The Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkoski

 A podcast of an interview with Marie Rutkoski
at Book Expo of America

MacMillan Book Trailer featuring The Cabinet of Wonders

and the next book in The Kronos Chronicles The Celestial Globe

http://us.macmillan.com/BookCustomPage.aspx?isbn=9780312602390&m_type=2&m_contentid=1451119#video

Questions:

1. How would you feel if you suddenly went blind like Petra's father? How would life be different for you?

2. If you could invent something, what would it be? How would your invention help or make life easier for people?

3. If you could have a magical power, what would it be? How would you use your power? Would you let others know about your power?

Calvin Coconut: Trouble Magnet by Graham Salisbury

http://kids-book-club.wikispaces.com/Surfer+of+the+Century+and+Calvin+Coconut

Questions:

1. Who was your favorite character in the book? Why?

2. Would you like to be friends with Calvin Coconut? Why or why not?

3. How would your daily life change if you lived on an island in Hawaii?

4. Does anyone at school bully you? What would you do if they did? What did you do if someone did?

That Book Woman by Heather Henson

http://newdeal.feri.org/library/j_1k_bg.htm

First Book Podcast: Heather Henson author of “That Book Woman”

Questions:

1. Describe what your day might have been like as a packhorse librarian.

2. Why did the packhorse librarians risk their lives to deliver books?

3. What would you have said to a reluctant reader to get him or her interested in reading if you were a packhorse librarian?

11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass

Questions:

1. In what way would this story have turned out differently if the two main characters had been two boys or two girls?

2. If you could write a sequel to this story, what would it be called and what would the story be about?

3. Where do you think Amanda and Leo will be on their 21st birthday? Describe what you think they will be doing and what their lives will be like.

4. If you could live a special occasion all over again, what would the event be and how would it be different?

14 Cows for America

Questions:

1. Explain what the author means when she says "There is no nation so powerful it cannot be wounded, nor a people so small they cannot offer mighty comfort?

2. Can the quote above appy to children, too? If so, how?

3. If you had to choose something to give to someone to help them in their suffering and to show them you cared, what would it be? Why would you choose what you chose?

Sparrow Girl by Sara Pennypacker

Questions:
1. Describe Ming-Li's personality. What was she like? What were her strengths? What were her weaknesses?

2. Describe what happened to Ming-Li after the story ended.

3. What did Ming-Li grow up to be?

Sara Pennypacker - the author - also wrote the Clementine books. Watch this video to learn more about the Clementine series.

Pirates by David Harrison

Questions:
1. What would be the best part about being a pirate? What would be the worst?

2. Some women were pirates. How would their life have been different from a male pirate's life?

3. Would you shelve this book in the non-fiction section under poetry or history or in the fiction section? Why?

4. If you were a pirate, what would your name be? Write a sentence describing yourself.

All Stations! Distress! by Don Brown

Questions:
1. You are a survivor of the Titanic. Write about how you survived and what you were feeling after you were rescued.

2. If you were a reporter interviewing the Titanic survivors, what would the headline read for the article you are writing about the disaster?

3. Would you rather have been a first class passenger or a third class steerage passenger? Why?

Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea by Steve Jenkins

Origami Sea Creatures

Origami Angel Fish

Questions:

1. If you could be a marine animal, which one would you want to be? Why? Do you think you would be friendly with any other marine animals? If so, which one(s)? If not, why not?

2. What is the mood of the book? If the book had actual photographs of marine animals instead of pictures made out of paper and put together as a collage, would it make a difference? Why or why not?

3. What topic do you think the author/illustrator Steve Jenkins should use for his next nonfiction book? Why? 

The Uglified Ducky by Willy Claflin

Questions:

1. Can you identify with the Uglified Ducky - Maynard Moose? Why or why not?

2. Do you feel like "a giraffe being raised by a family of gerbils or a ladybug being raised by a family of elephants"? Explain your answer.

3. Explain the quote: "Everybody is a beautiful something or other." What does the author mean? How are you beautiful?

3.

The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau by Dan Yaccarino

by author/ illustrator Dan Yaccarino

Questions:

1. What did Cousteau and his team invent? If you could invent anything, what might it be? What would you explore with your new tool?

