As I said, since we homeschool, we don't have quite the same "back to school" business. However, most organized homeschool classes and coops and such start up around the same time as the public schools do. Thus, we homeschool parents are also in the midst of finalizing plans, working on curricula, pulling together educational resources, and other start-up activities that the school teachers are.
So it was really, really nice today when my son decided that he would fix me breakfast in bed. He insisted on me staying upstairs in my bedroom, while he fixed some lovely multi-grain pancakes. He brought them up and served them without spilling syrup anywhere, and seems to have cooked them on his own without burning anything and without leaving a big mess for me to clean up (or make him clean up himself, since our rule is "if you spill it, you clean it") once I descended from my queen-for-a-day (or morning, at least) treatment. It was a special treat, and I really appreciated.
Later it occurred to me that it really ought to be a pre back-to-school ritual among all his peers: to fix their parents breakfast in bed on the last day before school starts. Because we are always focused on getting them ready for school restarting, and easing their transition, and helping them get into the swing of things, and handling their anxiety, yada yada yada. But what about us? It's not only our children who have new levels of work once their full-time schooling starts again. Usually, it means an increase in our work levels as well--getting lunches made, signing all the requisite paperwork, getting the students to the bus stop or the school on time, increased laundering of school uniforms, sports outfits, dance clothes, and the like, not to mention the biggie--helping with HOMEWORK (or teaching it all, if you are a homeschooler). Then there is the big draw on our time for all the ancillary activities--making food for kickoff potlucks or PTA meetings, providing the snacks for soccer or Lego leagues, and the rest. Then there is all the driving--to school or classes, to tutoring, to practices, to recitals, to scouts, to church or other spiritual youth groups...and on and on and on. SOMEONE ought to be taking care of us before we have to face all that again.
So parents, forward this link to your middle schoolers. Of course, for many of you (especially if you live in Wake County), it's too late to do it this year on the day before the first day of school. But that's OK--you can take a raincheck for breakfast in bed for sometime this weekend--THIS year.
But I think this is a tradition whose time has come!
Showing posts with label middle schoolers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label middle schoolers. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
A New Independence Day Tradition?
As I explained in yesterday's post, our 4th of July traditions center around the actual history behind the 4th of July. However, we're not such history nerds that we don't add in some food and some fireworks. But yesterday's food contained something new.
A few days ago, my son announced that he had decided that he was no longer allergic to dairy and eggs. Now, he has been testing allergic to those things, along with many others, since he was a baby. (It was really bad when he was young; as I told someone recently, I made the frosting for his first birthday cake out of mashed sweet potato because he was allergic to dairy, corn, and soy--basically all the butter and butter alternatives available at the time.) And ever since he was really young, he has been very good about not eating the things to which he is allergic, or complaining that he couldn't have ice cream or pizza or other things that his friends could eat.
However, in many cases, allergies change as part of all those physical developments in adolescent. Sometimes, allergies get better or disappear altogether, although the opposite can also happen; in my case, my allergies got worse when I was about 12....come to think of it, when I was about my son's age.
We had noticed that my son's skin problems, which is where his food allergies seemed to have manifested themselves, had been doing much better recently, and discussed whether maybe he had outgrown his allergies. But, unknown to me or my husband, my son had been doing some experimentation by eating some of the cheese we had for other family members, and sometime or other, cooking and eating an egg, which we keep for his father to fix omelettes for himself when we aren't around for a meal. And he seemed to be doing OK after eating those foods.
So as part of our Independence Day celebration, we made something that there is not really a good dairy-free substitute for--a Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake. We used the ingredients that he had traditionally been allergic to--real cream cheese and eggs, as opposed to soy cream cheese or tofu and Egg Replacer.
However, not throwing caution (or health) to the wind, we made ours with coconut milk and minimal sugar, and decorated the top with red and blue fruit in its natural state:
So we are waiting to see if any health problems occur after eating such formerly forbidden foods. But I hope not, for my son's sake. It would be wonderful if we can celebrate this holiday as a day where he declared his freedom from his dietary restrictions. If so, we may make this dessert a new addition to our Independence Day observances.
Sometimes these physical changes that our middle schoolers are going through can bring about some positive changes. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that will be the case for our son.
A few days ago, my son announced that he had decided that he was no longer allergic to dairy and eggs. Now, he has been testing allergic to those things, along with many others, since he was a baby. (It was really bad when he was young; as I told someone recently, I made the frosting for his first birthday cake out of mashed sweet potato because he was allergic to dairy, corn, and soy--basically all the butter and butter alternatives available at the time.) And ever since he was really young, he has been very good about not eating the things to which he is allergic, or complaining that he couldn't have ice cream or pizza or other things that his friends could eat.
However, in many cases, allergies change as part of all those physical developments in adolescent. Sometimes, allergies get better or disappear altogether, although the opposite can also happen; in my case, my allergies got worse when I was about 12....come to think of it, when I was about my son's age.
We had noticed that my son's skin problems, which is where his food allergies seemed to have manifested themselves, had been doing much better recently, and discussed whether maybe he had outgrown his allergies. But, unknown to me or my husband, my son had been doing some experimentation by eating some of the cheese we had for other family members, and sometime or other, cooking and eating an egg, which we keep for his father to fix omelettes for himself when we aren't around for a meal. And he seemed to be doing OK after eating those foods.
So as part of our Independence Day celebration, we made something that there is not really a good dairy-free substitute for--a Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake. We used the ingredients that he had traditionally been allergic to--real cream cheese and eggs, as opposed to soy cream cheese or tofu and Egg Replacer.
However, not throwing caution (or health) to the wind, we made ours with coconut milk and minimal sugar, and decorated the top with red and blue fruit in its natural state:
So we are waiting to see if any health problems occur after eating such formerly forbidden foods. But I hope not, for my son's sake. It would be wonderful if we can celebrate this holiday as a day where he declared his freedom from his dietary restrictions. If so, we may make this dessert a new addition to our Independence Day observances.
Sometimes these physical changes that our middle schoolers are going through can bring about some positive changes. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that will be the case for our son.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Curriculum Resource: Islamic Association of Raleigh
For the summer session, our World Religion class is studying Islam. Given recent political events, this religion can be somewhat problematic, so we are proceeding carefully. Also, since this is such a minority religion in this area, students tend to have less personal experience of this faith, but with a higher belief that they know what it is about based on what they have heard from the media.
I think one of the best ways to address an issue like this is to hear things from the horse's mouth, as it were. And so this week, our class had a presentation on Islam from the Islamic Association of Raleigh.
If you want to learn about Islam, and you live in the Triangle area, I definitely recommend the IAR (and I imagine other Islamic centers in major urban centers do much the same). They regularly present information about Islam to schools, community organizations, Sunday Schools, etc., as well as invite visitors to their mosque. They did an excellent job with our class, not only by bringing a laptop with Power Point presentations and photos that really help to convey a feeling for the topics in Islam that they were discussing, but also by bringing two middle school-aged boys so that the students in our class could hear from their peers what it was like to be a Muslim.
Perhaps the most enlightening aspect for me was learning about the (at least) once-in-a-lifetime visit to Mecca that is one of the Five Pillars that are expected of Muslims. The adults had made the pilgrimage, and not only had great photos, but did a wonderful job of conveying the spiritual significance of the journey and of the various aspects of visiting Mecca. And the boys were great in explaining how they incorporated Islam into the typical life of a middle schooler. One of them has already memorized half of the Quran, adding hours a day of religious study on top of his academic classes (and the other one isn't far behind). On the other hand, they were also just typical boys; they enjoy going to the mosque because after their services, they can go play ball in the gym with their friends.
That kind of normalcy may be the best thing we can give our middle schoolers when talking about Islam. As a religion, it can seem tough (you follow the Five Pillars and you are a Muslim; if you don't follow what is in the Quran, apparently about 100%, you aren't), or exclusive (they gave us an English translation of their holy book, but it is only truly a Quran if it is in Arabic), or strange (such as the coverings the women have to wear, although the presenters did have an explanation of that). But when you meet actual people who are friendly and reasonable and act like your next door neighbors, especially when they are kids the same age, it all seems much more normal.
I think one of the best ways to address an issue like this is to hear things from the horse's mouth, as it were. And so this week, our class had a presentation on Islam from the Islamic Association of Raleigh.
If you want to learn about Islam, and you live in the Triangle area, I definitely recommend the IAR (and I imagine other Islamic centers in major urban centers do much the same). They regularly present information about Islam to schools, community organizations, Sunday Schools, etc., as well as invite visitors to their mosque. They did an excellent job with our class, not only by bringing a laptop with Power Point presentations and photos that really help to convey a feeling for the topics in Islam that they were discussing, but also by bringing two middle school-aged boys so that the students in our class could hear from their peers what it was like to be a Muslim.
 |
| Presentation by the Islamic Association of Raleigh |
Perhaps the most enlightening aspect for me was learning about the (at least) once-in-a-lifetime visit to Mecca that is one of the Five Pillars that are expected of Muslims. The adults had made the pilgrimage, and not only had great photos, but did a wonderful job of conveying the spiritual significance of the journey and of the various aspects of visiting Mecca. And the boys were great in explaining how they incorporated Islam into the typical life of a middle schooler. One of them has already memorized half of the Quran, adding hours a day of religious study on top of his academic classes (and the other one isn't far behind). On the other hand, they were also just typical boys; they enjoy going to the mosque because after their services, they can go play ball in the gym with their friends.
That kind of normalcy may be the best thing we can give our middle schoolers when talking about Islam. As a religion, it can seem tough (you follow the Five Pillars and you are a Muslim; if you don't follow what is in the Quran, apparently about 100%, you aren't), or exclusive (they gave us an English translation of their holy book, but it is only truly a Quran if it is in Arabic), or strange (such as the coverings the women have to wear, although the presenters did have an explanation of that). But when you meet actual people who are friendly and reasonable and act like your next door neighbors, especially when they are kids the same age, it all seems much more normal.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Should Your Middle Schooler Be Studying a Foreign Language?
