Bookworms Unite: A Celebration of Reading

Bookworms Unite: A Celebration of Reading

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know I am an unabashed bookworm. On any given day, I am writing a book, reading a book, or listening to an audiobook. It can get a bit confusing.

As a high school English teacher in El Paso, Texas, I encouraged my students to read every day, and I assigned six books a year. I thought students should read whatever interested them, and I let their parents help them make good choices.

The list below offers a diverse range of genres and topics to appeal to a wide range of students. Encourage students to explore different genres and authors to find their own reading passions. Only you and your students' parents and guardians can make the final choice when selecting titles.

Classic Literature

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: A timeless exploration of racial injustice and coming-of-age.
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: A dazzling portrayal of the American Dream and the Jazz Age.
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: A witty and romantic tale of love and social class.
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding: A thought-provoking exploration of human nature and survival.
• 1984 by George Orwell: A chilling dystopian novel about totalitarianism and surveillance.

Contemporary Fiction

• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: A poignant story of survival and hope during World War II.
• Divergent by Veronica Roth: A thrilling dystopian adventure with a strong heroine.
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: A gripping tale of rebellion and survival.
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: An interweaving story of love, loss, and resilience during World War II.
• The Martian by Andy Weir: A gripping survival story set on Mars.

Historical Fiction

• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein: A suspenseful tale of friendship and courage during World War II.
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Also listed in Contemporary Fiction)
• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: A time-traveling adventure filled with romance and history.
• Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel: A richly detailed historical novel about Thomas Cromwell.
• The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead: A powerful exploration of slavery and escape.

Science Fiction and Fantasy

• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card: A thought-provoking story of a young boy trained to be a military leader.
• Dune by Frank Herbert: A complex and epic science fiction novel.
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams: A humorous and absurd sci-fi comedy.
• Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling: A beloved series of fantasy novels about a young wizard.
• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien: An epic fantasy adventure.

Nonfiction

• Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand: An inspiring story of resilience and survival.
• A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah: A heartbreaking account of child soldiers in Sierra Leone.
• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari: A fascinating exploration of human history.
• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain: A thoughtful look at the strengths of introverts.
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot: A powerful story about medical ethics and scientific discovery.

February is a month that celebrates:
Valentine's Day
President's Day
Black History Month
American Heart Moth
Groundhog Day
and the Super Bowl!

Here's a fun Google Search Activity 

This no-prep resource will help students master subject/verb agreement.

Visit my store for more helpful resources.

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Tips to Avoid Three Common Grammar Mistakes

Subject-Verb Agreement Errors: This occurs when the subject and verb in a sentence do not agree in number. For example, “The team are winning” should be “The team is winning” because “team” is a singular noun.

 

The most helpful tip I can offer is to always determine the correct subject and verb in the sentence and decide if each is singular or plural.  Once you know, it is easy to make them agree. Often, a prepositional phrase occurs between the subject and verb, complicating the process.

 

Let’s look at this example sentence. One of the boys (is, are) going to help me.

If you’re not careful to remove the prepositional phrase, you might think that the plural noun “boys “and the plural verb “are” agree. This is wrong because the noun boys is not the subject.

If you find and remove the prepositional phrase before you determine subject/verb agreement, you will see that “one” is the subject. “One” is a singular pronoun, and it agrees with the singular verb “is.” One of the boys (is, are) going to help me.

 

 

Misplaced Modifiers: A modifier placed too far from the word it’s supposed to modify can create confusion or a completely different meaning. For instance, “She only eats apples” suggests that eating is all she does with apples, whereas “She eats only apples” clarifies that apples are the only thing she eats.

Misplaced modifiers often create humorous word pictures. For example: The children ran through the streets wearing Halloween costumes.

 

 

Confusion Between Homophones: Words that sound alike but have different meanings and spellings often cause mistakes. Common examples include “they’re,” “their,” and “there,”; “your,” and “you’re,” and “its” and “it’s.” Misusing these can lead to misunderstandings or a lack of clarity in communication.

 

When you are unsure of which spelling to use, always consult a dictionary. Practice using common homophones correctly.

