November 2013 - Mrs Payan Reads

Celebration 11/30

This is a fabulous idea from Ruth Ayres in which we write about something to celebrate each Saturday. I am looking forward to participating in this link up each week and hearing about the awesome things happening in everyone’s classrooms and lives.

I cannot believe that it is already the end of November. The first trimester at school flew by! I like the way our school year worked out and it is nice to be starting a new trimester when we get back from Thanksgiving break.

One of the best things and the worst things I did recently is to order a Caramel Apple Pie from a fundraiser. There is this great Wisconsin bakery that makes amazing pies. This one was fantastic, but a bit overwhelming. Elegant Farmer makes pies in a bag which they claim is the best way to bake them. This pie was the BEST pie I have ever eaten. I will say that it is almost impossible to cut and is extremely rich so I could only eat a little at a time. The reason it was a bad idea is that my husband does not have much of a sweet tooth so I am the only one eating most of the pie.

I am celebrating a relaxing Thanksgiving at home with my husband. We decided earlier this fall that the thing we wanted most was a nice long weekend to read and relax. I made us some treats that we hadn’t had in a while. We’re not big fans of the turkey and fixings meal. One of our favorite treats, which I had never actually made for just the two of us, is croquetas. These are a spanish tapa and take a while to make, but they are amazing. We had fun wolfing down the plate of goodies.

Reading, reading, and more reading. I have been able to just sit and read for much of the last two days. It is nice to be able to do this and to know that I still will have time to do the work I need to get done today and tomorrow. I finished Reading in the Wild on Thursday and have some great ideas of how to make some changes in my reading workshop. I love how a good professional book can both validate the practices you do and challenge you to improve.

I am starting to look forward to our trip to Spain at Christmas. I have not been to see my in-laws for the entire four years that Ramon was in school. We just couldn’t afford it and he was able to travel at times that were less expensive because of his university breaks. As we get closer to Christmas this anticipation is something to celebrate as well.

Last, but not least, I am celebrating my PLN and the inspiration I get from Twitter. I had so much fun following the conversation started by Colby Sharp and Franki Sibberson about making commitments to resolutions. It quickly went from people talking about needing to do something to a conversation in which many people made resolutions to start a new habit (writing regularly, doing 100 push-ups each day, walking, running, etc). Each person had something they wanted to do. I love the inspiration to resolve to do something for the next 50 days. I was inspired by the #nerdlution movement and will be resolving to exercise and write every day. I even got a fitbit pedometer to help me track my fitness goals.

What do you have to celebrate this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/25

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? –From Picture Books to YA is a weekly meme started by Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers. This is a chance for bloggers to recap their week of reading and share their plans for the next reading adventures they will take. Visit the host blogs for a list of great blogs participating in this meme and a whole bunch of titles to add to your to-read lists.

I read some fabulous books this week. With report cards to turn in last Friday, it was good to have a few books to relax with. Over the weekend, I spent quite a bit of time reading because I felt like I had put in so much time working last week. Also, it is always easier to plan for short weeks and it is the beginning of the next marking period so I can be a little more relaxed with my plans for this week. For my 8th grade writing classes, it will be our last drive to get the word count goals for their novels. I love NaNoWriMo for motivating my writers!

Books I Finished This Week:

This is a great science fiction book. The storyline really reminded me of The Host by Stephanie Meyer but with more action. It was fun to come into school and show the trailer for this one. So many hands flew into the air when I asked who wanted to read it. I think my 8th graders will love the book. I highly recommend it.

I was excited when I found Keesha’s House by Helen Frost last weekend. I picked it up after finishing The 5th Wave because I needed a short one. I read this in one sitting! I absolutely loved the story of a safe house for teens in need. The novel in verse is made up of poems told from the different perspectives of multiple teens who are going through issues such as pregnancy, foster care, abusive parents, and gang activity. I love the author note at the end which explains all of the poetic forms that Frost used in her book. This was another amazing Printz honor book.

I really enjoyed returning to the world of The Girl of Fire and Thrones. In Crown of Embers, Elisa is struggling to maintain power in the kingdom as a new queen. She has a small group of people she trusts who surround and protect her through everything she does. I love the adventure in this second book and am now really excited for the third. I highly recommend this series.

Books I am Currently Reading:

I love this one so far! I ordered it immediately after my conversation at breakfast last weekend. There are some excellent ideas in here. As with The Book Whisperer, Donalyn’s ideas are helping to affirm many of the decisions that I make in my classroom every year.

