May the Force Be With You: Maker Lab Star Wars

There is no doubt that the Maker Lab series of books published by DK Books are among my favorite nonfiction materials for my sixth grade science students. I've blogged about these books on three separate occasions, celebrating each new addition to the Maker Lab series:

     Maker Lab, the original book
     Maker Lab Outdoors
     Maker Lab Out of the Box

Today's blog post is featuring another Maker Lab book, one that I predict might become the most popular thus far.

Star Wars Maker Lab

by Liz Heinecke and Cole Horton

Containing the perfect amount of science, science fiction, and movie lore, this edition enables readers to create wonderfully futuristic, fun projects. While this book is not available until July 3, 2018, Amazon already has it listed in anticipation of its popularity, and says this about Maker Lab Star Wars:

Ever wanted to move things without touching them like a Jedi can? Or grow your own kyber crystal? Or maybe explode a balloon with a beam of energy, just like the Death Star? Now you can! 

With 20 amazing projects, Star Wars™ Maker Lab teaches your budding Padawan how to become a Master of science, in both the real world and the Star Wars galaxy. Using clear step-by-step instructions, the book guides home scientists and makers through each exciting experiment–from making Jabba's gooey slime or a hovering landspeeder, to an Ewok catapult and a glowing Gungan Globe of Peace. Each experiment has fact-filled panels to explain the real-world science as well as the Star Wars science fiction from the movies. 

With projects that are out of this world, this fantastic Star Wars book can keep children entertained for hours, making use of many household items such as cardboard tubes, baking soda, cornstarch, straws, balloons, and food coloring. There is also plenty to keep more adventurous scientists enthralled, with instructions to make your own bristlebot mouse droid, lightsaber duel, and Mustafar volcano. Star Wars Maker Lab supports STREAM topics and helps children to learn the basics of science by traveling through the Star Wars galaxy. May the (static) Force be with you!... Amazon.com

Among those 20 fun, futuristic projects are:

Each project's difficulty level is represented by a series of Yoda heads, ranging from simple to most challenging. Full color photos describe the household materials needed to complete a compete and illustrates the step-by-step instructions. Movie scenes spark the interest of the Star Wars fanatic and draws them into that galaxy far, far away! 

If you already own the Maker Lab series, you will definitely want to add this volume, and if you haven't added a Maker Lab book to your library, this is one to start with! May the Force be with you!

Teacher Book Talk Tuesday

I'm joining Kathleen of Kidpeople Classroom for her brand new summer linky...

I recently read one of the best books that I've read in a LOOOOONG time!

Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

The Amazon blurb has this to say about the book...

Melody is not like most people. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom—the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged, because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And she’s determined to let everyone know it…somehow.

Told through the eyes of Melody, the protagonist, the book is filled with beautiful language, poignant themes, and life-like characters.

The book opens with these words which captivated me immediately:

Whether a teacher chooses to read this book aloud or have her/his students read it independently or for class, there are myriad themes and skills with which to work. Among the themes: bullying, physical challenges, inclusion, perseverance, determination, talents, acceptance. Teachers can present skills of character development and analysis, point of view, realistic fiction, figurative language (perfect mentor text for this area), and plot development, to name a few. 

If you teach in a 4th-7th grade classroom, this book is well-worth your time to investigate, and perhaps share with your students. Grab a copy and read it today! Speaking of today, be sure to hop on over to Kathleen's blog, Kidpeople Classroom, to see what other books are being shared today on this Teacher Book Talk Tuesday.

And Then the Sky Exploded

I am an avid reader of middle school and young adult literature. Perhaps it's because of my job as a middle school ELA teacher that I am intrigued by these literary categories, but to be honest: some of the absolute BEST stories are written for fifth through tenth graders! The stories that I enjoy the most for this age group deal with WWII, particularly the Holocaust or the dropping of the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombs. Tough issues are tackled head-on with honesty and simplicity. One such book is And Then the Sky Exploded by David L. Poulsen. Scheduled for release by Dundurn Press on Oct. 22, 2016 for Kindle and November 15, 2016, for paperback, I jumped at the chance to read an advance copy, and I was not disappointed in my decision.

