The Pull of Gravity Goes to School(s): Unexpected #5 (can't resist!)

Nick's facebook page!

So, I had kicked this feature off the radar for the summer (busy with tons of #TeachersWrite Friday Feedback stuff etc...) but woke up to tweet after tweet from a beloved teacher in Michigan this morning, sharing photos of her kiddos' TPoG projects this school year.

I mean, seriously, how could I resist?!

So, just a quick share today. And a huge shout out to Jessica Boguslawski and her students at Fitzgerald High School in Michigan.

Jessica incorporated The Pull of Gravity into her curriculum as a "choice book" to go with her Of Mice and Men unit. In March, I Skyped into her classroom.

Prior to my Skype visit, I sent along some book "swag" to the students, and there arose a running joke as to the real meaning of the word swag and whether I was using it wrong. As such, I showed up via Skype (to many giggles) wearing a handmade swag crown. After the Skype visit, I
mailed the crown to the class.

buttons and bookmarks fit for a queen. Or, king! ;)

Over the past few months, I have periodically received a tweeted photo of some awesome student (usually male!) wearing the swag crown proudly.

**sorry, crown-wearers' photos not posted without permission**



Anyway, without further ado, in addition to that awesome one up top (!!!) here are some more of the terrific The Pull of Gravity student projects from the 10th graders at Fitzgerald High School.

Please note that I have redacted last names
and/or spoiler information contained
in any of the projects.

Three words for the students who made these:

You. Totally. ROCK!!! :D

Two "Wordle" posters and a "Letter to Nick."

Dad ("Fat Man 2")'s facebook page!

Letter to me! (redacted for spoilers)

Another letter to me, redacted. :)

Jaycee's facebook page! Love, love, love her wall posts. :)

Thanks, guys! These are the things that make an author's day (week, month, year!).

- gae

p.s. here are the links to the prior posts in the series for the 2011-2012 school year:

http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/03/pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools.html

http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/04/pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools-2.html

http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/04/pull-of-gravity-goes-to-school-3.html

http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/05/pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools-4.html

The Pull of Gravity Goes to School(s) #4

Hey, kiddos!

It's almost summer.  And you know what that means? Summer reading!

I hope someone makes you read my book this summer and you hate me for it.

Okay, fine. That's a lie. I hope someone makes you read it and you secretly love me for it (I pretend to be tough, but I'm not. We all want to be loved, you know).

Anyway, one more TPoG school visit before I part this feature for the lazy, hazy days of June - September. I'll try to bring it back in the fall. Friday Feedback will be kicking strong through the summer. :)

Today I'm sharing  share some of the responses I got from the 9th graders in Mrs. Stotz' class at Windham Christian Academy in Maine. I'm so honored that Mrs. Stotz read TPoG aloud to her students this past winter/early spring. ** So, without further ado, here we go:

Q: What made it a good read aloud? Or what didn't... if it wasn't?

A:  What made it a good read aloud was the fact that we read it as a class. The only downside was that our teacher stopped at crucial moments in the book. - Christopher

A:  I really enjoyed the book, although the teacher seemed to enjoy reading until she got to an exciting part. - Alex

Hah! - gae

A: ... My teacher has a good narrator voice, and sometimes, she spent the whole class time reading. It was bad when she stopped at crucial cliff-hanger moments in the story. - Lauren

Hmmm... Mrs. Stotz, I see a theme developing. ;)

A: This was a very good read aloud because we would stop at the most exciting times. This made the book suspenseful and more enjoyable. - David

A: Mrs. Stotz read it with awesome different voices for each character. The book has many irony parts. - Sunny

and,

A: I did enjoy it because it was read in a narrative tone. When it was read aloud you could feel the emotions of the characters. And at funny parts, it was emphasized and made it funnier. - Seyya

So, let me just take a second to say how amazing I think it is to constantly get feedback from students as to how well (or, um, awesomely!) their teacher reads aloud.  Middle schoolers and high schoolers alike. What a great gift to continue to share with your students!

So, next question:

Q: Did you have a favorite (or least favorite) part or character?

A: My favorite character would probably have to be Scooter a/k/a "the Scoot." His Yoda impressions always seemed to make the moment exciting. "Great you are, young Scooter." The world needs more Star Wars geeks! - Alex

A: Least favorite part: When they were in the hotel. Well, I think that is illegal...? - Hyesu 

*author coughs* Hyesu, they, um, had adjoining rooms. I think that's okay. Except for the part where their parents didn't know. But, um, yeah. *slinks away*


A:  I like Jaycee the most. Some of the ways she dresses -- crazy jewelry, cool clothes -- reminds me of me. I thought she had a really cool personality and depth to her. My least favorite was Nick's dad because he walked out on his family. - Lauren

A: My favorite character was probably Jaycee because she seemed kind. Jaycee was also weird. Troll necklaces??? - David

Um, you mean like this, David:

That was at my book release party, and, yes, my troll
is gold, glittered and bejeweled. My sister made it for me.

A: I didn't like when Nick found out about his dad. - David too.

A: I liked Jaycee. She speaks really fun and honestly. It was fun she knows everything that Nick thinks. - Sunny

Q: Mrs. Stotz class read The Pull of Gravity after they read Of Mice and Men. I asked them, "How did you feel about the references?"


A: I really liked the Of Mice and Men references. The Pull of Gravity was kind of like a modern day version of the novel in several ways. - Alex

A: We had read OMAM before, and it was funny to recognize the references. - Lauren

A: It is more cute. - Hyesu

A: The Pull of Gravity helped to explain some of the things that were happening in the book (OMAM) and added a touch of humor to the book. - Christopher

And, last but not least, my most favorite question:

Q: Did any part of the story make you laugh?

