Breakfast With a True Hero

This month our teacher reading group met to discuss Jason Wright's Christmas Jars, our December read, and our guest of honor was non other than the author himself! What an awesome time we had! He is such a warm, funny, down-to-earth man, and in spite of the great success and acclamation his books have brought him, he remains very humble and approachable. We sat completely mesmerized for an hour while he entertained us with real-life Christmas jar stories, inside tidbits about his books, and funny little family stories. We didn't want our time with him to end! And not to have us leave empty-handed, he brought along copies of his books to give away. Knowing we're teachers and how much we LOVE to give tests and quizzes, he turned the tables and gave us a quiz instead! The teachers answering the questions correctly received books as prizes. Afterwards, he sat and signed everyone's books. What a morning! We certainly hope he'll visit again - maybe when we read Recovering Charles. Jason Wright is welcome at J. Frank Hillyard Middle School anytime!

Do You Believe in Christmas Jars? (D-3)

I can't believe that we have finished reading Christmas Jars! I don't know about you, but I didn't want the book to end. These last few chapters have certainly been emotional - well, at least for your teacher - I'll speak for myself! I've read the book four times now, and I still get goose bumps and all choked up and teary-eyed at the end. What a great story, but more than that, what a great concept - the Christmas Jar.
Please take a few minutes and let me know your final thoughts and reactions to the book. Share with me what you liked and enjoyed about it - or what you didn't, if that's the case.
One last thing...what I want more than anything, is for you to take this story and make it a part of you. I don't mean necessarily that you have to start a Christmas Jar and find someone to give it to. I want you to simply look for ways that you can make someone else's day a little brighter, or their life a little better. Please try to make it your priority each day to pass on a little kindness to someone else. Make your life about others, not centered solely around you, and you will be a much happier person. If you can do this, I will be a very happy teacher.
Love,
Mrs. H

Freedom from Fever! (D2)

Now that the frost has gotten rid of the fever and Philadelphia is returning to normal, what will happen to Mattie? Can she and Eliza run the coffeehouse successfully? Will Mattie’s mother return?

Is There Hope for Hope? (D-1)

The reading of chapters 14 and 15 of Christmas Jars has been very emotional for us as readers, but not nearly as heartbreaking as it was for Hope. The deaths of her mother and now Adam Maxwell, as the author Jason Wright puts it, have left "two gaping holes in her soul." Even with giving her first Christmas jar away to the homeless man in the park and gaining the feeling of "blessing someone other than herself," Hope still has the unresolved issue of seeing the Maxwell family and explaining all of her lies.
How do you envision the meeting going, or do you think she will back out once again? What do you predict for Hope as we draw nearer to the conclusion of Christmas Jars?

Do You Have Reading Fever? (#4)

What are your thoughts on Fever 1793 so far? Has your opinion of the book changed from chapter one to chatpter 16? How? What do you like? What do you dislike?

What's Their Story - or Secret? (#3)

We just finished reading chapter 7 of Jason Wright's Christmas Jars where Hope meets Adam and Lauren Maxwell and is eager to find out more about the origin of the Christmas Jars. Take another look at the quote below and make some predictions. What is their story, or maybe what is their secret? What do you think?

"Something in her said the story of Adam and Lauren Maxwell was bigger than a few random acts of kindness. This had either become something tremendous and the Maxwells knew why, or it was about to, and they were the reason why."

Well...What Do You Think So Far?

I know we're only a few chapters into the book, but I'm dying to know what you think of the story so far! Let me know!

What'cha Been Reading? (2)

Open blog today! Take a few minutes and tell me about what you're reading - I know some of you checked out new books yesterday! What's exciting? What's funny? What's confusing? Talk to me about what you're reading!

Countdown to Christmas Jars

In exactly one week guys, (next Wednesday) we will begin reading Christmas Jars written by Jason Wright! We will officially be in the month of November and Christmas won't be far away! Can't wait to see your reactions to this wonderful story!
Mrs. H

Smile and Say Cheese! (1)

Fall is in the air! Isn't it great? It's my favorite time of the year! Well...let's get on to this week's topic of discussion!
It's a given that if you can picture the characters, places, and events of the story as you read, your comprehension and enjoyment will be increased. We've already talked about how good authors describe their characters so that you can "see" them in your mind, and you all shared some great examples from your books. Now, as we move into descriptive writing in class, I want you to spend some more time looking for "snapshots" (frozen moments) in your books - vivid descriptions of people, places, and things that allow you to see the pictures in your mind.
For example, in the book I'm presently reading entitled The Shack by Wm. Paul Young here is an example of a great snapshot from it:

"The snowbanks had vanished, and summer wildflowers began to color the borders of the trail and into the forest as far as he could see. Robins and finches darted after one another among the trees. Squirrels and chipmunks occasionally crossed the path ahead, some stopping to sit up and watch him for a moment before plunging back into the undergrowth. He even thought he glimpsed a young buck emerging out of a dark glade in the forest, but on second look it was gone. As if that weren't enough, the scent of blooms began to fill the air, not just the drifting aroma of wild mountain flowers, but the richness of roses and orchids and other exotic fragrances found in more tropical climes."

Can you "see" that great picture? Now find me a great snapshot from your book!

Time for Reflection!

