Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Lunar Chronicles & Graphic Novels

I wanted to share this since I have quite a few students who have recently gotten into The Lunar Chronicles series (you can read my thoughts about it here). The author, Marissa Meyer is making a graphic Novel series following a character, Iko, after the books take place. Graphic Novels are taking the literary world by storm, with many graphic novel versions of popular books coming out. Below, I list a few graphic novels my students might be interested in. However, I wanted to share a preview of the graphic novel for The Lunar Chronicles -- Wires and Nerves. Enjoy this sneak peek, and hold tight until it's released in January! (WARNING: SPOILERS TO LUNAR CHRONICLES IN THE LINK!)



Graphic Novels You Might Like 






Sooo many books have been turned into graphic novels. Just search to see if your favorites have been revamped!

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Thankful

With Thanksgiving around the corner, I want to say that I am thankful for my wonderful students. Working at Merchantville these past 4 years has been amazing. I love the building I work in and the people I work with. But most of all -- I love the students I get to interact with on a daily basis. I try my hardest to make class exciting, interesting, challenging, and educational for all the students. I always wish I could capture some of the best moments in my room, but most of the time, I don't have my phone on me or am too busy getting involved in activities. Here are a few snapshots I have of my students doing some activities this year.

My 6th graders said they like practicing skills by finding their answers on puzzle pieces
    


My Algebra class learning about rate of change by doing an experiment based on Aesop's Crow and the Pitcher Fable.
   

 They used desmos.com on our chrome books to graph the results


My apologies to my 7th grade math class. I took pictures of them doing the card sort activity they really enjoy, but somehow those photos went missing :(

I know it's early to make a New Year's Resolution, but I think one of my goals should be to start taking more photos of my students doing activities. It'll remind me of the cool things we do in the classroom and how thankful I am for students who are willing to put the effort in to learn!

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Book Club Bookmarks

The Pageturners, Merchantville's Junior High book club had some fun making corner bookmarks. They came out so well that I had to take photos to share!

A corner bookmark is like origami and marks your place by wrapping around the corner of the page, such as below:
I showed a few examples, including an intricate Toothless from How To Train Your Dragon. Look at how amazingly they turned out!





Here are some more great bookmarks!!





 

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

I haven't done a book review for quite sometime, and I've had a few students ask about my opinion on this book, so I figured I would type up my thoughts on this *play* here (not a book!)


I feel like I need to include this disclaimer: I knew every plot point and twist in this play prior to reading. My close friends are all die-hard Harry Potter fans, so I knew that the next time we met, they would want to talk about the book. I didn't want to be confused, so I read a detailed summary of everything before I read the play about a month later. That might have affected by reading because I knew what was going to happen. That being said, my opinion of this story is that it is ..... okay.

You  have to go into your reading of The Cursed Child understanding that it is not a JK Rowling book. It is a play with her help in the writing. It doesn't have the intricate plot and wonderful language and details that readers have become accustomed to with Rowling's writing. It doesn't paint that beautiful, vivid image in your mind because it just a play. We get character dialogue, set descriptions, and some stage prompts. 

The plot is interesting to consider -- what would it be like to be the son of "The boy who lived"? What would it be like if he were a Slytherin and not a Gryffindor? What would it be like if a time turner still existed? It's got some fun ideas about how times could change by affecting one thing in the past. 

One thing I LOVED about this book: Scorpius Malfoy. Yes, the son of Draco Malfoy. He is by far the most interesting and relatable character in that book. He is not like Draco in the books. He is kind, and sweet, and charming, and admits to being "an enormous geek". He is self depricating in a way that brings so much humor to a relatively dark story. He is one of the best developed characters in this story, and I would definitely read a book just about him because I loved every scene he was in. 

However, the rest of the story is not as great as Scorpius. First of all, I thought the play did not depict Harry in a way that I imagine him to be as an adult. It didn't feel like Harry, based on what he does and says. Aside from Harry, the plot itself seems awkwardly paced and jumpy at times. Some plot twists seem so contrived; it's unclear whether you're reading a Harry Potter story or what seems almost like fan-fiction.

Overall, Harry Potter fans will not say no to reading this book. Who doesn't want to revisit that magical story? But I think all Harry Potter fans need to go into a reading of this by understanding it's not going to a Harry Potter book. It's just a supplement. I think that will help taper off any disappointment in the story.

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Math Mahjong

I have just found a new, highly addictive math game. It's Mahjong.... but with math terms. The goal is to click the tiles to make a mathematically true equation  (but remember your order of iperstions!!). Only the tiles on the ends of each row are lit up and avaliable. So if you run out of equal signs and need to get to one, you need to incorporate all the tiles on the edge of the tile's row before it is avaliable. Once you get the hang of it, it can be fun to make challenging combinations using multiple signs. It reminds me of the Number Challenge activity I have in my classroom. Check it out below (I think the link only works on Google Chrome).


http://www.mathjong.com/ChromeMathjong.php

If I remember correctly, my high score was about 72,000. Can you beat my score??

