Yes, This Will Be On the Test

Writing, Reading, Laughing

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

View From the 5th Grade Trenches - May 2011 - Get a Clue, 39 to be Exact

Here in the 5th Grade Trenches we just finished a nail biting read-aloud. You might have heard of it, THE 39 CLUES, MAZE OF BONES (Book 1) by Rick Riordan.

The kids LOVED it. Amy and Dan Cahill, the pair of protagonists, are filled with the audacity and impulsivity that a middle grader can relate to. Dan is brash, and Amy shy. Every child in my class could relate to one or the other.

The humor was spot-on for the middle-grade brain, especially Dan’s one-liners. The villains may seem over-the-top and stereotypical to an adult, but the kids ate them up with a spoon.

As a teacher I loved all the curricular tie-ins that inspire a plethora of spin-off lessons:
History – The book is a Benjamin Franklin feast
Math – The magic square, overall number sense, and problem solving
Science - Chemistry and electricity
Language Arts – Anagrams
Technology – The fantastic online tie-in to the series where you find out which branch of the Cahill Family you belong to AND you have access to extra clues.

Best of all, the kids are grabbing for the rest of the series. I bought 3 full sets for my classroom alone, and we’ve stripped the school library as well. A different author writes each of the books, so the kids will be exposed to multiple voices and styles as they read on.

And there are the two words that are music to a teacher's ear – read on. 

Scholastic now offers the set in paperback. Dive. Dive.

24 comments:

  1. My 11 yo has the series and loves it. I haven't read it yet. I'm more into upper, edgy YA.

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  2. Awesome combination!! And what a brilliant writer to start the series with. Love experimenting - uh, I mean listening to what actual MGers like. ;D

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  3. Stina - I agree with you. Love my edgy YA. Wish I could read some of that to my class, but alas, it would summon many parent phone calls.

    Lisa - It's a blast introducing books that light the reading fire for my 5th grade peeps.

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  4. Oh I'm glad you think this book is great bc I bought it for my kid a few days ago! :D

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  5. You know I haven't heard of this... I love Rick Riordan, I'll have to get this for my daughter who loves this kind of stuff.

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  6. I've never read these, but I keep hearing about them. I'll have to suggest them to my 11 yo. Thanks, Leslie!

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  7. Monica, Deana, and Julie - Oh My! Sorry had to go to the Wizard of Oz place. 39 Clues is totally kid-addicting, in a good way. Prepare to buy the series and give up some computer time for the tech tie-ins.

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  8. Yes, you do Laurisa. It's such fun. It made me want to read up on Benjamin Franklin.

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  9. Ooh, sounds so great! I may have to get my son hooked on this one.
    Thanks for the follow at my blog, I'm following here now!

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  10. That's a pretty cool cover. ;)

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  11. As a former teacher, you certainly got my interest in the series. Some of students now have children of their own at just the right age. You have a great blog, Roland

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  12. Hi, I'm a new follower.
    I love it when kids find a new series they enjoy. I've seen this one around. I'll add it to by tbr pile. I love MG too. :)

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  13. Hey Lydia, Roland, and Michelle, thanks for the follow. I was late to the 39 Clues party, but boy am I glad I joined. It's thrilling to see the kids dive in to a book, or series with both feet.

    It is a boss cover, Lee. There are all sorts of secret graphics and markers inside the books as well.

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  14. I've been looking forward to reading this one. Once I get through my monster TBR stack :)

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  15. Ah, Girl Friday, the TBR stack. I hear you, sista.

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  16. This is one of the very few titles on my 13-year-old boy's bookshelf :) He's not a reader at all, but this managed to capture his attention!

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  17. Yay! I found the same phenom with my reluctant boy readers. 39 Clues, and anything by Gordon Korman or M.T. Anderson has them reading. Hats off to the MG authors that "get" our boys.

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  18. Oh I need to check these out! THanks for mentioning them! :)

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  19. I'm planning to read this one aloud to my class too! I'm finishing up Earthling Hero with them now and Clues is next :)

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  20. Jemi - I'm looking for a good story to start next school year. I'll check out Earthling Hero.

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  21. I have read this one, but not the ones that followed. I don't know, I liked it, but didn't love it. I'm trying to remember what it was that turned me off, but it was a long time ago.

    Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse

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  22. Angela - I always get swept up when the kids are gung ho on a book.

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  23. I used to teach 4th grade, and my students would have loved this series. It's been free on Kindle recently--might be still.

    ~Debbie

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