Last week, I posted about a FREE online Spanish curriculum available to middle school foreign language teachers. But that raises the question--should your middle schooler be taking Spanish, or some other foreign language?
If your child is planning to go to college, then some years of a foreign language study are usually a requirement for most colleges beyond the community college level. But should that study take place in middle schools? Middle schools seem to fall into that gap between (a) the young elastic brain that is supposed to be able to pick up different languages naturally (usually maxing out somewhere between 6 and 8 years old) and (b) the high school transcript, where colleges look for evidence of foreign language study.
There is another issue about learning languages in middle schools, at least if your child is attending public school. From the latest figures I could find (from a not-very-extensive data search), the primary languages taught in American schools continue to be Spanish and French. Many students, parents, and educators, however, press for other languages in the forefront of international relations, such as Chinese (generally Mandarin), Arabic, Japanese, or Russian. If you and/or your students are interested in such languages, in most cases they may have to wait until high school for any hope of such languages being offered in school.
On the other hand, foreign language educators argue that language mastery is a function of longevity (which, frankly, I think is the case for almost any subject, but I can particularly see the need for that in terms of speaking a language).
Here is an interesting article I found in the Washington Post about this issue:
The Foreign Language Dilemma: Si or Oui?
And here, not related particularly to middle schools but to the topic in general, is NC State's reasons why it is still valuable to take French.
What is the decision in your house? Are your middle schoolers taking language classes? Add your opinions or experiences in the comments below.
If your child is planning to go to college, then some years of a foreign language study are usually a requirement for most colleges beyond the community college level. But should that study take place in middle schools? Middle schools seem to fall into that gap between (a) the young elastic brain that is supposed to be able to pick up different languages naturally (usually maxing out somewhere between 6 and 8 years old) and (b) the high school transcript, where colleges look for evidence of foreign language study.
There is another issue about learning languages in middle schools, at least if your child is attending public school. From the latest figures I could find (from a not-very-extensive data search), the primary languages taught in American schools continue to be Spanish and French. Many students, parents, and educators, however, press for other languages in the forefront of international relations, such as Chinese (generally Mandarin), Arabic, Japanese, or Russian. If you and/or your students are interested in such languages, in most cases they may have to wait until high school for any hope of such languages being offered in school.
On the other hand, foreign language educators argue that language mastery is a function of longevity (which, frankly, I think is the case for almost any subject, but I can particularly see the need for that in terms of speaking a language).
Here is an interesting article I found in the Washington Post about this issue:
The Foreign Language Dilemma: Si or Oui?
And here, not related particularly to middle schools but to the topic in general, is NC State's reasons why it is still valuable to take French.
What is the decision in your house? Are your middle schoolers taking language classes? Add your opinions or experiences in the comments below.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Earth Day Webinar with Author Kathleen Reilly on Thursday, April 21
As I announced in my April 1st post (but it isn't a joke), our book giveaway this month, in honor of Earth Day, will be:
Energy: 25 Projects Investigate Why We Need Power and How We Get It by Kathleen M. Reilly.
We will combine the giveaway with a FREE webinar with author Kathleen Reilly, who will speak on "Teaching Environmental Science Through Hands-On Projects." Kate is a great person to speak on this topic because besides being an award-winning professional writer, she is homeschooling her two sons who are of middle schoolish age (on whom I am sure she has tested all of these projects). Kate will be drawing on information not only from her Energy book, but from at least a couple others among the six books she has had published so far:
The webinar will be held the evening before Earth Day 2011 on Thursday, April 21 at 7:30 PM Eastern Standard Time (GMT -05:00). Our technical host will be Elluminate's Learn Central, which you can access that evening at: http://tinyurl.com/math20event .
Energy: 25 Projects Investigate Why We Need Power and How We Get It by Kathleen M. Reilly.
We will combine the giveaway with a FREE webinar with author Kathleen Reilly, who will speak on "Teaching Environmental Science Through Hands-On Projects." Kate is a great person to speak on this topic because besides being an award-winning professional writer, she is homeschooling her two sons who are of middle schoolish age (on whom I am sure she has tested all of these projects). Kate will be drawing on information not only from her Energy book, but from at least a couple others among the six books she has had published so far:
The webinar will be held the evening before Earth Day 2011 on Thursday, April 21 at 7:30 PM Eastern Standard Time (GMT -05:00). Our technical host will be Elluminate's Learn Central, which you can access that evening at: http://tinyurl.com/math20event .
UPDATE: The webinar is over, but you can access the recording at: https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/playback.jnlp?psid=2011-04-21.1635.M.B41FC4AB0A3565F8BCAE1B600D6595.vcr&sid=2008350
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Teaching Blogging to Middle Schoolers and Teens: Group Projects
As I said in a post last week, I am co-teaching a class on blogging for middle schoolers and teen. One of the things that we discussed last week were online projects students can do together to help build a community of people who have interests in similar things and to attract new readers to their own blogs.
Here are some examples of such group projects that we visited in our latest class:
Teen Book Club Blog Tour and Giveaway
Lipstick Laws Blog Tour by Amy Holder
This one was not initiated by teens, but it is geared towards them. YA author Amy Holder is conducting a "blog tour" to promote her new teen novel, Lipstick Laws. Blog Tours are similar to convention Book Tours, except that each day the author visits virtually a different blog instead of a different physical book store. So Amy has arranged three weeks of unique online interviews, articles, and reviews on 15 different blogs that relate to Young Adult literature or teen culture. She is also giving away one copy of her book each week by drawing among everyone who comments on her blog tour posts on the different blogs.
Teen Blog Theme Event
Make Believe: A Peter Pan Event!
In this event (which was done last year), the teenage blogger invited readers to post something related to the book Peter Pan in one of four categories: Peter Pan-related blog post, Neverland-style, My Own Neverland photoshoot, or Dreaming of Peter Pan. Post authors had a week to post their entries and then the blog readers voted on their favorites. The winning entries (which can be read here) got, besides eternal glory, a special graphic or blog button they could post proclaiming their vicory.
Teen Book Blog Carnival
Spring Reading Carnival
A blog carnival is where a bunch of blog all agree to post articles on a common subject during the same timespan, and readers go from blog to blog to blog, reading about that topic. In this case, the carnival was organized by a bunch of different Young Adult novel review blog, with different book giveways among different genres (romance, paranormal, etc.).
Online Teen Fashion Contest
Nancy Drew Fashion Week
There are lots of teen fashion blogs, and quite a number of contests like this, where the blog presents a challenge and people post photos of outfits or clothes items that they think meet the challenge. This particular one deal with dressing like fictional girl detective Nancy Drew in one of three categories: Nancy Drew-Vintage (vintage clothes that look like they came out of the original versions in the 1940s-1970s), Nancy Drew-Modern (what Nancy Drew would look like today), and Nancy Drew-Costume (an actual Nancy Drew costume).
There are many other kinds of contest and events and other group activities, but these are some good examples to get your teen blogger's ideas flowing about how to create a group event around his/her blog, cause, and/or interests.
Here are some examples of such group projects that we visited in our latest class:
Teen Book Club Blog Tour and Giveaway
Lipstick Laws Blog Tour by Amy Holder
This one was not initiated by teens, but it is geared towards them. YA author Amy Holder is conducting a "blog tour" to promote her new teen novel, Lipstick Laws. Blog Tours are similar to convention Book Tours, except that each day the author visits virtually a different blog instead of a different physical book store. So Amy has arranged three weeks of unique online interviews, articles, and reviews on 15 different blogs that relate to Young Adult literature or teen culture. She is also giving away one copy of her book each week by drawing among everyone who comments on her blog tour posts on the different blogs.
Teen Blog Theme Event
Make Believe: A Peter Pan Event!
In this event (which was done last year), the teenage blogger invited readers to post something related to the book Peter Pan in one of four categories: Peter Pan-related blog post, Neverland-style, My Own Neverland photoshoot, or Dreaming of Peter Pan. Post authors had a week to post their entries and then the blog readers voted on their favorites. The winning entries (which can be read here) got, besides eternal glory, a special graphic or blog button they could post proclaiming their vicory.
Teen Book Blog Carnival
Spring Reading Carnival
A blog carnival is where a bunch of blog all agree to post articles on a common subject during the same timespan, and readers go from blog to blog to blog, reading about that topic. In this case, the carnival was organized by a bunch of different Young Adult novel review blog, with different book giveways among different genres (romance, paranormal, etc.).
Online Teen Fashion Contest
Nancy Drew Fashion Week
There are lots of teen fashion blogs, and quite a number of contests like this, where the blog presents a challenge and people post photos of outfits or clothes items that they think meet the challenge. This particular one deal with dressing like fictional girl detective Nancy Drew in one of three categories: Nancy Drew-Vintage (vintage clothes that look like they came out of the original versions in the 1940s-1970s), Nancy Drew-Modern (what Nancy Drew would look like today), and Nancy Drew-Costume (an actual Nancy Drew costume).
There are many other kinds of contest and events and other group activities, but these are some good examples to get your teen blogger's ideas flowing about how to create a group event around his/her blog, cause, and/or interests.
Friday, April 1, 2011
April Giveaway: Energy-25 Projects Investigate Why We Need Power and How We Get It
A new month, a new giveaway! This month, our book to be given away relates to one of my favorite April holidays--Earth Day. And I am particularly excited because the book that you may get--IF you are the lucky winner--is a book written by a friend of mine who is in our local homeschool group!
Our special Earth Day giveaway book is entitled Energy: 25 Projects Investigate Why We Need Power and How We Get It, by Kathleen M. Reilly.
In this book, students nine years old and up learn about both nonrenewable fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas, etc.) and renewable energy sources (such as solar and wind power) through hands-on projects that encourage active learning about the science behind ecology. Projects include such kid-friendly activities as creating music out of wind, experiencing the difficulty in cleaning up after an oil spill, cooking cupcakes that relate to geothermal energy, and making your own coal candy. The book won a Silver Medal in the 2009 Moonbeam Children's Book Award, and inspired Dan Kammen, Professor of Energy at the University of California at Berkeley and Founding Director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory to say:
So, obviously, you want to win this book. How do you enter? Enter by posting a comment below. I would love it if you would add a favorite Earth Day-related book--some book that celebrates Nature or that talks about ways we can help save the planet. I will also give anyone who posts this contest on their blog, Facebook page, or Twitter feed five additional entries; just send me an email with the information or a webpage link. (Last month's winner was selected from her five extra entries for passing on the information, so it does work!) The winner will be chosen by Random.com on Saturday, April 23 (the day after Earth Day).
