Tuesday, December 30, 2008

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You


If you liked Alias, high tech and adventure, this book is for you.  The Gallagher Academy for exceptional young women is not your typical all-girls high school.  You take advanced martial arts in PE, open secret passages with obscure levers, learn the latest in chemical warfare, break codes, learn surveillance techniques and your Mom is a secret agent.  She wears tiny microfilm recorders in her broaches.  Cammie Morgan is fluent in 14 languages but has no idea what to do when she meets an ordinary boy.  She can hack into the family computer, track him, yet try to keep her identity secret.   However friends arrange for a clandestine meeting.   All kinds of things go haywire as this relationship progresses.  This is an enjoyable story for teenage girls.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Reads for Boys


The Ranger's Apprentice Series


The Ranger's Apprentice series has a lot a guy could want. Adventure, intrigue, non-stop unexpected events and friendships that develop throughout the books. The special marine like organization and training takes place during the middle ages using the technology of the time. The human insights and coming of age threads are very well done. There are seven books published so far and the author, John Flanagan may have more coming. We have seven in the MC. I have enjoyed reading the first three of the series. The photos are courtesy of Amazon.com You can order these on line. They would make a great gift.



Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Twilight Series of Books


Twilight

Since my 7th and 8th graders love these books, and we have requests for them all the time, I bought a set and started reading. These books are very well written, with woven subplots spicing up the tale as it progresses. There are several larger themes within the books that attract teens. Love wins over anger and lesser motives. Love puts the other person first, although it may get clouded by faulty vision sometimes. There is a lot a young heart wants to hear.


Picture of the book is from Amazon.com


Trailer Enjoy! More on Youtube.






Trends of Worth

Trends Worth Noting
I read several articles recently that are quite good. Among them are...

From eSchool News (www.eschoolnews.com/emails/esnTW/esntw120108.htm)
Seven Skills Students Desperately Need...
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=56127
Four Trends that Could Change Everything...
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=56180
Why some Students Prefer Virtual Schooling
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/related-top-news/index.cfm?i=56217

Technology brings about changes. Staying alert to these trends requires time to read about them and reflection time to integrate them into my thinking at least. Ignoring them is dangerous for everyone in education. ICT skills are taking on more importance as they are integrated globally. Forgive me if these comments are short. Time is of the essence for all of us.