SOLC Day 3: The Power of Words

As I was watching my children play tonight, I was reflecting on how far my oldest son has come with his speech.  He really didn't start talking until 2 1/2 years of age, and even then it was very difficult to understand what he was saying.  He currently receives speech and language services and at times people who don't talk to him frequently struggle to understand what he is saying.  With that being said, he works so hard at his speech is very proud of himself when he finallly masters a new sound or correct pronoun.  My youngest two, on the other hand, came out of the womb speaking.  I seriously can't remember a time when they couldn't talk.  I truly believe that their speech is what has helped my oldest makes such huge leaps and bounds in terms of his speech.  One thing all three of them had in common was using new words my oldest created in place of commonly used words.  Some of my all time favorite creations were:  bajew (cookie), bock bock (chicken nuggets), pow pow (Lightening McQueen) and lasterday (yesterday).  It's funny how I can so distinctly remember hearing him say these words for the first time, but not other moments within his speech life.  Tonight, listening to him sing London Bridge and Ring Around the Rosie with his siblings makes me so proud of how far he's come with his speech. This is especially true since there was a point and time when I was worried about him never learning to speak. 

SOLC: Disconnected

Everything in my life feels so disconnected at this point and time.  I'm hoping that by blogging daily in the month of March, I will be able to begin reflecting and connecting the pieces of my life back together.  I have had people tell me many times that every yes also equals a no.  Lately, it seems as though I have been telling my family no more than yes.  It's difficult for me to cut back on school when I am so passionate about what I do for school.  Typing that makes me feel so horribly guilty, because shouldn't I be more passionate about my family than I am about my job?  My focus for this Slice of Life Challenge is to make more time to say yes to my family.  I want to take time to enjoy the small moments and begin to say yes to so many more larger moments along the way.  

My small moment for the day was my four year old daughter proudly announcing that she got ready all on her own...just like mommy!  As I turned around she was wearing a beautiful shade of lipstick.  This lipstick just so happened to be heavily coating her eyelids.  After taking her picture (I'm a firm believer in teenage blackmail), I helped her wash her face and talked to her about all the reasons that she is beautiful.  She told me that a smile and happiness is what makes her beautiful, but makeup makes her a big girl like mommy.  

Slice of Life: Reading Inspiration

Today I had the privilege to go watch some of my students present in the local science fair.  I was blown away with some of the topics that were researched by this group of seventh graders.  However, one of the most memorable event of the science fair was a discussion that I had with a group of random students.  One boy, who is in my language arts class, excitedly approached me to let me know that he finally finished Allegiant.  When I asked him about the ending, he paused and was quickly interrupted by a student that I had never met, so that they could share their opinion of the ending.  Within thirty seconds, there was a group of at least twelve students gathered around debating the effectiveness of the ending of Allegiant.  Opinions were varied, but after much discussion back and forth it was decided that the ending made sense for the overall theme of the story despite the disappointing turn of events.  As we were wrapping up the discussion, a random adult approached this animated group of students and reminded them that this was science  fair, and not a book fair.  Without missing a beat, a student responded that reading is what made him interested in his topic for the science fair. I was thrilled about the random book discussion that had just taken place, but even more impressed by this student's response to some random person about how reading can inspire all aspects of our lives.  

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.