Showing off the talent of former B side student

I'm so proud of our former B-side student, Alex Fortmann,SAS student, for his beautiful film, "Flight". The script is reflective and insightful (it was his 7th grade English teacher, I'm sure of it!) and makes my heart swell with pride.

Flight from Alex Fortmann on Vimeo.

I can't wait to see all the cool things YOU are going to do with your life! Make sure to let me know so I can share it with my students :)

What to Give your Teachers this Christmas?

I know you all LOVE Kid President. I love him too because he believes we are all capable of awesomeness, and of kindness. He is wise beyond his years. In this fabulous video he asks, "What if EVERYONE gave a gift that made the world a little bit better?" How about you and your family decide to buy gifts for folks who really need one this Christmas, instead of just buying more "stuff" for each other? I'm pretty sure I can speak for all your teachers when I say we'd be happy if you gave a gift to someone who needs one, to show us how much you love being in our class. It's a win-win-win! Just sayin'

What book does this remind you of?

I find this a little bit creepy but it absolutely reminds me of a book we have in class. Is anyone else reminded of a book when watching this video? If you are, write the title in the comments below!

Hey Hobbit fans, have you ever wanted to visit Middle Earth?

Just in case J.R.R. Tolkien fans didn’t have enough material to satiate their geekiness with three Lord of the Rings films, three (in progress) Hobbit films, books, gear, fan fiction, etc., they can now explore Middle-Earth through Google.(click on link)

Tolkien himself included painstakingly detailed hand-drawn maps in the print editions of his works. This new Google endeavor is an interactive version of those maps and provides a guided tour of Middle-earth and all the elves, hobbits and other creatures that inhabit it.
(courtesy of TIME.com)

Visit the site and comment below on your favorite creature from The Hobbit.
And if you haven't seen the intense trailer for the new Hobbit movie, here it is. Don't forget you can read the book too - I have it in my classroom!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We've been working hard on creating persuasive vlogs recently. What can we learn from Kid President on persuasive technique? Simplicity of ideas, facial expressions, jump cuts to separate ideas - what else? Happy Thanksgiving, 7B. I want you to know that, you're so awesome I named my dog after you. Go out and be kind to everyone and see how you can change someone's day/week/year with your smile. :)

Are there any things which should be added to the list? What do YOU think we should be saying more often?

Would you like one of these?

I want one, of EACH!

Which one would YOU want in your dream home?

Question Tuesday: The Fault in Our Stars Movie Edition

It's no secret that I am a BIG fan of John Green and vlogbrothers. In this episode, John Green tackles the question of "Book vs. Movie" just before the 2 minute mark.  You all just posted an opinion on the topic after viewing The Outsiders last week, so you can compare his response to your own.   What do you like about John Green's style of vlogging? (video blog). Would you be interested in creating your own video blog?  What would you talk about? What are you passionate about?

My Favorite Astronaut Talks about Reading

"Reading is freedom" Col. Chris Hadfield is a big hero in Canada. He was recently the commander of the International Space Station, the first Canadian to do so. During his five months in space, he posted amazing photos on FB of our planet in all its glory. He posted videos to answer the questions he'd received from school children. Just before he returned to Earth, he won millions of fans with his uber-cool music video version of David Bowie's Space Oddity. Listen to his interview on how he was influenced by amazing books, starting with his love for Black Beauty. Then watch his astronaut music video, (filmed in space!) and consider where great books and reading could lead YOU!

1D

I found this article on One Direction quite interesting. No really, I did.  I was especially interested in Morgan Spurlock's experience in making a film about these boys. Well actually, I was interested in what he had to say about the importance of creating a STORY, and a good NARRATIVE.

Maybe you should read this article too, and tell me what you think!  And by the way, is the movie worth seeing?

Interview with Veronica Roth, author of Divergent!

Here's another interview with Veronica Roth, and some love from her student readers If you are a fan of Divergent, be sure to visit her blog. I love her page about how she revises. I am SO excited to see this movie. I loved the book, and its sequel, Insurgent, and am eagerly awaiting the final book in the series, Allegiant. Watch this interview with Veronica Roth and just tell me what you think - will you read the book or see the movie?

How well do you know YA lit? (YA= young adult)

Think you read a lot? Think you know every YA book out there? Take this quiz from The Christian Science Monitor to see just how well you can match quotes with the books they're from!

I got 14 out of 16 -- can you beat me?  Post your score below!

http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/2013/0816/Young-adults-books-quiz-Can-you-match-the-quote-to-the-book/Now-she-s-gone

Young adults books quiz: Can you match the quote to the book?

www.csmonitor.com

Can you match these quotes to the well known young adult books they come from?

More from Teenreads.com (please subscribe to it!)

Teenreads.com

Are you the ULTIMATE reader of ‪#‎YALit‬? Check out our‪#‎UltimateReadingList‬, which boasts 450+ books and is also broken down into genre lists so you can find the EXACT book you are craving.

http://www.teenreads.com/teenreadscom-ultimate-reading-list

Welcome back! Need a book?

So many great books to choose from, how can a person decide? One way to find a good book is to look for recommendations. Here are some great books as suggested by NPR
100 Must-Read books for Kids 9-14

Let me know what you think of this list, or if there are any books from the list you want to encourage your classmates to read!

Earn Skills, become a Maker.

Mr. Green, the IT guy, showed me this cool website.
I love it for many reasons. It targets every kind of learner  and a huge variety of interests.  Each "badge" must be earned by following a series of 10 or more challenges, and the challenges increase in difficulty.  As the learner accomplishes each task, he/she uploads a photo as proof. There must be a huge sense of accomplishment when one successfully completes each task to earn the badge. And what's more - it's very public. You know that thousands of other like-minded people will be looking at your photos and commenting. www.diy.org

See this clip from the PRANKSTER badge (and who wouldn't want a prankster badge??)

(video courtesy Alex Schmitt, youtube.com) 

Another cool aspect is that the process is self-initiated. You choose your badge, and work through the challenges on your own schedule. No teachers, no grades.  Just you being challenged to do something you love.  This skill of self motivation and inspiration will be essential to the 21st century learner. So what are you waiting for? Earn skills, become a maker - check out www.diy.org.

Why should I worry about reticulated pythons?

(article courtesy of the Singapore Zoo)

 The question is more like, "why SHOULDN'T I be worried about reticulated pythons? According to this article, we are removing snake habitat at an alarming rate, and the snakes have nowhere to go. Except my living room, for example, where we found a snake recently, stretched out casually along the top of our sofa.  $300 and two hours of pest control chaos later, the snake was returned to his disappearing habitat, and we were left with a new respect for nature (and for pest control workers!). We've had a similar problem with monkeys lately too, entering our home and stealing our bananas, and bread, and chips, and so on.  Neighbours are complaining to the management and want the cheeky monkeys caught and killed.   Although I'm not crazy about hosting impromtu National Geographic episodes in my living room or kitchen, a little perspective is needed:  we are the ones to blame here.  The animals did not ask to have their homes cut down and replaced with high rise condos or parking lots. They have no where to go, so they are coming to visit us. Here's a thought - why don't we try a little harder to let them KEEP their homes, so we can rest easy in ours? Is anyone with me on this??