Okay, I'm late to the party, but only by a decade. I just started reading the first book in the Series of Unfortunate Events collection, The Bad Beginning. Yep, many of you may have shared these books with your children already, but for the handful of you, like me, who've not had the pleasure, it's not too late to share these with your own.

Snicket, whose name evokes the idea the author is chuckling as he tells his stories, has formed a series that makes for a great read aloud. They have a fairy tale-esque feel to them. Snickett is forthright in explaining that one should not expect to read a happy story. He adds that readers who dislike unpleasant tales should put his book down and walk away, which of course is the perfect way to get a young one to want to read something.

Lemony Snicket (This is not the author's real name. It's Daniel Handler.) is clearly having fun with his stories of the Baudelaire children and the dreadful events they must live through. It may sound odd to enjoy reading about three children who become orphans and suffer one ill-fated outcome after another, but such is the nature of adolescence (and yes, I do count myself among them). There's something delicious about seeing what more the author can heap upon his young characters. Now, before anyone takes to much of this to heart, bear in mind that Mr. Snickett's three lead characters continually find a way to thwart their awful situations. But, I digress.

I cannot emphasize enough how good these books are for developing a stronger, deeper, understanding of words.The narrator frequently stops to explain a word directly to his readers, which he feels is important for them (us) to know. When a Mr. Poe is attempting to move the Baudelaire children along it's written as follows:

                        "...I'm dropping you off on my way to the bank, so we need to leave as

                         soon as possible. Please get out of bed and get dressed," he said briskly.

                         The word "briskly" here means "quickly, so as to get the Baudelaire

                         children to leave the house."

Surprisingly this injection by the narrator does not detract from the story and instead proves to be a welcome, momentary, diversion for children still aquiring new words. Snickett will in other instances define how some words have multiple meanings depending on the context. For the word "lousy" he explains that it can mean when things are terrible, of course, but also that it can refer to it's more original usage -covered with lice. (Louse being the singular for lice.)

If you're still not sold, then why not check out book one, A Bad Beginning, which is availble for free online at http://www.lemonysnicket.com/  It would be most unfortunate if you didn't.

A Pure Treat this Time of Year -The Graveyard Book

Neil Gaiman's most recent book, The Graveyard Book, is -ehem- a real treat this time of year. Gaiman tells the tale of a young boy whose family is murdered by a mysterious man named Jack. The boy, who comes to be known as Nobody Owens, stumbles into an old graveyard in England where the ghosts that inhabit it  adopt and raise him. The mystery of his family's end is played out in the book's conclusion, leaving room for another Nobody Owens tale, which suits me just fine.

Gaiman's writing has never been better. There is a wonderful playfulness with his words and wording that one cannot miss, and this amidst all the gruesome details of death. This may not seem like a children's read, but it's a matter of perspective. The Brother's Grimm tales don't sound too dandy upon explanation either, but the stories still delight. One of my favorite pieces to this story was Gaiman's explanation for why the ghosts love Nobody so much. He can change still. He has potential to be somebody else, somebody improved. The ghosts are...well dead...and therefore are forever locked into the people they once were. It doesn't hurt that there's a whale of a tale to read here either.

So, forget your age, forget that this is labeled Young Adult literature. Just locate a copy of this book and enjoy the fanciful imaginings of a master storyteller.

"I'm your Density! ummm...I'm your Destiny!"

Sorry, but I simply could not refrain from pulling out that old line from the movie Back to the Future. What I have to write about however has nothing to do with density and everything to do with our new library website, Destiny Quest.

If you've not heard the word about this nifty website from your child, then make a point to investigate it for yourself. Destiny Quest (see links below or head to the Glastonbury Portal) allows anyone to check on the availability of books in the Glastonbury Public school libraries. The search feature works as you'd expect. One can search by title, author name, key words, and so forth. Once a book is located it can be reserved for pick-up. This is about as convenient as it's going to get...well until copies can be downloaded to a portable device -ala Kindle- with some form of student privileges.

