Gaston Giambanco, Jr., known as Gas by his family and friends is one of my favorite characters. Gas’ life before his dear mother was killed in a car accident was a happy one even though his dad held so many jobs because of his explosive temper and prejudice. Gas loved the memories of riding horses with his mom and dad at the stables where he worked. As a junior in high school, he was still the smallest in his class but when Gas was on a horses’ back, he didn’t feel the all consuming weight of being short. But life becomes more difficult when his mom dies and takes her love with her while his father’s drinking rages out of control because of his grief and anger at the illegal Mexican responsible for the accident. Gas now becomes the object of his father’s rage. Knowing his father will continue to drink and hit him, Gas takes money from his father and hits the road towards an unknown future. Accepting a ride on a flatbed truck, Gas is just another passenger stowing away with four other “beaners.” Gas has conflicting thoughts and feelings towards beaners because his father has always complained about illegal Mexicans taking his jobs. Arriving in Arkansas, Gas and the other Mexicans get jobs at the Pennington Racetrack. No one knows about Gas’s situation so he weaves lies and gets a job as a hot walker and his boss, Dag, continues Gas’ lies, giving his age as eighteen. But Gas quickly learns that Dag is downright dishonest and uses “milkshakes” on his horses to ensure their wins. When Gas meets Tammie, who rides and takes care of her grandfather’s horses, he is so conflicted about the beaners and Dag that he can’t think straight. When Dag promotes him to jockey, Gas has a washed up jockey, El Diablo, train him to ride. Gas begins to feel at home at the racetrack around the Mexicans, Tammie and her grandfather, but he needs to prove to himself and everyone else he can ride. He has enough heart to do it, but at what price to himself and his horses? Gas is a teen who aches to be part of a family but he also continues to suffer from his father’s lifelong nagging about Mexicans. But it is his mother’s kind heart and her belief in the goodness of others that Gas will need to succeed. Once again, Paul Volponi has written a book that is suspenseful and exciting. He has the power to draw you in and feel Gas’s tragedies and triumphs. Teen readers will totally enjoy this book about acceptance, abuse and the true meaning of family.
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This book was so compelling! It is about a 17 year old girl, Willow who has just lost both parents in a car accident AND SHE WAS DRIVING!!! So now that you have that horrible picture in your mind, Willow lives with her borther and his wife and baby and truly believes he blames her and hates her for the loss of their parents. Willow is a cutter and razor blades help her deal with the sick blame she heaps upon herself. But during the first days of school, she meets Guy, who is the most amazing, sympathetic person. He stumbles upon her secret and Willow swears him to secrecy and it is from here that the story of Willow's blame, hatred of herself, and longing to be loved and normal once again begins. I loved the characters, the way Willow perceives them (she is a little unreliable about some of them) and how she finds the strength in herself to confide in Guy all that she has kept in that really makes this a great read. Sad but well worth it!
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This is a searing account of the fateful day in April ten years ago when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 13 students, 1 teacher and maimed many others. Author Dave Cullen, an investigative reporter, who was there that day and he tells us he was one of the ones who gave false information that day. What he gives us is an absorbing, sickening account with the many truths that were withheld and still leaves us all to ask "why" because other than psycho Eric Harris and follower Dylan Klebold's rants, writings and obsessions, the reader doesn't find out why they did it, just that they planned it for 2 years and their parents never knew. Yes, there were signs, but you have to read this thoroughly researched book to begin to get a sense of what the shootings at Columbine HS have become in the last ten years. Highly recommended, but achingly sad for the many losses still felt today.
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Pictures have the power to turn books into a complete educational experience that involves both the right and left sides of the brain. Big UniverseRead more…
Remember the old saying, "you can't teach an old new tricks"? I beg to differ. I am looking forward to learning all sorts of new things from the people in this network, and I hope to share a few new things myself.
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Featured on my new blog Library Media Tech Musings you can also snag the graphics & dowload the originals by visiting my wiki....link on the blog above!!!
