Laney is a Larger-Than-Life Character

After reading a few chapters from Larger-Than-Life LARA, written by Dandi Daley Mackall, I am so interested in Laney.  The book is written in first person from Laney's perspective.   Dandi does an amazing job of bringing this character to life, which  we discovered as we discussed it in class, and students wrote about it in their Online Journals.

The things we know about Laney include:

1.  Tomboy
2.  Poor
3.  Not always nice
4.  Sarcastic
5.  Actress/liar to stay out of trouble
6.  Blurter
7.  Has a mom's responsibility at home (because her mom left)
8.  Runs fast (athletic)
9.  Likes plays, especially Shakespeare
10.  Loves baseball, but the boys will not let her play
11.  Lives in old rundown house with peeling paint on the outside, that is dirty and all lime green on the inside
12.  Three mean brothers that beat her up, and skip school
13.  Tough, can stand up for herself
14.  Mom left and never came back and Laney wonders about her
15.  Has a shoe glued to her bedroom wall from when she won a race and everyone cheered for her
16.  Has to deal with her dad that is a drunk, has a bad temper, steals cable TV, fights all the time
17.  Likes to write
18.  Good imagination
19.  Her bedroom is in the attic which she shares with her dad, cut in half with a blanket as a curtain, with a mattress on the floor
20.  Low self-esteem
21.  Digresses (can't stay on topic)
22.  In the back of the crowd, on the edge, wants to fit in with only one "sort of" friend
23.  No real role model
24.  Collects books, some that the library was throwing away
25.  Doesn't ride the bus because Joey and other kids are mean to her
26.  Family has a bad reputation
27.  Mature for her age, takes care of herself
28.  Fourth grade
29.  Lives in Paris, Missouri
 

So far in the book (after only five chapters), I think Laney has become Larger-Than-Life.  We know so much about her that it seems like we know her well--even that she lives with us.

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Carnival of Education

Steve Spangler is hosting the Carnival of Education this week. You can see all the latest here. This week's Carnival includes the post from The Reading Workshop, You Don't Want No . . .

Carnival of Education, A Day at School

Welcome to the 208th Carnival of Education, A Day at School with The Reading Workshop. For those unfamiliar with the Education Carnival, this is a weekly event consisting of a collection of blog posts by those with a passion for education. The Carnival is hosted by a variety of hosts, but Edwonk maintains it. And now, on to the day.

Each and every day is a fun-filled Carnival-like day at the home of the Reading Workshop. Lucky for us on this day, many interesting thoughts, ideas and opinions were shared. I hope you enjoy reading about this day (all the great posts) as much as I did.

For breakfast, Travis and Tom served up a cereal analogy while explaining WASL: New and IMPROVED! 25% more for 45% less. On the drive to school, Tom DeRosa remembered 52 Teachers, 52 Lessons: Week 3 and thought, today I must be firm, fair, and consistent. Meanwhile Mark Stock was wondering if Scripted Programs are Good or Bad for Your School?

Before school, Julie spent a few minutes trading books because she has Book Mania. Then the principal stopped by to tell Mathew Ladner and Jay Greene that they have all the right qualities based on Son of a Super Chart. Margaret got a phone call and then talked about the Top 20 IPhones Apps For Overwhelmed Students.

To get the day started, Carol rang the bell then explained to the teachers Deadlines, Surviving, and Things That Will Get You Fired. Then we had a Brain Teaser to Exercise your Memory and Reasoning Skills.

Class started with social studies and in a timely lesson with all the interest following the Presidential Inauguration, Larry Ferlazzo showed The Best Way to Learn About Presidents. Core Knowledge decreed that there is More Than Symbolism to Obama's Inauguration. And then, Susan Graham reminded us of the Simple Gifts in our country based on freedom.


As we moved on to writing Lorri Encouraged Children to Write About Their Hopes for our New President. Pat said to be successful, maybe we should think and write about cheering for the others because some things are Better Than Winning. Rani thought a Personal Letter of Apology was needed.