There's more than convenience at work with the new online system. Students can see what the Top 10 most popular books are among students. Each book can be easily reference for genre, page total, reading level (very helpful), and year of publication. It serves as a stripped down Amazon also, in that it will make similar book-type/genre recommendations based on the books being reviewed and/or reserved. There's a nice drag-and-drop feature too. Again, making the process of picking, reserving, and getting to a good read so simple. The newest arrivals are listed and special resource lists of books, tailored to the school's curriculum, can be established. I was also recently informed that books on tape (which can be worn like iPods basically) are searchable if you type the key word: playaway.

So what does this all mean? For starters, finding subject and age appropriate books has become much easier. The site is self-contained. If you worry that your child might begin on one site and then CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK end up somewhere less-than-desired, you can reserves those worries. Also, there should be far fewer excuses regarding having trouble locating books to read.

I reserved and picked-up my first book, Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, last week. My second selection, An American Plague, was not in, but I'm next in line to nab it. Never had to leave my seat, bother the friendly staff, or do what most men tend to do -skip looking up the book number and instead begin wandering up and down the aisles with the firm belief the book will magically appear for me. Half an hour latter I'm usually giving an aw-shucks look to one of the librarians while meekly asking for help. Sometimes, I switch the routine up and pretend to have been inspecting all the books like I'm some form of quality control guy. They don't buy that one often.

If you have the opportunity, thank those librarians, and super-supporting paraprofessionals, in each of the Glastonbury schools who have worked incredibly hard to scan all the books in their collective libraries to make the site as accurate and viable as possible.

These are two links to copy, cut, and paste. The former goes directly to the multiple search page within Destiny Quest, and the latter points you to the Destiny Quest front page, which is nice to look at and user-friendly.

http://gpslibrary.glastonburyus.org/cataloging/servlet/presentadvancedsearchredirectorform.do?l2m=Library%20Search&tm=Catalog&l2m=Library+Search

http://gpslibrary.glastonburyus.org/vopac/servlet/presentsearchform.do?site=102

What's the Difference? by Natalie Graves

Hello, my name is Natalie Graves. I am an Intern in the Supportive Reading class with Mr. Lagana and I have taken over his blog for the day.

Today marks the third week of my return to the public school system. Even though it has only been a few years since I have been in the student’s desk of a public classroom, I can note several changes that have taken place in my absence. I am glad to report that most of the differences are ones that have left me thinking, “Gee, I wish my teachers did that for me when I was in school.” I have thought this, specifically, in reference to the increasing emphasis on differentiated instruction in the classroom.

If you’re like me then the phrase “differentiated instruction” might have just thrown you through a loop. That is okay; you are not alone. Really though, the concept behind the jargon is simple. It just means that teachers should be making changes in their instruction based on the varying needs of students in their classroom. No two students are the same, and teachers are finding ways to switch up how they teach in order to bring all students to the same end.

Over the last few weeks I have observed several methods teachers have implemented to make differences in their lessons. Sometimes it is as simple as giving a student a ruler to help with a map activity in Social Studies; or folding a bubble sheet on a test so that one section shows at a time to help relieve a student’s anxiety. Sometimes the differences are more obvious, such as creating completely different activities in a math class to help students become familiar with the different ways that numbers are presented.

It has been a good experience to see the ways in which teachers are recognizing their students as individual learners. The tools teachers are giving students today will help students to become more effective learners in the future. Ultimately, the differences teachers make in their instruction might just be what makes the difference in how well your student learns.

Thesaurus Rex!: The Thesaurus, still King and far from Extinct.

     Remeber the old days, when finding just the right word to describe a feeling required finding a dusty tome with the word THESAURUS emblazoned across it? A bit of a nuisance wasn't it? At least, that's how I recall it being for me quite often.

     Leaps in technology no longer make the time component an issue. One need only type thesaurus.com into a laptop or phone and the entire catalogue of English verbiage is at one's fingertips. It's truly amazing. And yet, somehow, it remains a challenge for teachers to have students access and use these wonderful tools. I, therefore, made it a point to directly instruct my reading students in the use of the thesaurus, both online and via a word processing program.

     I started by asking the students to list three words to describe themselves in a span of one minute. The word choices were fairly typical: nice, fun, happy, funny, kind, helpful, smart, etc. These are standard word choices at almost any age and I do not fault them in the least for falling back on them given the minute they had to create a list. We are creatures of habit and fall back on what we hear and use the most in daily communications. Again, completely expected and normal. So...

