Reading

Students, I’ve been so pleased to see the enthusiasm for reading that you have shown in these first weeks of school!  Already you are bringing your public library books, paperbacks, Kindles,  and Nooks to class.  You’re browsing the classroom library and checking out titles from best-selling young adult authors. Extra minutes in class have been spent productively, with you choosing to read once your binders are organized and your letters are written.  This is exciting!  We are building a community of writers and readers in our seventh grade classroom.

We can all foster this enthusiasm for reading and support the growth of our class library by ordering books from Scholastic.  You can browse each month’s book flyer and order online here or from the link on my website (it’s under the “resources” tab).  Our class ordering code is GNM2B.  

I’ve been thinking about what I want to read for my reading log this nine weeks. I’ve almost finished my audiobook How the Light Gets In, the recent Louise Penny mystery I mentioned in my letter to you, so I think I’ll get started on my required biography/autobiography.  I’ve checked out a book about the Bronte children:  Charlotte, Emily, Anne.  I know a few of you are familiar with Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, and both are on my list of favorite books.  I’ve listened to my Jane Eyre audiobook three or four times over the years, and I know I will listen to it again.  I am really looking forward to learning more about the lives of Charlotte, Emily, and their lesser-known sister.  All were writers, and all are interesting to me.

What person have you chosen to learn more about in your reading this nine weeks?  What makes you interested in the life of that person?

Visitors, have you read an interesting biography or autobiography recently?  Leave us a comment here.

 

 

This entry was posted in Book Thoughts, Teacher Notes and tagged by Mrs. Kriese. Bookmark the permalink.

About Mrs. Kriese

I am a seventh grade teacher in Austin, Texas, and a teacher consultant with the Central Texas Writing Project, an affiliate of the National Writing Project. I enjoy writing alongside my students, participating with them in the work we are doing as a community of readers and writers.

63 thoughts on “Reading

  1. Well, since you asked, I’ve been reading about Kevin Mitnick. You may know him, you may not. It all depends on how much contact with computers and the internet, and perhaps your job with the FBI. Anyway, in case you don’t know the guy, he was the most wanted hacker in the USA. His story is actually very interesting. You might want to look into it.

    • I also want to read about Kevin Mitnick, because he sounds like a very interesting person. I’m into computers too, and he seems cool.

    • I am also on the Mitnick bandwagon. So far it’s very interesting, and makes me want to learn more about computers than I already do.

  2. I chose to read about Marie Curie. I am reading about Marie Curie because my dad got a book about her and she was a scientist. I am crazy about science!

  3. I am currently reading about Nolan Ryan. The reason why I am interested is because he was a great baseball pitcher. I play baseball so I want to know more about him.

  4. I have read about Miley Cyrus in the past so I am going to learn more about her, I am interested because she started her career so young and I wonder how hard that was for her.

  5. I have chosen to learn and read more about in this nine weeks about Toni Morrison. I am interested in the life of this person because I have always wanted to know what the blacks did for a living back when there was segregation since they didn’t have a lot of job opportunities.

  6. I have chosen to read about Steve Jobs or Li Keng Wong. I want to learn about Jobs because, well, he was awesome. Li Keng Wong has an autobiography about her and her family moving to San Fransisco from China.

    • You’re right! I think Steve Jobs was awesome too. I wanted to get an autobiography about him, but they were out at the library. It seems cool to learn about how he invented all the Apple products and when he’d learned about it.

  7. I have been reading “Black Elk Speaks” a book about a Native American Medicine man. I wanted to learn about their lifestyles and share in his visions.

  8. I have decided to read about Bessie Coleman for my reading log. I’m interested in her because she was the first black woman to earn her pilot’s license. She was denied from her entry’s in the United States so she taught herself french and moved to France earning her license there.

  9. I am planning to read about Li Keng Wong, an immigrant from China during the Great Depression. I had read the book before, but forgot what it’s about. I had always wondered what the Great Depression was about

  10. Right now, I am reading a biography of Kate Middleton and her heritage and childhood. With Prince William’s heritage and childhood as well. I love reading about how Kate was a very athletic child, bullied a lot, and found her best friends in college. She is a great role model and she is a very kind person. I think it’s funny because when she was in college she said she would marry Prince William in her teenage dreams. Look where she is now.