While the subject matter of this teen/young adult novel is familiar (the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan) it is looked at in a unique way. Not your typical historical fiction, And Then the Sky Exploded combines a bit of the supernatural (ghosts of the living) with actual history (references to scientists, buildings, events) while the protagonist supplies the narrative of a poignant adventure (traveling to Japan and meeting a survivor). Intrigued? You should be!

“At that exact instant a blinding flash - the light of a thousand, thousand suns - tore apart the sky above the city.  And Yuko's world would never be the same.” 

And Then the Sky Exploded tells the story of ninth grader Christian whose grandfather worked on the Manhattan Project. Originally admiring his grandfather, Christian's feelings change dramatically when he discovers his grandfather had a part in the bombing of Japan resulting in tremendous destruction and loss of life. Via a school field trip to Japan Christian meets a survivor who aids him on his journey to acceptance and healing.

The story unfolds through dual storylines, one Christian's and one the survivor Yuko's. Present action is entwined with past events to build to the climax where the two characters meet in modern Hiroshima. Although I have read numerous accounts of this historical event, from picture books to autobiographies, this technique presents the familiar story in a novel way that makes it distinctive, fresh. It's a piece of literature that deserves to be read and used.

And Then the Sky Exploded contains rich teaching material. Doing a study of genre? This novel provides rich fodder for discussion. Its complex structure will challenge students to identify a definitive genre and force them to provide text evidence to support their choice. Doing a comparative study between fiction and nonfiction? Poulsen's novel contains plenty of historical facts that students can research for authenticity. Teaching plot structure? This is the perfect novel!

Studying characters? The verbal interchanges between the characters are authentic; Poulsen obviously knows teenagers, how they behave and how they speak.

“I turned on the jets. I'm pretty fast when I'm either scared or I think I might score the first touchdown of my football career. When you put the two together I'm a regular Usain Bolt.” 

The only complaint that I have in this arena is that several instances of vulgar language are, in my opinion, dropped into the storyline where they are not needed. Omitting them does not change the storyline, mood, or characters. For this reason I would hesitate to use the actual novel as classroom teaching material, at least for middle school students. However, I would not hesitate to read the book aloud, filtering out the objectionable language. In fact, I am looking forward to sharing this with my junior high students during the coming school year.

To order this intriguing new novel, just click on the book cover above, you'll be glad that you did!

The Kingdom of Oceana: Book Review, Freebie, and Giveaway

I'm not sure how it happened or why it happened, but somehow I got on a list. I suspect it was because I started blogging about middle school reading. Whatever... I am thoroughly delighted it happened! What is it, you wonder?

Every few months I receive an email from one of several children's book publicists asking if I would like to "review" a new book. Generally the email tells a little about the book and its author to allow me to make my decision. I seldom turn these invitations down and as a result have received MANY really good books, books that I normally would not have been exposed to. The Kingdom of Oceana is one such book.

The publicist's message contained this synopsis...

The Kingdom of Oceana, by Mitchell Charles, is recommended for ages 9-15.  At its core, it is a story about a sibling rivalry.

Five centuries ago, on the island now called Hawaii, there was a kingdom filled with adventure, beauty, and magic.  When 16-year-old Prince Ailani and his brother Nahoa trespass on a forbidden burial ground and uncover an ancient tiki mask, they unleash a thousand-year-old curse that threatens to destroy their tropical paradise.

Warring factions spar for control of Oceana, sparking an age-old conflict between rival sorcerers. With the help of ancestral spirit animals, a shape-shifting sidekick, and a beautiful princess, Prince Ailani must fight for his rightful place as the future king of Oceana.

... I was hooked!

And if that wasn't enough, the following book trailer sealed the deal.

The problem was that I couldn't start reading this book just yet because I had too many others already in the works. That's what happens when you teach three different sections of Middle School Language Arts.

