relaxing when they have to attend every possible athletic and performance event." (41)

"When we discuss Millennial smart girls, we need to be sensitive to the fact, that more than any other generation, they want to find a way to accomplish their dreams and have a happy family life." (43)

"(...) smart girls should be prepared to optimize their chances for innovative contributions that transform their fields of expertise." (49)

"A role model in the flesh provides more than an inspiration; his or her very existence is confirmation of possibilities one may have every reason to doubt, saying, 'Yes, someone like me can do this.'" (79)

"It is likely that your smart little girl may go through the princess stage - not because she is "biologically programmed" to do so as a female but because she is developmentally wired to defend what she perceives as her gender (...) Help her to see the distinction between princess as a play identity and princess as the end goal in life." (116)

"Be clear that she can be beautiful and strong at the same time, but that when she has to make a choice, strong is better." (117)

"The research is clear about this: Teachers who have had some training in gifted education are much more positive about gifted children and actively try to use the information they have to help make their teaching of smart kids more effective." (124)

"When girls are given too much guidance, too many directions for how to play, and too many rules for what to do when playing alone, they may never develop a sense of inner freedom and playfulness of spirit." (138)

"One of the strengths of gifted girls seems to be the ability to have adventures while taking calculated risks. And usually their calculations turn out well." (144)

"In many ways, computer science and coding for software and the new "math filter" that filter young women out of opportunities for highly paid and highly desirable occupations." (152)

"(...) with confidence and help from others, a failure is an opportunity to learn and to improve." (174)

"For many gifted women, however, there is a disconnect between their actual ability and their confidence in their ability to achieve their goals." (176)

"She offered a strategic plan, which included this advice: (...) "Never know when you're out of milk." (...) Don't put yourself in charge of keeping the inventory of food, the schedule of social events, or the list of chores that need to be done. Even if a partner is helping out with 50% of the actual tasks, being the only person who must be the task-master and keeper of domestic information is stressful. It puts the woman in the position of being the "default mode" for domestic tasks; if she knows what needs to be done and when it needs to be done, it is too often just easier to do it herself." (205)

"Girls need to have faith in their intelligence as a foundation for further learning, as well as the desire to persist in challenging the boundaries of their abilities." (269)

"Bright women deserve the chance not only to achieve what men have been able to achieve throughout time but also the chance to search for meaning and ultimate truths - the chance to be fully human." (277)

"Those young women who challenge traditional gender roles, who expect equity in their relationships, and who expect support for domestic tasks and family life from their partner are more likely to fulfill their career and achievement goals." (285)

"Smart women need to learn how to plan for fortunate happenstance, so that they will be there when the opportunities emerge." (287)

Reading List

• College at 13: Young, Gifted, and Purposeful, Razel Solow & Celeste Rhodes
• Failing at Fairness: How Our Schools Cheat Girls, Myra Sadker
• The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan
• Get to Work: A Mainfesto for Women of the World, Linda Hirshman
• Gifted Children: Their Nature and Nurture, Leta Hollingworth
• The Lolita Effect: The Media Sexualization of Young Girls and What We Can Do About It, Meenakshi Durham
• Opting Out? Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home, Pamela Stone
• Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing Our Daughters from Maketers' Schemes, Sharon Lamb & Lyn Mikel Brown
• The Rise of the Creative Class, Richard Florida
• Some of My Best Friends Are Books: Guiding Gifted Readers, Judith Halstead
• Ungifted, Intelligence Redefined, Scott Barry Kaufman
• Women Who Opt Out: The Debate Over Working Mothers and Work-Family Balance, Bernie Jones

Summer Review

Returning summer library books.

Total books read this summer: 13

Non-Fiction:

• I Am Malala, Malala Yousafzai
• Smart Girls in the 21st Century: Understanding Talented Girls and Women, Barbara Kerr & Robyn McKay
• Zeitoun, Dave Eggers

Adult Fiction:

• A Hologram for the King, Dave Eggers
• Attachments, Rainbow Rowell
• Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
• Jane Austen in Boca, Paula Cohen
• Landline, Rainbow Rowell
• The Circle, Dave Eggers

Children's Fiction:

• Breathing Room, Marsha Hayles
• The Tiger Rising, Kate DiCamillo

Young Adult Fiction:

• OCD Love Story, Corey Haydu
• We Were Liars, E. Lockhart

For star ratings (out of 5) and keyword tags, visit my Shelfari page.

