Sea Fever

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sails shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

by John Masefield


(the picture is actually Lake Erie, but the lake'll do in a pinch when there's a big wind)

Good News

We finished TIGER RISING by Kate DiCamillo in read aloud last week.

In the hush that follows the last words and the closing of the book, one student blurted out, "I need a literature circle!" In other words, "I need to TALK about this book!"

(Just try measuring THAT authentic response on a standardized test!)

So we had a sort of conversation where everybody gets to talk all at the same time and nobody interrupts anyone: they wrote responses to the open-ended starters, "I liked...", "I didn't like...", and "Besides the tiger, what else in the story was "caged"?"

Here's the good news. Not everyone understood the third prompt, but many students did. They knew that Rob was caged by his sadness, that Sistine was caged by her anger, that Willie Mae was caged by her yukky job.

Did I mention that they wrote these responses on their handhelds and "turned them in" when they were done by beaming them to my handheld?

More good news:

1. I have seven copies of THE WRIGHT 3 (by Blue Balliett) on reserve from the public library for a literature circle that will start right after spring break.

2. There are 6 fourth graders in my room who want to (desperately) and are able to (amply) read this book.

3. These students have had a standing literature circle appointment with each other all year long. They have read and discussed CHASING VERMEER, THE CASTLE IN THE ATTIC, and THE BATTLE FOR THE CASTLE. Even though I am not doing my monthly parent-child book club in the evening this year for the first time in a VERY long time, I get just about the same emotional paycheck by reading with these six. And the kids get to talk more without their parents there. (no offense, parents, I have to make sure I don't take over the conversation, too)

WALTER: THE STORY OF A RAT

by Barbara Wersba

"This is the story of a writer and a reader. The writer is a person. The reader is a rat. They share an old house on Long Island, but have never met. Walter, the rat, would love to know Miss Pomeroy, the writer. Miss Pomeroy is an irritable recluse and has no desire to know anyone. How these two lonely creatures discover one another is the essence of this story."

After they meet, and have begun corresponding, "Walter wrote a brief letter to Miss Pomeroy.

Dear Miss Pomeroy, I am saddened by the things I do not know. There are hundreds--thousands--of books in the world and I will never be able to read all of them. I am old.

Walter

Miss Pomeroy replied promptly.

Walter: I understand how you feel. But why the self-pity. I am old too, and ignorant, and yet I do my best. It is all a person--or a rat--can do.

Amanda"

Report: Keep focus on reading skills

USA TODAY
March 1

Food For Thought...

The folks who give the ACT are recommending that we continue to teach reading all the way through 12th grade. They have found that more students are on track for college-level reading in 8th and 10th grades than in 12th grade, "suggesting that students aren't continuing to develop skills in 11th and 12th grades."

"The report identifies six features that are key to complex texts. They are:

RELATIONSHIPS. Interactions among ideas or characters in the text are
subtle, involved or deeply embedded.

RICHNESS. The text has a sizable amount of highly sophisticated information
conveyed through data or literary devices.

STRUCTURE. The text is organized in ways that are elaborate and sometimes
unconventional.

STYLE. The author's tome and use of language are often intricate.

VOCABULARY. The author's choice of words is demanding and highly context-
dependent.

PURPOSE. The author's intent in writing the text is sometimes ambiguous."

What to Read Next?

What a delicious problem.

My German "mom" sent me A LINE OF BEAUTY by Alan Hollinghurst (Winner of the 2004 Man Booker Prize) for Christmas. There was no note of explanation. I assume that if I read it, I might discover why it was the perfect gift. But not yet.

HP#6 still waits. I didn't stay up until midnight to get it, but I have had it since July. It's still not the right time.

Maybe some nonfiction? A Christmas gift to myself was OAK: THE FRAME OF CIVILIZATION. Soon. Very soon.

I'll do the actual eyeball-reading (as opposed to listening-reading) of CLOUD ATLAS this summer when I have more time. It's not warm enough for flyfishing reading (READING THE WATER).

Here's the pick -- a book AJ lent me (I'm embarrassed to say) years ago: PRINCIPAL PRODUCTS OF PORTUGAL: PROSE PIECES by Donald Hall. The piece he tabbed for me is about learning to read and reading aloud. Yes. This will be perfect. Short pieces. A book that needs to be returned, finally, to its proper bookshelf.

Book Reports

HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE by Chris Roberson is much much MUCH better than TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE.

CRISS CROSS was good, but not a Newbery book, I don't think.

Almost As Much Fun As Frindle

I think it's the Washington Post that has a vocabulary contest every year. You change one letter in a word to make a new word, and write a funny definition to go with it.

I have a nomination from the papers I've been grading: multiplacation. I'm thinking the definition could be: what a kid needs to do when BOTH parents are mad at him/her. What do you think?

:-)

Who said I couldn't have fun while grading papers?!?!

Truthiness

Franki, are you sick of me sending you clippings from USA Today about the "Strange Case of James Frey -- as Dickens might have termed it"?

That quote is from the newest one that is on its way to you through the "pony." ERICA JONG has weighed in as an author who wrote a piece of memoirish fiction that was labeled fiction, unlike Frey's backward approach in which his fictionish memoir was labeled memoir.

The punch of her essay is at the end, when she talks about how "the American language has been utterly polluted from the top down."

Let me know what you think.

On the topic of what to read, you're clearly ahead of me on new kids' books, so I won't even go there. The best adult book I've ever read (audio book-style) that not many other people seem to know about is CLOUD ATLAS. I have a print copy that I could send to you, but I don't know what the print experience of reading would be like. I'm just finishing up KITE RUNNER (way behind the rest of the world I have discovered this story). I would definitely recommend THE RED TENT. I think a culturally sanctioned, once-a-month time out for women is a good idea on so many levels. That's all I'll say. The book is about way more than that.

My January Reading

Well, I finally picked up a copy of CRISS CROSS by Lynne Rae Perkins--the Newbery Award winner this year. Actually, I can already see why it was the winner. Lots of interesting pieces to it. I'll let you know what I think when I finish. I also picked up THE THIEF by Megan Whalen Turner. Have you read it? I saw that the 3rd in the series has a starred review from Hornbook this month and I have been meaning to read this first one. Looks like a great fantasy.

My favorite children's book read in January was WING NUT by M. J. Auch. If I had read it before the awards were announced, it would have definitely been on my list of predictions. A great read. I am thinking that it would make an amazing read aloud for 4th and 5th grades. I may read it aloud later this year.

I also finished SO B. IT by Sarah Weeks. Loved it. I am in a book club to discuss it with some of my 5th graders. From the comments that I am getting before we meet, it is one of their all-time favorites. I can see why. An amazing story with characters I love.

I also read ME, DEAD DAD, AND ALCATRAZ by Chris Lynch. I liked it. It is definitely for middle schoolers. Loved the main character and I like Lynch's writing.

I could use a good adult book. I am hooked on Philippa Gregory but am not in the mood for another of her books yet. Mary Lee, any suggestions? I am thinking about BIRTH OF VENUS. Have you read it? (Tracy Chevalier liked it and I trust her reading list completely!) Also, I still have RED TENT on my stack of next reads--it's been there for years. Have you read that one? I think I'll love it once I can get started.

Time to Read

I feel like I never have enough time to read, but I spend all day reading:

reading the sky -- will it rain?
reading a face
reading a look
reading the situation on the playground -- is it play, or a fight?
reading emails
•reading students' minds
•reading the dog's mind
reading over what I've written
reading the clock
reading my own reaction
reading street signs
reading a recipe
reading the back side of my eyelids as soon as I sit down and open my book