literature

Escape the Library with Mr. Lemoncello: An Escape Room Challenge

January 14, 2019 by Amy Leave a Comment

A few years ago, we were introduced to Mr. Lemoncello in Chris Grabenstein’s book Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library. At the time, I had never heard of an escape room, though the book screams for someone to recreate the game from the story. When we chose this book for book club, we had a blast creating recipes for the foods from the book, as well as making the games in the story, decorating the house like a library, and pulling out every other detail we could think of.

Except the actual escape room itself. Because although my book clubbers did have puzzles and clues and figured out how to escape from our house, I didn’t know how to recreate all of those details for you.

Until now.

My Big Helper has been dreaming and scheming and planning with me, and we’ve done it: we’ve turned Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library into an escape room challenge.

The game features Charles Chiltington – who else? – as the bad guy who sets up the story. Following that, there are four games and one Extreme Challenge to solve before you can leave the library and save the day. Just like in Grabenstein’s book, the game features Clunker Cards, the game Bibliomania (which tests your knowledge of the Dewey Decimal system), the First Words game, a rebus puzzle, and more. There’s a simple paper-based ending, of course, because we teachers are busy, and sometimes simplicity rules the day. The book starts and ends with balloons, though, and so … there’s also an option that involves finding the correct balloon, because … there has to be balloons, right?

This escape room challenge is perfect for your upper-elementary or middle-grade classroom, as well as for homeschool groups and book clubs. Each puzzle tests your knowledge in literary and fun ways, all while thinking critically and cooperatively.

If you’d like to know more, you can go here to read a full description and see previews of pages.

Of course, if you haven’t experienced the wonder of Mr. Lemoncello’s library yet, you’ll want to start there. It’s an amazingly creative story with a game designer who will remind you of Willy Wonka (but without the Oompa Loompas). You can read more about the book here, but I know you’ll want to bring it to life just like we did. If that’s you, you can find all the recipes, decorations, games and fun that I created to celebrate this fantastic book here.

Do you want to host your own Mr. Lemoncello escape room? Pin this graphic to share it with your friends!

So settle in for a good read, and then gather your friends and Escape the Library!

What creative things are you up to now?

NEW! Bring “The Ambrose Deception” to Life with a Scavenger Hunt in Raleigh, NC!

December 17, 2018 by Amy Leave a Comment

Earlier this month, our book clubs read Emily Ecton’s The Ambrose Deception and we staged a real-life scavenger hunt all over the center of Durham. I tried to recreate the fun from the book by starting our hunt at a coffee shop that also offers doughnuts and other fare, and the kids were paired with drivers, smartphones, and unique clues that would take them to landmarks of all kinds around the city.

Want to know more? Read my full post about our adventure here.

The Ambrose Deception is a really fun book that takes the main characters on an adventure around their home city of Chicago as they solve puzzles, clues, and learn about friendship and teamwork. It’s a great story – find out more here.

The day went so well that we wanted to do it again, and so I made another set of clues for another city: nearby Raleigh, our capitol city. The downtown area of Raleigh is full of unique museums, restaurants, history, and landmarks, all fun places to explore.

This version is set up for four teams, with four clues each. When they solve all four original clues, the Clue Master sends one last clue: the clue to the final location, and the first team there wins.

This product contains everything you need to run a successful scavenger hunt on your own: simply print the forms, get your teams together, and pick a date! There are even certificates you can print for the winners.

*This does require that you are physically in the city of Raleigh, North Carolina.

Running a real-life scavenger hunt is a great way to explore and check out places that may be new to you in your own city or a nearby one. It’s fun to do with book clubs, parties, family groups, or just a group of friends. While both The Ambrose Deception: Durham, NC Edition and The Ambrose Deception: Raleigh, NC Edition are modeled after this book, it isn’t necessary to have read it in order to participate. In fact, it’s much like an escape room, only instead of performing all of your tasks in one place, you get to venture outside for this!

If you’re not anywhere near Durham or Raleigh, North Carolina, or you teach in a classroom that won’t allow you to head outside and explore, don’t fret! Soon there will be a fully digital version of this scavenger hunt that you can do anywhere! Stay tuned ….

You can read more about The Ambrose Deception: Raleigh, NC Edition here. I’d love to hear about your experience if you decide to participate!

