A Teacher's Summer Reads

My name is Melissa, and I'm addicted to books.  I've always said that I have the greatest job on earth--I get to do what I love every day: read and write.



So what am I curling up with this summer? Here is my bucket list for this summer:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster child living outside of Munich in Nazi Germany.  She scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist--books.  With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt is the author's memoir of growing up in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. From his alchoholic father, he learns the power of a good story.

The Paper Chase by John Jay Osborn, Jr. centers around Hart, a young law student from Minnesota who attends Harvard Law School and becomes obsessed with one of his professors and begins dating his daughter.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is a love story, sort of, about Jane and Mr. Rochester. Gradually, Jane's moral and spiritual sensibilities begin to unravel as their love grows.

Okay, so I've already read all of them except The Book Thief, but I'm the kind of reader who likes to read the same books over and over.

Enjoy your precious time off!
Melissa


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Scout's Honor" by Avi

Image
I've created a learning resource to go along with the short story that you can find in my shop. My students have been telling me that it's quite difficult. We've done two pages per day as part of our reading workshop minilessons. They're writing the notes and responses in their journals. The grammar connection on infinitives really threw them for a loop~it was the first time that they've encountered this verbal. Melissa
Read more

Back to School Bumper Sticker Activity and Printable

Image
Here in Middle Tennessee, we go back to school in two weeks, so it's the perfect time to begin thinking about icebreaker activities.  My Back to school Bumper Sticker Printable and Activity includes 20 different bumper stickers, 10 color and 10 black and white. There are 2 bumper stickers per page. Use this as an icebreaker in the following way: Students brainstorm some bumper stickers that they've seen and what those bumper stickers say about the person driving the car. Then, the students will write down several bumper sticker sayings that represent them and their ideas or beliefs. Show students some examples of completed bumper stickers. Afterwards, give each student a copy of the bumper sticker template. Each student designs and creates a bumper sticker that represents him or her. After students have created their bumper stickers, they walk around the room reading each other's bumper stickers. This activity is a fun and creati
Read more

LSV: Writing Book Reviews Lesson Plan

Image
You will need the following for this lesson: Examples of  book reviews written by adults and students Check out this site for some great examples. Highlighters, markers, pens, and pencils Copies of close read questions for the reviews Copies of a short story or narrative poem for students to read and review A book review is an in-depth, insightful analysis of a book. An effective review explains what the book is about and usually offers the reviewer's opinion. Begin the lesson by having students do a cold read of a book review. After students have read the book review, ask them to discuss what the book review does for the reader? What is the purpose of the book review? After the students have read and discussed the book review, have students go back through the review and annotate it . Let the students share their annotations with their classmates. The typical book review includes the title of the book, the author's name, a
Read more