This year I plan to read all the GA Book Award Nominees and provide a “one stop” resource for teachers who would like to use these books in their classrooms. I will be posting links to author Web sites, teacher’s guides, and related Web links. I hope to make this an unbiased resource, so I will not be providing my own review of the books, other than recommending it as a read aloud (or not)
Summary: Jack, a seventeen-year-old storyteller, goes to the royal city seeking his fortune and soon attracts the attention of the grief-stricken king, his beautiful eldest daughter, and his cruel young son, and he attempts to help them–and the entire kingdom–through his stories.
Read Aloud Recommendation: While this story is not as fast paced as some of the other nominees, Jack’s stories and adventures should hold students’ attention. This would be a good selection to use when discussing oral traditions.
This year I plan to read all the GA Book Award Nominees and provide a “one stop” resource for teachers who would like to use these books in their classrooms. I will be posting links to author Web sites, teacher’s guides, and related Web links. I hope to make this an unbiased resource, so I will not be providing my own review of the books–other than recommending it as a read aloud (or not).
Summary: In Florida, Anna Casey lives with what she hopes is the last in a long line of foster mothers, and Mica Delano lives with her father on their small boat, and when the two of them begin corresponding, they discover they have a lot in common.
Description: Islamorado Chamber of Commerce Video (Same Video Found in Link Shown Above)
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Tallahassee Nature Video (You Tube) Description: YouTube Video about Tallahassee Nature
Please view this version of the video, as it is from the original source, if possible. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwctKuura78
Description: YouTube Video of Tallahassee Nature
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Related Links: Wakulla River/Springs
Read Aloud Recommendation: This book, with alternating narrative perspectives, letters, and sepia drawings depicting wildlife and packages that the main characters, Anna Casey and Mica Delano, discuss and exchange in the course of the novel, is best suited for individual readers. In my opinion, the reader would lose a certain intimacy if this book is read aloud. Students who read this book will definitely want to read others in the series. At this time, the author has written five novels set in her Tallahassee neighborhood. These novels, in order, are:
This year I plan to read all the GA Book Award Nominees and provide a “one stop” resource for teachers who would like to use these books in their classrooms. I will be posting links to author Web sites, teacher’s guides, and related Web links. I hope to make this an unbiased resource, so I will not be providing my own review of the books–other than recommending it as a read aloud (or not).
Summary: Eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American South in 1859, uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family’s freedom.
Video Interview by Scholastic (Part I and II) Description: YouTube Videos of Interview with Christopher Paul Curtis
Please view this version of the videos, as it is from the original source, if possible.
Description: YouTube Videos of Interview with Christopher Paul Curtis
This posting of the same videos is for schools who cannot access YouTube due to content filtering. Please view the video from the original source if possible.
Read Aloud Recommendation: I am ambivalent about my recommendation on this book. I do not want to turn anyone off to the story. I think it is a “must read” for students in grades 5 and up, but I have to be straightforward with teachers who may be looking for a page turning, “keep ‘em on the edge of their seats” read aloud. I found the first half of the book difficult to read because I found it hard to relate to the main character, Elijah. In fact, it took me longer to read this book than any of the other Georgia Book Award nominees. I think that the dialect and the author’s use of stories within the story distant the reader at first. However, the last six chapters of the book redeemed it for me. The last part of the book is very powerful, particularly the scene in the barn where Elijah finds five captured slaves. It will make students think about slavery in terms that a dry textbook will never be able to do. Because this book explores the topic of slavery from a different perspective, that of a child born into freedom in the Canadian settlement of Buxton, and because of the humor in the story, I believe students will find the first part of the book enlightening and enjoyable, but slow paced. However, they will find the last part of the book exciting, moving, and memorable. I highly recommend this title for students (grades 5 and up) who are learning about the history of slavery in the United States.
This year I plan to read all the GA Book Award Nominees and provide a “one stop” resource for teachers who would like to use these books in their classrooms. I will be posting links to author Web sites, teacher’s guides, and related Web links. I hope to make this an unbiased resource, so I will not be providing my own review of the books–other than recommending it as a read aloud (or not).
Summary: When a new, white student nicknamed “The Jesus Boy” joins her sixth grade class in the winter of 1971, Frannie’s growing friendship with him makes her start to see some things in a new light.
Read Aloud Recommendation: This is a good book to open dialogue about social issues such as race relations. It will challenge students to question social injustices such as prejudice and stereotyping.
