Switching It Up....

One of the assignments I had last week was "roving sub" for 26 teachers over two consecutive days at the same school.  

Twenty-minute slots in 26 classrooms while the teachers had to attend some kind of "coaching meeting". Twenty minutes isn't really enough time to do more than monitor the class with what they were already doing when I walked in. In one of the Kinder classes, the teacher told me to just read them a book from the classroom library.

After having several selected choices rejected as "we already read that one", I picked up "The Three Little Pigs" and sat down and read them my inverted rendition of: 

 The Three Little Wolves and The Big Bad Piggy.

Imagine my surprise when composing this blog post that a book with that title already exists. I should probably get a copy for my sub bag.

Book - Capture the Flag...

A new book titled "Capture the Flag" by Kate Messner arrived in the mail last month. After a busy few weeks, I had time to sit down and read. It is less than 300 pages, so the story has to move along at a good clip. The basic plot centers on the theft of the "Star Spangled Banner" from the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

  

During a private museum party attended by three seventh graders and their parents, an amazing lapse in security in this post-9/11 world allows the bad guys to make off with the national treasure.

The setting then moves to the regional airport where the weather has grounded all flights for the duration of the story. The kids and a dog are then off on a real life "Scooby-Doo" meets "National Treasure" mystery. An adventure to locate the flag they believe might be at the airport hidden as checked luggage.

Continuing lapses in airport security (for plot and storyline purposes of course) allow the young "Scooby" gang to investigate, at will, the internal workings of the complex airport luggage handling system as suggested by the book jacket artwork.

The mystery is eventually solved, the treasure recovered and a final surprise is revealed in a link that involves the parents of the "Scooby" gang and tangentially the kids.

Overall, it is a fun, fast-paced story that I think might appeal to 4th-6th graders.

Free book drawing - Michael Vey

The publisher sent me three copies for review.

For a chance in this free drawing for your own free hardcover copy of Richard Paul Evans book, "Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25" just use the comment section and include a name and email address (will not be displayed publicly) or email your entry to KauaiMark@gmail.com on or before Monday, November 14, 2011.






The storyline is targeted for young adults, so with that in mind I read the book this last week and found it fast paced, a pretty good story line and an easy read. At 325 pages, it is bit short but as this is the first in the "Michael Vey" adventures, it leaves some unresolved issues "to be continued" in the next book(s) of the series. It reminded me a combination of those short lived TV series "Heroes" and "Kyle XY".

The main "hero", Michael Vey, is your typical 14yr old teenager with the usual teenage problems and some unusual abilities. Michael has a secret ability to control electricity and uses it as a defense mechanism to the chagrin of some teenage bullies. Unfortunately, demonstrating that ability draws the attention of some pretty bad people who know more about Michael and others like him.

Because I'm pretty far removed from the target audience I thought a better review from an actual "young adult" would be more appropriate at this point. I gave one copy of the book to the daughter of some good friends of ours.

Jillian is 14yrs old and in the 9th grade. According to her parents she is an avid book reader.

Michael Vey 
Prisoner of Cell 25   

            Whether you like this book or not depends on how well you notice unique details about it. From looking at the basic plot, you see a typical fiction book these days. The main character is discovered, someone needs to be saved by the main character, and then the happy ending. But when looking at the small details of the plot like the characters, settings, and dangerous and risky situations you notice new exciting detail on every page. The author throws you curveballs every chapter and it's exciting all the way to the last page.    

 --- Jillian

Drawing entries to date: 8 (...odds are good!)
...and the winner is: Dustin in Boaz, Alabama!!  Congratulations!

Book – 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents…

I took the 4^th grade class to check out books from the school library. Everyone except one boy seemed to making progress in selecting books for the week.

Me: Have you found a book yet?

Bored Boy: No, I don’t know what to get.

Me: What kind of books do you like to read?

Bored Boy: I don’t know.

Me: Mysteries, adventure, animals…?   

Bored Boy: Nah, no, ummm nuh-uh. I don’t think I want a book.

He then went to sit out for the rest of library time.

Since I had twenty-eight other kids to monitor, I turned over the assignment of “book finding” to two 6^th grade girls working as librarian assistants, with the instructions to locate a book a boy his age might like to read and bring it to me. I didn’t really care if they were successful. I had nothing to lose.

The girls returned just as I was rounding up the kids to return to class. They couldn’t have chosen better. I congratulated them on their excellent find and handed “bored boy” his book choice.

Lee Warder's book: 101 Ways To Bug Your Parents

Bored Boy: I don’t think I like this book.

Me: Trust me. YOU will.

