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Mrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsExcerpts from Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline WoodsonToday I'll read some excerpts from Jacqueline Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming, which is a fascinating memoir because it's actually written in verse. That means it's structured more like poetry, which is rare for a memoir. Brown Girl Dreaming is a beautiful, poetic book, and if you like these excerpts, I encourage you to read the whole book. Since it's important to look at the structure of this memoir-in-verse, I recommend that you follow along here as I read to you today.2020-06-0110 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsMuffin by Susan Cooper"Muffin" is a unique memoir because it's told from the third-person perspective about a classmate of the author. The author uses her classmate's story to illustrate how life in England was affected by World War II. If you are writing about a bigger time period (like COVID-19, for example) and are struggling to "write small" because there is just so much to talk about, this is a great memoir to listen to. 2020-05-2621 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsWhy I Never Ran Away From Home by Katherine Paterson"Why I Never Ran Away From Home," by Katherine Paterson, is a really sweet memoir about growing up in the shadow of your older siblings. If you have siblings, love The Wizard of Oz, or have ever felt a little out of place, you will love this short story. 2020-05-2615 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsThe Great Rat Hunt by Laurence YepToday's memoir is called "The Great Rat Hunt," by Laurence Yep. It's a beautiful and funny story about growing up, feeling inadequate at sports, race, and a boy's relationship with his father. As you listen, pay attention to how the memoir is organized. As opposed to other memoirs we've read that begin with reflection/analysis and then tell the story, this memoir has those reflections sprinkled throughout the narrative. It's a really powerful technique that helps you empathize with the author--almost like you ARE the author--because you hear his story and feel his feelings throughout. 2020-05-2118 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsAll-Ball by Mary Pope OsborneI thought it would be fun to read some memoirs to you so that you have more examples to inspire you as you write your own. This first memoir is called "All-Ball" by Mary Pope Osborne. As you listen, consider the powerful symbolism of All-Ball. What does All-Ball represent to Mary? 2020-05-2013 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsAuthor's Note, Acknowledgements, and About the AuthorI always love learning about the author and their writing process. I find this "back of the book stuff" to be particularly interesting! Give it a listen. 2020-05-1906 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsThe Thing About Jellyfish: Part 7Today we will finish The Thing About Jellyfish. We'll read all of Part Seven: "What If?," "The Only Thing That Ever Made Sense," "Any Other Kid," "What Remains," and "Heroes and Villains." After you listen, let me know what you thought about the ending and whether you liked the book overall! 2020-05-1921 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsThe Thing About Jellyfish, Part 6Today, we'll read all of Part 6: "Immortality," "To Australia," "Sit," and "She Made It." Listen to find out what happens on Suzy's trip! 2020-05-1921 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsThe Thing About Jellyfish: Part 5EToday, we'll finally finish Part 5, the longest part of the book! The chapters I'll read are called, "Goodbye, Ming Palace," "Tuesday, 3 PM," "Wednesday," "Goodbye, Home," "Phone Call," and "Endings." It's a bit long, but I wanted to finish up this section today. Feel free to split up your listening over the weekend, if you'd like! 2020-05-1522 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsThe Thing About Jellyfish: Part 5DThis is the fourth section of Part 5, which includes the following chapters: "Deadline," "Instant Calm," "How to Plan Your Escape," "Spare Change," "Goodbye, Thor," and "How to Say Goodbye." Listen to find out all about Suzy's plan, and to witness a cute interaction between Suzy and Justin. 2020-05-1420 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsThe Thing About Jellyfish: Part 5CToday, I'll read the third section of Part 5: "The Worst Kind of Silence," "Two Day's Silence," "And Then More Silence," "What I Don't Want to Talk About," "Things Are Closer Than They Appear," and "Bridget Brown." I can't wait to hear your predictions after you listen! What is Suzy going to do?!2020-05-1314 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsThe Thing About Jellyfish: Part 5BWe'll continue reading Part 5 of The Thing About Jellyfish today! The chapters I'm reading are called: "Terribly Wrong," "Even More Wrong," "Venom," "Look at Me," and "Pollination." A lot of change is described in this section. As you read, start thinking about some of the changes you are experiencing in your own life. You don't need to respond to me (unless you want to!), but it's an interesting thing to reflect about. 2020-05-1118 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsThe Thing About Jellyfish: Part 5APart Five of The Thing About Jellyfish begins with the chapters, "Stronger Than Us," "Imagine a Creature," and "How to Send a Message." Listen to hear how Suzy's presentation goes and to find out more about Suzy's plan to send a message to Franny. It's pretty gross! After listening, let me know what you think about how Suzy is acting. Is she right? Wrong? Somewhere in between?2020-05-0716 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsThe Thing About Jellyfish: Part 4CTo wrap up Part Four, I'll read three chapters: "How to Lose a Friend," "Taking Over," and "How to Not Forget." After listening, let me know if you have any predictions for what will happen next. What do you think Suzy did to send Franny a message? 