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

Stephanie’s comments from the Ms. Douglas' 703 group.

Hi 703~
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

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.

Nickix3 wrote: "A Book that has Changed Me was "Freak The Mighty" , Because Freak is very smart and helps Max . I can Relate to Max Because im Not that very smart I actualy want a person Like Freak to help me and ..."

Lovely Nicole~
You trust me, right? I am your teacher, I am 44 years old, and I know a few things. Believe me? You better.
One thing I know is that you are SMART. You are VERY SMART, and it always helps to have others with us to bring out even MORE smart, but you have plenty all on your own. I'm glad you relate to Freak The Mighty - everyone should be so lucky as to have a friend as awesome as Freak or Max - but YOU are that friend to others.
Sincerely,
Ms. Douglas

Davia wrote: "Well,I haven't got a chance to check it out yet...so...I can't share an unhonest opinion."
The website is above! Check it out and get back to us~

Rocio wrote: "I still didnt have a chance to check out the website yet."
Rocio, The website link is above. Check it out and let us know what you think~

So glad that you like read-alouds. I love when people read to me...

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

Copy and paste the link below into your internet browser:

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

Fill out the survey about your reading life. Your answers will help us set goals for your reading.

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.