Podcasts

Podcasts are a great way to integrate technology in the classroom. An idea that came to me was to use it as a preparation for a debate. What I did was I used the podcast to read the information concerning the topic, and then told students that they must choose a side, create a podcast to voice their argument, and then upload so I can see it. I used Soundcloud to upload it because it seemed the easiest to use out of all the options. All I had to was create my account and I was able to record and upload within minutes.

Podomotic also seemed simple enough to use, but I had to upload from my own computer and not record on the site. The other one, Audioboom, was just not very good. I created an account and clicked on “Get Started” but that took me nowhere. I’ve explored the site many times and still have no clue how to start a podcast on it.

Podcasts are great to use in the classroom. You can use them like I just did as a way of giving instructions and for students to present any work. Another way it can help is if you have a lot of students who have the testing accommodation of having oral administration, you can just record yourself reading the test once, and the students can follow the podcast at their own pace. Of course, you do have to be careful with podcasts. You have to make sure students don’t misuse it or upload anything inappropriate. More importantly, you don’t want them or yourself to start relying just on podcasts and nothing else.

The Scorpio Races

Summary: The island of Thisby is your typical island. Every year on that island, there is an event called the Scorpio Races. In the deadly Scorpio Races, people race using the mythical creature known as the capaill uisce, carnivorous water horses.  Nineteen year old Sean Kendrick is the returning champion this year and he feels like he can pull off another victory. That is of course until Puck Connolly, who is doubtful of herself winning comes along. These two end up learning a lot about each other and even spark up a romance, but they know that the ultimate goal is to win.

Strengths: Because of the fantasy creature known as the capail uisce, this story falls under the genre of fantasy. Despite it being under the genre of fantasy, there are really no other fantasy elements that come into the story except for the water horses. Just like a lot of fantasy novels, there are “rules” which in this book consists of the annual Scorpio Races. The island is of course fictional, but what I believe makes this story are the characters. Yes, consistent and believable characters is a criteria for evaluating fantasy novels, but this is where the book truly stands out. The characters were so vivid and believable, it was as if I knew them personally. They were not stereotypes and each had their own agenda throughout the story.

Connections to Text: Both the main characters are still teenagers and yet have developed with different goals in mind. For example, Sean wants to win to prove himself and that he can be good owner to his water horse, Corr. Puck, however has a different mindset. She needs to win for her family. Both may have different ambitions, but it is interesting to see that despite their differences, they must both achieve the same goal of winning the race to achieve their goal.

Other Connections: Book Trailer   Similar Books     Lesson Plans

Stiefvater, M. (2011). The Scorpio Races. New York: Scholastic Press.

 

Freak Show

Summary: Freak Show by James St. James is the story of lovable teenager Billy Bloom. Billy Bloom isn’t your average seventeen year old. What makes him unique is that he is a fabulous drag queen. He lives a pretty nice life in Connecticut, but one day, his mom decides to send him off to his father in Florida. Billy does not like his new school. It is full of bullies and hypocrites. He then meets Flip, a football player who is more than just a dim-witted jock. Billy gets bullied and even ends up in a hospital at one point, but his story is both funny and heartbreaking for everyone.

Strengths: This book is realistic fiction, but to be a bit more specific, it falls into the category of Teen LGBQT Fiction. In realistic fiction, you have to have believable characters and also try to avoid stereotypes. One might think that a book that focuses on a drag queen is going to be full of stereotypes. Though it is true that some of the bullies he encounters are a bit one-dimensional, Billy is not a stereotypical gay person. It’s interesting to see the world through his eyes and see what he has to go through on a daily basis. The same can be said about Flip, a jock who is not such a meathead. The theme itself is relevant and realistic to a lot of teenagers these days are just too afraid to be themselves over the worry of not only what people are going to think of them, but also their actions, as we can see that Billy ended up in the hospital.

Connections to the Text: The main character, Billy is still a teenager and still developing as a human. According to the developmental stages of Havighurst, teenagers are “defining appropriate sex roles.” To me, Billy is past this, knowing full well who he is as a person. That being said, he is trouble going through Maslows hierarchy of needs. As he reaches for love/belonging, and esteem, he is troubled by bullies all around him. He is constantly being knocked down to worry about his safety, hindering his process to self actualization.

