Language+Labs

Language Lab Web Games

Mrs. Thompson's Contests:[] toc = = =__Our New Reading Challenge!__= //**We made it! By the end of the school year we had 132 books posted as read! Congratulation!

New Challenge: Can we get to 200 by the start of school in September? Message Mrs. B (ldtchr) with your titles and ratings! Also, look for discussions on Summer Reading in the Discussion space up above :). 1/11/08**// Okay, Mrs. Barto is experimenting once again (must be 2nd semester)! We are starting a challenge to read **__100 books__** this year and we are cataloging our progress through goodreads.com. Each of Mrs. B's students has a shelf dedicated to his/her user name so we can see what we are reading this year and we are already 1/4 of the way completed!

While others on the site will be able to view our profile and read our reviews, Mrs. B will be the "gatekeeper" for all of our activities since this is a site with mostly adult users and some language in spots can be questionably appropriate. We will be using this site to catalog (and show off) our reading progress collectively this year, and to provide our own reviews and ratings for the materials we read for 2007-2008. Click here to check in our progress: [|LMA Reads for 2007-2008].

Other Places to Discuss Books (that are ok'd by Mrs. B):

 * [|Planet Book Club]

Looking for Something to Read? Visit [|Kidsreads.com]
=__Quotables__= Have been moved to their own section of the Author Gallery

**Fact Files from Our Minds**

 * Joe
 * Marie
 * Garan

Free Choice Links
=**Author Gallery**=
 * Discussion and examples of how we see and appreciate the author's craft in the stories we read.
 * Suggestions for authors and how to improve our writing.

Writing at LMA
Mysteries, graphic novels and more!

= Our Favorites =

Harry Potter Series
(discussion at Harry Potter page)

=[|The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick]=


 * [|Enter the world of Hugo Cabret]
 * [|Links for information on Brian Selznick and Hugo Cabret]
 * [|An interview with Selznick at BookSense]
 * Play the [|Hugo Cabret Mechanical Maze] at Scholastic.com
 * Play the [|Automaton Workbench]
 * You can also create your own novel with pictures and words in the Hugo Cabret Flashlight Reader Area on Scholastic.com.

__Junior High Students Recommend__

 * The Hardy Boyz (wrestling discussion on Boyz page)
 * __Dr. Franklin's Island__ by ann halam

**__Middle Grade Students Recommend__**

 * __The Cay__ by Theodore Taylor
 * [|Book Club] Information for __The Cay__
 * The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (discussion on Tollbooth Page)
 * Mystery at Biltmore House by Carole Marsh (discussion on Mystery Page)
 * As we study the elements of mystery, middle grade lab students are working to develop their own "Mystery at LMA"!
 * **Contest Update:** The [|entrants and results] from the //Creepy Crawly Classroom Mystery// contest have been posted online. While LMA's entry was not selected as the winner, we did receive the Most Original Award. Turns out there were **56 entries and only 7 awards were given**! Way to go LMA!!!!
 * Find out more about online book clubs and the book of the month by Carole Marsh! [|Click here]
 * __Gossamer__ by Lois Lowry
 * summary from [|kidsreads.com]
 * Interview and bio of [|Lois Lowry]
 * __Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism__ by Georgia Byng (Emily)

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= = = = = = = = =__Elementary Students Recommend:__=
 * __Danger in Quicksand Swamp__ by Bill Wallace
 * __Sam the Cat Detective__ by Linda Stewart (Joe)
 * I would recommend it because it was a great mystery story. (JK)
 * __Day of the Iguana__ by Henry Winkler (Joe)
 * This is a fiction book. Hank Zipzer is the main character. He is the world's worst person at remembering things. In this book, he forgets how to have the VCR tape //The Mutant Moth Who Ate Toledo// for his best friend. The iguana comes in at the end because Hank's sister's iguana has 23 babies. I would recommend this book because it's a great reptilian book and science thingy. (JK)
 * [|The Boy Who Saved Baseball] by John H Ritter
 * Tom's baseball team needs to play a game to save their town, Dillontown. Some think they have no chance because their coach is a science teacher. Dante DelGato is a guy who was 19 for 19 in the World Series and he just walked away. Now he lives on Rattlesnake Ridge in the mountains by Dillontown and Tom and Cruz de la Cruz are going to ask him for the secret of baseball to help them win the game. (MG & JK)
 * __Magic School Bus Chapter Book: Space Explorers__ by Joanna Cole (Marie)
 * What surprised me about this book were that you would only weigh 12 pounds on the moon if you weighed 75 on Earth. I knew you would be lighter, but not that much.
 * It also surprised that Sheldon didn't complain about going on this field trip like he usually does.

__Geronimo Stilton__

 * Visit //[|The Rodent's Gazette]//

__The Boxcar Children__
The news is that there is a new __Boxcar Children__ book out - Number 111!
 * They are very smart. They have jobs and the first book is the greatest! - //MG//

__[|Wishbone]__

 * He's smart, he's funny, and he studies history. And he has a great imagination. - //GN//
 * He has four different book series: super mysteries, adventure, mystery and super adventures. //- JK//

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