  11. I have chosen to read and learn more about Mckayla Moroney. She is such an amazing role model. I am interested in learning about her journey to the Olympics.

  12. I chose to read a book that had lots of mini biographies about scientists. Some of those scientists are Marie Curie, Steven Hawking, and many more. They are really cool!

  13. I’m not 100% sure what biography I’m going to read, but I know what I want to read about. A few days ago, I went to the library and got a few books on people who made scientific discoveries that made a large impact to the world. I’m thinking about maybe reading a biography about Thomas Edison, inventor of the light bulb.

  14. I’ve been reading about Chris Kyle, He was the most lethal sniper in history. It is very interesting how he balances the military and family.

  15. I am reading about Victor Cruz, an American football player on the New York Giants. I’m reading about him because football is my favorite sport and my cousins are huge New York Giant fans!

  16. I haven’t chosen one yet, but I am thinking about buying the one that you read on Tina Fey because I love her so much and I think she is hilarious. If I can’t get my hands about that because I would also like to read about Anne Frank because I did a little project on her in 3rd grade, but I would like o learn more.

  17. I haven’t checked out a book yet, but I’m hoping to find a book about Alex Morgan because she is my favorite soccer player and I’m hoping to get some inspiration from a biography about her.

  18. I want to read Gabby Douglas’s auto biography.I want to learn more about her. she is one of my role models and I want to know more about her personal life!

  19. I am reading about Steve Jobs, who you might know, unless you live under a rock. I wanted to read about him, because he pioneered the computer industry. This led to me playing Angry Birds or Browsing Instagram on my iPhone. I am finding his life to have been very interesting, and I think you should check it out.

  20. I really want to read a book about Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn, but I can’t find one. Marilyn Monroe really inspires me as a beautiful actor and Audrey Hepburn is just naturally amazing with her easy flow of words in movies. I have heard that their lives are very interesting and I would definitely want to find out more about them!

  21. I am going to read the book about Steve Jobs “The Man Who Thought Different.” I want to read this because I am really interested in he iPhones and know that he invented them but wanted to know about how he came up with the ideas. I have also heard that he was fired before from Apple because he was a bad leader. I

  22. I want to learn more about George (Babe) Ruth. He is known as the best baseball player to ever live and want to know if he really was. There are many myths about him that I don’t know the answer to, like if he called his shot when he hit a home run in the World Series. He is a very interesting character and I would like to learn more about him.

  23. I didn’t really know who to read more about, until I picked up the book ( Chinese Cinderella The True Story Of An Unwanted Daughter.) It’s about a girl in Tainjin China who was unwanted. As I read the first page I was inspired, and had an unquenchable thirst to know about her life. I’ve always been interested in knowing what really happens in China.

  24. I’m reading about Tim Tebow, the quarterback for the New York Jets. I’m intrigued in this book because I love football and believe in the Christian faith just like Tim.

  25. I am reading a biography about Si Robertson because he is very funny. He also has a very interesting story about what it was like growing up in the 1950’s.

  26. I am reading about Mother Teresa. I haven’t learned much about her but I have heard about her but I don’t know what she has done!

  27. I have been reading about Abraham Lincoln. I chose to learn about him because I wanted to learn more about the way he helped ended slavery. I seems really hard to face your own country in battle, and I want to see how he did it.

  28. I am reading a biography on Muhammad Ali. I wanted to read about him because he was considered to be the greatest boxer of all time and I thought that was really neat.

  29. I really want to find a book about an artist I discovered. She paints only in white, but different values of white, like gray-white, blue-white, yellow white, and more. She is mentally ill, and i would be very interested to see life from her perspective. The only thing is…I can’t remember her name!

  30. I’d like to learn about Tim Tebow. He is a quarterback that has played for the Broncos and the Jets. The reason that I’m interested in learning more about him is because I love football. He is also very strong in his faith, which is another thing that I like about him.

  31. I am not completely sure who I want to learn about yet, but I think it is going to be Steve Jobs. I want to learn about the life of Steve Jobs because I think that is amazing that he went from designing video games to becoming one of the best computer designers in the world.

  32. I have chosen to read about Jerry Spinelli, it was a biography of his life from the age one to sixteen. I thought it may be cool to read about a kid’s life and compare it and see if he is experiencing some of my every day problems or vice versa. It was a very interesting story of his life, I liked it very much and I think you should read it too.

