The David Awards: Have You Voted?

The David Awards

Hey, did you know that you can cast a vote in Penguin's David Awards?  Well, you can! Vote in five categories for the winner of Penguin's own David Awards, "...recognizing excellence in video programming and digital publishing."  Exercise your right to vote today!  Let us know how you cast your vote, here at The Things You Can Read! Happy Reading! The Things You Can Read Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

Algonquin Reader: Have You Requested Your Copy?

Request Your Free Copy of The Algonquin Reader

The Algonquin Reader, Spring 2013 is here, featuring new and upcoming fiction from Jill McCorkle, Caroline Leavitt, Rebecca Lee, David Samuel Levinson, Susan Nussbaum, and Julie Wu.

The Algonquin Reader, Spring 2013

Read some of the previous editions of The Algonquin Reader, here on The Things You Can Read.

The Algonquin Reader: Fall 2012 by Workman Publishing

The Algonquin Reader, Spring 2012 by Workman Publishing

It's FREE!  Check The Algonquin Reader, Spring 2013 out and let us know what you think, here at The Things You Can Read!

Happy Reading!
The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

Readability.com? Are You Using It?

Readability

Here is what Book Riot's Associate Editor and Community Manager, Rebecca, had to say about Readability:

"You know those super-interesting but too-long-to-read-in-the-middle-of-the-workday stories you come across when you’re reading online? What do you do with those? I used to bookmark them, but I never actually went back to read them. So then I tried leaving the tabs open in my web browser all day, telling myself that I’d read them over lunch or later in the evening. That didn’t work either. For a while, I just sort of gave up and didn’t read any longform web writing, but it made me too sad to continue. Luckily, a friend recently recommended Readability, and it has solved all my problems. Install the Readability bookmarklet on your browser’s tool bar, mark any article to “read later,” then pull it off in the Readability app on your phone or tablet. The app is free, and it converts the stories into a format available offline, so you can read them on a plane, or in line at the grocery store, or wherever. It’s terrific, and it’s become my preferred method of keeping up with the journalists and essayists whose work I love. Also, you can make your own collections of things and download them as ePub files for your eReader, and I think that’s pretty sweet."

Check it out and let us know your thoughts: Readability.  We're using it!

Happy Reading!
The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

World Book Night: We Are a 2013 World Book Night Giver!

Congratulations, if you were chosen to be a 2013 World Book Night Giver! We are so excited to have made the list of BOOK GIVERS! Back in December, we shared the details on just what World Book Night is all about and how to participate.   Did you sign up? Were you chosen?  We'd love to know...The Book Givers for 2013 have all been chosen, so applications are now closed for 2013, but you can still participate vicariously by checking out World Book Night's website: Click HERE.  Take a peek at what the folks at World Book Night are up to, and GET INVOLVED...it's easy! Click on over to the 2013 list of books at World Book Night and see what Book Givers all over the United States will be distributing.  How many of these great reads have you read?  We will be giving away Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury on the 50th anniversary of this classic's publication.

Happy Reading!
The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

Food For Thought: Teaching Life Lessons

We had an inspirational speaker come to our middle school on Friday.  If you are a teacher, we can hear the groans...and we also can feel your pain, because an assembly in the middle of the day can often wreck havoc on the normalcy needed to have a successful school day, but that was not the case on Friday.  

Our speaker was not teaching "state testing material", but rather "life lesson material", and our only wish was that more people could have heard him.  We know that what he said will stick with those that heard him for days, weeks, months, and possibly, years to come.  He made us go UMMM a number of times during his talk.  How do we know he connected with the students?  Well, here is how, we had several children ask us the question the speaker zeroed in on after the assembly was over, which was "Who are you?"  We have never had this kind of response before from a speaker, and we were proud to have an answer that sprang to our lips that we were pleased to share with them, and we were doubly pleased to be able to ask them the same question back...it was a very "teachable moment."   

Our students may not remember what we coverd in English on Friday, February 15, 2013, but they will remember our speaker.  We are definitely going to share the two key points that were made during the assembly: LOVE is a VERB, and "Know who you are so you can kill who you are NOT"  with our own children.  So, instead of saying, "I LOVE YOU!" next time try saying, "I VERB YOU!" 

Additional Thoughts:

Love is a verb! It’s an action requiring your involvement your active participation. You cannot sit back and expect the world will serve it to you. Nor do you have to like every action of someone who you love or loves you. You cannot expect that your relationship will continue to provide love while you’re not putting in any effort. Love has to be earned and must be continually fought for.  Here is to treating LOVE as a VERB!

Have a restful weekend and let us know...Who are you?  We are a MOTHER, WIFE, and TEACHER!

Happy Reading!
The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

Happy Reading!
The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day from The Things You Can Read Family!

Happy Reading!
The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

A Warning to College Profs from a High School Teacher

A Warning to College Profs from a High School Teacher

Here is an excerpt from a Washington Post article entitled "A Warning to College Profs from a High School Teacher".  The article is filled with memorable quotes to help those who are not in the classroom understand the realities of teaching in our public schools today.  