Other Connections: Book Trailer  Similar Books 

Cartoons and Comics

The first comic site that I used to create my comic strip was Toondoo. You had to register to use the site, but that was pretty simple to do. Once I actually registered and began, things got a little bit more complicated. The website looks like it was created by someone that wanted to show you everything at once. After adjusting my eyes to deal with the mess of the website, I finally found the link that let me create my toon. Creating the toon was a simple enough experience. All the instructions are pretty clear. But when it came to actually SAVING my toon, I couldn’t find where to save it. And once I did find out where to save it, I didn’t know where it had been saved under “Toons” or “Completoons.” Well, my logic was that my toon was completed, so it had to be under “Completoons.” I was wrong. Overall, the actual creation of the comic was simple, everything else was not.

The next site I used was Pixton. Now this is how a site should look. Simple to navigate and use. It even came with a useful tutorial to guide me in creating my first comic strip. Once I saved my comic, it was easy to find where it was. All I had to do was click on  my home page, and there it was. Other sites can take note from this. This was the best easiest site to use.

//www.pixton.com/schools/embed/m87hx061

The last website that I used was MakeBeliefsComic. This site gets bonus points for not having to register to create a comic strip. Everything on the site was pretty straightforward. Although my options were limited when it came to creating characters and their gestures, it was simple to follow. Easy site to use, but there just isn’t much available, but students should be able to use it.

In the article “25 WAYS TO USE MAKEBELIEFSCOMIX.COM IN THE CLASSROOM,” we learn of some pretty awesome ways to use comics in the classroom. A few that really stood out for me was to use it to learn vocabulary words. In social studies, we have a lot of vocabulary words, and using comics in the classroom for vocabulary will help students learn these words.  I also think that it is good practice for my English Language Learners. Visuals really help these students learn academic words, and using actual comic strips will make the experience fun and engaging.

The app Tellagami was a fun app to create a 30 second video. Users can create their avatar and record their voice to it. If you were able to record just a bit longer, I can see me using this as a way to present projects or book talks.
https://tellagami.com/gami/D4CNz7/embed/

 

MakeBeliefsComix.com, B. B. (n.d.). How to Play with MakeBeliefsComix.com. Retrieved November 02, 2016, from http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/How-to-Play/Educators/

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

 

Summary: It is the final year at Hogwarts for Harry Potter. Or at least it should be. Instead of going back to Hogwarts this year, Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione are on the quest to find the remaining Horcruxes to defeat Voldemort once and for all. During his quest, he comes across the story of the Deathly Hallows, three objects that when united makes the owner the master of death. So now Harry is on a quest to not only defeat Voldemort, but he must now figure out the mystery of the Deathly Hallows.

Strengths: This book falls into the realm of being fantasy. Despite the magical setting, the characters and the main story itself is one we can all relate to. The characters are well written and have hardships and all make sacrifices… or behave in selfish ways to defeat everyone, like in the case of Voldemort. The overall story is one that explores universal truths. The death eaters trying to destroy those that are unworthy and not of “pure blood” is an allusion to Nazi Germany and its “cleansing.” In most fantasy novels, there is an aspect of good vs. evil where good eventually triumphs, just like portrayed in this book.

Connections to Text: In this final novel in the Harry Potter series, Harry finally becomes an  adult in the wizarding world by reaching the age of 17. He may be fighting the war of his life, but that doesn’t mean that he is not going through teenage developments. He is “defining his appropriate sex role” by showing a growing concern over his future wife, Ginny Weasley. When looking at Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, one could argue that Harry has been stuck between needing love and concern for his safety. In the epilogue, we see that Harry is happily married and with children and a good job. Maslow could say that he finally reached self-actualization at the end. This book was on the list Best Books for Young Adults in 2008.

Other Connections: Similar Books   Book Trailer   Lesson Plans

Rowling, J. K., & GrandPré, M. (2007). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine Books.

Grasshopper Jungle

Summary: This intriguing tale by Andrew Smith is the story of three teenagers as they fight for their life in the upcoming apocalypse. The twist isn’t even that they were the ones that inadvertently brought doom to the world, but its what that doom is. Giant praying mantises, who were genetically engineered are out killing and mating. Even though certain doom is here, the three teens are stuck in somewhat of a love triangle. Main character Austin Szerba can’t decide if he has feelings for his girlfriend Shann Collins, or his best friend, Robbie Brees. Will these three teenagers overcome all odds and defeat the praying mantises, or will the mantises destroy all of mankind?

Strengths: This is by far, the strangest book I have ever read. But I loved every minute of it. This book follows the criteria for a science fiction novel so well. We begin with our three main characters. Never have I read about a trio of friends who are actually realistic. The main character, Austin, is in a love struggle between his best friend and girlfriend. And only a teenager can have so much focus on who he wants to have sex with when the whole world is being torn apart by praying mantises. We come to find out that this book is actually a written history of the end of the world written by Austin himself, which the author included to make this book seem very believable despite the fantasy elements.