So add your comments, spread the word through your social network, and check back on April 23 to see if you've won.
Also like last month, we will be having a webinar to discuss educational issues related to this book. Look for an upcoming post to find out more about that.
Our special Earth Day giveaway book is entitled Energy: 25 Projects Investigate Why We Need Power and How We Get It, by Kathleen M. Reilly.
In this book, students nine years old and up learn about both nonrenewable fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas, etc.) and renewable energy sources (such as solar and wind power) through hands-on projects that encourage active learning about the science behind ecology. Projects include such kid-friendly activities as creating music out of wind, experiencing the difficulty in cleaning up after an oil spill, cooking cupcakes that relate to geothermal energy, and making your own coal candy. The book won a Silver Medal in the 2009 Moonbeam Children's Book Award, and inspired Dan Kammen, Professor of Energy at the University of California at Berkeley and Founding Director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory to say:
This book is great fun, with energy education and visualization projects that will inspire middle-school to high school students and adults alike.My friend Kate is an award-winning author who has written for such popular magazines as Family Fun, National Geographic Kids, Parents, Family Circle, and the like. She has a great knack for explaining scientific topics in clear terms, along with demonstrating abstract concepts through experiential learning. On top of all of that, she is homeschooling two wonderful sons who are around the middle school age range.
So, obviously, you want to win this book. How do you enter? Enter by posting a comment below. I would love it if you would add a favorite Earth Day-related book--some book that celebrates Nature or that talks about ways we can help save the planet. I will also give anyone who posts this contest on their blog, Facebook page, or Twitter feed five additional entries; just send me an email with the information or a webpage link. (Last month's winner was selected from her five extra entries for passing on the information, so it does work!) The winner will be chosen by Random.com on Saturday, April 23 (the day after Earth Day).
So add your comments, spread the word through your social network, and check back on April 23 to see if you've won.
Also like last month, we will be having a webinar to discuss educational issues related to this book. Look for an upcoming post to find out more about that.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Blogging for Middle Schoolers and Teens
My friend Maria of Natural Math and I are teaching a class on blogging for our local coop. Today we visited a number of blogs by teenagers or younger that have won awards, gotten some important local or national coverage, and/or have helped their authors achieve their goals or have an impact on the world. I thought I would list them for others who are looking for some inspiration for what young people are doing with their blogs.
I've divided them into several categories:
Personal/Diary-Like Blogs
These are blogs that basically deal with the life, interests, events, and musings of it author. Here are two example that were nominated for national awards:
Castles, Quills, and Cameras: This is written by an 8th grade homeschool students. In addition to her interest in writing, other key passions she has are books (Quills) and movies (Cameras). Castles contains everything else: her schoolwork, her spiritual beliefs, and other random events or thoughts.
Oh Clementine: (Warning--this blog does have some mild profanity, so don't visit if that offends you or is against your family's rules): Clementine is a quirky, highly right-brained 16 year old Canadian high schooler who loves dinosaurs, video games, music, and neon. She is passionate about her politics, which are liberal, but is not loving her high school education.
These examples illustrate some important points about writing interesting and successful personal blogs. The main thing is, you have to have something interesting and valuable to say. It helps to be humorous and to provide helpful information, to be honest about yourself and your weaknesses or failures as well as your successes, and to include content or thoughts that are relevant to the experience or interests of your readers.
Project or Cause Blogs
These are blogs that done to chronicle some other larger project, fundraising, educational, or social or environmental cause. Here are two by younger populations:
Team PyroTech: Team PyroTech is a local team of high schoolers competing in the FIRST FRC national robotics competition. While the primary emphasis of the project is the construct and program large robots to perform the tasks required by the contest, the teams get extra points for having exemplary supporting media, such as videos, websites, and blogs.
Wyatt Workman: Now, this one is just adorable. A seven-year-old boy living in California who is concerned about the oceans decided to make a claymation film, publish a book, and sell his clay figures at an art show, with all the proceeds going to an environmental nonprofit. His blog has updates about the media coverage of his work (he's been interviewed on television and national newspapers) and the funds he has raised (over $3,000 at last report).
Project or cause blogs generally support some larger effort, but are a great way to get media exposure or to get the word out to a larger audience than the ones who may be directly involved with the project.
Food Blogs
Food is one of the most popular topics for blogging, and that is true for teenagers as well as adults. These two have both been nominated for national awards and mentioned in local media:
Foodie at 15 (Now 18): Nick started sharing his recipe, cooking tips, impressions of great restaurants, and other food items when he was 15. Now he is 18 and finishing up his senior year before heading to the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he plans to get the business acumen to go with his fantastic cooking and eventually open his own restaurant. If you read his post on his ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, where he shares not only his personal experience with such cookies, his researching and adapting of the recipes of other famous chefs, his explanation of the science behind the changes he made, and the recipe itself, I'm sure you'll have no doubts that he will do exactly that.
17 (now 18) and Baking: Elissa, who is now a college student, doesn't plan a career in food, but is instead pursuing a journalism degree. With the degree of professionalism her blog shows, she also seems assured of a bright future. Her writing is good, her photographs of the food are GORGEOUS, and the recipes are luscious!
Personal Passion and/or Expertise Blogs
These two are example about how becoming an expert in a field that you love can really pay off:
Laura's Life: When she was in second grade, Laura decided that she wanted to read all the Newbery Award winning books before she was in middle school. Well, she did, and posted reviews of all of them on her blog. Now she is working her way through the Fuse#8 Top 100 Children's Novels, as well as participating in Mock Newbery each year. With hundreds of reviews on her site already, Laura is known by authors and people like the head of the ALA, and receives many free books now to review. Oh, and she's only 10 years old. Pretty amazing...
Style Rookie: This is the queen of the successful teen blogs. Tavi started blogging about fashion when she was 11, and has since been featured in the New York Times, Pop Magazine, French Vogue, and a number of other media. This has led to her getting invited to front row seats at New York Fashion Week and the opportunity to write a Fashion Week article for Harper's Bazaar. She also has designers sending her all kind of clothes and accessories. Now 14 and in high school, Tavi is still going strong, sometimes getting 50,000 hits per day on her blog.
So there are some samples of outstanding blogs by teenagers or younger. Have I missed any other teen or younger blogs that really stand out? Add them to the comments below.
I've divided them into several categories:
Personal/Diary-Like Blogs
These are blogs that basically deal with the life, interests, events, and musings of it author. Here are two example that were nominated for national awards:
Castles, Quills, and Cameras: This is written by an 8th grade homeschool students. In addition to her interest in writing, other key passions she has are books (Quills) and movies (Cameras). Castles contains everything else: her schoolwork, her spiritual beliefs, and other random events or thoughts.
Oh Clementine: (Warning--this blog does have some mild profanity, so don't visit if that offends you or is against your family's rules): Clementine is a quirky, highly right-brained 16 year old Canadian high schooler who loves dinosaurs, video games, music, and neon. She is passionate about her politics, which are liberal, but is not loving her high school education.
These examples illustrate some important points about writing interesting and successful personal blogs. The main thing is, you have to have something interesting and valuable to say. It helps to be humorous and to provide helpful information, to be honest about yourself and your weaknesses or failures as well as your successes, and to include content or thoughts that are relevant to the experience or interests of your readers.
Project or Cause Blogs
These are blogs that done to chronicle some other larger project, fundraising, educational, or social or environmental cause. Here are two by younger populations:
Team PyroTech: Team PyroTech is a local team of high schoolers competing in the FIRST FRC national robotics competition. While the primary emphasis of the project is the construct and program large robots to perform the tasks required by the contest, the teams get extra points for having exemplary supporting media, such as videos, websites, and blogs.
Wyatt Workman: Now, this one is just adorable. A seven-year-old boy living in California who is concerned about the oceans decided to make a claymation film, publish a book, and sell his clay figures at an art show, with all the proceeds going to an environmental nonprofit. His blog has updates about the media coverage of his work (he's been interviewed on television and national newspapers) and the funds he has raised (over $3,000 at last report).
Project or cause blogs generally support some larger effort, but are a great way to get media exposure or to get the word out to a larger audience than the ones who may be directly involved with the project.
Food Blogs
Food is one of the most popular topics for blogging, and that is true for teenagers as well as adults. These two have both been nominated for national awards and mentioned in local media:
Foodie at 15 (Now 18): Nick started sharing his recipe, cooking tips, impressions of great restaurants, and other food items when he was 15. Now he is 18 and finishing up his senior year before heading to the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he plans to get the business acumen to go with his fantastic cooking and eventually open his own restaurant. If you read his post on his ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, where he shares not only his personal experience with such cookies, his researching and adapting of the recipes of other famous chefs, his explanation of the science behind the changes he made, and the recipe itself, I'm sure you'll have no doubts that he will do exactly that.
17 (now 18) and Baking: Elissa, who is now a college student, doesn't plan a career in food, but is instead pursuing a journalism degree. With the degree of professionalism her blog shows, she also seems assured of a bright future. Her writing is good, her photographs of the food are GORGEOUS, and the recipes are luscious!
Personal Passion and/or Expertise Blogs
These two are example about how becoming an expert in a field that you love can really pay off:
Laura's Life: When she was in second grade, Laura decided that she wanted to read all the Newbery Award winning books before she was in middle school. Well, she did, and posted reviews of all of them on her blog. Now she is working her way through the Fuse#8 Top 100 Children's Novels, as well as participating in Mock Newbery each year. With hundreds of reviews on her site already, Laura is known by authors and people like the head of the ALA, and receives many free books now to review. Oh, and she's only 10 years old. Pretty amazing...
