Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
By Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
Published by Quirk Classics
Reviewed by Martha Beach

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is the original, classic text written by Jane Austen, but which a slight ghastly twist. It is certain to entice even those who never really like Jane Austen's romantic, flowery stories.

We find out right from the start that an unknown plague has befallen the small and quiet English village of Meryton. Many people die. But then they return to life!

Elizabeth Bennet, the original heroin of Pride and Prejudice, is still with us in this zombie version and is determined to wipe out all the risen-from-the-dead enemies.

But quite predictably, the dashing and arrogant Mr. Darcy quickly distracts her.

The story following their romantic encounter is of course, just as the original romance was, a delightful comedy with friendly sparring between lovers. But along with lovers' sparring, slightly more violent and gory sparring takes place as Elizabeth attempts to defeat the zombies that have taken over her town.

This text comes complete with 20 of the original illustrations by C.E. Brock, a tone classic romance, one very humorous relationships, and a good portion of blood and gore. 


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eInstruction's 2010 Classroom Makeover Contest

Get your cameras ready because eInstruction is holding its 4th Annual Classroom Makeover Video Contest. To enter, students will create a short music video demonstrating how they would use the technology won to enhance their learning experience. They can parody an existing song or create an entirely new one. Make it fun, creative, and focused on technology in the classroom

This year, the contest is global so Canadians can enter too (excluding Quebec). The grand prize is an interactive classroom worth up to $75,000 USD. The are dozens of secondary prizes from great technology sponsors. A panel of judges will select a grand-prize winner from three categories; grades K-5 (4-10 year olds), grades 6-8 (10-14 year olds), and grades 9-12 (14-18 year olds).

Submissions will be accepted between August 23 and November 2, 2010 so start creating today! For full contest details visit the official contest page.

Off the Grid

Off the Grid: Modern Homes and Alternative Energy
By Lori Ryker
Published by Gibbs Smith
Reviewed by Martha Beach

This text looks at the ecological and cultural problems associated with modern energy usage. The author looks at comprehensive ways to have a beautiful house but use much, much less energy and power.

For houses of many different incomes and in many different places, this text gives homeowners ideas for improving their home's energy usage, having eco-friendly reconstruction projects and power-saving tips.

The author shows us how to avoid hooking up homes to city services. She includes tips and ideas on how to choose and incorporate “off the grid” technologies into your home. The book looks ideas as simple as rainwater collection to wind turbines, micro-hydro power and geo-thermal energy.

Remember to check out TEACH Mag for the latest in education.

Grouping by Chance

For your next session of group discussions of teamwork, try these fun methods for grouping your students by chance:

Deck of Cards
Randomly pass out playing cards or Uno cards and have students group according to number, colour, suit, or poker hand.

Photo Credit: ClipartMountain

Picture Puzzle Pieces
Cut photos or postcards into pieces and distribute. Students with the pieces from the same picture will form a group.

Appointment Book
Give students a page out of a daily planner/appointment book. Have students make and record “appointments” with their classmates. When you call out the times, students will “meet” the people for their appointment time.

Text Reconstruction
Take texts—stories, poems, diagrams, etc. and cut them into pieces before distributing them to students. Students who have pieces of the same text will form a group.

Cast of Characters
Write down the names of characters from well-known stories on individual cards and hand them out to students. Students with the same type of character (e.g. antagonist, protagonist, etc.) will group together.

Synonyms, Antonyms, Homonyms
Write down words on individual cards and hand them out to the class. Students will find a partner whose card is a synonym, antonym, or homonym, etc. of their word.

Grouping by Chance is taken from Surviving and Thinking: Making classroom management and organization work for you and your students by Maria Carty, published by Pembroke Publishers.

Four Steps to Helping Students Face Tough Social Situations

Step One: Observe

Photo Credit: Sandra Torrijos; Isis Clipart

It sounds simple, but observing is actually a complicated skill. This skill is so important that it will be used throughout all four steps.

Observe the child's behaviour before a social struggle occurs-listen to choice of words and tone of voice. This way, if something seems “off” it will be easy to see the difference between a student's normal way of speaking and the way they speak when they're distressed.

Observe if a child speaks directly to you without being asked. Notice how they speak and when they tell you what is wrong. There are times when a student will not come directly to you and you will have to take notice of changes in their behaviour.

Observing, knowing, and recognizing how a child acts if they're having a social problem will help you help them.

Step Two: Connect

Connect to the child by using active listening. Try and genuinely listen to their issue or problem, then essentially repeat back to them what they have said. But do not add judgment or guidance. Dig through the details of their story and simply repeat what you think they have said.

For example say something like, “That's a lot of information. Let me see if I understand. You are angry because your friend didn't save you a seat and you felt lonely because you sat by yourself. Is that right?”

If the child feels that you understand how they are feeling, but you are not judging them, they will be more likely to discuss their problem further and in turn, more likely to take your suggestions on ways to fix the situation.

The Thief Lord

The Thief Lord
By Cornelia Funke
Ages 12+
Published by Scholastic Canada

The Thief Lord tells the tale of Prosper and Bo, two orphaned brothers who have run away from their aunt and uncle. When their mother was still alive, she often spoke of Venice as a magical city, and so the two boys decide to flee to Venice.

There, they meet the Thief Lord who runs a ring of street children who dabble in petty crimes, in the Oliver Twist style.

The two brothers become close with the Thief Lord and the other children in his colourful family, but they quickly discover that the Thief Lord has a dark secret. Soon Prosper, Bo, and the rest of the gang are thrown into circumstances beyond their control. They embark on an adventure throughout the meandering canals and narrow alleyways of Venice.

This modern classic has become one of the most popular children's novels of the past decade. It has the perfect mix of adventure, mischief, magic, and friendship, and is bound to keep your students turning pages.

Carry on the Kindness

There are times when we don't act quite as kindly as we intend to or would like to. We may experience a frustrating moment where we make a quick decision to be less kind than we could. Or, the weather is bad and we woke up late, and for the rest of the day we're a grumpier than usual.

This happens to the best of us. Snappy remarks and curt attitudes happen to students, teachers, peers, and colleagues. But, we have to keep in mind that we are always in control of our choices and we can easily choose to move forward with kindness.

To help students and teachers keep a kind frame of mind, think of three random acts of kindness to complete each day. These acts don't need public attentions. Just do them to spread good feelings and cheerfulness.

Ten Ways to Read a Poem Out Loud

1.    Introduce the Poem
Leader reads aloud without displaying the poem.
Leader reads as participants follow along with their eyes.

2.    Echo Reading
Leader reads one line: the group echoes what the leader says.

3.    Alternate-line Reading
Leader reads one line, the group reads the second line; they continue alternating lines. The activity is repeated by reversing parts.

4.    Cloze Technique
Leader reads each line, omitting the final word; group joins in to say the word and complete the line.
The activity can be repeated with the leader omitting additional words.

5.    Pitch
Read the poem in unison, starting in a whisper and gradually getting louder.
Read the poem in unison, starting in a loud voice and gradually getting softer to a whisper.