End of Semester Exam Information

First semester will soon be coming to a close. For your midterm, I will not be giving a test per se, but instead will ask you to write an essay in Google Docs.

The prompt for this essay is a simple one:

What have you learned in this very short semester? 

Don't just think about the tangible things you have learned (the 6+1 traits of writing, how to write dialogue, etc.) but also think about the intangible things - what you have discovered about yourself as a writer and as a student.

In addition to a minimum 2-page, double-spaced essay, you will also be asked to include the following:

1. Use 3 vocabulary words (IN CONTEXT!) in your essay and highlight them.
2. Using the comments feature, point out 3 places where you used a particular trait of writing well and explain why you feel that way.
3. Using the comments feature, label an example of each of the 8 parts of speech.
4. All pronouns of I must be capitalized or I'm taking off an automatic 3 points. 
5. If you use a fragment or run-on, point it out and explain why you made that stylistic choice.
6. Please make sure you find a way to effectively introduce your essay as well as create a satisfying, resonating ending.  

Things to consider when writing your essay (you don't have to include all of these, they're just suggestions of things you can discuss):
Thoughts about your writer's notebook
How have you been brave? 
What have you learned about yourself as a writer?
Our author Skype visits from Gae Polisner and Natalie Lloyd
Article of the Week 
Weekly vocabulary in your writer's notebook
The class Twitter account -- Is anybody actually following it? ;) 
Formal writing assignments you have turned in:

• JK Rowling commencement speech reflection
• Author bio
• NaNoWriMo
• Santa's Elf letter

Texts we have shared this semester:

• "Brave" by Sara Bareilles
• The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
• "The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination" by JK Rowling
• "The Breathtaking, Life-Altering Power of Being a Dork" by Jennifer Gonzalez
• Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo
• Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
• Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan 
• This is Sadie by Sara O'Leary, illustrated by Julie Morstad
• Lightship by Brian Floca
• Waiting by Kevin Henkes
• The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers 
• Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall 
• Battle Bunny by Mac Barnett and Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Matthew Myers
• I Want My Hat Back and This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen
• Magic Trash: A Story of Tyree Guyton and His Art by JH Shapiro, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
• "Invictus" by WH Henley
• Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen 

How will this essay be graded? How well you used the 6+1 Traits of Writing and how well you answered the essay prompt.

Also, separate from the essay:

1. Share a passage from your NaNoWriMo novel that you think shows your best work and explain why it's your favorite.
2. Share a passage of dialogue from your NaNoWriMo novel -- punctuated and indented correctly.
3. Provide a synopsis of your NaNoWriMo novel. (Think about how novels are described on the backs of books or inside jacket flaps to entice readers)

Extra credit:
Design a cover for your novel and write a short explanation about how that cover  + title works for your novel. (You can turn this in separately from the Google Doc)




 

Revising your author bio

Now that you've had time to really consider yourself as a serious writer, it's time to go back and revise those author bios we wrote at the beginning of NaNoWriMo.

Here's what I'll be grading you on:

• Written in 3rd person (5 points)
• Follows the typical progression of an author bio: where you live, family info, other books written -- or the fact that it's your first book, possibly even hobbies if you so choose (10 points)
• Adheres to the conventions of a published piece of writing -- consider capitalization, punctuation, spelling, etc. I will be taking off points if these things are not in place (20 points) 
• There's a sense that you studied up on the genre of writing author bios and you show a respect for the genre (5 points)  
• Made some noticeable revisions to original author bio (5 points)
• Shared your document with at least 2 classmates who commented on your work (5 points)
• BONUS: Inject some of your own writing voice into the author bio somehow, i.e., find a way to make it more than just plugging in a formula. Try to find a way to make it your own while also adhering to the conventions of the genre. (up to 5 points) 

Learning from Authors During NaNoWriMo

During National Novel Writing Month, we are fortunate to be hearing from multiple authors who will inspire our writing. The first author is my friend Marquin Parks, author of the Wrinkles Wallace series (Knights of Night School and Fighters of Foreclosure), who sent along some words of wisdom via video message:

We will also be Skpying with authors Gae Polisner and Natalie Lloyd.

