121 Books - A Very Subjective Guide

I spent the past two mornings with Derek, who will be replacing me at HTS next year.  It took hours to walk through all the various resources our teachers use... including this blog.  I realized I've neglected this blog almost completely this summer... 

But then I received this post from Dinner a Love Story (one of my favorite culinary blogs) this morning with their delightfully subjective guide to their favorite books. 

This enchanting thought in the introduction reads:

As friend-of-DALS and writer-extraordinaire George Saunders puts it, “A minute spent reading to your kids now will repay itself a million-fold later, not only because they love you for reading to them, but also because, years later, when they’re miles away, those quiet evenings, when you were tucked in with them, everything quiet but the sound of the page-turns, will seem to you, I promise, sacred.”

Wow.

And so I had to share this with you all. I'm not sure how long the link will be live, so do open and save it... it just might be the place to find that perfect last-month of summer read for your children... Trust me parents, they do grow up fast...

The link can he found here:

http://www.dinneralovestory.com/121-books/

Enjoy!

And thank you Jenny and Andy (and the girls!)

mb

Three Great Edutopia Resources to Help Prevent the Summer Slide

Edutopia, a website devoted to finding what works in education, is one of my favorite teacher resources.

I also love the ideas and resources they offer for parents, and I'd like to highlight three recent blog posts that offer great ideas to prevent the summer slide or slump:

Parents: Inspiring Readers Through the Summer Slump:

Preventing Summer Slide: Why Not Try Internet Research?

Parents: Preventing Summer Slide (on a Budget):

Enjoy!

A Trio of Websites Full of Great Ideas for Summer Learning

The web is alive with great ideas to help prevent the summer slide!  Following are a few ideas that have landed in my inbox over the past few weeks:

Common Sense Media

The crew at Common Sense Media have assembled a Summer Learning Guide of the best apps, games and websites to engage students in the following areas:

• Explore the World
• Hands-on-Science
• Get Creative
• Tinkering and Tech
• Learn Together
• Multimedia Memories

Access the guide here:

 https://www.commonsensemedia.org/guide/summer-learning-guide

AdLit.org 

This website - All About Adolescent Literacy - offers resources for parents and educators of kids in grades 4-12.  They have assembled a fantastic "Beach Bag" Full of Summer Learning Resources:

Ideas include:

• Armchair Travels
• Tour the Museums
• Don't Forget About the Library
• Tips for Parents
• Write On!
• Resources to Share with Teens
• Reading Incentive Programs
• Beyond Reading and Writing

Explore the site by using the link here: 

http://www.adlit.org/article/24234/

Reading Rockets

This PBS TV show has a great website chock-full of ideas for teachers to share with families.

Topics include:

• Ideas for summer learning fun (pen pals, geo caching, gardening)
• Ideas for summer reading fun (libraries, book clubs)
• Online activities for families (National Geographic, Discovery Kids, Smithsonian)

Link to the website here: 

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/23428

Have you found any other great summer learning resources?  Share them in the comment section below!

Kate DiCamillo's Picks For Summer Treehouse Reading

Oh how I love NPR.  As I was running errands Monday afternoon, All Things Considered featured a lengthy interview with Newbery Award winning Kate DiCamillo.  Her inspired Flora and Ulysses has been my favorite book for young people this year - the woman is a genius. I suppose that is why she has been named the country's national ambassador for young people's literature by the Library of Congress...

Kate recommended a number of books for "Summer Treehouse Reading.  Like Kate, I can wholeheartedly recommend Counting by 7s for middle school readers... it was extraordinary.  The link to her list can be found below - I know I'll be adding her recommendations to my list :)

http://www.npr.org/2014/05/23/315250144/kate-dicamillos-picks-for-summer-tree-house-reading


Happy Reading!

Khan Academy: Keep your Math Skills Sharp Over the Summer with this Amazing Website!

For Upper School Students, we suggest Khan Academy as an interactive online resource to keep math skills sharp over the summer.  This website assesses where students are in their learning, and assigns problems to help students master any areas of weakness.  The students work at their own pace, take ownership of their learning, and have fun by earning badges and completing missions.   Video tutorials are available to help coach them through new topics, or areas where they might need review.  A dashboard is also available so that students - and parents - can track progress.

A comprehensive overview of the program for parents can be found here:

https://www.khanacademy.org/coach-res/higher-ed/why-ka-hied/a/our-mission

When students login for the first time, they are given a pretest to unlock their learning dashboard, and will start working through problems that align with their level.  Some of our students have used Khan Academy to supplement their learning in math class this year, so can continue from where they have left off in class. 

For most of our students, this will be a new challenge.  They will login using their HTS Gmail account and password.  (If you are new to HTS and need a Gmail address and password please Email Karelia Pallan: kpallan@htsdc.org.  For summer review, we suggest students begin with the grade level they have just completed, and click on the box at the top of the page that says “Unlock your learning dashboard.” This will begin the pretest. The links can be found below:

4th Grade:

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-fourth-grade-math

5th Grade:

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-fifth-grade-math

6th Grade:

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-sixth-grade-math

7th Grade:

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-seventh-grade-math

If you have any questions, please contact: Polly Sileo: psileo@htsdc.org or

Mary Beth Morell mbmorell@htsdc.org

Just Keep Typing - Part Three

As I've said before, in Just Keep Typing - Part Two and Just Keep Typing, (posts which feature lots of great keyboarding games), summer is a great time to work on your keyboarding.  This year, we have transitioned to using a popular new website titled Typing Club as our major keyboarding instruction tool at HTS, though most students have not used it since first semester.

Typing Club provides 100 free activities that begin with the basics and progress in difficulty until you can touch type on your entire keyboard.  I have found that our students like this program better than previous options, as the lessons are quite short and manageable.  They also seem to like the fact that as you type during each lesson you are given instant real-time feedback about your accuracy and speed. 

If your child would like to work on keyboarding this summer, just login to Typing Club using the child's HTS-issued Gmail account and password.  If you are new to HTS and need a Gmail account, please contact Tech Teacher Mary Beth Morell on mbmorell@htsdc.org.

Please also check out previous keyboarding entries to explore great games like BBC Dancemat Typing, the Typing Games at ABCya and TyperShark.

Summer Reading Lists Have Been Posted!

Exciting news!  All Summer Reading Lists have now been posted on the HTS Website!

(Which means summer vacation is close:)

Links to all the lists and assignments can be found below:

HTS Summer Reading 2014

We will also keep links to all the lists on the grade-specific pages to the right of this post.

If you have read everything on your list, and are still seeking fabulous books to while away your summer days, consider consulting the lists from your local public library... or consult one of the following websites:

Read Kiddo Read 

Guys Read

Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge Ages 5-7

Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge Ages 8-10

Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge Ages 10-12

Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge Young Adult

Recent Favorites from Politics and Prose

or you can check out some of our previous suggestions on this blog:

Books from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

2013 Washington Post KidsPost Summer Reading Club Suggestions

Do you have any other favorite books or lists you would like to share?  Post them in the comment section below... and Happy Reading!

Mrs. Morell