If you think this scavenger hunt sounds like fun, Pin this graphic to share it with your friends!

How are you making the most of your literature reading this week? Comment below and let me know!

An Heirloom Audio Production of St. Bartholomew’s Eve – Review

October 15, 2018 by Amy Leave a Comment

We love listening to stories as a family, and so we were excited to receive Heirloom Audio Productions’ newest product for review: St. Bartholomew’s Eve.

It’s about a time in history about which we were all completely clueless: the persecution of the Huguenots in France in 1567. I knew that the Catholic and Protestant churches did not always coexist peacefully, specifically in Ireland and England, but I didn’t realize that there were full-blown wars over the division, or that it was a major issue in other parts of Europe. Turns out that the events described in this episode were part of a whole series of wars between the Catholics and the Protestants, or Huguenots, in France!

My Little Man was excited that there are some big-name voice actors in this episode – in all of the Heirloom Audio productions, really. Brian Blessed’s name caught his eye because he’s connected with Star Wars, and My Little Man is a big fan!

This may make you think, well, duh! but the best thing about St. Bartholomew’s Eve is the sound. It just sounds amazing! From the fancy stuff like the sound effects to the simpler stuff like accents, Heirloom Audio pays attention to every single detail of the way that this production sounds. My Little Man said that it was like listening to a movie, and he’s spot on. It’s nothing like listening to an audio book, in which there’s usually one or two voice actors who read the story that someone wrote. Instead, this has a full cast of characters, sound effects, music, and more. It’s very detailed and incredibly well done.

Those additional sounds really bring the story to life. The volume of certain sounds change based on distance from which it’s supposedly coming. Music plays. Sound effects add to the drama, making you feel as if you were there. It all works with the words and the accents to paint pictures in your mind.

I’m one of those readers for whom a well-written story can feel incredibly real. You know the kind – who can exist in book limbo for a while after finishing an especially good one – and this is one such story. You’ll find yourself turning the characters and the events over and over in your mind. You won’t quite be ready to leave them after the last sound has left the speakers.

Because we knew nothing about the French Wars of Religion, St. Bartholomew’s Eve made for a really fun introduction. While the events of the story aren’t fun, exactly (it is war), we listened to this episode on the way to and from Patrick Henry’s Red Hill to volunteer, and it made our long commute more enjoyable. I love being able to listen to things in the car with the kids and then to talk about what we’re hearing and thinking.

It was also rather confusing. Because we didn’t know who the Huguenots were – other than that they were French – it took some time to sort out who was who and what was happening. I’d recommend finding out the very basics about the Second French War before listening. (Which I did, prior to signing up for the review, but then there was a time lapse, and I forgot. We didn’t mind, though, because 1. Heirloom Audio = great stories, and 2. stories are fun, anyway.)

I was happily surprised by the very end of the episode. It was framed as a man telling the story of this war to two kids who were playing hooky from church, and at the end the kids quickly picked up on the moral of the story: appreciate your ability to worship in the way that you choose. I thought that was really cool, but then the storyteller took it a step further and asked the boys to guard against anything that might infringe on his freedom lest it be taken away (or seriously challenged) again.

It wasn’t set up in a super political way, and there’s nothing political or pushy about it, which I appreciate. I do think that this is something that we should both appreciate and protect, however, and I like the kid-friendly way that it was phrased. I wasn’t expecting that to come from this lesson at all, but it was very fitting.

I’m liking Heirloom Audio dramas more and more with each one we hear! Are you an Heirloom Audio fan? Which one is your favorite?

Do you want to know more? Click here for my review of Wulf the Saxon!

St. Bartholomew's Eve {Heirloom Audio Reviews}

NEW! “The Honest Truth” Resources

August 20, 2018 by Amy Leave a Comment

I get really, really excited when I find a book that is overflowing with exciting learning possibilities, and that’s why I can’t wait to share Dan Gemeinhart’s debut book The Honest Truth with you. The main character Mark is a twelve-year-old boy dealing with a return of the cancer he’s fought most of his life, and the story is that of his journey as he deals with this news. It’s full of friendship and contemplation and, yes, poetry; ultimately, this story asks: what’s really important in life? How should we look at it?

