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Post by freecharlie on Feb 8, 2021 23:46:33 GMT
I read two chapters of Dear Martin by Nic Stone to my class today. (There was quite a bit of cussing which is why I've never read it out loud)
Two boys who HATE reading were like "can I read that book?"
The first copy came from the peas on the wishlist thread. I ordered three more today so that more kids could read it.
Just having the books wasn't enough, I needed to give them life.
Next week I will read another book's opening or highlight a chapter or two.
Just had to share
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Post by SockMonkey on Feb 8, 2021 23:49:51 GMT
We added it to our freshmen curriculum. Nic Stone came to our district, and the kids loved her. I'm so glad to hear how much your students liked it! Kids WILL read when it's meaningful to them, relevant, engaging. And the themes in Dear Martin are serious and real; it's not fluff. I'd be happy to send a copy or two more to your school if more kids want to read it.  Warms my librarian heart. |
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Post by workingclassdog on Feb 8, 2021 23:51:57 GMT
I love when kids want to read.. but I am confused, are you saying the book has quite a bit of cussing in it? (I am not familiar with the book).. What grade? I don't know if I would be too happy as a mom about it.. but what grade is this? But all in all.. all my kids are readers and I love that! I am a reader as well. I feel empty if I don't have a book going.
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Post by Merge on Feb 8, 2021 23:57:50 GMT
I love when kids want to read.. but I am confused, are you saying the book has quite a bit of cussing in it? (I am not familiar with the book).. What grade? I don't know if I would be too happy as a mom about it.. but what grade is this? But all in all.. all my kids are readers and I love that! I am a reader as well. I feel empty if I don't have a book going. She teaches high school. They’ll be fine. |
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Post by SockMonkey on Feb 8, 2021 23:58:08 GMT
I love when kids want to read.. but I am confused, are you saying the book has quite a bit of cussing in it? (I am not familiar with the book).. What grade? I don't know if I would be too happy as a mom about it.. but what grade is this? But all in all.. all my kids are readers and I love that! I am a reader as well. I feel empty if I don't have a book going. Yes, there is swearing. It's typically listed for grades 9 and up (but obviously a parent should use judgement and knowledge of their child when recommending any text). And, as someone who works in a high school, none of the words are anything you wouldn't hear on a daily basis. |
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Post by SockMonkey on Feb 8, 2021 23:59:12 GMT
I love when kids want to read.. but I am confused, are you saying the book has quite a bit of cussing in it? (I am not familiar with the book).. What grade? I don't know if I would be too happy as a mom about it.. but what grade is this? But all in all.. all my kids are readers and I love that! I am a reader as well. I feel empty if I don't have a book going. She teaches high school. They’ll be fine. Indeed. And if people only knew how many dick jokes were in Shakespeare! 😂😂😂 |
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Post by freecharlie on Feb 9, 2021 0:17:05 GMT
I love when kids want to read.. but I am confused, are you saying the book has quite a bit of cussing in it? (I am not familiar with the book).. What grade? I don't know if I would be too happy as a mom about it.. but what grade is this? But all in all.. all my kids are readers and I love that! I am a reader as well. I feel empty if I don't have a book going. I teach high school. There is a chance that a parent might come at me, but I decided I would risk it. It is a good book and the language is heard all over campus. |
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Post by freecharlie on Feb 9, 2021 0:18:58 GMT
SockMonkey I'd love to add it or something similar to our curriculum. I found it to be relevant and powerful and wish it would be widely read. Have you read the follow up, Dear Justyce? They've already asked me to get it, but I haven't read it so I told them to start this one and I'd get the other one.
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Post by mom on Feb 9, 2021 0:20:38 GMT
I love when teens want to read!!
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Post by monklady123 on Feb 9, 2021 0:20:45 GMT
I love when kids want to read.. but I am confused, are you saying the book has quite a bit of cussing in it? (I am not familiar with the book).. What grade? I don't know if I would be too happy as a mom about it.. but what grade is this? But all in all.. all my kids are readers and I love that! I am a reader as well. I feel empty if I don't have a book going. I teach high school. There is a chance that a parent might come at me, but I decided I would risk it. It is a good book and the language is heard all over campus. Parents are incredibly naive if they think their little darling hasn't heard every one of those words by the time they get to high school.  |
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Feb 9, 2021 0:24:29 GMT
I love that you read to them!
I find that older kids in our district like being read to, because then they can focus on the actual story, the characters, the emotions.
I'll be very honest when I say that a much larger than recognized part of our society is functionally illiterate.
The kids who get to high school and can't read fluently enough to enjoy the book often don't try because it is hard, and demoralizing, and frustrating, and embarrassing.
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Post by freeatlast on Feb 9, 2021 0:36:47 GMT
freecharlie, I'd be happy to buy you additional copies of either book if you'd like them.
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Post by SockMonkey on Feb 9, 2021 0:42:11 GMT
SockMonkey I'd love to add it or something similar to our curriculum. I found it to be relevant and powerful and wish it would be widely read. Have you read the follow up, Dear Justyce? They've already asked me to get it, but I haven't read it so I told them to start this one and I'd get the other one. I haven’t read the follow up yet, but kids like it. It’s from Quan’s POV. |
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Post by 950nancy on Feb 9, 2021 0:52:36 GMT
Awww, I love it.