Connections to Text: The development of Austin throughout the novel is well laid out. He is going through Havighurts stages of development when it comes to defining his appropriate sex role, in the case that he doesn’t know whether he is attracted to his guy friend or his girl friend. When looking at Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, Austin seems to be torn between all of them throughout the book. He begins by wanting Love, even though he is not sure from who, and then he goes down in the needs after the mantises have been released and is now more focused on safety.

Other Connections: Book Trailer  Similar Books  Lesson Plans 

Smith, A. (2014). Grasshopper jungle. New York: Dutton

The Notorious Benedict Arnold

Summary: The Notorious Benedict Arnold tells us the story of the infamous traitor like you’ve never heard before. We all know that Benedict Arnold is known as the man that betrayed the American Colonies and ended up fighting for the British. But this biography written by Steve Sheinkin tells us so much more. We get to follow the life of Benedict Arnold from his early childhood days to his sad final days living as an outcast in England.

Strengths: One of the criteria for a good non-fiction book is the qualifications of the author. The source notes at the end of the book show that author Steve Sheinkin has quite an extensive knowledge and interest in Benedict Arnold, but of course this isn’t enough to qualify him to write this book. Sheinkins biography says that he used to write and edit history textbooks. His extensive background of writing and editing textbooks makes the facts of this book authentic. Another strength of the book is in the intended audience. This book was written with a younger audience in mind, and the author wrote this biography in a way early teens can not only understand, but can captivate them as well.

Connections to Textbook: This book shows us the life of Benedict Arnold, but only the first few chapters really focus on his childhood. The majority of the book focuses on his adult years. Nonetheless, you can see some interesting development in those early chapters. It starts with Benedict being away at school and receiving letters from his mother stating that the yellow fever had caught up to their family. Soon, he lost two of his sisters to the fever. It is then said that his father became a drunk and was thrown in jail as well. Benedict was forced to support is family at the age of 14. It seems that he cut through Havighursts stages at a young age, but still managed to develop fully despite the drawbacks of a rough pre-adolescence.

Other Connections: Book Trailer   Similar Books    Lesson Plans

Sheinkin, S. (2010). The notorious Benedict Arnold. New York: Macmillan.

Videos and QR Codes in the Library

YouTube:

From the User Channel Calypso Gilstrap, the two videos that I found the most useful were these two: https://youtu.be/BezObVKkqOo and https://youtu.be/zb9kASYL25Y. These two videos are how to instructions on using EBSCOHost and using the QR Researcher. As a librarian, students must know how to properly conduct research, and these two videos that students can use as reference will help them on their research.

From the User Channel The Unquiet Library, the first video that I like was https://youtu.be/m9FAb3dQmPY. In this video, a student tells of the website Scoop.it and why she likes using it. I think students would really enjoy this video because they get to see one of their own giving them “unbiased” information on a very useful website. The second video that I liked from this channel was this one: https://youtu.be/gUb5k9rKFCA. In this video, we see a group of students perform a project. I think this video is useful because it gives me the idea to have students present their projects through video, and now I have a great example to show them.

From the User Channel PikesVilleHSLibrary, the first video that I liked was https://youtu.be/1zFLNGiu9PU. This was the first of many student responses, and I think students would really enjoy this one because it gives them an insight on other students and what their views on things are. The second video from this channel that I like was this one: https://youtu.be/dNHBur9Muiw. This video is a montage of the schools “Back to School Night.” I think both students and parents would enjoy this video because it highlights a memorable event so those that were not able to attend can still enjoy it in their own way.

From the User Channel bbmsmedia, the first video I liked was this song parody from the group Fifth Harmony: https://youtu.be/MUc7yUWHa2s. It’s a fun twist on a popular song that would really get kids interested and serves as a fun reminder to turn in your books. The second video that I liked was this one: https://youtu.be/_OOFsGvc-gM. It’s a how to video on using NoodleTools and creating a works cited page. A video that I myself found useful and could really help out students conducting research.

Book Trailer:

The Book Trailer that I have created, via Animoto, is for the book “Tomorrow, When the War Began.”

Synopsis: World War III becomes an unstoppable reality in the action-packed first installment of the Tomorrow series–an international bestseller in an eye-catching new paperback.

When Ellie and her friends go camping, they have no idea they’re leaving their old lives behind forever. Despite a less-than-tragic food shortage and a secret crush or two, everything goes as planned. But a week later, they return home to find their houses empty and their pets starving. Something has gone wrong–horribly wrong. Before long, they realize the country has been invaded, and the entire town has been captured–including their families and all their friends.
Ellie and the other survivors face an impossible decision: They can flee for the mountains or surrender. Or they can fight.