This year I plan to read all the GA Book Award Nominees and provide a “one stop” resource for teachers who would like to use these books in their classrooms. I will be posting links to author Web sites, teacher’s guides, and related Web links. I hope to make this an unbiased resource, so I will not be providing my own review of the books–other than recommending it as a read aloud (or not).
Summary: When eleven-year-old Kate and her younger brother Michael encounter a baby griffin in an Italian garden, they vow to help the creature find its way back home and to keep Griffo’s existence a secret.
A griffin is a legendary creature, usually represented in literature and art as having the head, beak, and wings of an eagle, the body and legs of a lion, and occasionally a serpent’s tail. The griffin seems to have originated in the Middle East, as it is found in the paintings and sculptures of the ancient Babylonians, Assyrians, and Persians. The Romans used the griffin merely for decorative purposes in friezes and on table legs, altars, and candelabra. The griffin motif appeared in early Christian times in the bestiaries, or beast allegories, of St. Basil and St. Ambrose. Stone replicas of griffins frequently served as gargoyles in the Gothic architecture of the late Middle Ages. The griffin is still a familiar device in heraldry and is thought to represent strength and vigilance.
Citation
Griffin. (2009). Retrieved August 16, 2009, from
Discovery Education: http://streaming.discoveryeducation.com/
This year I plan to read all the GA Book Award Nominees and provide a “one stop” resource for teachers who would like to use these books in their classrooms. I will be posting links to author Web sites, teacher’s guides, and related Web links. I hope to make this an unbiased resource, so I will not be providing my own review of the books–other than recommending it as a read aloud (or not).
Summary: Although he is the littlest student in his class, thirteen-year-old Baron Braun calls upon the strength and wisdom of his Mohawk ancestors to face both man and beast when he tries to get help for his classmates, who are being terrorized during a school field trip in the Adirondacks.
As this is the first official post of my new Web site, I thought a beach theme would be appropriate. This is one of my favorite topics of study–sea turtles. There is much that educators and parents can teach children through stories of survival about these noble creatures whose population is so rapidly dwindling. I hope that these resources will help you “dive in” to topics such as sea turtles, life cycles, endangered species, oceanography, and conservation. I would also like to recommend the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island if you have a chance to visit the beautiful barrier island.
This is a beautifully illustrated story about the life cycle of a sea turtle. The story follows a sea turtle from the moment it hatches from an egg until it returns to the same sandy beach as an adult to lay eggs of its own. It includes a look at some of the dangers that sea turtles face (including a close encounter with a fishing net), as well as encounters with other sea creatures. Various ecosystems are spotlighted–a moonlit sandy beach, a tropical coral reef, and the open ocean. It includes information about the dwindling sea turtle population and ways that people are working to save sea turtles. The illustrator, Alix Berensky, provides the reader with a magical look at undersea life through the use of vibrant colors with perfectly executed colored-pencil and gouache illustrations. While this book is perfect as a read-aloud for younger readers, it will also delight independent readers. ATOS Reading Level (AR): 4.8
This is the story of a tiny loggerhead sea turtle who swims out to sea, then returns after a few years to the beach where she was born to lay her eggs before returning to the sea. Includes many facts about sea turtles. ATOS Reading Level (AR): 4.1
This book includes an introduction to the physical characteristics and behavior of sea turtles, featuring information on the eight recognized species of sea turtles and a section on efforts to conserve the endangered animals. It is perfect for student reports with easy-to-read text and over 50 full-color photographs.
This book describes eight kinds of sea turtles, their physical characteristics, senses, how they feed, migrate, and nest, and what is being done to protect them. It has soft watercolor-and-ink illustrations and general information that would be perfect for beginning readers or as a general introduction to sea turtles. ATOS Reading Level (AR): 4.1
Recommended Web Resources with Connecting Activities:
This year I plan to read all the GA Book Award Nominees and provide a “one stop” resource for teachers who would like to use these books in their classrooms. I will be posting links to author Web sites, teacher’s guides, and related Web links. I hope to make this an unbiased resource, so I will not be providing my own review of the books, other than recommending it as a read aloud (or not)
by: Adrian Fogelin
by Christopher Paul Curtis
by Jacqueline Woodson
by : Kristin Wolden Nitz
by: Joseph Bruchac
by Brenda S. Guiberson
