Books For Literature Circles - Techlandia Radio 68

In this episode, Jon Samuelson @ipadsammy, Alison Anderson @tedrosececi, Scott Bedley @tasfair, (from the @bedleybrothers podcast fills in for Curt), and Colby Sharp @colbysharp chat about the world of educational technology. They also share 3 Twitter users to follow, and some great #eduwins from the past week.

Dad, husband, lead learner 3rd grade. I help out with #nerdybookclub, #titletalk, #nErDcampMI, #nerdlution, and #nerdbery. Classroom account @sharpleaders116

A community of readers sharing great children's books for teachers to share with students.

Uncategorized I cannot wait to see which book Mr. Schu chose to read for this... Uncategorized Mr. Schu and I continue our love affair with Newbery in our latest challenge.... Uncategorized The last couple of weeks of school are a little insane. I'm a big fan...

Donalyn Miller says she has yet to meet a child she couldn't turn into a reader. No matter how far behind Miller's students might be when they reach her 6th grade classroom, they end up reading an average of 40 to 50 books a year. Miller's unconventional approach dispenses with drills and worksheets that make reading a chore. Instead, she helps students navigate the world of literature and gives them time to read books they pick out themselves. Her love of books and teaching is both infectious and inspiring. The book includes a dynamite list of recommended "kid lit" that helps parents and teachers find the books that students really like to read.

In Reading in the Wild, reading expert Donalyn Miller continues the conversation that began in her bestselling book, The Book Whisperer. While The Book Whisperer revealed the secrets of getting students to love reading, Reading in the Wild, written with reading teacher Susan Kelley, describes how to truly instill lifelong "wild" reading habits in our students.

Based, in part, on survey responses from adult readers as well as students, Reading in the Wild offers solid advice and strategies on how to develop, encourage, and assess five key reading habits that cultivate a lifelong love of reading. Also included are strategies, lesson plans, management tools, and comprehensive lists of recommended books. Copublished with Editorial Projects in Education, publisher of Education Week and Teacher magazine, Reading in the Wild is packed with ideas for helping students build capacity for a lifetime of "wild" reading.

Albie has never been the smartest kid in his class. He has never been the tallest. Or the best at gym. Or the greatest artist. Or the most musical. In fact, Albie has a long list of the things he's not very good at. But then Albie gets a new babysitter, Calista, who helps him figure out all of the things he is good at and how he can take pride in himself.

A perfect companion to Lisa Graff's National Book Award-nominated A Tangle of Knots, this novel explores a similar theme in a realistic contemporary world where kids will easily be able to relate their own struggles to Albie's. Great for fans of Rebecca Stead's Liar and Spy, RJ Palacio's Wonder and Cynthia Lord's Rules.

From award-winning author Sharon Draper comes Out of My Mind, the story of a brilliant girl who cannot speak or write.

“If there is one book teens and parents (and everyone else) should read this year, Out of My Mind should be it” (Denver Post).

Melody is not like most people. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom—the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged, because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And she’s determined to let everyone know it…somehow.

In this breakthrough story—reminiscent of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly—from multiple Coretta Scott King Award-winner Sharon Draper, readers will come to know a brilliant mind and a brave spirit who will change forever how they look at anyone with a disability.

For Ruby Pepperdine, the “center of everything” is on the rooftop of Pepperdine Motors in her donut-obsessed town of Bunning, New Hampshire, stargazing from the circle of her grandmother Gigi’s hug. That’s how everything is supposed to be—until Ruby messes up and things spin out of control. But she has one last hope. It all depends on what happens on Bunning Day, when the entire town will hear Ruby read her winning essay. And it depends on her twelfth birthday wish—unless she messes that up too. Can Ruby’s wish set everything straight in her topsy-turvy world?

Ten-year-old Zoe Elias has perfect piano dreams. She can practically feel the keys under her flying fingers; she can hear the audience's applause. All she needs is a baby grand so she can start her lessons, and then she'll be well on her way to Carnegie Hall.

But when Dad ventures to the music store and ends up with a wheezy organ instead of a piano, Zoe's dreams hit a sour note. Learning the organ versions of old TV theme songs just isn't the same as mastering Beethoven on the piano. And the organ isn't the only part of Zoe's life in Michigan that's off-kilter, what with Mom constantly at work, Dad afraid to leave the house, and that odd boy, Wheeler Diggs, following her home from school every day.

Yet when Zoe enters the annual Perform-O-Rama organ competition, she finds that life is full of surprises--and that perfection may be even better when it's just a little off center.

A story about small acts of courage from the author of A Crooked Kind of Perfect.

Do not let a mop sit overnight in water. Fix things before they get too big for fixing. Custodial wisdom: Mattie Breen writes it all down. She has just one week to convince Uncle Potluck to take her on as his custodial apprentice at Mitchell P. Anderson Elementary School. One week until school starts and she has to be the new girl again. But if she can be Uncle Potluck’s apprentice, she’ll have important work to do during lunch and recess. Work that will keep her safely away from the other fifth graders. But when her custodial wisdom goes all wrong, Mattie’s plan comes crashing down. And only then does she begin to see how one small, brave act can lead to a friend who is hound dog true

A New York Times bestseller

A brand new, exclusive chapter from the bestselling, award-winning, and critically acclaimed novel Wonder.

Over 1 million people have read Wonder and have fallen in love with Auggie Pullman, an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face. Now readers will have a chance to hear from the book's most controversial character—Julian.

From the very first day Auggie and Julian met in the pages of the #1 New York Times bestseller Wonder, it was clear they were never going to be friends, with Julian treating Auggie like he had the plague. And while Wonder told Auggie's story through six different viewpoints, Julian's perspective was never shared. Readers could only guess what he was thinking.

Until now. The Julian Chapter will finally reveal the bully's side of the story. Why is Julian so unkind to Auggie? And does he have a chance for redemption?

reader, teacher, author of The Book Whisperer and Reading in the Wild, #nerdybookclub and #bookaday facilitator, #titletalk & #bproots co-host.

Donalyn Miller has worked with a wide variety of upper elementary and middle school students and currently teaches fifth grade at O.A. Peterson Elementary in Fort Worth, Texas. In her popular book, The Book Whisperer, Donalyn reflects on her journey to become a reading teacher and describes how she inspires and motivates her middle school...

Mom of 3, Triathlete (and as of July 2012...Ironman!), High School Chemistry Teacher

Fourth grade teacher - Love my job - http://t.co/8K2Ct4BUnA

I just finished reading Gary Schmidt's book Okay For Now. It was amazing. Truly. The main character, Doug, is a kid who has an incredibly awful home life, with a dad who's a total jerk. Dad's abusive and hangs out with another jerk, which only makes matters worse.

Author of The Center of Everything,
Hound Dog True, A Crooked Kind of Perfect, & Mouse was Mad. Repped by Jenn Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency

Linda Urban's Website and Blog.

Wife, Mom to two boys, and teacher to 20+ Fifth Graders each year!

I have recently returned to the 21 st Century after being on vacation - meaning I have semi-reliable Internet access again. One of the first places I visited when returning to the Internet was, of course, Twitter.

Wife, mother, reader, writer, HS English teacher, yrbk advisor, tech fanatic who believes anything is possible...with enough coffee. #nerdybookclub curator #nwp

Let what I love be the stars to my wandering bark... (by CBethM)

Homepage for author Lisa Graff's website

Special Announcement to Teachers!! The Study Questions for Sharon Draper's novels now have Common Core Alignment! Common Core Need Help with Homework? If you're a student working on an assignment, click on the "Homework Helper" button below for information on the books, Sharon Draper and more!