Despite the difficulties he faces, Mark’s story ends triumphantly – and I love that I can hand this complex story over to my middle school kids without worry about it being too grown up for them.

It’s never too late for the adventure of a lifetime.

In all the ways that matter, Mark is a normal kid. He’s got a dog named Beau and a best friend, Jessie. He likes to take photos and write haiku poems in his notebook. He dreams of climbing a mountain one day.

But in one important way, Mark is not like other kids at all. Mark is sick. The kind of sick that means hospitals. And treatments. The kind of sick some people never get better from.

So Mark runs away. He leaves home with his camera, his notebook, his dog, and a plan. A plan to reach the top of Mount Rainier. Even if it’s the last thing he ever does.

The Honest Truth is a rare and extraordinary novel about big questions, small moments, and one incredible journey.

I love the questions that Mark asks in this book and the answers that he finds. I love the way that Gemeinhart makes Mark’s journey relatable to so many – all while on a fast-paced adventure story, and I think your kids will like it, too.

The Honest Truth is perfect for a book club, over-the-dinner-table, with a pen pal, or literature circle discussion. That’s why I’ve created Discussion Questions and Creative Writing Projects. You’ll find questions sorted by chapter that have no right or wrong answer, but instead ask your students to compare, contrast and critique the characters and the choices they make. Writing projects take a variety of forms, both opinion, essay, and other creative projects.

Gemeinhart includes haiku as one of Mark’s hobbies, but his own writing includes many quote-able passages. These quotes would make great writing prompts on their own, but they’re also wonderful for hanging up and pondering – that’s why I created FREE printables for you. They’re ready to print and go.

I’m looking forward to our book club event featuring this book in a few months. We’re heading outdoors to hike in the cold weather the way that Mark did – and there are lots of other outside possibilities, too. I’ve created a Book Club Activities pack to make it easy for you to use this with your book club. It includes ideas for taking your book clubbers outside, for food from the book, for costumes and clothing, and also printable research projects – and, of course, it comes with discussion questions.

So, what are you waiting for? Grab your copy of The Honest Truth and let the fun begin!

You can find these and other creative, time-saving resources for your home or classroom at my TpT Store A Nest in the Rocks.

What are your kids reading right now?

Our Book Club Reading List for 2018-2019

August 6, 2018 by Amy 1 Comment

If you’ve been following along here for any length of time, you probably know that I love book club. I love searching for great new books for my kids and their friends. I love digging into those books and looking for the perfect threads I can pull for great literature, history, home ec, science, and other fun learning projects.

I’ve been reading and reading and reading for months to pick the perfect books for this coming school year, and I’ve finally made my decisions! This was a really tough year for a lot of reasons – both kids are now in middle school, they’re ready for harder and more complex stories and characters, and because we’ve been doing this for six years now. Some of the books I found were great, but the things I wanted to do with them were things that we’ve already done – and so while I’d definitely recommend reading those books, they weren’t what I was looking for in this case.

Each year, I try to find a good blend of classics, realistic contemporary, sci fi, fantasy, and historical fiction. While we’re a bit lighter on the historical fiction this year than I wanted, that ended up being mainly because the books that tied most perfectly to our planned history topics are ones my kids have already read. While we’ll still be reading that genre, we’ll just be reading less of it as a club.

Altogether, I am SO EXCITED about what we’ll be doing this year! It was easier to find clean, complex, exciting books than ever – it was only difficult to choose which ones we’d read. I love them so much that I’m creating a variety of educational resources to accompany them, and you’ll see the releasing here as each is completed. In the meantime, if you’re looking for great reads for your kids this year, look up these books.

Want your own, printable, colorful, book club list? Click here!

Printable Book Club Reading List 2018-2019

If you’ve enjoyed reading about our book club selections, I’d appreciate it if you shared, pinned, or liked this post in some way – and stay tuned to find out what we do with each of these fantastic books!

NEW! Resources for Gordon Korman’s “WhatsHisFace”

August 4, 2018 by Amy Leave a Comment

I’m always super excited when I find fun books that have great learning connections, and Gordon Korman’s latest book WhatsHisFace fits the bill perfectly! It’s a hoot, too – I found myself laughing out loud often while reading it. It makes the perfect addition to a unit about Shakespeare.

