The Talk Funny Girl

I read The Talk Funny Girl by Roland Merullo over the Thanksgiving holiday.  I thought it was fitting, because the story takes place in New England, and that is where I was when I read most of it.  It is about a teenage girl who has been raised by two strange and cruel parents in rural New Hampshire.  Her family is so isolated and so cut off from the rest of civilization that they speak a strange dialect that no one else but their immediate family speaks.  "I don't for why know I'm afraid," is an example of something Marjorie, the protagonist, says.  She and everyone in their community is afraid because a killer is on the loose in their area.  Every six months or so, for the past several years, a young girl has been kidnapped and murdered.  Her parents seem to live in fear too - fear of the rest of the world.  They rarely leave home except to attend church, and her father refuses to drive on the highway because of a fear of the world that that highway leads to.  Despite her strange way of speaking and the fact that she was kept out of school until she was nine-years-old (when someone reported that fact to social services), Marjorie is bright and talented.  When she turns seventeen and has to get a job to support her family (neither of her parents work), she begins working for a man who has moved into town to rebuild a "cathedral" out of the ruins of an old church.  Her relationships with her boss and with her step-aunt Elaine turn out to be the saving grace in Marjorie's life.  After her parents strange and brutal forms of "penance" for perceived indiscretions on Marjorie's part go too far, she finds safety and solace with Elaine and her boss. 

This is an inspiring and unexpected story, unlike anything I have ever read.  It did continue with the theme of overcoming difficult upbringings - particularly overcoming bad parenting - that I have noticed in several of the books I chose this semester.  Other books that could be a part of this thematic unit would be The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and Burned by Ellen Hopkins. 

The ending of The Talk Funny Girl really took me by surprise.  After I finished the book, I had to go back and review several sections to check for clues that I may have missed.  I think this would be an excellent book for teaching the skill of prediction.   



Webquest

Here is the link to the webquest I created for Ishmael Beah's A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.

http://msetzoldswebquestonalongwaygone.weebly.com/

Matched

I found this book to be the most enjoyable out of all of the books that I have read this semester – and I have read some pretty awesome books! I personally enjoy the dystopian genre, so this partly explains my favoritism. I also enjoyed Ally Condie’s writing style. The writing was not so complex that my struggling readers would have difficulty understanding it, yet also contained bountiful opportunities for higher-level thinking. The book contains many symbolic elements, opportunities to infer meanings and make predictions, literary allusions that could lead to exploration of other works, and includes many topics that students could connect to their own lives, current events, and other popular novels (such as Hunger Games, Fahrenheit 451, and The Giver). I can see teaching this novel alone, or as part of a larger thematic unit on dystopian literature. I can also imagine several writing assignments that could stem from topics covered in this book, such persuasive essays on banned books or censorship, arranged marriages, euthanasia, or having students create and defend a list of the 10 works that they think should be included in the Society’s 100 books, poems, movies or songs.

90 Miles to Havana book trailer

90 Miles to Havana by Enrique Flores-Gallis

I have to admit that I chose this book because I had to include a couple of “middle school books” on my reading list and I did not think that it would be something I would seriously consider reading with my students, but I was wrong.  This is a book that anyone at any age could enjoy.  It happens to be about a young boy, I think about 9 or 10 years old, but it tells of an entertaining adventure and emotional struggles that anyone would enjoy reading or could relate to.  I chose this book over many other middle school titles because it describes a scenario that many of my students can relate to and I wanted to learn more about – moving to Miami from Cuba and adjusting to a new culture.  This story takes place during the 1960’s, when 14,000 children were sent to America from Cuba without their parents to escape the revolution and the new regime.  Even my students from other Latin American countries probably would learn about a time in history that they didn’t know much about.  This book lends itself easily to cross-curricular extension activities such as learning about the Cuban revolution or about America’s changing policies regarding Cuban refugees.  I think that it could also be a great tool for introducing a unit on bullying, which is a very important topic for today’s schools. 

