EXCITING NEWS! This past week, the Nobel Peace Prize was co-awarded to Malala Yousafzay for her "struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education." To learn more about this amazing young woman, be sure to pick up her memoir I AM MALALA, which has been called "incredible" and a book that would "inspire some activism after the final pages." The good news is that we have several copies of Malala's memoir in class - please check one out and tell me in the comments below if you think she is worthy of such a prestigious award and why...

What are YOUR strengths?

Try out this website Mr. Swarstad found. In the free report, you will receive a list of your 24 strengths, in order. Try it, post your top 5 strengths in your blog, and let me know if you agree or disagree and why.   Is there something significant which you believe is missing?

 1. Appreciation Of Beauty & Excellence You notice and appreciate beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in all domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics to science to everyday experience.

 2. Love You value close relations with others, in particular those in which sharing and caring are reciprocated. The people to whom you feel most close are the same people who feel most close to you.

 3. Gratitude You are aware of the good things that happen to you, and you never take them for granted. Your friends and family members know that you are a grateful person because you always take the time to express your thanks.

 4. Humor You like to laugh and tease. Bringing smiles to other people is important to you. You try to see the light side of all situations.

 5. Prudence You are a careful person, and your choices are consistently prudent ones. You do not say or do things that you might later regret.

 6.Social Intelligence You are aware of the motives and feelings of other people. You know what to do to fit in to different social situations, and you know what to do to put others at ease.

I believe these are strong qualities for me. I am always struck by beauty in patterns, colors, views, human expression - which is why I love taking photos.  I adore my family and friends, and tell them so with great frequency. I am grateful each and every day for my many blessings as an overseas teacher, as a mom, wife, sister, daughter, friend.   I approach every situation with humor, and am acutely aware of the feelings of others.   And yes, I'm not a risk taker. I calculate advantages and disadvantages of every situation before making a decision.   What's missing from my list? I love learning and improving myself continually.

Team RLA7 2014

Never before in history, has there been such a professional and passionate (not to mention gorgeous) group of 7th grade RLA teachers. Do you know how LUCKY you are? :)

Finding Narnia

   

Confession - for many, MANY years after I finished reading the Narnia series (I devoured every single book in that series!), I would secretly check the back of closets and cupboards in the hope of finding my own path to Narnia. I'm not sure what I wanted to find there - the land of magical talking animals, or perhaps I was hoping I could find handsome Peter and win him over. In any case, I was completely under the enchantment of that magical land and even into adulthood, could not resist the temptation to tap the back of a cupboard. Now confess, have you ever done the same? :) Write a brief personal memoir on the book that created a passion in your for reading, and why.  Green Eggs and Ham? Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief? A-Z Mysteries?  Twas the Night Before Christmas? The Giving Tree?

Back to School photos!

Click on this link to check out some great back-to-school photos.

Writing according to Avi (or, "What would Avi do?" WWAD)

Six Secrets to Good Writing One: Read, read, read. Reading is the key to good writing. The more you read, the better the writer you can be. You can never read too much. Two: Write! It's not written until it's on the paper. Story telling is a great art, but it is not story writing. Three: Write what you would enjoy reading. You'll have more fun, and it will be better. Four: Rewrite! No one ever writes anything well the first time. The first draft cannot be the last draft. (I rewrite my work fifty-sixty times—or more). Here's a tip: read your first draft, and if you think it's good, you are in trouble. But, if you read it and you see it's not that good, you are in great shape—to get going. The more you rewrite the better your writing will be. Five: Write for readers. Maybe you understand what you have written, but the writer's job is to have the reader understand it. Keep in mind: writers don't write writing, they write reading. Six: Listen. Read your work out loud (pencil in hand) and it will let you hear your own writing. It will almost improve itself. For more tips, read Avi's blog, “Thoughts on Writing.”

Avi's Advice for Writers

And one more for Hogwarts fans...

Imagine how awesome Disney princesses would have been if they'd gone to Hogwarts like Hermione and Ginny!  Disney sends those ladies back to school!

MUGGLES rejoice! Hogwarts is Here!

© 2005 Warner Bros. Ent. Harry Potter Publishing Rights J.K.R.

A group of intrepid Harry Potter fans have made my childhood wish come true, creating a website called Hogwarts Is Here, where you can take free, online classes in the same subjects studied by Harry, Ron, and Hermione.  Read this article for more information. 

Punctuation Matters

We've been spending time making sure our punctuation enhances our work. Take the extra time to revise and edit so you don't look like a psycho!