Writing Blog
4:29 PM
Reading and writing are like macaroni and cheese. Therefore, I have created a new writing blog. Every day I'll post a new writing prompt. It might be a thought, a short story, a question, a picture, anything really. If you or your students are having trouble thinking of something to write, pop on over to Writeous!
The Dangerous Book for Boys
4:01 PMCool science experiments you can do at home
How to be the best at everything for boys
Conn and Hal have also published a series of pocket Dangerous Books: Things to do; Things to know; Wonders of the World; and Facts, Figures, and Fun.
The Time Warp Trio: Knights of the Kitchen Table
3:56 PMLinks
12:36 PM
A quick note on some of the links at the top of the page:
Guys Read: This is an initiative started by John Scieszka (like Fresca) and others to get boys to read. It's an amazing resource for literature geared toward boys. You can find a link at the bottom of the Guys Read page to Scieszka's website. He's an outstanding advocate for boy's literacy and has some awesome stuff on his website as well.
Book Clubs 4 Boys: This is a website put together by a mom that holds book clubs with her boys. As I've mentioned before one of the problem's of boys' literacy is that there are feminine stigmas attached to reading. When you think of book clubs, you generally don't picture a bunch of men sitting around discussing a book. She designs her book cub meetings so boys can further discuss books, but also have some fun with projects relating to what they've read. Check out her site, it's got some spectacular stuff for boys to get involved in.
Books for Boys: Another list of some great literature for boys.
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Howdy!
12:26 PM
Literacy is unbelievably important in today's world, yet many children lack basic literacy skills. And from what research is telling us boys are suffering more than anyone - worldwide. That's due to everything from feminine stigmas attached to reading to a lack of good male role models to misconceptions parents have about what "reading" and "literacy" include. So it's my mission to help boys see how amazing reading can be by showing them what's out there in terms of literacy.
I'm also going to talk about things that can help all kids become better readers - comprehension strategies, fun vocabulary words and activities, genres etc.
Take a look at my videos, facebook, twitter, links and suggestions. If you have anything to offer in the way of further suggestions for books or topics to discuss, activities to demonstrate, or anything else you think would be helpful, feel free to drop me a line!
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Cool Words
6:20 PM
Here's the running list of all the cool words of the week. Have fun!
tempestuous (tem-PEST-you-us):
Like a tempest. A tempest is a really big storm. So, if something is tempestuous that means it's acting or behaving kind of like a really big storm. A tempestuous kid is a kid who's really wild and out of control.
1st grade was a tempestuous year for me. I got in lots of trouble.
Presidential (prez-i-DEN-shul):
Anything having to do with the president. And not just the president of the United States. It can be the president of anything! You school, your organization, or your universe.
"My presidential powers allow me to make my own rules."
"This presidential feast has foods that all of our past presidents loved."
enamored (e-NA-murr-d):
Being in love with something. You may not think this is such a cool word now, but give it a few years.
tip: Usually you will use the words "of" or "with" after enamored. Like this -
Jack was enamored of the girl in his math class. (That means he was in love with her)
Dan was enamored with his new bicycle. (That means he totally loved it!)
corpulent (COR-pew-lent):
This word comes from the word "corpus" which means "body". Corpulent means "lots of body", in other words it means "fat". Have fun with this one, just be careful who you use it against. ;)
verdant (VER-dunt):
verdant (VER-dunt):
This means green. People usually use this word when they're talking about a landscape.
The verdant forests of my hometown are perfect for exploring.
