January 15, 2013

It has been a busy couple of weeks for me.  I have been reading and working on my presentation Southern Maine Writing Project in March 2013.  The title of the workshop is called "Empowering Teachers to engage with Parents who have struggling literacy learners.


Catherine McAuley High School
Portland, Maine
Teaching the Digital
Generation to Create,
Compose Camp; Collaborate
A Conference for K-12 Educators


Friday, March 1, 2013: 9:20am to 10:20am

Some good books that I have read:


Bad Boys by Margie Palatini
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another good story for read-aloud.  It reminds me of Little Red Riding Hood.



Kids First: Five Big Ideas for Transforming Children's Lives and America's Future by David L. Kirp
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am a strong advocate for children and I want to make sure that they get what they need at school and beyond.  David was fantastic in my opinion because of the straight-forward approach in talking about what is good for kids.  A must read in my opinion for all parents/teachers/anyone who wants children to succeed in the future.

One book that I am currently reading to my son's is called: 

Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder by Jo Nesbø

I am not sure if it would be a good classroom book because what is discussed is farting and that in my opinion could make children laugh.  As a mom reading it to my son's it is more of a book that we can just enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

During this time of year I always try to remember to say thank you to students that I work with, colleagues that I collaborate with, my sons: Xavier and Xander, my husband,  Matt, and all of my friends and family.  I think it is important in my opinion that we count our blessings.  I am continuing to read many books and want to showcase a couple of favorites from the last couple of weeks.


The Boy in the Drawer by Robert Munsch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Shelley finds a small boy in her drawer who causes a lot of trouble. I read this today to Xander and he really liked it.  He then said to me that it was sad about Shelley having to be an only child.  As I was reading this story aloud to Xander I noticed vocabulary that we had to talk about.  The word trouble-maker really tripped him up. As you are reading this story there are other spots where you can go in talking with children.  Some of the things I did with Xander were to stop and ask him to predict, and ask him to tell me about the characters

Guided Reading: J
Themes: Manners and Conduct
DRA 18/20 range
Lexile 420
Grade Level Equivalent: 3.1



The Canada Geese Quilt by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A student I work with brought in this book and said you I had to read it. I am glad that I did because it was a very good story.  I would recommend this primarily for girls. Other details about the story include Ariel's family getting ready for a new baby.  Ariel is very close to her grandmother and they come up with a surprise for her mother.


Guided Reading Level: P
DRA: 38
Lexile 680
Themes: Culture and Diversity, Character and Values



Testing Miss Malarkey by Judy Finchler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book in my opinion makes fun of standarized testing that all schools have to do.  Not sure if I would recommend this book other than to read aloud maybe to older students who do not like taking tests at school.