SUMMER!!!

Hello Fellow Bibliophiles:)

As the year winds down, I would like to plant a seed about a new virtual book club that will happen in the early fall of 2009.  It will be called Heritage Bookclub Buzz.  If you have an intermediate student who loves reading and is excited about sharing that love, read on....


WHO MAY JOIN ;  The group will be limited to 15 book clubbers’, between the age of 12 and 15 years old. More than 15 will make it hard to be heard.  

HOW TO;  At our first meeting on the 14 October, at 7.30pm,  we will gather online in the comfort of our homes (cuppa in hand) to discuss the goals of the book club , the functions of Gmail or Google Mail video chat, and future reads.  The goal of the book club will be to choose age appropriate books that appeal to a wide audience, and that encourage discussion.  We will look at secular books with a view to examining biblical worldview:)  All books will be assessed by myself before reading, as to suitability and audience.  My role will be to build relationship as a teacher librarian and to moderate the discussions.  We will also talk about other literacy themes and library/youth building activities.  My hope is that your students will be able to make new friends and enjoy reading along the way:)

TENTATIVE DATES FOR MEETING;       October 14 Wed. @ 7.30-8.30pm
                                                        November 18 Wed. @ 7.30-8.30pm
                                                        January 13 Wed. @ 7.30-8.30pm
                                                        April 21 Wed. @ 7.30-8.30pm

SUGGESTED READING;

The Giver by Lois Lowry;  In a world with no poverty, no crime, no sickness and no unemployment, and where every family is happy, 12-year-old Jonas is chosen to be the community's Receiver of Memories. Under the tutelage of the Elders and an old man known as the Giver, he discovers the disturbing truth about his utopian world and struggles against the weight of its hypocrisy. With echoes of Brave New World, in this 1994 Newbery Medal winner, Lowry examines the idea that people might freely choose to give up their humanity in order to create a more stable society. Gradually Jonas learns just how costly this ordered and pain-free society can be, and boldly decides he cannot pay the price.   This book has a clear Christian allegory, which we will closely examine.

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane;  Written by Stephen Crane at the age of 21, this book is one of the greatest war novels of all time- so groundbreaking that critics consider it to be the first work of modern American fiction.  The red Badge of Courage is a realistic and terrifying account of the Civil War and the fear that a young soldier must face on the battlefield as well as within himself.   We will discuss the atrocities of war and the reasons why governments have gone to war both in Canada and beyond- is it good or bad?

Lord of the Flies;   William Golding's classic tale about a group of English schoolboys who are plane-wrecked on a deserted island, is just as chilling and relevant today as when it was first published in 1954. At first, the stranded boys cooperate, attempting to gather food, make shelters, and maintain signal fires. Overseeing their efforts are Ralph, "the boy with fair hair," and Piggy, Ralph's chubby, wisdom-dispensing sidekick whose thick spectacles come in handy for lighting fires. Although Ralph tries to impose order and delegate responsibility, there are many in their number who would rather swim, play, or hunt the island's wild pig population. Soon Ralph's rules are being ignored or challenged outright. His fiercest antagonist is Jack, the redheaded leader of the pig hunters, who manages to lure away many of the boys to join his band of painted savages. The situation deteriorates as the trappings of civilization continue to fall away, until Ralph discovers that instead of being hunters, he and Piggy have become the hunted: "He forgot his words, his hunger and thirst, and became fear; hopeless fear on flying feet." Golding's gripping novel explores the boundary between human reason and animal instinct, all on the brutal playing field of adolescent competition.   We will look at how humanity resorts to primal instinct without God or moral influence.

Tuck Everlasting;  Imagine coming upon a fountain of youth in a forest. To live forever--isn't that everyone's ideal? For the Tuck family, eternal life is a reality, but their reaction to their fate is surprising. Award winner Natalie Babbitt outdoes herself in this sensitive, moving adventure in which 10-year-old Winnie Foster is kidnapped, finds herself helping a murderer out of jail, and is eventually offered the ultimate gift--but doesn't know whether to accept it. Babbitt asks profound questions about the meaning of life and death, and leaves the reader with a greater appreciation for a spiritual life with God. Intense and powerful, exciting and poignant, Tuck Everlasting will last forever--in the reader's imagination.   We will discuss what eternal life means from a Christian perspective and why we are not supposed to physically live forever.

