Holiday Book Recommendations

From my classroom to your home, have a wonderful holiday season and warm wishes in 2018!

	When Santa Fell to Earth by Cornelia Funke (Ages 8-12, GL 3-7) Scared by a storm, Twinklestar, the least reliable reindeer, bolts - causing Santa and his sleigh to crash-land. Although Santa has dropped into a friendly neighborhood, he's not safe: Jeremiah Goblynch, the ruthless new leader of the Council of Yuleland, is determined to put an end to children's wishes and turn the holiday season into his own personal moneymaking scheme.
	The Girl Who Saved Christmas by Matt Haig (Ages 8-12, GL 3-7) Amelia Wishart was the first child ever to receive a Christmas present. It was her Christmas spirit that gave Santa the extra boost of magic he needed to make his first trip around the world. But now Amelia is in trouble. When her mother falls ill, she is sent to the workhouse to toil under cruel Mr. Creeper. For a whole year, Amelia scrubs the floors and eats watery gruel, without a whiff of kindness to keep her going. It’s not long before her hope begins to drain away. Meanwhile, up at the North Pole, magic levels dip dangerously low as Christmas approaches, and Santa knows that something is gravely wrong. With the help of his trusty reindeer, a curious cat, and Charles Dickens, he sets out to find Amelia, the only girl who might be able to save Christmas. But first Amelia must learn to believe again. . . .
	A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig (Ages 8-12, GL 3-7) Eleven-year-old Nikolas—nicknamed “Christmas”—has received only one toy in his life: a doll carved out of a turnip. But he’s happy with his turnip doll, because it came from his parents, who love him. Then one day his father goes missing, and Nikolas must travel to the North Pole to save him. Along the way, Nikolas befriends a surly reindeer, bests a troublesome troll, and discovers a hidden world of enchantment in the frozen village of Elfhelm. But the elves of Elfhelm have troubles of their own: Christmas spirit and goodwill are at an all-time low, and Nikolas may be the only person who can fix things—if only he can reach his father before it’s too late. . . .
	Kringle by Tony Abbott (Ages 8-12, GL 3-7) Unlike the traditional Santa Claus myth, KRINGLE is a coming-of-age story about an orphan who becomes a force for good in a dark and violent time. It is a tale of fantasy, of goblins, elves, and flying reindeer -- and of a boy from the humblest beginnings who fulfills his destiny. Our tale begins in 500 A.D., when goblins kidnapped human children and set them to work in underground mines. Kringle is one such child.... until he discovers his mission - to free children from enslavement. His legend lives on today, as he travels the earth every Christmas Eve to quell the goblins once more.
	Jingle (Swindle #8) by Gordon Korman (Ages 8-12, GL 3-7) Griffin Bing and his friends are NOT happy. Instead of going away for winter break, they've been signed up to volunteer at a local Christmas extravaganza...as elves. It's not easy being an elf. But it's nothing compared to being blamed when a prized Christmas possession is stolen from right under your nose. It's time for these elves to get off the shelf and track down a Christmas thief!
	Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman (Ages 8-12, GL 3-6) Odd, a young Viking boy, is left fatherless following a raid, and in his icy, ancient world there is no mercy for an unlucky soul with a crushed foot and no one to protect him. Fleeing to the woods, Odd stumbles upon and releases a trapped bear…and then Odd's destiny begins to change. The eagle, bear, and fox Odd encounters are Norse gods, trapped in animal form by the evil frost giant who has conquered Asgard, the city of the gods. Now our hero must reclaim Thor's hammer, outwit the frost giants and release the gods…

Unit 3: The Power of Arguments

We recently began our new unit, The Power of Arguments. Our overarching concept is What is Worth Fighting For? Please check out the What Are We Studying Tab for specifics on what standards we are assessing in this unit.

Last week, students began exploring the essential questions and text structure. We began working on standard RI6.5. This standard focuses on how pieces of a text fit together to make the whole meaning, much like a puzzle fits together to create an image you cannot see until its complete.

The concept of text structure was introduced using this interactive lesson. Students were able to explore five different ways authors structure text to make a whole meaning. This week, we are continuing to practice text structure, and are beginning to introduce RI6.6 which helps students become familiar with determining an author's purpose for a text.

12/11-12/12 - Students close read and annotated Malala the Powerful, looking for important details and analyzing and answering questions for text structure. This work was completed on Google Classroom.

12/13 - Students reviewed Author's Purpose and created P.I.E. plates to help them remember the reasons that an author writes a text.
  


12/14-12/15 - Students will re-read Malala the Powerful, answering questions about author's purpose and perspective. We will also review for the assessment on Author's Purpose and Text Structure that is on Monday, 12/18.

**All of this is important practice for our upcoming assessment (the last assessment of the semester) on Monday, 12/18. The rubric for this assessment is here.