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well-being

Girl with Laptop

Well-Being and Digital Boundaries During Remote Crisis Learning

2020-11-08
By: admin
On: November 8, 2020
In: ISTE 7: Digital Citizen Advocate

We would benefit from resource that safeguard children’s (and adult’s) digital well being.Continue Reading

ISTE Coaching Standards (& more)

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booksandmrsbush

Middle school English teacher and Ed Tech grad student in the PNW -- sharing book recommendations from and for my classroom shelf.

Mrs Bush
The MWMS Animated Movie Tournament is our way of m The MWMS Animated Movie Tournament is our way of making argumentative writing directly relevant. The tournament is based on the Animated Movie Tournament created and hosted each spring by @NateByron on twitter. Students write an argumentative paragraph encouraging voters to choose their preferred movie. Every Tues/Thursday anyone with an SKSD account votes on the head to head battles between movies in 4 regions. Check back every Wed/Friday after school for the results.

Round 1 has been all drama. Kung Fu Panda swept Oliver and Company with over 90% of the votes. While Big Hero 6 scraped past Aladdin with a teeny margin of a single vote. Vote at tinyurl.com/mwmsmovies.

#MWMSMovies #southkitsap #argumentativewriting #middleschoolwriters
Week 6 of our class "hall library" with gorgeous b Week 6 of our class "hall library" with gorgeous book spines crested by my incredible 8th graders.
Pie in the Sky is a fantastic illustrated novel ab Pie in the Sky is a fantastic illustrated novel about a  boy and his family who immigrates to Australia. I'm not sure how I missed it when it was published in 2019, but that's a mistake I am definitely fixing. This book is will be in my classroom library this fall.

Jingwen is a 5th grade student who learns a new language, adapts to a new culture, and deals with his boisterous younger brother, all while navigating his grief over the death of his father. It has the potential to be a heavy book, but Remy Lai balances humor and sorrow well, creates fascinating characters, and paces the book perfectly.

Jingwen process his grief and guilt over his dad's death by secretly baking cakes. To do so, he involves his younger brother, Yanghao, in a series of lies that inevitably fall apart, forcing Jungwen to finally address his feelings and fix the problems he has caused.

This is also a story about the immigrant experience, and uses the analogy of different planets. Jungwen imagins the Australians surrounding him as Martians speaking a strange language with strange features. This analogy makes excellent use of Lai's clever perfect-for-middle-grades art, which illustrates Jungwen's feelings of strangeness  through speech bubbles and alien faces. As the books progresses, we see Jungwen change both in the art and in the text.

In the end, what I enjoy most about this book is that it is remarkably accessible and engaging. The illustrations and writing style appeal to all readers. The theme is tucked neatly within active, and interesting events that keep readers interested even while they learn. Jungwen struggles, but he is resilient, and his brother is equal parts annoying little sibling and smart, caring kid. 

In all, this is an engrossing book that will help students from other countries feel seen and help students from here empathize with their experience. Also, there is a cake recipe at the end, and you can't beat that!

Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai; #bookstagram  #middlegradebooks #remylai #pieinthesky #immigrantbooks  #illistratednovels  #diversereads  #readallthebooks📚  #teachersofig  #teachersfollowteachers #diversereads
Quote from Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai; #bookstagra Quote from Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai; #bookstagram  #middlegradebooks #remylai #pieinthesky #immigrantbooks  #illistratednovels  #diversereads #bookquotes #readallthebooks📚  #teachersofig  #teachersfollowteachers #diversereads
Quote from the excellent YA novel Pumpkin by Julie Quote from the excellent YA novel Pumpkin by Julie Murphy #bookstagram #juliemurphy #pumpkin #lovethisbook #yareading  #summerbooks #bookquotes #dragqueen #lgtbtqbooks  #teachersofinstagram #classroomlibrary #affirmations
Pumpkin, by Julie Murphy is fantastic. It is a YA Pumpkin, by Julie Murphy is fantastic. It is a YA novel appropriate for 8th grade and up (one instance of underage drinking and some make out sessions). The themes and the characters are perfect for teenage readers and lovers of all things YA. 

The story covers the final weeks of the school year in a small Texas town from the perspective of Waylon Brewer. An openly gay high school senior who recently suffered the double blows of a break up and learning that his twin sister is moving away. When he is nominated for prom queen as a prank, Waylon chooses to own it, which causes him to takes risks and embrace both himself and his community in new ways.

