June 27, 2016

On My Bookshelf: Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl

Tender at the Bone, a memoir by Ruth Reichl, centers around food and mother daughter relationships because for the author, the two are very much intertwined. The book is full of Ruth's adventures and humor. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom use.
The basic plot: This memoir centers around food and mother daughter relationships because for the author, Ruth, the two are very much intertwined. From an early age, Ruth was aware that her mother was a disaster in the kitchen, serving unusual concoctions, or even worse, food past its expiration date. As a result, though unknowingly at first, Ruth seeks out and enjoys the company of those who can cook and appreciate food. Ruth grows up in New York City, summers in Connecticut, travels with her well to do parents, and spends her middle school years in a boarding school in Quebec because she makes an offhand comment to get mother about wanting to learn French. She attends college in Michigan, far away from her mother and her food, but returns to New York after, where she meets her future husband. Throughout her travels, Ruth becomes an experienced cook, learning any recipe from anyone she can. Her book is sprinkled with these recipes, from brownies to wiener schnitzel to fried chicken.

Why I liked it: I love a good memoir, and this one is good. The author has great adventures, is funny, and her descriptions bring to life all of the figures in her life without slowing down any of the action, which some authors seem to struggle with. I sometimes find myself skimming description, thinking "when is something going to happen?" But not in Tender at the Bone. Ruth's characterization makes you feel like you know these people, or wish you did. 
Tender at the Bone, a memoir by Ruth Reichl, centers around food and mother daughter relationships because for the author, the two are very much intertwined. The book is full of Ruth's adventures and humor. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom use.

The author's treatment of the issue of mental health is also well done. She is kind, but does not romanticize or sugar coat what it is like to live with someone who is manic depressive.

Classroom application: This would be a perfect central text or student selected text for a unit on memoir. The author labels the book as a "food memoir" if you are planning on using excerpts from different types of memoir, but could also fall into the "coming of age" category. Your students who love food, want to be the next Top Chef, or those good girls who wish they could be bad will love this book.

If you use mentor texts for student writing in your classroom, you could also use selections from this text. As I noted above, the author has great character development and description without interfering with the plot. Students (even more so than professional authors) struggle to balance and blend the two so this would be a model text for practicing.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Tender at the Bone for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

June 20, 2016

On My Bookshelf: Thunderstruck by Erik Larson

The literary nonfiction Thunderstruck by Erik Larson follows Guglielmo Marconi's experimentation with, and invention of, the wireless telegraph. This invention is tested and gains worldwide attention when it leads to the apprehension of two fugitives. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom use.
The basic plot: There are two major plot lines in the text. One centers around Guglielmo Marconi and his experimentation with, and invention of, the wireless telegraph. The other follows the unhappy marriage of Dr. Crippen and his wife Belle Elmore.

Marconi is in his twenties when he begins to play around with electromagnetic waves, not really understanding the science behind it, much to the anger of other scientists focused on the same discovery. He faces challenges from his competitors as well as setbacks in the development of his invention.

Meanwhile, Dr. Crippen is practicing medicine in a time when homeopathic remedies are popular and science plays little part in doctoring. His wife seeks fame, but does not find it and spends most of her time spending her husband's money. Both husband and wife eventually find other relationships. The two plot lines merge when murder is suspected and the fugitives escape by boat, but cannot escape Marconi's technology.

Why I liked it: I like historical fiction so the writing style in Thunderstruck was right up my alley, non-fiction written as a narrative. I found the conflict of science versus belief in the supernatural interesting. It is crazy to think that a little more than one hundred years ago people's beliefs were so different. The detective work and chase of the murder suspects at the end of the book was fast paced and kept you turning the page (some of the science heavy parts dragged for me).

The literary nonfiction Thunderstruck by Erik Larson follows Guglielmo Marconi's experimentation with, and invention of, the wireless telegraph. This invention is tested and gains worldwide attention when it leads to the apprehension of two fugitives. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom use.
Classroom application: As the Common Core emphasizes literacy across the subject areas (students shouldn't just be reading in their ELA class), this would be a great read for a science class. As one half of the book follows Marconi's invention, you could read with a focus on his chapters, examining how his success relies on experimentation, largely trial and error and sometimes just luck. If you teach physics, your students could analyze the understanding of and misconceptions about electromagnetic waves.

This book could also be utilized in a history classroom as census-like information is given about the settings in the book, primarily London and the areas surrounding it.