When 12-year-old Cooper Vega moves for the third time in five years, he receives a state-of-the-art smartphone to help him stay in touch with old friends. He’s had phones before, but this one is buggy and unpredictable. When a boy named Roderick Northrop communicates with him through the phone, Cooper realizes that his phone isn’t buggy at all; the thing is haunted!

I couldn’t leave this book alone – there were too many opportunities to transform the laughs in the book into fun learning adventures! That’s why I created resources to go with WhatsHisFace. They’re designed to make the most of the learning opportunities within the book while still enjoying every single funny bit of it.

First, Roderick is a hoot. He’s forever saying things that are wise and true, but he gets the modern vernacular a bit mixed up. I’ve created some printables featuring his quotes. You could use these strictly for decoration, but they would also make great discussion or writing prompts. You can download this resource is FREE at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Of course, I think you can always glean more from a story when you talk it over with at least one other someone, and so I’ve created a packet of open-ended Discussion Questions and Creative Writing Prompts. These do not have strict right-or-wrong answers but are intended for students to share their thoughts and opinions and to back those up with evidence from the book.

Gordon Korman’s outdone himself with the historical connections in this book! From discussion the clothing, speech, science, and printing methods of Shakespeare’s day, there is much to learn here. I’ve created hands-on projects examining each of these areas in a variety of learning styles and linked them up to text, articles, and videos where your students can go to learn more. Everything is ready for you to print and use immediately in this linked unit study.

You can find these and other resources all at my Teachers Pay Teachers store here.

What books will your students be reading this year?

If you’re interested in this book or any of these resources, I’d appreciate it if you’d pin or share this post. Thanks!

NEW! Literary Analysis by Quote Packet

June 28, 2018 by Amy Leave a Comment

Recently, for one of My Big Helper’s book club events, I asked the girls to bring their favorite quote from the book. I had a craft project planned out and expected to see the girls each bring a quote or two; boy, did they surprise me!

Especially My Big Helper. Not knowing what the quote was needed for, but knowing that I might have some sort of creative purpose in mind, she had filled a stack of notecards with all kinds of quotes from the book. A few of the ones she picked out are rather famous as coming from that book, but many were not, and she was eager to share them with me and to explain her reason for choosing each one.

That made me think: what if we searched novels, as we were reading them, for specific things? What if we were looking for a specific literary device or writing element as we were reading? Often, during our read-alouds, I’ll stop and ask the kids questions about a specific thing that we just heard; but what if we did this with more intention – with the purpose of analyzing literature and studying the craft of writing, all through quotations?

That’s why I created this packet. Each page is designed with a different literary element or writing device in mind so that you can choose a piece relevant to your current read, whether it be an independent work, short story or novel, or a class read-aloud, and your students can be searching for that element as they read.

I’ve tried to choose a range of elements here, from basic things like identifying plot elements to identifying mood and theme to considering the author’s purpose. For most pages, you’ll need only your book, a pen, and the printable, but for a few outside research is helpful.

These pages can be used for study guides, discussion guides, to supplement lesson plans, or as assessments.

I hope you enjoy this Literary Analysis by Quote product! For more fun and creative teaching ideas, visit my TpT store.

Who Teaches? Seeking Product Reviews!

June 20, 2018 by Amy Leave a Comment

As you may know, I love writing simple curriculum packets and educational projects. I love finding creative ways for kids to learn while they’re reading, building something, or otherwise having fun – and since we love to read, these are almost always connected to books.

A few years ago, I started packaging these products and listing them in a Teachers Pay Teachers Store. This has been a really great way for me to share my work and to earn a bit of money to help with our homeschooling efforts.

I’ve noticed, however, that many people don’t want to purchase a product that doesn’t have reviews yet. I can understand that – I feel that way myself; but then, how does it ever get reviewed?

I’ve decided to offer a few copies of products that accompany popular books for free. If you choose to take me up on this offer, and you enjoy my product, I would appreciate it if you would leave a review following TpT procedures on the product page. If you it’s not something you can see yourself using, then please simply send an email to me here with how you think I could improve that particular product.

I’d like to offer the following products for review. The first three are packets of discussion questions and writing prompts.

