Happy Birthday & Fiction Friday - Chapter 2

Here is a fun fact for you -- Mr. AND Mrs. B have the same birthday! Yup, no kidding! We turned 32 today! Actually, the truth be known, the M-to-the-R-to-the-S doesn't turn 32 until late tonight where I turned 32 while I was sleeping.  We're both working today, but tonight we're headed to our favorite Japanese steakhouse to celebrate. I can't wait! I thought about doing a birthday giveaway, but I think I am going to hold out for 100 followers. I'm only 8 away! So if you're blogstalking - click the "Follow" button so you can have a chance for a fun giveaway soon! Anyhoo... on to Fiction Friday!!

The Teaching Thief just released Chapter 2 of her Fiction Friday linky party! I even found a book or two I need to add to my reading repertoire. Last week, I highlighted some historical fiction and a fantasy book, so this week I'd like to focus on a couple of my realistic fiction faves:

Jeffrey "Maniac" Magee was orphaned at age three following the tragic death of his parents. He's sent to live with his Aunt Dot and Uncle Dan who, unfortunately, do not care much for him. He runs away and later finds himself in the town of Two Mills, Pennsylvania where there is a boundary between the white West Enders and the black East Enders. Maniac meets a few new friends and encounters a few challenges along the way. Through these challenges, Maniac begins to learn more about identity and family.

There are some really heavy themes in this book: race/racism, homelessness, and individuality, just to name a few. I read this aloud to my fourth graders and sparks a lot of great conversations that lead to appreciating one another's differences and not to judging a person based on their circumstances.

Another book that's not-so-serious is...

Evan is a money-minded fourth grader and brainstorms a plan to make money over the summer by opening a lemonade stand. While he is people-smart, his sister, Jessie, is the math-brain of the family and decides to open up shop for herself. And so the lemonade war begins! This book is chock full of economic concepts and is the perfect supplement to your economics unit! Better yet, this book is a series (which I didn't know until today!). This book is the first, followed by The Lemonade Crime and The Bell Bandit. Check them out soon!

Allrighty, it's time I get off here and make a call to the lovely (note the sarcasm here) student loan people. I was denied loan forgiveness and I want to know why! Sigh... teachers should just get all their debt forgiven. Amen?!

Don't forget to link up your blog on my Bodacious Blogs page if you haven't already! All are welcome! Have a great day!

Fiction Friday... on Tuesday?!

Howdy, friends!

Summer and life, in general, has been way crazy here lately. Can anyone else relate? Anyhoot... I am seizing the opportunity to blog during my lunch break here at work to update my blog. My new bloggy friend, Amanda, has a fun linky going right now called Fiction Friday. Yeah, I know it's Tuesday, but... who cares?!?! You can click her graphic below to link up!

Without further ado... here are a couple of my Fiction Friday picks!

One of the grade level expectations in Missouri is to understand Missouri's role in the Civil War as well as an overview on what it was fought, slavery, African American contributions to Missouri's history, etc. This book does just that! The Story of Jonas is written by Maurine Dahlberg and is about a slave boy who accompanies his master's brutal son on a gold expedition in the Kansas Territory. Jonas meets many interesting characters and begins to learn he was way bigger dreams than being another man's slave. This would be a great read for grades 4-6, maybe even 3rd. 

My next pick is a classic... The Witches by Roald Dahl! I read this every year to my students and it's a class favorite. I don't think I've ever had a class that didn't like this book. After the death of his parents, a boy and his grandmother decide to go on holiday in England. During their vacation, they meet the most gruesome witches known to mankind and create a plan to foil their evil schemes. Read this to your kids and make sure you read this with your best witch voice. This was a big motivator and inspiration for students to work on inflection and fluency in reading - not to mention it shows them reading is fun!

Well, lunch is over and I guess I should go back to "work" (if you can even call it that!). Make sure you link up at The Teaching Thief's blog! I can't wait to read your Fiction Friday posts!

Josh

I Have an iPad.... Now What?!

I'm so excited! The new school I am going to issued me an iPad to experiment with over the summer so I can use it with my new 4th graders in the fall. So... I am wondering if my bloggy friends can help me out by suggesting some "must have" apps to use in the classroom with the kiddos. Here are a few I already have...

• Dropbox
• Pinterest
• GoodReads - I don't know much about this app, so I will be playing around with it to see what it will be able to do for the classroom.
• iBooks - No books yet, but I plan on purchasing some!
• BrainPop - This app is just for their movie of the day. Good for enrichment, maybe?

I'd love your suggestions for great math, literacy, or even productivity apps. It's my hope as I become more familiar with the iPad I can begin to write some posts geared towards using it in the classroom for instruction. I look forward to reading your comments, suggestions, or ideas! Have a great night!

You Like Me! You Reeeeally Like Me!

Howdy, friends!!

I hope you all have had an amazing week. Mine has been full of ups and downs, and I'm so glad the weekend is almost here! I'm not going to write a novel this go-around, but I did want to take this moment to thank the Diva from Down Under, Miss D, for awarding me the...

Evidently, this award is given to "up & coming" bloggers that have less than 200 followers. I am touched and honored to be given any recognition for the craziness that ensures here! Thank you, Miss D! As promised, I am going to pay it forward and award the Liebster Blog Award to the following bloggers:

1. Kelly Hall - Fabulous in Fourth! - Mrs. Hall's blog is a great source for lesson inspiration. You would be remiss if you passed her blog up. You won't be sorry!

2. Molly - Lessons with Laughter - This is my most recent "blog find". Molly integrates literature, technology, and character education into her lessons. Her passion for learning and teaching is very evident in this upbeat blog. Check it out!

3. Mrs. Landers - Mrs. Landers' Little Learners - In my opinion, anyone who teaches primary grades deserves an award! Mrs. Landers and I actually know each other outside of the "blogosphere," and is a very dedicated & creative PreK & Kindergarten teacher. You'll love her ideas!

Now that you ladies have been given the Liebster Award, go ye therefore and find other budding bloggers like ourselves and pay it forward. :)


Have a great Thursday!


Josh