Back in class, the lesson plan called for 20mins of silent reading (SSR). This is one of my favorite times in that I get to lead by example, relaxing and reading whatever book I’m currently into.

Bored boy was the only one who hadn’t started when I caught his attention and pantomimed, with my hands, opening and closing a book while giving him “THE LOOK”. He started reading.

Every couple of minutes, I’d check on the class and in particular “Bored Boy”. Amazingly, Bored Boy was still reading. After a while, I heard him giggle a couple of times, saw him share a page with the kid next to him.

After a while, I glanced up and saw that Bored Boy and two boys on each side of him were reading 101-ways, pointing at different pages and trying not to draw my attention.

I pretended to not notice and at the end of SSR. Bored Boy couldn’t help himself and came up to show me several “things” they found that were funny and “he was going to try it at home”.

With a wink, my final comment at the end of the day was, “Remember now, you didn’t get that book from me, RIGHT?”

Chain Gang Elementary...

One important item I carry in my subbing bag is a book to read at break, lunch and even in the classroom when the kids are doing “silent reading time”. It’s good to set an example in the classroom. 

I recently received a book in the mail detailing the “fictional” tale of an idealistic newsletter writer who gets drafted as the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) president at his son's elementary school.

The opening paragraph hints that his idealism isn’t going to prevail…

“…In the twelfth year of his marriage, sixteen months before the shooting, twenty-one shopping days until Christmas, and eight hours before he reckoned for the tenth time that his wife didn’t love him, Richard Gray met a woman who would have roughly the same effect on his life a tornado has on a trailer park.”

I have to admit that I had a hard time reading the book. Not because of the fast paced and well written storyline but the cover art seemed to draw more than a few double takes from fellow educators passing through the teachers' lounge.

Save some money, the awkward stare and get the Kindle version on Amazon...

Totally Wrong Answers…

Glad you could stop in for today's “F In Exams” book tour.
Your next stop tomorrow is over on: Blogging through the Fourth Dimension

The book titled “F In Exams” by Richard Benson claims to have “The very best totally wrong test answers”. While the A’s in the Q/A’s are pretty wrong, they are also pretty entertaining

Click here for sample Q&A pages

While it IS wrong, I’d have to give partial credit for the following math test answer because it made me think more about the question.

The author displays his own humor pointing out “wrongness” by publishing a book with a table of contents while omitting the actual page numbers in the book ;)

Anyway, if you’d like a chance for a free copy of the book, use the comment section and be sure to include your first name and email address or send an email with your name and return email address to: KauaiMark@gmail.com on or before September 14th. One winner will be selected Sept 15th

One entry per person please.

(Entries via the comments section will not be displayed publicly.)

Drawing entries to date: 10 (...odds are good!)

...and the winner is: Darren from California !!  

Notes On Teaching...

That’s the title of the book I received in the mail from the co-author. It is a concise guide of 184 notes in 100 pages that will neatly fit in a backpack or glove box for teachers wondering: “Why they didn’t tell me this stuff before I got the job?”

While targeted for teachers in upper grades, there are more than a few tips that can be used at any level. Some even a substitute teacher can use.

#104 – Be unexpectedly forgiving

Give a disruptive student’s desk a gentle touch while focusing a smile on his neighbor. Refrain from the tongue-lashing he expects. Your tap will alert him to his own behavior, and your apparent detachment will allow him to save face. He knows you’ve noticed and can correct the situation without fuss. Class goes on. Never throw chalk.

(…I haven’t actually seen any chalk in the last seven years but somehow it sounds better than “Never throw a Dry Erase Marker”)

#18 – Prepare to be unprepared.

(…isn’t this the actual definition of “substitute teacher”? Sounds like it to me)

...and…

#105 – Keep extra materials.

Paraphrased: “People forget things. Don’t let it ruin the flow. Request collateral deposit in exchange for borrowed materials to make sure they will be returned.”

(I request a shoe in exchange for borrowed pencils, erasers, crayons, etc. Works every time.)

The book is available at Amazon, probably other book stores and at www.notesonteaching.com.

If you’re cheap like me and don’t wish to pay for a copy, you can enter a drawing for a free copy of the book here. Just use the comment section to include your first name and email address or send an email to: KauaiMark@gmail.com on or before Aug 15, 2011

One entry per person please.

(Entries via the comments section will not be displayed publicly.) 

Drawing entries to date: 17 (odds are good!)...and the winner is:

Congratulations, Erin from Northridge Calif! She is the winner of a free copy of the book "Notes on Teaching". If you didn't win this time, check back often as there might possibly be giveaways for other stuff.