The Tiger Rising

The Tiger Rising, a haiku
deep in Florida
there was a hidden tiger
two kids let it go

Since my last post, the only book I finished was The Tiger Rising, which is such a short book that it could be called a short story. I read the entire book in less than an hour. Even in its brevity, the book covered some serious issues: bad bosses, bullying, culture shock, death of a parent, divorce, moving to a new place, and poverty. There were also positive messages of family and friendship, even if times are difficult.

In an academic context, this book might be best for middle school, maybe in conjunction with journal writing exercises. Teachers might ask students Have you ever found a friendship in unexpected places? or How would you deal with a tiger in a cage? Would you let it go if you could?

I still have a big stack of library books for my "summer reading" - which might have to happen after I start the school year again on August 4.

Hoping to finish Smart Girls in the 21st Century soon so I can get back to pleasure reading. Although, it's been a very educational book - glad I am enjoying my summer "homework"!

#STEMTTC15

More conferences mean no more books to review just yet. Maybe I need to revise the title of this blog a bit - add "Book Nerd Techie Adventures" - hmm, not quite the same ring to it as "Book Nerd Adventures". Well, maybe my readers (or lack thereof) will tolerate books AND tech. In schools, librarians and technology specialists can have commonalities - many libraries often are also running a maker space or doing technology integration in some form or another. Collaboration between library and technology is a topic for another post, so I'll leave it at that for now.

This week I am at the STEM Think Tank and Conference in Nashville, TN. Below is the presentation I shared as part of a workshop on Design Thinking and School Maker Spaces. I also facilitated a think tank discussion on Creation Tools, Maker Spaces, and Design Thinking in K-12 Schools. It was interesting to connect with other educators interested in maker spaces and implementing design thinking in the classroom.

After this week, I am hoping to get more reading done - finishing Smart Girls in the 21st Century, but also reading some books for fun!

#ISTE2015

Well, summer is officially here! Since I lasted posted, I have thoroughly enjoyed my summer break. 

In June (since I last posted) I...

Went to Paris! France!

My husband and I are learning French so it was my mission to buy some French language books including some Dumas, a little Voltaire, some French History, Harry Potter, and Le Petit Prince (of course!). The hopes with these purchases was to some day be fluent enough to read the books in their original language.

I studied French in high school and while I passed the IB HL exam, I never had a real-life opportunity to practice. Ten years went by, and now I'm using Duolingo (an amazing, FREE app and website) to relearn the language. The bookstores in France were my best opportunity to practice my rudimentary speaking skills, as most English speakers wouldn't go into a French bookstore unless they were also well versed in French. It was quite fun to have a conversation in a different language, something I hadn't done before and really is a very educational experience. There is so much out there in the world - so many different cultures, languages, people - I want to connect to it all.

Read books! Just a few!

-Jane Austen in Boca (Paula Marantz Cohn)

-Zeitoun (Dave Eggers)

-I Am Malala (Christina Lamb, Malala Yousafzai)

And now smart girls!

The book I am currently reading is Smart Girls in the 21st Century: Understanding Talented Girls and Women (Barbara Kerr, Robin McKay). It is brilliant so far, and as someone who 1) is a girl and 2) attended gifted programs throughout my K-12 school years, it really resonates with me. Not to mention the professional meaning it had for me working at an all girls school. We had a choice of two books to read for professional development this summer and while both looked good, I'm glad I chose this one!

I'm at ISTE! 2015!

The International Society for Technology in Education, or ISTE, is a global professional organization dedicated to educational technology. The ISTE annual conference is a huge event, with thousands and thousands of exhibitors, participants, and presenters. Follow the hashtag #ISTE2015 on Twitter to connect and learn from others. Or, choose to connect with those #notatISTE - another helpful hashtag.

Until next time!

One-sentence reviews for June

Summer is here! Not seasonally speaking, but in teacher terms... I'm done with work until August.

These are the books I have read since June started. Off on vacation tomorrow for a week, so I decided to write one sentence reviews. I couldn't help but add a rating too - although I would recommend all these books.

