This Saturday's entry is a little different. From time to time I will be posting some of my student's writing. They have asked for honest feedback. All of them are sixth graders and wish to become professional writers. I am thrilled to have them in my classroom for two hours a week where we share our writing and dreams.
I am asking for feedback for this student. She has written the beginning to a story or possibly a book. She is a 6th grader and has asked for the following:
1. Please give honest feedback.
2. Please don't steal her material.
Shattered
There are three things I know for certain. My name is Elizabeth. My mom hates me, and I am to blame for my father's death.
My memory of that day was fuzzy, seeing as I was only three. My dad was humming in the kitchen making gumbo. I was in the living room playing tea set with my mother's china. My mother is what they call bipolar. When she came in and saw me playing with her China she yelled a curse word so bad I couldn't even tell you what it was. As she yelled I dropped a plat that shattered against the linoleum. By the time she started to scream again my dad had scooped me up, covering me in the scent of light cologne and shrimp gumbo with all of the cajun fixings. My dad yelled harshly, "She's a child Luanne. No need to get nasty, calm down now." My dad then cooler her off by going and giving her the biggest bear hug you can get.
Later that night as my daddy was tucking me in, LuAnne came in with a gun. She shot my daddy in the head and screeched, "be calm my behind!" When she called the police hysterical an hour later I thought she was confessing. But what she was really doing was telling them that he committed suicide. I was three so I could not tell them what really happened. And now that I am older they say I could have made it up. To this day I have hated myself for nine years, 10 months, and seventeen days. There is only five days until my birthday. Five more days and that will make me thirteen years old and ten years of hating myself. If I had not been playing with LuAnne's china my dad would not have told her to calm down and LuAnne would not have shot him. My life, my hope, my dreams, were shattered at three years old. He was all I wanted and I took him away.
Showing posts with label Student Saturday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Student Saturday. Show all posts
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Student Saturday - Something Different
My students have been preparing for state testing so book reviews have fallen away recently. This week in our "canned" reading program we read about and discussed ways to save our planet. Our discussion about recycling and reusing things brought out some interesting thoughts. For example the majority of my students don't want to be bothered with recycling. Most of them find it repulsive to consider shopping at a Goodwill, Salvation Army, second hand/consignment shop, or yard sale. They would accept hand me downs from a sibling but that would be as far as they would go. This prompted me to ask them what they would do in the case of a major catastrophe. Thirty minutes into our discussion I learned the following:
1. We as adults are in deep trouble if we consider leaving our future in the hands of my middles schoolers.
2. Most don't know where different crops are grown.
3. Most don't know how their clothes are made.
4. Most don't know how they get their food and water.
5. The saddest thing is, most don't care.
When I suggested they tell me how they would survive major catastrophes they were clueless. They thought that if there was not electricity in the entire area that they would be able to have water because after all it just runs through the pipes freely into their homes.
I gave the the following assignment. They were to write a RAFT paper. For those of you unfamiliar with this, RAFT is an accronym for Role - Audience- Format - Topic
They were to play the role of a survivor after several major catastrophes had hit their country. Their audience was a relative, the Format was a letter and the Topic was surviving in spite of these catastrophes. I left it pretty open ended for them. They had lost all electricity and ability to communicate by phones, computers, or anything electronic. They had major climate changes, major crop failures, no gas, and getting water was a problem. What I am sharing with you is a sample from one of my students.
Here is Lonnie's. I hope you enjoy it.
Dear Jamal,
It is dark and cold and there's trash everywhere. It smells like the ocean's never been cleaned . Everyone is hungry. Ever since a humongous earthquake hit my town, there's been nothing but giant gaps on the road and under buildings. There is no electricity, the prices for everything are sky high, the water is all gone, cars all all used up and the buildings are all wrecked. I don't know how we're all survivng but we are just happy that we are. There are piles and piles of trash everywhere and we don't know how to get rid of it. The smell is so repulsive that we are actually getting used to it. All of our clothes are gone except what we have on. They are ripped, stinky, and barely visible. Almost all of our trees are gone because we had to use those to cook our food so we're running lower and lower on oxygen. I can't breathe, can't see, and I don't know if I can make it. I have no idea where my family is and I don't know where I am. The town is so wrecked that rocks blocked our escape. Tears are running down my face like crazy and I'm shaking like there's no tomorrow, which we know might be. I might not survive another day so if you ever find my family tell them I love them.
