As I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep;

If I should die before I wake,

I pray that nobody touches my stack of “To Read” books because it could cause an avalanche and mass casualties!

Is there anything greater than getting lost in literature?  One of the greatest statements to ever break my heart is, “I hate reading.”  Ugh.  What a completely strangulating way to live your life!  Literature is empowering, inspiring, transporting, and everlasting source of exploration.

It should come to no one’s surprise that when I logged onto the River City Science Academy’s website and saw the Summer Literature Assignment for 2012, I nearly leapt with joy!

No, no.  Not because I’m an evil English teacher who loves to see students “work” all summer long, but because I have been salivating at the opportunity to implement a Summer Reading List.  What tickles me even more is that the English Department has also required Dialect Journals, AKA one of my top three favorite ways of connecting students with their texts.

It’s very simple: you divide your paper in half, and label the left column as “Note-taking” and the right as “Note-making.”  I have also seen the two columns labeled as “From the Text” and “From my Brain”  OR “__(Author)_’s Words“ and “My Connections.”

Ohhhh wee!  You know you’re meant to be an English teacher when this sort of thing gets your blood pumping!  I may need a moment to get my heart rate back to a civilized pace.

Anyways, the reading lists are amazing, and I sort of hope my prep period is during one of the AP courses; I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if I surveyed their course.  Students need only to choose three/five/six books, depending on their grade level, but you know me: I love a reading challenge!  I’ve already purchased a Kindle or paperback copy of my grade level’s reading list.

::Cough:: Overachiever ::Cough::Cough::