The Circle, Dave Eggers
A warning to all about the dominance of one technology company and what it means to share information on the internet.
Genre: dystopian fiction
Stars: 5 out of 5

A Hologram for the King, Dave Eggers
Down on his luck businessman travels to Saudi Arabia in hopes of selling a hologram communication system to the king.
Genre: modern realism
Stars: 3 out of 5

Attachments, Rainbow Rowell
IT guy in the 90's is hired to screen office emails and falls in love with an employee after reading her conversations with an office friend.
Genre: contemporary fiction
Stars: 4 out of 5

We Were Liars, E. Lockhart
17-year-old girl returns to family's private island near Martha's Vineyard to try and recall the events of a mysteriously tragic summer when she was 15.
4 out of 5 stars
Genre: mystery thriller
Stars: 4 out of 5

Landline, Rainbow Rowell
Overworked TV writer on the brink of a divorce has a chance to save her life and love through a time traveling telephone.
Genre: magical realism
Stars: 4 out of 5

Egg & Spoon

Egg & Spoon, written by Gregory Maguire (yes, of the Wicked series) was a promising fantasy with interesting characters - yet disappointing in the end. The second half of the book rambles, including a fantastical sequence where the protagonists visit the North Pole and speak to a mystical dragon. After returning from the journey, the book suddenly ends and the magic is forgotten.

Baba Yaga and her magical cat Mewster were amusing characters that hinted at some depth, but never felt thoroughly developed. The fantasy was mixed in at odd points, making me unsure what the author's point was. There were some good quotes and the imprisoned monk turned narrator was likeable enough, but overall the story lacked direction and organization as it developed.


Quotes of Note


Your life story is really about how the hands of history caught you up, played with you, and you with them.

“Can you see what I have been through?” she asked.
“No one can see that,” he replied. “Evidence of life, yes, but not the life itself. That is private until it is shared.”

Yes, freedom is magnificent. But freedom is hard work.

Freedom Mural - 5th Grade

The 5th grade class at my school recently completed a unit of study on civil rights and freedom. The culminating project including creating and designing a freedom school based on what they learned in class. Students were on various committees: administration, architecture, art and design, curriculum, gardening and nutrition, and publishing. These committees were cross-curricular and built on knowledge learned in all classes this year. Students were able to choose a committee based on their personal interest and strengths.

As inspiration, the entire class worked with mural artist Andee Rudloff the week before the project launched. The mural answered the question "What does freedom mean to you?" All students participated by contributing a personal sketch and then painting and detailing the mural itself. Below is a video that documented the process including a time lapse of much of the painting. I enjoyed the opportunity and it was a wonderful experience for the girls.

May Books

I checked out about 50 books from the school library in anticipation of summer reading.

So far I have read 4 books in the month of May and I am about halfway through number 5. As we are finishing up the school year this week, I think it is an appropriate time to write some brief reviews.

Counting by 7s, Holly Sloan
One-Sentence Review: Middle school girl with high IQ loses both of her adopted parents and ends up staying with her new Vietnamese friend while looking for a permanent home.

Swamplandia!, Karen Russell
Short Review: The Bigtree family alligator wrestling farm is left in chaos after the star of the show, Hilola Bigtree, dies of cancer. Chief Bigtree disappears, Kiwi the big brother escapes to the mainland, Osceola the big sister starts dating ghosts, and 13-year old Ava Bigtree is left to fend for herself - until she meets a mysterous stranger called the Bird Man.

Will Bird Man help Ava save her sister from the land of the dead? Will Kiwi and Chief Bigtree ever return? Is Osceola really dating a ghost?

Read this book if... you like adventure, alligators, Florida, and mysteries

Devil on My Heels, Joyce McDonald

• Who: Dove Alderman, teen
• What: Benevolence seems like an ordinary small town in Florida, until rumors of KKK meetings and orange grove pickers going on strike begin to surface. Dove learns there is more to people than meets the eye as she attempts to save her friends and restore the town to normal.
• When: 1959
• Where: Benevolence, Florida
• Why: Good book for upper elementary and middle grades to teach about migrant workers, the KKK, racism, and poverty in the South

Jellicoe Road, Melina Marchetta
Won the Printz Award in 2009

The territory wars over the Jellicoe Road are in full force, but Taylor Markham has other things on her mind. Why did her mother leave her at the 7/11 on Jellicoe Road? Why did the hermit whisper in her ear before committing suicide? Why did Jonah Griggs betray her on their escape from Jellicoe? Who are the five teenagers in Hannah's story - were they real or just a figment of her imagination?