He did an excellent job of describing the situation. However like many of my students, he knows what he needs and but he's not sure how to get it. We will explore this further. Think about it. A meteor hit the earth and knocked it off of its axis. The climates have changed which has caused major problems with growing crops, getting food, water and clothing, staying warm, etc. How would you survive? I asked this of several adults and the over all answer was, "I'm sure someone would collect enough money and send us aid." I grew up in the country. I have enough skills I believe that I would be able to find a way to survive. Being creative and learning to improvise and work with others would be helpful.
Join the fun here. How do you think you would fair? Would you be a survivor? Would you give up?
1. We as adults are in deep trouble if we consider leaving our future in the hands of my middles schoolers.
2. Most don't know where different crops are grown.
3. Most don't know how their clothes are made.
4. Most don't know how they get their food and water.
5. The saddest thing is, most don't care.
When I suggested they tell me how they would survive major catastrophes they were clueless. They thought that if there was not electricity in the entire area that they would be able to have water because after all it just runs through the pipes freely into their homes.
I gave the the following assignment. They were to write a RAFT paper. For those of you unfamiliar with this, RAFT is an accronym for Role - Audience- Format - Topic
They were to play the role of a survivor after several major catastrophes had hit their country. Their audience was a relative, the Format was a letter and the Topic was surviving in spite of these catastrophes. I left it pretty open ended for them. They had lost all electricity and ability to communicate by phones, computers, or anything electronic. They had major climate changes, major crop failures, no gas, and getting water was a problem. What I am sharing with you is a sample from one of my students.
Here is Lonnie's. I hope you enjoy it.
Dear Jamal,
It is dark and cold and there's trash everywhere. It smells like the ocean's never been cleaned . Everyone is hungry. Ever since a humongous earthquake hit my town, there's been nothing but giant gaps on the road and under buildings. There is no electricity, the prices for everything are sky high, the water is all gone, cars all all used up and the buildings are all wrecked. I don't know how we're all survivng but we are just happy that we are. There are piles and piles of trash everywhere and we don't know how to get rid of it. The smell is so repulsive that we are actually getting used to it. All of our clothes are gone except what we have on. They are ripped, stinky, and barely visible. Almost all of our trees are gone because we had to use those to cook our food so we're running lower and lower on oxygen. I can't breathe, can't see, and I don't know if I can make it. I have no idea where my family is and I don't know where I am. The town is so wrecked that rocks blocked our escape. Tears are running down my face like crazy and I'm shaking like there's no tomorrow, which we know might be. I might not survive another day so if you ever find my family tell them I love them.
He did an excellent job of describing the situation. However like many of my students, he knows what he needs and but he's not sure how to get it. We will explore this further. Think about it. A meteor hit the earth and knocked it off of its axis. The climates have changed which has caused major problems with growing crops, getting food, water and clothing, staying warm, etc. How would you survive? I asked this of several adults and the over all answer was, "I'm sure someone would collect enough money and send us aid." I grew up in the country. I have enough skills I believe that I would be able to find a way to survive. Being creative and learning to improvise and work with others would be helpful.
Join the fun here. How do you think you would fair? Would you be a survivor? Would you give up?
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Sunday's Comment Challenge
Paige from Reading and Breathing is a middle school librarian. She reviews books that most teens would like whether they are middle school or high school. For those of us who like YA books this is a site to be checked out. She has something for everyone. I look forward to visiting again.
Are you looking for some fudge or chocolates for valentines day? How about a swanky vintage apron or a beautiful scarf? No? If none of this appeals to you then maybe you will find a book that you would like to read by stopping in at New Horizons where you will find links to the above listed giveaways and books reviews.