Because the text is literary non-fiction, it is also a great text for use in an ELA classroom. You could use it to teach or review both fiction and/or nonfiction skills.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Thunderstruck for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.\ Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

June 17, 2016

Using Stations to Engage Secondary Students: 3 Ways to Incorporate Movement Into Learning

Learning centers, also known as stations at the secondary level, are ideal activities to use to bring movement into your middle school or high school classroom. Find out how to implement stations on your first day of school, as you review key ideas or terms, and as a way to preview texts.


Stations, otherwise known as centers or rotations, are a great way to increase engagement in your classroom. Research has proven the connection between movement and the retention of knowledge. If that alone isn't enough to convince you to use stations in your classroom, try to imagine what it is like to be a typical middle school or high school student.

For about seven hours straight, you sit at a desk, pen or pencil in hand or in front of a computer screen. No moving except for your walk from one class to the next and little talking except at lunch time. Feeling bored yet? Fidgety? Maybe a little sleepy?



June 13, 2016

On My Bookshelf: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

In An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, Colin has been just been dumped by his 19th Katherine when his best friend decides to take him on a road trip to help him forget his woes. Bromance and romance full of mathematical problems, historical references, word puzzles, and footnotes ensues. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom use.
The basic plot: Colin has two things going on, or going wrong in his life. He has been dumped by another Katherine and as a child prodigy, hasn't done anything to take him to the genius level.

To cheer him up, Colin's best friend Hassan takes him on a road trip to Kentucky where they meet Lindsey, who is dating The Other Colin, and her mother Hollis, who owns a factory, the town's main source of employment.

Hollis hires the two to help Lindsey with interviewing the town's natives and as Colin tries to create an equation predicting the length of relationships, sparks fly in all directions.

Why I liked it: An Abundance of Katherines is the third John Green book I have read, and is my least favorite so far (The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska were better).

That said, I do like the portrayal of Colin and Hassan's friendship. The two are intelligent, nerdy, funny, and kind to each other. You don't see that so often in male friendships.

In An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, Colin has been just been dumped by his 19th Katherine when his best friend decides to take him on a road trip to help him forget his woes. Bromance and romance full of mathematical problems, historical references, word puzzles, and footnotes ensues. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom use.
Classroom application: Your female students, hopeless romantics, and nerdy boys will like it. The main character is a fountain of knowledge of math, history, science, etc.

As with most novels, it could be used to teach plot, characterization, theme, etc.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of An Abundance of Katherines for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

June 6, 2016

On My Bookshelf: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, a nonfiction biography, reads like a great narrative. Louis Zamperini survives unbelievable odds as a POW during WWII. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom use.
The basic plot: Louis Zamperini is born in New York City and his family, Italian, moves to California when he is young. He is a hell raiser as a kid, causing trouble where ever he goes, worrying his family, and not making many friends. Finally his older brother Pete gets him to settle down by introducing him to running, which takes Louie all the way to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. But then WWII starts and Louie gets drafted as an airman. After he and his crew crash at sea, he is captured by the Japanese and held in a series of POW camps, one worse than the next. He barely survives, but makes it back home where he struggles with PTSD, ends up married with kids, finds God, and finally has his life back together.

Why I liked it: I love historical fiction, and while this is a nonfiction biography, based on the author's extensive research and interviews, it reads like a great story. The author seamlessly blended historical facts with the narrative of one man's life.

I am also biased because the book is set in the era of my grandparents who I think were wonderful and lived through such interesting times. My grandfather, like Louie, was a WWII veteran, but served on the European front rather than the Pacific front.
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, a nonfiction biography, reads like a great narrative. Louis Zamperini survives unbelievable odds as a POW during WWII. Read on for more of my review and ideas for classroom use.

Classroom application:
There are some books you have to read all of to "get it." This is not one of them. You could use chapters as short stories on a variety of themes such as survival, perseverance, determination, and heroism.

The book is filed with excellent examples of conflict. While Louie is stranded out at sea, he has conflict with one of the men stranded with him (the other guy eats all the food, person versus person). He also struggles to persevere mentally and spiritually (person versus self). Sharks surround his raft, the sea provides no fresh drinking water, and occasionally a storm blows through to really shake things up (person versus nature).

You could also bring chapters into a history classroom to supplement the textbook on topics such as the Great Depression, assimilation of immigrants, the Olympics, World War II, prisoners of war, post traumatic stress, aviation, and cultural differences/ethnocentrism.

Though I haven't seen it yet, the movie was recently released so you could also do some film/text comparisons (CCSS 7) and/or analyze for historical accuracy.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Unbroken for yourself, you can find it on Amazon here.

Note: The Literary Maven is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.