The teen characters in this book are all completely believable. Most adults are loving and supportive, with just the right dose of awkward that lets you know the narrator is a teen.

Waylon begins the novel relatively blind to the depths within the people around him and hiding much of his own personality. However, as Waylon pushes past his comfort zone and embraces his own complicated self, he begins to realize that the people around him are equally complex in different ways. This realization is smoothly and beautifully written, and it is easy to sympathize with Waylon throughout his entire journey.

Pumpkin is a companion novel to Murphy's book Dumplin', but you can read it as a stand alone without losing any of the engrossing plot or themes. 

Existing as queer in a small community is an important theme, as is self-expression. Fatness rises as a theme as we watch Waylon gain comfort within his own skin exactly as it is (which is a relief to see). 

Themes of acceptance and redemption are deftly handled in a variety of circumstances. This is one of those rare novels where everyone grows, the ending is happy without seeming saccherine, and the characters feel real enough that I wanted to immediately read it again. This may not go on my 6th grade bookshelf, but it absolutely is going in my library.

#yabooks  #yafiction  #teachersofinstagram  #languagearts #lgbtqbooks #classroomlibrary  #juliemurphy #yabookreview  #yalgbtqbooks  #pumpkin #bookstagram  #lovethisbook #yareading  #summerbookstack
Quote from the excellent YA novel Pumpkin by Julie Quote from the excellent YA novel Pumpkin by Julie Murphy #bookstagram #juliemurphy #pumpkin #lovethisbook #yareading  #summerbooks #bookquotes #dragqueen #lgtbtqbooks #yabooks  #yafiction  #teachersofinstagram  #languagearts #lgbtqbooks #classroomlibrary  #yabookreview  #yalgbtqbooks  #teenbook
Summer reading lists should consist of whatever a Summer reading lists should consist of whatever a student wants to read.  Student choice in book selection is an important part of Building a class of strong readers. #summerreadinglists #summerbooks #teachersofinstagram #librariansofinstagram #bookstagram #languageartsteacher  #classroombookshelf  #summerreadinglog
This ELA teacher is reading: this @raisingrealread This ELA teacher is reading: this @raisingrealreaders blog post from 3 years ago about the importance of letting children choose their own books (find it at https://raisingrealreaders.com/why-you-need-to-let-children-choose-their-own-books/). #middleschoolteacher #teachersofinstagram #librarybooks #iteachela
Quote from The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowma Quote from The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman. #InfinityCourts #AkemiDawnBowman #middlegradebooks #classroombookshelf #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #IteachELA #yafantasy #yabooks
The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman is defini The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman is definitely going on our bookshelf. There is a ton to love about this book. The main character, Nami, is a strong, smart teenager who is half-Japanese and is both heroic and thoughtful. She is easy to care about, and I always love having books on my shelf that model how you can be  strong and still sometimes have self doubts, make mistakes and bad choices, or engage in difficult reflections. The characters surrounding Nami  are complex and interesting, their motives are often confusing, but the author neatly explains them later and it creates tension throughout the story.
The story begins when Nami is killed due to her heroic act during a robbery. She wakes in an afterlife world that has been taken over by the books version of Siri, and has its own complex governing system that is an interesting reverse of the system the living have. Humans are ruled by the AI and her children, with are some confusing explanations of how that works. 
Nami joins a rebellion even though she has conflicting feelings about the motives of the rebels. This brings out the themes of the book, which elevate it from the usual action-focused dystopian YA. The  book encourages reflection on the nature of humanity, oppression, and how we treat one another. This balances out the  the action scenes and the pace, which ramps up immediately, and continues to accelerate to the abrupt plot twist of an ending.
The book has the feel of the first book in a planned series, and thankfully it is. I may wait to put this on my shelf until the second book comes out because the ending is abrupt and, though Nami is resilient even in the face of disappointment, and betrayal, she walks into an uncertain and dangerous future in the final pages, and the kind of thoughtful, avid reader who would be drawn to this book is going to revolt at not having the immediate satisfaction of a sequel.  #InfinityCourts #AkemiDawnBowman #middlegradebooks #classroombookshelf #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #IteachELA #yafantasy #yabooks
Quote from The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowma Quote from The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman. #InfinityCourts #AkemiDawnBowman #middlegradebooks #classroombookshelf #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #IteachELA #yafantasy #yabooks
A book is a perfect companion for a quiet weekend, A book is a perfect companion for a quiet weekend, & I love this quote from Ash and Quill--the third book in an engrossing YA fantasy series that I cannot put down. This series is a great summer read for tweens and teens, and this quote rings so true. #teachersofinstagram #yafantasy #bookquotes #ilovebooks #rachelcaine #thegreatlibraryseries #iteachela #middleschoolela #greatsummerbooks #summerlibrary #readforfun
Conferences are the week of October 26th. Please s Conferences are the week of October 26th. Please sign up using Skyward! I look forward to seeing you.
Word clouds are more than just pretty words, they Word clouds are more than just pretty words, they are also a great way to display the ranking of ideas within a topic in order of importance (the most frequently used words appear larger).

