Curating resources & sharing stories to empower teacher & student ownership, wonder, and daring.
Author: McKenzie Ross
I'm just a mom with a teaching license, raising my kids, and writing for this blog! Someday I hope to be back teaching when they are older, but for now, I'm here and loving it!
What is the Booker Prize? This book award is for novels published explicitly in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The book must also be written in the English language but additionally has a sister award for books that have been translated into English.
The Booker Prize was named after the company Booker, McConnell, who sponsored the prize.
The prize trophy was made by artist Jan Pieńkowski, and as of March 2023, the trophy now has a name. The decided name is now Iris, but you can read more about naming the trophy in their article here. How beautiful would this trophy be to have in your home or office?!
The 2022 Booker Prize winner was The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka. The 2023 prize will be announced this November!
My daughter brought home her first list of spelling words a few weeks ago. There was a quick note from the teacher- “Please practice these spelling words with your children so they can be prepared for the test at the end of the week.”
The remainder of the week looked like us working together to practice the spelling words, she is the type of student and child who needed to take the reins on her own homework and decide how much work and effort she was going to put in. And in true fashion, she put in all of the effort and work possible.
She set up a time to type out the words on a computer to practice and asked us to quiz her once she felt like she had them down better. She practiced spelling them out loud and on paper and took the time to notice patterns within the different words. She worked really hard and put in a lot of effort to learn this new skill, and I was proud of her for this! She even worked extra hard on her bonus words, one of them being the word school, which is a tricky word to spell!
The day of the spelling test she was a ball of nerves, completely anxious about what was ahead of her. We practiced a few affirmations.
“I am more than my spelling test.”
“I am a smart kid.”
“I worked hard on my spelling words.”
“I will do my best and that is good enough.”
I knew all of the emotions she was feeling as memories of my high school AP literature test, my college statistics final, and many, many more instances came flooding back. The feeling that you just spent a lot of time and effort studying and not doing well on the test would be absolutely devastating and heartbreaking.
The spelling test came and went, she came home from school and said that she felt really good about it but was still nervous to see her final score the next Monday. Again, I felt the same feelings with her, knowing that it’s out of her hands but the score is yet to come with the fear of the unknown.
On Monday she came home from school with a spelling test in her backpack… And of course, she received 100%! She even spelled both bonus words correctly.
That feeling of working hard and having it pay off was felt equally between us.
There was also a big sense of pride I had in her knowing that this perfect score wasn’t something she easily obtained by natural smarts. It was something she set a plan and a goal for and worked hard to get there. To me, an easy perfect score is one thing, but putting in the time and effort for a good score is next level.
I love giving a good book recommendation. My dream job would be an elementary school librarian where I can spend my days suggesting good books to early readers.
Here are a few chapter books for grades 7-9. These are good for reading aloud in the classroom (yes, you can still do read-aloud at this age!) or for them to read personally.
Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Our 2023 scholarship season has come to a close. The applications we received absolutely blew us away and choosing our final 5 winners was harder than ever. We are constantly inspired by our scholarship applicants and the ways they better their communities.
Our 2024 scholarship is NOW LIVE. This means you can read the rules and submit a feedback form, as well as your final application (although, I would recommend holding off on your final application until the due date is closer!)
If you know of a graduating high school senior, would you please send them the link to our 2024 Build a Better Future Scholarship? All seniors deserve to know about this application and anyone sharing on their social media or through word of mouth always helps us reach those that need to see it.
As always, our email is open for any questions or feedback. Do not hesitate to reach out!
I recently wrote a list of chapter books suitable for grades 1-3, whether that’s to read aloud in your classroom or to have the students read independently to themselves. Now it’s time to give those middle grades some love!
I’m not going to lie, chapter books in the 4-6th grade range are some of my absolute favorites. There are so many great novels and series for this group specifically! Here are just a few of my favorites.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling
The first few books in this series are great for kids in this age group, and as they get older and become better readers, the books later in the series are more fitting.
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
This book is a perfect introduction for kids into World War II. The storyline is captivating while still keeping a good reading level for grades 5 & 6.
Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo
The Charlie Bone series is a great one for those who love Harry Potter and want a new fantasy world to read about.
Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
This chapter book is great for those children who might be weary of reading chapter books. It’s easy to read and has a fun storyline.
Frindle by Andrew Clements
It is a classic for a reason! The influence this teacher had on her students! The ending of the book! It’s all incredible. An absolute must-read.
The Pulitzer Prize, what is it? There are multiple categories and mediums that one can win a Pulitzer Prize, but in writing specifically, there are prizes for writing pieces of biography, drama, fiction, non-fiction, history, memoir or autobiography, and poetry.
The Pulitzer Prize started because Joseph Pulitzer, a newspaper publisher, left money to Columbia University in his will to accomplish two goals, create a journalism school, and establish the Pulitzer Prize. In each category, the award focuses on American writers and books about America. For example, a book that wins in the history category for a Pulitzer Prize must be a historically accurate book of the history of the United States. The biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs that win Pulitzer Prizes must be written by American authors.
So when you pick up a book off the bookshelf and see a Pulitzer Prize medal on the front, what does that mean?
It means that you are reading a book by an American writer that is exceptional work, above all of the other applicants who sent in their work.
I’ve been searching for good chapter books to read aloud to my first grader at home and making myself a list on my phone for future reference. So obviously I need to share that list now with all of you! Here’s a tried and true list of good chapter books for grades 1-3 that can be read aloud over time or independently depending on the child’s reading level.
Matilda by Roald Dahl This is our current read because the musical featured on Netflix has been on repeat all summer at our house, so obviously we needed to read the book!
The Magic Treehouse Series by Mary Pope Osborne. Such a classic series and bonus that there are so many books within the series that it’s hard to run out of content.
A to Z Mysteries by Rob Roy. It’s a kid-friendly mystery series that is perfect for hooking kids in and experiencing that “one more chapter!” feeling.
Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar. This book is next on our list to read once we finish Matilda. The humor in this book cannot be beaten, no matter your age!
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White. This was the chapter book we read last spring. It’s such a classic that it would be wrong to not include it on this list! Of course, I cried my eyes out at the ending, even after reading this book dozens of times.
Other notable mentions:
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Beezus and Ramona, Ribsy, and more by Beverly Cleary
Frindle by Andrew Clements
Lisa’s Ugly Glasses and Luna’s Rescue by Erica Richardson
Which chapter books are you going to suggest to your students to read next?