Gae is the author of The Pull of Gravity 

and The Summer of Letting Go:




Natalie is the author of A Snicker of Magic and the upcoming February release of The Key to Extraordinary.

If any of these books sound interesting to you, I encourage you to support these wonderful authors and ask your parents if you can purchase their books. Even if buying books is not an option for you at this time, another way you can support these authors is to check their books out at the library (or my classroom library) while also talking about them and recommending them to friends.

NaNoWriMo: Exit Slips

Here are the links for your daily exit slips:

Week 4, E Hour

Week 4, F Hour

Week 4, H Hour

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  

Week 3, E Hour

Week 3, F Hour

Week 3, H Hour

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 

 Week 2, E Hour

Week 2, F Hour

Week 2, H Hour

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Week 1, E Hour

Week 1, F Hour

Week 1, H Hour

NaNoWriMo: Word Count Calculator

Chris Baty, the original creator of NaNoWriMo frequently talks about the importance of low expectations when writing a novel for the first time.

Here are some of his thoughts:

"Novels are simply too long and complex to nail on the first go-around."

"Exuberant imperfection... helps you tolerate the drivel that greases the wheels of genius." 


10,000 words in 30 days equates to 333 words a day (including weekends). So this is what your daily word count will look like:

Day 1: 333 words
Day 2: 666 words
Day 3: 999 words
Day 4: 1,332 words
Day 5: 1,665 words
Day 6: 1, 998 words
Day 7: 2, 331 words
Day 8: 2,664 words
Day 9: 2,997 words
Day 10: 3,330 words
Day 11: 3,663 words
Day 12: 3,996 words
Day 13: 4, 329 words
Day 14: 4, 662 words
Day 15: 4, 995 words
Day 16: 5, 328 words
Day 17: 5, 661 words
Day 18: 5, 994 words
Day 19: 6, 327 words
Day 20: 6, 660 words
Day 21: 6, 993 words
Day 22: 7, 326 words
Day 23: 7, 659 words
Day 24: 7, 992 words
Day 25: 8, 325 words
Day 26: 8, 658 words
Day 27: 8, 991 words
Day 28: 9, 324 words
Day 29: 9, 657 words
Day 30: 10,000 words

You will not be graded on whether or not you achieve your goal but how productive you are with your time at school and at home. As you may have noticed, this is something you will have to work on at home as well as at school if you want to make your 10,000 word goal. Even if you don't have a computer, you can always write scenes in your writer's notebook and then copy them into your Google Drive file when you get to school the next day.

A Classroom Prayer for 8th Grade English

After reading all of the prayers you created in your writers' notebooks and adding the wisdom of Tom Stoppard, here is what I came up with for our class prayer:

Dear Lord,

Your Word is sacred and all words are sacred when we use them for good. Words deserve our respect because if you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little. May we nudge the world in ways that show courage and compassion, that help us make right choices, and that bring us together in the spirit of encouragement and respect for our classmates, our community, and the world. 

Amen.

Writing a summary

Summary: A brief statement of the main points of something (e.g. book, article, movie, play, etc.)

 
The following steps were taken from and slightly modified for our purposes from this website.

Recommendations for writing a summary:

1. Note the major points of the work you a summarizing, either in an outline or bulleted list.

2.Write a first draft of the summary without looking at the article. Then go back to the article and include any major points you missed.

3. A summary paraphrases someone else's work.  If you do copy a phrase from the original, be sure it is a very important phrase that is necessary and cannot be paraphrased. In this case put "quotation marks" around the phrase.

4. Summaries are meant to be brief but also thorough. If you leave out main points, then it is not a thorough summary.

The features of a summary:
1.Start your summary with a clear identification of the type of work, title, author, and main point in the present tense.

Example: In the feature article "Four Kinds of Reading," the author, Donald Hall, explains his opinion about different types of reading.