These final two products are longer, more in-depth interdisciplinary studies to accompany the related book. They contain vocabulary, discussion questions, and linked projects to history, science, writing projects, and more.

Clicking on the picture of each product above will take you to my TpT store, where you can read more about each one.

If you’re interested, please use the contact form below, and I’ll get back to you soon. Thanks!

NEW! Discussion Questions & Writing Projects for Gordan Korman’s “Slacker”

June 18, 2018 by Amy Leave a Comment

I love when you see how a book can be educational as soon as you start to read it. It’s much, much better when that book is also loads of fun to read, and that’s exactly how I felt after turning the first page of Gordan Korman’s Slacker.

Cameron Boxer is very happy to spend his life avoiding homework, hanging out with his friends, and gaming for hours in his basement. It’s not too hard for him to get away with it . . . until he gets so caught up in one game that he almost lets his house burn down around him.

Oops.

It’s time for some serious damage control — so Cameron and his friends invent a fake school club that will make it seem like they’re doing good deeds instead of slacking off. The problem? Some kids think the club is real — and Cameron is stuck being president.

Soon Cameron is part of a mission to save a beaver named Elvis from certain extinction. Along the way, he makes some new friends — and some powerful new enemies. The guy who never cared about anything is now at the center of everything . . . and it’s going to take all his slacker skills to win this round.

Slacker is great because there are so many lessons to be learned – but you’ll be rolling with laughter while you do. I created this packet full of opinion- and culture-based discussion questions and writing projects to maximize learning while laughing. The discussion questions are open-ended, sorted by chapter, and are based on events from the book. Several of the writing projects are similar: they’re designed for your student to make a statement and then back it up with logic.

Other writing projects are different, though. They require students to create newspaper or journal articles based on their predictions about what might happen in the future, or to fill in character perspectives along the way.

I think your students will enjoy Slacker. Give it a read!

You can find Discussion Questions & Creative Writing Projects for Gordon Korman’s Slacker and much more in my TpT store.

Book Club: “Stealing Air” by Trent Reedy

May 23, 2018 by Amy Leave a Comment

Yesterday we held our last book club event for this school year. We read a Stealing Air – a book that I debated about but ultimately chose because I love the reality and the outrageous fun and daring of the characters. They don’t always make the best choices, but they are real ones. It gave us a great deal to talk about, and their adventures provided much fodder for our own.

When his dad announced they were moving to Iowa, Brian looked forward to making some new friends. But on his first day there he makes an enemy instead — Frankie Heller, the meanest kid in town. Brian needs to hang out with someone cool to get back on track. . . .

Alex has always been the coolest guy around, and good with money, just like his dad. But now the family is struggling, and he needs to make some cash to keep up appearances. Then an opportunity falls in his lap . . . .

Max is a scientific genius, but his parents are always busy with their own work. Building an actual plane should get their attention — if only he wasn’t scared of heights . . .

The answer to all three boys’ problems starts with Max’s secret flyer. But Frankie and the laws of popularity and physics stand in their way. Can they work together in time to get their plan AND their plane off the ground?

We started out our Stealing Air adventure with a pizza-eating contest. In the book, Brian enters a contest to eat a Big Porker, a one-pound barbecue sandwich with a mountain of curly fries. To simplify things, we stuck with pizza. It was fun, though, to see which kids wanted to participate and how they went about trying to finish their slice first. The most serious used Brian’s tricks from the book!

After talking about the book and choosing scripture to match key characters, we headed outside. We played a trivia game to see which team knew the book details the best, and then that team got first choice of materials.

The kids used their materials to try to build a people-mover that would roll. The idea was to build a contraption, like Brian and his friends, that they could ride down a hill. The first team to the bottom won. Because we had much more wood than wheels, we determined that it had only to roll, and so the kids got creative with that rule.

The kids were really creative and used great problem-solving skills.

They shared their tools and supplies.

When several of their wheels broke, this team built a wheelbarrow-like contraption that would allow them to roll, technically, down the hill, but with the help of their teammates.

The other team built a triangular base with three small wheels on the bottom and a seat on top.

When the time came, they lined up at the top of a very gradual hill and raced to the bottom. The wheelbarrow team won!

We had a lot of fun with Trent Reedy’s Stealing Air. If you like realistic fiction, give it a read!