Okay guys - with next week being the end of the first six weeks of the school year, it's time for us to sit back and reflect a little bit about what we've accomplished so far and how we're feeling about our reading. It's always good to take some time and honestly think about what we've done (or haven't done sometimes - no one's perfect) and then from that - set some goals. Moving forward is what it's all about.
Personally, I feel very good about quite a few things so far. I've finished four VERY good books (well, I'm almost finished with Recovering Charles - my fourth book and, boy, do I have a lot to tell you about this one !) Some of you have gone way past me in the number of books you've read this six weeks! Way to go! You have no idea how that pleases me as your teacher. I wish that all my students would love reading as much as I do. I'll never stop trying to make that happen.
Just about everything I've read this six weeks has been for pleasure - and nothing wrong with that! It's just that I like to keep up professionally too, and I've done VERY little - almost none - professional reading. (That would be reading in my field of reading education.) So, I'll need to work on that in the upcoming six weeks.
I also feel very good about getting to know each one of you - it feels like we've been together for longer than six weeks! I enjoy meeting with you every day and getting to know you better through your writing and, of course, all of our discussions.
Lastly, I'm very pleased with our classroom blog and how it's going so far. We certainly have had some excitement with it, haven't we!?
So... now it's your turn. Take a few minutes to tell me how it's going for you.

Look At Me!

Well, here I am sitting with Jason Wright as he signs my copies of Christmas Jars and his newly published Recovering Charles. What a wonderful experience! He is such a genuinely warm and FUNNY man! This picture was taken by his lovely wife Kodi, and I enjoyed meeting and chatting with her also. I can't wait to begin reading my new book - I'm sure it will be awesome. Christmas Jars is my newest favorite book!

Picture This!

Wow! Another week has rolled by! Can you believe it? We are officially in fall now, one of my favorite seasons! I love the crisp fall air and all the beautiful changing colors of the leaves that will be turning soon. I also love the fall holidays - Halloween and Thanksgiving. It also seems like I have more time to read in the evenings when the days become shorter. Speaking of my reading... I finished Water for Elephants last week, and right at the moment, it is my newest favorite book! I started a new book titled Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright. Mr. Wright is a local author, by the way, living in Woodstock. Last year our school reading group read The Wednesday Letters also written by him.
Now, getting to our topic of discussion for this week...
Virtually all authors physically describe their characters so that readers can form pictures of the characters in their minds. This is important! Readers want to be able to bring the characters that they're reading about to life! So this week I want you to tell me what you're reading and give me some examples of how the author describes the main character in your book so that you can see him or her in your mind. For example...
In Christmas Jars here is how Hope Jensen is described early in the book. I could easily picture her - how about you?
"Hope grew into a striking-looking young woman. Through the years, her once-baby blue eyes had added a rich green at their edges. 'Those aren't eyes,' Louis told her, 'they're jewels.' Her often-pony-tailed hair was darker than most would have expected for such light eyes and fair skin."
Take a moment now and give me some examples of good character description from your book!

Say What?

Continuing with our study of characters...last week we looked at how authors reveal what characters are like through their actions. There were lots of interesting comments made on our blog and I enjoyed reading all of them! I hope you enjoyed reading each others' too!
Did you know we can also learn about a character by what he or she says or thinks? This will often show the reader what type of person he or she is. Think about it. Have you ever listened to someone talk and then made a judgment about what kind of a person he or she is based on what was said?
This week I want you to look through your book and find some dialogue between two characters or a part of the story where a character is thinking. Read it carefully and decide what the words spoken or thought by the character reveal about him or her. Then tell me:
1. the title of your book
2. the character's name and what he or she said or thought
(Be careful to use quotation marks correctly!)
3. Tell what this revealed about the character to you.

For example, based on what I read this week I would write:

In Water for the Elephants Jacob is thinking, "I knew how important it was to keep her secret, and keep it I did - for the rest of her life, and then beyond. In seventy years, I've never told a blessed soul." From these thoughts I know that Jacob is an extremely trustworthy and one-of-a-kind soul! Most people can't keep a secret to themselves for over five minutes!

Your character did what?!

Authors reveal, or show, the traits of their characters in several ways.  This week we're going to explore how the author of the book you're reading shows the nature of the main character through his or her actions. 

What a character does tells the reader a lot about him or her.  For example, the author may not say that a character is honest, but reveals it when the character finds and returns a lost wallet even though he desperately needs money.

Think about the book you're reading and use this template for this week's blog:

In the book ____(title)____ when ____(name of main character)________(tell what he or she does)____ , I know that he/she is ____(give character trait)____.

For example, using the book that I am reading I would write:

In the book Water for Elephants when Jacob feels badly and goes off by himself after shooting one of the circus horses, I know that he is tenderhearted.  

We're All Set!

Hello guys, and welcome to our classroom blog!  This is where we will be sharing responses to all sorts of reading related things this year.  I can't believe that we have already finished one week of school, the Labor Day weekend is over, and here we are back again!  I don't know about you, but it feels like we have been in school longer than just one week.  I feel very comfortable with all my students and classes and am looking forward to a great year!  Hopefully all the bugs have been worked out of this blog, and now we can get down to some serious blogging!

   Okay...we spent last week establishing that reading should be important to you, and maybe it is.  However, there is always the chance that it isn't - and that's okay too.  This what I want to center the discussion around this week - the importance of reading to you.   I want you to:

1.  Share your honest feelings about reading.  (Please use complete sentences - no one or two word responses!)  Tell me honestly how you feel.

2. Now discuss why you feel the way you do.  What happened along the way to make you feel like you do about reading?

Remember to keep all language appropriate - and have fun!