When I was teaching, after lunch I would pull out two books and read either the first page or a page out of each of the books. They always got checked out right after that. I easily introduced my kids to 300 books each year this way and then I did my read aloud from some of my favorites.
In 1997, I went to a statewide reading conference in Denver. I got into Louis Sachar's "class" that year. My favorite classes to get into were the ones where authors talked about their books, processes, etc. This day Mr. Sachar asked if he could just read us the first chapter or two of his not-yet-published book he had been working on. He began to read. Every single person in that small class of 30 didn't make a sound. When he finished the first chapter, we begged him to keep going. He read another and another. He finally shut the book and said, 'If you want to know how this ends for Stanley Yelnats, you'll have to buy the book in a few months. The book was Holes and it is still one of my all time favorite children's books.
The power of having a book read to you is pretty incredible. I hate it when people say reading to kids (especially high schoolers) is a waste of time and they should be doing the reading. There needs to be a good mixture at that age.
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janeinbama
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,176 
Location: Alabama
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Post by janeinbama on Feb 9, 2021 0:58:40 GMT
As an avid reader, anytime kids ask for books, the answer is always YES!!! I too would like to send you a copy of this book or the sequel, if you deem acceptable.
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Post by monklady123 on Feb 9, 2021 1:26:43 GMT
I love it! This seems like a good thread to tell one of my favorite stories from subbing.... 5th grade and the teacher had left a book that she was reading aloud to them (I forget what it was)... her notes said "read a chapter from such-and-such book, but watch out for mature themes and please ad lib those parts". um...  Nope nope and nope, not touching that with any 10-foot pole.  So at lunch I went down to the library and asked the librarian for a recommendation. She went immediately to the picture books and pulled out "The Day the Crayons Quit" and "The Day the Crayons Came Home". My first thought was "really? This is 5th grade." And it was a 5th grade with a bunch of tough dudes in it. lol But she was an excellent librarian and I decided she knew better than I did. haha After lunch I got ready to read -- making sure they knew the librarian had picked out those books -- and I told them that the regular teacher had told me they didn't have to listen but if they weren't listening they had to read quietly at their desks. I started reading and as I went along I could see all the too-cool-for-read-alouds who were at their desks start paying attention. By the end of the first book they were begging me to read the second one, and at the end of that I had most of them clustered around me to look at the final illustration (which was a house that the boy had built for the crayons). hahahaha They loved those books. And yes, at the end of the day when I took the books back to the library I confessed my doubt to the librarian, and told her how much the kids had loved them. lol. I've learned over the years that if my younger classes have library on a day I'm subbing they always want to take out whatever book I've been reading (I always make time for reading out loud even if it's not in the lesson plan), so I always let the librarian know what I'm planning to read. lol. Anyway, now as a result of this thread I've put a hold on "Dear Justyce". |
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Post by ntsf on Feb 9, 2021 1:35:08 GMT
I can remember being at summer camp and even through high school, the counselors (and me in turn) read aloud to the kids at night. as a nanny, I read books out loud no matter the edge.
some books are just meant to be read that way.. like the little prince. or winnie the pooh..
poetry too. is not read out loud often enough.
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Post by freeatlast on Feb 9, 2021 1:35:59 GMT
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Post by workingclassdog on Feb 9, 2021 1:56:04 GMT
I love when kids want to read.. but I am confused, are you saying the book has quite a bit of cussing in it? (I am not familiar with the book).. What grade? I don't know if I would be too happy as a mom about it.. but what grade is this? But all in all.. all my kids are readers and I love that! I am a reader as well. I feel empty if I don't have a book going. She teaches high school. They’ll be fine. Awwww okay... lol |
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Post by workingclassdog on Feb 9, 2021 1:56:54 GMT
I love when kids want to read.. but I am confused, are you saying the book has quite a bit of cussing in it? (I am not familiar with the book).. What grade? I don't know if I would be too happy as a mom about it.. but what grade is this? But all in all.. all my kids are readers and I love that! I am a reader as well. I feel empty if I don't have a book going. I teach high school. There is a chance that a parent might come at me, but I decided I would risk it. It is a good book and the language is heard all over campus. For some reason I thought you taught middle school.. it’s all good |
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Post by freecharlie on Feb 9, 2021 3:30:44 GMT
I appreciate the offers for books.
I am going to read it two more times tomorrow, so I can keep you updated.
If there is more interest, I will let you know.
Also if you have ideas for books, I'm all ears there. Our curriculum is a little dated, so it would be great to change it up a bit.
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Post by scraphappy0501 on Feb 9, 2021 15:55:54 GMT
I'm so happy to hear about students wanting to read after having books read aloud to them! My love of reading began in second grade when my teacher Mrs. Semmler read Charlotte's Web aloud to us. I was riveted by the story! Unfortunately, the school year was going to end before the teacher had time to finish the book - I was so disappointed! I must have told my mom about the book and not having time to finish it because I remember coming home from the last day of school and finding a copy of the book on my bed. I dove right into reading it and thus started my love of reading. I was lucky to have teachers that read aloud to their classes. I discovered the Little House books in third grade when Mrs. Rohn read Little House in the Big Woods to my class and my favorite birthday present that year was the whole set of Little House books my aunt gave me.
Kudos to all the teachers out there who read to their students - you're giving many of them the gift of a lifetime!
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Warms my librarian heart.
Nope nope and nope, not touching that with any 10-foot pole. 
