#2ndaryELA Twitter Chat on Sunday 9/1: Executive Functioning Skills

Brynn Allison,  The Literary Maven, & Lisa Spangler, Mrs. Spangler in the Middle, host #2ndaryELA on Twitter every Sunday evening from 8 - 8:30 PM EST. #2ndaryELA is a weekly chat for secondary English Language Arts teachers focused on a topic. Every Friday, we post the topic and questions on our blogs to allow you to prepare for the upcoming Sunday evening's chat. Thank you to everyone who joined us last year and we hope that you will join us again.

We'd also love for you to join our 2ndaryELA Facebook group, even if you aren't on Twitter. 2ndaryELA is a group of middle and high school English Language Arts teachers looking to share ideas and best practices. This group is an extension of our Twitter chat and a place for collaboration, questions, and encouragement. Feel free to post teaching ideas, success stories, resource links, photos, etc. that will enhance our instruction.

On Sunday, September 1, our #2ndaryELA chat will be about executive functioning skills.

The Directions:
1. Log into Twitter on Sunday from 8-8:30 PM EST.
2. Search for tweets with the hashtag #2ndaryELA in the search bar. Make sure to click “Latest.”
3. Introductions are for the first 5 minutes.
4. Starting at 8:05 (@literarymaven or @spanglermiddle) will post questions every 5 minutes using the format Q1, Q2, Q3, etc. and the hashtag #2ndaryELA.
5. Respond to questions using the format A1, A2, A3, etc. with #2ndaryELA.
6. Follow any teachers responding and who are also using #2ndaryELA.
7. Like and respond to other teachers' tweets.

You can schedule your responses to the questions ahead of time using a scheduler like TweetDeck or HootSuite (but don't forget to use A1, A2, etc. and #2ndaryELA). Links are encouraged as well as using images is also encouraged when relevant.

New to chats? Here are the rules:
1. Stay on topic & stay positive!
2. Please do not post or promote paid products unless specifically asked.
3. If you arrive late, try to look through other posts before beginning.
4. Feel free to just read, like, and/or retweet.
5. Always use our hashtag #2ndaryELA, including in your replies to others.
6. Make sure your twitter feed is set to public. (Also keep in mind that Twitter is completely public – that means students, parents, and administrators can and will read what you tweet.)

You can also check out a quick video tutorial in this blog post.

Be sure to spread the word to any teacher friends who might be interested in joining us as well. We look forward to chatting with you Sunday evening and in our 2ndaryELA Facebook group!

Get caught up on past chats here:

On My Bookshelf: Archenemies by Marissa Meyer

The basic plot from Amazon: Time is running out.
Together, they can save the world.
But they each other’s worst nightmare.

Nova’s double life is about to get a lot more complicated:

As Insomnia, she is a full-fledged member of the Renegades, a syndicate of powerful and beloved superheroes. She works with Adrian’s patrol unit to protect the weak and maintain order in Gatlon City.

As Nightmare, she is an Anarchist - a group of of villains who are determined to destroy the Renegades. Nova wants vengeance against the so-called heroes who once failed her when she needed them most.

But as Nova, her feelings for Adrian are deepening, despite the fact that he is the son of her sworn enemies and, unbeknownst to Nova, he has some dangerous secrets of his own.

In this second installment of the Renegades trilogy, Nova, Adrian, and the rest of their crew – Ruby, Oscar, and Danna -- are faced with escalating crime in Gatlon City, while covert weapons and conflicting missions have Nova and Adrian questioning not only their beliefs about justice, but also the feelings they have for each other.

The line between good and evil has been blurred, but what's clear to them both is that too much power could mean the end of their city – and the world – as they know it.

Why I liked it: I pretty much only read books on my Kindle, and those are books I check out for free through OverDrive, so there was a bit of a wait for Archenemies. After getting sucked in to the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, I was not at all surprised that I couldn't wait to read Archenemies, the second book in her Renegades series.

Nova is a villain in disguise as a superhero as she tries to bring down the superheroes ruling the city, but her efforts become more complicated as her feelings for Adrian deepen. I haven't decided yet if I want the bad ass or romantic side of her to win out.

Adrian adds to the Sentinels powers, but then tries to let the Sentinel dies because the Renegades see the Sentinel as a villain. However, Adrian has trouble letting “dirty” Renegades get away with their bad behavior, and trying to stop them puts the Sentinel back in the spotlight.

Nova and the Anarchists have a new scheme to reunite Art (the fact that he was alive and in hiding was the big surprise at the end of Book 1) with his helmet, so that his powers can be restored to full strength. Meanwhile, the Renegades have developed Agent N, which will neutralize prodigies’ powers. Thanks to Nova, the Anarchists get their hands on the formula and plan to use it against the Renegades.

Max also becomes a central part of the plot. The Health Charm that allows Adrian, and both his fathers to visit him, also protects Nova from the effects of Agent N. Max is injured during Nova’s raid of the Renegades headquarters when she is intercepted by the crew of “dirty” Renegades. Art is captured by the Renegades and when the book ends, it is still unclear if Dianna knows Nova’s true identity.

Classroom application: I would recommend this series for middle school and up, particularly students who are fans of Marvel Comics. 

Some cross curricular connections could be made with events in history. The establishment of government is similar to post-revolution America and the struggle to create an identity for a president that was not the same as a king. The use of Agent N could also be compared to the eugenics movement in America.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Archenemies 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.