Another Book Review - Raven Summer

Raven Summer by David Almond is a Fiction book appropriate for 7-9th grade readers. Set in Britain against the backdrop of the war in Iraq, this book shows how war can impact the everyday lives of people even worlds away from such conflict. This book would  be appropriate to use in an English, Science, or Social Studies class with the use of imagery, creative writing, war refugees, ravens, camping in the great outdoors and much more. The story is about a young boy named Liam and his friend Max who are led by a raven to find a baby girl left out in the woods with a note and some money. After the baby is sent to a foster home, Liam and his parents go visit her and Liam meets Crystal, a wild-child girl, and Oliver, a refugee from Liberia. Liam's mother falls in love with the baby and decides to adopt the baby and they name her Alison. One day Crystal and Oliver run away from their foster home and come to find Liam. After their successful search, the three of them set out for a camping adventure and Oliver reveals his true identity and the evil he is truly capable of doing. What is wrong with Oliver and what happened in his past that made him escape Liberia? Why was Alison left out in the woods as a baby? To find out, you will have to read Raven Summer. It will be hard to put this book down once you start to read...

Book Review - The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book is a wonderful Science Fiction/Fantasy novel for ages 10 & up, definitely a 5 star book in my opinion! The book is a wonderful book to use in an English class for imagery, creative writing, and more. It can also be used for a Social Studies/Geography class with it's use of settings in England and Scotland as well as the historical stories told to the main character by the inhabitants of the graveyard. Nobody Owens, Bod for short, is raised and educated by ghosts and werewolves and has a guardian who is neither living nor dead. Bod's family had been killed by the man Jack when Bod was about a year old. Who is the man Jack and why did he kill Bod's family? Does Bod ever make it in the real world safe from the man Jack after living in the graveyard for close to 16 years? Read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman to find out and learn about all the dangers and adventures that lie in a graveyard for a boy.

Special Olympics and Other Reflections...

Friday was special Olympics bowling and I truly enjoyed being a part of it! It was so rewarding to see the smiles on the students faces when they knocked down the pins at the bowling lane!! Of course, everyone got a medal and there was so much excitement! My hands were black from constantly picking up the bowling balls and placing them on the ramp for the students to push down the lanes, but it was worth it all! After school, I made the 5 hour trek down south for my first MAT Saturday class. I learned so much more about using strategies and was able to get some questions answered about assignments. I was also reflecting on my way to class about the Chapter 7 study guide that I did on differentiated instructions. I truly feel that my experience in the self contained class room has helped me to have a better understanding of the importance of teaching different ways in order to meet the different learning needs of each student. After all, isn't that what teaching is all about, going above and beyond to help our students learn to the best of their ability?

Library Day

As a parapro at the High School that I work at, I am lucky enough to be the librarian once a week. I love it! I enjoy helping the students research speech topics and book report ideas and helping them search for books. The only downside to being the librarian is that the library at the school that I work at is VERY outdated! There is a new librarian this year who is working hard to update the check out/check in system as well as update books, card catalog, movies, etc. As a hint to how outdated this library is, I was cleaning out a file cabinet the other day and found slides for a movie projector as well as the big soft floppy disks that don't even fit in any modern computer any more!! In all, covering the library once a week allows me to interact with students in all grade levels 9-12 and gives my job some variety!

Below is a quick picture of the small library that I cover once a week :)

Create A Game Project

I really enjoyed creating and playing my game in a classroom setting last week. The game I created was called "Around The World" and was an excellent way to review for a test. I did this game at the high school where I work as a paraprofessional since I am not currently in a teaching position. I made up some "destination" cards (index cards with names of geographical places recently discussed in ALE Civics and World History and placed them on the students desks. Using the teacher's edition, I asked review questions to two students at a timeas they stood by their desks.The student who answered the question correctly was able to move on to the next desk or "destination" in an attempt to make it "Around The World". The students reflected that it was a more interesting, attention keeping and fun way to review and study for their test, and everyone did well the next day! My only regret is that I didn't bring my camera with me that day. I can't wait to have my own classroom to develop more games to play to enhance student learning!