Sunday, September 7, 2008

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart


Just finished the best book ever! Or, at least the best book I've read in the last 6 months or so... A young boy reads an ad in a newspaper, "Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?". The ad catches his interest and he ends up taking and passing a series of bizarre tests with insane directions. Only 3 others pass and the children, all orphans and all gifted, form the Mysterious Benedict Society. The group is lead by Mr. Benedict, a man with a mission to cause the downfall of a very evil man- a man intending to send messages directly into the minds of the world's citizens and gain control of the world. It's a longer children's novel but is very difficult to put down!

Friday, September 5, 2008

My Brilliant Ideas...


My Two Brilliant Ideas of the Day...

1) Classroom Read Aloud is a must- I don't think anyone will disagree. However, if students each had a copy of the book, yes this would be expensive, read aloud time would also boost fluency. I would alternate days of them following along with days of just listening so perhaps just half a set of classroom books would be needed. Half of the group would follow along while half would just listen- then they'd switch the next day. I think there would be countless benefits from this but perhaps I'll try it out this semester and see what happens.
2) Student Read Aloud You Tube Channel- not sure if this is legal but if a safe classroom youtube account was created. Students could read aloud from the book they are reading and post it on Youtube. Is it legal to read aloud an entire book on youtube?