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Math Notebooks

By now, some people may have noticed that I take our class notes and notebooks pretty seriously. Why do I do that? Why do I make students keep a table of contents? Why do I make students cut out colored paper and glue it into their notebooks? Why spend time color coding things?

Well, I guess it comes from the idea that I'm not a textbook teacher. We don't have a textbook open on our desks when we're learning or investigating. Our textbook is a resources for practice problems or extra help. Instead, I like helping students understand math through discussions, investigations, reflections, and visual aides. It's great to do math this way -- but sometimes can hinder students when it comes to studying, or reviewing information. Some students just don't know what should be in their notebooks.

Let's all face it -- at one point you forgot something and needed notes to help you. Or you had a series of steps to complete and needed the list to help you remember what to do. This is why I make my students take nice notes. Because I want something user friendly and helpful to use as a resource. I want something that breaks down information in a way that they'll remember and understand it.

I've seen students when they take notes their own way. Some students blow my mind by how they highlight key words, color code problems, put stars and symbols next to big ideas. But I've also seen some with words and numbers just randomly thrown on pages, steps written in paragraph from so it's impossible to quickly follow, or the worst .... the blank notebooks from the student who "didn't need this stuff"

So we make our notebooks a bit detailed than most to ensure all the information we need, be it from a textbook, class discussion, an investigation or activity, are all in one spot; our notes are organized so that everything can be quickly found and understood; and everything is there.

Hopefully my students see that their notes are a resource --- not just something you do to make the teacher happy!

Friday, September 2, 2016

Changes

Just a few more days before school starts!! As much as I love summer time, I also can't wait to see my students and start working with them again. Some of you that had me before might be surprised by my room this year. Big changes happened in Room 204 this summer, including my room layout. Here's a little preview...


Sunday, August 21, 2016

Math in the Olympics

I've been trying to find good examples of math in the Olympics, other than the obvious ones such as times and score averages. It might be the last day of the Olympics, but I finally found an interesting website!

Ties in Olympic Swimming:
It might be a bit confusing at first, but if you slow down and digest what the author is saying, it has some cool information you can learn. There were some cool facts about Olympic swimming that I didn't know about!
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/math/why-are-there-ties-in-olympic-swimming

5 Fun Number Facts
Just how fast is Usain Bolt??
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/math/5-numerical-fun-facts-about-the-olympics

Math Boot Camp
Your math basics for the Olympics
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/math/olympic-math-boot-camp


Friday, July 22, 2016

Summer Reading

My students' have their summer reading; well, I have mine. I've been working hard over the summer getting ready to handle some new classes coming my way next year. Between curriculum and pacing planning, reviewing some math concepts I haven't used in a while, planning activities and methods for teaching, creating notebook resources and worksheets/activites, I've been busy. Despite that, I'm looking forward to next year!


Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Language Arts

Next year there will be some changes in the junior high department. I will be teaching three sections of math next year, which means I will not have a language arts class. While I truly enjoy math and am super excited to take on this role, it's also strange to think that I will no longer have "language arts teacher" as part of my title. My after school book club will still be happening, and one trimester I will be teaching a reading based elective. I sincerely hope that any of my students reading this know that just because I no longer teach books, I still will love to talk to you about what you're reading and what good books you're interested in. Stop by my room and chat with me about what you're reading!! :)

And since all my math students know I love lame math jokes and puns, here's a math AND language arts themed one:

Friday, June 3, 2016

Barbie Bungee!!

Apparently the Barbie Bungee Jump project has taken on some popularity. I do this project every year and one of the first questions I got at the start of the year was if we would do it again. As the end of the school year approached, I wasn't sure we'd be able to squeeze it in with losing days to PARCC testing, field trips, graduation rehearsal, etc. But we managed to find the time!

As we did this project, many students walked by my door and were utterly confused. One of my 6th graders asked me "What does throwing Barbie's off a bookcase have to do with math?" Well, the short version is this: In 8th grade math we learned about scatterplots and how they help us make predictions. So, my students are collecting data on how far Barbie falls with 1 rubberband on her leg. Then 2. Then 3, and so on. They compile all that data into a scatterplot. From there, they practice creating a line of best fit for the data and coming up with the equation of the line. Finally, they use their equation to predict how many rubber bands it takes to have Barbie bungee jump from the railing of the stairwell and go as fall as possible WITHOUT hitting her head.

Always a fun day when we start this project.

    

    


  




Monday, May 23, 2016

Books Turned to Movies

Some of you know that I run the summer reading blog as well. I update it in the spring and summer with recommendations. One of my favorite blog posts to write is the list of books that have been turned into movies or will be turned into movies. Check it out!!