In my book trailer, I used some still images from the film that this book is based on, plus a few other images I found online. I chose this book because I believe it is very underrated in America. It’s not a new series, but still a great young adult series that covers the horrors of war. Here is the QR code for the book trailer I have created:

QR Codes: One of the many uses of QR codes in the library, or even the classroom, is to use them as vocabulary words and as they scan them, the code takes them to a website with the definition and they can write it down and continue with the codes. In an article form EmergingEdTech, I learned many other useful ways to use QR codes. Some of my favorite were ways to check their work. When they finish, they can scan the code, and check their answers. But of course,my all time favorite use, and perhaps the most truthful, is that this is just another way to go green. Instead of wasting countless amounts of papers on assignments, instructions, or announcements, all students (or even parents) have to do is scan their code.

Awesome Free Ed Tech Resources eBook! (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2016, from http://www.emergingedtech.com/2014/12/25-ways-to-use-qr-codes-for-teaching-learning/

A Girl in Pieces

Summary: This “diary” written by Isabel Quintero tells us the story of high school senior, Gabi Hernandez. The book is written in the form of a diary kept Gabi as she chronicles her senior year. Gabi herself is going through some typical teen issues. First of all, he best friend Cindy ends up being pregnant. Then she finds out her guy friend Sebastian has been kicked out of his house for coming out to his parents. But Gabi herself is having some problems as well. She is dealing with being in relationships and sex itself. She also has a problem with her fathers addiction to meth, and the fact that she just wants to move away for college and experience her life instead of the “good girl” life her mom wants for her.

Strengths: This novel, though written as a journal, is still considered to be realistic fiction. It is consistent to todays world because everything about the story is quite believable. The characters and their struggles are things many teenagers today can relate to. From Cindys pregnancy (and how she got pregnant) to Sebastians family kicking him out, to all the struggles that Gabi is going through. There are many themes that we can relate to in the real world. One that stands out is the issue of rape. Cindy finds out that her friend was raped by her boyfriend, German, and that Cindy refuses to go to the police because she doesn’t think she has a case. There is also the issue of drug abuse in Gabis family and how it effects them. This whole story may have some humor to it, but the issues are very real.

Connections to Textbook: Gabi is a senior in high school and despite going through some major life issues, still is developing as a teen. Havighurts developmental stages come to mind as one reads through the book. Gabi is experiencing ways to define appropriate sex roles, regardless of what her own family thinks. Gabi is also having an issue with adapting to physical body, as she is called “gordita,” or fatty, and her eating habits are sometimes criticized. Still, she comes to terms with these struggles, showing that she is able to get through these stages in her own way.

Other Connections: Book Trailer   Similar Books   Lesson Plans

Quintero, I. (2014). Gabi: A girl in pieces. TX: Cinco Puntos

The Knife of Never Letting Go

Summary: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness is the story of Todd Hewitt, who is actually the only boy in his town of Prentisstown. In this world, all the women are dead due to a war between a native species of their settlement, the Spackle. However, there is a side effect for the survivors, which is something called the “Noise,” which means that all the men could hear each others thoughts. One day Todd and his dog Manchee (whose voice he could also hear) come across a swamp and in it, they meet a girl, Viola. Soon, it is revealed that Todd knows too much about what really happened and has to escape from the town . He goes on an adventure to learn the truth behind the “Noise.”

Strengths: The genre of this book is science fiction, in the sense of a dystopian world, a popular young adult genre.  This story follows the criteria of what makes a good science fiction novel quite well. For example, the characters. Todd Hewitt and Viola are well written teenagers. They both have their own personal struggles as they are at that age where they can still be considered children, but are just beginning to have that adult mindset. The antagonists of the story are also believable characters. They have proper motives and aren’t as one-dimensional alot of villains in dystopian novels are. The book also follows the criteria for a dystopian novel, in which there are rules that must be followed. In this books case, it is the “Noise” that all men hear and the fact that when they reach a certain age, they enter manhood and the learn the “truth.”

Connections to Text: This dystopian novel takes place in a land called the “New World,” which is reminiscent of the New World in our times. This New World is also settled by Christians from the Old World, so the setting of this book is an allusion to our own history. When it comes to adolescent development (and most yound adult dystopian novels), there is usually a love story or a love triangle, but in this book, the closest we get to that is the strong friendship that is formed between Todd and Viola. Todd is also developing a new mindset in which he is becoming more self-aware of his world and starting to question it.

Other Connections: Book Trailer   Similar Books    Lesson Plans

Ness, P. (2008). The knife of never letting go. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press