Fantasy: A World Away from Middle School

This is the first year I've taught middle school since my first year teaching eight years ago.  Many variables about me as a teacher have changed since that first year.  One of the most important variables being that I have grown in my understanding knowing what books my students are reading and basing my recommendations off of those preferences.  Each year my understanding of books is constantly developing and evolving.  The past couple of years, while teaching upper elementary, I read a lot of realistic and historical fiction. These were the two genres my students really seemed to gravitate towards. No matter how many fantasy book I tried to book talk with students, they just never showed any interest within this genre.  

Beginning this year, while teaching 7th grade, I predicted realistic fiction would be the genre of choice.  I've never been so wrong.  I can't keep fantasy books on my shelves.  The student's top three genres to read are fantasy, sci-fi and dystopian (per reading conference discussions). In my opinion, these genres are very closely related and at times hard to seperate.  I have commented over and over to students how they have helped me close my reading gap in the area of fantasy.  Their love of this genre continues to amaze me on a daily basis.  Two students have made very insightful comments about this genre that have really stuck with me.

"I read fantasy because books with characters my age or younger are too immature for me.  However, realistic fiction books with older character contain love and romance that I don't like reading about right now.  Fantasy books take me to a different world where I don't have to worry about either of those things."

"I used to read fantasy books 24/7, but now I've stopped reading because I don't know who to talk to about finding even darker fantasy books.  I might consider a different genre, but I'm not sure I'm ready to read about the world without the possibility of another world hidden inside it."

I wish I would have been as insightful about reading in 7th grade as these two students are with their reading choices.  I am slowly nudging them towards other genres, but only because I think they are ready to try a new genre without extinguishing their love of reading.  Fantasy will probably continue to be their genre of choice for many years to come, if not forever.  I'm just thankful that I have been able to listen to my students and build my collection around their needs (more fantasy) and not so much of my wants and past experiences (realistic and historical fiction).  

Heavy Medal Tradition

I treasure the time that I get to spend reading with my three young children.  Books can bring out the best giggles, as well as questions and discussion topics from my children.  A book can change a bad mood in an instant.  The second Mr. Tigers gets naked or Flora and the Flamingo topple over the contagious giggles begin.  While reading Island:  Story of the Galapagos, many questions were asked and eventually inspired a loved of blue footed  boobies within my oldest child.  The exclamation point in a thought bubble within Creepy Carrots made my then two year old love the thought of new ideas.  Because of this love of books, I have been discussing the upcoming awards with my children.  They know that I wanted Paperboy by Vince Vawter to be awarded a Newbery (yay!!!!).  Over the past couple of days my kids have picked their favorite books for the Caldecott based on our favorite picture books read over the past year.  Gavin wanted Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, Autumn wanted Flora and the Flamingo and Evan wanted Carnivores.  The first thing my kids asked me when I picked them up tonight was if any of their books got an award.  Autumn was thrilled to learn that Flora was awarded an honor.  Within all the book discussion excitement, my tender hearted six year old asked if we could give his teacher the "big" Caldecott award book, so that she can share it with his class.  My husband and I both thought this was a great idea, so we have decided to start a tradition as our kids go through school.  Each year we plan on donating the "big" Caldecott, Newbery, or Printz Award book the kid's teachers throughout their K-12 career.  I know that there are many other books to be celebrated, aside from the medal winning books.  However, I feel that this is going to be a fun tradition to watch evolve as my children grow older, and will hopefully lead to many thoughtful questions and discussions.  

If you haven't had a chance to check out this year's medal winners, I encourage you to take a look and discover some new amazing reads. 

2014 ALA Youth Media Award Winners

Slice of Life - Squishy Fingers

The moment I woke up Sunday morning I knew the dreaded stomach virus had found me.  My husband told the kids to stay out of the bedroom, so that I could rest quietly.  I had just dozed off when I heard the bedroom door slowly squeak open.  Assuming that it was just my husband I continued sleeping.  Then I felt them, squishy fingers that smelled like a combination of Play-Doh and peanut butter and jelly, massaging my face so carefully.  

