Stephanie’s Comments (group member since Sep 07, 2011)

Stephanie’s comments from the Ms. Douglas' 701 group.

I'm going to weigh in and say no. If you're reading a book, by yourself, that you really, really, really don't like, then stop. Don't ruin the experience of reading! There are so many incredible books to read, and we just don't have enough time to waste on bad books. I will say that sometimes your teachers will choose books to read together, and at first, you may not like them, but give them a chance. There's a reason that we share certain books with you. Of course, my 12th grade AP English teacher made us read "The Adventures of Augie March" and I still don't know why. It was awful. I failed at understanding. Ugh. There are some books that are just like that, but don't read them on your own. read what you love. Read what excites you. Read what motivates you. Fall deeply in love with reading. Crush hard on reading. It will be the greatest gift you give yourself.

LanaDatHunniiee wrote: "another book that changed me was "the girls" by amy goldman koss. this book changed me because i always think that everybody i talk to is my friend and i trust a lot of people but when i read this ..."
I've been wanting to read that book. I'm going to pick it up on Monday! Thanks for the recommendation, Dylana... and the kind words.

Hi 701~
Well, the cat's out of the bag. You now know that Jonas' community is not the perfect world - the utopia - it had been described as. The Giver is a great example of dystopian fiction.

Want to check out some other dystopian fiction?
Here are three useful websites. See how many of these books you've already read and consider which ones you might like to read. Copy and paste the links into your browser:

http://www.scholastic.com/tbw/quickSe...

http://www.bartsbookshelf.co.uk/2009/...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12...

Do you know of any other dystopian novels? Share titles with the rest of us.
Happy reading.
Ms. Douglas

Sonia wrote: "It is true. But it shows how Primrose doesn't really deal with the bullying, she just pushes it aside and deals with it by telling people that she doesn't care. Do you know what "they" bully Primro..."

I'm not far enough in the book yet, Sonia, but I imagine that they may bully her because she's so eccentric and different.

Sonia wrote: "I'm so in love with that book Eggs, I read it in the 5th grade and it made my cry a little, I love the girl's name to, Primrose.
AMAZING!!!!!! It's also a funny book to!"

Really?! I'm so glad you liked it, Sonia. I'm excited to read it. I heard it deals with the issue of bullying. Is that true?

Hi everyone.
Recently I've been focusing on reading books that deal with the issue of bullying. I read Scrawl by Mark Schulman, I just finished Bystander by James Preller, and now I'm on to Jerry Spinelli's Eggs. Each book has taught me something really interesting about bullying:
Scrawl: Bullies aren't bullies all the time, and it's important to understand that bullies don't just become bullies overnight. There are circumstances. There are reasons that people treat others badly. Nothing excuses treating people badly, but it's still important for us to try and understand.
Bystander: Bullying is not an easy issue to identify. A lot of times the bullies fool us, especially adults. Sometimes it's the most popular kids who do the bullying. It takes a united front to stand up and say, "That's not okay." It can be scary and tough to stand up.
Eggs: I'm just starting to find out.

So... my question to you is... what book have you read that addresses bullying? Tell us about it and if you would recommend it. Maybe you have some advise to share, too.

I'm looking forward to checking out all of these titles! Always good to get recommendations from each other...
(Jason, we lost part of your post. Can you repost?)
Ms. D

Oops, back up Derick. Skip is Will's brother. So far, Will's dad doesn't have a name, except "Will's dad." Hope that clears things up!

Yahoooooo! I'm so excited that you are finding the website helpful and that it's giving you great resources and suggestions.

Chaya, that reminds me of a movie called "Fresh."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109842/p...
It showed the hardships that drove the the main character to dealing drugs in order to survive.
Is Street Pharm a book you could use as a mentor text for your own fiction writing piece?

What are your thoughts so far about our read-aloud book?

Hi Group.
I know that Samara is going to flip over this, and I hope that others of you will find it helpful, too!

James Patterson, the author of the Maximum Ride series and Alex Cross series, has his own website that shares great book ideas. It's called ReadKiddoRead (http://www.readkiddoread.com/home) and it's got a lot of cool stuff on it.
One of my favorite things is the "community" tab on the top of the homepage. It takes you to links to other authors' webpages and to online games and quizzes.

Lots of fun while you're learning. Awesome. Check it out and leave a message about what you think!

Ms. Douglas

Fantastic news, Mr. Nusser. Veronica, we'll find those books for you~

Any time!

It's too bad I only have the adult version! There's also another book called Chew On This that you may also really like. I don't know 88's book well enough yet to know if they are in the building. Why don't you remind me on Monday and I'll send you to the school's library with a pass. Sound good?

Wow, great movie! You know, there's a book called The Omnivore's Dilemma and they have a kid version. It is a great follow-up book to Food, Inc. if you're interested in knowing more about that subject. Great, powerful stuff.

Was it a movie AND a book? I guess I was thinking more about something you had read, but would still like to hear if it's a movie. Since our next unit of writing is realistic fiction, you may be inspired to write a story similar to the movie you love...

You bet! It's on my book shelf. You can read it in a day. It's beautiful. Get it tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Ms. Douglas

Copy and paste this link in your Internet browser:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/v...

It will take you to a survey you need to fill out about your reading habits. It'll help us set goals.

Thank you!

There is a book called "Ish" that my friend Jennifer gave me as a present. It's a picture book and it's on my bookshelf in our classroom (so you're welcome to borrow it). That book reminds me not to judge my own creativity. No one has the same ideas as I do, and no one will express ideas in exactly the same way. I have something to say and to share with the world that is uniquely my own. I love that reminder.