  33. I’m going to learn about J.K. Rowling. I love Harry Potter, so this a is perfect opportunity for me to lean more about one of my all-time favorite authors. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll read about Janet Evanovitch, who has written The Heist and the Stephanie Plum series as well as many others

  34. I would like to read about a scientist such as Albert Einstein, or a computer hacker, like Kevin Mitnick. It’s interesting on how one man reshaped our knowledge of the universe, and how a hacker was able to breach into many major companies,to the point that people started saying that he could start a nuclear war by simply whistling into a payphone.

  35. I am reading about Winston Churchill who the prime minister of Brittan during world war 2. Churchill is well known for his war speeches. I enjoyed reading about him because even when Brittan was being bombed, He was calm, unlike most.

  36. I am in the middle of reading a book about John Lennon and his killer. I am interested in John Lennon because he was in my favorite band the Beatles.

  37. I am about to read a biography on William Henry Harrison. He seems to have an interesting life because of his short-lived presidency. I’m still wondering how he was killed.

  38. I have chosen to read about Shawn Johnson. I want to learn more about her life, because she is my favorite gymnast that used to compete in the summer Olympics.

  39. I have chosen to read about Benedict Arnold. I think it’s really interesting, because mainly people know about him for being a traitor, and they don’t know about his life before that.

  40. I read an autobiography about Ronald Reagan, he was one of the most interesting presidents of the United States. He saved over 50 lives as a lifeguard when he was 17!

  41. I am thinking of reading about either Missy Franklin or Veronica Roth. Missy Franklin really interests and inspires me because she won a gold medal for swimming in the Olympics when she was just b17. I would love to read about the hard work that went into achieving that. Also, I would love to learn about Veronica Roth’s life because she wrote one of my favorite books, Divergent.

  42. I have chosen to read about Misty May Treanor. I am interested in reading about her because I love volleyball, and would like to learn about her journey to become the #1 ranked player in the world.

  43. I’m not sure who I’m going to read about yet, but I might read about Adolf Hitler. I’m interested in knowing how he came into power and why he killed so many people.

  44. I have read a few autobiography’s and biography’s before and they’re surprisingly interesting! My favorite auto/biography is one by Bear Grylls, the survivor man. I’m not exactly sure what my book is going to be, but I hope it will be as interesting as the one I read!

  45. I am going to read a biography about Nikola Tesla or possibly a different inventor. I am very interested in his work and all the things he created.

  46. I have chosen to read a book about Thomas Jefferson, because he’s an author of the Decleration of Independence, made the Lousiana Purchase and, was the 3rd president of the United States!

  47. I’ve been reading a biography on Albert Einstein. I find it very interesting how he didn’t have much potential when he was young, he wasn’t some young prodigy, but he discovered some of the most important theories and laws ever. It just goes to show that you can do anything you set your mind to!

  48. I will read about Rick Riordan because I really like his books, and he lived near me when I lived in San Antonio. In my opinion, (sorry 39 Clues fans) he wrote the only good book in the 39 Clues series. The rest aren’t very good.

  49. I have read about Julius Caesar, who became a Roman king. He did a lot to fight to the top of the Roman Empire. He used to be not very rich, but after he conquered a lot of other places, he finally got 20,000 people under control. He thought education was important so he made every major Roman city have a library. He also suggested buildings to be made of concrete, which was easy to make and hard to break. Most of these ideal buildings are still here today, because of his genius ideas.
    Overall, Julius Caesar is a pretty cool guy. He basically made Rome how it is today:Beautiful, cool, and nearly indestructible.

  50. I was interested in reading about him because I love to read about kings and queens and he is from Rome, the native language being Latin. So while I read about my favorite area of books, I also complete and English assignment and learn more about Roman culture, for Latin class.

  51. I am reading about Mia Hamm. Mia Hamm has the award FIFA World Player of the Year the first two times that award was given (in 2001 and 2002). She is also in the Sports Hall of Fame. I have dreamed of getting all of the awards she has and hope to one day be better then her.

  52. I like how Jonas’s little sister’s hair bow is always loose and untidy. It reminds me that, despite our wishes for life to go in an orderly fashion, each of us are still special and unique. Even though the Elders choose what job a person gets, the person gets the job because he or she was special and had a certain talent towards that specific role. We are each unique in our own ways and it will remain this way forever.

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