Style Rookie: This is the queen of the successful teen blogs. Tavi started blogging about fashion when she was 11, and has since been featured in the New York Times, Pop Magazine, French Vogue, and a number of other media. This has led to her getting invited to front row seats at New York Fashion Week and the opportunity to write a Fashion Week article for Harper's Bazaar. She also has designers sending her all kind of clothes and accessories. Now 14 and in high school, Tavi is still going strong, sometimes getting 50,000 hits per day on her blog.
So there are some samples of outstanding blogs by teenagers or younger. Have I missed any other teen or younger blogs that really stand out? Add them to the comments below.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
The iY Generation
I have just stumbled onto a new book about our current middle schoolers, high schoolers, and college students, which is called Generation iY: Our Last Chance to Save Their Future by Tim Elmore. I haven't read the book, so I can't speak directly to its value; however, the reviews of the book do raise some issues that I have been discussing recently with my fellow parents of tweens/teens.
Elmore argues that the students born after 1990--which is basically our "traditional" college, high school, and middle school population--differ significantly from the young people who have been labeled the Millennials, or Generation Y, because they have grown up in the era of I--Internet, iPods, iPhones, and iTunes. This, claims Elmore, has led this population to focus on "I" (in a narcissistic way), and to be extremely advanced in dealing with technology, online social networks, and technology-mediated relationships, while not being very good in dealing with actual people or real life situation.
According to Elmore, who claims to have communicated with 50,000 students and educational staff and parents per year in writing the book, leads to young people who are:
Elmore argues that the students born after 1990--which is basically our "traditional" college, high school, and middle school population--differ significantly from the young people who have been labeled the Millennials, or Generation Y, because they have grown up in the era of I--Internet, iPods, iPhones, and iTunes. This, claims Elmore, has led this population to focus on "I" (in a narcissistic way), and to be extremely advanced in dealing with technology, online social networks, and technology-mediated relationships, while not being very good in dealing with actual people or real life situation.
According to Elmore, who claims to have communicated with 50,000 students and educational staff and parents per year in writing the book, leads to young people who are:
- Overwhelmed--So much is going on in their lives that 94% of colleges students agree with that description of themselves, with 44% saying they are so overwhelmed that they can barely function;
- Over--connected--So attached to their cell phones and computers that they are connected full time, and almost consider these devices as "appendages" to their bodies;
- Over-protected--Parents have tried so hard to meet their children's needs that it is a rude awakening when they enter a world that largely doesn't care what they think, need, or want;
- Overserved--Longitudinal studies say this is the most self-obsessed generation in modern history.
On the other hand, the technological connection and media savvy of this group of people can make them much more socially aware and active than previous generations. And so Elmore dubs them a "Generation of Paradox": social, yet isolated; sheltered, yet pressured; self-absorbed, yet generous.
Elmore contends that the solution is for adults to assist with the human abilities that this technology focus has atrophied, particularly in regards to the spiritual, emotional, and relationship arenas. He also states that adults who teach such students need to incorporate four qualities in their educational activities (qualities that I think are pretty much lacking in public education):
- Experiential education
- Participatory education
- Image-rich education
- Connected education
He also believes that today's students are increasingly right-brained, while traditional education continues to teach in a left-brained dominant way.
As I said, I haven't read the book, so all of the above is basically hearsay. And I think it actually applies more to college student than to middle schoolers. Nonetheless, I think it raises interesting questions about the impact that growing up in such a technologically-connected world does to our children's experience and expectations, especially in regards to education. I think it is a discussion that is worth us having--with our children's teachers, our fellow parents, our children, and ourselves.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Smithsonian and MIT Launching Interactive Science Game for Middle Schoolers
The scientists at the Smithsonian Institute have cooked up a scientific mystery, and they are asking the nation's middle schoolers to solve it. It is a game, but also serious business: to demonstrate to students in the 11-14 age range that science is not merely memorizing a bunch of facts and figures, but instead involves using scientific clues, tools to make sense of data that at first seems completely random.
The game is called Vanished, and has been developed by the Smithsonian Institute and the Education Arcade (the learning games development center) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The game will be played both online and in real life over an 8-week period, as students work together to solve a puzzle related to a fictitious environmental disaster. Clues will be given online each week, but students will also be encouraged to visit local museums and collect data locally in order to figure out the solution. The middle schoolers will also be able to interact with working scientists from MIT, the Smithsonian, and other locations to get answers they need as they work towards their solutions. Ultimately, the investigate includes aspects of many different disciplines, including life sciences, environmental sciences, paleontology, archaeology, geology, anthropology, math, the arts, and language arts.
Those in the Wake County area are fortunate, because the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is one of about 20 institutions that are affiliated with the Smithsonian's efforts. These means that some of the clues will lead to exhibits or information contained in the museum in Raleigh. These local clues are to be shared with student teams across the country, creating nationwide cooperation among middle schoolers dedicated to solving the problem.
To sign up for the game, visit the website at http://vanished.mit.edu. Then stay tuned for April 4, when the first clues will begin to arrive in email inboxes across the country.
The game is called Vanished, and has been developed by the Smithsonian Institute and the Education Arcade (the learning games development center) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The game will be played both online and in real life over an 8-week period, as students work together to solve a puzzle related to a fictitious environmental disaster. Clues will be given online each week, but students will also be encouraged to visit local museums and collect data locally in order to figure out the solution. The middle schoolers will also be able to interact with working scientists from MIT, the Smithsonian, and other locations to get answers they need as they work towards their solutions. Ultimately, the investigate includes aspects of many different disciplines, including life sciences, environmental sciences, paleontology, archaeology, geology, anthropology, math, the arts, and language arts.
Those in the Wake County area are fortunate, because the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is one of about 20 institutions that are affiliated with the Smithsonian's efforts. These means that some of the clues will lead to exhibits or information contained in the museum in Raleigh. These local clues are to be shared with student teams across the country, creating nationwide cooperation among middle schoolers dedicated to solving the problem.
To sign up for the game, visit the website at http://vanished.mit.edu. Then stay tuned for April 4, when the first clues will begin to arrive in email inboxes across the country.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Curriculum Resource: Music History and Appreciation
I was at a parent gathering yesterday, and one of the things we discussed is the fact that, no matter how well educated and brilliant we all are, nobody is good at all the different disciplines we would like our children to learn. But thank goodness for the Internet, where we have resources at our fingertips to help shore up any areas in which we may be weak!
One of those areas for me is music appreciate. While I've always really enjoyed music, when I was in school, I didn't learn much about music history or how to analyze a piece of classical music. Of course, that's one of the great things about homeschooling--you can catch up on the things you missed the first time round in your education.
So for others who might be in the same boat, I wanted to share a wonderful resource I found for teaching music appreciation. It is a website called Classics For Kids, and it has so many wonderful features. Classics For Kids is actually a radio show designed to teach classical music to children that is broadcast from WPUC, the public broadcast station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The short (about 6 minute spots) talk about either individual classical music composers or particular works, and are carried by radio stations around the world--but, unfortunately, none of our local stations here in Wake County. Fortunately, however, you can hear them online from the Classics For Kids website. Here is a link to almost 40 podcasts you can download, ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach to Scott Joplin.
However, there is SO MUCH more to this site than just listening to the shows (which do include lovely music in addition to narrated commentary). There is a huge list of composers that you can read about, many of whom also have some of their music that you can listen to, often with an activity sheet that gives you tips about analyzing the music or something creative you can do either while or after you have listened to that song. There is an interactive timeline that places many of those composers both within what period of music the belong, as well as some major events that were going on at the time.
Thus, for example, since we are studying the 19th Century this year, I can see that early 19th Century events like the Louisiana Purchase or the War of 1812 took place during the tail end of the Classical period, when Shubert and Beethoven were composing. However, now that we are reaching the American Civil War, we are in the Romantic Period, and the big classical composers at that time were Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, and Dvorak. This is really helpful for me, especially when I combine it with the art history resource I discussed last month, which tells me that in this time in art, the artistic Romantic movement was coming to an end and Impressionism was beginning. I can add in a subject that I do know better, and realize that American literary Romaticism, representing writers like Whitman, Hawthorne, Dickenson, Melville, and, of course, Poe, were starting to be replaced by the American Realists, like Twain, James, and Crane (I guess war tends to do that to you). When you line up all these different arts with historical events, it all makes sense as to why they were developing as they were, given world events. It also makes the history richer by weaving in these different ways of describing or capturing what was going on in people's lives at that time.
They also have an interactive map, so you can see what composers came from which countries, and lesson plans and games and teaching tips and all sorts of stuff. I think the material is really geared towards upper elementary, and so some of the printables may be a bit childish for our middle schoolers. But the subject matter is age appropriate for tweens, I think.
If you are looking from some good, basic FREE information about major classical music composers and their leading works, I recommend Classics For Kids. I certainly haven't found anything better. If you have other suggestions, though, please add them in the comments below.
One of those areas for me is music appreciate. While I've always really enjoyed music, when I was in school, I didn't learn much about music history or how to analyze a piece of classical music. Of course, that's one of the great things about homeschooling--you can catch up on the things you missed the first time round in your education.
So for others who might be in the same boat, I wanted to share a wonderful resource I found for teaching music appreciation. It is a website called Classics For Kids, and it has so many wonderful features. Classics For Kids is actually a radio show designed to teach classical music to children that is broadcast from WPUC, the public broadcast station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The short (about 6 minute spots) talk about either individual classical music composers or particular works, and are carried by radio stations around the world--but, unfortunately, none of our local stations here in Wake County. Fortunately, however, you can hear them online from the Classics For Kids website. Here is a link to almost 40 podcasts you can download, ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach to Scott Joplin.
However, there is SO MUCH more to this site than just listening to the shows (which do include lovely music in addition to narrated commentary). There is a huge list of composers that you can read about, many of whom also have some of their music that you can listen to, often with an activity sheet that gives you tips about analyzing the music or something creative you can do either while or after you have listened to that song. There is an interactive timeline that places many of those composers both within what period of music the belong, as well as some major events that were going on at the time.
