Our Class Simile Poems

My a.m. class wrote the following poem this morning using similes, humor, and rhythm. Enjoy!

Walmart

As chaotic as a zoo,

As gigantic as an airport,

As filthy as a bathroom,

As full of crazies as an insane asylum,

As packed with toys as the North Pole,

With lines longer than a Burmese Python....

That's Walmart.

And here is my p.m. class's poem:

AMC Theater

As big as the North Pole,

As loud as a cannon's roar,

As frigid as the Alaskan tundra,

As messy as my bedroom,

As exciting as an earthquake,

With floors as sticky as tar,

That's AMC Theater.

Welcome Class of 2012!

As we begin the 2011-12 school year, I am reading "The Winter of Red Snow" to my classes. I love this historical fiction novel, which is part of the Dear America series. In it, Abigail Stewart gets an up-close look at the Continental army as they suffer through the winter of 1777-78 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. If you're not crazy about social studies, this book helps you learn about the Revolutionary War without even realizing it. I use this book nearly every year with my classes, because I love it so much.

How disappointed I was when I learned that I could not order more copies, because the book is out of print! I hate it when this happens to excellent literature. For example, "The Great Brain" series is also out of print. My kids love to check out this series every year (partly because I push it on them), and the books are getting tattered. However, when they're gone, they're gone, because I can't find them anywhere. Heavy sigh......

What are some of your favorite titles?

Welcome, Class of 2011

Another school year equals another chance to get kids excited about reading. I have the usual mixed bag of students this year: Some of you already love to read and have checked out the books I recommended for you; some of you think reading is just O.K.; some of you loathe it. It makes me sad when a student dislikes reading, because I know what great joy books can bring to an adult's life. Not only will being a skilled reader help you in nearly any job you'll have, it helps while away time spent waiting in the doctor's office, dentist's office, driver's license office, etc. If you really use your imagination, reading can be even better entertainment than a movie can--and--if you check your books out from a library--they are free!

Just in case you threw away the yellow sticky notes I gave you Week 2 of school, here are some of my often-recommended books for fifth graders:

Adventure:

"Peak", by Roland Smith

"Cryptid Hunters", by Roland Smith

The "Everest" series, by Gordon Korman

Fantasy:

"Harry Potter" 1-7, J. K. Rowling

"Children of the Lamp", P.B. Kerr

Historical Fiction

"Standing in the Light", Dear America series

"The Great Brain Series"(which is also very funny), by Fitzgerald

Realistic Fiction

"Al Capone Does My Shirts", Gennifer Choldenko

Ghost Stories

"Wait Til Helen Comes", by Mary Downing Hahn

"All the Lovely Bad Ones", by Mary Downing Hahn

"Deep, Dark, and Dangerous"by Mary Downing--OK, you get the idea--anything by Mary Downing Hahn.

Hey--I just got an idea for my next post. You can't go wrong with some authors. My next post will list my favorites. Happy reading!

Book Review: "Slob", by Ellen Potter

I'm a sucker for novels with cool, one-word titles. (Think "Rules" and "Peak") I also love Oreo cookies. So the bright blue cover of "Slob" grabbed my attention immediately.

At first I thought this was just a hilarious, yet poignant, look at an overweight kid trying to survive middle school--and I loved it then. Deeper in, I realized that this book is about so much more--loss, grief, loyalty, and the misleading way things look sometimes. I'm only sorry I devoured this wonderful novel in one day. Now there's no more left, and I have an empty feeling in my gut that Oreos won't fill.

I loved Owen, a quasi-genius, from the start. He says things like, "You should never let stupid people know that you know they're stupid. Particularly when they are your gym teacher." He talks directly to the reader, a la C.S.Lewis, "I'm sure you've noticed that a lot of books start out with some kid's first day at a new school. You can see why, of course. It makes for great suspense." From page one I cared what happened to Owen, and I felt for him. His cruel, old-school gym teacher reminded me of some of the coaches from my own middle school. Let's just put it this way: I remember overhearing snippets from the boys' side of the sixth-grade gym and being supremely glad I was a girl.

A few chapters in, I realized that Owen had so much more to deal with than his weight. His weight, in fact, was just a symptom of bigger, more heartbreaking problems. Don't worry, though, "Slob" never turns into a pitty party. Owen's wit and inventiveness get him through some tough times.

I'll be reading this book aloud to my class. (Yes, it is that good.) What are you reading?

Character Bio-Poem from Gordon Korman's Everest: "The Climb"

We just finished our adventure genre unit, complete with lots of nail-biting action and wickedly jagged story maps. Each one of you will be writing a bio-poem on a character from the adventure book you chose. Our class effort was too good not to publish, so here it is. . .

Sammi

Rowdy, reckless, extreme, energetic

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Moon

Lover of adventure, adrenaline, and high altitudes

Who feels jealous when she misses the avalanche and bored at base camp

Who needs crampons, oxygen, and an ice axe

Who gives encouragement to her teammates and threats to Tilt when he's being mean

Who fears losing her friends

Who would like to see the summit of Mt. Everest

Resident of the U.S.A.

Moon

Have I mentioned how smart and wonderful my class is this year?

"Bystander," by James Preller

My cousin gave me an interesting book titled "Bystander", by James Preller. (Thank you, Kerry!) If you read the Jigsaw Jones mystery series when you were younger, you have already read some of Mr. Preller's work. "Bystander," however, is grown up subject matter and is more appropriate for students about to enter middle school--you!

When 12-year-old Eric moves to a new town, he thinks his only problems are fitting in at his new school and dealing with his parents' separation. Boy, is he wrong. Eric gets mixed up with the local bully, Griffin, and goes from being a witness to a target in no time. Does Eric stay a victim? Can he do anything to keep others from becoming victims, too? You'll have to read "Bystander" to find out.

I liked this book, because the topic is timely; we just had a discussion about bullies the week before I received it. Mr. Preller includes a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King on the book jacket. It says, "In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." Then he writes, "Let's all make some noise." What do you think Dr. King and Mr. Preller mean?

Missing Volume Found!

Students: You will be thrilled to learn that I now have my hands on "The Great Brain Reforms." Actually, my son does. His grandparents looked high and low for the out-of-print book, and presented it to him as an early birthday gift. As soon as he finishes it, I'll bring it to our class library. We'll do a drawing among those kids who have read all of the others to see who will get the book first. Why did these books go out of print, anyway? I feel a letter to the publisher coming on. . .

Speaking of terrific humor books, I just read "43 Cemetery Road: Dying to Meet You, " by Kate Klise, recently. Written in letter format, with plenty of quirky illustrations, it was silent-cry funny. Have you ever laughed so hard that you did the "silent cry"? If not, too bad for you! Sounds like you need to check out one of the books mentioned above. Also, I hear Klise's other books, including "Regarding the Bees" are hilarious as well. There is a whole "Regarding the. . ." series, and I will buy up as many of these at next week's book fair as I can. As soon as we get finished with "Everest: The Climb," I'll read one of Klise's books to you.

I've heard "The Enclyclopedia of Immaturity" is a knee-slapper. I haven't read it yet, because I'm afraid I'll open it and find my photo in there. . . What great humor titles can YOU recommend?