tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65451674037125757452011-12-14T21:53:47.775-07:00English is LIFE! "Through the eyes of fictional characters, I have come to see the world more clearly."Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.comBlogger411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-92178698449731306672011-08-17T12:40:00.000-06:002011-08-17T12:40:13.193-06:00

I'm so excited for school to start! I've been working now for 10 days, (and 4square says I'm even the mayor at THS again!) and I've got the reading unit tweaked. I think I have the Best Job EVER. I can't wait to start teaching. Can't come soon enough for me! I'm listening to the flex music I'm going to use to teach certain core concepts, and I'm so jazzed to teach. SIGH. Where are the kids when

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-28936044809339396162011-08-05T17:06:00.000-06:002011-08-05T17:06:22.510-06:00

When you look at how much things have changed on my blog and website, you think, well I guess things change very little from year to year in Mrs. Phippen's class, and yet, I re-think EVERY LESSON, every time I teach it. I re-think my lesson plans, my units, my disclosure documents, and I re-think the structure of everything I do from the ground up, every year. I think that's how I keep my job

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-23513026347504289942010-08-28T16:57:00.003-06:002010-08-29T18:03:33.679-06:00

I love a good Saturday read, and I love a good romance novel... This is the sequel to The Iron King, and both are Harlequin Teen Fiction. Based on characters from Much Ado About Nothing, we have Puck, Queen Mab, Oberon, and a host of other Fey who are in NeverNever and locked in a dance between the upper Sidhe and Unseelie Court. This is definitely Faery Fiction at it's finest. This is not

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-59238932300420299432010-08-28T16:35:00.001-06:002010-09-02T11:30:33.723-06:00

It's been two full years since I read The Time Paradox, time enough to cleanse my palate and want to revisit Atlantis and my favorite teen villain, Artemis. In fact, time enough to hope Coulfer had reinvented Artemis and re-energized the series. After the tragic epic fail of The Time Paradox, either nothing could be worse, or Artemis had only one last chance... So, here we were. 1. Most of the

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-53315207473407904992010-08-24T08:50:00.002-06:002010-08-25T09:52:43.784-06:00

After back to school night, I came home to the most pleasant surprise: my copy from Amazon had arrived! Despite being absolutely knackered, I opened it about 10:30pm, and read it anyway. When I finished it... here are my thoughts: 1. Suzanne Collins did tie up all the loose ends. There's nothing to finish, no story, character, or plot to revisit. She tied everything up, and there are no plot

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-29299856853339626972010-07-27T12:07:00.000-06:002010-07-27T12:07:08.148-06:00

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher (I'd give it 3 stars). It was a decent read, and I'll probably buy the sequel just to see how it ends. Interesting premise on several levels. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (which I would give 4 stars). It's a much better (tighter) story of The Nicholas Flamel series currently out which I have spent (wasted) time reading. The Sorcerer by Michael Scott (which I

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-50387960500294524272010-07-22T12:38:00.002-06:002010-07-22T12:40:35.770-06:00

The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde is the first of the Thursday Next novels, and it is the novel I have gifted most to people who teach English. I think it is cleverly written and requires one to be well read and know characters from Austen, Dickens, and also understand theme and motivation behind the characters. It also requires death of the author, and the realization that words have a life of

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-67070627234593356042010-07-22T12:02:00.001-06:002010-07-22T12:10:10.487-06:00

The summer truly got under swing when my sister loaned me all of her friend Hilary's "Sookie Stackhouse" books. These are not Twilight on steroids. Instead, this series, mystery/romance also ties fantasy vampires and fey with werewolves, shape-shifters, and anything else that can go bump-in-the-night. In truly "Harry Potter" fashion, the vampires have come out of their closets and are drinking a

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-74793866714000264332010-07-22T11:40:00.000-06:002010-07-22T11:40:10.796-06:00

This summer I've made a goal to read 100 books and then during my initial "Getting to Know You" activity talk about what students read over the summer and give my spiel about critical/casual reading and Lake Powel (Lake Pal). I even have photos of Lake Powell readers to put up on my Eiki to go with it. (If you have a great Lake Pal story, please leave me a comment). Anyway, I'm making my list,

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-76093755672295562552009-11-05T12:23:00.000-07:002009-11-05T12:23:27.837-07:00

I am an avid Roarke fan, and I've even made Eve's mantra of "Bite me" my own... However, this novel felt like a mixture of all of the others in the series. Here are my big questions: 1. Does every murderer need to be from a serial killer? Don't murderers only ever commit one murder? 2. Why would murderers always feel driven to have the same initials? (She has used this over and over and over