In the story, Julian (the young protagonist) has to defend himself against a bully-turned-mini-dictator in the children’s refugee camp in Miami.  At first he has his brothers’ protection, but once they are taken from him he uses his cleverness and his sense of morality to help set things right in the camp so that none of the children have to be tormented anymore.  He even navigates his way through the streets of Miami and eventually the 90 mile stretch of water that separates Cuba from the United States to help rescue others from Cuba.  He becomes a hero in more ways than one, and when he is reunited with his family in Connecticut and starts school there, he is no longer intimidated by anyone.

I think this book could lead to a variety of writing assignments, and this could be a perfect opportunity to provide a choice for students.  They could write a personal narrative about an experience they have had with a bully, a mini-research paper about the effects of bullying or how it can be prevented, or they could write a short story about someone who faces a bully.  This would allow all students to learn more, develop empathy, and/or express their own struggles – whichever that student needs to do, he or she would have the opportunity to do.



Reading Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading

I thought the title of this book was clever, and a topic that my students would enjoy, so I decided to give it a try (even though I teach high school seniors and this book is clearly targeted to a middle school audience).  It was an enjoyable read, and short (which my students would appreciate!).  Most of my students would certainly relate to Charlie Joe’s animosity towards reading, but I am not sure they would be able to relate to much else.  Despite his opposition to reading, he is very intelligent and articulate.  He even admits that he is a pretty good writer and doesn’t mind doing it.  The only thing my students like less than reading is writing, so that might alienate them a bit.  I also worry that Charlie Joe’s white, upper-middle class family, friends, and school might turn my students off.  Charlie Joe’s dad is a lawyer; most of my students don’t really even have dads.  Charlie Joe hates reading because his dad gave him a bunch of books for his 6^th birthday; my students hate reading because they can’t do it very well.

Despite these differences, I still think I might consider reading at least some of this book aloud to my students.  The chapters are all very short, so it lends itself very well to read-alouds.  I was thinking of reading the section about when his hatred of reading began (the birthday presents).  I could use this as a writing prompt and ask my students to write about when they decided that they didn’t like to read and what prompted that decision.  Since they are so much older and wiser now (being seniors and all) maybe realizing how immature they were when they reached that conclusion might make them reconsider it.  One can hope, anyway…

Choices

Our school used the Edge textbook program, which is published by Hampton-Brown.  Each unit is organized around a theme, such as loyalty.  Each unit includes three trade books, each at a distinct difficulty level.  I believe that motivation is such an important component to reading that I feel the need to provide my students with a choice, rather than requiring students to read a book based solely on the lexile level.  I believe that students will gain more from reading a book that is somewhat “easy” than they would by pretending to read a more challenging book that does not appeal to their interests.  On the other hand, a student might be capable of reading a more challenging book than would be expected if the motivation is there to try.  Restricting students’ choices based solely on a lexile ranking is one of the most frequent complaints I have heard from students, teachers, and parents about the AR program. 

I encourage student choice by introducing each book with a youtube video trailer and asking students to jot down notes about each book as they view the trailers.  Then I ask them to rank the books in order of preference.  I review their choices, and try to allow each student to read his or her first choice book.  If I notice that a student has selected a book as a first choice that I think could be too difficult, I explain this to him or her.  Then I will show the book and ask him or her to “take 5” – read about 5 fingers length of text aloud and count how many errors are made.  If a student makes more than 5 errors in that length of text, the book is probably too difficult.  At that point I would strongly encourage the student to make another choice. 

The books my students had to choose from most recently were Two Badges by Mona Ruiz, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and The Wave by Todd Strasser.  Below are two of the trailers I used to introduce these books.

An interview with the author of A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah.

I’ll take a class set of this book!

I recently finished reading A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ismael Beah, and this is a book that I definitely plan to read with my students.  Ishmael was recruited as a soldier in Sierra Leone at the age of thirteen, after losing his entire family and his home during a raid by rebel soldiers.  At first he wandered the jungles aimlessly with a group of boys, searching for food and some sort of comfort.  His anger with the rebels who killed his family, combined with hunger and exhaustion, ultimately led him to join the army that was fighting against the rebels.  He quickly became addicted to the drugs they were fed regularly and became an unscrupulous killing machine.  After two years of this life he was rescued by UNICEF and slowly rehabilitated.  His eloquence and insight led to an opportunity to speak against the atrocities of war at the U.N. in New York City, and eventually a permanent home in New York.