PS. i created the Kick YouTube header using a cool FREE spell with flickr app that can be found
here on my Web 2.Oh! Tools wikipageRead more…
because of NECC, Joyce, and all i learned, and all the friends i made and i met...from the hallways to the Second Life Playground...the Twitter backchannel...it all inspired me to ....start (yet another) blog! Library Media Tech Musings
this is where i shared some of my musings and lessons learned from NECC....such as:
"Our plates should be small but our appetite LARGE for new technology"
please visit and let me know your thoughts...and see you at AASL in Charlotte!
DEADLINE for EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION is Tomorrow!
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Children become confident readers by becoming comfortable with what they are reading. For some kids this happens early in their school careers. For others, it takes more time. Confidence comes before good reading. If the material a child is allowed to read is censured then we may be limiting the joy a child finds in reading and it's possible they may never become a joyful reader. I had a teacher ask me last year if he should let a non reader-a student who didn’t like to read-do a book report using the child’s choice of books - “Captain Underpants.” I resoundingly said yes.Children should not be reading adult material but there is absolutely nothing wrong with Captain Underpants, comic books or any book a child picks up and takes a joy in reading!My 16 year old daughter began reading for pleasure when she discovered the Captain Underpants books. I was so happy I bought every book in the series. After Captain Underpants she moved on to R. L. Stine. I think she was trying to drive me crazy, but none the less, we built our library of R.L. Stine. When her teacher told her she couldn’t read R. L. Stine…well, you don’t want to hear that parent teacher conversation. My daughter’s favorite author is now Maya Angelou. If a child wants to read, let them read whatever they like as long as it’s not illegal!A child reads books they are capable of reading. No one wants to read a grade level book more than a child does. Peer pressure exists even in the library. I've had many students over the years walking around with a book that they couldn't read, but it was socially acceptable. One little boy would sit and appear to be reading just so he fit in. When he came to my room, he'd take a deep breath, put the book down and get a book he could actually read. In my room he could read for pleasure without fear of being judged by his peers. Eventually this young man was able to read the books he really wanted to. It just took him a little extra time.I couldn’t have been happier than when one of my fourth grade students, hearing impaired, with a learning disability, and English as a Second Language Learner, came to me and asked to read me a book. She’d been reading this book on her own every chance she got and I noticed she’d been keeping it in her desk in my room. We sat, me in my teacher chair, her in the blue student chair, and she read “Go Dog Go,” by Dr. Seuss. When she was done she looked up at me with such happiness and pride in her face. I could have cried. I gave her the biggest hug and she hugged me back even harder. She excitedly took the book back to her general education classroom to read again to her classroom teacher.Confidence is what it takes to be a good reader. If a child doesn’t like to read, open up their possibilities. Make the books they read their choice. Then, don’t make any judgments. Just let them read.
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Hello everyone,
With summer upon us, I offer you some light but interesting reading.
From the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest website:
An international literary parody contest, the competition honors the memory (if not the reputation) of Victorian novelist Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873). The goal of the contest is childishly simple: entrants are challenged to submit bad opening sentences to imaginary novels. Although best known for "The Last Days of Pompeii" (1834), which has been made into a movie three times, originating the expression "the pen is mightier than the sword," and phrases like "the great unwashed" and "the almighty dollar," Bulwer-Lytton opened his novel Paul Clifford (1830) with the immortal words that the "Peanuts" beagle Snoopy plagiarized for years, "It was a dark and stormy night."
The 2009 winning opening sentence:
"Folks say that if you listen real close at the height of the full moon, when the wind is blowin' off Nantucket Sound from the nor' east and the dogs are howlin' for no earthly reason, you can hear the awful screams of the crew of the "Ellie May," a sturdy whaler Captained by John McTavish; for it was on just such a night when the rum was flowin' and, Davey Jones be damned, big John brought his men on deck for the first of several screaming contests."