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-8109615854427266412009-11-04T12:10:00.002-07:002009-11-04T12:19:54.874-07:00

Once again, girl meets boy, boy turns out to be immortal, girl falls in love with boy, something more-than-mortal keeps them apart... Alyson Noel's series starts with Evermore: The Immortals which I picked up with its sequel Blue Moon at Costco. The release in paperback at the same time for a reduced price was in anticipation of book 3, Shadowland coming in hardback on November 17, 2009. The

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-91704130043176014202009-10-08T11:09:00.001-06:002009-10-08T11:10:43.100-06:00

This book is a close follow-up to Revelations, so a re-read is in order. Despite the book's setting of 1 year post-Cordova, the book feels like it takes place the next day. The characters haven't changed since the last page of Revelations, even though a year has gone by. The relationships quickly change in book 4, and I have a fear this series is going the length of the magic number 7. There

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-45924583884875162812009-10-05T14:09:00.003-06:002009-10-05T14:13:00.336-06:00

Sweeping the nation, on the NY Times Bestselling List (Children's books) The Hunger Games has spent 54 weeks topping the charts, eclipsed only by Catching Fire, it's sequel.  Any review at this point is virtually superfluous. The books really are good reading; the violence, concept, and other science fiction are very current. There's a focus that feels very real-world oriented (global warming

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-14082541984894052292009-09-14T11:43:00.002-06:002009-09-14T11:52:11.552-06:00

We have enjoyed these books by Jonn Flanagan. Book six starts where book 5 left off. We have a more-adult Will Treaty, Alyss and Horace besieging the castle at Mackindaw where Alyss is held captive.The plot moves along well, and the characters are likeable. It took me 2 chapters to remember all that had happened before in book 5, so I suggest a quick review of that book before reading this

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-65958806735110225322009-09-14T11:37:00.003-06:002009-09-14T11:43:24.625-06:00

This weekend, I read Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles an interesting follow-up to the original Spiderwick Chronicles.The books were fast paced, dealt with giants, hydras, and combined families, and they were a very quick read. The characters were all likeable--no villans in the bunch--and all were important. There weren't any extraneous characters, and the plot kept moving along in creative

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-9402354421340586432009-09-11T21:38:00.002-06:002009-09-11T21:48:25.434-06:00

The good news is that this book isn't in stores near you, right now. However, because it's James Patterson, and his Maximum Ride series is now at book 5, this series will also sell.I disliked this book to an enormous degree, probably out of perspective for the sheer pique I felt having wasted my time reading this book. Following on the heels of Anthony Horowitz and the Alex Rider books, Daniel X

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-53990672915389175202009-09-05T23:01:00.004-06:002009-09-05T23:17:17.570-06:00

This is the 13th book in this series with Dillon Savich and Lacy Sherlock, and Amazon.com readers give it a measley 3 stars. If I hadn't been loaned this book, I definitely wouldn't have picked it up. I remember the last time I read this series (TailSpin) that I had been disappointed with the cookie-cutter characters and numerous repetitive cliches. I also tire of the same-old references to MAX,

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-53301730917313453812009-09-04T07:08:00.006-06:002009-09-05T23:21:22.640-06:00

Yesterday, I read The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima. I had previously read The Wizard Heir before I realized it was book 2 in the series.The Warrior Heir is young adult reading, in the middle school grades, and is interesting and creative fantasy. While the plot is not terribly original, the characters and plot unfold in a readable, accessible way. I enjoyed The Warrior Heir more than The

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-71793045629483427652009-08-31T11:54:00.005-06:002009-08-31T12:03:38.865-06:00

I haven't had much time to read since school started, and the two books I have read were history books (not much in the way of average, casual reading).The first was called The Freemasons. I enjoyed the book, and it did give me more insight into people who became masons, why, and when, but it was often more a book of lists and political machinations verses a good, solid history. It was an OK book

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-37298475881444055912009-08-11T01:03:00.004-06:002009-08-11T01:18:58.332-06:00

Not to be confused with Wicked, now a popular Broadway musical, this series is a collection of dark magic, sacrifice, goddess, and Wicca worship. I found parts of these books to be disturbing and gruesome.Not even the love story of tormented lovers separated by hundreds of years redeemed these books for me. I found the characters exceptionally hard to like, the plot blundered on, and it wallowed