Even though the violence described in this book is sometimes disturbing, I think it is a very important story to share with my students.  To teenagers who often glorify violence and drug use, this story could be a wake-up call.  I would also hope that by learning about the challenges that young people face growing up in other parts of the world would instill a greater appreciation for the comfortable lives teenagers in America lead and a sense of empathy for those who are not so fortunate.  That is why I chose to create a webquest based on this book for my literature enrichment project.  This book invites investigation into many important topics, especially the ways that children are impacted by war and violence in other parts of the world.

Disappointed

Last night I finished reading Burned by Ellen Hopkins.  It was about a Mormon teenage girl named Pattyn living in Nevada with her abusive father and six sisters.  She is the oldest child and is depended upon by her mother to help with taking care of most of the chores and looking after her younger siblings.  She gets into trouble drinking and hanging out with a boy (a non-Mormon boy at that) and is spent to stay with her aunt in rural, northern Nevada for the summer.  Her aunt turns out to be far more understanding and supportive than her parents, and Pattyn spends some of the happiest days of her life at her aunt's ranch that summer.  Most importantly, she falls in love with a young man who lives just down the road.  Despite frequent foreshadowing that things are not going to turn out well for the young couple, I was really rooting for them.  The book has a very tragic ending, and I have to admit I almost threw it across the room when I finished it!  I wanted so badly for things to work out for them.  I know that happily ever after is not the most realistic ending to a story, especially to a teenage love story, but why does everything have to go so horribly wrong?  The book also made me angry with the government and the Mormon faith.  I'm not sure that the author intended to make the reader so ticked off at the world, but that was the result of reading that book for me anyway.  I am going to have to choose a more uplifting story to read next...

I am so glad I read this book

I have to say that I connected personally to this story in ways I haven’t connected to a book in a long time.  It takes place in a fictional town in Mississippi called Bois Sauvage, which I am fairly certain is based on the author’s hometown of DeLisle.  I feel certain about this because my hometown is literally 10 minutes down the road from there.  I was already living in Florida when Katrina struck, but my parents – especially my father – suffered a direct hit.  My father lived in Pass Christian, which must be the beach town the author described that was completely annihilated.  My father’s home was gone – not a board left.  Katrina hit Sunday night and into Monday morning.  I was there by Wednesday with a truck full of supplies that had been generously donated to me by my friends and coworkers as soon as they heard about my family’s plight.  Since there was no cell phone reception, I drove and walked (in places cars couldn’t get through) all over what was left of Pass Christian (north of the train tracks, just as the author described) asking everyone if they knew my father and had seen him.  I was eventually able to get word to him and ensure that he was safe.  He was a volunteer firefighter in the community, so even though he was staying in what looked like a small airplane hanger with several other families, he insisted on staying and helping with the efforts to clear debris and rebuild.  For me, it was a terrifying and traumatic experience that I will never forget – and I wasn’t even there for the storm!  That is why I am so glad I read this book, because Ward describes the experience with such amazing detail that I now feel like I understand what it was like for so many people who suffered through this experience.  There are many stories like the one Ward told of people drowning or almost drowning in their homes.  A close friend of my mother’s lost her mother because she refused to climb into the attic with the rest of the family. 

Aside from the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina, this book tells the story of a teenage girl, Esch, who lives with her three brothers and alcoholic father in very poor conditions.  Esch is bright and sensitive, despite the unwise decisions she makes when it comes to boys and sex.  She discovers that she is pregnant just days before Katrina hits.  Afterwards she is left trying to figure out how her now homeless family is going to take care of a baby. 

All of the characters in this book are complex.  Esch’s brother Skeetah adores and dotes on his pitbull China, yet he puts her into dog fights.  Skeetah and the other older brother, Randall, will stoop to breaking and entering and stealing if it is necessary to take care of those that they love.  Profanity, drug and alcohol use, and promiscuity are a part of their everyday lives.  They are not perfect, but they are real.  These controversial topics could lend to some very interesting classroom discussions and writing assignments.