David McKenzie
Federal Way, WA
Other 2009 winners by category: http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/2009.htmRead more…
The 21st Century Information Fluency Project is offering a new self-paced online class devoted to Website Evaluation using investigative search methods.This is the first time we've offered a self-paced course designed to meet your on demand learning needs. In this course you work at your own pace in a media rich interactive environment hosted at our Moodle based online learning site.This self-paced class challenges you to evaluate websites using an extensive toolkit of investigative methods. Each interactive tutorial includes a mastery test to help you lock in valuable skills.* Start with a performance based pre-test.* Progress at your own pace learning using 9 different interactive multimedia tutorials.* Check your understanding with skills specific mastery tests.* Conclude with a performance based post test.* Earn a certificate for 8 CDPUs.* 8 hours of instructionEach investigative method includes interactive tutorials, flash based training games and a mastery test. Successful completion of this course earns you a certificate for 8 CDPU's.Interested in the Class? Open for Guest Viewing!Login as Guest!Video Overview:Investigative Search 20/10Investigative Search: Prezi Flyover (the un-slide show)Sincerely,DennisDennis O'ConnorE-Learning Specialist :Information Fluency Partners
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Hello there, Professor! It's Erica Greenblatt, one of the students in your class. I am thoroughly enjoying my time here, and look forward to the rest of the class.
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Evidence Based Library and Information Practice (from the University of Alberta Learning Services) has published another issue.
This issue features "school libraries and their connection to evidence based practice."
The articles are:
1. Weaving Evidence, Reflection, and Action into the Fabric of School Librarianship
2. Creation of a Research Community in a K-12 School System Using Action Research and Evidence Based Practice
3. School Library Media Specialist Collaboration with Special Education Personnel in Support of Student Learning
4. An Emerging Theory for Evidence Based Information Literacy Instruction in School Libraries, Part 1: Building a Foundation
5. School Librarianship and Evidence Based Practice: Progress, Perspectives, and Challenges
6. Librarian-Teacher Partnerships for Inquiry Learning: Measures of Effectiveness for a Practice-Based Model of Professional Development
The Link: http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIPRead more…
Hello All:I was proud to be the TIE "techie" attached to the C.A.S.L. preconference. I hope I can be of assistance to any and all of you in the future.Sincerely yours,John Williams, Ed.D.Teacher/LibrarianDakota Ridge High School
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I just thought I would pass this along. I've taken other URI online courses and they have been great. If you are using this Ning and other Web 2.0 tools you probably don't need the pre-requisite courses. They need a few more participants to run this course, so if you are interested please register ASAP. Below are the detailsThanks,DonnaNEW internet online course: EDC 923: Workshop for Teachers, TOPIC: Online Collaboration Exploration.Registration deadline, July 3 2009Registration cost: $500.00*(If you have never taken a course at URI before, the course cost is $535.00 which includes a onetime transcript fee charge of $35.00)This course is an opportunity for technologically adept educators to become educational visionaries committed to professional development through strictly online planning, collaboration and reflection.Course Instructor: Dave Fontaine, NBCTClass Meeting dates: July 13-24, 2009**Students will need to participate in every session’s online synchronous collaboration discussion which will meet online UNINTERRUPTED on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9 until noon on (Tuesdays) July 14, 21 and (Thursdays) July 16 and 23.Participants must have high-speed internet access, a technologically inquisitive mind, openness to explore emerging technology and willingness to share.Logistical Requirements:· STRONGLY RECOMMENDED--(2) of the following courses successfully completed: EDC920, EDC921, EDC922 (This isn't mandatory if you feel that you are already 'well-versed' in using online applications.)· Windows 98 compatible computer access (or better)· High-Speed Internet Access· Headset and microphone (already integrated into computer system) This means that you know how to use it to speak and hear.