GoFundMe Campagin for Hoot and Out of the Dust Project Based Learning Units

Go Fund Me Hurricane Problem Based Learning

Our school has embraced project based learning as a school wide endeavor.  PBL is a teaching method to make learning authentic.  This year my 7th grade team is working on two PBL units.  The first is using the Newbery award winning novel Hoot by Carl Hiaasen and the second unit will use the Newbery award winning Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse. Each PBL unit requires a classroom set of novels and lots of supplies to carry out all the activities to make the learning real and authentic.  Media Campaigns and handmade Hoot Tee shirts displaying researched facts about burrowing owls are examples of just a few activities in our current PBL.  

This all costs money.  The Hurricane Team at JEJ Moore is extremely excited about the cross-curriculum project based approach to instruction, but we could sure use some much needed funding!   We want to make our Project Based Learning Units come alive and for that we are asking your help!  We have great speakers coming on October 21 and October 22, 2015, to share their knowledge and help us develop further how we can be superheroes of our environment.  Representatives from Pocahontas’s State Park in Virginia will visit us.  Our speaker will talk to us about conservation, habitat, and endangered species in the United States.  The Lead Park Interpreter at Pocahontas State Park, Jared Ress, will also narrow our focus and offer a view into how these issues affect us in our state of Virginia. Then Thunder Eagle Wildlife Organization in Dinwiddie, Virginia will pay us a visit.  This group provides care and treatment of injured, orphaned or displaced birds and small mammals.  Their primary goal is to support nature’s balance by compassionate care of wildlife, which is a BIG message or theme that is shared throughout our novel.  

Please help us continue taking our PBL Units to the next level.    We welcome your participation through gifting to our GOFUNDME campaign! You can rest assured the funds will really make a difference to 100 J.E.J. Moore 7th graders in Disputanta, Virginia!  Thank you!

Happy Reading & Writing☮

The Things You Can Read!

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

Don't Forget To Be Awesome!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here

Share Your Successes With HOOT OR Any Other Young Adult Novel

How have you made a novel come alive?  Let  us know here at The Things You Can Read

Thunder Eagle Wildlife Owls from Cynthia White on Vimeo.

Happy Reading & Writing☮

The Things You Can Read!

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

Don't Forget To Be Awesome!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here

Making HOOT Come Alive!

Yesterday, Thunder Eagle Wildlife Organization in Dinwiddie County paid us a visit.  Hurricane Team member, Zachary Lockhart shared, “Thunder Eagle’s visit was informative and interesting.  I was really surprised when the first owl came out.”  Yes, real live owls were inside the J.E.J. Moore lecture room.  This group provides care and treatment of injured, orphaned or displaced birds and small mammals.  Their primary goal is to support nature’s balance by compassionate care of wildlife, which is a BIG message or theme that is shared throughout our novel, Hoot.  Please take a moment to ask your child what they learned from these fabulous speakers!  AND a BIG HURRICANCE THANK YOU to all the parents who joined us for this event!

See the Video HERE

How have you made a novel come alive?  Let  us know here at The Things   you Can Read

Happy Reading & Writing☮

The Things You Can Read!

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

Don't Forget To Be Awesome!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here

Project Based Learning Using Hoot by Carl Hiaasen

Week of October 12-16, 2015

Hurricane English

ENGLISH is ESSENTIAL to the DISCOVERY of the SUPERHERO inside YOU!

Our long awaited start to reading the novel Hoot began this week!  The Hurricane Team is extremely excited about the cross-curriculum approach to this unit!   On October 21 and October 22, 2015, the Hurricane Team has guests coming to share their knowledge and help us develop further how we can be superheroes of our environment.  Wednesday the Hurricane Team will have representatives from Pocahontas’s State Park visit us.  Our speaker will talk to us about conservation, habitat, and endangered species in the United States.  The Lead Park Interpreter at Pocahontas State Park will also narrow our focus and offer a view into how these issues affect us in our state of Virginia. Then on Thursday, the Thunder Eagle Wildlife Organization in Dinwiddie will pay us a visit during our fifth period.  This group provides care and treatment of injured, orphaned or displaced birds and small mammals.  Their primary goal is to support nature’s balance by compassionate care of wildlife, which is a BIG message or theme that is shared throughout our novel.  If you can make it, please join us for these special presentations they will start at 11:00 in the lecture room at JEJ Moore Middle School.  We welcome your participation!

As always, “Thank You” for allowing me to share my love of English with your child this year!  Again, a big "HIGH-FIVE" to all Hurricanes on a great sixth week of school! Have a restful weekend!

Kindest Regards,

Mrs. White

Hurricane English Teacher

ENGLISH is ESSENTIAL to the DISCOVERY of the SUPERHERO inside YOU!