Many students would connect with these characters, but this is not a book for everybody.  I would not teach it to any grade level below 12^th, and then I would still probably send parent permission slips home.  The writing itself is beautiful, full of figurative language and lengthy imagery, but it may be difficult for some of my struggling readers to grasp.  What I love about this book, though, is that the characters and plot are so relatable that I think those struggling readers would want to read it and would be willing to make the effort to understand it.  This could be a breakthrough experience for those students that could take them to the next level as readers.

Scarred

Thursday night I sat down to begin reading Scars by Cheryl Rainfield and wound up finishing the 247 page book in one sitting.  It is a powerful and disturbing story about a young girl who cuts herself in order to cope with the pain of sexual abuse that began when she was only two years old and lasted until she was 12.  Kendra has managed to block out the face of her abuser in her mind for all of this time, but is starting to remember more and more of the abuse that ended just three years before.  She is a talented artist, and her artwork is beginning to expose her inner anguish.  She has also begun seeing a therapist to help her cope with the painful memories that are slowly creeping their way back into her mind.  To make matters worse, she is being followed by someone, and she suspects it is her abuser.  The graphic descriptions of the act of cutting and the infected wounds that it has caused are horrifying.  Kendra has managed to keep this act a secret from her therapist and everyone else in her life, but eventually confides in her trusted therapist.  Revealing her secret leads to a rollercoaster of events which ultimately unlocks the mystery of who her attacker is and helps her find closure. 

Kendra is a strong character towards whom I felt both compassion and admiration at different points in the story.  Her weak and apathetic mother is probably the least likeable character, well, that is except for the actual abuser, once he is exposed for who he really is.  He is a monster. 

There was a romantic element to the novel as well.  Kendra, who has known that she has been attracted to girls for some time, falls for the brave and beautiful Meghan.  Meghan, who was once a promiscuous party girl, feels the same way and provides strength and support for Kendra.  It is this relationship that I feel is the least realistic aspect of the story, and also sends a little bit of a troublesome message to young girls, in my opinion.  I am not referring to the fact that it is a lesbian relationship.  I thought that it was great that a book can have such a relatable and likeable protagonist who also just so happens to be a lesbian.  I just thought that the idea that a supermodel look-alike (Meghan) who has slept with half the boys in school would change her ways so suddenly and be so loyally devoted to Kendra was a bit unrealistic.  I also worried about Kendra relying so heavily on Meghan for emotional support and what would happen to such a fragile young woman if that relationship were to go wrong.  Teenage relationships are not typically the most stable.  I know many young women who seem to place so much of their self-worth upon their relationship status, I would have just preferred to have seen a heroine who could stand strong on her own and did not depend upon a girlfriend or a boyfriend. 

Either way, the book tells an important story that I would recommend to anyone, especially those of us who teach middle or high school and need to be aware of the warning signs of someone who has suffered from abuse.

A Peculiar Story

I just finished reading Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.  It was a fantasy-adventure novel that was like nothing else that I have read recently.  It tells the story of a teenage boy who lives with his wealthy family in Englewood, Florida (right up the road from us!).  But Jacob doesn't stay in Englewood for long.  His grandfather (with whom Jacob shared a special bond) passes away, and his mysterious death leads Jacob to travel to the deserted island in Great Britain where his grandfather spent most of his childhood.  I definitely wasn't expecting Jacob to find what he found on that island; it turns out to be just as magical of a place as his grandfather had always described.  The new friends he meets there help him to realize that he can be just as brave of a hero as his grandfather had been.  The book's ending leaves me expecting a sequel, or possibly a whole series, to follow, because Jacob's adventures were obviously just beginning.

Since the ending does leave the reader wondering about the possibilities of what could happen next, I think this book would lend itself well to a creative writing assignment in which students continue Jacob's adventures.  It is difficult not to contemplate where this story could go. 

The story is illustrated with some very interesting old black and white photographs, which the author reveals at the end are all real photographs he found from collectors.  Many of them would serve as excellent writing prompts as well.