More books may be added as the group solidifies and voices an opinion:)


CONTACT;  If you are interested in participating in this book club please send me your RSVP, and the first 15 book clubbers will be signed up.  You will be sent a group email confirming that you are part of the group and more info will follow in the September newsletter pertaining to Gmail, the first meeting and book.

 

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Online library Buzz

Before PS! Summer reading- Don’t forget to sign your students up for your public library summer reading club held throughout B.C.  To celebrate the Olympics Vancouver Library is hosting a One Book, One Vancouver (OBOV) a book club for the entire city, cultivating a culture of reading and discussion in Vancouver by bringing people together around two great books.  They are;

• The Crazy Canucks : Canada's Legendary Ski Team chronicles the grit, perseverance and kamikaze style of a band of young skiers – Dave Murray, Dave Irwin, Ken Read and Steve Podborski - who believed they had the right stuff to win and keep winning.

2.   The Farm Team is the picture book that young readers and hockey fans have been waiting for! For fifty years, the animals on Stolski's farm have played their hearts out for their greatest dream – winning the Stolski Cup. But every year, the Farm Team loses to the nastiest, smelliest, scariest bunch of varmints ever to wear skates – the Bush League Bandits. As soon as the puck drops for this year's playoff game, the Bandits play dirtier than ever and take an early lead.
But despite the Bandits' conniving, take-no-prisoners approach, the Farm Team doesn't flinch and with fair play, integrity and a whole lot of heart they score a goal much bigger than they ever thought possible.
URL;   http://www.vpl.ca/obov/program2009.html

MAY/JUNE WEBSITES

ART- DESIGN-TECHNOLOGY
Lifelong Kindergarten
If you are interested in design or technology you will enjoy this site which incorporates child’s play with educational technology.  Great links and video clips to science, technology and design, from MIT Media Lab.
http://llk.media.mit.edu/index.php


HISTORY- ECONOMICS- LANGUAGE ARTS-MUSIC
Inside the Meltdown;
Companion to a 2009 PBS Frontline documentary that responds to the idea that "many North Americans still don't understand what has happened to the economy. ... How did it all go so bad so quickly? Who is responsible? How effective has the response from Washington and Wall Street been?" Provides analysis on topics such as the Bear Stearns rescue, interviews, and a timeline of events starting with housing market troubles in summer 2007.
URL: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meltdown/

The Great Depression;
Franklin D Roosevelt Museum questions and answers to the Great Depression with links and other resources.
http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/depres24.html#

Grapes of Wrath;
Background to the book and audio and video clips of the movie.
http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/grapesofwrath/

Grapes of Wrath- Music Rock and Roll;
Studying the music of Woody Guthrie along with John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath will enhance students’ understanding of both works and of the historical conditions which produced them. Students will see how these artists drew inspiration from the common people and how both attempted to use their art as agents of social change.
http://www.rockhall.com/teacher/sti-lesson-9/


LANGUAGE ARTS
Bio4Kids;
This biography website is attached to the A and E classroom site and offers many fun games, informative biographies of famous Canadians and videos.
URL: http://www.biography.com/bio4kids/index.jsp

PERSONAL PLANNING AND LIFE SKILLS/ COMPUTERS AND INTERNET USE
Cybersmart;
CyberSmart! addresses Internet safety and security issues within the broader objective of helping educators and students acquire 21st century skills.  Lesson plans and activity sheets are grade appropriate and offer excellent ideas to educate your students on the dangers of the Internet.
http://cybersmartcurriculum.org/

SECOND LANGUAGE -Spanish
Pagina Junior
This junior newspaper in English and Spanish will help your beginner Spanish student with games, cartoons, wordsearch and dictionary skills.
URL: http://www.paginajunior.com/kids/club_games.php

SCIENCE- Space
Hubblesite;
Devoted to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Contains news; photographs of "stars, planets, galaxies, nebulae, and strange celestial phenomena" taken by the telescope; a FAQ; educational resources and games; and more.
URL: http://hubblesite.org/



God Bless,
Pippa Davies
HCOS Support Teacher and Indexing Librarian
pdavies@onlineschool.ca

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