Tag Archives: Books

What Are You Reading and Why?

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I shared with you in class today that I am reading all of these books at once right now. As one of you exclaimed, “Why don’t you just read one and finish it?”

I began with The Hate U Give about two months ago. It’s an intense story. Things got busy in our room with Hero books and other projects, so my own reading time with you diminished. I finished The Mermaid Chair at home and am now reading Small Great Things. I enjoy Jodi Picoult’s books. A few years ago, I got to hear her speak in Raleigh and learned how meticulous she is about researching her topics. I often read before I fall asleep which happens between three and five pages thus resulting in slow progress.

So many of you were excited about Refugee, I had to grab a copy from our library. I read the first chapter and then set it aside. Now it’s been a couple of weeks and I need to start over. Plus, I’m feeling a little pressure as I know others want to check the book out too. A kind soul gave me a gift card so I went to the store to buy a journal and look at books. I walked away with several including Shoe Dog and The Motivation Manifesto. Shoe Dog is fascinating and since it’s the young readers edition, I’ll finish it soon even though I’m a slow reader. The Motivation Manifesto is one I can pick up and read sections at a time without having to remember what came before. I also use that one to journal.

As I shared from the first week of school, I’ve yet to read Little Women. When I was in 4th grade, my mom offered to pay me $5 to read it knowing I never sat still long enough to read a chapter, much less a book. I am almost 50 years old, and despite trying to read it a few times since 4th grade, I can never finish. This will be my year. A friend bet I wouldn’t do it and I am competitive, so I think this will become a reality after all. Not sure if my mom will honor her $5 reward or not.

In our 6th-grade language arts class, some of you have read between 1,000 and 20,000 pages already this year! Please comment below the book you are currently reading along with the author. Please tell us why you chose the book and why you are enjoying the journey. No spoilers, please! Of course, if you’d like to add a few more titles to your list, please do!

 

Westing Game By Katie C.

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In LA class we read The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. As a extra credit we could dress up as one of the characters. I chose to dress up as Turtle Wexler. Since in the book  they don’t talk about what Turtle wears, expect that she is a tom boy, I had to guess at what to wear. We had to bring a prop with the costume, so I carried a striped candle, that lit the bombs. Most of the girls who dressed up, dressed up as Turtle Wexler, too. I had fun dressing up.

The Westing Game by: Davi

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When I first started reading The Westing Game, I thought it was just going to be another mystery, where you know who committed the crime halfway through the book. As my class progressed through the book, I started to realize that The Westing Game was much more complicated than I thought. Ellen Raskin, the author, writes so many clues; some are hidden, and some are put right under your nose, but you don’t notice them. Simple words such as rose (don’t worry, this is not a spoiler) suddenly become blaring clues. It’s amazing how such a simple book can be so complex. The Westing Game may seem like just another mystery book, but I strongly recommend that you read it.

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Hero Project by Keenan W

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Photo taken by Mrs. Donnelly

The hero project was one of my favorite things in 6th grade. I really enjoyed writing about my hero, my dad, and also creating the hero book. The hero books are kind of 3d, because they have a part of the book that pops out. After we created the shape of the book, we put a scene of our hero into the book. We then put our typed hero story onto the sides of the book. After we put everything in the book, the books were pressed and put into the Frank Gallery. I really enjoyed seeing all of the books payed out in the gallery because I could see how hard everybody worked on these books. All of the finished books looked really good when they were displayed!

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The Hero Books By Katie C.

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Photo by Mrs. Donnelly

 

In Language Arts class at Durham Academy we made books about our heroes. We all chose a family member or a friend and wrote about why they are our hero. For my hero I chose my sister. I think the hero books are fun to do, and it shows your hero that you really love love them. My sister knew I was doing her as my hero. Our hero books are in the Frank Gallery and will be there until April 7, 2013. The hero books are a great project to do and our heroes will be very happy to see them. I loved doing the hero project and I think everyone else did too.

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The Hero Books by Michiko

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Photo taken by Mrs. Donnelly

In the Durham Academy 6th grade Language Arts class, we made books about our heroes. My hero is my mom. During this project we cut paper out to illustrate one scene that we remember with our hero. We also wrote three mini stories about our hero. Our books were displayed in the Frank Gallery in Chapel Hill for our heros to come and see. A few days ago my mom and I went to the Frank Gallery to see the hero books. When she saw the book I made about her she was so happy. I was very excited that my mom was so happy about seeing the hero books. I really enjoyed the project and my favorite part was seeing my mom look at the book for the first time.

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Hero Book Making by Michael J

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Photo by Mrs. Donnelly

In Language Arts we had a project about our hero. A hero is a person who you look up to, use as a role model, and love. We wrote a story about our hero including: an introduction, three moments, and a conclusion paragraph, and we made a book out of paper. For the writing, we all talked to our hero and gathered information, and we picked three traits about my hero to write about. I wrote my story about my dad. We put all of the paragraphs in a story and checked over our work many times until we had our final draft to put in our books.

To make our books, we first started off by dipping stamps in paint and putting the ink on paper. Then we folded a piece of paper to be the book itself. After that we made our background with the stamped paper, and made a scene that was important to one of our stories. Next, we made a portal to look through to our hero. Finally, we put the cover on the book and put our writing in it. After that, they were displayed in the Frank Gallery on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

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Davi’s Series Reviews: The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

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“The Alchemyst” by Michael Scott is a six book series. The series has many main characters but focuses on one pair of twins; Josh and Sophie Newman. Josh and Sophie are supposedly the twins mentioned in a prophecy and referred to as Gold and Silver. They are called this, because every person in the world has an aura of a certain color. Some people with strong auras can use them to do amazing and terrible things. Gold and Silver auras are said to be some of the most powerful and rare. Josh and Sophie are said to be, “the two that are one, the one that is all. One to destroy the world, and one to save it.” The question you’re probably having now is: who is going to destroy the world? The answer is coming up in the next paragraph.

A race of ancient and powerful beings split in two groups. Dark Elders hated the human race and wanted to destroy them. The Elders (not to be confused with Dark Elders, even thought they are both Elders) help the humans grow. Both groups of Elders became known to the humans as gods, the sources of most legends. The Dark Elders make humans immortal, in return for eternal service.

This series is a cliffhanger, much like Fablehaven by Brandon Mull.  No boring beginnings, awesome middles, and boring ends. The series will have you engrossed in the books from beginning to end. The only bad thing about the book is its repetitive language and overuse of the phrase “spoke in ____. A language that had not been heard in centuries”, and other phrases related to that one. Otherwise, this series is great. READ IT!!!!

Maximum Ride Katie

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Photo by Katie

I am reading the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson. The series is really good and very exciting. Two of my friends were reading the series and loved them. They wanted me to read the series too. I started the series and loved each book. There are about six books in the series, but another one is coming out. I love the books because there is almost always action or something exciting happening. I love the series and cannot wait to read the rest.

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