Thus, for example, since we are studying the 19th Century this year, I can see that early 19th Century events like the Louisiana Purchase or the War of 1812 took place during the tail end of the Classical period, when Shubert and Beethoven were composing. However, now that we are reaching the American Civil War, we are in the Romantic Period, and the big classical composers at that time were Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Grieg, and Dvorak. This is really helpful for me, especially when I combine it with the art history resource I discussed last month, which tells me that in this time in art, the artistic Romantic movement was coming to an end and Impressionism was beginning. I can add in a subject that I do know better, and realize that American literary Romaticism, representing writers like Whitman, Hawthorne, Dickenson, Melville, and, of course, Poe, were starting to be replaced by the American Realists, like Twain, James, and Crane (I guess war tends to do that to you). When you line up all these different arts with historical events, it all makes sense as to why they were developing as they were, given world events. It also makes the history richer by weaving in these different ways of describing or capturing what was going on in people's lives at that time.
They also have an interactive map, so you can see what composers came from which countries, and lesson plans and games and teaching tips and all sorts of stuff. I think the material is really geared towards upper elementary, and so some of the printables may be a bit childish for our middle schoolers. But the subject matter is age appropriate for tweens, I think.
If you are looking from some good, basic FREE information about major classical music composers and their leading works, I recommend Classics For Kids. I certainly haven't found anything better. If you have other suggestions, though, please add them in the comments below.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Language Arts Resource: Etymologic
If you have a middle schooler who loves words in your household, like we do...or would maybe like to encourage one into developing...check out the online language arts resource, Etymologic. It bills itself as "The Toughest Word Game on the Web," which isn't too much of an exaggeration (although I would dispute the term game--it is just an online quiz). The page brings up a word or a phrase that is appropriate for a middle school vocabulary, along with four proposed explanations of where the term came from. All four options are reasonable, and none of them are obvious. However, you can sometimes dwindle the choices just through some knowledge of the language from which it is derived.
It's not easy. I'm fairly good on etymology, and I haven't done better than 7 out of 10 correct answers yet. But it is a great thing to do with your middle schooler and to talk through the word and the possible origins. And referring to my post earlier this week about Subtle Ways to Prepare Middle Schoolers for college, this is an interesting way to help them prepare for tests like the SAT or ACT, not only by improving their vocabulary, but also by practicing the skill of eliminating choices to improve your odds of getting the right answer, even if you end up guessing.
For real word nerds (student or parents or other interested relatives), there is also a neat function where you can submit your own question and proposed answer set for the question bank. We aren't there yet, but when we have a bit broader experience of ancient languages, I think my son will get a real kick out of making up his own questions and having them appear in the quiz. And, of course, having lots of people contribute words helps keep the answer bank big and interesting.
Over 100 million people have visited the site, so it must be doing something right! And let me know if you submit a word, and we'll keep an eye out for it.
It's not easy. I'm fairly good on etymology, and I haven't done better than 7 out of 10 correct answers yet. But it is a great thing to do with your middle schooler and to talk through the word and the possible origins. And referring to my post earlier this week about Subtle Ways to Prepare Middle Schoolers for college, this is an interesting way to help them prepare for tests like the SAT or ACT, not only by improving their vocabulary, but also by practicing the skill of eliminating choices to improve your odds of getting the right answer, even if you end up guessing.
For real word nerds (student or parents or other interested relatives), there is also a neat function where you can submit your own question and proposed answer set for the question bank. We aren't there yet, but when we have a bit broader experience of ancient languages, I think my son will get a real kick out of making up his own questions and having them appear in the quiz. And, of course, having lots of people contribute words helps keep the answer bank big and interesting.
Over 100 million people have visited the site, so it must be doing something right! And let me know if you submit a word, and we'll keep an eye out for it.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Research Shows Social and Emotional Learning Improves Academic Performance
There was a lovely article in today's News and Observer, the major paper in Raleigh, NC, about a mentoring program for 20 middle schoolers in Ligon Middle School, a magnet school in the Chavis Heights neighborhood of Raleigh (an area that was historically a black, low-income community, but is now undergoing some resurgence). College students from near-by Shaw University, which is the oldest historically black college in the South, have spent Wednesday afternoons with the middle schoolers, teaching them about appropriate dress and behavior, etiquette, and other essential about becoming a "Gentleman of Excellence." You can read the entire are at this link.
While the article says the school says it is too soon to tell if this program has raised participants' test scores, new research indicates it probably will. In the February 4, 2011 issue of the peer-reviewed journal, Child Development, a research team led by Joseph A. Durlak, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Chicago, did a meta-analysis of 213 school-based program like the Ligon one described above, which are known in education-ese as "social and emotional learning," or SEL programs. Looking at the results of all those SEL programs, which involved a total of 270,034 students from K-12th grade, the researchers found that not only did SEL participants improve significantly on social and emotional skills (including better behavior and self control, fewer discipline problems, improvements in following school rules and expectations, and better relationships with themselves and others), but both their grades and their test scores rose as well. Plus, the academic increases were significant; SEL participants' grades and scores were an average of 11% higher compared to non-participants. While over half the participants were elementary students, 31% were in middle schools, like the Ligon program above, and 13% were in high school. So this is an effective educational support for all ages of students. You can read the entire research report at this link.
While the study reports only on school-based SEL programs, I can attest to the usefulness of such learning in non-school settings as well. My friend Maggie is running a social skills class in which my son is participating. It is a small group, and it turned out to be all boys, but they all seem to be enjoying it and picking up some key life skills. The focus of our class, at least so far, has been on communication skills, but it has also reiterated the need to be more aware of the needs and feelings of those with whom you are dealing. This week, for example, they talked about how to be a good listener, which included points like the difference between hearing and listening, the need to give feedback to show the speaker you are listening, positive body language to show the speaker your attention, etc. Some of these things the boys hadn't considered before, and they all seem to get into the role playing of simulated conversations and problem solving better and worse ways of handing various problems or situations. I really appreciate Maggie for leading this activity, and I know my son has benefitted even after just a few weeks of classes.
However, some of this could be done at home with just a parent and a child. Simply talking through some of these things as a neutral topic--NOT when you are angry because they haven't listened or been respectful or have interrupted you on the phone on a trivial matter--can be really helpful, I think. For example, with the listening class, I believe at least some of them who slump over or lie down because that feels good to them, hadn't thought that the speaker might take that as a lack of interest. To some of them, especially those who are uncomfortable in those rapidly-growing middle school bodies, it just makes sense to get comfortable. Explaining to them how that can be perceived negatively by the other party doesn't take a class or a program; it just takes us realizing that at least some of our less-intuitively-social children need to have these things pointed out to them. And while I've always tried to do that, I'm discovering that maybe I need to do it even more. It is certainly a life skill that students need, but also tends to improve their self esteem and their relationships immediately, and, apparently, can even lead to better academic success.
While the article says the school says it is too soon to tell if this program has raised participants' test scores, new research indicates it probably will. In the February 4, 2011 issue of the peer-reviewed journal, Child Development, a research team led by Joseph A. Durlak, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Chicago, did a meta-analysis of 213 school-based program like the Ligon one described above, which are known in education-ese as "social and emotional learning," or SEL programs. Looking at the results of all those SEL programs, which involved a total of 270,034 students from K-12th grade, the researchers found that not only did SEL participants improve significantly on social and emotional skills (including better behavior and self control, fewer discipline problems, improvements in following school rules and expectations, and better relationships with themselves and others), but both their grades and their test scores rose as well. Plus, the academic increases were significant; SEL participants' grades and scores were an average of 11% higher compared to non-participants. While over half the participants were elementary students, 31% were in middle schools, like the Ligon program above, and 13% were in high school. So this is an effective educational support for all ages of students. You can read the entire research report at this link.
While the study reports only on school-based SEL programs, I can attest to the usefulness of such learning in non-school settings as well. My friend Maggie is running a social skills class in which my son is participating. It is a small group, and it turned out to be all boys, but they all seem to be enjoying it and picking up some key life skills. The focus of our class, at least so far, has been on communication skills, but it has also reiterated the need to be more aware of the needs and feelings of those with whom you are dealing. This week, for example, they talked about how to be a good listener, which included points like the difference between hearing and listening, the need to give feedback to show the speaker you are listening, positive body language to show the speaker your attention, etc. Some of these things the boys hadn't considered before, and they all seem to get into the role playing of simulated conversations and problem solving better and worse ways of handing various problems or situations. I really appreciate Maggie for leading this activity, and I know my son has benefitted even after just a few weeks of classes.
However, some of this could be done at home with just a parent and a child. Simply talking through some of these things as a neutral topic--NOT when you are angry because they haven't listened or been respectful or have interrupted you on the phone on a trivial matter--can be really helpful, I think. For example, with the listening class, I believe at least some of them who slump over or lie down because that feels good to them, hadn't thought that the speaker might take that as a lack of interest. To some of them, especially those who are uncomfortable in those rapidly-growing middle school bodies, it just makes sense to get comfortable. Explaining to them how that can be perceived negatively by the other party doesn't take a class or a program; it just takes us realizing that at least some of our less-intuitively-social children need to have these things pointed out to them. And while I've always tried to do that, I'm discovering that maybe I need to do it even more. It is certainly a life skill that students need, but also tends to improve their self esteem and their relationships immediately, and, apparently, can even lead to better academic success.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
MathPath: A Summer Camp for Middle School Mathematicians
Even though it is only February, it is time to be thinking about summer camps and other activities. Some of the best ones in our area fill up before spring, so you have to apply early to get your child into some of the most popular summer programs.
If you have a middle school child who is gifted in math, you might be interested in MathPath. This is a national program that provides a 4-week residential math education program at a college campus for students aged 11-14 who show outstanding interest and ability in math. According to the website, it is unique in the US for providing advanced mathematics summer camp activities geared towards middle school students.
