Again? Yes, again.

So many feelings, so many days until the sequel.

Rick, you did it again.

New Teacher Guide

I really enjoyed Tom Angleberger's The Strange Case of Origami Yoda when I read it last year for the Battle of the Books. 

I utilized Scholastic's book orders to snag myself the sequels at a very discounted rate.  The books will make their way into my classroom library as soon as I'm done reading them :)

The first book I found while organizing my library was The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee so I tackled this one first. 

However, a few pages in I realized I was reading the series out of chronological order, which is a huge literary faux pas.  However since I can't find Darth Paper Strikes Back, I am coping with my literary betrayal (sorry Tom Angleberger!).  

This was a quick read at under two hundred pages.  My 24 page teacher guide and chronological order sort for this novel are available now on TpT.  Once I've finished Darth Paper Strikes Back, The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppet, and Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue I will create a character sort center as well.  I just don't feel I know these characters well enough to make a quality sort for my fifth graders. 

Happy reading and may the Force be with you!

New Guide

Rick Riordan is my new favorite author.  I just finished reading The Son of Neptune and absolutely loved this book.  Rick Riordan's writing is drenched with sassy commentary from the characters and provokes many literal laughing out loud moments.

My boyfriend made the mistake of asking what the book was about...he got a fifteen minute synopsis of the Rick Riordan universe instead of a brief retelling.  Sorry babe...but don't ask about a book if you don't want a long explanation!

My teacher guide is available here and corresponding centers will be up soon!

Lucky for me, there are sequels:

Even luckier?  They were buy one, get one free at our Scholastic book fair this week!

Even though summer break is days away, I will still be reading books and prepping materials for my students next year.  I love that I get time to read :)

Battle of the Books

On Friday afternoon, I took my enthusiastic team of four students to the district semi-finals.  Clad in our matching navy shirts, they were eager to win.

They participated in the first two rounds, but didn't earn enough combined points to advance.

I stayed with them for both rounds, one round acting as a time keeper and the other as the host.  Both our principal and librarian showed up, which was wonderful for my kiddos to feel supported.

My students lost gracefully and displayed wonderful sportsmen-like conduct, which was heartwarming to see.  I congratulated the winning team and had the audience clap for the effort of both teams.  There were some disrespectful parents, which was a tad frustrating.  Of course each school and family goes in wanting their child to be successful.  But not every team can win.  Every team, however, can conduct themselves with dignity and grace.

I wish those parents were more focused on the true purpose of the event: building enthusiasm for reading.  

My team did their best but most importantly, they had fun. They did the competition completely on their own but were supported the whole time.  They read some great books, strengthened friendships, and enjoyed quizzing each other about the novels.

One of the boys was inexplicably thrilled when I told him that there isn't just one sequel to The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, but four.  I know what his summer plans will be--reading.  Lots of reading.

That's a wonderful thing.

Dear Lemony Snicket...

Many of my small groups absolutely love The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. 

 One group is reading the prequels but is quite upset only two of the four have been released. 

 

 I told them this is how I felt growing up waiting for Harry Potter sequels and to deal with it.  (Perhaps not the best teacher response but they need realize not everything in life is handed to them immediately.  Sometimes they have to wait for what they want.)

For one of our must do activities, they were instructed to write a letter to an author, sharing their feelings about the book.

Here are some of the responses to Lemony:

Quite the sassy remark!

I love their passion.

Happy reading!

Hatchet has sequels?!

I read Hatchet for the first time around fifth grade.  

I loved the book, so I was excited to read this timeless classic with my own fifth graders.

(The covers have changed over time, which was interesting to discuss with my students.  You can read about it here!)

When I was first starting out, I used donorschoose to write a grant for copies of Hatchet.  In doing so, I realized something:

Hatchet has sequels. 

Not just one, but several sequels.  How did I not discover this until I was an adult??

So naturally I requested six of each and through the amazing generosity of friends and strangers, this grant was funded and I received the novels.  (I have another project expiring soon...)

The Sequels:

Brian's Winter: 

In this novel, Paulsen responds to reader's notes about the ending of Hatchet by posing an alternative ending.  Essentially, millions of readers watched Brian struggle for months and were a tad disappointed where he seemingly effortlessly flips a switch and is rescued within a few hours.  This novel looks at Brian's struggles through fall and winter.

The River:

Like Hatchet, I'm lucky enough to have several covers in my classroom which allows for great conversation about the illustrator's intent.  In this novel, Brian is asked to go back into the woods with a psychologist (Derek) so that the government can learn his survival techniques.  Naturally, things don't go according to plan and Brian must deal with the consequences of nature.

Brian's Return:

Brian returns (duh) to the Canadian wilderness he's grown to call home.  He works with his therapist, Caleb, and struggles to find where he truly belongs.

Brian's Hunt:

This is the final adventure with Brian.  Brian meets a wounded dog, worries for his Cree friends...and lots of tears are involved.  Consider yourself warned.

Just for fun, Guts

I've never done this novel with a small group but it's awesome to get an informational text from Paulsen.  I learned a lot about his life and how it truly is reflected in his books.  

I have teacher guides for all of the novels and am in the process of revising them to improve the rigor of the questions.  They'll be available individually and as a bundle pack on TpT soon!  

Happy reading :)

Coming soon...Hatchet novel unit and center!

My goal for the end of next week is to have my teacher guide for Gary Paulson's Hatchet and coordinating chronological events center available on TpT.

I just finished reading this novel with 2 groups and they're working on the center, so after I make some tweaks based on their feedback, they'll be available to download.

I also have teacher guides for the sequels: Brian's Winter, Brian's Hunt, Brian's Return and The River. I'll be tweaking this to add more rigorous questions, aligning to the Common Core and posting them to TpT soon...I just need to find my external hard drive :)

Happy reading!