Spring Break and at last a new posting...

A post that never got published from Spring 2009? Wow! This semester I am taking Young Adult Literature so I am reading constantly. Here is a short recap...

Required Reading...
1. Realistic fiction: McCaughrean, Geraldine. (2007). The white darkness. New York: Harper
Tempest. (action/adventure)
2. Historical fiction: Schlitz, Laura Amy. (2007). Good masters! Sweet ladies!: Voices from a
medieval village. New York: Candlewick Press. (This is also a classroom connections book)
3. Science fiction/Fantasy: Ruff, Matt. (2007). Bad monkeys. New York: HarperCollins.
4. Humorous/Sports: Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. (2008) New York: Houghton Mifflin.
5. Mystery/Horror: Jenkins, A.M. (2006). Beating heart: A ghost story. New York:
HarperCollins.
6. Poetry: Hemphill, Stephanie. (2007). Your own, Sylvia: A verse portrait of Sylvia Plath. New
York: Knopf.
7. Multicultural: Budhos, Marina. (2006). Ask me no questions. New York: Simon & Schuster.
8. Nonfiction: Barakat, Ibtisam. (2007). Tasting the sky: A Palestinian childhood. New York:
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
9. Graphic novel: Shivack, Nadia. (2007). Inside out: Portrait of an eating disorder. New York:
Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
10. Classic YA literature: Blume, Judy. (1975). Forever. New York: Simon Pulse

My favorites were Ask me no questions and Tasting the sky,! Both give unimaginable looks into the life of another culture. I enjoyed both and would recommend them highly. Tasting the Sky was my favorite and the writing was brilliant.

We also had to choose five novels to read and write papers about for class and five to do a book talk about. I am still in the process of reading these. My favorite so far has been The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl. A facinating tale of two stereotypical teens who become friends and find that they are both so much more than a stereotype.

Lyga, Barry (2007). The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

This week is Spring Break and again I am of course reading. I am currently reading the Adoration of Jenna Fox and enjoying it. Yet this is not my only class, I am also taking cataloging. It has given me a whole new appreciation for what goes into a library book getting on the shelf and into the database. Thank goodness for the library of congress website!

Links for Learning...

A recent grad school project was finding links I would suggest to teachers to use with their classes... Here are several of my finds. http://www.journeymart.com/tools/world-holidays/default.aspx Wonderful resource for teaching social studies and holidays celebrated around the world to elementary students. Students can select by country to explore celebrations or by month. http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moagrp/ Excellent digital library of primary sources for social studies and history teachers. Maps, Biographies, Timelines, etc. http://www.on-this-day.com Digital calendar of historical events from the Civil War to Music. Useful to create timelines, reports, biographies. http://www.factmonster.com/ Internet encyclopedia for students doing research covers from World News to Sports. Useful for researching topics and also for homework help in subject areas. http://www.tshaonline.org/moved.html Great resource for elementary students researching Texas. Provides teacher resources with wonderful lessons and worksheets TEKS listed for fourth, seventh and eighth graders. http://www.rhymer.com Online rhyming dictionary for use by language arts students. Great for poetry writing and rhyming activities. http://thesaurus.com/ Online thesaurus for students that provides part of speech, pronunciation, synonyms and antonyms as well as a visual representation of the word and related words. Excellent for word choice activities and writing. http://www.travelmath.com/ Online calculator that allows students to search destinations compare travel costs, budget and plan a trip. Super resource to do budgeting and planning activities with students. http://www.howstuffworks.com/ Excellent source for understanding the world and how the things in it work. Excellent source for how to writing and science fair project background information http://www.worldbookonline.com Web based encyclopedia for students. Excellent source for research. Super to research topics for papers, science fair projects and famous historical figures and events. http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/ Internet based index for elementary students covering a wide range of topics and providing useful information for research and classroom learning. http://www.pebblego.com Great resource for researching animals and other scientific topics. Easy to use and interactive for primary students. http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/ Great resource for reports on Astronauts http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/ Excellent for research projects involving scientists and discoveries, creating timelines of scientific discoveries or exploring the world of Science. http://www.aaamath.com Excellent source of information and practice on all math topics for grades K-8. http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/ Great website for students to practice skills and build speed with facts. http://www.kids.gov/educators/ed_careers.shtml Great website for researching career choices based on subject interests. http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/women.htm Great resource for students researching famous women mathematicians. http://www.merriam-webster.com/ Free online dictionary for students. http://www.kidsreads.com/authors Great biographical information on children’s authors. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html Excellent site for students researching countries, their location, population and other data. http://kathyschrock.net/research/works2.htm Great resource for teaching citing works to elementary students for research writing.

Finish line...

Wow has it really been so long since I posted on my blog. After taking a couple of years off to help my mom as she started dialysis, I finally returned to graduate school last summer to finish my degree in library science. I am happy to report I have completed all my classes and passed my certification exam. The only obstacle still in my way is completing my internship this summer! It has been a long journey but I am thrilled to finally be completing my degree. Now the real adventure begins!