The Reading Zone is a literacy blog you have to check out. Today when I read her posts for the 19th she had several links up. The one I enjoyed the most was the link to The Reading Countess who questions what our classrooms would be like if we didn’t test our students to death. This is a must read for all teachers. Please indulge me while I step up on my soap box for a minute. I teach in a Title I school where we get every test that comes down the pike. I think they believe that students from a poor or migrant background will only improve if we take time away from teaching them to test them. We do 3 tests during the year called FAIR, that tests their reading, math and science. We do 2 – 3 writing tests for practice before the big State Writing Test. We have a core curriculum the district spent lots of money on so that everyone in every school is on the same page. They teach the same books, novels, tests, etc. Each lesson has, yep you got it more State Testing Practice, Then in march we have our FCAT, (Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test), Then add to that the three mandated fluency tests for all students who are in reading classes and with my scripted reading program the once a week fluency test, you will see there is not a lot of time left for teaching what the children need. I tutor 2 afternoons a week a program geared specifically for the State Test. I teach a State Test Boot Camp class on Saturdays and on Wednesday afternoons for the next five weeks our eighth grade students are going through training for the 8th grade Writing Test. How did they get these kids? They bribed them with an ipod. Of course the only ones who have shown up are the kids who enjoy writing and already score high on it. One day, before it is too late we need to take a look at what we are doing to kids with too much testing.
Do you enjoy cooking? Then pop on over to Amy’s site Vintage Cookbooks. It is here she reviews vintage cookbooks and posts and comments on recipes within them. If nothing else some of the posts for some of the recipes are absolutely hilarious. I will check her out because I have approximately 20 old recipe books that I have collected.
Rantings of a Bookworm Couch Potato is a new site for me. Dana claims to have lurked around blogs for quite a while before deciding to create a blog. She does a great job of writing reviews. My favorite so far is the review on the 19th about the book Firmin by Sam Savage. I am going to order the book. After checking some of the comments left about the book I also added the book The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers. A commentor mentioned this book was very similar. I can’t wait to read them. Please stop by and tell this new blogger hi and let her know what a great job she is doing.
Are you looking for some fudge or chocolates for valentines day? How about a swanky vintage apron or a beautiful scarf? No? If none of this appeals to you then maybe you will find a book that you would like to read by stopping in at New Horizons where you will find links to the above listed giveaways and books reviews.
The Reading Zone is a literacy blog you have to check out. Today when I read her posts for the 19th she had several links up. The one I enjoyed the most was the link to The Reading Countess who questions what our classrooms would be like if we didn’t test our students to death. This is a must read for all teachers. Please indulge me while I step up on my soap box for a minute. I teach in a Title I school where we get every test that comes down the pike. I think they believe that students from a poor or migrant background will only improve if we take time away from teaching them to test them. We do 3 tests during the year called FAIR, that tests their reading, math and science. We do 2 – 3 writing tests for practice before the big State Writing Test. We have a core curriculum the district spent lots of money on so that everyone in every school is on the same page. They teach the same books, novels, tests, etc. Each lesson has, yep you got it more State Testing Practice, Then in march we have our FCAT, (Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test), Then add to that the three mandated fluency tests for all students who are in reading classes and with my scripted reading program the once a week fluency test, you will see there is not a lot of time left for teaching what the children need. I tutor 2 afternoons a week a program geared specifically for the State Test. I teach a State Test Boot Camp class on Saturdays and on Wednesday afternoons for the next five weeks our eighth grade students are going through training for the 8th grade Writing Test. How did they get these kids? They bribed them with an ipod. Of course the only ones who have shown up are the kids who enjoy writing and already score high on it. One day, before it is too late we need to take a look at what we are doing to kids with too much testing.
Do you enjoy cooking? Then pop on over to Amy’s site Vintage Cookbooks. It is here she reviews vintage cookbooks and posts and comments on recipes within them. If nothing else some of the posts for some of the recipes are absolutely hilarious. I will check her out because I have approximately 20 old recipe books that I have collected.
Rantings of a Bookworm Couch Potato is a new site for me. Dana claims to have lurked around blogs for quite a while before deciding to create a blog. She does a great job of writing reviews. My favorite so far is the review on the 19th about the book Firmin by Sam Savage. I am going to order the book. After checking some of the comments left about the book I also added the book The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers. A commentor mentioned this book was very similar. I can’t wait to read them. Please stop by and tell this new blogger hi and let her know what a great job she is doing.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Saturday's Comment Challenge
I have been receiving email about giving a little blurb on the blogs I am visiting. As far as I am concerned the whole idea behind the challenge was to find other blogs we might not have found in the past. Having said that I think it would be a crime to visit that site and look only at the first post and leave a comment on it having never check out anything else that had been posted. I thank the parties involved in setting up this challenge.