Hillary Kay took students to the library and told them Read, Read, Read. While at the library, meeting about conducting the Exit Exam, Darren once again found that Prior Planning Prevents Pretty Poor Performance.



At lunch, conversation centered around educating college students. It started with 7 Ideas for Rejuvenating Education. Moolanomy discussed Expected Family Contribution for College. Patricia Turner wondered if anyone had thought about Open Courseware Projects from Around the World? Sara Goldrick-Rab, while on the topic of college, asked for opinions about college students Not Coming Back for More?

Liam Goldrick questioned Who Says Democratic Governors Have A Monopoly on Education Policy? While discussing politics, Tamir Birk let us know that Back to Work Legislation for CUPE is Ending the York University Strike. Dave Johnston thought Bill Gates is Right. J.M. Holland mentioned Obama's Top 10 Pre-K promises.

Time for recess according to the Hall Monitor because Recess Makes for Better Students.

When students got back to class in the afternoon, it was time for science, but Steve Spangler had to alter his experiment today, due to the Severe Effects of the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act.

Then, Denise declared it math time and started a Math Notations Contest. Someone from a Right Wing Nation said math this way is EduInsanity.

Jena stayed home because she wondered if Schools Kill Creativity. Dana wondered if NCLB testing was bad for schools, but good for homeschools? Miss Amanda read from a Book List for home-schooled college student.

At the end of the day, Joanne Jacobs told students there was No Escape from Homework.



After school, Chris Wondra needed to speak to the parent of a child. He received an email from the gassy one's parents in Parent Communication. Corey Bunje Bower shared Some Realities of Low Achievement. Dave Saba doesn't think mentoring is the whole answer and is Still Searching.

As she laid her head down to sleep, Woodlass decided that tomorrow she was going to be an old-style teacher, Doing it Our Way.


I hope you enjoyed your day with The Reading Workshop. Thanks to all who participated.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Education using the carnival submission form.

Images from
http://flickr.com/photos/markseymour/255059409/
http://flickr.com/photos/eastlothian/540735075/
http://flickr.com/photos/sirwiseowl/1439084565/
http://flickr.com/photos/jose_kevo/3110474382/
http://flickr.com/photos/geekandpoke/2245383714/
http://flickr.com/photos/selkie30/318351138/

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Who Wants to Know about The Reading Workshop

Of the last 500 visitors:

They came from 35 states.
They came from 16 countries.
Sixteen visitors were from Texas.
Thirteen were from California
Twelve were from New York.
'Ten were from Florida.
Sixty five visits was the most by any one person.
Fifty nine was the second most times visited.
Two Hundred Sixty Nine started out on The Reading Workshop home page.
Twenty-two had questions about how to do Reading Workshop.
Sixteen had questions about Study Island.
Seven queried good books for student readers
Six wondered about the book Freak the Mighty.
Fifteen had question about listening to music as you work.
Twelve wanted information about the affect of texting on students' writing.
Thirteen visited for longer than an hour.
Thirty six wanted to know about Rambunctious Reading.
Ninety two percent that used a search engine, used Google.
Sixty seven percent are first time visitors.
One Hundred Eighty are using the newest version of Firefox.
Seventeen came from the latest Carnival of Education which list Educational blogs
Seventeen came from the Laurelville Elementary website.
Twelve came from Alltop which lists education news and headlines from across the web.
Three came from Joann Jacobs educational blog highlights and links.

So if you're like me and find yourself wondering, who cares about The Reading Workshop at Laurelville, the answer is a lot of people, from a lot of places, for a lot of different reasons. For all that take the time to visit the blog, thank you!.
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Carnival of Education

The Carnival of Education is at Mathew Needleman’s Creating Lifelong Learners. If you want to read the latest ideas and information in education, this is a great place to start.

Carinval of Education

Thanks to Bellringers for including this blog in the latest Carnival of Education. This is a series of posts hosted by rotating blogs, that feature educational blogs.