Our 6th grade class brainstormed words about reading and Language Arts. Students created their own word clouds using the words we brainstormed as a class, but adding or subtracting words to fit their views. Next they personalized the cloud with their preferred shape, color and emphasis. Each word cloud showcases the author's personal taste, creativity and feelings about reading. #6thgradeela #6thgradeelarocks #kidsthesedays #iteachela #studentwork #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #quarenteaching #covidteaching
Word clouds are more than just pretty words, they Word clouds are more than just pretty words, they are also a great way to display the ranking of ideas within a topic in order of importance (the most frequently used words appear larger).

Our 6th grade class brainstormed words about reading and Language Arts. Students created their own word clouds using the words we brainstormed as a class, but adding or subtracting words to fit their views. Next they personalized the cloud with their preferred shape, color and emphasis. Each word cloud showcases the author's personal taste, creativity and feelings about reading.
quote from The Second Best Haunted Hotel on Mercer quote from The Second Best Haunted Hotel on Mercer Street by Cory Putman Oakes, illustrated by Jane Pica #2ndbesthauntedhotelonmercerstreet #coryputmanoakes #janepica #hauntedbooks #friendshipbooks #ghoststories #inclusivefiction #middlegradebooks #classroombookshelf #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #IteachELA
The 2nd Best Haunted Hotel on Mercer Street by Cor The 2nd Best Haunted Hotel on Mercer Street by Cory Putman Oakes (illustrated by Jane Pica) is a welcome addition to our class bookshelf.

This lively, fun book manages to tackle difficult situations while also being a fun read. The tone of this book is funny and lively. It is one of those books you read quickly and love every second.

After the death of her mother and her father's descent into depression when he stops taking his medication, Willow Ivan is stuck trying to save the hotel that's been in her family for over 400 years with only the help of the ghostly staff. Meanwhile, Evie is miserable as she and her family of ghosts work for a chain of hotels, where she is stuck playing a part she hates chained to a cousin she dislikes. Keeping Willow's hotel in business becomes both girls' goal. It looks increasingly unlikely as the story progresses, and the girls and ghosts try increasingly long-shot plans. 

The two main characters narrate alternating chapters as the action increases and the plot comes to a head. Both main characters and most of the secondary characters are engaging and you genuinely care about their futures. Living or dead, they all have lively personalities that keep the conversations and conflict interesting. 

This fun book includes so many things that I love to include on my shelf: it speaks to readers who've lost a parent, to middle grade readers who feel overwhelmed with responsibilities, to mental illness, to the power of asking for help, to readers pushing against stereotype, and more. Representation of a non-binary ghost, no stereotyping of introverted characters, and a an easter egg for bilingual students. In short, there is something for nearly every middle grade reader in this book.

#2ndbesthauntedhotelonmercerstreet #coryputmanoakes #janepica #hauntedbooks #friendshipbooks #ghoststories #inclusivefiction #middlegradebooks #classroombookshelf #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #IteachELA
quote from The Second Best Haunted Hotel on Mercer quote from The Second Best Haunted Hotel on Mercer Street by Cory Putman Oakes, illustrated by Jane Pica

#2ndbesthauntedhotelonmercerstreet #coryputmanoakes #janepica #hauntedbooks #friendshipbooks #ghoststories #inclusivefiction #middlegradebooks #classroombookshelf #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #IteachELA
Hey Odyssey Team! Here's a quick guide to your zoo Hey Odyssey Team! Here's a quick guide to your zoom meeting start times. Save it to your phone or print it for your fridge, and we will see you Wednesday.
#marcusstrong
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