I am also reading Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline. A colleague read it and highly recommended this book. I started reading it at school and left it there by mistake so I will look forward to diving into it more this week. I also decided to give up on Rotters for right now and to start listening to The Clockwork Prince. I am enjoying the story.

What’s Next?

I am not sure what I will read next. I have The Forsaken and Article 5 on my Kindle that I would like to get to. I also have two book shelves full of books to read. I put Ruby Red on my bedside table earlier this week so that one will probably come next. I also have Unhinged from NetGalley and I would like to get to that one too. With Thanksgiving this week, I will most likely be able to do a lot of reading…at least I hope I will.

What are you reading this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments. Have a great reading week!

Celebrations 11/22

I wish I could be celebrating meeting all my PLN friends at NCTE this weekend…I will be eagerly watching Twitter for those excellent tidbits that people share from the amazing sessions they attend.

I finished my first trimester report cards yesterday. I am so happy to be finished with them! Our standards-based report cards are overwhelming and difficult to complete. I love that I can give proficiency scores instead of traditional grades, but it is so hard to get parents to understand the system and my district has made these report cards needlessly complicated. Therefore, I spend a lot of time with the comments that I write and it is always an overwhelming process. It feels like such an accomplishment to be done with this first round.

After having a wonderful breakfast last week with some nerdy book club friends, I ordered Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller. I knew before then that I wanted to read it, but after talking with the two people who were reading it, it was clear that I needed the book immediately. This morning I am celebrating having time to read in order to dive into this one.

This week, I took one day to book talk a number of books that I have been meaning to tell my students about. I showed them this trailer for The 5th Wave because I knew they would love it:

I haven’t gotten to the booktalks lately for a number of reasons and I was so glad to get to this. I love how eager my students were to read these books I told them about. I have at least 5 new waiting lists started from this week. Our reading community is going strong this year!

I had to switch my schedule around this week because I was not liking what was happening with the morning. I decided to try flipping my math and reading blocks because I just haven’t been able to get the morning to flow right this year. This was exactly the right thing to do. My math time went so much smoother than it has all year. My students were working in the groups I assigned them and problem solving like rockstars this week. It is amazing how a small change like this can seem to change the whole feeling of the classroom. The best part was that our reading workshop procedures are so set that the change did not affect it at all. I was worried that the independent reading time being right before lunch might make my students less able to maintain focus, but it didn’t phase them in the least.

This week a number of yummy fundraising treats came in. I got the delivery of Girl Scout chocolate covered raisins and chocolate covered almonds along with the Boy Scout popcorn I had ordered. These are guilty pleasures but I am celebrating their deliciousness this week.

What do you have to celebrate this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.

Slice of Life: Lessons I have learned from my dog 11/19

The ladies at Two Writing Teachers
host the Slice of Life every Tuesday.

My dog Carmela is super smart. She has some great lessons to teach us all. Here are the top ten lessons she has taught me:

1. Sometimes it is time to put aside the work and relax. My dog will push the computer right out of my lap or try to lie down on top of it–her not-so-subtle reminder that it is time to cuddle and put away the work.

2. If someone you love is upset or crying, you should drop everything to console them. The doggie form of consolation is licking all over your face, but you could probably pick something else like hugs.

3. You should welcome everyone home with exuberance. That way they will know you love them.

4. Credit cards are dangerous. You should not use them.

5. Sometimes you should be wary of strangers. Follow your instincts.

6. Books are amazing. You should kiss them every once in a while because they smell so good.

7. There is no such thing as too many belly rubs. You should ask everyone you come across for a good belly rub.

8. The best way to start the day is with a good walk.

9. Sleeping in is for lazy bums, but naps are perfectly acceptable.

This is one of my favorite pics from when she was a puppy.

10. If you are naughty, just beg for forgiveness. Who could resist that face?

If you are fortunate enough to be blessed with a pet, I am sure you can relate to this post. I certainly have learned a lot from every pet I have had. Carmela just has some particularly great lessons for me.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/18

My report cards are due this week so much of last week was spent planning and designing assessments to do that last check before scoring students on the standards. Much of this week will be spent grading and writing comments. I am very thorough with comments and so report cards take me a LOOONG time to do, but I want to make sure I communicate the best way I can because this is one of the only things some parents look at.