Finally, this past weekend I could settle in to enjoy The Kingdom of Oceana, and enjoy I did! While there are numerous adventure,  mystery, and suspense books for middle school readers that are set in various settings I have yet to encounter one with this book's setting: the ANCIENT Pacific Island World of Hawaii. For me, then, The Kingdom of Oceana was a refreshing read.

The Kingdom of Oceana is a perfect book to accompany a historical study of ancient cultures of the Pacific and a terrific way to incorporate literature into the social studies curriculum, thus providing a focus for critical Common Core Standards. It is also a book to introduce middle school students to the importance of a book's setting, again a critical Common Core Standard. Filled with names, vocabulary, animals, and customs that are related to the setting the book opened my eyes to the ancient world of the Pacific peoples. I can envision middle school students fascinated by the words of the text made curious to research to learn more about this unique time and place.  To learn a little more about this book and some of the cultural information or to read an excerpt, please visit this website.

Since I enjoyed this read so much I plan on using it as the first read aloud when we return to school after summer break. It will fit perfectly with the other books I've chosen for my class to read; they are about adventure and survival in conflict with a wilderness setting. While The Kingdom of Oceana has a much different setting than the others, its theme is so similar that it will be perfect for comparing and contrasting important literary elements. To help my students focus on important literary elements and concepts while listening I created a few interactive notebook foldables to accompany this novel. I am making them available for your use as a forever freebie. Please download them HERE.

So that you can read this wonderfully refreshing novel yourself and share it with your middle school students I am offering a complimentary copy via a Rafflecopter giveaway. Simply complete the entries below for a chance to win The Kingdom of Oceana by Mitchell Charles, available for purchase at Amazon.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

English Festival, Celebrating Literature: Book Trailers using Slideful

English Festival participants enjoying professional storyteller, Pam Holcomb.

Annually, my seventh graders participate in our county English Festival. Junior High students from all of the schools in our county are invited to read quality literature, then join together at our local university branch to discuss issues, play games, write compositions and poetry, and create technology projects based on the books they have read. The list of this year's books includes:

Bulu: African Wonder Dog by Dick Houston
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
Jump into the Sky by Shelley Pearsall
Counting by 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis
Blink Once by Cylin Busby

As a teacher whose students participate in the festival, I am required to "teach" one session, or workshop. By session I am referring to the activities that students choose to complete. There are sessions for writing stories and poetry, sessions for playing games, sessions for drama and music, and an internet session. Approximately 20 students are enrolled in each 50 minute session. I chose to host the internet session and am permitted to develop the activity as I see fit as long as it involves the literature the students read. This is the second year that I have hosted the internet session; last year I had my participants create a newspaper for their favorite book on the list using ReadWriteThink's Printing Press.

This year my participants created a book trailer for their favorite book on the list. Using the free website Slideful.com and following my instructional sheet Book Trailer 101, the junior high students were able to create interactive video book trailers to entice viewers to read their favorite book.

Of course, I did several dry runs before asking students to complete the activity on their own. Here is my first attempt at creating a book trailer using Slideful.



The best thing about Slideful is that there is no registration necessary. Without registering, users can still compile a video of ten images, each containing text, in a single work session (you can not save projects to work on later). This is the only website that I've found that allows non-registered users to COMPLETE a project! If you do choose to register, there is no cost, and you then can increase the number of slides in your videos as well as save your videos to work on at another time.

While I worked on my own video, I compiled my instruction sheet, a step-by-step set of directions that were kid-friendly. The directions needed to be simple enough for students to be able to follow without minimal teacher intervention, yet detailed enough to permit students to complete a successful project in under 50 minutes. When I felt I had accomplished this task, I handed the sheet to two of my seventh grade boys (English Festival participants but not taking my internet session) and said, "Please, do this."

Step 12 on the original directions contained a specific Padlet page.

And they did!



As did all of my English Festival participants. You can view all of the trailers at this blog link.

