Fourth Grade Journey

A Fourth Grade Teacher's Journey Through the World of Books

Monday, September 24, 2012

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?



Thanks to Jen and Kellee for hosting this idea on their site.  Here is a link to their site...
                
                 http://www.teachmentortexts.com/

 

Books I Read This Past Week...

Pickle by Kim Baker  (5 Stars out of 5 Stars)












The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (Adult Book)

 

Books I Will Read This Coming Week...

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (Adult Book)
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt (For my Boy's Book Club)

Saturday, September 22, 2012

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?


 








Thanks to Jen and Kellee for hosting this idea on their site.  Here is a link to their site...
                
                 http://www.teachmentortexts.com/

*It was a busy week at school and I didn't have much time to read and when I would read it seemed that I always feel asleep right away.  Here are the books I'm working on, but haven't finished...

 

Books I Read This Past Week...

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (Adult Book)
Pickle by Kim Baker 
 

Books I Will Read This Coming Week...

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (Adult Book)
Pickle by Kim Baker
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt (For my Boy's Book Club)

Monday, September 10, 2012

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?



Thanks to Jen and Kellee for hosting this idea on their site.  Here is a link to their site...
                
                 http://www.teachmentortexts.com/

Books I Read This Past Week...


The Unlikely Plimgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (4 Stars out of 5 Stars)
Babymouse Mad Scientist (#14) by Jennifer Holm (4 Stars out of 5 Stars)











Babymouse for President #16 by Jennifer Holm (5 Stars out of 5 Stars) 

Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles (3 out of 5 Stars)

Books I Will Read This Coming Week...

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen (Adult Book)
Pickle by Kim Baker 
The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller (This is a re-read for me)

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Year 22, 2012-2013, Fourth Grade, First Four Days

All weekend I have been thinking about the first four days of fourth grade last week.  They were the best first days I've had in a long, long time.

Everything just felt so different, so unique, and so creative.  I've been wondering why I'm feeling so differently toward the beginning of this year compared to others.  No matter how I look at it, everything comes back to Twitter

It was energizing to be in the classroom with so many new books in my toolbox.  I can't believe what a difference it can make when I personally know so many titles to share with my students instead of just having a passion toward reading and books.

My students and I are extremely excited about our September "Breakfast with Books" book club selection.  For those students who choose to do so, will be reading The Strange Case of Origami Yoda.  Our first book club will be on Friday, September 28th.  It was fun to reveal our book club poster and pass out the Yoda bookmarks.  These little things built up the excitement for our book club!

The highlight of the week had to be the sharing of graphic novels.  This genre was new to me this summer and I have fallen in love with them.  I think they were the perfect books to share with my students during the first days of fourth grade.  All my students are excited to read them and to join our different clubs when they have read all the books in a particular series.  We are most thrilled about Babymouse, Squish, and Lunch Lady.  I know we will be adding more graphic novels as the year progresses.

During one of our first four days, I gave my readers the Donalyn Miller Reading Interest Survey.  I hadn't used it in a couple of years, but after following her on Twitter this summer, I knew I wanted to pull it out again and offer it to my students.  The students enjoyed filling it out and it was quite eye-opening to me how honest the 4th graders were.  I know these surveys will help me in guiding my readers to the right books this year. 

As I have stated before, it is amazing to me how an online community of educators, authors, and other professionals can make such a huge impact on me as a teacher.  It brings me such joy and satisfaction to be a member of Twitter and know that I'm actually learning new things daily that transfer to my classroom immediately.  This transfer of information is truly beneficial to my students!

Thank you Twitter friends for all of this new learning and for making my 22nd year of teaching one of the best yet...

Monday, September 3, 2012

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Thanks to Jen and Kellee for hosting this idea on their site.  Here is a link to their site...
                
                 http://www.teachmentortexts.com/

Books I Read This Past Week...

Every Day by David Levithan (5 Stars out of 5 Stars)











Drama by Raina Telgemeier (4 Stars out of 5 Stars)











Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally) by Lisa Yee (3 Stars out of 5 Stars)

Books I Will Read This Coming Week...

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (Adult Book)
Babymouse Mad Scientist (#14) by Jennifer Holm
Babymouse For President (#16) by Jennifer Holm
The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller (This is a re-read for me)

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Every Day by David Levithan (Adult Book)

For my second "official" book review, I'm excited to review the book Every Day by David Levithan

How I Heard About It:  I have had this book on my Goodreads "to-read" list for quite a long time.  I can't quite remember how I heard about this book, but I do believe it was on Twitter.  I was thrilled when it came out last week. 

What It Is About:  The story revolves around the character of A.  He/She is a teenager that wakes up each morning in a new body of another teenager.  A spends the days in that person's body and lives their life for one day.  On one particular day A meets a girl and things start to get difficult.  How do you carry on a relationship when you are someone new each and every day? 

What I Thought Of It:  I was absolutely engrossed by this novel.  Once I started I could not put it down.  Even though it was written for teenagers, it was just as interesting to me as an adult reader.  I'm not sure if this book would be considered science fiction, but it is like nothing else I have read.  The story of A and his daily adventures kept me interested and wondering where the story was going to go and how it would all be wrapped up.  Another positive aspect of this novel was how the author included issues involving teenagers such as appearance, peer groups/peer pressure, sexuality, and acceptance. 

Who Should Read It:  Even though this book is targeted toward teen readers, I think adult readers would also enjoy it.  The premise is so different and unique.  The story line draws the reader in right away and doesn't let up until the very last page.  I was able to read the book over a two-day period.  I don't think it would be appropriate for readers under 9th grade, but a great fit for anyone older than that!  Enjoy...