2020-05-0613 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsThe Thing About Jellyfish: Part 4BIn this section, I'll read four chapters: "Face-to-Face," "Millions of Things to Learn," "How to Know Things Have Changed," and "Zombie Ants." After you listen, let me know what you think of the book so far! 2020-05-0515 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsThe Thing About Jellyfish: Part 4AEnjoy listening to the first four chapters of Part 4: "Blooms," "How to Drift Apart," "A Click, Then Silence," and "How to Get Things Wrong." It's a long section, so there's no question for thought at the end. 2020-05-0521 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsThe Thing About Jellyfish: Part 3CTo finish up Part Three, I'm reading four chapters today: "How to Make a Promise," "Experts #2 and #3," "How to Not Say Something Important," and "Crazy Brave." Notice that all of the "How to" chapters are the ones in which Suzy shares her memories in the present tense, as if she's speaking directly to Franny as the memories are occurring. As you listen to those chapters, pay attention to the writing style. I encourage you to try out that writing style on your own today! Try writing about one of your memories, writing in the present tense and second-person point...2020-05-0319 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsThe Thing About Jellyfish: Part 3BIn this section, I read three more chapters: "Dumb Old Words," "Expert #1," and "Mote of Dust." Enjoy! On Monday, I'll finish reading Part Three. 2020-04-3018 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsThe Thing About Jellyfish: Parts 2 & 3APart Two is just one chapter, "Best Educated Guess," so I started reading Part 3 as well. I read three chapters: "Early Life," "How to Have a Friend," and "Dr. Legs." It's really interesting to pay attention to tense in this book, and how the tense shifts in different parts of the story. Notice how some parts are told in past tense and others are told in present tense. Why the shift? What effect do you think it has on you as a reader? 2020-04-2920 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsThe Thing About Jellyfish: End of Part 1In this episode, I'll read three chapters: "Invisible," "How to Make a Friend," and "150 Million Stings." There are some really interesting author's moves in this section. One is that the author alternates between telling Suzy's story in the first person perspective and flashing back to Suzy's memory moments, in which she speaks directly to her friend in the second person ("The first time I see you..."). Another interesting author's move is the way she uses numbers in a really powerful way. Listen to this section and then share a bit about what you think of these author's moves. What...2020-04-2717 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsPeople of Sparks: Chapter 5Listen to Chapter 5, "The Pioneer," to find out where the People of Ember will be living now that they are settled in Sparks. Be sure to listen all the way to the end and respond to the just-for-fun question for thought!2020-04-2718 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsPeople of Sparks: Chapter 4Chapter 4 is called, "The Doctor's House." There is also a section of the chapter called, "The First Town Meeting." After you listen to the chapter, respond to the Question for Thought: How would you describe the city of Sparks? What details about the city from the chapter stood out to you? 2020-04-2117 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsPeople of Sparks: Chapter 3Chapter 3 is called, " Through the Village." The people of Ember are now back in Sparks, whose leaders are providing them with the things they need to survive. You'll notice that the author chose to pick up where chapter 1 left off. When you finish reading, answer the Question for Thought: Why do you think the author chose to jump back and forth in time, starting with the people of Ember arriving in Sparks, then going backward to discuss how they left Ember, and then resuming with them getting settled in Sparks? What effect do you think it had on the...2020-04-2017 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsPeople of Sparks: Chapter 2Chapter 2 of The People of Sparks is called, "Out from Below." It describes the chaos that occurred when the people of Ember were trying to leave the city. After you listen, respond to the Question for Thought by clicking on the Message button and recording a voice memo. The question is: how is the description of the way the people left Ember similar or different from what you had originally visualized when you thought about the people leaving? 2020-04-1614 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsThe Thing About Jellyfish: Sneak PreviewHere is a sneak preview of The Thing About Jellyfish, by Ali Benjamin. It's realistic fiction and a beautiful book with some mature themes, like coping with grief. Be sure to cast your vote for our next read-aloud novel once you finish listening to this sneak preview! 2020-04-0217 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsWishtree: Sneak PreviewFor our next book “sneak preview,” I’ll read the first few chapters of a book called Wishtree (the chapters are really short!). Wishtree is written by Katherine Applegate, who also wrote The One and Only Ivan. It’s a beautiful story told from a really unique perspective.