The students got a quick lesson on using Thesaurus.com and the thesaurus readily available in Word to make improvements to their orginal choices: kind became compassionate, happy became cheerful, funny became hilarious, and smart became clever. All improvements over the original choices and all completed in mere seconds.

     There were some other useful benefits to pursuing this activity too. The students had an opportunity to discuss multiple word meanings. Smart can refer to the intelligence of a person and also his manner of dress. We took time to talk about the parts of speech and how words used to describe ourselves are adjectives. This helped narrow down selections when online.

I do believe the students were quite pleased with their new word choices at the end of the acitvity, and they felt a little more empowered. It didn't hurt either that when using the thesaurus within Word it required a few simple clicks of the mouse to change a word. I gave the following sample sentences as an example: It was a bad day because of the rain. The weather put me in a bad mood. So, I did badly on my tests. Of course the students laughed recognizing both a lame set of sentences and my weak reliance on the word bad. But, in less than fifteen seconds I turned three lame sentences into three servicable sentences. It was a terrible day because of the rain. The weather put me in an awful mood. So, I did poorly on my tests.

     Shakespeare would hardly be envious of the changes, but that doesn't mean we didn't improve our word choices. The sentences convey much more now. Apparently the weather affects some of us quite dramatically. Long live Thesaurus Rex!

Shelfari

Not sure I can claim to have stumbled upon Shefari as it is a wholly owned company of Amazon.com. Still, it felt like I found it by accident. Either way, I like the site quite a bit.

Put simply, Shelfari let's its members show the covers of the books they've read, are reading, and plan to read. Of course, as will all dot.com companies there's more to it than that.

Here's what Shelfari lists as its member uses:

• Build virtual bookshelves to express themselves to their friends and to the world
• Discover books that are popular in their trusted circles of friends
• Influence peers by rating and discussing books online
• Discover and learn from people with similar reading tastes
• Participate in online book groups to further explore literature and share ideas
• Interact with and learn from authors

This is good stuff and it's a very nice way to build a sense of pride and accomplishment in reader's of any age. It does also lend itself well to finding new books to read. I've found most reviews to be fairly delivered. And, because it is a subsidiary of Amazon, there's also the option to purchase a discovered book online.

Shelfari will keep your identity private from others, unless you note otherwise. You can limit who sees your actual name to friends you invite.

Summer in the Amazon

Summer approaches and that means vacations, camps, relaxation, and required summer reading. We don't like to think of it as "required" reading, but, nevertheless, it is expected of all of our students.

The summer list, as noted on the Portal, is not exclusive. It is a healthy sample of books from which students are welcome to choose two books they'd be interested in reading prior to the commencement of seventh grade. The question many of our students face is: which two books?

There are other questions too, such as: Which two books are the most interesting? Can I pick from any genre? Which are the shortest? Which books are the easiest to understand? The answers to these are often a matter of preference and ability, depending on the student asking.

So, how do we pair students with the best two books -or hopefully, three, four, or more books- during those fast-moving summer weeks? I like to use Amazon.com.

Amazon offers superb methods for reviewing books from the comfort of home, or, better yet, by the poolside using a wireless computer. One can examine the summer list for potential reading matches. Then, while visiting the site, search for the book and select it for review. Amazon has a "Search Inside" label, which when accessed, allows a visitor to see and read the front and back covers, see the table of contents, and read the first five or so pages. It's a superb way to taste a book and see if it's palatable without running to the stores or library to hunt and peck.

Amazon, also, surprise, makes it fantastically easy to purchase books. Buyers get a complete list of sellers ready to part with their copies of books -both new and used. In many cases, the new copies are cheaper than Amazon's listing. I've bought books from Amazon, Amazon-approved sellers, and even private sellers without issue over the years.

Using Amazon's tools, my students and I took part of a class to examine books from the summer list, and we discovered much. Page count was a big concern, but more than half realized page count didn't matter when print was large or the reading was easy. Seeing and sampling the writing was a powerful experience in this way. We also spent some time looking at reviews by professional editors and those John Q. Public types that decided to give their two-cents. Again, this helped students make better-informed decisions. Many students, I felt, left eager to continue searching the summer list using Amazon.