Happy Reading & Writing☮

The Things You Can Read!

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

Don't Forget To Be Awesome!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here

Book Lover's Day August 9, 2015

Happy Book Lover's Day!  Sorry we're a day late for this one, but over here at The Things You Can Read every day is a Book Lover's Day!

Happy Reading & Writing☮

The Things You Can Read!

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

Happy Esther Day!

* * *

'I Love You': Indies Celebrate Esther Day

Yesterday was Esther Day, named for Esther Earl, the teenager who died in 2010 at age 16 of thyroid cancer. She was an early "nerdfighter" who became friends with John Green and his brother, Hank, and was the inspiration for the character of Hazel in The Fault in Our Stars (which Green dedicated to Esther). Although yesterday was not the first Esther Day--that began in 2010, when the Green brothers honored Esther's request that her birthday become a holiday on which people express love for friends and family to whom they may not otherwise say the words--it could become the first unofficial holiday to be inspired by literature and spread by independent booksellers. The bookseller part began at BookPeople in Austin, Tex., in January upon Dutton's publication of This Star Won't Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl, a collection of Esther's blog posts, writings and pictures and those of people she loved, which fulfilled her dream of becoming an author. BookPeople's children's book buyer Meghan Dietsche Goel said she brainstormed with store YA specialist Ta'necia Cannon over a way to create an interactive display that "captured the spirit of the book." Working closely with BookPeople's Teen Press Corps (a group of special teen customers who share their reading experiences, expertise and energy as BookPeople advisers), the staff culled a series of probing questions from Esther's work and invited readers to supply their answers on paper stars that were then hung from the ceiling in the YA section. "The stars are still hanging today because they are so affirmative," said Goel. Crediting BookPeople with the inspiration, Lisa Kelly, director of marketing of middle grade and YA at Penguin Young Readers Group, said the publisher created kits with an easel, poster and stars for customers to inscribe their messages of love, which it distributed to booksellers around the country for their own Esther Day celebrations on Esther's birthday on August 3. "We just ran with it," said Michael Barnard, owner ofRakestraw Books in Danville, Calif. Since creating its Esther Day display, Barnard has been following readers' posts from around the country on Instagram and Twitter (#EstherDay) and started snapping pictures of his customers who have filled out stars to display at Rakestraw. At Andover Bookstore in Andover, Mass., Julie Chaisson said she had not heard about the Instagram campaign but said the store was eager to do its own interactive front-window display when it received the Esther Day kit from Penguin. BookPeople display for Esther Day In a USA Today article about Esther Day last week, John Green said, "It's the only day of the year in which Hank and I say 'I love you' to each other--before the first Esther Day, we hadn't said it in years--and it's become a hugely important holiday." John and Hank's Esther Day videosare on YouTube. And on top of all that, it seemed fitting that Esther Earl, the girl who asked such bold questions and whose life influenced Green's The Fault in Our Stars, was the key clue in Final Jeopardy last week during its Teen Tournament. The spirit of Esther--who was called Star--continues to shine bright with a little help from readers, booksellers, social media--and even Alex Trebek. --Bridget Kinsella

Happy Reading & Writing☮ The Things You Can Read! Believe In Truth, Beauty, Freedom, Love, and the Power of Books & Writing! Don't Forget To Be Awesome! ABOUT THE AUTHOR: I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here

Happy Birthday S.E. Hinton 2015

How old was S.E. Hinton when she published her first novel, The Outsiders, in 1967? To celebrate the author's 66th birthday, the Guardian featured a teenage rebels in fiction quiz, asking: "You got a problem with that?"

1. 
   
2. S. E. Hinton

   Writer
3. Susan Eloise Hinton is an American writer best known for her young-adult novels set in Oklahoma, especially The Outsiders, which she wrote during high school. Wikipedia
5. Born: July 22, 1948 (age 66), Tulsa, OK
6. Spouse: David Inhofe (m. 1970)
7. Movies: The Outsiders, Rumble Fish, Tex, That Was Then... This Is Now
8. Awards: Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers' Literature
9. Education: University of Tulsa, Will Rogers High School

Happy Reading & Writing☮

The Things You Can Read!

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

Don't Forget To Be Awesome!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here

1. 
   

Celebrate the Publication of Catcher in the Rye 2015

July 16, 1951: The iconic tale of teen angst, Catcher in the Rye, was published 64 years ago today.

“I'm quite illiterate, but I read a lot. ”
― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the 

Happy Reading & Writing☮

The Things You Can Read!

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

Don't Forget To Be Awesome!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here

Happy Birthday Pablo Neruda 2015

Happy Reading & Writing☮

The Things You Can Read!

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

Don't Forget To Be Awesome!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here

Happy Fourth of July 2015 from The Things You Can Read

Happy Reading & Writing☮

The Things You Can Read!