"Shhhhh mommy.  Don't tell daddy I here."

I just nodded and smiled at him.

"Drink all you juice and I bring more so you feel better."

"Okay honey, I can do that for you."

Next thing I knew those squishy fingers were gently rubbing my eyelids, just like I do to him when I rock him to sleep.

"You sleep mommy and I tell you a story."

I wish I could remember the story that my little man told me.  However, I was so tired that I was already asleep before he started the story.  My husband said he came into the room and Evan, my squishy fingered three year old, was sitting on the bed jabbering words he couldn't understand while holding my hand.  

Young Adult Readers in a Middle School Classroom

Last week I returned from four intense days of learning at the NCTE Annual Convention in Boston, MA.   One of the many perks of attending was the amount of free books that I received for my classroom library.  I brought back over 70 books for my students!  In talking with colleagues, I decided that one of the quickest ways to get the books into the hands of the students was to do a book pass, or as I like to call it “Speed Dating with Books”.  When I was sharing this idea with my husband, he asked me how I’m going to make sure these books are appropriate for all of my students.  That’s an impossible task.  There is no way to make sure all books are appropriate for all readers.   However, that doesn’t mean that I should prevent my students from reading some of the books in this new collection for the classroom library.

Being that this is my first year teaching 7^th graders, I am finding that this is a pivotal year for them as readers.  I have some readers who are devouring Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell, Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.  I also have a group of readers who can’t get enough of Bigger Than a Breadbox  by Laurel Snyder, Rump by Liesl Shurtliff and The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen.  The students who are reading books in the first category came to me reading those books.  If I were to “censor” their book selections or make recommendations avoiding books that have young adult content including vulgar language, abuse or sexually active teens they would ignore my suggestions and read them anyway. 

Making assumptions about where students have been and lives they have lived, even at the age of twelve, can be difficult.  It saddens me to think about some of the things my students have witnessed and experienced at such a young age.  I know that many of their peers (or even teachers) couldn’t even fathom going through such experiences.  Therefore, many students feel alone in the world believing that no one could possible understand what they are going through.  Reading books with similar experiences can help student find a place in this world.  These books might mean that there is actually someone else out there struggling or overcoming similar issues as them. 

As for students who have not experienced any of the abuse, depression or sexually related content in young adult novels, these books can still provide a sense of understanding and compassion.  I remember some of the books that I read when I was in middle school, and looking back I realize how much of the explicit content I truly did not understand.  However, I still feel that I was able to have an emotional connection with many of the characters.  I learned compassion and my eyes were opened to an entire world that I didn’t know existed.  I truly believe that these books have made me a better person today because they first taught me how to be compassionate and empathetic.

As a teacher, this doesn’t mean I will hand any book to just any student without thoughtful conversations about the content.  The majority of the books I received at NCTE I have not yet read.  However, many of my friends that also teach middle school have read them.  I will look at their reviews on Goodreads before determining how to handle a book within my classroom.  I have some books that I keep behind my desk, and there are certain students that know they can check those books out at any time.  I determine who those students are based on the books they have already shared and discussed with me.   However, there are some books that I will directly recommend to a particular student knowing that their peers respect them as a reader.  Once that student finishes the book, the book popularity will spread like wildfire.   As much as I like to think of myself as a person that students will feel comfortable talking to about difficult content in books, I know that isn’t a realistic expectation.  Knowing that many peers in the classroom are reading and sharing the same book opens the door for supportive conversations between peers about difficult topics. 

Always remember that parent preference about book content is always first priority.  If a parent does not agree with a book that I have recommended or that their child has checked out from my classroom library, I always respect that parent’s choice.  This has only ever happened one time to me, but I know it probably won’t be the last time.  In that situation I listened to the parent’s concerns and made sure that any book I recommended in the future fit the parent’s expectations for their student as reader. 