Please do not blame those of us in public schools for how unprepared for higher education the students arriving at your institutions are. We have very little say in what is happening to public education. Even the most distinguished and honored among us have trouble getting our voices heard in the discussion about educational policy. The National Teacher of the Year is supposed to be the representative of America’s teachers—if he or she cannot get teachers’ voices included, imagine how difficult it is for the rest of us. That is why, if you have not seen it, I strongly urge you to read 2009 National Teacher of the Year Anthony Mullen’s famous blog post, “Teachers Should Be Seen and Not Heard.” After listening to noneducators bloviate about schools and teaching without once asking for his opinion, he was finally asked what he thought. He offered the following:

Where do I begin? I spent the last thirty minutes listening to a group of arrogant and condescending noneducators disrespect my colleagues and profession. I listened to a group of disingenuous people whose own self-interests guide their policies rather than the interests of children. I listened to a cabal of people who sit on national education committees that will have a profound impact on classroom teaching practices. And I heard nothing of value. “I’m thinking about the current health-care debate,” I said. “And I am wondering if I will be asked to sit on a national committee charged with the task of creating a core curriculum of medical procedures to be used in hospital emergency rooms.”
The strange little man cocks his head and, suddenly, the fly on the wall has everyone’s attention.
“I realize that most people would think I am unqualified to sit on such a committee because I am not a doctor, I have never worked in an emergency room, and I have never treated a single patient. So what? Today I have listened to people who are not teachers, have never worked in a classroom, and have never taught a single student tell me how to teach.”

What are your thoughts on how public schools are doing educating our children?  Are you concerned?  Why or why not?  Let us know your thoughts, here at The Things You Can Read.

Happy Reading!
The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

Titanic Research Project: Building Background Knowledge

Checkout out the NEW material that has been added to Titanic Research Project-Student Writing 2012 and 2013 Page.  We will be sharing our Research Journey with you in the coming days, weeks, and months.  Here is a sample of how we kicked the unit off.  Visit Titanic Research Project-Student Writing 2012 and 2013.  Let us, here at The Things You Can Read, know if these resources are useful!

Titanic Research Unit

Building Background Knowledge

Day 1

Give each student a piece of yellow "Legal Paper". Ask them to fold it in half

Left side

What Do You Know About the Titanic?

Right Side

What Do I Want to Know About the Titanic?

Give students about 5 minutes to complete and then have them share in groups or as a class.  You decide!

NEXT

Have students read an excerpt from Exploring the Titanic by Robert D. Ballard-often an excerpt is found in literature books for middle school aged children.  

Before reading share with students background information on Robert D. Ballard

LINK 1 Bio of Robert D. Ballard

LINK 2 National Geographic Robert D. Ballard

LINK 3 More about Robert D. Ballard

Discuss the excerpt

NEXT

Discuss/Review the Genre: Historical Fiction 
Read Prologue of Titanic: Unsinkable Book 1 by Gordon Korman 

Summary Courtesy of Goodreads...

Unsinkable (Titanic #1)

by Gordon Korman

 3.79  ·   rating details  ·  638 ratings  ·  116 reviews

The ultimate action/adventure trilogy begins, with #1 bestselling author Gordon Korman plunging readers into the heart of the Titanic.

The Titanic is meant to be unsinkable, but as it begins its maiden voyage, there's plenty of danger waiting for four of its young passengers. Paddy is a stowaway, escaping a deadly past. Sophie's mother is delivered to the ship by police - after she and Sophie have been arrested. Juliana's father is an eccentric whose riches can barely hide his madness. And Alfie is hiding a secret that could get him kicked off the ship immediately.
The lives of these four passengers will be forever linked with the fate of Titanic. And the farther they get from shore, the more the danger looms.

Lastly,

Have students add to their "Legal Paper" on either or both sides

What new questions does this create?

What did they learn that they didn't know before reading this excerpt

Share what students have added as a class discussion

Check out Stunning Images of the Titanic: HERE

Worksheets for Building Background Knowledge: Click HERE

Happy Reading!
The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

Bookish: A New Destination for Book Discovery

Simon & Schuster has introduced BOOKISH.  A new search engine to help you find your next read.  Check it out:  HERE

Let us, here at The Things You Can Read, know what you think of this new resource!

Happy Reading!
The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

Teaching the Research Process

Checkout out the NEW material that has been added to Titanic Research Project-Student Writing 2012 and 2013 Page.  Although this is a work in process, and we are still adding information there are some great links and PowerPoint presentations to aid in teaching the research process .  Visit Titanic Research Project-Student Writing 2012 and 2013.  Let us, here at The Things You Can Read, know if these resources are useful!

Check out Stunning Images of the Titanic: HERE

Happy Reading!
The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

The Secret to Fixing Bad Schools 

Here are a few quotes which are "food for thought" from the New York Times article entitled "The Secret to Fixing Bad Schools."

"Ask school officials to explain Union City’s success and they start with prekindergarten, which enrolls almost every 3- and 4-year-old. There’s abundant research showing the lifetime benefits of early education. Here, seeing is believing."

"From pre-K to high school, the make-or-break factor is what the Harvard education professor Richard Elmore calls the “instructional core” — the skills of the teacher, the engagement of the students and the rigor of the curriculum. To succeed, students must become thinkers, not just test-takers."

"From a loose confederacy, the schools gradually morphed into a coherent system that marries high expectations with a “we can do it” attitude. 'The real story of Union City is that it didn’t fall back,' says Fred Carrigg, a key architect of the reform. 'It stabilized and has continued to improve.'"

Take a gander at the full New York Times article.  What are your thoughts?

Happy Reading!
The Things You Can Read

Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!

Happy National Libraries Day

February 9 is National Libraries Day.  Check out the National Libraries Day site HERE.  If you can't make it to a library check out Flavorwire's selection of the most beautiful libraries in reality and in imagination: Beautiful Libraries in Museums & the Imagination.  Shelf Awareness states:

Noting that "we're always on the lookout for lovely architecture, preferably lovely architecture that incorporates books," Flavorwire showcased "11 of the most beautiful museum libraries in the world." And just in case your affection for libraries runs toward the imaginary side, a quick exploration of literature, film and television revealed 10 of the "best fictional libraries in pop culture." Share a link to your favorite library!  Happy Reading whether your book is one from the library or one you own. Happy National Libraries Day! The Things You Can Read Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books!