 

The five most common homonym errors often made in writing and speaking are:

1.   There / Their / They’re

      •   There: Refers to a place or position (e.g., “The book is over there”).

      •   Their: Possessive form of “they” (e.g., “Their house is big”).

      •   They’re: Contraction of “they are” (e.g., “They’re going to the park”).

2.   Your / You’re

      •   Your: Possessive form of “you” (e.g., “Your car is parked outside”).

      •   You’re: Contraction of “you are” (e.g., “You’re going to love this movie”).

3.   Its / It’s

      •   Its: Possessive form of “it” (e.g., “The cat licked its paws”).

      •   It’s: Contraction of “it is” or “it has” (e.g., “It’s raining outside”).

4.   To / Too / Two

      •   To: Preposition indicating direction or purpose (e.g., “I’m going to the store”).

      •   Too: Means “also” or “excessively” (e.g., “I want to go too” or “That’s too much”).

      •   Two: The number 2 (e.g., “I have two cats”).

5.   Affect / Effect

      •   Affect: Usually a verb meaning “to influence” (e.g., “The weather will affect our plans”).

·   Effect: Usually a noun meaning “the result” (e.g., “The effect of the storm was severe”).

 

You can download a FREE list of some of the most common homophones here.

 

Here are two resources you may find helpful.

You will find it here.

 

You will find it here.

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Practice with 

Subject Verb Agreement

If you have followed the steps 1-3 in Simple Steps to Sentence Sense, it should be very easy for you to find the subject and the verb. Once you find them, you can be sure they agree in number. 

This means:  

If the subject is singular, the verb must be singular.
If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural. 

Singular means one person, place, or thing.  

For example: boy, city, tree.

Plural means more than one person, place, or thing. For example: boys, cities, trees 

The subject and the verb agree in this sentence: 

The leaves are brown and brittle.

The subject and the verb do not agree in this sentence: The leaves is brown and brittle. 

is=singular   are=plural  leaf=singular  leaves=plural

It will help if you remember that singular verbs end in an “s.”

After you find the subject, decide if it is singular or plural. If it is a singular subject, be sure the verb or the helping verb ends in s.

For example:
The children (is, are) going to the park.
The subject is “children.” The word “children” is plural, so choose the plural verb. The one that does not end in “s.”  
The children are going to the park. 

The child (is, are) going to the park.The subject is “child.” The word “child” is singular, so choose the singular verb. The one that ends in “s.”  

The child is going to the park. You can see how easy it is to make the subject and verb agree in number. 
That’s because the sentence would sound strange if you were to choose the wrong verb. 

For example, who would say: The dogs barks? That sentence would probably sound wrong to anyone who reads it.

Watch for these 3 special circumstances.

1.  Sometimes, however, it is not so easy to spot a subject/verb agreement error because a prepositional phrase located between the subject and the verb can fool you. 

For example:  
One of the dancers are more experienced. 
That sentence may not sound wrong, but it is. It has an error in subject and verb agreement. 

The word “dancers” is not the subject of the sentence because it is in a prepositional phrase. 

Remember that the subject of a sentence will never be found in a prepositional phrase. 

If we follow the steps and eliminate the prepositional phrase (of the dancers); find the verb (are) and then find the subject (one), it is easy to see that the subject is singular, but the verb is plural. 
One are. 

Now you can hear the error. 
Remember: If the subject is singular, you would need a verb that ends in s.

So the sentence should read: One of the dancers is more experienced.

2.  Sometimes the subject of the sentence is compound. 

Two or more subjects joined by the conjunction “and” take a plural verb. Apples and oranges are both delicious fruits.

If two or more subjects are joined by the conjunctions “or” or “nor,” make the verb agree with the subject nearer to it.

Examples: 
The minister or the choir members are riding on the bus.

The choir members or the minister is riding on the bus.

3.   If the subject follows the verb in a sentence (such as in sentences beginning with there or here), be especially careful to find the actual subject and verb and make them agree in number.

Remember: The words there and here are never the subject of the sentence.

Example: Here (is, are) the keys to our house.
The subject of this sentence is the word "keys."

Click here for more help with subject/verb agreement and a 20 question practice exercise with answers included. 

Thanks for reading!