Imagine if all your personal thoughts about crushes, fears, enemies, and even kissing practice ended up on the internet for everyone to read! That's what happens to Erin Swift when her secret blog lands on the school Web site. As if navigating the treacherous waters of seventh grade weren't enough! Writing with warm, knowing humor, first-time novelist Denise Vega perfectly captures life from a seventh grade girl's point of view.
Imagine if all your personal thoughts about crushes, fears, enemies, and even kissing practice ended up on the Internet for everyone to read. That's what happens to Erin Swift when her super-secret blog and all of her musings on navigating the treacherous waters of seventh grade--including her feelings about herself, her best friend Jillian, her crushes, and growing up--are accidentally uploaded for the whole school to see! Written with warm, knowing humor, this story perfectly captures seventh grade life.
Computer whiz Erin Swift is ready to start eighth grade. The Year of Humiliating Events (aka, seventh grade) is behind her and she's ready to rule the school. But eight grade comes with its own set of problems for Erin to navigate, including her first boyfriend, her first break-up, and the fact that her mom has been treating her more like an eight year old than an eighth grader. Even worse, there's a new girl at Molly Brown Middle School who is determined to remake Erin in her bad-girl image, and former crush Mark "Cute Boy" Sacks has been acting strange lately. But as Erin's school year once against hurdles toward disaster, a personal tragedy forces her to realize that things, and people, aren't always as bad as they seem. Can she save what's left of eighth grade before it's too late?
Living in an age of communication, literacy is an extremely integral part of our society. We are impacted by literature during our infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. This four volume set includes information from specialists in the field who discuss the influence of popular culture, media, and technology on literacy. Together, they offer a comprehensive outline of the study and practice of literacy in the United States.
FACT OF LIFE #48: Kat’s mom is No-Last-Name Abra, the best home-birth midwife in Colorado. But with her own daughter, Abra can’t stop teaching and lecturing long enough to be a mom. Fact of Life #21: Kat’s had a crush on Manny Cruz since seventh grade. Now Manny is showing interest , but could he seriously be into Weird Yoga Girl Kat Flynn? Fact of Life #14: Gorgeous Libby Giles has always intimidated Kat. But lately there’s something different about Libby, and it’s about to bring her crashing into Kat’s Life. . . . Hilarious and poignant, this is the story of one girl’s sometimes funny, sometimes painful path to self-acceptance and to finding her place in the world.
Use these 100 handy reproducible book lists to instantly create handouts for teen readers and teachers, add to your newsletter, or post on your web site or bulletin board. Based on the most common needs of educators and librarians who work with teen readers, these lists focus on new titles and classics that are still in print and readily available for purchase. Fiction and nonfiction titles for ages 13-18 are covered. Bibliographic information and a brief description are given for each title. A dozen bookmarks are also included. This is a great time-saving tool and a good source for finding extended reading lists and read-alikes! Looking for humorous novels for teen readers? A fast-paced sports novel for a reluctant reader? Biographies to use in history class? You'll find these lists and more in this treasury of great reading lists. This versatile guide provides one-page reproducible book lists and bookmarks for: books about self (e.g., coming-of-age, perfectionism, gangs; genre literature (e.g., fantasy, romance, historical fiction); themes (e.g., extreme sports, vampires, peace; settings (e.g., Ellis Island, Dust Bowl, WWII); character studies (e.g., adventure with female protagonist, boy bonding books, fantasy heroes); and read-alikes (for bookmarks). More than 100 reproducible lists of books for ages 13-18 (junior/senior high) focus on new titles and classics that are still in print and readily available for purchase. Bibliographic information and a brief description are given for each title.
Building on the author's work in The Big Book of Teen Reading Lists, this book provides 101 new and revised reading lists created in consultation with teachers and public librariansan invaluable resource for any educator who plans activities for children that involve using literature. Nancy J. Keane is the author of the award-winning website BooktalksQuick and Simple (nancykeane.com/booktalks), as well as the creator of the open collaboration wiki ATN Book Lists. With her latest book, 101 Great, Ready-to-Use Book Lists for Teens, she provides another indispensable resource for librarians and teachers. The lists in this book are the result of careful consultation with teachers and public librarians, and from discussions on professional email lists. These indispensable lists can be utilized in many waysfor example, as handouts to teachers as suggested reading, to create book displays, or as display posters in the library. This collection will facilitate the creation of valuable reading lists to support the extended reading demands of today's teens.
When Emily receives a pack of note cards labeled "Flashcards of My Life" as an unexpected birthday present, she uses them as inspiration to journal and to untangle her knotted life. Includes illustrations by the author.
Do you wish you had a published writer's secrets at your fingertips, ready to help you achieve your goals of publication, success, and the chance to be the next great teen writer? In Seize the Story: A Handbook for Teens Who Like to Write, Victoria Hanley, award-winning author of young adult fiction, spills the secrets for bringing action, adventure, humor, and drama to stories. All of the elements of fiction, from creating believable dialogue to exciting plots, are laid out clearly and illustrated with examples taken straight from story excerpts by excellent writers. The book is packed with writing exercises designed to encourage teens to tell the stories that are theirs alone. In addition, other published authors of young adult literature share their insights about the writing life. Teens can gain firsthand advice from accomplished writers T. A. Barron, Joan Bauer, Hilari Bell, Chris Crutcher, David Lubar, Lauren Myracle, Todd Mitchell, Nancy Garden, and many more. Grades 7-12
Some teachers love grammar and some hate it, but nearly all struggle to find ways of making the mechanics of English meaningful to kids. As a middle school teacher, Jeff Anderson also discovered that his students were not grasping the basics, and that it was preventing them from reaching their potential as writers. Jeff readily admits, “I am not a grammarian, nor am I punctilious about anything,” so he began researching and testing the ideas of scores of grammar experts in his classroom, gradually finding successful ways of integrating grammar instruction into writer's workshop. Just in time for its 20th anniversary, this long awaited second edition of Mechanically Inclined continues to merge the best of writer's workshop elements with relevant theory about how and why skills should be taught. It connects theory about using grammar in context with practical instructional strategies, explains why kids often don't understand or apply grammar and mechanics correctly, focuses on attending to the “high payoff,” or most common errors in student writing, and shows how to carefully construct a workshop environment that can best support grammar and mechanics concepts. In this new edition, longtime colleague, Lisa Thibodeaux joins Jeff in emphasizing four key elements for grammar instruction: short daily instruction in grammar and mechanics within writer's workshop; using high-quality mentor texts to teach grammar and mechanics in context; visual scaffolds, including wall charts, and visual cues that can be pasted into writer's notebooks; regular, short routines, like “express-lane edits,” that help students spot and correct errors automatically. Comprising an overview of the research-based context for grammar instruction, a series of over forty detailed lessons, updated research, compelling new mentor texts, and an appendix of helpful forms and instructional tools, Mechanically Inclined is a boon to teachers regardless of their level of grammar-phobia. It shifts the negative, rule-plagued emphasis of much grammar instruction into one which celebrates the power and beauty these tools have in shaping all forms of writing.