2020-04-0115 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsPeople of Sparks: Chapter 1Here's a sneak preview of the next book in the Ember series, The People of Sparks. If you want to keep reading it together, make sure you vote for it on Friday!2020-03-3113 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsCity of Ember: Chapter 20This is the final chapter of The City of Ember, "The Last Message." After you finish listening, let me know what you thought of the ending! 2020-03-3118 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsCity of Ember: Chapter 19We only have two chapters left in The City of Ember! Today, you will listen to Chapter 19, “A World of Light.” When you finish, respond to the Question for Thought: What do you think the notebook says? We’ll find out tomorrow in the last chapter of The City of Ember!
2020-03-2913 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsCity of Ember: Chapter 18Chapter 18 is called "Where the River Goes." Listen to this chapter to find out what's at the end of the river! When you finish, be sure to answer the Question for Thought: What was the most suspenseful part of the chapter, in your opinion?2020-03-2717 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsCity of Ember: Chapter 17Chapter 17 is titled, "Away." Will Lina and Doon make it to the Pipeworks and take the boat into the river? Listen to find out! Make sure you listen to the end of the episode to hear what today's Questions for Thought are. 2020-03-2516 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsCity of Ember: Chapter 16Chapter 16 is called, "The Singing." We're getting close to the end of the book...but you know that means Lina and Doon will run into a few more challenges before the end. Listen to hear what happens to Lina at The Singing. When you finish listening, respond to today's Question for Thought: What do you think Lina's plan is?2020-03-2520 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsCity of Ember: Chapter 15Chapter 15 is called, "A Desperate Run." Find out whether Lina and Doon expose the mayor and lead everyone to the boats in the Pipeworks! This is a really long episode, so I'll give you two days to listen to it. If you want to split it into two days, feel free. When you finish listening, respond to the Question for Thought: Lina and Doon feel very differently about leaving the City of Ember. What do we know about their character traits and life experiences that might explain why they are feeling so differently? Tune in Thursday for Chapter 16! 2020-03-2427 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsCity of Ember: Chapter 14Let's see if your predictions came true! Will Lina and Doon find the way out of Ember? Today, we'll listen to Chapter 14, "The Way Out." Listen all the way to the end of today's episode for a creative "Question for Thought" assignment on describing everyday objects. 2020-03-2323 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsCity of Ember: Chapter 13Chapter 13 is called "Deciphering the Message." On this episode, we'll start by hearing some of your classmates' reactions to Chapter 12. Make sure you've listened to Chapter 12 first, because there are definitely spoilers! Then, I'll read Chapter 13. When you're done listening to the episode, I want to hear your predictions about what will happen next! Share your predictions using the "Message" button, and I'll feature some of them in the next episode. 2020-03-2018 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsCity of Ember: Chapter 12The title of this chapter is “A Dreadful Discovery.” Listen to find out what that discovery is! Today’s Questions for Thought are: What are your reactions to the discoveries that Lina and Doon have made? Can you make any connections between what we are seeing in Ember and what we’re seeing in the world recently? Record your response as a “Message” on Anchor! I’ll feature some of your responses in tomorrow’s read-aloud podcast.
2020-03-1916 minMrs. Dolinka's Read-AloudsCity of Ember: End of Chapter 11In this episode, I'll finish reading chapter 11 of City of Ember.
Question to Think About: Do you agree with Lina or Lizzie? Why? 2020-03-1710 min