What I'm Reading {6-22-15}

Last week, I was reading heaven when I attended the All Write conference in Warsaw, IN.  Not only did I connect with several friends that I knew only through blogging, I learned from some of the masters of reading and writing instruction and came away with a TBR list a mile long.

Michele of Mrs. Knott's Book Nook

Andrea of Mrs. Payan Reads

Linda Baie of Teacher Dance

The Honest Truth =  5 Stars
On my way to and from All Write, I listened to Dan Gemeinhart's The Honest Truth.  I'll have to admit, I didn't know exactly what to expect with this story, but I had heard amazing things about it.  It did not disappoint.  It is the story of a young boy who is faced with a life threatening illness and fights to live life on his own terms by climbing Mount Rainier with his loyal dog, Bo.  While I felt there were parts of the story that were being dragged out, at the end I realized why this was done and was super impressed with the surprise ending. (And if you love dogs, you will surely fall in love with Bo.)

Conferring with Readers

Jennifer Serravello was one of my favorite speakers from All Write.  In this book, Jennifer walks us through the ins and outs of conferring with our readers.  The writing is clear and purposeful and is giving me some fantastic ideas for when I return to the classroom in the fall.  If you need help with this skill, I definitely recommend this book!

I came home from All Write with a cart full of books in my Amazon account.  Let's just say that I am looking forward to the mail delivery today...

What are you reading?

This Week's Reads {6-15-15}

I swore that this summer, I was not going to build a "TBR" pile. I was just going to pick up any book I wanted and read it.

That was then....

Now, I have TWO TBR piles going and I don't see it stopping any time soon.  Ughhh....

This week:

Tomorrow, I will facilitate a class on growth mindset with several teachers from our district as a part of our summer PD.  This is the text we will be reading.  I love Ricci's practical suggestions and her clear explanations of the research behind growth mindset.

This book was made for explaining growth mindset to students.  I read it to prepare for tomorrow's class, but know that it will be one of the first books I read to my students this fall when we talk about growth mindset.

I'm reading Paper Towns in hopes of getting my teenage daughter to read it before the movie comes out next week.  I'd have to admit that I am having a tough time with it though.  I find it to be so much like Looking for Alaska and there are lots of other books I want to get to.  I'm considering abandoning it.

I've been having a rough time getting my writing kick started this summer.  The craziness of the end of the school year got me out of habit.  Last summer, I read The Right to Write by Julia Cameron and found so much inspiration in it that I knew this book would help me.  It basically is a 12 week "course" on how to restart your creative self.  There is one chapter dedicated to each week with activities and reflections.

Happy Reading!

It's Monday! Here's What I'm Reading {12-29-14}

Thanks to Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee from Unleashing Readers for hosting this weekly reading check in.  It is my first check in in a long time (maybe ever???).

This winter break has really helped me reconnect with my reader-self.  One of my goals for 2015 is to read more kid lit.  With amazing book talks flying around on Twitter and in the blogosphere, I know I will be in good hands.

Here's what I've been reading:

A fun story of a young girl who struggles to fit in because she moves around a lot with her mom.  Finally, she and her mom end up living with her uncle and she finds the stability and home that she so desperately wanted.  Through all of this, she uses her writer's notebook as a source of strength and connection as she finally makes a friend in her new home.  This would be a great story to share with a student who is shy and looking for a way to connect with others.

After hearing all the buzz about this book on Twitter, I finally finished it last week.  I love that it is a graphic novel (my first one!) and is a story to perseverance and imagination.  Although there are some things I wish the author would have left out of this book, knowing that children would read it (teachers smoking in the lounge...), I do recognize that it is autobiographical and those things probably did happen back in the 70's and 80's.

Who knew there were so many jobs done by the simple feather?  This is an amazing informational text, packed with fun facts and tidbits.  I know my students will enjoy this one!

This week, I am hooked, hooked, hooked on this book:

There is a lot of award talk going on about this book and I can see why!  I will finish it soon and post next week.

My other goals for break are to read:

Ambitious, I know, but I do have a new goal to work on!  Wish me luck!

What are you reading?