Spring Break Reading

Always trying to find interesting books for kids and to keep abreast of what is new and exciting in the book world, I have a few good books to recommend.  I just finished reading these books over spring break...

 Nerd Camp is great if you are a gifted student or if you have a gifted child because it is about this boy who goes away to a summer gifted camp called The Summer Centre for Gifted Enrichment SCGE (I would love to be at this camp!).  The main character, Gabe, wants to impress his new soon to be step-brother, Zack, who is a 'cool kid' - not into reading or science or school.  Gabe starts to test his hypothesis  "Am I a nerd who only has nerdy adventures?" at camp.   I loved this book...it was fun and gifted kids will be able to relate to the characters.

Being adopted myself, I could absolutely relate to this book!  I had tears at the end because no matter where you come from, it is the parents who raise and love you that are "your real parents"! This book is about a Korean boy, raised by Italian parents, and his quest to find out who he is.  I loved the characters and felt the author did a great job showing the difficulty of wanting to protect your child but also support your child in their quest to find their identity!  I think all adopted children, adults, and parents who adopt should read this book.

Fun stuff...a good adventure story about a blended family being stranded on a deserted island.  This is the first in a series.  Not heavy reading, but good survival material.

I was just introduced to this mystery series, and I think it is fun because it deals with cooking, mysteries, and history.  The first book takes place in Vancouver, which is a great hook for students in this city.  I just finished the first book, "Neil Flambe and the Marco Polo Murders" and I am going to read the second, "Neil Flambe and Aztec Abduction" and third, "Neil Flambe and Crusader's Curse". 

Happy Reading!

Book It!

Met with the grade fours for our final book club meeting....here they are sharing projects...

 A puzzle made after reading Hugo Cabret

 A board game about a book...

There was huge interest in the Hunger Games Series.

How did I teach a book club challenge centre?

1.  I met with the students on the first day.  I had already made sure that the schools only referred students who were passionate about reading and could read novels independently.  All the candidates fit this criteria.  We spent the first hour of the program discussing good books we had read, and offering suggestions for books to discover. From there, I realized the planning I had done was now irrelevant because these students wanted to create their own projects and make meaning of what they had read (not what I had created!).

2.  For students that love to read, the enjoyment of reading and sharing books is to open up the curriculum, give choice about projects, and allow the students to make meaning out of what they read.  With these students, doing chapter summaries, vocabulary pages, comprehension questions, and fill in the blank answers about what happened in a book doesn't work.  I discussed with the students what the options were:  do a project together....or have them create what they wanted to do.  They chose to create their own projects.  So, we brainstormed ways to demonstrate their understanding of the novel:  a diaroma of their favourite scene, a board game about the book, a quiz about the book, a character study....and on we went.


3.  Student choose their own project, and worked and worked and worked on them.  They were fully engrossed in what they were doing.  It was fascinating to observe and ask questions, and to see how focused and purposeful their work was.


4.  From there, they decided as a group to choose their own novels.  For the second novel,  they were to find a book that they wanted to read and have it read for the next session.  All students knew exactly what they wanted to read. They were given choice about their projects, too.


5. For their 3rd book, students had to choose a book and create an award about the book. The criteria was to think about what type of award this book could win. Students had to create their own criteria for the award, design and draw an award, create a trophy for the award, prepare a presentation to the audience about the award, and write a two paragraph summary about the book and why is should win the award.


6.  For their 4th book, students were again given the choice as to what to create, taking in mind that they had the day to come up with and finish their project.


On the last day, we made lists of books we wanted to read in the future.  

My plan is to work with these inspiring readers next year, perhaps pulling them together for another few sessions.  The students got a great deal out of having the experience of being able to "take off" with their passion for reading and being with other students who love books as much as they do. Thank you Grade Fours...you were exciting and inspirational to work with!

Book It!

Met with the grade fours for our final book club meeting....here they are sharing projects...

 A puzzle made after reading Hugo Cabret

 A board game about a book...

There was huge interest in the Hunger Games Series.

How did I teach a book club challenge centre?

1.  I met with the students on the first day.  I had already made sure that the schools only referred students who were passionate about reading and could read novels independently.  All the candidates fit this criteria.  We spent the first hour of the program discussing good books we had read, and offering suggestions for books to discover. From there, I realized the planning I had done was now irrelevant because these students wanted to create their own projects and make meaning of what they had read (not what I had created!).

2.  For students that love to read, the enjoyment of reading and sharing books is to open up the curriculum, give choice about projects, and allow the students to make meaning out of what they read.  With these students, doing chapter summaries, vocabulary pages, comprehension questions, and fill in the blank answers about what happened in a book doesn't work.  I discussed with the students what the options were:  do a project together....or have them create what they wanted to do.  They chose to create their own projects.  So, we brainstormed ways to demonstrate their understanding of the novel:  a diaroma of their favourite scene, a board game about the book, a quiz about the book, a character study....and on we went.


3.  Student choose their own project, and worked and worked and worked on them.  They were fully engrossed in what they were doing.  It was fascinating to observe and ask questions, and to see how focused and purposeful their work was.


4.  From there, they decided as a group to choose their own novels.  For the second novel,  they were to find a book that they wanted to read and have it read for the next session.  All students knew exactly what they wanted to read. They were given choice about their projects, too.


5. For their 3rd book, students had to choose a book and create an award about the book. The criteria was to think about what type of award this book could win. Students had to create their own criteria for the award, design and draw an award, create a trophy for the award, prepare a presentation to the audience about the award, and write a two paragraph summary about the book and why is should win the award.


6.  For their 4th book, students were again given the choice as to what to create, taking in mind that they had the day to come up with and finish their project.


On the last day, we made lists of books we wanted to read in the future.  

My plan is to work with these inspiring readers next year, perhaps pulling them together for another few sessions.  The students got a great deal out of having the experience of being able to "take off" with their passion for reading and being with other students who love books as much as they do. Thank you Grade Fours...you were exciting and inspirational to work with!