Reading in Color promotes the reading and publishing of books by people of color. I believe our shelves are not well rounded if we don’t have representation of all. As a teacher I am constantly looking for books that will reach all of my students. Stop by and check out her site.
Lisa at “The Tao of Webfoot” is a writer and a landscaper. Not only does she have information about landscaping and beautiful pictures to go along with it, but she uses her knowledge of plants and landscaping to teach lessons of writing. A very lovely site you must visit.
Marg of Reading Adventures is definitely an avid reader. If you check her sidebar you will see she has an A-Z Index of books she has read. From what I saw it looks like most of the books she reads and reviews are adult books. A good source for those who like me read mostly YA and occasionally want to read a good adult book.
Liz Scanlon is a mother, teacher, and author of children’s books. Her posts about her life, her children and reading with her children are delightful. Reading how her children respond to books is uplifting. Knowing her children inspire her to write is priceless.
Michelle of Galley Smith has a very cute blog. When I check out someone’s site I don’t just read the first post and then leave. The first post may not really interest me. It was her January 10th post that excited me. I have bought a few graphic novels for my students. I have never really cared for them. I am not really sure why. I think this is something you either do or don’t like. HOWEVER, she reviewed a book by author Shaun Tan called the arrival, “a family’s tale of immigration” and I decided it was worth me taking a look at. I have put it on my TBR pile. I even went so far as to check my library’s catalogue system to see if they have it then put it on my Library list of books to check out.
Reading in Color promotes the reading and publishing of books by people of color. I believe our shelves are not well rounded if we don’t have representation of all. As a teacher I am constantly looking for books that will reach all of my students. Stop by and check out her site.
Lisa at “The Tao of Webfoot” is a writer and a landscaper. Not only does she have information about landscaping and beautiful pictures to go along with it, but she uses her knowledge of plants and landscaping to teach lessons of writing. A very lovely site you must visit.
Marg of Reading Adventures is definitely an avid reader. If you check her sidebar you will see she has an A-Z Index of books she has read. From what I saw it looks like most of the books she reads and reviews are adult books. A good source for those who like me read mostly YA and occasionally want to read a good adult book.
Liz Scanlon is a mother, teacher, and author of children’s books. Her posts about her life, her children and reading with her children are delightful. Reading how her children respond to books is uplifting. Knowing her children inspire her to write is priceless.
Michelle of Galley Smith has a very cute blog. When I check out someone’s site I don’t just read the first post and then leave. The first post may not really interest me. It was her January 10th post that excited me. I have bought a few graphic novels for my students. I have never really cared for them. I am not really sure why. I think this is something you either do or don’t like. HOWEVER, she reviewed a book by author Shaun Tan called the arrival, “a family’s tale of immigration” and I decided it was worth me taking a look at. I have put it on my TBR pile. I even went so far as to check my library’s catalogue system to see if they have it then put it on my Library list of books to check out.
Student Review Saturday: The Giver
It has been a while since I did a Student Review Saturday. The seventh grade students have been reading The Giver by Lois Lowry. I thought I would show you three different reviews of this book. Each of these students focused on something a little different. If you have not read this book it is a must read. Then you must follow it up with the two other books that followed; Gathering Blue and then The Messenger. Awesome books.
Reviewed by Damaris
What if you lived in a community where everything is the same. Where there is no war or pain. Where there is no love. Where everything was chosen for you. That is where Jonas lives and everything is perfect. Until he becomes 12 and gets assigned to become the receiver, and get special training from the Giver. The Giver holds memories of pain and pleasure of life, and now it is time for Jonas to receive the truth, and there is no turning back. Would you like to read this book and see what happens to Jonas? People will like this boook if they like Science Fiction and Mystery. the book reminds me of a book called the Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn. They were both really good books.
