I originally discovered this book on Rick Riordan's blog just before it was released. I had it on my "Want to" read for a long time, but finally read it this summer because it is nominated for an award in Washington State. March McQuin is the son of a jewel thief who dies at his feet. March hears his father tell him to "Find jewels." He discovers that Jules is really a twin sister he didn't know about. I loved the plot twists and characters and can't wait to read the sequel, Sting.
Think of this as a different version of the Dot Game, where players take turns drawing lines between dots trying to complete as many squares as possible.
In this version, players claim dots by calling out the coordinates for a particular point.
When a player claims the fourth point of the square, they color in the square. The player who colors in the most squares wins.
(Note: when we played this in class, one of the students asked if they could create any sized square and claim the area inside the square. After experimenting a little, we decided that you had to claim the smaller squares on the board.) I have printed out half a class set of this board, put it in a plastic cover, and we use dry erase markers for reusable game boards. Claim is a free game available in Artistry of Education @Teachers Pay Teachers.
A group of my students are reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet in an after school book club. When I heard about it, I had to read it. The plot moves back and forth between Seattle at the time of the Japanese internment and the 80s. Henry Lee, a Chinese-American, arrives at the Panama Hotel and realizes that items left there by Japanese families have personal meaning for him. He flashes back to a relationship he had with a Japanese-American girl and how they were separated as she moved to an internment camp. I'm having great discussions with my fifth grade girls about their reading. My stepdaughter read it in a community college English literature class. My mom read it when it was recommended by a friend.