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-46163205219370371642009-08-11T00:52:00.004-06:002009-08-11T01:00:25.266-06:00

This summer I read The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, picking them up at Costco. The recommendation on the front was from Stephenie Meyers, and with the run-away success of Twilight at both the Teen Choice and MTV awards, I knew her endorsement would be key.This series is very much a hero journey. We have Jace and Clary, who are divided by circumstance despite their love for one

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-69488883309924814702009-05-20T09:24:00.004-06:002009-05-20T13:05:32.864-06:00

I haven't stopped reading entirely. I did read Ranger's Apprentice, Book 5, that my 9 year old son, Jack, got for his birthday. Unlike the Harry Potter books, Ranger's Apprentice reading level doesn't grow with the age of the main character. It's perfectly suited to a 9 year old, the entire series.This book is set the year after Will becomes a "real" Ranger (not an apprentice). There are two

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-81722635725207039862009-03-25T13:56:00.003-06:002009-03-25T14:32:07.397-06:00

I borrowed this book from our school library, as I was intrigued by the premise of "it takes a graveyard to raise a child." Loosely based on the concepts of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (not Disney's version), "Bod" Owens escapes death at only 18 months old, the same age as my own Max. I have a very, very hard time with this believability, but reading requires a strong suspension of

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-28992326810492562692009-02-04T21:13:00.002-07:002009-02-04T21:26:25.674-07:00

In preparation for my unit on historical fiction and researching history, I bought 4 novels at Barnes & Noble. Actually, I was at Barnes & Nobel as a Den Mother for my new 8 year old scout's field trip. While waiting for our tour to begin, the pack stood next to a table with "buy one get one half off" books on it. I saw 4 books that were historical fiction, and we'd discussed (the day before)

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-16946464719788810662008-11-27T13:03:00.003-07:002008-11-27T13:11:53.530-07:00

Larklight is a science fiction novel written for a younger audience, a darling chapter book that would be great for kids in 5-7th grades.Philip Reeve is a British author, and he has set this novel in an "alternate" reality in Victorian England: however, these plucky Englishmen have discovered how to travel the cosmos based on principles learned (or given) to Sir Isaac Newton.The young man, Art

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-73120285869396617142008-11-23T15:16:00.002-07:002008-11-23T15:24:14.107-07:00

Ironside, a Modern Fairy's Tale is book 3 in a very older, young adult book series. While the books are interesting reading, I would definitely not recommend these books to the same readership as the Spiderwick Chronicles.Ironside is definitely written for a teen girl audience. It pushes the boundaries having a homosexual male "side-kick" to our tough-as-nails pixie main character. It has an

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-15817017760816193492008-11-21T14:18:00.003-07:002008-11-21T14:31:58.509-07:00

My students have been in the labs researching in a "Tom Romano" fashion; they are doing an iSearch paper. Each of them chose an issue that needs to be addressed in Orem. Then, they were required to get 2 newspaper articles and 1 magazine article; 2 other sources could be anything they liked. Many of them told me "I couldn't find anything..." They had done the "broad sweep" of google-ing their

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-1016986386649321182008-11-13T11:19:00.000-07:002008-11-13T11:20:05.338-07:00

1. Choose a current event or issue.   2. Research the issue. You will need at least two newspaper articles one magazine article you may choose to include Internet search items, interviews, newsletters, etc. but you are required to have copies of your research.   3. You will need to write a 3 page paper. Double Spaced It should have a standard sized font (Lucida, Garamond, Times, Chicago,

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-87838945318240717572008-10-21T22:20:00.002-06:002008-10-21T22:27:46.782-06:00

I am sure some parents are very surprised and displeased with the way I have graded this quarter. I apologize for the lengthy process. What I have done is compile every paper your student has completed this quarter to put into a portfolio. I have done this, plus put notes into the computer for EVERY assignment (when possible) so that the comments are viewable to you, their parents. I think that

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-37321988458652942782008-10-20T23:17:00.002-06:002008-10-20T23:42:05.757-06:00

I feel a really, really important part of my job is to be "up" on pop culture. One of the focuses I try to make is to bring pictures, books, and lots and lots of music to my class. However, I had a student tell me that I wasn't bringing "their" music. It was all "too old" or "too country" or "over-played."So, I am asking you to send me great songs. What should I use in my classroom? Please reply

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-15738202719642598322008-10-14T22:56:00.002-06:002008-10-14T23:20:12.367-06:00