The daily schedule at MathPath contains 3 all-inclusive sessions--1 on math history, 1 on some mathematical topic, and 1 analyzing solutions to test questions. Then each student choose 2 breakout courses per day (each breakout course runs for 1 week). This allows students to spend time on the topics and levels that are appropriate to each of them. Finally, there is unstructured time for informal activities, including the Problem of the Day (prizes available!), talking with staff or guest lecturers, working on interesting problems, or math games.
Each year the program is held at a college campus, which helps prepare students for their postsecondary studies. This year, the camp will take place at Colorado College in Colorado Spring, CO, from June 26-July 24, 2011.
The cost for the entire camp is $4,500, which I think is reasonable for a 4 week residential camp of this nature, but is still a good chunk of change. However, there are both merit-based and needs-based scholarships available.
While this is not my arena of expertise--I was an Arts and Humanities gal, not a Math and Sciences woman--people in the math field that I respect say this is a good program. And while I'm not an expert, it seems pretty unique for this age. So if you have an 11-14 year old math geek (and I mean that in a good way), then you should at least check it out.
If you have a middle school child who is gifted in math, you might be interested in MathPath. This is a national program that provides a 4-week residential math education program at a college campus for students aged 11-14 who show outstanding interest and ability in math. According to the website, it is unique in the US for providing advanced mathematics summer camp activities geared towards middle school students.
The daily schedule at MathPath contains 3 all-inclusive sessions--1 on math history, 1 on some mathematical topic, and 1 analyzing solutions to test questions. Then each student choose 2 breakout courses per day (each breakout course runs for 1 week). This allows students to spend time on the topics and levels that are appropriate to each of them. Finally, there is unstructured time for informal activities, including the Problem of the Day (prizes available!), talking with staff or guest lecturers, working on interesting problems, or math games.
Each year the program is held at a college campus, which helps prepare students for their postsecondary studies. This year, the camp will take place at Colorado College in Colorado Spring, CO, from June 26-July 24, 2011.
The cost for the entire camp is $4,500, which I think is reasonable for a 4 week residential camp of this nature, but is still a good chunk of change. However, there are both merit-based and needs-based scholarships available.
While this is not my arena of expertise--I was an Arts and Humanities gal, not a Math and Sciences woman--people in the math field that I respect say this is a good program. And while I'm not an expert, it seems pretty unique for this age. So if you have an 11-14 year old math geek (and I mean that in a good way), then you should at least check it out.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Lesson Plan: Miracles of Jesus About Food (Wedding at Cana, Disciples Catching Fish, Feeding the Multitudes)
Last week in our World Religion class, where we are currently studying Christianity, I did a lesson about the miracles Jesus did that involved food. I started with the Wedding at Cana, which was the first miracle reported in the Gospel of John. With all three of these miracles, I simply told the story, rather than reading it out of the Bible or a written rendition.
For the Wedding at Cana, I had made some preparations beforehand. I had a glass pitcher of water and a tray with enough plastic cups for all the students. However, before class, I had put a tablespoon of red Kool Aid in each cup. So as I told the climax of the story, I poured the visibly clear water into the cups where-Voila!-they turned into red liquid. While a younger audience might be fooled by this, the middle schoolers figured it out, and started shouting out I had stuff in the class and that it was Kool Aid instead of wine, etc. But I never said a thing. I neither confirmed nor denied their accusations, and, of course, I never said that I was performing a "miracle." However, when we were reviewing last week's lesson, they all remembered the red drinks and the water into wine story--which, of course, was my real goal for doing it.
The next story I told was when Jesus told Simon/Peter and Andrew to cast their nets into the water, even though they had been fishing all night and had caught nothing. When they did as he said, their nets were filled with fish, causing Simon (whom Jesus called Peter) to be the first disciple to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah that had been promised in the Jewish Torah. Once again, I prepared something before class. I took a large white piece of paper and drew a rough fishing net on it with permanent ink (I used a Sharpie pen). In between the...well, they weren't squares...looks like maybe they were trapezoids (thank you, Google!)....anyway, in the white space in the net, I took a white crayon and drew fish shapes. I had to press down fairly heavily to leave enough crayon, but you still couldn't see it against the white paper. Then when I was in class, when I got to the part that Simon cast his nets in the water and they filled with fish, I took some dark blue water color paint and painted over the nets. TAAA DAAA--the invisible fish suddenly showed up! They thought that was really cool, and couldn't figure that one out as easily. Once again, when asked about it the next week, the students could tell the story.
The last one was less "magical," but may have been appreciated most of all. As I talked about the two stories, one about feeding 4,000 families and one about feeding 5,000, both times with just a few loaves of bread and a few fishes, I took an unsliced loaf of bread I had bought and tore it into pieces, put it into a basket, and passed it around. I also had a bag of Swedish fish candies, which I put into another basket, and passed it around. So they had a ghastly meal of Kool Aid, Sourdough Bread (albeit high-quality, natural, and without preservatives), and Swedish fish candies--most of which I would NEVER serve my son at home. But, of course, it was a HUGE hit.
It's one of those rules of thumbs, really with most children, I think, but definitely with middle schoolers--if you want them to love your lessons, give them some food. But it was educationally justifiable in this case! And, as I said, they seemed to have a much higher recall then they have had with some of my other lessons. What can I say...food works.
For the Wedding at Cana, I had made some preparations beforehand. I had a glass pitcher of water and a tray with enough plastic cups for all the students. However, before class, I had put a tablespoon of red Kool Aid in each cup. So as I told the climax of the story, I poured the visibly clear water into the cups where-Voila!-they turned into red liquid. While a younger audience might be fooled by this, the middle schoolers figured it out, and started shouting out I had stuff in the class and that it was Kool Aid instead of wine, etc. But I never said a thing. I neither confirmed nor denied their accusations, and, of course, I never said that I was performing a "miracle." However, when we were reviewing last week's lesson, they all remembered the red drinks and the water into wine story--which, of course, was my real goal for doing it.
The next story I told was when Jesus told Simon/Peter and Andrew to cast their nets into the water, even though they had been fishing all night and had caught nothing. When they did as he said, their nets were filled with fish, causing Simon (whom Jesus called Peter) to be the first disciple to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah that had been promised in the Jewish Torah. Once again, I prepared something before class. I took a large white piece of paper and drew a rough fishing net on it with permanent ink (I used a Sharpie pen). In between the...well, they weren't squares...looks like maybe they were trapezoids (thank you, Google!)....anyway, in the white space in the net, I took a white crayon and drew fish shapes. I had to press down fairly heavily to leave enough crayon, but you still couldn't see it against the white paper. Then when I was in class, when I got to the part that Simon cast his nets in the water and they filled with fish, I took some dark blue water color paint and painted over the nets. TAAA DAAA--the invisible fish suddenly showed up! They thought that was really cool, and couldn't figure that one out as easily. Once again, when asked about it the next week, the students could tell the story.
The last one was less "magical," but may have been appreciated most of all. As I talked about the two stories, one about feeding 4,000 families and one about feeding 5,000, both times with just a few loaves of bread and a few fishes, I took an unsliced loaf of bread I had bought and tore it into pieces, put it into a basket, and passed it around. I also had a bag of Swedish fish candies, which I put into another basket, and passed it around. So they had a ghastly meal of Kool Aid, Sourdough Bread (albeit high-quality, natural, and without preservatives), and Swedish fish candies--most of which I would NEVER serve my son at home. But, of course, it was a HUGE hit.
It's one of those rules of thumbs, really with most children, I think, but definitely with middle schoolers--if you want them to love your lessons, give them some food. But it was educationally justifiable in this case! And, as I said, they seemed to have a much higher recall then they have had with some of my other lessons. What can I say...food works.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Preparing Middle Schoolers for College
I've said before that Jay Mathews of the Washington Post is one of my favorite education journalists. He has been their education reporter for decades, so he has a deep background in personalities, policies, programs, and research in the field.
This week he wrote an article right up our alley that was called "8 Subtle Ways to Prepare Middle Schoolers for College." He has long been an advocate that their are great educations to be had at all sorts of different colleges, and generally works to relieve the pressure students and parents put on themselves in terms of having to get into ONE particular college. So his is not going to be a "Tiger Mom" type of list of intense academic achievements. In fact, much of his list, which he compiled from talking to college admissions experts, he says is really more geared to making middle schoolers into better people, which will help them in college along with the rest of their life.
The Mathews/Educational Experts list is:
1. Notice what they enjoy, and help them do more of it.
(Colleges like students with depth, and students should spend time doing what is important to them, not racking up achievements to look good.)
2. Make sure your child knows that B's are fine in middle school and that fun is important.
(Don't start the pressure too soon, especially for overachievers.)
3. Enroll them in Algebra 1 in eighth grade.
(This prepares them for high school level work.)
4. Insist they develop some practical housework skills.
(They are going to have to balance taking care of themselves with their college workload.)
5. Flavor family trips with a bit of college atmosphere.
(My husband makes fun of me about this, but my family's vacations always included stopping by a local campus or two.)
6. Encourage children who are curious about the world to take a foreign language.
(My son and I just participated in an online class this afternoon with students from three different continents. It truly is a global world.)
7. Character counts. Encourage its development.
(Mathews admits this can be hard with emotional early adolescents, but suggests we start by being good role models ourselves.)
8. Do everything you can to encourage reading.
(One of his experts says the highest correlation among the very best test-takers is a strong background in reading.)
That's a pretty good list, I think. But some of his readers added a few others:
--More sleep for teens/preteens
--Teach listening skills
--Raise career awareness and preparation requirements(in both college-required and non-college fields)
--Have them write
--Make sure they spend time outdoors in nature
Any other suggestions you have for low-key ways to help prepare 10-14 year olds for their college experience (if they choose to have one)?
This week he wrote an article right up our alley that was called "8 Subtle Ways to Prepare Middle Schoolers for College." He has long been an advocate that their are great educations to be had at all sorts of different colleges, and generally works to relieve the pressure students and parents put on themselves in terms of having to get into ONE particular college. So his is not going to be a "Tiger Mom" type of list of intense academic achievements. In fact, much of his list, which he compiled from talking to college admissions experts, he says is really more geared to making middle schoolers into better people, which will help them in college along with the rest of their life.