2. Was Jacques Cousteau more of an inventor or a scientist? What is the difference? What would you rather be?

3. What do you think is the most interesting thing that Cousteau discovered? Where would you like to explore? What might you discover? 

Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

Book trailer source: librarian Analine Johnson from Laredo, Texas

Katherine Applegate discusses her book: Home of the Brave

(click on this link)        Macmillian 2008

Questions:

1. How was Kek's experience different from Ganwar's experience?

2. Kek and Ganwar demonstrate important character traits. Describe these two young men. Which one would you rather be and why?
 
3. Why are cattle so important to both young men and their communities?

4. Are animals this important in our community? If so, which animals and why?

Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise, illustrated by M. Sarah Klise

Questions:

1. Why do the characters have such funny sounding names in this punny book? Choose one character's name and comment on why his/her name fits him/her perfectly.

2. If you could create a punny name for yourself, what would it be? What would it mean?

3. Did you like the epistolary style of writing or letters written between one character and another as the narration of the story? Why or why not?

Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow by James Rollins

Questions:
-If you could time travel, would you go forward or backward in time? Why?

-Describe what it might be like to suddenly travel to a different time. How would it be different from the time you are living in now and how might it be the same?

-If you could, who and what would you take with you?

-If time travel was a possibility, should it be open for anyone or just scientists? Why? How would it affect how we live today?

-What would be the worst part of time travel and what would be the best?

Surfer of the Century by Ellie Crowe

-Duke Kahanamoku was known throughout the world for several reasons. In your opinion, for what is he the most famous?

-What would it be like to be famous? Are some people famous for the wrong reason?

-Is an athlete's fame different from a political leader's fame? Why or why not?

Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff

Questions:

1. List some things of which you are scared. Choose one and describe why you are scared of it and what you might do to help yourself when you feel scared.

2. Do you think you can be too careful or overly cautious about things? If so, give an example and explain why.

3. What did Annie and her new neighbor have in common? How did they help each other? Can you think of someone you might want to reach out to and help?

Reflection and Evaluation

1. How did analyzing each portion of your project as you worked through it aid you in thinking about how to help students (and other teachers) create their own technology-enhanced projects?
Analyzing each portion of my project reminded me of the steps in the Big6 research model which is also a plan/process for analyzing a topic, finding information, synthesizing what you know, producing a product, and reflecting on the journey from beginning to end. Since my intermediate students are familiar with the Big6, the steps in my L2P3 blog should feel familiar to them and reinforce that each part of the whole is important to the final outcome. What will really engage them is knowing that a technology-based product is the final outcome!

2. How do you anticipate using your series of blog posts and the L2P3 blog itself in the future?
I anticipate using my blog as a model of how a blog functions, a teaching tool for teachers and students, a place for student created book trailers, and a forum for student discussion about the current Bluebonnet books.

3. Describe one other way you anticipate helping others grow in using technology.
I would like to help my teachers create their own classroom blogs and/or wiki for use with their students as a place to house student projects, a forum for classroom discussion, and a communication tool for informing parents about classroom activities.

4. The success of the 23 Things program has been established. How did the "23 Things" format translate to this type of program that was more systematic?I found the systematic step by step process of L2P3 easy to work with and navigate. I like things not only broken down into steps, but out there to look at and think about before beginning. I’ve participated in a blog where the questions were randomly posted over a period of time and I found it very frustrating. I also like having a finished product that can be used as a teaching tool with my teachers and students. Thanks to our County Extension Agent, V. B., we have once again experienced cutting edge technology with which to now engage our students and teachers. Three tweets for V. B.!

Thing #5 Share the New Information

After rereading several online blogs about creating book trailers, I noted that most agreed on these three points about book trailers --> they should be between 30 seconds to 3 minutes long, contain a credits page, and have no "homemade" dialog. I went back to the drawing board with my Photo Story deleting the humdrum dialog, inserting text, adding a few more pictures, and turning up the audio volume. Much better results without the droning monologue!