So, if you're not an experienced Amazon user, you may want to give it a go. You can turn to your son or daughter if your get stuck on anything. ;)

Summer LOOMS

Summer looms...hmmm...LOOMS is an interesting word and subject to interpretation. As a father of three boys, summer absolutely LOOMS ahead. I'm already dreading the cries of "I'm bored" and "I don't want to read". And, if you are twelve? Well, LOOMS is about as off-the-mark as a word choice there can be to describe the delicious freedom summer brings from school.

I digress...

The aim of this entry is to offer some summer suggestions to encourage reading and further the continued development of your growing adolescent. If your child cannot agree that summer looms, then you can bust out the, more appropriate, phrase "seventh grade looms." No one wants to go to the next grade level too far behind.

Summer Suggestions

I am asked each year by concerned parents what activities or steps they may take to assist their child with his or her learning over the course of the summer. I’ve put together a short list of suggestions, which while not popular with the kiddos, will help immensely.

Have your child read regularly from books of his or her choosing. This means agreeing on a schedule for reading during the week and sticking with it. Routine reading helps to improve the reader on so many levels. It builds the reader’s vocabulary and overall comprehension. It exposes them to different cultures and points of view. It builds discipline. It also helps to make an individual into a lifelong reader.

Call Smith School and acquire a list of the books your child will be reading next year. Knowing what books will be read next year can alleviate some of the stress for a child. Especially if some of the more challenging books are read by your child before the beginning of the year. If possible buy copies of some of the books and let your child write notes within the pages and/or highlight confusing parts. When school begins he or she will be better prepared to discuss the book and share his or her confusions for clarification. This is particularly helpful if you know your child is slow to complete homework or if your child tends gloss over read books.

Insist that your child writes. Writing is by far the most difficult form of expression. It requires clarity in the writer’s mind before something can be placed into writing. Ask your child to write short, concise summaries of what he or she reads. If your child can hold a whole chapter’s worth of information in his or her head, then have that summarized in writing. If your child is more forgetful, or prone to skipping portions of texts, then insist that short summaries be written after a couple of pages. In time, your child’s memory will improve. Your child will also learn to attend more to the text. Your child will hold an internal conversation in which he or she continually asks, “What has happened? Does it make sense to me? How would I write that?”

Hire a tutor. Sometimes the best of parent intentions turn into a war. The child refuses to work, or pays lip service to your requests. The best way to solve this event is to remove you from the problem and hire a tutor to be the bad guy or gal. Tutoring doesn’t have to occur every day to be effective either. Meeting twice a week, or alternating between twice a week and once a week, can be effective. It is always a good idea to give the tutor a specific idea of what skills you wish to have him or her develop.

Multitasking is an insidious word. It's really part of an alien conspiricy.

The term multi-tasking is frequently bandied about in education. Most educators use the term in place of the more accurate phrase I-have-tons-to-handle-so-please-don't-add-more-to-my-plate; or, something to that effect. Adults can say they're multi-tasking and in large part be faithful to that statement because we have a great deal of experience in our respective areas of instruction and have years of experience juggling varied tasks. It also helps that our brains are, ehem, up to the task. (Then again, the task of speaking on a phone and driving a car at the same time is an example of multitasking that we're coming to understand is far from easy or safe.)

So, why is multitasking insidious? It's because the concept of multitasking has crept unchecked into the vocabualry of adolescents. Adolescents are not nearly as capable of stating they are multitasking and living up to it. How can this be? We see their desktops connected with all sorts of wonderful gadgets like phones, MP3 players, laptops, DVDs, and portable storage devices. Many children can make these things sing with one another in a manner that implies mastery of all things electronic. Don't be fooled. Yes, they can impress, but they cannot mulitask. At least, they cannot multitask well.

I found this statement in an article at LiveScience.com: "The part of the brain responsible for multitasking continues to develop until late adolescence, with cells making connections even after some children are old enough to drive." The article goes on to support the idea that young minds do not have the ability to prioritize and organize varied tasks as an adult would. Multitasking is beyond students in their early teen and even late teen years.