The Mathews/Educational Experts list is:
1. Notice what they enjoy, and help them do more of it.
(Colleges like students with depth, and students should spend time doing what is important to them, not racking up achievements to look good.)
2. Make sure your child knows that B's are fine in middle school and that fun is important.
(Don't start the pressure too soon, especially for overachievers.)
3. Enroll them in Algebra 1 in eighth grade.
(This prepares them for high school level work.)
4. Insist they develop some practical housework skills.
(They are going to have to balance taking care of themselves with their college workload.)
5. Flavor family trips with a bit of college atmosphere.
(My husband makes fun of me about this, but my family's vacations always included stopping by a local campus or two.)
6. Encourage children who are curious about the world to take a foreign language.
(My son and I just participated in an online class this afternoon with students from three different continents. It truly is a global world.)
7. Character counts. Encourage its development.
(Mathews admits this can be hard with emotional early adolescents, but suggests we start by being good role models ourselves.)
8. Do everything you can to encourage reading.
(One of his experts says the highest correlation among the very best test-takers is a strong background in reading.)
That's a pretty good list, I think. But some of his readers added a few others:
--More sleep for teens/preteens
--Teach listening skills
--Raise career awareness and preparation requirements(in both college-required and non-college fields)
--Have them write
--Make sure they spend time outdoors in nature
Any other suggestions you have for low-key ways to help prepare 10-14 year olds for their college experience (if they choose to have one)?
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Walking Backwards
At our Teaching Your Middle Schooler conference last summer, the keynote speaker said that one reason that middle schoolers have gotten such a bad rep is that, since they are figuring themselves out and their bodies are going through so many changes during that period, that they can change so much from day to day, and that is difficult for those of us with our plans about how to educate them and parent them and coach them, etc., to deal with. And I see how that can be frustrating.
But at our spiritual center, we study the writings of a woman named Byron Katie, whose most famous book is called Loving What Is. Katie argues that the suffering in our life comes from us resisting the things that show up in our lives, or fighting against "what is." That is to say, there are things in our lives that we might not like and want to work to change, and that is fine. But we spend so much time fussing about the fact that they are in our lives, and they SHOULDN'T be in our lives, and we DON'T WANT THEM in our lives, and so on, that we have no energy left to deal with them.
And I think that is a great insight to bring to dealing with our middle schoolers. Of course, when we've set up our schedules to get them to the classes or activities that they LOVE, except that now they can't stand them, or (this happens in my house all the time) have bought a huge bunch of bananas because for three weeks we've run out of bananas about every second or third day and I get complaints about not having any, except this week no one will touch bananas with a ten foot pole and they rot...well, yes, that can be annoying and waste money and all that. But it makes it easier if we understand that this sort of thing is what children are SUPPOSED to be doing, according to developmental theory.
So what if we took the position that the conflicts that arise in these situations are not the children's fault, but our fault for resisting what is our current reality. Or how about if we not only stopped resisting these changes, but embraced them.
This just came up today because we went for a hike at our local nature center, Hemlock Bluffs. My son and I go hiking there A LOT, and have for his whole lifetime; I was figuring out today that we must have hiked the looped trails at Hemlock Bluffs EASILY over 250 times in his life. The trails have numbered stations with educational materials, but we have done them so often that we no longer stop and read the information. But they are trails that we've done over and over in all seasons and all sorts of weather, sometimes in the format of formal classes offered at the center, and sometimes with friends, but usually just on our own.
Anyway, we went on the trail today, and we were the ONLY PEOPLE there besides the staff. It was funny, because it seemed cold because yesterday the temperature was nearly 70, but today the temperature dropped 25 degrees to the mid-40's. So it seemed cold, but it was actually slightly warmer than the average temperature for Cary in February. Another great illustration about how much and how quickly our physical environment can change, and how our perception is based on comparison to what we experienced the day before, not the reality of what we should expect for this time of year.
So we were going on our hike, and my son said, "Let's walk the trail backwards.'' So he headed off in the direction from the bigger numbers of the educational stations to the smaller ones. I, having been raised to "do things the right way," had a slight pang of guilt, but followed his lead. And we had a lovely walk, pretty much in silence since we weren't talking (he tends to run ahead, so we can't really talk when he is 50 yards in front of me) and we didn't pass anyone else to exchange pleasantries.
But I realized that by walking backwards, I noticed all these things about this familiar route that I don't usually notice. I was seeing the opposite side of the trees and the bridge and the steps and all the sites I know so well, and it all looked so different. It was amazing--and quite inspiring. It reminds me of how much of my life I walk through without really noticing or experiencing, because I am expecting today to be pretty much like it was yesterday.
So I'm thinking now that maybe that is something we all need to do more of in our life--walk through it backwards. Take a different route, re-order our routine, see things from a different angle. Just wake up to our own lives and to experiencing all the little things that make up its magnificence. And if that is your goal, then our wonderful middle schoolers with their ever-changing opinions and desires and demands are a gift, not a problem. Because whatever you want to say about early adolescents, they aren't the ones who are stuck in a rut.
So let's take an opportunity to thank our middle schoolers for the blessing they bring to our lives by shaking them up. All too soon, their lives may be as settled and uni-directional as ours are. Let's all rejoice in the times we can share in walking backwards in our lives.
But at our spiritual center, we study the writings of a woman named Byron Katie, whose most famous book is called Loving What Is. Katie argues that the suffering in our life comes from us resisting the things that show up in our lives, or fighting against "what is." That is to say, there are things in our lives that we might not like and want to work to change, and that is fine. But we spend so much time fussing about the fact that they are in our lives, and they SHOULDN'T be in our lives, and we DON'T WANT THEM in our lives, and so on, that we have no energy left to deal with them.
And I think that is a great insight to bring to dealing with our middle schoolers. Of course, when we've set up our schedules to get them to the classes or activities that they LOVE, except that now they can't stand them, or (this happens in my house all the time) have bought a huge bunch of bananas because for three weeks we've run out of bananas about every second or third day and I get complaints about not having any, except this week no one will touch bananas with a ten foot pole and they rot...well, yes, that can be annoying and waste money and all that. But it makes it easier if we understand that this sort of thing is what children are SUPPOSED to be doing, according to developmental theory.
So what if we took the position that the conflicts that arise in these situations are not the children's fault, but our fault for resisting what is our current reality. Or how about if we not only stopped resisting these changes, but embraced them.
This just came up today because we went for a hike at our local nature center, Hemlock Bluffs. My son and I go hiking there A LOT, and have for his whole lifetime; I was figuring out today that we must have hiked the looped trails at Hemlock Bluffs EASILY over 250 times in his life. The trails have numbered stations with educational materials, but we have done them so often that we no longer stop and read the information. But they are trails that we've done over and over in all seasons and all sorts of weather, sometimes in the format of formal classes offered at the center, and sometimes with friends, but usually just on our own.
Anyway, we went on the trail today, and we were the ONLY PEOPLE there besides the staff. It was funny, because it seemed cold because yesterday the temperature was nearly 70, but today the temperature dropped 25 degrees to the mid-40's. So it seemed cold, but it was actually slightly warmer than the average temperature for Cary in February. Another great illustration about how much and how quickly our physical environment can change, and how our perception is based on comparison to what we experienced the day before, not the reality of what we should expect for this time of year.
So we were going on our hike, and my son said, "Let's walk the trail backwards.'' So he headed off in the direction from the bigger numbers of the educational stations to the smaller ones. I, having been raised to "do things the right way," had a slight pang of guilt, but followed his lead. And we had a lovely walk, pretty much in silence since we weren't talking (he tends to run ahead, so we can't really talk when he is 50 yards in front of me) and we didn't pass anyone else to exchange pleasantries.
But I realized that by walking backwards, I noticed all these things about this familiar route that I don't usually notice. I was seeing the opposite side of the trees and the bridge and the steps and all the sites I know so well, and it all looked so different. It was amazing--and quite inspiring. It reminds me of how much of my life I walk through without really noticing or experiencing, because I am expecting today to be pretty much like it was yesterday.
So I'm thinking now that maybe that is something we all need to do more of in our life--walk through it backwards. Take a different route, re-order our routine, see things from a different angle. Just wake up to our own lives and to experiencing all the little things that make up its magnificence. And if that is your goal, then our wonderful middle schoolers with their ever-changing opinions and desires and demands are a gift, not a problem. Because whatever you want to say about early adolescents, they aren't the ones who are stuck in a rut.
So let's take an opportunity to thank our middle schoolers for the blessing they bring to our lives by shaking them up. All too soon, their lives may be as settled and uni-directional as ours are. Let's all rejoice in the times we can share in walking backwards in our lives.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
February Giveaway: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
I had so much fun with the HOAC giveaway we had at the end of the year, I've decided I would just do some giveaways on my own. I thought that the best way I could show my support for some of the books that my son and I just love and think should be better recognized is to buy another copy and give it away to one of the readers of my blog. I hope it will send a little income towards some wonderful writers and raise some awareness of their books.
So in honor of Valentine's Day, my February giveaway will be the humorous, yet thoughtful, book by Tom Angleberger, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. I've written about this book before, and included it in my Newbery 2011 Top 5 List. But here is my Valentine's Day description of the book:
Because my goal is to get more people to hear of these lovely books that I think are under-acknowledged, I would also love for you to send out this information through your networks. So anyone who announces this giveaway through their blog, Facebook page, Twitter feed, email loop, or other social network will get an additional five (5) entries under their name. You can just email me at ccross@mindspring.com to let me know that you are helping to spread the work, and I will give your name five more chances (but you need to sign up through the comments as well).
The winning entry will be selected by the random number generator at Random.com on--when else?--Monday, February 14. Be sure to check back then to find out if you won!
But even if you don't win--look for this book at your local library, or go buy your own copy. It's a fun, uplifting book for this age group.