Today I want to talk about one of my favorite young adult novels to share with my 12th grade students:  Deadline by Chris Crutcher.  This is the story of a teenager named Ben Wolf who finds out right before the start of his senior year that he has leukemia and only has one year to live.  He decides that instead of feeling sorry for himself he is going to make the most of the time he has left.  He joins the varsity football team (even though he is one of the smallest seniors in school) and becomes the star player, chases after (and gets) the hottest girl in school, and stands up to his least favorite teacher.  Even though the premise sounds a bit depressing, Ben is clever and witty and the book has many funny moments.  Its message is to make the most of every moment and to never say that you can't do something.  My reluctant readers really enjoy the story.  They find the narrator funny and relatable.  They also appreciate the message, "Y.O.L.O!" as they would say.  :)

The Glass Castle

I picked this book up on Saturday and could barely put it down all weekend.  Jeannette Walls is a successful journalist living in New York City today, but her memoir tells of a very difficult childhood.  Her father was very intelligent, but not very interested in working.  His beliefs were very anti-establishment and he refused to sacrifice his pride or his freedom to conform to an employer.  He also suffered from a bit of a “drinking situation” as their mother would say.  Their mother was an artist who was so impractical that she couldn’t see the value in preparing a meal for her four children.  Despite her lack of nurturing instincts, I could tell that there was genuine love between the family members.  When Jeannette was young the family moved frequently, and each new place represented hope for a better life.  Sadly they were usually homeless.  Eventually they moved back to the remote West Virginia town where their father was raised.  At this point the hope of moving to a better place disappeared, until Jeannette was a teenager and found her own way out. 

Even though Walls never condemns her parents’ choices, I personally became very frustrated with them as I read.  I do think that many of my students who come from dysfunctional or broken families will be able to relate to this story and will benefit from the message of hope and personal strength that it conveys.

A quick read that will stay with me for a long time

I finished Sold, by Patricia McCormick, in two sittings.  It is a 250 page book, but is written in free verse that does not fill many of the pages, so it is much shorter than you would expect.  Nonetheless, it will not be a book that I soon forget.  It was a powerful story about a thirteen year old girl from Nepal who is sold into prostitution by her stepfather.

Lakshmi's family is very poor (mostly due to the stepfather's laziness) and after a particularly difficult season in which all of their crops failed, her father tells her he has found her a job as a maid in India. Naive, sweet Lakshmi believes him and is excited about being able to work and send money back to her struggling mother and siblings, although she is sad to have to leave home. She is eventually brought to Calcutta and exposed to the horrors of the brothel. At first she refuses to perform the duties that the madam expects of her, but is eventually beaten and starved into submission. Lakshmi, who came from such an isolated village that she had never sipped a Coca-Cola before or seen a television, is quickly initiated into life inside the brothel. The girls are told of horrible punishments that are inflicted upon anyone who attempts to escape the brothel, and one who actually manages to buy her freedom is shunned by her family when she tries to return home. The cruelness of the madam and the hopelessness of the girls in the brothel is disturbing, but I never really gave up hope for Lakshmi.  Good does eventually triumph over evil in this story, but I can't stop thinking about the reality of this type of horror that is taking place in so many countries around the world right now.  Helping children escape lives of prostitution is a cause that I would love to contribute to, and I bet my students would too.

One down, eleven to go!

So I finished Beautiful Creatures last night.  I won't give away the ending, but I will say that it had some unexpected twists.  I was a bit disappointed that more questions were not answered, but I guess that is because the authors want me to rush out and buy the next book.  Normally I would, but I have quite a list of other books to get through first.  I'm beginning Sold by Patricia McCormick tonight. 

Happy reading!!!

Beautiful Creatures

I am currently reading Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.  I chose this book because the years I lived in the South have made me somewhat partial to stories that take place there, and I enjoy a little bit of the supernatural thrown in with a my romance.  The main character, Ethan, is irresistibly drawn to the mysterious new girl in their school in a small South Carolina town.  It turns out their strange connection has to do with two of their ancestors who had fallen in love during the Civil War.  Their romance ended tragically, and Ethan and Lena are somehow experiencing visions of how this tragedy unfolded.  Lena, it turns out, comes from a long line of Casters (as in spell-casters).  She is tormented by fears of what is to come on her 16th birthday - when her fate will be decided for her.  That is the day that she will be chosen by the darkside or the light - she has no control over which side claims her. 