I'm sure most parents with teenagers knew this already on some level. Teenagers are wacky for lack of a better word. It's as if your kids were replaced with spot-on clones from some alien world with the grand plan of driving you nuts. I jest, but their version of an organized binder, closet, or room is far different from ours; and they honestly believe they're organized. One day I'm going to polygraph one of my boys just to prove it. 

So, next time you pop into Johnny's room and see the TV on, the iPod in one ear, and the twelve windows open on the laptop, only one of which appears to be homework, don't believe it when Johnny says, "It's okay mom. I'm multitasking." Johnny isn't multi-tasking, he's doing multiple things poorly. It's all part of the nefarious plan the aliens, who have temporairly replaced your little cherub with a food stuffing, late sleeping, know-it-all, are trying to maintain right under your nose using the guise of "multitasking".

Know that your teen has limitations when it comes to the thinking demands of home and school; and that placing one thing at a time before them is the best way to ensure success.

If you'd like to read the orginal article on the topic, which does a far better job of explaining why teens don't multitaks well, select the link which follows: http://www.livescience.com/health/050517_teen_thought.html

How do you read from a computer screen?

We all know the power of the Internet. We maintain communication with friends, make plans, play games, conduct financial activities, explore new things, and read.

It's the last item I've listed that every so often commands my attention, because I'm left to wonder if the reading I do from the computer screen helps or hurts me. And, by extension, I wonder how it impacts kids who spending time "reading" before the warming luminescence of a computer screen.

Here's what I know for sure. When I read from a computer screen, it's often a painful process. I dislike the experience. To begin, I'm usually in a chair, which is not my ideal reading position. The screen is no friend either. The light from most screens is harsh and the contrast between text and background is too extreme for eyes. Then there's the web "page" which is frequently saturated with advertisements or pop-ups designed to move me away from concentrated reading. Add in the mouse pointer, which I frequently need to move away from the spot I'm trying to read every twenty seconds; and also the temptation of embedded hyperlinks and I begin to opt for quicker avenues through any text of length.

Take a look at the list that follows and consider how many of these events are generally practiced by you or come to confound you:

>> skim far more than read word-for-word what's on the screen <<
>> drift from the page, with every intention of returning, as you click multiple hyperlinks <<
>> put your finger to the screen to help follow the text <<
>> use the mouse to highlight what you've covered as you read <<
>> click over to the print version of the article to avoid as many distractors as possible <<
>> bookmark the page again with the full intention of reading it fully at a later point <<
>> rarely reread because it feels like losing time more than improving understanding <<
>> print a hard copy because that's the best way to ensure you're reading properly <<

When I look at the list I know I'm guilty of poor reading. Reading is defined as a complex activity involving my knowledge, the text before me, and the author. Skimming, failing to reread, web page hopping, and good intentions to read later are all the proof I need in the Court of Me that I'm not doing this complex activity justice. So....

If I'm guilty of these poor screen reading behaviors what's happening with kids? Well, they certainly believe they're reading online, they insist as much. It only takes a few questions to know otherwise because they're dealing with all of the problems/adaptations noted above plus instant messages, music streams, and far less experience with book reading than you or I. I do not fault the kids of course for what I cannot avoid, but poor screen reading behaviors undermine reading proper. Reading is hard and we do know (despite the articles and claims to the contrary) that we comprehend best when not multitasking or confronted with distractions.

Books still have a place in our classes and homes if for no other reason than they continue to be the best vehicle for delivery of substantial information and ideas. Until technology can make information from the Internet present itself as a book, it's simply a very poor man's version of the real thing. A book does only one task and it does it well. We need to make sure our children learn this too.

The Right to Vote

I came across an interesting list this weekend and felt it was worth sharing. Women, as we know from our study of history, have not always had equal footing in society. We're all well aware of the division of labor, unequal pay for similar jobs, and lack of voting rights women have had to endure. Just the same, being what we are (i.e. human) it's very easy to forgot those times and inequalities. What I found particularly eye-opening was how long it's taken some countries to extend this right.




Look over the two lists below and try to match the country with the year for which women were finally given equal voting rights.






