Thank-you, Amazon

I was doing a little online Christmas shopping last night ... okay - I was doing A LOT of online Christmas shopping last night.  I wasn't planning on buying anything for myself - really, I wasn't ... until I went on Amazon. Now, books are my weakness, I've admitted that before, but I was going to hold strong - I had really convinced myself I didn't anything new.  AND THEN ...

You know that little advertising tool that they have - the one where it recommends books based on previous purchases ... oh, I know you know what I'm talking about.  I was just planning on taking a quick peek - just out of curiousity ... and I couldn't believe my eyes ... and just as quick, I added it to my shopping cart - The Chronicles of Harris Burdick.

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg is a classroom favourite of mine.  It is my hands-down absolute go to book for inferring and creative writing.  LOVE IT!  I have it in hard cover, and in portfolio version.  My favourite activity is to scatter the portfolio sheets on the floor of the gym, then turn out the lights.  I have my students enter the darkened gym with flashlights and sit around me in the centre of the gym.  They turn out their flashlights and I turn on mine.  I read the introduction to them, and when they are hooked, I let them turn on their flashlights and have them do a walk around, pausing at each sheet (they must do this step in silence).  After the entire class has had a chance to see all the pages, I turn back on the lights.  In groups of three or four, students choose their favourite page and create a 3 pose tableaux about the picture (before, during, after).  When we return to class, I have the students use the page they chose as a prompt, and they create the story.  I've even had classes create entire books using a story-in-the round method.  Once we even created a real book, complete with illustrations.

So, when I saw The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, I knew I had to have it.  Van Allsburg and 13 other authors (including Kate DiCamillo, Stephen King, Lois Lowry, Louis Sachar, etc.) have written mysterious and poignant tales to accompany the images.  I'm so looking forward to sharing this with my students (and I think I'll even grab my class from last year to share it with them, too).

Oh my goodness - I CANNOT wait for this book to get here ... just like a kid at Christmas.  ;)






With all my Christmas shopping last night, I was still in a Christmas mood today.  So I put that good mood to good use (why waste a good mood on laundry) and created a Christmas Drama Circle activity.  I've done two drama circles with my class already this year, and they have enjoyed them so much, I knew they'd love one for Christmas, too.  If you wish, you can click on the picture to get a preview of the product.  And, because I'm still in a Christmas mood, I'll send a copy to the first two people to leave a comment below with their email address.  Happy Saturday!!!