Category: New Opportunities

Book List Suggestions!

Happy New Year!

During our learning conferences in December, some students made reading in depth or improved reading comprehension one of their goals. With this in mind, I have been looking for book suggestions as well as websites with recommended titles. Stay tuned as I add to this information over time.

Below, please find information on:
INDIE NEXT LIST
KIDSBOOKS
MIGHTY GIRL
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO
CBC
COMMON SENSE MEDIA

These titles are suggested by INDIE NEXT LIST, which lists top books from Independent Booksellers. Suggested age for these titles is ages 9-12. I have not read all titles, but these lists are generally reliable for great reads. Non-fiction/fiction mix! Please see their website for back issues, teen titles for advanced readers, and more information about each of these books.

Backyard Bears: Conservation, Habitat Changes, and the Rise of Urban Wildlife by Amy Cherrix
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel Jose Older
The Darkdeep by Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs
The Dollar Kids by Jennifer Richard Jacobson
Finding Langston by Lesa Cline-Ransome
Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson (also recommended by KidsBooks)
The House with Chicken Legs by Sophia Anderson
Knights vs. Dinosaurs by Matt Phelan
The Law of Finders Keepers (Mo & Dale Mysteries) by Sheila Turnage
Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
Saving Winslow by Sharon Creech
Small Spaces by Katherine Arden
Squirm by Carl Hiaasen
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier (available in class)

Another place to look for books is KIDS BOOKS School and Libraries Recommendation Lists. The store is located on West Broadway and the website has a search function. They have a large selection of amazing books, as well as games and puzzles my class has liked. Check out their recommended titles according to age. Ask their knowledgeable staff about book selections!

There is an excellent selection of best books for 2018 on the MIGHTY GIRL Website. This website is dedicated to listing the best books, TV shows, movies, and more for strengthening the character of girls. But to be honest, I think the books they recommend are great for anyone, as titles like Resistance and Children of Blood and Bone have received universal praise.

There is another great list on National Public Radio’s Website of Best Books for 2018. I recommend this website to look for titles for all ages!

Finally, here is one more great list which has quite a variety and includes many more Canadian author titles! CBC Best Middle Years Books of 2018. You can also search “CBC Best Young Adult” for those students who are more advanced readers and can handle mature themes.

15 Classics 9-12 Year Olds Say You Should Read. I especially like the inclusion on this list of Swiss Family Robinson, 21 Balloons, Peter Pan, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and Where the Red Fern Grows.

Common Sense Media has a list of 50 Books Kids Should Read Before They Are 12. I have read so many on the list, that this seemed like a good one to recommend to you! I also think Common Sense Media is a good resource if you want to look up a book and evaluate it for mature content, themes, etc. Good Reads is another website that can help with determining whether reading is appropriate for your child.

Okay, as I think of more titles I will let you know! Always remember, there are tons of titles in the classroom library I recommend that you may not have tried yet, including many classics! Don’t forget about READING AROUND THE WORLD and the free lunch! Hope this helps!

Ms. D 

SFU Fun Opportunities for Students

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to pass along some information about upcoming programs for elementary, middle, and high school students interested in computer science and engineering! 

Please find a brief description of upcoming programs below with detailed information available at the SFU website at https://www.sfu.ca/fas/news-and-outreach/community-outreach.html. 

As I am only passing along information and can’t answer questions, please direct inquiries to fasevent@sfu.ca.  

Technovation (January to May 2018)

Open to girls ages 10 to 18. The Technovation Challenge teaches middle and high school girls how to make an app for a mobile phone using AppInventor.  This 12-week, online, after-school program is structured so that groups of girls (ages 10-18) learn how to identify a problem, design and test a solution, collaborate with a team and communicate effectively.  Each team will work though the Technovation curriculum with assistance from a mentor. 

Girls Get IT (May 26, 2018)

Open to girls ages 9 to 11. Each year, the Faculty of Applied Sciences hosts a great opportunity for girls aged 9-11 to learn about the fields of Computing Science and Engineering! Participants take part in various activities and have the chance to talk to current students about what it means to be a computing scientist or engineer. All activities are supervised by SFU faculty and staff. Girl Guides Canada participants complete all requirements for both their computing science and engineering badges. 

Science AL!VE (Throughout the year)

Open to grade K to 9 students depending on the specific program. Science Alive provides opportunities for youth to explore science beyond the textbook through hands-on, interactive discovery which stimulates their interest and fosters confidence. A student-run not-for-profit organization based at Simon Fraser University,  Science AL!VE is supported by the Faculty of Applied Sciences, and a member of Actua, a national organization that reaches 225,000 youth annually. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Makerfaire Vancouver

In class, Ms. D discussed how she is looking into the possibility of having a Saturday or Sunday field trip to the Vancouver Makerfaire. This is a large event held where the PNE Buildings are in Vancouver. Save the date, as it takes place on June 11-12, 2016. Please see here for more information on this event.

Ms. D attended last year and is planning on going with her family. If you would be interested and/or your parents would like to go, too, you can respond to this post in the blog. Please be advised there is a cost involved, which you would have to pay on your own prior to coming. At this point, ticket costs have not been posted. If we have enough interest, we will look into it as a possibility.

Questions for You!

I am doing some planning for this week, and I need to know the following. Please respond to this post if you have an answer:

  1. Has anyone used the program Sketchup before (previously known as Google Sketchup) and did you like it? Why?
  2. How many of you may have a digital camera of your own you could bring on a special field trip / outdoors adventure?
  3. Does anyone have any engineering, architecture, or drafting iPad apps you would recommend?

Thank you,

Ms. D

An Hour of Code

This week is Computer Science Week, and in celebration of this, people are doing “An Hour of Code” all over the world. Classes all over the globe are taking time to do at least one hour of computer coding this week. The non-profit organization Code.org has provided many easy tools to use, whether you are a student or educator, to complete the one hour task.

Today, the MACC group at Suncrest participated in this event, doing a variety of coding activities! Whether it was making a Star Wars game, doing Minecraft, using Scratch to make a program, or writing Javascript and Python, all students were engaged in coding. We discussed how coding is directly related to mathematics, and thus, we thought of this as our math time today. Students are encouraged to continue as they wish on the website. Please see An Hour of Code and Code.org for videos and activities.

We also created a twitter account today for our MACC group, joining two other advanced learning classes in the District who also have accounts. This account was set up by Ms. D, meaning I am the only one with the password. I will allow students to post on the account using first names only, and I will be monitoring the account so personal information is kept at a minimum — enough so we can share as a group. The students voted today to call our group MACCnCHEESE, and we can be found using the twitter handle @cheesemacc if you would like to visit us. Once a week, we will vote on a person to be Mr. or Miss Cheese, and that person will be our reporter all week. This week Mr. Cheese is Adrian! Posts he makes will be done in the classroom with Ms. D’s supervision.

BTW, all main information for our group will continue to be here on the blog. The twitter account will be used to connect with other classrooms and share our work on hashtags like #hourofcode, which is the one we used today to share our learnings with all other students, educators, and people participating in the program.

During the rest of the day, we had PE, which focused again on movement and making characters (a drama movement focus.) We also made snowmen art using acrylic paint, which will be finished up tomorrow. Finally, we did some grammar work, as Ms. D has identified very specific areas of practice for our group based on the writing done throughout term one. With the help of transition words, conjunctions, proper use of commas, adverbs, and more, our writing will become stronger.

Have a great evening! Please remember Tuning In is due on Friday. The two sheets of grammar are due tomorrow. Turn in Movie and BAG notices ASAP please!