1. What tags (other that the required sbisdL2P3) did you add to your project so that it may be searched. That includes the tags you will add to your #5 Post.
The tags I used: Duke Kahanamoku, Ellie Crowe, Hawaii, Olympics, Photo Story, sbisdL2P3, surfer, surfing, swimming, and Texas Bluebonnet Award.
2. Who is the audience for your project? Can the project be adapted for others or other needs?
The audience for my project is teachers and elementary intermediate students. Since all of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders will be participating in the Bluebonnet program, they will be especially interested in viewing and creating their own book trailers. Both teachers and students can use this blog for displaying original work, discussing Bluebonnet books read, and learning about the process of creating a book trailer.
3. Describe how to find your project other than your L2P3 blog.
You can find it on YouTube by searching any of the above tags. The most fun was creating my very own Library YouTube Channel! All videos my students and I upload can be stored there for future viewing and for use in other Google sites to be shared among teachers, students, and grade levels. When searching using the sbisdL2P3 tag, a collection of videos our group has posted so far appeared. Amazing!

Thing #4 Create New Information

It was fun finding pictures and learning more about Duke Kahanamoku, but I ran into lots of bumps. WindowsMovieMaker was not quite as user friendly as I had anticipated. I made a Photo Story and wanted to add a film clip of a surfer as a “hook” and a short film clip of someone interviewing Duke in later life, but when I put all of these together in MovieMaker, I got an error message that “unexpectedly” shut the whole thing down time after time. Restarting the laptop helped, but it still was a nuisance. I also couldn’t match the audio volume levels from one video to another. Too many hours invested and too late in the summer to keep trying, so I’ve included the three videos separately. I will post the final product when I get some answers. One video came from YouTube (had to use Google Chrome because the Internet Explorer version our district laptops no longer supports YouTube) and the other from a free share website about surfing. Both were converted to an avi extension using Zamzar.

Photo Story book trailer for Surfer of the Century


Only a very small part of this video will be used as a "hook."

Credit: Surfboard Shack http://www.surfboardshack.com/surfing-video-clips.html


Interview with Duke Kahanamoku in 1965.

Credit: YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk_5GLAEqIQ

The use of a Photo Story checklist (adapted from K .Harrell’s original) is helpful for students to use as they create their photo story. It reminds them to save, save, save!

Photo Story Checklist

Remember to SAVE, SAVE, SAVE!

______Open Photo Story

______ Put photos in folder (photos must be jpg. format)

______ Add all photos

______ Put photos in order and make sure they are rotated the right way

______ Add in custom animation and fades

______ Type in what you will record

______ Record using the head sets

______ Add music (keep it low, so it doesn’t drown out your narration)

______ Save your project with a title

______ Let your teacher know that you are finished and ready for it to be converted to WM file

Remember to SAVE, SAVE, SAVE!

1. Choose the Save Project button at the bottom of the work screen

2. Choose the location

3. To save to your san server folder, choose:
· Desktop
· My computer
· Norway, 20??
· Find your folder
· Save

Thing #3 Plan, Organize, and Synthesize Your Information

For elementary students, I like the TimeforKids.com printable instructions and graphic organizer for a storyboard. For some students, the ability to easily move around the frames is key, so for those students I would suggest they cut out the squares and arrange them on another piece of paper only to be glued in place when they are satisfied with the arrangement.

Students benefit from using a storyboard as a graphic organizer in that they can systematically sort through their thoughts, learn an organizational process, and easily rearrange ideas, images, video, and text before committing to a final product.

Thing #2 Evaluate Information

Taking into account my elementary audience, I used the Checklist for Evaluating Web Sites and Kathy Schrock’s Critical Evaluation Information form to evaluate a .gov site I found about Duke Kahanamoku. Intermediate elementary students will enjoy using the online form and can print and include it in their research packet. Kathy Schrock’s site is more appropriate for 2nd - 4th grade. I like the additional forms on the Teacher’s Helpers page such as The 5 W’s of Web Site Evaluation, Example Handout for the 5 W’s, and the educator lesson plan for Evaluation of a Web Page.

Before research begins in the library or classroom, librarians should prepare a lesson for students on evaluating websites (similar to this TEAMS tutorial) to give them the tools to learn the evaluation process. Including a website evaluation form in the research packet or a link to a form on the Internet for students to download and including an evaluation of websites as part of the grading rubric will help to make the evaluation process a natural part of the research project.

