Mining For Hidden Gems

The best way to read Kwame Alexander's Crossover is in one sitting from start to finish.  You don't want to take your eyes off of this performance for too long .  The novel in verse tells the story of Josh and his twin brother and that of their relationship with each other, with their father and with the game.  At times the entries made me, a complete ignorant when it comes to basketball, feel as if I was dribbling the ball across the court, performing a crossover and dunking: Dribbling At the top of the key, I'm                 MOVING & GROOVING , POPing and ROCKING - Why you BUMPING?              Why you LOCKING? Man, take this THUMPING. Be careful though, 'cause now I'm CRUNKing                 criss CROSSING   FLOSSING  flipping  and my dipping will leave you   S    L       I...

I know a book is good when: 1.  I find out it is all about baseball and I continue reading 2.  I do not skim over the sport jargon and play by plays 3.  I cry like a baby in front of whomever is sitting in a room when the surprise pinch hitter saves the game and all the pieces of the story come together. Last year I found a gem of a book in  Love, Ruby Lavender.   I loved the language and the rhythm of the story.  The vivid characters and the rich dialogue put the book on my list of all-time favorites.  As a bonus I found out that it is actually part of a trilogy of books by Deborah Wiles about a small Southern community.  I had read  Each Little Bird That Sings  aloud with my daughter when she was in fourth grade and still had time for read-alouds with me before bed.  I just finished reading  The All-Stars  and can't recommend it highly enough.  Besides all the qualities that made  Ruby Lavender  a g...

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” -Einstein My first year as a teacher, I had a student, Jonathan, who struggled with reading and writing.  It was surprising to me as a novice teacher who knew very little about learning differences, because I saw so many other strengths in him.  He was great at math and making astute observations in science.  He just hated to write and struggled with reading fluently.  Often he would call himself dumb and other degrading names.  I forbade him from talking negatively about himself.  His frustrations with learning manifested themselves in behavior that landed him in the office often.  He used inappropriate language and was at times aggressive.  I did my best to show Jonathan that he was smart in many ways.  Almost at the end of that school year, I heard a presentation on dyslexia and immediately saw all the...