Reviewed by Dadiana
How would you like to live in a controlled community? You wouldn't like it and neither would I. That is how Jonas, his dad, mom and Lilly his sister live. Their lives are controlled by the elders. You can't go out of the community because if you do you can't come back. At age 12 you learn about the babies. You don't have them other ladies have babies for everyone else. That's weird but I like weird and so do a lot of other people. If that is the case for you then you should read this book. This made me think about the Discovery channel when other ladies had babies for other people.
Reviewed by Elizabeth
have you ever imagined being in a perfect community with strict rules that you have to follow? Well if you haven't then this is your time to experience it. Jonas is a smart little boy who follows all the rules that are give to him. Lily is Jonas's little sister. Jonas can't wait until e is older because he will learn new things. He will discover how it is to be an adult. Also Jonas will play a role in the community. He wants to know what it is. I would recommend this book to anyone who hasn't experienced a perfect community. I would recommend it to them because they will know how it feels to be in one. I think that this book was better than I thought it was going to be. After all I loved this book. I see myself like Jonas. we both follow rules when they are given to us. I ask lots of questions on things that I don't understand. I was able to make a lot of connections between me and Jonas. That's why I like this book
Reviewed by Damaris
What if you lived in a community where everything is the same. Where there is no war or pain. Where there is no love. Where everything was chosen for you. That is where Jonas lives and everything is perfect. Until he becomes 12 and gets assigned to become the receiver, and get special training from the Giver. The Giver holds memories of pain and pleasure of life, and now it is time for Jonas to receive the truth, and there is no turning back. Would you like to read this book and see what happens to Jonas? People will like this boook if they like Science Fiction and Mystery. the book reminds me of a book called the Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn. They were both really good books.
Reviewed by Dadiana
How would you like to live in a controlled community? You wouldn't like it and neither would I. That is how Jonas, his dad, mom and Lilly his sister live. Their lives are controlled by the elders. You can't go out of the community because if you do you can't come back. At age 12 you learn about the babies. You don't have them other ladies have babies for everyone else. That's weird but I like weird and so do a lot of other people. If that is the case for you then you should read this book. This made me think about the Discovery channel when other ladies had babies for other people.
Reviewed by Elizabeth
have you ever imagined being in a perfect community with strict rules that you have to follow? Well if you haven't then this is your time to experience it. Jonas is a smart little boy who follows all the rules that are give to him. Lily is Jonas's little sister. Jonas can't wait until e is older because he will learn new things. He will discover how it is to be an adult. Also Jonas will play a role in the community. He wants to know what it is. I would recommend this book to anyone who hasn't experienced a perfect community. I would recommend it to them because they will know how it feels to be in one. I think that this book was better than I thought it was going to be. After all I loved this book. I see myself like Jonas. we both follow rules when they are given to us. I ask lots of questions on things that I don't understand. I was able to make a lot of connections between me and Jonas. That's why I like this book
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Saturday Comment Challenge
Melissa Sarno of “This Too” blog site is a writer. The one thing I really enjoyed is her pictures. They are warm and inviting. Maybe it is because the one and only time I have been to New York my husband and I spent a lot of time looking at old buildings and architecture. Her blog brought back those warm memories. She is a writer who seems to be stretching herself like me in the sense that she writes books for several different audiences. I wish her the best of luck. Go over and check out her site and the blogs she has been visiting.
Jennifer “From the Mixed Up Files” is a reviewer of children’s books. Reading her bio she is a writer, yet I still don’t know if she has anything published. Her sidebar had some wonderful links to other awesome writer spots. This is well worth checking out.
Meg at “A Piece of Evidence” has a very unique reading system. She challenges herself each year to read a particular genre. The first year she chose YA this year she has chosen Business Titles. For years all I read was YA. I’m not sure I could be so dedicated to one genre. I like them all. She says she is a newbie so go on over and check her out. If nothing else check out her links to “Melt”.
When you open "W.M. Morrell’s Musings from Down Under" you are greeted with an awesome picture of Waitomo Caves in her header. Her post today dealt with the recent tragedy in Haiti. I left the following comment on her site.