The festival was once again a great success. I heard tremendously positive feedback from my students who attended and from those from other schools who were in my session. We teachers who took part will be meeting within a few weeks to begin selecting the books for next year's festival, and I will begin searching for a "new" internet/literature project.

Any suggestions for junior high book titles or 50 minute technology projects? I'm all ears!

Five for Friday 7.3.15

Another Friday? This is the fourth one of my summer break. Time is passing all too QUICKLY! So, what's up for this week's...

 This morning's project: Potato salad for the picnic we are having this afternoon. This is one BIG, HONKING bowl. My family had better be hungry!

 Can you guess the next project(s)? Yep, baked beans and cutting the melon.

 Yesterday my friends and I visited a new ice cream parlor in a nearby burg. Called Heavenly Creamery, the parlor is housed in a refurbished Lutheran church. Some of the pews remain, all of the stained glass windows, and even part of the altar. The best part, besides the hand-made ice cream? The plastic spoon with which you eat. It turns color when it gets cold!

 I took stock this morning. Stop by my TpT Store and see all the NEW and IMPROVED items.

Just a few of the many titles I've read or am reading currently...

Be sure to stop by Doodle Bugs Teaching for more fun Five for Friday posts where you can catch up with all that's happening in the teaching blogging world!

Wordless Wednesday: Summer Reading

I'm joining Miss DeCarbo for her fun weekly linky...

So, what are you reading this summer?

This is in addition to the dozen middle school novels and two professional books on my Kindle.

Monday Made It: I Have, Who Has How-to

I am FINALLY getting somewhere with making things! I can join 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It where you will find LOADS of great ideas for things to make.

It seems like my creativity (what there is of it) has been on hold for the past month or two. Actually, all those end of the school year activities and responsibilities took precedent, plus I needed to do some MEGA reading for next year's classes. Now that all that is finished I have some time to create and of course what I'm making is for school. I've been working on a several I HAVE, WHO HAS activities. Are you familiar with this fun, engaging, game-like activity?

Sometimes called a looping activity, I HAVE, WHO HAS provides students practice with not only content area information but also with listening skills. Students are given a card on which is written an answer (the I HAVE part) followed by a question (the WHO HAS part). Students must listen to the questions so they can provide the particular answer they have. Play continues around the room until all the cards have been read. If done correctly, the last question leads back to the first card.

It sounds a lot more complicated than what it is. Take a peek at this video of my sixers from a few years ago as they complete an I HAVE, WHO HAS for the Stations of the Cross. You'll notice a few students have more than one card, one student who makes a mistake and the class corrects him, and students encouraging their classmates.


I HAVE, WHO HAS lends itself to multiple readings thus improving reading fluency, bolstering listening skills, and reinforcing content area skills. LOVE it!

I've most recently begun making I HAVE, WHO HAS sets for books my students are reading for class assignments. My junior high English students participate in a countywide English Festival each spring wherein they are required to read six novels. See this post and this one for more information about this event. I HAVE, WHO HAS will be a great way to review the details of each of the novels prior to participating in the festival.

So, how do I make one of these activities?

First I decide on the size/format of the cards. I like to use a 3 x 3 table in Power Point for this type of activity. It leaves enough room for graphics and provides space for plenty of information. I choose colors that coordinate with the book's cover, and select two pieces of clip art that represent key elements in the story. Here's what the Power Point slide looks like for the most recent IHWH that I made (Counting by 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan). The main character, Willow Chance, is obsessed with counting by 7's and loves plants so I chose clip art to represent these characteristics. These two items are offered free for teacher use by My Cute Graphics.

Next, I plan on the text, the questions and answers, for each card. This part ain't pretty, folks. I simply draft the information (with novel in hand) on unlined paper in my clipboard. Here's what one of my planning pages looks like. I'm almost embarrassed to show you.

I start with creating the list of all of the answers (answer key). This helps me keep organized as I enter the information on the cards. If I do it correctly, the last answer will lead back to the first card.