Thing #1 Access Information

1. Text
Since my project focus is a book trailer using a specific title, I did a title search in Aquabrowser using “Surfer of the Century.” The resulting word cloud gave me other keyword, subject, tag possibilities for this book such as surfing, Olympics, swimming, Duke Kahanamoku, and Hawaii. I like the fact you can easily refine the search by topical subject, personal subject (biography), genre subject (fiction, non-fiction) and series in the event one wanted to create a unit of study around a particular book or topic. Searching the SBISD subscription databases is as easy as clicking on “Log in to search article databases.” I like the way it seamlessly searches all the databases without having to go to each one individually. The only drawback is having to log in to each one if one is not conducting the search on a district networked computer.

2. Search Engines
Bing
I found better images here (than at Google or Flickr) and some obscure information about Duke Kahanamoku using this Microsoft supported search engine. Students will like the ease of using “Related Searches” and viewing the “Search History,” which are both prominently displayed in the left-hand margin. It also pinpoints and displays the location from where one is searching in the top right-hand corner. A tab for Wikipedia is notably displayed and useful for those seeking quick information from that source as well.
Clusty
This metasearch engine gives the user the ability to narrow a search by the type of extension: .com, .gov, .org, etc…, which is a tool used when evaluating websites. Give this search engine a round of applause! It also gives a summary of other search engines used for its results, and since Bing and Ask were included in the keyword search for Duke Kahanamoku, I might just skip the other two and use Clusty. I like the cloud of related topics and the ability to “remix” the cloud and find other combinations of associated terms. Finally, the ability to preview an article instead of having to click on the link and lose the search results page is an added bonus.
Wolfram-Alpha
This site is mostly about computation related topics, so when I used Duke Kahanamoku as the topic the results displayed a table of all of his Olympic events, medals and time results. Neat! A box of suggested uses for the site includes an “enter any date” search that when I entered by birth date found mathematical expressions for my age, events, anniversaries, observances, and daylight/nighttime/moon cycle information. Students and science, music, and math teachers will love this site. I noticed on an advertisement for the Wolfram-Alpha app for the iPad that is interactive, engaging, and is bound to be a winner with all.

3. Databases
Aquabrowser
The database search I conducted through Aquabrowser combed through the SBISD subscription databases for information about Duke Kahanamoku with good results.
The Library of Congress American Memory
This site was new to me. It has some archived images of Duke Kahanamoku taken by the Chicago Daily News in the early 1900s. All images are available for educational use with proper citation.

4. Social Networking Sites
YouTube
This site has good video sources of actual footage of Duke Kahanamoku surfing and an interview about with him about his accomplishments.
delicious
This bookmarking site listed many of the sites I had seen about Duke Kahanamoku when I searched the search engines and databases. This is a great site for bookmarking sites the librarian compiles for grade level or individual classroom use.

5. Visuals
Copyright-friendly Wiki
I will be linking the copyright-friendly wiki to my library site for easy use by students and teachers. It has a good variety of sites from which to choose. I like the Navigation bar on the left-hand side with links to everything from copyright-friendly music and sound to sound effects and a MLA style sheet.

Bringing It All Together

Lights! Camera! Action! Movie trailers have long been a vehicle for generating excitement about an upcoming film. Book trailers have the same type of appeal for introducing and creating excitement about books. This blog was created to demonstrate the step-by-step process involved in creating student-generated book trailers. The use of energetic and compelling images, text, and music in a book trailer engages students creating high interest and excitement about new books.

Using Surfer of the Century by Ellie Crowe, from the 2010-2011 Texas Bluebonnet Award list, my goal is to give teachers and students an opportunity to learn how to create a 2.0 readers advisory, instead of the usual book report, to motivate their students and peers to read. This blog will also be a vehicle by which to motivate my 3rd – 5th graders to read and enjoy the most recent Texas Bluebonnet Award nominees.

This topic will cover TEKS §126.3. Technology Applications for grades 3-5 as students learn to research, acquire, and evaluate electronic information, while complying with the district acceptable use policies and copyright law, and format the information into new knowledge and effective communication.