The Book Thief Share Video Based on its title, you might think that The Book Thief is a spy thriller or a Holmes-style detective story. But really, this is the emotional story of a young girl living in Germany during the Holocaust. If you got caught stealing books today, you'd get in serious trouble (or at least accumulate a staggering library fine). She's the chief book thief—but by no means the only book thief—in the novel. The Book Thief was first published in Australia in 2005 and in the US in 2006. Zusak took over three years to complete the piece and even went to Munich, Germany to research some of the finer points. This terrifying chapter of history is part of his heritage. You'll see definite echoes of the whipping incident in several crucial points in the nove. At times hilarious (believe it or not), at times heartbreaking, The Book Thief is rich and creative. Powerful emotion? Major suspense? Dynamic characters? History lesson? Oh—we forgot one:
Digital Storytelling - Richard Byrne The Free Music Archive provides free, high-quality, music in a wide range of genres. The content on Free Music Archive is used under various creative commons licenses. The New York State Music Fund provided initial funding for FMA. FMA seeks to maintain a high-quality resource through the use of selected curators who approve or deny all submissions to the collection. , is a resource that I discovered last summer and had some of my students use last year. Sound Bible is a resource for finding and downloading free sound clips, sound effects, and sound bites. Podcasting and Audio Creation tools. Creating podcasts is a great way for students to preserve oral histories or to hear themselves practicing a foreign language. Myna is a free web-based audio track mixer created by Aviary. Vocaroo is a free service that allows users to create audio recordings without the need to install any software. Creating eBooks Create 3D augmented reality books. Creating Stories on Google Maps
Fang Shui Canines: Serving Awesome Canines in the Boulder Metro Area This post is sharing a unique challenge and advocacy solution for Blog The Change for Animals. Laboratory Beagles looking at grass for the first time! Something special is happening in Hollywood on Sunday, July 24. Better than celebrity sightings. A rescue adoption day. But not just any rescue. Perhaps you remember the press and viral video of several scared Beagles, rescued from an animal laboratory by Beagle Freedom Project, walked on grass for the first time after being caged all their lives? (The original video has been removed for legal purposes–the second rescue video is at the end of this post, which includes a set of new Beagles experiencing greenery for the first time ever.) Sure, I’d heard horrific stories about animal testing for all sorts of products, from makeup to dog food, but seeing these debarked and muscle-atrophied Beagle cuties not have a clue as to what to do when confronted with space outside their cages, I had to do find out more. Who’s making a change for animals?
More Tools for Digital Storytellers "In the end,folks, we ain't nothing but a song.. a story" Joe Lambert Here are some more tools to create your web based digital stories. Tikatok is an online platform to write, illustrate and publish online stories. You can start writing your book with StorySparks that are like writing prompts. The beginning of the story is automatically added to your story's beginning. You can also print your book. If you are looking for a similar site to Glogster, you should visit Magnoto. Storyjumper is a site that gives you different tools to write and illustrate stories. You can create your personalized stories using StorySomething. FineTuna lets you add comments to any image and share it with others.BubbleSnaps and WigFlip are similar tools to add text to images. You can have your virtual monster pet with MoshiMonsters. PhotoPeach is a rich slide show with zooming comments, sound effects and music. MadeupMemories lets you customize videos by putting your personal pictures. Enjoy and stay tuned!
Mairi Beautyman: Four Organic Ways to Kill Ants It could happen to anyone. Maybe you leave some sticky black cherries out. A bit too long. And maybe you let one uninvited guest stay. you get a little revenge in the jug of maple syrup -- a death trap for the greedy -- but clearly, Houston, we've got a problem here. Before you embark on a killing spree, here are a couple tips for eliminating ants without killing the earth too. 1) Say No to Raid It says right on the package: "Hazard to humans and domestic animals. 2) Remove the Food Source Yep, send home the caters. 3) Try the Home Remedy Slightly sadistic, but cornmeal or grits do some serious damage. 4) Choose an Insecticide without the Pesticide The main ingredient of Terro Liquid Ant bait is Borax, a mineral that kills from the inside slowly, once ingested. Another option is Orange Guard, which contains orange peel extract that destroys the wax coating of a insect's respiratory system or causes suffocation, when applied directly. How do you combat ants?
As Good As Gluten Perfect Iced Coffee Iced coffee is my life. When I wake up, often around the time party animals on the west coast are just heading home, I start each day not with a cup of freshly brewed hot java, but with a tall, blessed glass of creamy iced coffee in a glass. I’ve been an iced coffee freakazoid for years and years. To say I couldn’t live without it is an understatement. It gives me the tools I need to cope. Iced coffee is a complicated thing, and there are many different approaches. 1. Given the previous set of facts, one would assume that the logical solution would be to brew hot coffee, then transfer the brew to the fridge, allow it to cool, and use it to make iced coffee from there. There are reasons this method results in a smoother, richer, more delicious concentrate than simply brewing strong coffee and refrigerating it. (Note: I’ve totally adapted/tweaked coffee/water amounts to suit my own tastes. I start with a big ol’ container. Rip open a pound of ground coffee. Pour in the coffee. Glorious.
iPads at center of local school study Nate Klein began using an iPad when summer school classes began last month at Chippewa Falls Middle School. At first, it took time to adjust to Apple’s version of a tablet computer. “It’s kind of hard to type,” he said, pointing out the device has a virtual keyboard instead of an actual one. But Klein, 14, who will be entering the eighth grade this fall, got used to using the device and now enjoys it. “You get more work done with it,” he said. Now the Chippewa Falls School District is trying to see if Klein is right. So the district has enlisted the help of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse to study the academic progress of summer school students. One math class of teacher Melissa Rasmus is using the traditional pen and pad way. Rasmus has been impressed by the difference the iPads are making. “They are using their time much more wisely,” she said of her students using the tablet computers. Kowalski said there is a cost savings to using the computer tablets.