Chomp by Carl Hiaasen

Wahoo Cray lives with his animal handler father in the Florida Everglades.  A survivalist show hires Wahoo's dad to provide animals for Derek Badger, the show's arrogant star to handle for "Reality TV." Wahoo accompanies his dad on the shoot to keep things under control.  They are joined by Tuna who is trying to escape a violent father who decides he doesn't want to let her go.

Carl Hiassen's books are typically filled with over-the-top characters in wild situations.  He pokes fun at "Reality TV" and specifically survivalist shows.  It was an entertaining read.
            
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So Called Efficiency Experts

One of my jobs to pay for college was working in a pizza shop.  One afternoon I showed up for work and the store had been taken over by three "efficiency experts".  During my shift they reorganized the topping station and demonstrated how to make pizzas more quickly.  The problem was no one was ordering the pizzas they were making. What a waste!

This is what happens when outsiders come in and don't consult with the people actually doing the job.  They don't listen and they make policies based on their superior position that have unintended consequences.  Many of them still don't listen at this point and the people doing the job have to clean up the mess.

I bet the teachers reading this can think of a situation or two.

Quote of the Week -- October 19, 2014

If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension.  And if you didn't ask me, I'd still have to say it. ~ George Burns

Have a good week,

Point of View Graphic Organizer & Giveaway

I created this graphic organizer to be used with any book.  I want my students to consider how different characters in the story respond to the same event.  I have a space for them to list the evidence that supports their ideas.

This lesson aligns with CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.6

Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first- and third-person narrations.

 

I will use it as an anchor chart with books I read aloud or part of a student's reading notebook for independent and partner work.

 

How might you use this organizer?

 

 

I'm giving away a copy of Coded Messages: Order of Operations from my Teacher's Notebook Store.  Enter to win October 17-20.

 

 

Bomb by Steve Sheinkin

I mentioned in a previous post how much I enjoyed reading Steve Sheinkin's history books this summer.  He focuses on the personalities and the narrative of the events and makes it interesting.  Bomb: The Race to Build -- and Steal -- the World's Most Dangerous Weapon reads like a spy thriller. 
Sheinkin does not assume his readers know all about World War II, but he shares enough background information to make the development of the atomic bomb relevant.  He doesn't lecture his students, but presents the urgency that the scientists felt.
Every year I have students who are interested in World War II.  I know they will enjoy this book.

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Amusement Park Lines without the Fun

Since last spring I have spent so much time in doctor's waiting rooms, I started creating a rubric to rate them. (Only a teacher would think this way.) No one had anything life-threatening, so I've had a little time to observe the medical system.

It reminds me of those amusement park lines that go through a maze of fences for hours to get to the ride.  You have to follow the maze regardless the size of the crowd.  It is designed to keep large groups of people in order for long periods of time.

My husband was hurt at work and he has to go through a bureaucracy regardless of how he responds to the check list of treatment some administrator in an office somewhere has prescribed. 

My mom told me that her last appointment was a checklist for Medicare.  If she had a question that wasn't on the list, she had to make another appointment.

Just as the efficiency is designed for the system not for the patients,  the education system seems to serve the system not the students and their families.

It's just so frustrating.

Quote of the Week -- October 12, 2014

Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams.  Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential.  Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do. ~ Pope John XXIII

Have a good week,