So in honor of Valentine's Day, my February giveaway will be the humorous, yet thoughtful, book by Tom Angleberger, The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. I've written about this book before, and included it in my Newbery 2011 Top 5 List. But here is my Valentine's Day description of the book:
If you are in 6th grade, and just starting to tip your toes in the murky waters of relationships with the opposite sex, would you take dating advice from....Yoda? And not real Yoda, but a Yoda finger puppet made out of paper through origami? A finger puppet that sits on the finger of Dwight, the weirdest kid in school?
But as more and more of Origami Yoda's predictions come true, Dwight's classmates start to wonder what the deal is. They work together, writing down their separate experiences in a shared notebook, trying to figure out what is going on. Could Origami Yoda possible be the real deal? Is the Force actually with him? Or could they, maybe, have underestimated the unusual students who voices Yoda's predictions?
This book is a funny and easy read, and it is easy for students who are around the middle school age range to relate to the characters. It's a great book for boys--who love solving mysteries and Star Wars--as well as for girls--since it deals with relationships and even--GASP--emotions. It has a satisfying ending, a great message, AND--instructions for making your own Origami Yoda. What 10-14 year old can't find something in that combination to love?So, for a chance to win this FABULOUS book, you just have to enter your name in the comments section below. If you can, I would love it if you would also recommend a book relating to love (for Valentine's Day) that is appropriate for this age group. It doesn't have to be romantic love (or really, like--mostly, people aren't truly falling in love until the YA novels, but tend to have crushes and such in the early adolescent books)...it can be familial love, platonic love of a friend, love of a pet or animal, whatever. But only your name is required.
Because my goal is to get more people to hear of these lovely books that I think are under-acknowledged, I would also love for you to send out this information through your networks. So anyone who announces this giveaway through their blog, Facebook page, Twitter feed, email loop, or other social network will get an additional five (5) entries under their name. You can just email me at ccross@mindspring.com to let me know that you are helping to spread the work, and I will give your name five more chances (but you need to sign up through the comments as well).
The winning entry will be selected by the random number generator at Random.com on--when else?--Monday, February 14. Be sure to check back then to find out if you won!
But even if you don't win--look for this book at your local library, or go buy your own copy. It's a fun, uplifting book for this age group.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Picture Books for Middle Schoolers
As long as I am on my "don't abandon all youthful tools" kick...
Pragmatic Mom had a thought-provoking blog post where she asked people to help compile a Top 10 list of Caldecott Medal and Honor Books. It was tough, but I finally came up with this list based on my self-imposed rules:
--No more than one book from any one author
--Selection was more than just that one book, but also considered body of work by that author
Going in order from oldest to newest, my top 10 choices were:
Pragmatic Mom had a thought-provoking blog post where she asked people to help compile a Top 10 list of Caldecott Medal and Honor Books. It was tough, but I finally came up with this list based on my self-imposed rules:
--No more than one book from any one author
--Selection was more than just that one book, but also considered body of work by that author
Going in order from oldest to newest, my top 10 choices were:
Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss, pseud. [Theodor Seuss Geisel]
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ashanti , adapted and illustrated by Gerald McDermott
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Tuesday by David Wiesner
Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young
In the Small, Small Pond by Denise Fleming
What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? illustrated and written by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Zen Shorts illustrated and written by Jon J. Muth
And while some might think that Caldecott winners were too young for middle schoolers, I would disagree. For example, we still create Oobleck, sometime for science, sometimes just for the fun of it. I used Tuesday in a writing class (for a lesson of "show, not tell" in writing) and Seven Blind Mice in a religion class (as a metaphor for trying to explain the divine). I anticipate using Anansi the Spider when we get into Jung, and Zen Shorts when we get to Buddhism. And, of course, we once again celebrated the Christmas season with our annual reading of The Polar Express.
But it got me to thinking that maybe I would create my own Top 10 list of Non-Fiction Picture Books for Middle Schoolers, based on the resources I have been using in my classes for this academic year. So here are the Picture Books that have figured most prominently in our 6th Grade lessons so far:
Math (but really, so much more)
But it got me to thinking that maybe I would create my own Top 10 list of Non-Fiction Picture Books for Middle Schoolers, based on the resources I have been using in my classes for this academic year. So here are the Picture Books that have figured most prominently in our 6th Grade lessons so far:
Math (but really, so much more)
Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci by Joseph D'Agnese I wrote an entire post about this book, which we love, love, LOVE. We used it not only for math, but for history, art, and even literature, since it has inspired us writing some short poems known as Fibs.
History (we are studying 19th Century World and American history)
Charles Dickens: The Man Who Had Great Expectations by Diane Stanley
The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) by Barbara Kerley (my review of this book)
Walt Whitman: Words For America by Barbara Kerley
History and Science
One Beetle Too Many: The Extraordinary Adventures of Charles Darwin by Kathryn Lasky
The Cod’s Tale by Mark Kurlansky
Science
The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay
The Way We Work by David Macaulay
These aren't really classic Picture Books, so I'm counting them both together as one book. But they both present scientific information in such a great visual way, and work either reading sequentially through the book, or just picking up a page or two at a time to get clear about a particular question that has come up about a tool or a body part.
World Religions (so far, just Judaism and Christianity)
Creation by Gerald McDermott
Exodus by Brian Wildsmith (my review of this book)
Spirit Child: A Story of the Nativity by John Bierhorst
I also found a couple of resources with some other good Picture Books for middle schoolers. One is from another blog of a book-loving teacher, Planetesme, where she lists some other top notch picture book biographies. An even more thorough and academic-oriented resource is A Middle School Teacher's Guide for Selecting Picture Books.
But I would love to get any suggestions that you have for picture books for students in the 11-14 age range. Anyone have any other picture books to recommend to us? Please share them in the comments below.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Tegu: Because You Are Never Too Old for Building Blocks
One of the tricky things about middle school is that it is a time when both the child and the parent are trying to figure out what things from childhood the student has outgrown, and what things are still valuable. One thing that I've mentioned in several posts is the fact that I think "picture books" can still be very valuable for this age. Another thing that still works, at least for our family, are wooden building blocks. Especially if you have some high quality wooden blocks, like the Tegu blocks my son was given recently for Christmas and his birthday/
Tegu--pronounced TAY GOO--was taken from Tegucigalpa (tay-goo-see-GAL-pah), the capital city of Honduras. That is because that while the company is a small business by two brothers living in the United States, everything is done in partnership with the manufacturers in Honduras. The company is committed to sustainable agriculture, and thus only harvests mature trees in a living forest, plus gives back some money from each sale to planting new trees. The workers in the manufacturing plant in Honduras are given a living wage, and are taught career skills, rather than simple assembly-line tasks. The company also has a partnership with a local school to promote the welfare of the children in the community. Finally, the hardwood blocks are either left natural, or are coated with water-based and non-toxic colors or finishes.
But, of course, all the best intentions in the world don't matter if the company doesn't produce a good product. However, I would say that Tegu blocks are excellent toys. Not only are they beautiful and just have a "good feel," but they bring something new to the building block game. Each Tegu wooden block also has a magnet safely embedded inside. This allows some constructions that are impossible with traditional blocks.
For example, here is one thing my son (age 12) has built with his Tegu blocks:
Obviously, the slanted brick style can't be sustained with traditional blocks, so that has been fun for my son to experiment with, compared to what he is used to doing with wooden blocks. I think he also enjoys how pretty the blocks are, whether they are left natural or colored in "Jungle" style (the second set of blocks he received), which plays into his designs. He also combines them with other wooden block sets he has to create hybrid designs of traditional and Tegu blocks.
The drawback of these blocks is that they are expensive compared to traditional blocks. However, that is because Tegu is paying the costs of selecting trees within forests instead of clear cutting, paying for reforestation, and paying decent wages for its workers. That is to say, the price you pay covers the cost to the Earth and to the workers, rather than exploiting either or both. Personally, I would rather my son had fewer blocks, but ones that were high quality and of a responsible origin, then lots of cheap ones. Also, with our children growing up in an age where so many of the things that they play with are electronic and/or plastic, I'm willing to pay more for things that can still engage middle schoolers with simple, non-screen-based, natural toys. And, at least for our family, this fits the bill perfectly.
Tegu--pronounced TAY GOO--was taken from Tegucigalpa (tay-goo-see-GAL-pah), the capital city of Honduras. That is because that while the company is a small business by two brothers living in the United States, everything is done in partnership with the manufacturers in Honduras. The company is committed to sustainable agriculture, and thus only harvests mature trees in a living forest, plus gives back some money from each sale to planting new trees. The workers in the manufacturing plant in Honduras are given a living wage, and are taught career skills, rather than simple assembly-line tasks. The company also has a partnership with a local school to promote the welfare of the children in the community. Finally, the hardwood blocks are either left natural, or are coated with water-based and non-toxic colors or finishes.
But, of course, all the best intentions in the world don't matter if the company doesn't produce a good product. However, I would say that Tegu blocks are excellent toys. Not only are they beautiful and just have a "good feel," but they bring something new to the building block game. Each Tegu wooden block also has a magnet safely embedded inside. This allows some constructions that are impossible with traditional blocks.
For example, here is one thing my son (age 12) has built with his Tegu blocks:
Obviously, the slanted brick style can't be sustained with traditional blocks, so that has been fun for my son to experiment with, compared to what he is used to doing with wooden blocks. I think he also enjoys how pretty the blocks are, whether they are left natural or colored in "Jungle" style (the second set of blocks he received), which plays into his designs. He also combines them with other wooden block sets he has to create hybrid designs of traditional and Tegu blocks.
The drawback of these blocks is that they are expensive compared to traditional blocks. However, that is because Tegu is paying the costs of selecting trees within forests instead of clear cutting, paying for reforestation, and paying decent wages for its workers. That is to say, the price you pay covers the cost to the Earth and to the workers, rather than exploiting either or both. Personally, I would rather my son had fewer blocks, but ones that were high quality and of a responsible origin, then lots of cheap ones. Also, with our children growing up in an age where so many of the things that they play with are electronic and/or plastic, I'm willing to pay more for things that can still engage middle schoolers with simple, non-screen-based, natural toys. And, at least for our family, this fits the bill perfectly.
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