Our school has set up a fund raiser for aid to Haiti to be announced next week. Twenty-six of our students have family in Haiti. Of the twenty-six only two know for sure their family is safe. For three of these kids they have mothers, brothers and sisters still there, safety unknown. The rest of them has extended family, aunts and uncles, etc. I am the ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher at my school and at least 7 of those students are mine. One little girl was watching the news on the computer at school in my classroom because her father disconnected his television. He couldn't deal with watching it. All of her relatives live in Port au Prince. As she explained what was going on in some of the news scenes my classmates from other countries asked questions of her and reached out to her. I noticed one boy who usually can't get along with this girl going the extra mile to help her. I asked him why the change of heart and he said, “because earthquakes happen in Mexico too and it could be my family”. That is love for fellow man in action. I have seen many blogs directing others to sites where they can give to help Haiti. Please check out this site. It is beautifully and tastefully handled.
5. http://www.tesshilmo.blogspot.com/
Do you need a little inspiration or pep talk when it comes to your writing? Check out Tess Hilmo’s blog. I started reading her posts. She has some great info, great advice and most importantly when we feel down about our own writing her blog can pick us up. I watched the trailer for her middle grade novel “With a Name Like Love”. It is murder mystery. I can’t wait until it is published. It sounds like a book I definitely want on my shelves at school.
I am so happy to be participating in this Comment Challenge. I have found some wonderful new sites. What has interested me more than the sites that review books is the sites about writing. I had no idea there were that many out there. All that I have come across have been very beneficial to me.
Jennifer “From the Mixed Up Files” is a reviewer of children’s books. Reading her bio she is a writer, yet I still don’t know if she has anything published. Her sidebar had some wonderful links to other awesome writer spots. This is well worth checking out.
Meg at “A Piece of Evidence” has a very unique reading system. She challenges herself each year to read a particular genre. The first year she chose YA this year she has chosen Business Titles. For years all I read was YA. I’m not sure I could be so dedicated to one genre. I like them all. She says she is a newbie so go on over and check her out. If nothing else check out her links to “Melt”.
When you open "W.M. Morrell’s Musings from Down Under" you are greeted with an awesome picture of Waitomo Caves in her header. Her post today dealt with the recent tragedy in Haiti. I left the following comment on her site.
Our school has set up a fund raiser for aid to Haiti to be announced next week. Twenty-six of our students have family in Haiti. Of the twenty-six only two know for sure their family is safe. For three of these kids they have mothers, brothers and sisters still there, safety unknown. The rest of them has extended family, aunts and uncles, etc. I am the ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher at my school and at least 7 of those students are mine. One little girl was watching the news on the computer at school in my classroom because her father disconnected his television. He couldn't deal with watching it. All of her relatives live in Port au Prince. As she explained what was going on in some of the news scenes my classmates from other countries asked questions of her and reached out to her. I noticed one boy who usually can't get along with this girl going the extra mile to help her. I asked him why the change of heart and he said, “because earthquakes happen in Mexico too and it could be my family”. That is love for fellow man in action. I have seen many blogs directing others to sites where they can give to help Haiti. Please check out this site. It is beautifully and tastefully handled.
5. http://www.tesshilmo.blogspot.com/
Do you need a little inspiration or pep talk when it comes to your writing? Check out Tess Hilmo’s blog. I started reading her posts. She has some great info, great advice and most importantly when we feel down about our own writing her blog can pick us up. I watched the trailer for her middle grade novel “With a Name Like Love”. It is murder mystery. I can’t wait until it is published. It sounds like a book I definitely want on my shelves at school.
I am so happy to be participating in this Comment Challenge. I have found some wonderful new sites. What has interested me more than the sites that review books is the sites about writing. I had no idea there were that many out there. All that I have come across have been very beneficial to me.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Student Saturday
Student Saturday is where I post the reviews my students have done on books they have read for my class. These are their reviews and their opinions and theirs alone.
Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Reviewed by Student Jamari
Bud Caldwell is a ten year old African American Orphan and main character/narrator of the story. The story begins when Bud is still six years old and lives at home with his mom. He struggles with not knowing his father. Bud's mom and he have an enjoyable life together, spending time doing things like reading from his favorite book 20,000 Leaks Under the Sea, also known as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. Finding his mother dead after a few days of her being "sick" changes Bud's life forever. However, He is sent to an orphanage, which he calls "The Home", and it is here that he meets Bugs, his best friend.