It took me some time before I got into the story, but once I became involved I was deep into the mystery. Many, many questions are asked and all will be answered, the reader just needs patience for the full story to be revealed.

Currently reading...
Egg & Spoon by Gregory Maguire

(I didn't like Wicked, and I'm so-so on Egg & Spoon, but I'm waiting to give a final verdict until the end.)

TAIS Tech Institute 2015

Last Friday I attended the annual Tech Institute hosted by the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools (TAIS). The conference was held in the outskirts of Memphis and covered topics from augmented reality to 3D printing (hello!) to technology projects in the foreign language - and a variety of other technology and learning related topics. I presented a session on "3D Printing Made Easy". The conference was smaller in number - I think we were missing quite a bit of the middle TN and East TN contingency - but it was good to connect with other educators and have a conversation about 3D printing in schools.

The Design Den is busy this week. Projects include...

• 6th Grade English - Distinguished Women Project - Students research a distinguished woman, either current or from history, and take on the persona of that woman during a science fair style presentation. Girls must prepare a three minute speech about themselves and dress in character. This year, the Design Den is a new element as girls must design and create an object that symbolizes their woman. The girls have several days in the Design Den and are encouraged to create something original and try new things. Every tool except the 3D printers is available to them. Below are some of the ideas the girls have come up with - some, but not all - many of the girls are very excited and have ambitious plans! I hope to post some pictures and a reflection at the end of the project.
• Campaign poster (Hilary Clinton) - designed in Word, etched in cardboard
• Book covers (Julia Child, JK Rowling) - designed in Paint, etched using laser cutter
• Scale model of the annex (Anne Frank) - floor cut from wood, walls cut from acrylic, furniture created using foam
• Silhouette in an enlarged heart locket (Jane Austen) - designed in Paint, etched on wood with laser cutter
• Microphone (Aretha Franklin) - sculpted using modeling clay, covered with aluminum foil and painted
• Test tube rack (Marie Curie) - rack made from cardboard, test tubes cut from PVC pipe and painted
• Honors Geometry (9th/10th Grade) - Dream Dollhouse - Students learned about proportion and scale, then designed 3D pieces of furniture using Tinkercad. The house itself is being built with birch plywood using the laser cutter, jigsaw, wood glue, clamps, and various other hand and power tools. The girls are having a ton of fun working with all the different tools. Some of the girls are jumping in boldly and embracing the newness, whether it is using the jig saw, drill, or even just the shop vac!

Four posts in April... kind of all over the place, but it happens. An early happy May to everyone!

The Boys in the Boat (Daniel James Brown)

• The first American intercollegiate athletic event of any kind: Harvard-Yale Regatta in 1852
• In 1869, Harvard met Oxford in a rowing match on the Thames, such a well publicized event in the United States that "it produced an explosion of interest in rowing. It also imbued the sport with an aura of elitism that has lingered to this day." (111)
• On the famous racing shells Pocock built:
• "... something about the deliberate application of strength, the careful coordination of mind and muscle, the sudden unfolding of mystery and beauty." (127)
• "Craftmanship required though, and thought required a quiet environment." (136)
• More wisdom on building racing shells from Pocock himself:
• "The ability to yield, to bend, to give way, to accommodate, he said, was sometimes a source of strength in men as well as in wood, so long as it was helmed by inner resolved and by principle." (215)
• "You had to give yourself up to it spiritually; you had to surrender yourself absolutely to it. When you were done and walked away from the boat, you had to feel that you had left a piece of yourself behind in it forever, a bit of your heart." (215)

Daniel James Brown writes heavy stories - this one of triumph, others of tragedy - but the grandeur of his inspirational stories will sweep you up and take you in. Brown used a wide expanse of resources, from first person interviews to weather reports, to create as complete a picture as possible of the boys' journey to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Starting with freshmen tryouts at the shell house in Washington and ending with a triumphant win over Germany for the gold, the reader will not only learn about rowing but also what it meant to live during that time.