Books Finished This Week:

I was fortunate to find the last Babysitters Club graphic novel at Half Price Books last weekend. I have been looking for this one for a while. It was just in time because I just introduced one of my students to these and she is eating them up. This was a quick read over the weekend so that I could feel like I at least finished one book this week.

Books I am Currently Reading:

I started listening to Rotters at the beginning of the week. I am not sure I will continue with this one. It isn’t really pulling me in right now and I have so many other audiobooks that I want to listen to. I might switch to The Clockwork Prince, but I will see how things go. I also am about 3/4 of the way through The 5th Wave. This book is really intriguing and I am really drawn in by the mystery of who to trust in this scary world. The book really reminds me of The Host in that there are moral dilemmas about who to trust and the aliens are inside of some people, making it hard for the survivors to know who is human and who is alien.

What’s Next?

I am not sure what I will read next. I just picked up a copy of Keesha’s House so I think that will probably end up on the top of my pile. I also just ordered Reading in the Wild after a great conversation about the book on Saturday morning. I will be diving into that when it arrives on Tuesday. Otherwise, I will see what I feel like reading this week.

What did you read this week? Have any recommendations for me? Please leave a comment below.

Happy Reading!

Celebration 11/16

I had the opportunity to start my weekend out right with a nerdy breakfast. A few weeks ago Jen Vincent saw my tweet lamenting the fact that I was not going to be able to make it to NCTE 2013. She immediately got to work to plan a Chicago/Milwaukee Nerdy Book Club meet-up. Although many people couldn’t make it, there were still 5 of us at breakfast. It was great to meet Jen in person and to meet some new people to follow on Twitter. I am so grateful for my PLN and the wonderful people I “meet” on Twitter and through blogging communities. This was a fabulous way to start the day today! We talked books the whole time. So cool. It makes up the tiniest bit for not being able to go to NCTE.

This week, I continued to have a great group of kids coming in after school for NaNo time. It makes me feel so great that these students are giving up their time to come in and write. One student even missed a sport practice so that he could be there to write with us.

I love the reading community that is happening in my classroom. There are three boys in my classroom that are reading Divergent right now. It is fun to see them talk to each other about this book and compare with each other how far they are getting in the book. I also have a group of girls who are passing around See You at Harry’s. I love eavesdropping as they share their stories about where they were when they started crying and what conversations ensued with the people around them. I was able to conference with all of my students this week. I finally feel like our reading workshop is set and running smoothly.

There were multiple times this week as I read aloud from Endangered when I knew that the students were intently listening. There is another layer of silence that happens when students are completely absorbed with the book. I will celebrate finishing this book this week. It took a really long time to get through this one so I will probably pick picture books for a while before delving into the next read aloud.

My colleague and I have been working with one student to help him boost his self-esteem. She has had multiple talks with him about the idea of being able to feel proud of trying your best. He is a student who is so sure he will fail at things that he never even tries. This week, he showed me a Social Studies test that he did really poorly on and said, “I know this isn’t good, but at least I tried. I usually would just hand it in blank.” He was proud of himself for trying. It was music to my ears. I hope we can continue to help him work to feel proud of his efforts and understand that it feels good to know that you gave it your best try, no matter what the outcome.

Last, but not least, I want to celebrate my dog. She is such a cuddle-bug and I love how she forces me to stop working and pay attention to her. It is nice to have a reminder to put the work away and relax.

Slice of Life: Celebrations 11/12

Ruth and Stacey at Two Writing Teachers
host the Slice of Life every Tuesday.

Here is something that I am celebrating this week:

Last week, my students begged to be able to write. This is the second year that I have participated in NaNoWriMo and I absolutely love the experience! I knew that my students needed time to prewrite and prepare for this month so all through October we worked on developing characters and plot.

NaNoWriMo for adults means trying to write 50,000 words in the month. For students, the word count goal is a self-selected number. Using this chart, I set the requirements for my 8th graders. They are required to set a goal between 3,000 and 10,000 words, if not higher. We use the Word Count Goal Calculator on the Young Writers Program website to prove to students that they will be able to write that amount of words. I love the way that some students challenge themselves with a higher word count goal than they are required to have.

Once November starts, I set aside at least 2 class periods a week for novel writing. By having students work so much on prewriting in October, I was able to build up their anticipation for NaNoWriMo. On November 1st, students were silent and writing. And every day since the students have begged for writing time and cheered when I told them it was a noveling day. I also offered after school sessions for students who might want to come write. I was blown away that there were 18 students who signed up for these sessions. So far, we have spent three separate days after school until 5pm. Driving home from school after these sessions, I feel so amazing. I love that I have students who are enjoying writing so much.