Students want to read about stories that they can connect to as readers.  One student said to me, “I don’t like reading books with characters younger than me.”  I think this statement is true for the majority of middle school readers.   If we want to help inspire our students as readers, we need to meet them where they are, and be prepared for them to want to read books about drinking, drugs, rape, sex and relationships.  These books can help open the doors to conversations and action involving compassion, empathy and understanding. 

I’ll leave you with some great thoughts about Jackson Pearce’s perspective of the “F-Bomb” in books.  

Celebrating Halloween

I hope everyone had a very safe and fun Halloween this past week!  The weather had the potential for becoming dangerous on Trick or Treat night here, so the time was changed to ensure everyone remained safe.  Despite the rain, my three children had a blast dressing up and collecting candy!  This is the first year all three of my children really understood the concept of Trick or Treat.  There was lots of strategizing and plotting that happened.  It only took skipping one house without their lights off for my kids to scope out the houses with lights on, and plan that we would only be knocking on those doors.  It  makes my heart happy when I step back and watch my three children interact with each other.  My daughter, Autumn, is the middle child, but she does not hesitate to become the ring leader of the crew.  Gavin, my oldest, is very methodical and strategic and he will take her plans and find a focused, organized approach.  Then there comes the youngest of the crew, Evan, who ignores the plan and charges in with his own ideas.  Gavin and Autumn are always on the look out to protect Evan from doing something that would be dangerous, but are never far behind in joining in with his crazy ideas. Watching this process of interactions happen while collecting candy, dressed as Spiderman, a flower and Yoda, and playing in the rain is definitely a memory I will be celebrating for years to come.  

Celebrate This Week: Skyping and Perseverance

This past week was a crazy whirlwind of events.  However, I have several awesome celebrations to share!  

1.  On Wednesday, our 7th grade students had the opportunity to Skype with author Chris Grabenstein.   This is the first author Skype visit I have ever attended or coordinated, so I was nervous to say the least.  There were about 300 seventh graders in attendance for the session, and only half of them had the opportunity to read The Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library.  All of the students had the chance to research him before the Skype, but I was still nervous that the students who had not read the book would not take the Skype session seriously.  All of the students were AMAZING!!  The questions that the students asked Chris Grabenstein were well thought out, and led to some very interesting and creative answers.  He was entertaining and provided a wonderful first author Skype experience for the staff and students.  I am so thankful that I work with a group of people who helped support this opportunity for the students.  I am also celebrating the fact that I have my first Skype visit under my belt! 

2.  One of the 7th grade social studies teachers that I work with is in the process of teaching his students how to create a digital textbook.  The students will be creating digital learning objects and putting them into the textbook for other students, current and future, to use to master understanding of content knowledge. In order to provide this opportunity to as many students as possible, on an individual basis, he is trying to get more iPads for his classroom.   Therefore, he created a Donors Choose grant project to help with this goal.  The funding for this project started on Wednesday (around $1,000) and he text me yesterday morning to let me know that the project was already fully funded.  His determination and perseverance to do whatever needs to be done to help students learn, in a way that is beneficial for them, needs to be celebrated.  I also want to celebrate those people who donated to this project.  I am so impressed with people's willingness to help children learn and helping to provide them with a positive education experience by donating to classroom projects.  

I have no doubt that this upcoming week will be full of more reasons to celebrate amazing things that are happening around me!  

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

IT’S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING? FROM PICTURE BOOKS TO YA!

These memes were started by Teach Mentor Texts and Book Journeys, to inspire readers to share books they have read and will be reading. I have found many of my current reads by following bloggers participating in It’s Monday! What are you reading? Be sure to check out their sites for more information on what they are reading, and learn how to participate. 

                   

Books Read Last Week:

Title:  Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Author:  Ransom Riggs

Title:  A Long Walk to Water

Author:  Linda Sue Park

Currently Reading:

Title:  Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Author:  Benjamin Alire Sanez