Thursday, January 31, 2008

Post 2


It's amazing how much books take up so much of your brainpower. You live it, you breathe it, you feel it. It's almost unbelievable. You drift away to a far away place, taken and pulled in the story, like a whirlwind. You seem to momentarily blur the lines between reality and fantasy, and you stand there, wishing you lived it instead. It's beautiul, really.

How reading the last page gives you a small tingle and a hint of excitment, and how finally reading the last sentence sends chills down your spine. When your last breath is unconsciously heavy because the notion just sunk in; it's over. You finished the book.
The story ended.

Now for your part:

Has your view of reading changed in anyway over the past few months? If so, how? If not, why not? Have you read a book this school year that has gripped you? Like....Twilight? I know many of you are hooked on that series right now. Awesome books!!!!

Thursday, January 10, 2008

First Post of The New Year


Happy New Year to all of you. I hope you are back in the swing of things and ready to focus on the tasks ahead of you in order to be prepared for the FCAT. Over the next few weeks we will be focusing on analyzing sample FCAT tests, writing questions using the stems, learning the language of the test, building reading endurance, and of course - taking some practice tests. I am aware that this is not any students idea of a fun time.....but, should you choose to come into class daily prepared to focus on the task at hand and work diligently with a positive attitude, your scores should rise!
In addition to coming to class and working hard you must commit to 20 minutes of homework a day This entails reading a novel (of your choice) a minimum of 20 minutes a day for homework!! Reading for pleasure, on a consistent basis, is a sure fire way to increase your reading fluency. If you increase your speed, you increase your attention span and your comprehension.
Just do it.....READ!

Student Response #1

You are to identify the following elements in the book you are currently reading:
  • Setting
  • Characters If there are more than 5, focus on the most important characters. Do not just list the names. Give me descriptions that show me the differences in the characters. Think of what they may look like, how they act, how they think, etc...
  • Mood
  • Sequence of events that are important to the plot