2.Check with your outline and your original text to make sure you have covered the important points.

3.Never put any of your own ideas, opinions, or interpretations into a summary.

4. Write using "summarizing language." Periodically remind your reader that this is a summary by using phrases such as the article claims, the author suggests, etc.

Epigraph assignment

Epigraph:  a short quotation or saying at the beginning of a book or chapter, intended to suggest its theme.

Assignment:

1) Find an epigraph in a book (preferably one that you've read and are familiar with)

2) In your writer's notebook, write down the title and author of the book

3) Copy down the epigraph

4) Write a short explanation as to why you think that quote fits the theme of the book

* Due when I collect your writers' notebooks this Friday.

Parts of Speech Pre-Test

Find the Google Form for you class and complete the pre-test. You may not look up answers in your textbook or on the Internet. When you're finished, be sure to click submit.


8E

8F

8H

JK Rowling Quote Reflection

You recently reflected on the following quote from JK Rowling's 2008 Harvard commencement address.


"Some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default."

1. What I'd like you to do right now is go back to that reflection and re-read it.
2. Look for a sentence or phrase that contains the heartbeat, the pulse of what you wanted to say. This is your wish for the piece, what you wish it was most about.*
3. Using the comments feature in Google Drive, highlight that sentence and comment (by right clicking) and pointing out that "This is the heartbeat of my piece."
4. Share your document with a classmate. Have them read your paragraph. If they agree with your "heartbeat" then have them reply to the comment. If they think the heartbeat is somewhere else in the piece, have them highlight that sentence and comment by saying, "I actually think this is the heartbeat of the piece."

* This wording is taken directly from the book Inside Writing: How to Teach the Details of Craft by Donald H. Graves and Penny Kittle. 

Vocabulary Notes

Here's a link to the Google Slides file with the notes for how to complete your weekly vocabulary:

Vocabulary notes

In your writer's notebook...

• Write the date at the top of each entry 
• You do not need to know what you’re going to write about before you start writing - WRITING IS THINKING! 
• Write for the entire time - even if that means changing the topic
• The goal is to write about the topic, but if your mind wanders to something else, that’s OK
• Try to use the whole paper - if you can fit another entry the next day on the same page, do so 
• Silence that inner critic that tells you “This is not good” and JUST KEEP WRITING!
• Make sure to write the date for any days you are absent so you don't lose credit for that day.
  

Welcome Back!

Hello 8th graders!

Welcome back to school and welcome to my classroom blog. This will be a place where I will pose questions, post assignments, and share some of the awesome things we'll be doing in our classroom.

I'm looking forward to a great school year! 

List of mentor texts we've shared as a class

Part of your final essay for this class is to discuss the mentor texts that have helped you as a writer. Remember: mentor texts do not necessarily have to be ones we read together as a class. The only criteria I'm looking for a mentor text is a piece of writing that inspired you in your own writing.

Here are the texts we've shared as a class this year:

• The Story of Fish and Snail by Deborah Freedman
• A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
• "Brave" by Sara Bareilles
• "Everything Exists in the Word" by Pablo Neruda 
• "What I Believe" from Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
• Rules of Summer by Shaun Tan 
• El Deafo by Cece Bell 
• Tadpole's Promise by Jeanne Willis, illustrated by Tony Ross
• "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
• "Try" by Colbie Caillat 
• Battle Bunny by Mac Barnett and Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Matthew Myers
• Rex Wrecks It by Ben Clanton 
• Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales
• The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet
• X: A Novel by Ilyasah Shibazz and Kekla Magoon
• What Do You Do with an Idea? by Kobi Yamada, illustrated by Mae Besom
• The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
• Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen
• I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
• This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen
• "Hands" by Sarah Kay
• "Brother" by Sarah Kay
• "Like, You Know" by Taylor Mali
• "Knock, Knock" by Daniel Beaty
• "Josh Bell" from The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
• "This is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams and I'm Sorry, I Meant to Do It: False Apology Poems by Gail Carson Levine  

Speaking of Natalie Lloyd, today she revealed the cover of her new book coming out in March 2016, The Key to Extraordinary.

Do you want to win some books?

Would you like to win copies of the books talked about in class today? Put your name under the books you would like to win and then click submit.

Pre-Performance Poetry Reflection

Before you perform your poem, I want you to write about it. Each part of the assignment is worth 10 points and is to be completed in Google Classroom:

1. Type your poem out - be sure to write the title and author.
2. In a paragraph, explain what you think this poem means. Why do you think the author wrote it? What sort of mood or feeling does it give?
3. In another paragraph, explain why you chose this poem. What is it about the poem that speaks to you? (And just so you know, “It was the shortest poem I could find” is not an acceptable response!)


Here is an example from a previous performance I did a few years ago:

Fish Story

by Richard Amour

Count this among my heartfelt wishes:

To hear a fish tale told by fishes

And stand among the fish who doubt

The honor of a fellow trout,

And watch the bulging of their eyes

To hear of imitation flies

And worms with rather droopy looks

Stuck through with hateful, horrid hooks,

And fishermen they fled all day from

(As big as this) and got away from.

This is a poem about a fish story, but from the fish’s point-of-view instead of the human.  Everyone seems to have a fisherman in their family who has a tale to tell of “the one that got away.”  The family members all ooh and aah when said fisherman talks about how, “I once caught a fish this big,” and in a flourish, shows with exaggerated enthusiasm, the size of the fish that he caught, though conveniently no one has seen.  Richard Armour takes that fish story cliché and turns it on its heels by giving it a different perspective – from that of the fish.  Of course, the fish doesn’t tell of the size of the human they caught, but instead the size of the one they got away from (rather than the one that got away).  So of course, the mood of this poem is very lighthearted and humorous, which is always what fish stories are, whether told by human or fish!

What speaks to me about this poem is that I have many men in my family who are fishermen (though not very good ones!) so it’s always funny to hear them talk about fishing and their good-natured ribbing of each other’s lack of talent when it comes to catching anything of substance.  My dad, grandpa (who is now passed), uncle, and brother all love to fish so fish stories abound in my family!  When all of them get together and talk about fishing, everyone always has to laugh at the bantering back and forth between them.  When the men talk about fishing, you can always guarantee that laughter will soon accompany the conversation.  So when I read this poem, I always think of the men of my family and smile because I imagine the fish who is telling this story is the one that got away from either my dad, grandpa, uncle, or brother.

Thesis statement practice

A thesis statement is a one-sentence statement that is meant to give the reader an idea of the purpose of the paper. It usually comes at the end of your introductory paragraph. 


In your journal, try a few of these thesis statement stem sentences out with your own topic.  Then choose the one you like best and turn it in to me on an index card or the handout I gave you in class. Underline the stems. Feel free to change up any of the stems to fit your topic.

1. _______ had a huge/small effect on the outcome of ___________________.

2. ____________________was/was not an important cause of ________________.

3. _________ was/was not a good leader before/during/after _________________.

4. Without _______________________, we would not have ____________.

5. ________________________ was a difficult point during __________________.

6. ________________________ was a hero of ___________________________.

7. ______________ changed between __________________ and ____________.

8. _____________________ is an important idea in ________________________.

9. ______________ needed _______________ in order to __________________.

10.________________________ has an interesting history.

11.There were several stages in the _______________ of __________________.

12.____________________ caused many problems for _____________________.

13.A huge challenge for ____________________ was ______________________.

Source:

http://www.shenet.org/middle/Libraries/msresearchguide.pdf

National Poetry Month - Memorize and Perform a Poem

For National Poetry Month, we will all be memorizing and performing a poem in front of the class. 

Requirements:
Choose your own poem
Must be from a well-known, published poet
Must be at least 10 lines long
Must be approved by Mrs. Shaum by April 20th


You will be graded on how well you do the following: 
Memorization
Vocal intonation and expression
Proper volume
Address and engage the audience


Finding the right poem
There are many poetry books in the classroom
The best Internet source for finding poems though is Poets.org
You MAY NOT choose a Shel Silverstein poem (there are so many other great poets out there! Explore and discover a new favorite!)


Ways to earn extra credit
Way #1 
If you choose a poem that is 30 or more lines
Way #2 
In addition to performing your own solo poem, work with a partner and perform a poem for two voices


Due Date:
We will be reciting our poems April 29th and 30th 
If you don’t do well on your first try, you are welcome to try it again for a better grade


Some wisdom from Mrs. Shaum
Please make sure that you choose a poem that speaks to you and that you enjoy. If you just choose the first poem you find that’s 10 lines long and you don’t find anything fun or enjoyable about it, then that will show in your performance and you won’t do well. If you find a poem you like (even if it’s over 10 lines) then that will show through in your performance

Research Notes Graphic Organizer - Example from Mrs. Shaum

Here is an example of how I would like you to fill out your research graphic organizer. You will do this for AT LEAST three pieces of information for your passion project. Remember though: if this topic is truly your passion, you will research as much as you can about it.

Resource information: author, title, webpage company, dates, etc. (Err on the side of more info, not less)	Directly Quote your research here	List main ideas using your own words	Paraphrase your research.
Website: Edutopia Author: Rebecca Alber Date: July 31, 2014 Article title: “Using Mentor Texts to Motivate and Support Writers” URL: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/using-mentor-text-motivate-and-support-student-writers-rebecca-alber	“If we want students to do something well, it helps to both tell them and show them what we expect. When it comes to writing assignments, we teachers will give students directions to write a convincing essay or draft a descriptive narrative followed by telling them how to earn a good grade on it. Many of us also hand out a rubric or criteria chart that tells all the expectations for the essay. But, with all that there is to cover and the time crunch, we may sacrifice showing them mentor texts, examples of good writing.”	Show and tell students how to do an assignment Teachers like to give directions and rubrics but don’t always give examples. We often forget to show students examples of good writing.	In the quest to “cover” curriculum, teachers often give students directions and hand them grading rubrics for writing assignments, but one of the things that is often missing from that equation is allowing students to examine examples of effective writing. If they don’t know what good writing looks or sounds like, then how do we expect them to write well? This is what mentor texts are for.

Plagiarism Article of the Week

1. After watching the video below, read this article.
2. Underline or highlight your confusion
3. Talk back to the text - Annotate the article with comments, questions, inferences, etc.
4. Write TWO developed paragraphs to AT LEAST three of the five prompts below. You MUST respond to the first prompt. 



Writing prompts for Article of the Week:

In TWO well-developed paragraphs (introduce your topic, use evidence from the text, don’t repeat yourself just to get in an appropriate number of sentences), respond to the FIRST prompt and AT LEAST two of the other four (i.e., you can respond to more if you wish).  So to sum up, you are responding to THREE of the five prompts.

1. After watching the video and reading the article, write a short summary of your understanding of the situation.
2. Why do you think the media is choosing to paint John Green as a hero when others who have plagiarized receive extremely harsh consequences or reactions from the public?  
3. What do you think the consequences for plagiarism should be?
4. What does this situation make you think about the policies schools enforce about plagiarism? (Anywhere from failing grades to expulsion)
5. What do you make of the author’s claim that Green didn’t apologize? Do actions speak louder than words in this case?

Revising your Caldecott Essay

Even if you received a good grade on your essay, there is always room for improvement, so I ask that everyone find a way to revise your essay.

Here are the steps you need to take to revise your essay:

1. Unsubmit your essay.
2. Review your grading sheet and comments
3. Make appropriate revisions
4. Resubmit your essay.

Most of you lost points in the referencing the Caldecott criteria. Remember: it's not enough to have an opinion; you have to back it up with relevant evidence. Most of you turned in a nice piece of writing, but when it came to actually following the directions of the assignment, you missed out.

Here are a few sentence starters that you can use to reference the criteria in your paper:

• According to...
• As it states in...
• It is written in...
• The Caldecott criteria states...
• The Caldecott committee is looking for...

And finally, as a reminder, here are the criteria again. Remember that the main criteria you will be using to judge your picture book worthy of winning are letters a through e. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Randolph Caldecott Award seeks to find "The most distinguished American picture book for children."

But just what does distinguished mean?

Distinguished: (adjective) made noticeable by excellence; having an air of distinction or dignity

In making your decision you must keep this in mind: the Caldecott is awarded for illustration, not for text. You may only consider text only if it detracts from the illustration.


Here is the Caldecott critera from the ALSC website (I re-worded some of this to help you better understand the criteria):

1. In identifying a “distinguished American picture book for children,” defined as illustration, committee members need to consider :
   1. Excellence of execution in the artistic technique used
   2. Excellence of interpretation of story, theme, or concept through pictures
   3. Appropriateness of style of illustration to the story, theme or concept;
   4. Understanding of plot, theme, characters, setting, mood or information through the pictures;
   5. Excellence of presentation in recognition of a child audience.
2. The only limitation to graphic form is that the form must be one which may be used in a picture book. The book cannot be dependent on other media (i.e., sound, film or computer program) for its enjoyment.
3. Each book is to be considered as a picture book. The committee is to make its decision primarily on the illustration, but other components of a book are to be considered especially when they make a book less effective as a children’s picture book. Such other components might include the written text, the overall design of the book, etc.

This is Not My Hat and the Caldecott criteria

In class today we studied the Caldecott criteria and applied it to the book This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen, which won the 2013 Caldecott award.

Choose three of the criteria for #1 (a-e) and explain (on loose leaf) why and how This is Not My Hat meets these criteria.

The Randolph Caldecott Award seeks to find "The most distinguished American picture book for children."

But just what does distinguished mean?

Distinguished: (adjective) made noticeable by excellence; having an air of distinction or dignity
In making your decision you must keep this in mind: the Caldecott is awarded for illustration, not for text. You may only consider text only if it detracts from the illustration.

Here is the Caldecott critera from the ALSC website (I re-worded some of this to help you better understand the criteria):

1. In identifying a “distinguished American picture book for children,” defined as illustration, committee members need to consider :
   1. Excellence of execution in the artistic technique used
   2. Excellence of interpretation of story, theme, or concept through pictures
   3. Appropriateness of style of illustration to the story, theme or concept;
   4. Understanding of plot, theme, characters, setting, mood or information through the pictures;
   5. Excellence of presentation in recognition of a child audience.
2. The only limitation to graphic form is that the form must be one which may be used in a picture book. The book cannot be dependent on other media (i.e., sound, film or computer program) for its enjoyment.
3. Each book is to be considered as a picture book. The committee is to make its decision primarily on the illustration, but other components of a book are to be considered especially when they make a book less effective as a children’s picture book. Such other components might include the written text, the overall design of the book, etc.

Just what the heck really happened at the end of Sam and Dave Dig a Hole?

My friend Travis Jonker wrote about 6 Theories on the Ending of Sam and Dave Dig a Hole.

What is your theory about what happened at the end of Sam and Dave Dig a Hole?

Answer this question in Google classroom for a chance to get some extra credit!

Look at all the award-winning books we have read and talked about!

I feel so lucky that I was able to attend the ALA Youth Media Award ceremony in Chicago on Monday.  If you want to watch it (at home), here is the recording on YouTube:


Or you can read the press release. 

One thing struck me after the ALA Youth Media Award ceremony was over was how many of the award-winners we have read, talked about, or have in our classroom. Check it out:


YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults (finalist):

The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin


Odyssey Honor (audiobook award):

A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd


Coretta Scott King Awards:

When I Was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds
Firebird by Misty Copeland, illustrated by Christopher Myers
How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon


Caldecott 

Honors:

Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo
Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales


The Noisy Paint Box by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Mary GrandPre
Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet


Caldecott Winner:
 
The Adventures of Beekle by Dan Santat


And finally, the Newbery...