Then I fill in all of the information (in order to help keep me organized) on all of the cards. Here's what the actual Power Point slide for the above planning page looks like when it's completed, sooooo much neater and clear!

And there you have it, an I HAVE, WHO HAS for Counting by 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan!

I recently made one for HOOT by Carl Hiassen, as well.

Both are available in my TpT Store by clicking on the links provided above. Soon also will be available  I HAVE, WHO HAS for the following four books, completing this year's English Festival titles. Look for them in the coming weeks.

Wordless Wednesday: Book Club

I'm joining Miss DeCarbo for...

Do any of you facilitate "after school" student book clubs? If so, what are yours like? What do you read? What do you do? This is something new we are doing this year. Several very dedicated parents and I invited all interested 5-7th graders to join us in reading quality literature, snacking, and going on literary excursions. Here we are on an excursion to a local Underground Railroad local museum. So fun and so educational!

The Tree of Water Blog Tour and Giveaway

I am pleased to welcome The Tree of Water and its author Elizabeth Haydon to The Teacher's Desk 6 as it makes its premiere blog tour this week. I am even more pleased to announce that I am able to give away a copy of this wonderful adolescent novel. Please continue reading for more about The Tree of Water, its author, and how to win a copy of the book.

"Encounters with dragons, merfolk, and sea life modern, mythical, and prehistoric
await magic seeker Ven as he ventures into the depths with his fish-tailed friend, Amariel."
---Kirkus Reviews

Little is known for sure about reclusive documentarian and archanologist Elizabeth Haydon, the author of The Tree of Water. However, she did take time out from her busy schedule to answer some questions for us.

 1.  Dr. Haydon, can you give a brief summary of The Tree of Water?

Certainly. Ven Polypheme, who wrote the, er, Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme, lived long ago in the Second Age of history, when magic was much more alive and visible in the world than it is now. His journals are very important finds, because they tell the story of ancient magic and where it still may be found in the world today.

In the first three journals (The Floating Island, The Thief Queen's Daughter, and The Dragon's Lair) we saw how Ven came to the mystical island of Serendair and was given the job of Royal Reporter by the king of the island, a young man named Vandemere. The Royal Reporter was supposed to find magic that was hiding in plain sight in the world and report back about it to the king. As you can imagine, this could be a fun but dangerous job, and at the beginning of The Tree of Water, we see that Ven and his friends are hiding from the evil Thief Queen, who is looking to find and kill him.

Amariel, a merrow [humans call these ‘mermaids,’ but we know that’s the wrong word] who saved Ven when the first ship he sailed on sank, has been asking Ven to come and explore the wonders of the Deep, her world in the sea. Deciding that this could be a great way to find hidden magic as well as hide from the evil Thief Queen, Ven and his best friend, Char, follow her into the Deep. The sea, as you know, is one of the most magical places in the world—but sometimes that magic, and that place, can be deadly.

The book tells of mysterious places, and interesting creatures, and wondrous things that have never been seen in the dry world, and tales from the very bottom of the sea. 

 2.  What kind of research do you do for the series?

I go to places where Ven went and try to find relics he left behind. Usually this is with an expedition of archaeologists and historians. I am an expert in ancient magic [an archanologist] so I don’t usually lead the expeditions, I’m just a consultant. It gives me the chance to learn a lot about magic and lets me work on my suntan at the same time, so it’s good.

 3.  What do you hope readers take away from this book?

I hope, in general, that it will open their eyes to the wonder of the sea, which takes up the majority of our planet, but we really don’t know that much about it down deep. There is a great deal of magic in the sea, and I hope that if and when people become aware of it, they will help take care of it and not throw garbage and other bad stuff into it. I have a serious dislike for garbage-throwing.

Probably the most useful secret I learned that I hope will be of use to readers is about thrum. Thrum is the way the creatures and plants that live in the ocean communicate with each other through vibration and thought. As Ven and his friends learn, this can be a problem if you think about something you don’t want anyone to know about when you are standing in a sunshadow, because everyone gets to see a picture of what’s on your mind. Imagine how embarrassing that could be.

