We will be reading a lot this year! We will read short stories, dramas, numerous non-fiction articles that will help students make connections to what we are reading, and other non-fiction articles covering current events. In addition, we plan on reading at least three novels throughout the year, two of which are non-fiction.
Our time in class is limited so there will be times when reading will have to be done at home. I know we are all busy but please plan accordingly and make this a priority. In addition to our classroom reading, please make sure your student is reading independently. There is a strong correlation between reading and academic success. Just like in sports, you don't get good without practice, reading requires practice and the more you practice, the better you get. If you have any concerns, please let me know. Thank you!! |
Titanic Young Survivors
Eleven-year-old Billy Carter kneels down on the slanting deck of the
Titanic and hugs his beloved dog — a tan and black Airedale. Can Billy
save himself and his pet?
Fifteen-year-old Edith Brown and her mother climb into Lifeboat 14. Edith begs her father to join them. Why won't he? Seventeen-year-old Jack Thayer looks over the side of the sinking Titanic and stares into the frigid sea. There are no lifeboats left. He knows he has to jump, but can he? These and other young people came from many walks of life. Now, on the night of April 14, 1912, they all face a life-or-death crisis abroad the Titanic. When the unthinkable occurs, can they survive? |
woodsongAuthor Gary Paulsen, especially well-known for
the young adult book Hatchet, uses Woodsong to communicate various
stories about Paulsen's experiences with animals in the woods in Alaska
over the ten or so year period where he trapped animals and ran dog
sleds. The main themes of the book focus on the beauty of nature, both
animate and inanimate. But it is especially focused on the beauty, depth
and complexity of animal life and about how Paulsen came to appreciate
the importance of treating animals with dignity and respect. The book
runs the emotional gamut, from times of exaltation and joy to
experiences of pain, despair and terror. Paulsen is often unusually
lucid and at other times bogged down with injury and hallucination. But
throughout the book, Paulsen's animals are always around, and his dogs
in particular are always available to help.
Woodsong is divided into two parts. Part I, Running, is a collection of eight essays about Paulsen's experiences with animals. Part II, The Race, is the tale of Paulsen's seventeen day trip in the Iditarod race, a race of dog sledders along a thousand mile trail from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska. The race combines many of the insights that Paulsen discusses in Part I and exhibits a huge range of emotional feelings and insights that Paulsen had into himself and his dogs. |
percy jackson: the lightning thief
When troubled student Percy Jackson vaporizes his math teacher on a
class field trip, he begins to suspect that his life is not what it
seems. He discovers that his lifelong reading and attention troubles are
all signs that he is a half-blood-a child of the Greek gods.
After a summer training session with other demigods and Chiron the centaur, he sets off on a cross-country quest to Los Angeles (the entrance to Hades) with his friend Grover the faun and Annabeth, a child of Athena, to recover Zeus' lost thunderbolt and stop a war between the gods. Along the way, where modern life and mythology intersect to create both humor and excitement, Percy will come to know his father Poseidon, rescue his mother, and discover that he has what it takes to be a hero. Ultimately, Percy learns to trust his friends and his abilities and to choose love over despair. |