That is as far as I have read so far, but I hope to finish it today.  Since I downloaded the book on my android, I didn't realize it was over 500 pages until I was halfway through!  Oh well, it is a great read so far!



www.goodreads.com

Mini-Autobiography

The Basics

My Name is April Etzold - soon to be April Ring after my wedding next summer.  I have lived in Fort Myers for about 10 years, so I now call it home.  During my childhood I lived all over the country, and in other countries.  I have lived in Colorado, Texas, California, Mississippi and Germany – that is the life of an Army “Brat”!  I cannot even begin to name all of the schools I attended as a child, but I graduated from Harrison Central High school in Gulfport, Mississippi in 1996.  I always loved English and participated in many extracurricular activities, including cheerleading and swimming.  

Next I moved to Hattiesburg to attend the University of Southern Mississippi, majoring in English Education.  I graduated in 2001 with the Latin distinction summa cum laude. I began applying for teaching positions in Florida and was soon offered a job at North Fort Myers High School.  In 2002 I packed my bags and began the journey to Southwest Florida – a part of the state that was completely unknown to me. 

Since moving to Florida I have taught intensive reading and English at every grade level in high school.   I worked at North Fort Myers High School for six years and have recently begun my fourth year at Island Coast High School in northern Cape Coral.  For the past five years I have focused primarily on teaching seniors.  I usually teach all of the same students for English and intensive reading, that way I can work with them as much as possible in both classes to improve their reading skills. 

My immediate family members consist of my parents, stepparents, two sisters and my fiancé.  All except my fiancé live in Mississippi.  My older sister is a pediatric nurse practitioner.  She is 37 years old and expecting her first child in October.  My younger sister is 17 years old and a junior in high school.  She is very creative and hopes to attend an art institute after high school.  Despite the significant age difference, both sisters are my full siblings.  My parents divorced shortly after the birth of my younger sister and have both since remarried.  My father is retired from the Army and my mother and stepfather work at a VA hospital.  My fiancé works on cell phone towers and often has to travel for work.

My Journey to Teaching

Growing up I always knew that I was interested in a profession that involved helping others.  I considered being a teacher or a nurse.  My senior year of high school I had an especially inspirational teacher for AP English who solidified my interest in becoming an English teacher.  I had never taken an AP class before and wound up earning the highest grade in class and was chosen out of everyone in my graduating class to receive the academic award for English.  This gave me the confidence I needed to go on to college and pursue a major in English.

Even though I never considered teaching reading until I was offered a position doing so, I have found my niche in teaching struggling readers.  Growing up, and even in college, I always had a love of learning, but most of my friends did not.  I understand the lack of motivation that plagues most struggling readers, and I have been fairly successful at giving apathetic students the encouragement they need to succeed. Last year 75 percent of the students who entered my reading class at the beginning of the school year were successful in passing the FCAT or receiving the concordant score on the ACT or SAT by the end of the school year. Seeing the students that I have grown to know and love walk across the stage on graduation day and knowing that I played a direct role in helping them get there is the most rewarding experience that I have ever had.  It is what motivates me to keep working hard every day for my students.

I Am Poem

I am a daughter and sister.  Even though my family lives far away, I try to maintain close contact with them.  My mother, older sister and I traveled the world together and often had to rely upon each other for support when my father was serving our country in Korea or the Middle East.  We also stuck close together whenever we moved to a new and unfamiliar place, exploring new schools, new towns, and new countries together.  My little sister came along at a very different time in my family’s life.  I was almost grown when she was born, so I have helped raise her since she was a baby and have watched her with pride as she grew into the beautiful young woman that she is today.

I am a fiancé.  After years of playing the dating game and searching for someone who I could imagine growing old with, I met him when I wasn’t even looking.  He was the bravest, most loyal and honest person I had ever met.  Together we are starting a life together and looking forward to all of the possibilities to come.

I am a student.  I began the master’s program at FGCU about a year ago, after dreaming and talking about it for years.  I have learned so many knew skills and strategies to enhance my teaching that I now approach every day in the classroom with new vigor.  My viewpoints are shifting and I am considering possibilities for my future that I never before imagined.