Saturday, March 19, 2011

In My Mailbox (21)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.  The books you share do not have to be ones you actually received in the mail.  They can be ones you bought at the book store, checked out at the library, or downloaded to your e-reader.  The idea is just to share what's on your TBR pile for the upcoming week.

The most exciting thing that came in my mailbox this week actually isn't for me.  I've been pushing and fighting to get e-readers back into our school because of the success that so many students have had with them since I started allowing them in my classroom back in January.  They were allowed for a while, and then they were banned because some people were concerned they were creating a "haves" and "have-nots" situation.  I argued my case that most of the students in my class who don't have their own e-readers don't really want them anyway because they like regular books better and my classroom coupled with our school library has tons of books from which to choose, so it's not like the kids who don't have e-readers are being denied reading material.

I personally could live without an e-reader.  I love the geography of a real book.  Flipping through the pages, being able to visually see how much farther I have until I'm finished.

But, I'm also someone who will push for a kid to read a book in any way that motivates them to read.  So if I have a handful of kids in my class who prefer to read on a Kindle, then I'm going to let them read on a Kindle.

So a compromise was made to let e-readers back in the building.  Our school purchased 5 Nooks:

And I am in charge of keeping track of them and checking them out to students.  Even though I have never been a huge fan of e-readers myself, I'm excited about the possibilities for motivating more students with these.  And I'm also excited to try one out for myself.  I mean, I can't expect to be in charge of the Nooks if I don't know how to use them myself! :o)

Library Loot:
Picture books:

Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama, illustrated by Loren Long
House of Dolls by Francesca Lia Block, illustrated by Barbara McClintock

Bunny Days by Tao Nyeu
LMNO Peas by Keith Baker

Audiobooks:
 
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
 
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris

Won:

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

For Review:
 
Ghellow Road by T.H. Waters

8 comments:

  1. That's cool! What are the kids using them for? The books their classes are reading?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I saw all those Nooks and thought I was in heaven! Have fun reading! You can find my mailbox at The Bookish Snob

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love it that you were able to get Nooks for your school!

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's so great! It would have been awesome to have ereaders when I was in high school!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the idea of having eReaders in schools, I've found that kids lean more towards books when a book suddenly becomes a must have gadget, like the Kindle or Nook. =D

    New follower!
    comacalm.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. That's awesome to hear that your school is allowing e-readers! I think if I got five nooks in the mail I might faint :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. How lucky that you got to visit the restaurant. I changed the recipe for pancakes slightly, however I loved them.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Some great books! I'm contemplating the idea of having e-readers available for students. I bring mine in and the kids like it. Might have some questions for you!

    ReplyDelete