Classroom Novels

I haven't been reading as much as I should, as I have been planning my lessons for this upcoming year.

 I did recently read Night by Elie Wiesel and it was a VERY powerful novel. I recommend it to everyone. It was a relatively short read, but was such a sad look into the Holocaust. It is hard to believe that such an unimaginable tragedy occurred only 72 years ago. We think that we are such a civilized world and we still have such a ways to go.

Currently, I am reading Rules of Attraction which is the sequel to Perfect Chemistry (The novel I am teaching in conjunction with Romeo and Juliet). It is a young adult romance and very well-written! I do think I liked the first book better, but it is still a dynamic novel.

Next on the list, I want to FINALLY read Water for Elephants. It is sitting on the shelf, waiting for me!

Summer Reading

Hello to anyone who still reads this! :)
It has been awhile since I last updated, but I have been busy reading and preparing for my first year as a teacher. The books that I am reading are those which I will be teaching in my classroom. Here is a quick look at them!
Romeo and Juliet - What can I say that hasn't been said?
Perfect Chemistry - This is an awesome contemporary novel that I am assigning as a companion piece to Romeo and Juliet. I loved it and cannot wait to read more novels by this author. I am also very excited to see how it it is received by my 9th graders.
Animal Farm - It is a classic. Not my all-time favorite, but I can work with it!
You Don't Know Me - This is a novel that I am currently reading. So far, I find it a little unusual, but I can definitely see my students enjoying it!
These are all of the novels that my Remedial Reading class of 9th graders will be reading. I haven't started reading the tenth grade books, yet. Stay tuned for more reading fun!

Teaching Tidbit

Yes, I know that this isn't a book review, but I had a brilliant idea and decided to write in this blog.
So, I think it would be a really neat idea, once I have a classroom, to have a classroom blog. Well, that is not the wonderful idea, but stick with me. Anyhow, this classroom blog would be available to all parents and students for viewing. However, I think I will be the only one to moderate.
With this blog, I think it would be neat for students to write book reviews of books that they read so that I can post to the blog for parents and other to see. You may ask, "What if the student just copies the review or makes it up?" Well, that is where the brilliant idea comes in......
Get this... For 5 points extra credit, a student can read a level-appropriate book, keep a reading log (which keeps them honest about ACTUALLY reading), and then write a one-page review for the blog. Students could complete 2 of these per semester, if they choose, which could potentially raise their grade by 10 points, a whole letter grade. The beauty of this is that it would get kids to do extra reading without forcing the issue. If you want a better grade - read. If not - don't read. Another benefit, is that it would teach them to write a review, NOT a summary. Kids are taught in elementary to summarize. It takes creative thinking to write a review.

Ok, so what do my teacher-y friends think about this idea? All input is appreciated!