Library Thing

I came across this website www.librarything.com. LibraryThing is an online service to help people catalog their books easily. It is great. I have so many books and each year I struggle with how to keep track of my books. This is a great place for me. It is free for the first 200 books that you catalog. After that there are different membership options. I like that I am able to locate just about any book I have. I haven't quite figured how I will use it in my classroom, but it certainly allows me to keep track of my books. It is also a great way to read book reviews and review books for authors.

Library Thing

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

      I was in Sam's Club and this book caught my eye. Being that I am moving to 5th grade next year, I figured this would be a good book to read in hopes that I could recommend it to my students. I had no idea it was a New York Times best seller.  Well, it turned out to be a GREAT book in so many ways. Not only was the book heartwarming it was filled with many teachable moments. It address such issues as identity, appearance, acceptance and bullying. This is a great book to use to follow characters into meaning. It will allow students to go into a deeper comprehension by inferring and analyzing the different characters and how they react to the main character, Auggie. There are several resources out there and I would suggest to read the book and then find or create resources that you could use in your class.

     My son is in 6th grade and I encouraged him to read it. He read it in 2 days and commented that he would never look at people and the world in the same way.

     How have you used this book in your class?

End of Year

"Trust in what you love, continue to do it, and it will take you where you need to go." 

 - Natalie Goldberg 

      My dream has always been to be a teacher and for the past 18 years I have been one. As each year passes I reflect on the things my students have taught me. This is the amazing thing about teaching. You end up learning just as much about yourself and life as the students you teach. This gives me the ability to continue to grow in my profession. I am incredibly grateful to the students, families, and staff at Blessed Sacrament School. You have left your footprints in my heart.
     I will be making a change to my parish school next year. I will continue my vocation in Catholic Education. I will be teaching 5th grade and have a new challenge ahead of me. My passion is in reading and writing, so this summer I will be reading books for 5th graders and I will also be attending the Advance Writing Institute with the Coastal Savannah Writing Project. I hope to post book reviews and anything new I can share with the teaching community.