New Zealand 1971

Australia 1920

Finland 1913

Norway 1928

United States 1893

Britain 2006

France 1906

Belgium 1902

Switzerland 1946

Kuwait 1945





The answers, like a many life insurance contract, are in the very fine print located at the bottom. And yes, the 2006 date is accurate. I looked it up to verify- shocking and amazing.

























Answers: New Zealand- 1893, Australia- 1902, Finland- 1906, Norway- 1913, United States- 1920, Britain- 1928, France- 1945, Belgium- 1946, Switzerland- 1971, Kuwait- 2006

The Great Pacific Garbage "Patch"

I bet when you think of a garbage dump a picture of a big pile of junk in a spacious field pops to mind. It turns out that garbage is not only piling up on land but in the sea too.

The Pacific Ocean is home to thousands of sea species as well as some of the most ferocious storms and currents on our planet. It is also home to two swirling locations where garbage continues to collect, a lot of garbage. These areas, (roughly located on either side of Hawaii) are referred to as The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Each so called "patch" is estimated to be the size of Texas. Yes, as in our US of A Texas!

(Trying to picture a floating pile of garbage as big as Texas is way beyond me. It hurts trying to imagine this.)

These floating garbage piles are officially the world's largest with millions of tons of junk between them- more than two Texas-sized states. Now, you may think "Hey what's the big deal" the ocean is huge and the junk is well out of sight and smell. Sadly, this has been the feeling many governments have held for over a decade. Ignoring the problem hasn't made is go away.

The truth is that these monstrous garbage spots are creating problems for sea life, which may come back to hurt each of us. Plastic bottles and especially plastic bags eventually break into smaller pieces. The combination of churning water, feeding plankton, and the sun mash up the plastic into fairly small plastic balls called nurdles.

Nurdles alone are not a problem (not that we want the ocean bottom covered in small plastic balls). The worry is that these are being eaten by smaller sea life such as plankton. (Thank you Sponge Bob for helping children around the world know the importance of plankton ;) So as more plastic is eaten by plankton it passes on to the sea life that feeds on them. It is very possible that plastic will come back to shore as part of the very fish we pull from the sea to eat! It won't be long before a waiter asks, "Excuse me sir, but would you like more fish with your plastic?"



Keep informed so you can gently guide others. Check out the website Howstuffworks.com for more information on this topic. For even more in depth reading on the subject locate a copy of The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

It is a smart -if expensive- pen

Before anyone jumps to any conclusions here the answer is “no”. No, I am not a salesman for the company Livescribe and its clever writing utensil the Pulse Smartpen. I think this will become clearer as I present the pros and cons to this item.

The Pulse Smartpen is –well- a pen. This pen, however, can record a teacher’s lecture as the individual using it records notes. It’s a lot like having a tape recorder running during a class lecture as you are taking notes. The advantage is that you can later tap the pen on specific words or bullets you’ve written and the recorded lecture will pick up at that exact spot. This is certainly a big step over forwarding and rewinding to locate information on a tape or digital recording. Another nice feature is how the recorded notes and audio from the pen can be downloaded directly to a computer hard drive. This can make for some very comprehensive coalition of data, as simply clicking on a key word can call up every time that audio was recorded. That’s impressive.

There are several drawbacks that came to mind immediately. First, the pen, its accompanying software, and its non-reusable writing pads can run quite a tab. The site shows some packages running around 250 dollars. That’s prohibitive for many. Second, the item is clever, but also in many ways simply a glorified tape machine. Hey, I’ll be the first to admit that as true as this comment may be it’s still a cool gadget I’d like to own. The promise for me with such a tool is that it’s a clear precursor to things to come. Third, the pen is not ideal for all students. It does seem best fitted to the college student where is can be used as a tool and not a gadget as so many younger students might make use of it. Also, younger students are prone to recording everything, which is simply too much information to revisit as an audio later.

I noted that I could see this technology eventually growing cheap enough to become commonly used. This is one of those blessings and curses for me. It’d be nice to see the student that is slower when recording notes having the means to follow up later. It would also be satisfying to know that student’s will be receiving the definitions, examples, and information I, as a teacher, intended to impart. The curse is born of that very same blessing though. I’m not sure I want every word I say recorded. Would you? Bottom line: The site is worth visiting though if only to have a peek at the near future.

http://www.livescribe.com/