I knew that the book would have something to do with a troubled African American kid, but after reading it, it blew my mind even farther. Bud sort of reminds me of Huckleberry Finn, a troubled kid on the Lam. I'd probably recommend this book to my mom because she'd find it unbelievably funny.
Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Reviewed by Student Jamari
Bud Caldwell is a ten year old African American Orphan and main character/narrator of the story. The story begins when Bud is still six years old and lives at home with his mom. He struggles with not knowing his father. Bud's mom and he have an enjoyable life together, spending time doing things like reading from his favorite book 20,000 Leaks Under the Sea, also known as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. Finding his mother dead after a few days of her being "sick" changes Bud's life forever. However, He is sent to an orphanage, which he calls "The Home", and it is here that he meets Bugs, his best friend.
I knew that the book would have something to do with a troubled African American kid, but after reading it, it blew my mind even farther. Bud sort of reminds me of Huckleberry Finn, a troubled kid on the Lam. I'd probably recommend this book to my mom because she'd find it unbelievably funny.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Student Review Saturday
Review of The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle
Jesse is an eighth grader and chose this book written in poetic form. The following is his review.
The book Surrender Tree was a book of poems that had to do with the Cuban War. The setting of the book is in Cuba. The war zone of Cuba is where it is really held. My favorite poem of the book is part one, The Names of the Flowers. The names of the flowers is about a girl named Rosa who is in the middle of the Cuban War. Rosa was a nurse that would help the sick and injured. The names of the flowers also talks about how it sounds when shots are fired and when the wind hits the leaves of trees when it gets quiet. I would recommend this book to my cousin. My cousin would really like this book because she likes poems and it has to do with a girl, so I think she would like it. The book didn't really live up to my expectations because I thought it would be a book about how Cuba took strike for freedom. But bow I know that they went to war for freedom. The connections I made for this book would be with the movie "Flag of our Fathers". The movie connects with the book because the U.S. Soldiers go to Japan to fight for Japan's freedom.
Jesse is an eighth grader and chose this book written in poetic form. The following is his review.
The book Surrender Tree was a book of poems that had to do with the Cuban War. The setting of the book is in Cuba. The war zone of Cuba is where it is really held. My favorite poem of the book is part one, The Names of the Flowers. The names of the flowers is about a girl named Rosa who is in the middle of the Cuban War. Rosa was a nurse that would help the sick and injured. The names of the flowers also talks about how it sounds when shots are fired and when the wind hits the leaves of trees when it gets quiet. I would recommend this book to my cousin. My cousin would really like this book because she likes poems and it has to do with a girl, so I think she would like it. The book didn't really live up to my expectations because I thought it would be a book about how Cuba took strike for freedom. But bow I know that they went to war for freedom. The connections I made for this book would be with the movie "Flag of our Fathers". The movie connects with the book because the U.S. Soldiers go to Japan to fight for Japan's freedom.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Student Review Saturday
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules by Jeff Kinney
Reviewed by Kevin
The book I have read is called "Diary of a Wimppy Kid: Roderick Rules" by Jeff Kinney. It is about a boy named Greg. Roderick and Manny are Greg's brothers. Roderick knows Greg's secret about the summer and he will tell everyone if Greg doesn't give him respect. Manny is always tattle telling on Greg about everything. Greg
s dad always does rodderick's homework and Greg's mom is always on Manny's side. Greg's best friend is Rowley. Rowley acts like a little kid but Greg still likes him as a friend. IN the book there's a part when they have a talent show and Roderick plays music with his rock band, and a little kid skating. Who do you think will win? Will roderick reveal Greg's secret to everyone?
I would recommend this to anyone who likes to be entertained because when I got the book I thought it was going to be boring but I couldn't take my eye off of the book because it was so funny. I made a connection with the story because my sister tattle tells on me and I get in trouble but when I tell my mom my sister did something wrong my sister doesn't get in trouble.
