Saturday, April 22, 2017
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Graphic Novels
Brown, D. (2017). Drowned city: hurricane
katrina and new orleans. HMH Books for Young
Readers.
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina's
monstrous winds and surging water overwhelmed the protective levees around
low-lying New Orleans, Louisiana. Eighty percent of the city flooded, in some
places under twenty feet of water. Property damages across the Gulf Coast
topped $100 billion. One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three people lost
their lives. The tale of this historic storm and the drowning of an American
city is one of selflessness, heroism, and courage—and also of incompetence,
racism, and criminality.
Lexile
Level: GN920L
LA
Themes: You would be surprised of what you are capable of.
Universal
Themes: Survival; Perseverance
Humphreys, J. D., Chikwanine, M., &
Dav́ila, C. (2016). Child
soldier: when boys and girls are used in war.
London: Franklin Watts.
Michel is like many other five-year-olds: he
has a loving family and spends his days going to school and playing soccer. But
in 1993, the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Michel and his family live, is
a country in tumult. One afternoon Michel and his friends are kidnapped by
rebel militants and forced to become child soldiers.
Lexile
Level: N/A
LA
Themes: Loss of innocence
Universal
Themes: Survival; Perseverance; War; Corruption
Schwartz, S., & Watkinson, L. (2015). The
other side of the Wall. Minneapolis: Graphic
Universe.
Simon Schwartz was born in 1982 in East
Germany, at a time when the repressive Socialist Unity Party of Germany
controlled the area. Shortly before Simon's birth, his parents decided to leave
their home in search of greater freedoms on the other side of the Berlin Wall.
But East German authorities did not allow the Schwartzes to leave for almost
three years. In the meantime, Simon's parents struggled with the costs of their
decision: the loss of work, the attention of the East German secret police, and
the fragmentation of their family.
Lexile
Level: GN580L
LA
Themes: The sacrifices we make for others
Universal
Themes: Survival; Perseverance; War
Stoian, M. (2016). Take
it as a compliment. London: Singing Dragon.
Bringing together the voices of males and
females of all ages, the stories in this collective graphic memoir reflect real
life experiences of sexual abuse, violence and harassment.
Each experience is brought to life by Maria Stoian's exceptional artwork. Her unique and varied styles powerfully reflect the tone and mood of the different stories and in just a few pages express the complex emotions felt by victims of sexual abuse.
Covering acts such as sexual violence, public sexual harassment, domestic abuse and child abuse, this is a reminder for survivors that they are not alone and a call for all of us to take action. The stories clearly show that assault of any type is not an honor bestowed on anyone. It is not a compliment.
Each experience is brought to life by Maria Stoian's exceptional artwork. Her unique and varied styles powerfully reflect the tone and mood of the different stories and in just a few pages express the complex emotions felt by victims of sexual abuse.
Covering acts such as sexual violence, public sexual harassment, domestic abuse and child abuse, this is a reminder for survivors that they are not alone and a call for all of us to take action. The stories clearly show that assault of any type is not an honor bestowed on anyone. It is not a compliment.
Lexile
Level: N/A
LA
Themes: Speaking up; Loss of Innocence; Strength
Universal
Themes: Survival; Perseverance
Chmakova, S. (2015). Awkward.
New York: Yen Press.
Cardinal rule #1 for surviving school: Don't get
noticed by the mean kids.
Cardinal rule #2 for surviving school: Seek out groups with similar interests and join them.
On her first day at her new school, Penelope--Peppi--Torres reminds herself of these basics. But when she trips into a quiet boy in the hall, Jaime Thompson, she's already broken the first rule, and the mean kids start calling her the "nerder girlfriend." How does she handle this crisis? By shoving poor Jaime and running away!
Falling back on rule two and surrounding herself with new friends in the art club, Peppi still can't help feeling ashamed about the way she treated Jaime. Things are already awkward enough between the two, but to make matters worse, he's a member of her own club's archrivals--the science club! And when the two clubs go to war, Peppi realizes that sometimes you have to break the rules to survive middle school!
