Here is a list of books that I highly recommend. I am grouping them by reading level. Do not frustrate young readers by forcing them to read books at their school grade level if they aren’t ready. Good readers grow…
Category: Reading
Summer Reading
I always like to recommend some books for summer reading and this summer is no exception. Instead of a list, I thought I would do longer posts about really special books. The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg…
Teaching Responsibility and Preparedness
When I was in second grade, my mother became a Girl Scout leader. It was my first year in Girl Scouts and yes, my mother was my leader. The meetings were held in our playroom/basement. Each week we had to…
More Middle Grades Summer Reading
Here are some great ideas for summer reading for the middle grades. First is the classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. This is the author who invented futuristic writing. As the story begins, a mysterious sea monster…
Summer reading again
Did you ever think about how to get a student interested in poetry? Sometimes, it's a tough sell. This book of poetry is a great starter for students in grades 2-5. The poems are about every day things and help…
Getting ready for summer reading?
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia is a great choice for readers in grades 5-9. It takes place during the civil rights era of the mid to late 1960s. The narrator is an eleven year old girl who is responsible…
Comma vs Coma; Their vs There vs Their; Commonly misspelled/misused words
Winnie-the-Pooh
Alan Alexander Milne (A.A. Milne) was a dedicated father. He spent many wonderful hours with his son Christopher. Like most dads, he loved telling his son bedtime stories. He used his son's stuffed animals as characters in his stories. In…
Fahrenheit 451??
This cartoon reminded me so much of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I couldn't resist sharing it. It is meant to be funny, but the truth of it is frightening.
Sports Reading Time or Halftime with a Book!
I saw a great post in Facebook today. It was from James Patterson, the prolific author. He runs a page on Facebook called ReadKiddoRead. The page is dedicated to the young reader and always has great content. Today the post…
Happy Anniversary, Moby Dick!
Today (10/18/2012) is the 161st anniversary of the publication of Moby Dick by Herman Melville.
2012 NJ ASK is just around the corner
Grade & Test Dates NJ ASK3: May 7, 8, 9, 10, 2012 Regular Testing (Language Arts Literacy Days 1 and 2, Mathematics Days 1 and 2) NJ ASK4: May 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 2012 Regular Testing (Language Arts Literacy…
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!
This is for funzies. Just oodles and onezies. The first books we read and read and read. Just before bed and bed and bed. Till we were red and red and red. Check out the website for fun and…
March is National Poetry Month
Write a Haiku!! It's easy! It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to meet syllable requirements. TRY IT!! It's fun! First line is 5 syllables, second line is 7 syllables and last line is 5 syllables. It…
Misplaced Prepositional Phrases
Many people think the writing section of the SAT is only the essay, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The essay is small part of the writing section. Recognizing and correcting misplaced prepositional phrases is one of the…
My Best Reads of 2011 for Young Readers
Some of the best books I read in 2011, were actually published long before, but showed up as Kindle books for the first time. First is The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (Oprah's Book Club) by Carson McCullers. The heroine…
Picture Books
When reading with your children, be sure to point out the pictures and ask them to tell a story with the picture. This helps young readers learn main idea and details. It also starts the process of predicting outcomes, which…
More about Judy Blume
I have posted about Judy Blume before. She is a prolific author of literature for young people and even a few for adults. National Public Radio did a great story on her recently. Some of the article is about censorship.…
Why do homework?
The movie “Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines” is about about a race from London to Paris in 1910. In the movie a German officer reads a book in order to learn how to fly. It doesn’t work too…
Free and inexpensive books available for Kindle or other reading devices
I bet you thought the only way to save money on books for students was the library. While the library is a great place, there are other ways to also save money. Be sure to check out Pixel of Ink.…