Sunday, March 27, 2016

Salt to the Sea

I'm in the midst of reading about 3 different books right now. But I do want to get a book review in March and this is the only one I've finished so far during break, so here we go:


Ruta Sepetys is making her way into the role of the dominant writer in YA Historical Fiction. She has a way of finding forgotten stories and making you question why no one knows about them. I was first introduced to her writing through the book Between Shades of Gray (an 8th grade summer reading choice). It was an excellent book and I was surprised to learn that I hadn't heard more about that book. Afterwards, I also read her story Out of the Easy, which focused more on a time period than a specific event. Now, her third story Salt to the Sea was released about a month ago


Salt to the Sea takes place during World War II and focuses on the journey four young people take to find their way to freedom from persecution, evacuation, etc. However, they find their way into the the greatest maritime disaster in history -- but an event most people, myself included, probably didn't know about. Sepetys has a poetic way of writing and a way to evoke so many emotions while reading. In my opinion, this book doesn't have the same emotional punch of Between Shades of Gray, but fans of that book will probably enjoy this one as well. One striking difference between the two is that Salt to the Sea is told through alternating points of view of the four characters. While this first bothered me because it made it different to learn about the characters, it does become cohesive and let you see different angles and sides to the stories. However, one of the characters I found grating, and while I understanding why she included this person, I still believe the story would work better without that fourth side. 

It does deal with some mature topics and the development of the historical background, and for that, I would side with the Amazon recommendation of Grades 8 and up for the book.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Book Club: Food Edition

This month's Pageturners meeting was "Food Inspired by Books". Wow! We had some fun items brought in. Check out what we got to enjoy:

The Fault in Our Stars Cake



Green Eggs and Ham  + Chocolate Brownies

"Hop on Pop"corn

Maze Runner Maze

Hunger Games "Nightlock"    and Goldfish from The Glass Castle



Dr. Seuss's One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish     and a miniature tea party set from Alice in Wonderland.


Divergent's favorite Dauntless Cake


And of course.... some book worms

We had a blast talking about books, discussing books vs. their movies and eating our treats. The Pageturners is definitely a club meeting I look forward to every month :)

Friday, March 4, 2016

March Madness

 Our Annual March Madness Bracket is up.... I wonder who will win!!


Saturday, February 13, 2016

The Lunar Chronicles

I was hoping to keep this blog a bit more updated with junior high recommendations, but I've been doing some more personal reading instead. However, this past month, a great series released a collection of prequel stories and an epilogue, so I thought I'd talk a bit about this series.


The Lunar Chronicles

I first heard about this series two years ago from a student. She loved it and did a book report on it. I thought, "No, it's not my type of book." Then last year, another student read this series and couldn't stop raving about it. I still thought it wasn't my type but  I warmed up to it. The final push to read this series happened when I went to a workshop devoted to the Best Books for Grades 6-12 published that year. The presenter said this was a great series and her favorite part about it was that it includes strong female characters. Finally, I said, "Okay, I'll give it a shot."

I'll admit, it took me a little bit to get into it. The premise is that these are science fiction takes on classic fairy tale stories. The first is a cyborg Cinderella (now you can see why I felt it wasn't my "type of book"). I tried to get into it, and finally, I did. I finished the first and ran out to the library to get the next two. And then I preordered the final book because I had to get it the day it came out. Again, the premise is science fiction versions of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Snow White. The thing I love about this series is the characters -- they are not perfect. They are flawed characters who show development over the course of the series. The females are not damsels in distress. They are strong women who can save the man too. They each have a unique voice and authentic conversations. They are ethnic -- the series features characters of multiple races and skin colors.

If you choose to read this series: it is a time commitment. Each book gets longer. The last book is 800 pages. (Surprsingly, I did not feel a single page there was unnecessary). It's not a series for everyone, but if you think it might be for you, come check it out of my classroom library! Also, I just learned recently, there will be a follow up to the series in graphic novel form!

(I also feel the need to warn: Fairest is a prequel story to the main villian. It is the most mature and dark book in the series. The series in general is clean, but does feature violence. This one has more mature tones. But guess what, it's not necessary to read Fairest to understand the series, as it just provides some insight into the villian. So if you or your parents want to stay away from those mature elements, no need to read Fairest)


Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Blogging

My language arts students are hard at work blogging about their thoughts on The Giver. I can't wait to read what everyone has to say about the book!! :)


Thursday, January 14, 2016

The Giver

I just finished reading The Giver out loud to my class. The Giver by Lois Lowry is one of my favorite novels. I read it for the first time when I was in 7th grade and it stood out to me as a very interesting book. I read it again in college and it took on a whole new meaning. I read it again when I was one year out of college and the themes and meaning I got changed again. Now, I reread this book about once a year and it always means something new to me.

One of the big things that sticks out to me the most in this book is the theme of choice. Jonas is deprived of choice. The community makes every decision for him. It reminds the reader that we should be appreciative of the fact that WE get to make our own choices. We get to choose what we grow up to be, what we want to do, who we marry, where to go, or even what to wear. I know at times it can seem overwhelming -- trust me, I read this book right around a time in my life where I had to make so many choices about my future. But, The Giver always reminds me that we should realize that we are lucky that we get to make those choices, no matter how hard it might be. There are still places in this world, real places, where people are deprived of their choices.

Remember, when Jonas first learned about choice, he thought what difference does it make what color shirt he wears. But then he realized: