Attention: Please See Z's Corner on the Sidebar under Topics
Here you will read about the "trying to raise a writer and a reader" part of my blog. When Z ends his leave of absence, you might even read some of his work here!
********************************************************************
6/18/10
Tangerine: The Third Time Around for Z
I could not believe that Z would read Tangerine by Edward Bloor 3 times.
Why did Z read Tangerine three times?
Z: I finished Tangerine for the third time last night.
K: How was it?
Z: Good.
K: Now, that’s a good book. You read a book three times and still leave it satisfied, it’s good.
Z: I know.
Tangerine might be his favorite book. He found Tangerine a few years ago, read it, loved it, and told K about it.
A few months later, they read it together.
A few weeks ago when K went to a parent/teacher conference and learned that the class would be reading it, she told the teacher he’d read Tangerine twice for fun but hadn’t “studied” it.
K’s teaching experience led her to believe that students don’t take too kindly to rereading books, so she wanted to see if Z would have trouble opening the book.
She peeped in his room a couple of times and saw him reading the novel. One time she gave him two Volponi books he’d never read and then worried he’d leave Tangerine for them.
K was shock when he came to her a few days later and announced his goal:
Z: I want to continue to read ahead of the class. When we have discussions, I have to be quiet, but I want to say something [about things he knows because he read ahead]. When we read To Kill a Mockingbird, I read each night and answered the questions. This time I am reading the night before we have to do questions.
K: Silence.
I guess K was wrong. Or was she?
Maybe if a teacher says you have to read a book you’ve already read, it helps that it’s a book you like and there is enough time between the readings so that you cannot rely on your memory, even if you wanted to.
OK, what do I know?
*Tangerine is about a family that moves to a new subdivision in Tangerine County, Fla. The protagonist is a legally blind, seventh grader named Paul with a vicious older brother who is a budding football star. Paul is busy trying to make a name for himself at soccer and in school, but he doesn’t miss the signs that show his new neighborhood is in trouble environmentally. The book made me laugh, but I also noticed obvious interdisciplinary connections (muck fires, lightning killing a football player, and sinkholes).
********************************************************************
Z’s composition teacher gives silver pens to outstanding authors all throughout the year. During the award ceremony on the last day of school, she gives out a really special (That’s what Z says, but they look the same to me.) silver pen to certain writers. I love this idea because it motivates Z to write well in a way I could never pull off no matter how much I try to encourage him.
A few days before the award ceremony…
Z: This time I actually get to go up there and get my silver pen. This one is going to be special. It’s not the one we get during the year.
K nods.
Z: Last year when I won (He got the Voice Award) I just got a regular silver pen because I was too sick to go to the ceremony.
K nods, amazed that Z does not consider for a moment that he might not get the award. She wonders if she should say something like, “Winning isn’t everything. You should just be the best writer you can be.”
Z: This year it’s the special pen!
Awards Ceremony 2010
Mrs. Teacher goes to the stage and starts calling names for wonderful writing. When K doesn’t hear Z’s name, she starts formulating her motivational speech. Then the teacher calls out the Future Newbery Winner awards. Z goes to the stage and gets his silver pen and is dubbed a future Newbery Winner.
K is impressed and happy she doesn’t have to go somewhere and find a bigger and better silver pen than the teacher gave the winners to give to Z. Nope, he earned it from his teacher.
Next year, Z is moving on up to be an upperclassmen (OK, the school stops at 8th grade and I wanted to be poetic/dramatic.) and he’s leaving Mrs. Teacher behind to inspire other writers. She will be missed.
Note: All quotes from Z are used with permission.