Honors:

El Deafo by Cece Bell
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Winner:
 
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Choose your favorite for the 2015 Caldecott Award

The Randolph Caldecott Award seeks to find "The most distinguished American picture book for children."

But just what does distinguished mean?

Distinguished: (adjective) made noticeable by excellence; having an air of distinction or dignity

In making your decision you must keep this in mind: the Caldecott is awarded for illustration, not for text. You may only consider text only if it detracts from the illustration.


Here is the Caldecott critera from the ALSC website (I re-worded some of this to help you better understand the criteria):

1. In identifying a “distinguished American picture book for children,” defined as illustration, committee members need to consider :
   1. Excellence of execution in the artistic technique used
   2. Excellence of interpretation of story, theme, or concept through pictures
   3. Appropriateness of style of illustration to the story, theme or concept;
   4. Understanding of plot, theme, characters, setting, mood or information through the pictures;
   5. Excellence of presentation in recognition of a child audience.
2. The only limitation to graphic form is that the form must be one which may be used in a picture book. The book cannot be dependent on other media (i.e., sound, film or computer program) for its enjoyment.
3. Each book is to be considered as a picture book. The committee is to make its decision primarily on the illustration, but other components of a book are to be considered especially when they make a book less effective as a children’s picture book. Such other components might include the written text, the overall design of the book, etc.

PROCEDURE FOR CHOOSING/WRITING ABOUT YOUR CALDECOTT PICK:
A.  Read through the picture books provided to you in class, keeping notes about your favorites in your writer's notebook -- but ONLY considering illustration, not text.

Example of my notes. (These selections are from last year so as not to have my opinion influence yours)

B.  When you have made your choice, begin crafting an essay about the book you have selected, including the following:

1. Mention the title, author, and illustrator of the book at the beginning of the essay
2. A short summary of the story
3. A description of the artwork (think about art terminology you have learned with Mrs. Ackley: use of color, lines, brush strokes, etc.)
4. Reference the Caldecott criteria by explaining why you consider your selection to be "the most distinguished," how the illustrations help interpret the plot, why the artistic techniques used are superior to the other books, etc.

Here is an example of the writing I did for my favorite 2014 Caldecott pick, Journey by Aaron Becker:

Mrs. Shaum's pick for the 2014 Caldecott: Journey by Aaron Becker
(Note: This is my selection for last year's Caldecott so as not to have my opinion influence yours)

When a young girl is desperate for some attention from her family but they appear to be too wrapped up in their own lives to notice her, she draws herself into an imaginary land and can get herself out of any predicament with just a few lines drawn from a magical red crayon, invoking a nod to the classic children's book, Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

Journey is an absolutely stunning, heart-skipping wordless picture book. It will make you gasp at its beauty and feats of imagination. What is so captivating about this picture book is the variety of influences you see in Becker's art, namely the Eastern influences, especially on the first full page spread where our protagonist enters the land of her imagination and you see paper lanterns strewn about the forest. That spread will make the reader's eyes bulge in wonder and heart skip a beat at the awe-inspiring transition from a colorless, depressing world to an adventurous, fantastical one. In going from one world to the next, the reader experiences a delightful, soul-stirring surprise. 

To examine Becker's art further and noting why it should be considered distinguished, one merely has to look at the level of detail in his pen and ink/watercolor illustrations. In poring over the architectural marvels Becker created in this book, one would almost assume he had a background in architecture, and yet, his illustrations are so fantastical that his artistic abilities are likely too whimsical and outlandish to be of any practical use in the field of architecture.

In considering Becker's level of detail in the setting, one also has to consider another curiosity in his artwork and that is the lack of detail in the faces of the people he draws, namely the little girl who goes on this journey. This could be cause for criticism, however, I see it more as the artist's way of not imposing this journey on any one person -- it is, in essence, all of our journeys. 

As a wordless picture book, Journey has all the things the Caldecott committee is looking for: excellence of artistic techniques, the use of illustrations to tell a story, timelessness, and appeal to a child audience.