· Access to webcam, scanner, digital camera, VPU and other technologies may be very handy depending on tasks at hand, but not mandatory.Course Description:This course will utilize online collaborative programs to identify obstacles and opportunities to educational progress in online collaboration addressing 3 areas of collaboration: student-to-student, lesson planning among peers, and professional development. Participants will gain hands-on experience with, evaluate potentials of, and propose plans for use of online collaborative lesson/meetings in their own school settings.Extended Description: This course will use both asynchronous posting (blog) and synchronous discussion (online meetings). It is strongly recommended that interested participants have already taken (2) of the following URI EDC 900 level Workshops for Teachers: EDC 586 (formerly EDC 920) TOPIC: Using the Internet for Teaching, Learning, & Practical Applications, EDC 586 (formerly EDC 921) TOPIC: Using Blogs and Wikis to Foster Literacy, or EDC 922 TOPIC: Online texts in the 21st Century Classroom.This graduate level course is designed to be highly interactive and investigative. As technology evolves, the use of online collaboration offers the possibilities of ongoing, dynamic educational content creation in any number of mediums (i.e. Word, Excel) and accessed from remote locations. Technology has evolved to a degree that no longer do student projects, lesson plans or professional development initiatives have to be confined to a single location. Teachers (as well as teaching practices) need to undergo the same evolution to meet the needs of the workplace in the 21st Century.As noted in all the previous EDC920-922 “online courses”, the Internet (via such tools as search engines, blogs, wikis, digital textbooks...) attempts to keep pace with a rapidly changing, dynamic and ever-growing collection of information and content. Collaborative cataloging, collaborative discussion, collaborative content, and collaborative authoring tools abound. Everywhere professionals and students alike are working together on ever increasing quantities and qualities of materials without ever having to travel.The course will address 3 areas of collaboration: student-to-student, lesson planning among peers, and professional development. As this is a collaborative experience designed to meet the needs of the participants enrolled, all participants will be required to fully participate in all 3 areas during the course.Participants of this course will:· Understand basic concepts of online collaboration.· Meet and network with like-minded, technologically eager, educational professionals.· Identify potential areas of educational use of online collaboration.· Formulate teams of common interest on targeted topics.· Share and heighten common depth of knowledge regarding online collaborative endeavors.· Create opportunities to bring these technologies to the larger school community.· Prepare to incorporate these tools into professional practice.· Develop a supportive, reflective virtual professional community around online collaboration· Use Vyew (or better) platform as a foundation for future online collaborative endeavors.Registration Contact: Christine P. Dolan at [ mailto:Christine@uri.edu ]Christine@uri.eduChristine P. DolanEducation SpecialistURI/CCE Providence CampusSpecial Programs Room 20880 Washington StreetProvidence, RI 02903Office: 401.277.5388Fax: 401-277-5060
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I have posted information from Chris Brogan Blog "CB - Community and Social Media" before.
Yesterday, he added a post that is useful for anyone who has his/her own blog and post regularly.
23 Essential Elements of Sharable Blog Posts
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/23-essential-elements-of-sharable-blog-posts/
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LIBM 602 School Library Management and LIBM 610 Research Skills: Working in CollaborationSpring 2009Culminating ProjectScoring GuideALL 6 CATEGORIES EVALUATED AS: Exceeds Standard, Meets Standard, or Does Not Meet Standard1. Prepared – Presenter is well-prepared, articulate, and detailed.2. Organized – Presenter’s portfolio is well organized and easy to navigate3. Portfolio Completed – All items included*4. Reflective – Presenter discusses major elements of portfolio and reflects on their significance/impact5. Timely – Presentation is 25-30 minutes in length6. Thoughtful – Presenter is able to respond to elaborating and clarifying questions* Required items for PortfolioLIBM 602 School Library Management – Hunter Review of Literature (5 [including the Eisenberg] articles read/summarized). 1st Steps Narrative Testimony, Forms and Summary of Book Challenge project Lesson Plan, materials, and written summary of In-Service project Summary of blog postings and ning participation (OK to print blog posts or include links) Other written work from class as appropriateLIBM 610 Research Skills: Working in Collaboration – Applegate CBA PPT Research Model Letter to Administration Portrait of an Information Literate Student Collaboration Project (journal, teaching tools, student handouts, student work) and final narrative reflection Articles read for this class (include any note taking you did)
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This great article from Judy on how essential it is to embrace web 2.0 tools and a 21st century mindset to transform school libraries (see below). This is definitely a must read. I would love to know to what extend local librarians in South Africa are using social media tools like blogs, wiki's, Youtube and twitter... to turn their libraries into havens for 21st century digital natives.I am scheduled to do a talk on how librarians in South Africa can use blogs and micro-blogging in their libraries but have not been able to source local blogging librarians- so I either have a lot of advocacy to do with librarians or I haven't yet dug deep enough! So if you are a local librarian and run a personal or school library blog, please let me know and if you are an global librarian 2.0, please leave a message of how you think blogs can assist librarians in creating a welcoming space for learners.A Week in the Life of a New Media Teacher Librarian