Reviewed by Kevin
The book I have read is called "Diary of a Wimppy Kid: Roderick Rules" by Jeff Kinney. It is about a boy named Greg. Roderick and Manny are Greg's brothers. Roderick knows Greg's secret about the summer and he will tell everyone if Greg doesn't give him respect. Manny is always tattle telling on Greg about everything. Greg
s dad always does rodderick's homework and Greg's mom is always on Manny's side. Greg's best friend is Rowley. Rowley acts like a little kid but Greg still likes him as a friend. IN the book there's a part when they have a talent show and Roderick plays music with his rock band, and a little kid skating. Who do you think will win? Will roderick reveal Greg's secret to everyone?
I would recommend this to anyone who likes to be entertained because when I got the book I thought it was going to be boring but I couldn't take my eye off of the book because it was so funny. I made a connection with the story because my sister tattle tells on me and I get in trouble but when I tell my mom my sister did something wrong my sister doesn't get in trouble.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Student Review Saturday
Patrick Carman is quickly becoming a favorite author of my students. I showed the book Skeleton creek to my students and then on a lab day gave them the web address and passwords to the video portion of the book. I have a list of about 14 students who are waiting for the book. Yes I know that is a backward way to approach a book. However, a lot of my students don't have computers or the Internet at home and this way they were able to view the videos. Uriel read the book and then borrowed the sequel. It is the fastest he has ever read a book. He said he couldn't put it down because it was so good. Here is his review of Skeleton Creek.
The name of the book is Skeleton Creek and the author is Patrick Carman. This book is about a boy named Ryan and a girl named Sarah. Sarah and Ryan went to a haunted dredge and Ryan broke his leg. Their parents did not let them talk to each other. Sarah goes back to the place and takes video and sends it to Ryan to keep him updated and she is showing him what she saw when she played the video. She was going back one more time and Ryan wants to go with her and they get trapped in a basement and Sarah calls their parents. A connection I made with Sarah is that I would want to know if that ghost is there. I really liked this book. It lived up to my expectations. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes ghost stores because it is interesting.
There you have it. If you have not yet had a chance to read this book check it and its sequel "Ghost in the Machine" out. You won't be disappointed.
The name of the book is Skeleton Creek and the author is Patrick Carman. This book is about a boy named Ryan and a girl named Sarah. Sarah and Ryan went to a haunted dredge and Ryan broke his leg. Their parents did not let them talk to each other. Sarah goes back to the place and takes video and sends it to Ryan to keep him updated and she is showing him what she saw when she played the video. She was going back one more time and Ryan wants to go with her and they get trapped in a basement and Sarah calls their parents. A connection I made with Sarah is that I would want to know if that ghost is there. I really liked this book. It lived up to my expectations. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes ghost stores because it is interesting.
There you have it. If you have not yet had a chance to read this book check it and its sequel "Ghost in the Machine" out. You won't be disappointed.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Student Review Saturday
Today's reviewer is Eugene. He loves the Bluford Series and has written a review of the book
"Summer of Secrets" by Paul Langan
The characters are Darcy, her sister, mom, dad, grandma and Hakeem, Cooper and Tarah.
Hakeem will be moving to Detroit because his dad was diagnosed with cancer and can't work to keep up the house payments. Darcy's grandmother is very sick and needs an oxygen machine to live. Cooper offers hakeem a place to stay but Hakeem said no because he had to move to help watch is sisters. I won't tell you anymore of the book. It was really good and you just need to read it. I loved the book. I lived up to my expectations. I expected it to be very good and it was. I would highly recommend this book to any seventh grader. Like Hakeem, I am the oldest of three kids and we like to play with our sisters and take care of them.
"Summer of Secrets" by Paul Langan
The characters are Darcy, her sister, mom, dad, grandma and Hakeem, Cooper and Tarah.
Hakeem will be moving to Detroit because his dad was diagnosed with cancer and can't work to keep up the house payments. Darcy's grandmother is very sick and needs an oxygen machine to live. Cooper offers hakeem a place to stay but Hakeem said no because he had to move to help watch is sisters. I won't tell you anymore of the book. It was really good and you just need to read it. I loved the book. I lived up to my expectations. I expected it to be very good and it was. I would highly recommend this book to any seventh grader. Like Hakeem, I am the oldest of three kids and we like to play with our sisters and take care of them.
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