Last year, NaNoWriMo was the number one thing that my students wrote about on my end of the year survey. They LOVED the experience. This year my students are even more enthusiastic about this experience. I would not have believed that this would be such a popular writing activity if I had not tried it.

Although I love NaNoWriMo as a class activity, I have realized that NaNoWriMo does not work for me. I have not spent enough time doing the work to plan out my novels. I have the ideas but when I sit down to write, I just don’t have enough. I am learning that I am the kind of writer that needs to have plans and outlines. The quick turnaround time of NaNoWriMo does not allow for this outlining and planning. Even though I am not loving what is coming out, I am working on a draft so that I can celebrate my word count with my students.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/11

This week I finished some amazing books. I didn’t read much because I am trying to write more for NaNoWriMo. I also am trying to get caught up at work which means reading a lot of student writing.

Books I Finished This Week:

Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris is a science fiction thriller. It really grabbed my attention from the beginning and I read it quickly. However, somewhere towards the middle of the book, I lost the ability to suspend my disbelief. The ending of the book was disappointing for me. I will still recommend this one to my science fiction loving students.

I finished listening to Eleanor and Park this weekend. I pretty much stopped what I was doing so that I could listen to the last 45 minutes of the book on Saturday. This was an amazing book. I am glad I listened to the audio. It is really well done. I highly recommend this book to teens and adults.

This was a really great ending to the Legend trilogy. I can’t wait to share it with my students who have been eagerly awaiting it. I don’t want to say much because I don’t want to ruin it for people. I highly recommend this one as well.

Books I am Currently Reading:

I just started The 5th Wave and am very intrigued by the story so far.

What’s Next?

I will be starting a new audiobook this week. I have a few to choose from between my downloads from Audible and the free downloads this summer from Sync. I am not sure what else I will pick up. I have not really been following plans lately with my book picks. I might pick up one of the Printz books I have. We shall see.

What are you reading this week? Do you have any great recommendations for me? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.

Slice of Life: Injections 11/5

I am slowly, but surely learning about living with MS. My most recent flare-up seems to have subsided for the most part. I am glad to know that the ridiculous fatigue I sometimes feel has an explanation, and I have been glad to be able to read some blog posts from others who have these same symptoms.

Last week, I read Climbing Higher which is Montel Willams’ memoir about dealing with MS. I was amazed to read about the severe symptoms he experienced, and about how little they knew about the disease just 15 years ago. It was eye-opening to read that book. I hope I continue to have relatively mild relapses if I have any at all.

Last Saturday, the nurse came out to my house to train me for doing my daily injections of medication. My husband and I spent about an hour learning the proper technique for doing the injections and the proper ways to dispose of materials. I now have a little red sharps container of my very own.

The good thing about this medication is that there really are not many side effects. The most common side effects are injection site reactions. Therefore, I need to rotate the different injection sites in order to avoid having bigger reactions. There are seven spots where I do the injections. So I basically feel like a giant pin cushion. Each time I do an injection so far, I get a small reaction. It feels like a bee sting for about 15-20 minutes and I need to put a cold compress on the spot. It is a small price to pay for possibly not having to deal with bigger neurological symptoms, but it is uncomfortable.

In the blog post in which I first spoke of my diagnosis, I wrote that my biggest challenge was that of crossing the line from healthy person to person with an auto-immune disease. I think that this continues to be the biggest adjustment for me. The daily injections just highlight this difference in my mind. So I will continue to despise these daily shots at the same time that I love them for what they may do for me.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/4

Books I Finished This Week:

I don’t want to give anything away, but this one was a good ending to the trilogy. I wish some of the things that happened in the story didn’t have to happen, but I understand how it had to happen. It definitely was one that took me awhile to process. I absolutely recommend this entire trilogy to teens and adults alike.

This was an impulse buy last week at Half Price Books. I love Bones and was intrigued by the premise of this book. I really enjoyed this book. I will definitely recommend it to my students. It was a fast-paced science fiction thriller.

Books I am Currently Reading:

I am listening to Eleanor and Park and loving it! I am also reading Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris. This is also a science fiction thriller and I am really loving it so far.

What’s Next?

I am not sure what will be next. It will depend on how I feel this week. I am not going to make many plans because I am also trying to do NaNoWriMo so I will have less reading time.

What are you reading this week? I would love to hear from you in the comments!