Book Challenge

A few years ago I learned of the "Empty Shelf" book challenge. It's when you clear off a shelf on your bookcase on January 1st and everytime you read a book that year, you add it to the shelf. At the end of the year, you can see the amazing collections of book you read that year. I first did it in 2015 (the blog post is here). Of course, instead of a bookshelf, I used a word document. The shelf wouldn't be an accurate representation since I use many ebooks on my Kindle and I take full advantage of the amazing library that Merchantville is associated with.  So every year, I keep  a record of the books I read in a word document and at the end of the year reflect on what I read, which my favorites were, if I challenged myself, etc. I tell my students about it because I think it's always interesting to reflect on what you have done. I still have some folders and documents from my middle school years and I always find it interesting when I stumble upon them and see what books I read that year. Sometimes I recall fondly reading a book that has become a favorite of mine, while others I couldn't even tell you the basic premise. It's still interesting to see.

So with that said, I wrap up 2017 having read 51 books. Not my personal best, but I did finally conquer some long books that have been collecting dust in my to-read pile, and I read some books that will stay with me for a while. I look forward to reading more in 2018 and as always, exploring new authors and genres.

And since I'm a math teacher -- I should probably throw some math into the mix:

Facts:
- 51 books in 365 days means I averaged about 7.2 days per book.
- Sometimes I reread books that I just love, and I do count those for my total. 8 of the 51 were rereads of books that I can't get enough of. That means approximately 16% of the books I read this year were not new to me.
- Since my 7th graders just learned percent change, the percent change between this year and my personal high in 2015 is found through the formula: |51-111| / 111  x 100. That gives me a percent change of 54% decrease. That's kind of shocking (see how the math behind it made me aware of this!). As a person who always reflections on why things happen, I'm inclined to consider the differences between 2017 and 2015 and notice legitimate reasons for the decline. But, reading is reading and I will still feel proud for having read at a pace of approximately 1 book a week. Any adults reading this know that 111 books in one year is crazy! Even if I slowed down, my love of reading hasn't and I'll keep encouraging all my students to keep reading and finding books they love.

Who's with me for the 2018 challenge!?! :)

December Update

With December about halfway through, I wanted to share two fun things from Room 204. One math, one not.

Every year after we learn coordinate planes, my 6th graders create a town of their choosing on a coordinate graph. I love this project because I get to see what my students are interested in and their personalities come out. Here's this year's bunch.

In my book club, we made book ornaments. Simple project..... very messy, but simple. Here's mine book ornaments using lines from a discard Giver book, one of my all time favorites.

Card Sorts

 One of the activities I like doing is called... well, I don't know if it has a name, but I call it a "card sort". The students get 10 problems with answers on the other side. Except the answer doesn't match the problem. It leads to another problem, and then that one leads to another and so on. I like it because it gives students an answer bank that grows smaller as they progress. It's also more fun than a worksheet because you only see one problem at a time and lets you have a bit more flexibility with the ability to flip problems and create a pile instead of just seeing a worksheet with the same 10 problems.

Math Enrichment Activities

I have a few "early finishers" activities ready to go in my room for anyone who finishes an assignment and is looking for something to do. Most are either about using math sense and looking for patterns or are building on higher level thinking. Some are on paper, but I have two fin activities on the chromebook that I captured some students doing the other day.

Math Jong

It's like mahjong but with number tiles. The students need to create true math statements to clear some tiles. The more intricate the statement, the more points!

Witzzle

 This is a variation of an activity the students can do on paper in my room called "Today's Numbers". The goal is to use 3 numbers in a row, column, or diagonal to create a target number. It helps students look for patterns and use mental math.

Coordinate Planes

I said I would try to post more. It's still September, so I haven't missed too much time! ;) I do need to get better at taking photos, because we've done quite a few fun things in room 204, but I just don't have them documented. I did remember to snag a few photos of my 6th graders playing my math version of Battleship. They played "Civil War" style and were either Team Captain America or Team Iron Man. They had to hide their Avengers and then try to guess the locations of the other person's. Lots of requests to replay this game!!

      

Book Review: Solo

Solo

by Kwame Alexander

I LOVED The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. I first read it when I took over the Summer Reading program a few years ago. I fell in love with it and knew my students would love it. I couldn't wait for summer to get closer so I could finally introduce it to the students. I was right. The students who picked it for their summer reading devoured that book. Nothing made me more happy than seeing a group of boys who I usually had to cajole to do some reading during independent reading time ask me if they could sit in a circle and take turns reading aloud from the book because they were so excited to read it. I'm pretty sure at that moment, my heart was doing the snoopy dance.

Why did I know the kids would love it so much? First of all, it was so well written. It was, and probably still is, the only book written in verse I actually like. I'll admit it. I don't enjoy reading poetry and I don't prefer books in prose. But Kwame Alexander wrote this book with such rhythm. My students could hear the rap music in his words as they read. It also told a compelling story. All I knew going into it was that it was a "basketball book". It was so much more than that. It was about two twins, who yes are basketball stars, but they are also navigating life through middle school, finding their way, and dealing with some family problems. And it read real. My 6th grade (almost 7th grade) boys could related to the characters and it felt like it could have been someone they knew.

Okay, so why I have I spent so much of this book review talking about a different book? Because when I sat down to read Solo by Kwame Alexander, I was hoping for the same type of thing, but about music instead of basketball. In fact I was more excited because I personally love stories about music. However, this book just didn't live up to that. Maybe it's my fault comparing it to The Crossover, but I just didn't find the verse as compelling, the story as interesting, or the characters as relatable.

The author still keeps the book in verse, but it isn't as stylized as The Crossover. It also is very dialogue heavy which I felt doesn't need verse then. In fact, this book may have been better written in prose. The plot isn't bad -- a boy with a love of music, Blade, is born in a rock star family can't wait to get out if and go off to college. His drug and alcohol addicted father makes mistakes at every turn, even to the point where his girlfriend's father is so fed up and forbids the girlfriend from seeing Blade. Without spoiling too much, halfway through the novel Blade receives some information and ends up spending the other half of the novel in Africa. Originally presented to me as a love story, this is actually more of a "finding yourself" story. However, I just don't think Blade is as relatable to people as Josh and Jordan from The Crossover. Solo is probably fine when compare to itself, but unfortunately, I can't help comparing it to The Crossover, which in my heart will win every time.

First Week of School

As tough as it was to wake up in the mornings and drag myself out of bed, these first two days have gotten me so excited for the school year! We had lots of fun doing challenges and brain teasers. Unfortunately, I never think to take photos until I want to brag about my classes to someone else. Oh well, maybe next week.

I'm excited for the 2017-2018 school year!!