This is a great book for many different readers - those who enjoy history, inspirational reads, sports, or just a good human interest piece. Not just for rowers, The Boys in the Boat shows a glimpse of the American spirit - what it means to perverse through difficult times and overcome challenges.

April Showers Bring... Conferences and Presentations!

Some of my recent mid-April activities...

Graphite is a platform designed by the wonderful people at Common Sense Media specifically for educators to find the best technology tools to use in their classrooms and schools. I am a Graphite Certified Educator, meaning that I contribute content to the site including app and website reviews, lesson flows, and blog posts. Today my blog post Hands-On Learning Goes High-Tech was published. The post highlights the school I work at, Harpeth Hall, and how our girls engage, expand, and explore using design thinking and our new Design Den maker space.

This past weekend I presented at the second Southern Regional Conference through the Tennessee chapter of the International Dyslexia Association. The presentation topic was Technology Tools for Strategy-Based Reading Instruction in grades 5-12. I presented with the rock star technology integration specialist at Currey Ingram Academy, Ashley Kemper.

I am currently working on my presentation for the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools Tech Institute on 3D Printing Made Easy - will post once the presentation is complete. I am still reading The Boys in the Boat, but hope to finish that soon and get back to book blogging. Main purpose of this post was to show that yes, I am still here and no, I have not shut down my blog just yet!

April Already?

Here we are in April, and I have not posted since March 17... starting and maintaining a blog is difficult with distractions spring break, warmer weather, preparing for conferences, and crew. The picture for this post is a sunrise seen at the end of one (very) early morning crew practice on the lake.

Speaking of conferences...

On March 27, I presented at the first Tennessee Google Apps for Education Summit in Manchester, Tennessee (also hometown of the giant music festival Bonnaroo). I last attended at GAFE Summit in Raleigh, NC in October 2013. The GAFE Summits are great opportunities to connect with other like-minded educators and be inspired by how others are educating and innovating using Google Apps (and beyond). My presentation was on Google My Maps (attached here). 

Some highlights from the conference...

• Being inspired by Kyle Pace in his opening keynote and seeing how his district uses Google Sites to stay connected as a community
• Connecting with other Middle TN educational technologists, but also with educators around the world as three GAFE Summits were happening on two different continents at the same time
• Discovering the 4 C's and tons of Google Apps resources with Mark Garrison
• Learning about cool new tools in the high energy, fast paced Demo Slam (resource list here)
• Seeing the excitement and joy of educators discovering the power of social media (hello, Twitter!) and technology

But wait... there's more. Upcoming conferences and presentations include...

• Technology Tools for Strategy Based Reading Instruction in 5-12 at the TN IDA Conference with the lovely Ashley Kemper
• 3D Printing Basics at the TAIS Tech Institute
• Mobile Learning Network events at ISTE 2015

More book blog posts to come... 

I read the 2015 Printz winner recently, I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson, which I loved, but have not written a review yet. I just started The Boys in the Boat by Danile James Brown, which chronicles the 1936 USA men's Olympic eight-oar rowing team... great read during crew season.

Here's to my next post being published before May!

Wildwood Chronicles

“We are the inheritors of a wonderful world, a beautiful world, full of life and mystery, goodness and pain. But likewise are we the children of an indifferent universe. We break our own hearts imposing our moral order on what is, by nature, a wide web of chaos.”
― Colin Meloy, Wildwood

Who: Prue McKeel, age 12. Curtis, her friend. Two children able to cross the border that protects Wildwood from the Outside. Once inside Wildwood they meet bandits, talking animals (and humans), tree worshiping mystics, and more.

Written by: Collin Meloy, singer/songwriter for the band the Decembrists

Illustrated by: Carson Ellis, Collin's wife and illustrator of several other children's books

What: Adventure. Magic. Mystery. A battle between good and evil, where the lines are not always clear. Ancient, mystical trees that give magic and power to the forest. An underground world full of twists and turns - not to mention an army of blind moles. An industrialist obsessed with figuring out the secret to entering the Impassable Wilderness, even if it means using orphans for child labor. A governess turned mad at the death of her son bent on destroying the entire world in her crazed fury. Wildwood, Under Wildwood, and Wildwood Imperium make up the Wildwood Chronicles - for now.

When: Modern day with a twist. Wildwood seems to run on another timeline entirely separate from the outside world, but understanding this timeline only comes from experience within the forest.

Where: The line between fantasy and reality are blurred as the story moves between modern day Portland and the timeless I.W., or Impassable Wilderness. Not just a dense forest, the Impassable Wilderness contains a magical world of South Wood, the Avian Principality, North Wood, and the dangerous Wildwood.

Why: Read this series for a good adventure. Enjoy the whimsical illustrations, the detailed maps, the quirky but like-able characters. Obviously good is going to triumph in the end, but the journey is well worth the read.

Great for children and tweens, but also enjoyable for adults. I often felt as though the book was inspired by bedtime stories for the creators' sons, which might be true, showing potential for a great read aloud.

Alias Hook

Every child knows how the story ends. The wicked pirate captain is flung overboard, caught in the jaws of the monster crocodile, which drags him down to a watery grave. Who could guess that below the water, the great beast would spew me out with a belch and a wink of its horned, livid eye? It was not yet my time to die, not then nor any other time. It's my fate to be trapped here forever in a nightmare of childhood fancy with that infernal, eternal boy.

-Alias Hook, Lisa Jensen

From the very beginning, I was hooked (pun intended) by this villain-turned-protagonist Captain Hook. Lisa Jensen masterfully provides a unique (and adult) perspective on a familiar story, showing readers that all is not as it seems in the children’s dream world of Neverland. Fairies have wild parties, mermaids hold secrets in their grottos. Lost boys return as pirates to fight against their former leader. Peter Pan and Captain Hook are locked in eternal battle - Captain Hook never winning, never dying.

The story alternates between the battles of Neverland and Captain Hook’s former life as a nobleman turned pirate. A scorned lover - also a voodoo priestess - condemns him to the personal hell of Neverland with no means of escape. When a strange and unexpected being appears in the forests of Neverland, Captain Hook sees a glimmer of hope for escape. Will this mysterious individual be Captain Hook’s chance to return to the real world once again to live and die as a normal human being?

I highly recommend this book - especially to those who love adventure or fantasy novels.

Creating Among Books: Library Makerspaces

I work as an Academic Technology Specialist at an independent school - meaning I help students and teachers use technology in meaningful ways for learning. At my school, the library and technology departments are combined - meaning many opportunities for collaboration. My office is in the library and we also have a new “maker space” in the library building.

Recently, a colleague and I presented a webinar for the International Society in Education (ISTE) Professional Learning Series. The webinar is titled “Creating Among Books: Library Makerspaces”.

Can a makerspace succeed in a school library? The answer is a resounding yes! From book art to game creation to 3D printing, learn how to incorporate making into the library space from two technology integration specialists. Topics include an overview of the physical space, specific technology tools, examples of past projects and more.

If you happen to be an ISTE member, you are in luck! A free recording of the webinar is available through the ISTE website at this link. If you are not an ISTE member, I can share this link with a list of the resources mentioned in the webinar and my contact information.

I am thinking this blog will not only include book reviews but have varying posts on books, educational technology, libraries, and some generally nerdy stuff. I like variety, so don’t expect the same old posts every week- this post itself being evidence of that fact!

The Crossover (2015)

Since this blog was inspired through my experience completing the Newbery Year challenge, I thought it would be appropriate for my first Book Nerd Adevntures post to be a review for the 2015 Newbery winner The Crossover by Kwame Alexander.

Josh and his twin brother, Jordan, are star players on their school's basketball team. When the two are on the court together, nothing can stop them from dominating the game. Their father, Charles Bell, is a former professional basketball player with great hope for his children to succeed. Their mother is the assistant principal, making sure the boys succeed in both sports and school.

This book, written in verse, has a wonderful rhythm and a rich vocabulary. Highly recommended for anyone interested in basketball, poetry, sports, or a strong family story. Josh is a believable narrator, giving a 12-year old boy's perspective on what it means to grow up. While The Crossover is not a book I would typically prefer to read, I appreciated the quality of writing and story construction. Therefore, I give The Crossover 4 out of 5 stars. ****