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

Don't Forget To Be Awesome!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

I am an educator with over 25 years of teaching experience; I currently teach English in the public school system of Virginia. In my spare time I am an avid reader. writer, reviewer, blogger, writing/art journaler, beekeeper, grad student, and MOTHER. - See more: Here

Beach Reads Defined

Deeper Understanding

Robert Gray: A Brief History of Beach Reads

First, sincere congratulations to CNN as the 2014 award winner (in a very competitive field) for most egregious use of a summer reading pun: "Whatever your definition of 'beach book'--romance, mystery, gripping true-life-tale--you'll find a shore thing here." As I dutifully pored over all the summer reads recommendation lists released during the past couple of months, I began having sun-addled visions of beach reads from the distant past (sometimes called "hammock reads," I soon learned). After some seasonally appropriate leisurely research in the archives of the New York Times, I now offer for your summer reading pleasure an ever-so-brief history of the American beach read: 1890s: "During the Summer days a table was placed in the doorway and here were displayed a selection of the paper-covered books for 'Summer reading.' For some reason lighter books were considered more suitable to the hot weather." 1897: "The reader of to-day whose knowledge of books goes back twenty years must often have been surprised with the change that has come over books intended for Summer reading.... Society and civilization may take hope from the improved quality of the Summer books.... It truly seems as if all the world were writing novels. With bad ones plentiful enough, how good the best ones are!" 1900: "But if there is one season in which the printed book might be regarded as a questionable intruder it is when the pageant of Summer has attained its full splendor and the most attractive pages of the great book of nature lie open before us.... When he would for a brief period escape the spell of the printed page, break its chain, and rise to a rarer atmosphere, lo, the whole world seems leagued against him, and from a hundred throats he hears the cry, 'Books for Summer Reading!' " 1907: "What I'm trying to discover is whether any one reads in Summer, or whether the bulk of vacation literature is really an unopened contingent.... It isn't necessary to read a book in order to be happy with it. On a steamer or in a hammock you simply have to have the book in your lap or close at hand, with the paper-cutter and pencil." Cincinnati Public Library bookmobile, 1927 1920: "It made us wonder just how Summer Reading has progressed in a world where excitement has been the rule and where nothing has remained as it was.... Gone are the days when the unambitious reader would lie in the grass in a semi-coma and meander blankly through a volume of trashy lovemaking and trashier thrillers." 1928: "What do people read in the summer?... They read, in other words, whatever the tastes and piety of earlier generations of Summer residents have stored for them on the hotel shelves." 1950: "There is, however, one error which is disastrously popular--namely, the assumption that only 'light' books, by which is meant trivial or foolish or badly written books--are suitable for summer. Nothing is actually harder to read than that which is not worth reading, and there is nothing more likely to produce boredom than a too desperate attempt to escape it." 1953: "When an unwished beach picnic is suggested, for example, the necessity of reading a light romantic novel will not stand up as an excuse for not attending. On the other hand, the casual display of the somewhat weightier book will prove at once that even on vacation the thirst for knowledge rises superior to such casual pleasures as picnics." 1968: "There is nothing like the library of a summer house to reverse the tides of literary improvement.... It is wonderful junk--never weeded out, like other junk, because summer people just can't throw any book away, however transient its subject or purple its prose." (William Zinsser) 1971: "The reviewers must have reasoned that as we, book lovers all, packed to head off for vacation, we agonized about how to pack our limited baggage space with the most rewarding material available. Hence 'suggestions for summer reading.' " (Russell Baker) 1985: "A feeling seems to have arisen that summer is the time for light reading. I don't know where anyone got that idea. The truth about summer is this. There are an enormous number of hours in it--slow hours--and yet, before you know it, somehow it is over.... Summer is the time for heavy reading, reading that works up a sweat. I wouldn't be surprised if there were scientific studies showing that the sun's heat melts eye-glaze." (Roy Blount, Jr.) 2014: "For me, being a reader, in summer or at any other time, isn't a 'lifestyle choice.' Rather, I made the choice--if that's what it was--so long ago, it has taken on an inescapable character in my mind.... The beach is one of the few places pathological readers can pass undetected among their civilian cousins." (Zadie Smith in O, The Oprah Magazine) And, finally, these history-transcending words of summer reading perspective from George R.R. Martin: "Winter is coming." --Robert Gray, contributing editor (column archives available at Fresh Eyes Now)

Happy 87th Birthday, Maurice Sendak!

Happy 87th Birthday, Maurice Sendak!


Happy Reading☮

The Things You Can Read!

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

June 2015 Audio Book Month

Happy Reading☮

The Things You Can Read!

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

May the Fourth Be With You! 2015

Happy Reading☮

The Things You Can Read!

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