 4. Are there more books coming in this series?

Well, at least one. In the archaeological dig site where The Tree of Water was found was another journal, a notebook that Ven called The Star of the Sea. We are still working on restoring it, but it looks like there are many new adventures and different kinds of magic in it. The problem is that it might have been buried in the sand with an ancient bottle of magical sun tan lotion, which seems to have leaked onto some of the journal’s pages. This is a very sad event in archaeology, but we are working hard to restore it.

As for other books, it’s not like we just write them out of nowhere. If we haven’t found one of Ven’s journals, there can’t be another book, now, can there? We are always looking, however. We’ve learned so much about ancient magic from the journals we have found so far.

 5.  You are a best-selling author with other books and series for adults. What made you want to write books for young readers?

I like young readers better than adults. Everyone who is reading a book like mine has at one time or another been a young reader, but not everyone has been an adult yet. Young readers have more imagination and their brains are more flexible—they can understand magical concepts a lot better than a lot of adults, who have to deal with car payments and work and budget balancing and all sorts of non-magical things in the course of their days.

I think if more adults read like young readers, the world would be a happier place.

 6.  Tell us where we can find your book.

You can find The Tree of Water anywhere books are sold, online and in bookstores. There are several copies in my steamer trunk and I believe the palace in Serendair also has one. I also sent one to Bruno Mars because I like his name. In fact you can enter the Rafflecopter below to win your very own copy. Just be sure to enter before the deadline, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014, at 11:59pm EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Meanwhile, until you win your own copy of The Tree of Water, please enjoy the opening lines of the story...

The human boys had an expression back in the faraway city of Vaarn where I was born. It went like this:

Curiosity killed the cat

Satisfaction brought him back

I am a curious person. I was just as curious back in my early days in Vaarn as I am now, perhaps even more so, because my curiosity had not yet been given a chance to be satisfied.

The first time I heard this expression, I was very excited. I thought it meant that my curiosity could make me feel like I was dying, but it would let up if I discovered the answer to whatever was making me curious.

I told my mother about the rhyme. She was not impressed. In fact, she looked at me as if I had just set my own hair on fire on purpose. She patted my chin, which was woefully free of any sign of the beard that should have been growing there.

“That’s very nice,” she said, returning to her chores. “But just in case nobody told you, you are not a cat, Ven. Unlike you, cats have whiskers.”

My pride stung for days afterward.

But it didn’t stop my curiosity from growing as fast as my beard should have been.

My name is Charles Magnus Ven Polypheme, Ven for short. Unlike the human boys in Vaarn, I am of the race of the Nain. Nain are somewhat shorter than humans, and grumpier. They live almost four times as long as humans, and tend to be much less curious, and much less adventurous. They hate to travel, don’t swim, and generally do not like other people. Especially those who are not Nain.

I clearly am not a good example of my race.

First, I am very tall for a Nain, sixty-eight Knuckles high when I was last measured on the morning of my fiftieth birthday. I’ve already mentioned my uncontrollable curiosity, which brings along with it a desire for adventure. I have been blessed, or cursed, with quite a lot of that recently.

But as for the curiosity, while I’ve had a lot of satisfaction for the questions it has asked me, it doesn’t seem to matter. As soon as one burning question is answered, another one springs to mind immediately. As a result, I am frequently in trouble.

So now I am about to lay my head on a chopping block, on purpose, and a man with a very sharp knife is standing over me, ready to make slashes in my neck.

I’m wondering if in fact instead of being a live Nain, I am about to end up as a dead, formerly curious cat.

Because now I have three whiskers of my own.

I'll be sharing this book with my sixth graders as a read aloud after our Thanksgiving break. I can't wait to get started reading it to them!
You can follow the complete blog tour (and additional giveaways) for The Tree of Water HERE.

Sunday Scoop 11.16.14

I love joining the Teaching Trio for their weekly...

Here's my scoop...

Have a great week! Be sure to stop by the Teaching Trio for more scoops about the teaching bloggy world!