Cardinal rule #2 for surviving school: Seek out groups with similar interests and join them.
On her first day at her new school, Penelope--Peppi--Torres reminds herself of these basics. But when she trips into a quiet boy in the hall, Jaime Thompson, she's already broken the first rule, and the mean kids start calling her the "nerder girlfriend." How does she handle this crisis? By shoving poor Jaime and running away!
Falling back on rule two and surrounding herself with new friends in the art club, Peppi still can't help feeling ashamed about the way she treated Jaime. Things are already awkward enough between the two, but to make matters worse, he's a member of her own club's archrivals--the science club! And when the two clubs go to war, Peppi realizes that sometimes you have to break the rules to survive middle school!
Lexile
Level: GN280L
LA
Themes: Making the right decision, even if it’s the harder choice.
Universal
Themes: Survival; Peer Pressure
Magazine Articles
Centered around the Universal Theme of Perserverance
Entrepreneurs:
Milton Hershey. (n.d.). Retrieved April 04, 2017, from https://newsela.com/articles/bio-entrepreneurs-milton-hershey/id/19979/
After five unsuccessful years, Hershey headed west where he
found work with another confectioner. It was there that he discovered caramel
and how fresh milk could be used to make it.
But the businessman in Hershey wasn't content to work for someone else.
He went out on his own again, only to fail twice more. In 1883, he returned to
Lancaster where he started the Lancaster Caramel Company. Success soon followed. Within a few short
years, Hershey had a thriving business and was shipping his caramels all over
the country. See how these successes led
to his chocolate empire!
Hollywood
agents volunteer by mentoring public school students. (n.d.). Retrieved April
04, 2017, from https://newsela.com/articles/compton-talentagents/id/6911/
For the past four years, a
few dozen agents from William Morris Endeavor (WME), a talent agency, have been
coaching — or mentoring — students from two Compton schools to do better in
their studies. The agents typically help famous actors, singers and athletes
find jobs and sign contracts that pay them well for their work. Now, they're
taking the time to work with students.
The
Explorers: Ibn Battuta. (n.d.). Retrieved April 04, 2017, from https://newsela.com/articles/BHP-U8-3-ibn-battuta/id/3875/
The men in Ibn Battuta’s
family were legal scholars and he was raised with a focus on education. His
urge to travel was spurred by his interest in finding the best teachers and the
best libraries; he also wanted to make a special trip to Mecca, called the
“hajj.” For Muslims, the trip is a religious duty to be done at least once in
life.
Time
Machine (1904): The personalities of Professor and Madame Curie. (n.d.).
Retrieved April 04, 2017, from https://newsela.com/articles/historic-news-curie/id/15540/
Madame Curie and her husband
have traveled life's pathway with untiring energy; and if we look backward at
their career we shall notice that their hard work led to their current fame.
Athletes
finding different ways to raise money to get to the Olympics. (n.d.). Retrieved
April 04, 2017, from https://newsela.com/articles/olympic-athletes-money/id/19162/
In 2014, ESPN wrote about Olympic athletes' financial struggles. "There are many athletes fighting to stay above the poverty line," said Nathan Crumpton, who served on the U.S. Olympic Committee's Athletes' Advisory Council on revenue allocation. Superstars in such high-profile sports as swimming and gymnastics can sign endorsement deals that pay a lot of money, and winning a medal does come with a (taxed) cash prize. Generally, though, there is not a lot of money for Olympic athletes.
In 2014, ESPN wrote about Olympic athletes' financial struggles. "There are many athletes fighting to stay above the poverty line," said Nathan Crumpton, who served on the U.S. Olympic Committee's Athletes' Advisory Council on revenue allocation. Superstars in such high-profile sports as swimming and gymnastics can sign endorsement deals that pay a lot of money, and winning a medal does come with a (taxed) cash prize. Generally, though, there is not a lot of money for Olympic athletes.
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