A: Made me laugh quite a bit. - Christopher

A: Yes, many parts ... I believe there was one part about Nick thinking he was being chased by a giant noodle? If so, I thought that was funny because it seemed like giant food was really taking over the world (reference to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs). - Alex

and,

wait for it...

come on, we had to bake them for someone,

drum roll....................... and brownie points go to........................

A: When you asked if any part of the story made us laugh, it totally sounded like a trick question. Our whole class was literally laughing out loud whenever we read the book. I loved how you are so good at mixing in humor and drama, and it really made an enjoyable read. Thank you! - Heather

What can I do but give Heather the last word? Thanks to all the awesome 9th graders who participated from Windham Christian Academy! And a HUGE thank you to Mrs. Stotz for choosing The Pull of Gravity as a read aloud.

- gae

** if you'd like to read the other TPoG Goes to School(s) posts in the series, you may find them here:

http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/03/pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools.html

http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/04/pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools-2.html

http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/05/pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools-4.html

http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/06/pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools.html

The Pull of Gravity Goes to School(s)!! #3

This is Sarah Andersen.
She's a high school English teacher at Clio High School in Michigan, and she's a wonderful ball of dedication, energy, and so much more.
FYI, she won Teacher of the Year in her district this year.
She runs a terrific book blog called Y.A. Love (with several great features including Books Guys Dig and Students Want to Know).

I "met" Sarah through Twitter - she's one of the many super-involved teachers who are working so hard to really forge a connection between her students and reading, enhancing that through direct connections with authors, wherever possible.
I've also had the pleasure of virtually "meeting" some of her past students who confirm how much she influenced their continued love of reading.

Sarah told me early on that she really wanted to bring more contemporary YA fiction into her school, but that the administration still swayed toward the classics. She thought my book might be an opportunity to mesh the two, and, on her own initiative, went to her principal and brought The Pull of Gravity into her school as part of the core 9th grade curriculum, where it is now taught as a companion to Of Mice and Men.

I am eternally honored and grateful for this. :)
She also prepared the terrific Teachers' Guide to TPOG, which you may find on my website here.

At any rate, I am happy to have a bunch o' Sarah's awesome students here this month for The Pull of Gravity Goes to School(s) #3.


So, without further ado, here are some of Sarah's students' from Clio High School ** answering stuff about reading The Pull of Gravity:

So, what made it a good read?

I could picture what was actually happening in the book. –Justin

It was good because the book was never boring, there was always something happening. --Allie

If you read it at home as an assignment, did you enjoy it? Why? Why not L?


***Brownie Point alert***

I read ahead in class because I liked it so much. –Todd 

Yay! There you go, Todd. Eat up.


Who was your favorite character? Why?

Jaycee because she was odd and mysterious. –Deanna

Nick because he was awkward. –Ciara

The Scoot was my favorite character because he was strong and happy, even with all the bad stuff going on. –Shaylyn

Jaycee, she’s hot. –Jared

Nick’s older brother because he acts like me. –Josh              

(Hah!)

Scoot’s mom because she sounded hot. –Todd

(oh, Todd, Todd, Todd... I just gave you Brownies... ;))

Jaycee because she knew exactly what to do and when. –Daymon

Nick and his older brother—their fight with the spoon was hilarious. –Justin

Scoot because he wasn’t afraid of anything, not even death. –Brandon


Who was your least favorite character? Why?

Nick’s mom because I felt like she should have been more involved in the story. –Deanna

Nick’s dad because he was a coward and reminded me of a lot of people I know. –Shaylyn

Nick because I didn’t like the way he acted and how he relied on Jaycee so much. –Madi

My least favorite character would be Nick because he’s a wuss. --Ashley 
(Aw, Ashley, he is NOT! >:( ;))

Nick’s dad because I believe that no parent should walk away from their family. –Justin

Nick’s dad because he left his family. –Brandon

Did any part of the story make you laugh?

Yes, when Nick described his hallucinations. –Madi
Most of the story made me laugh. –Todd

(you mean that in a good way, right, Todd?!?)






So. What, if anything, did you learn from The Pull of Gravity?

That true friendship is more than it seems to be. –Todd

Nothing goes as planned. –Daymon

Friends are important. –Ana

Kids can do adult things and be adventurous. –Tyler

Did you have a favorite part? Least favorite part?

My favorite part was when the bus *blah, blah, blah, author-inserted spoiler alert*  and they didn’t know it. My least favorite part was when they skip over *blah, blah, blah, author-inserted spoiler alert* . –Billy

My least favorite part was when they *blah, blah, blah, author-inserted spoiler alert* –Madi

(Hmmm. Maybe this question was a bad idea...)

My favorite part was when they got to the white trash house.  My least was when the Scoot died. –Ashley
My least favorite part was the end. –Allie

My favorite part was *blah, blah, blah, author-inserted spoiler alert* . –Na-Kiayha

When *blah, blah, blah, author-inserted spoiler alert! ;)* (favorite) and when the Scoot died (least). --Brandon
And, more brownies for Alicia:

The whole book was all together my favorite part J --Alicia

Thanks, all! A HUGE shout out to Mrs. Andersen, and all the kids at Clio High School. :)

- gae

** here are the links to the other posts in the series, if you'd like to read them:

http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/03/pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools.html

http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/04/pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools-2.html

http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/05/pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools-4.html

http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/06/pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools.html