A student gave me The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith as an alternative to the Twilight Saga, and I must say, I have been pleasantly surprised. Originally, each was a young adult book about 255 pages long. Now, there are 2 books published together in 2 books. These vampires are brothers, they are dangerous, but, of course, they are not all bad. In fact, they turn out to be daring, heroic, and they

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-29745147189532890532008-10-07T19:39:00.002-06:002008-10-07T19:44:43.788-06:00

One of my delightful students loaned me this book after I had commented on how much I enjoyed reading Artemis Fowl. Airman is not at all like Artemis Fowl!Airman is the story of a boy who grows into a man; although it is a hero journey, it has many emotional intricacies. At one point in the book, when Conor Broekhart is at his lowest point in "the belly," I almost wanted to skip to the end, just

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-71487147050190951872008-09-20T12:32:00.002-06:002008-09-20T12:50:51.775-06:00

Last night I read Fearless Fourteen  by Janet Evanovich. I've been sick this week, and this book brought a grin and three-or-four laugh-out-loud moments.This isn't the place to start with Stephanie Plum; she's a bounty hunter who started in Evanovich's One for the Money. If you're going to read Evanovich, start at the beginning of this series, and skip everything else she's written.Evanovich has

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-33659421024761119302008-02-10T23:25:00.000-07:002008-02-10T23:29:24.768-07:00

All over the state, we've just finished taking the UBSCT. Make-ups will be on 12 February 2008 for those who missed the test.I hope the students did well. Friday is midterm for Term 3, and scores for the UBSCT won't come out until midterm Term 4.

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-56135850834123045402007-09-09T12:46:00.001-06:002007-09-09T12:47:40.117-06:00

Here's an interesting article for parents and teens alike. It doesn't have specific application only to English but to every aspect of school and life.Homeroom ZombiesTeens need at least nine hours of sleep a night, though few get that much and early school start times don't help. Here's what parents can do. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20643572/site/newsweek/from/ET/

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-82166760541702052152007-09-03T11:39:00.000-06:002007-09-03T11:40:59.196-06:00

Please take a moment to check out the calendar and webpage so that you can take advantage of the due dates and the homework posted on both of them! You can sign up to receive e-mail from the Google calendar to keep yourself up on what the lesson will be and what the required homework assignments look like.

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-66847953854204008842007-08-31T09:53:00.000-06:002007-09-03T11:26:51.022-06:00

Today, all my students completed library orientation. Using a library, school or public, has become a dying "art." So many of us use our computers and the Internet for everything, we forget how valuable a collection made specifically for the right population can be. In class, we discussed the benefits of public libraries, what they actually contain, and what determines size. We answered 3

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-75696024343753064032007-08-28T14:53:00.000-06:002007-09-03T11:38:09.814-06:00

Today, I handed out all the inserts to make the dividers for the English binder. Students should have collected them (in order) in class. As of today, they are as organized as *I* know how to make them.It was also picture day, today. Even though they didn't all have money, they should all have had their photos taken for their ID cards. How nice it will be to have them with ID cards, Internet

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-77343495991082381502007-08-22T14:21:00.001-06:002007-09-03T11:39:25.420-06:00

We've now completed both an A day and a B day! I've met all my students, and they are delightful. Today in class I took "mug shots" of all the students: each student wrote his or her name on a piece of card stock and then held it up so I could get a photo of the face with the name. Hopefully, I'll be able to learn their names before Christmas!! I have a very difficult time learning every

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-22547653449528964992007-08-20T14:17:00.001-06:002007-09-03T11:35:01.757-06:00

Today was Sophomore Day at the school. It's always wonderful to meet the students for the first time (and even better, they were wearing name tags! If I could convince them to do that for the next 3 weeks, I'd be SET). I got to meet 115 of my 142 sophomore students; that's a good turn-out!Sophomore year is huge: the students move up to high school, they attempt the BSCT (80% of them will pass

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6545167403712575745.post-40040325585696575372007-08-14T16:00:00.001-06:002007-08-15T17:56:14.658-06:00

Never in my 14 previous years have I been so excited for school to start. The beginning of each school year is magical for me, a time of new students, new classes, new ideas, new assignments, and new challenges. This year will also bring a new baby to my family, and we are thrilled at the prospect of another brother at our house.I have spent the summer preparing for this new year. I've developed

Jillian Phippenhttps://profiles.google.com/107594184800824813600noreply@blogger.com0