Get the Plot!

Pride and Prejudice newsfeed style.

If you like the book or want a quick overview of the main storyline - this Newsfeed style version of Jane Austen's novel is just the thing for you and starts like this:

Charles Bingley is renting a house in Hertfordshire!
Mrs. Bennet became a fan of Charles Bingley.
Kitty Bennet can't stop coughing!!!
Charles Bingley is now friends with Mr. Bennet and Sir William Lucas.
11 of your friends are attending Assembly at Meryton.

Find the whole story at http://www.much-ado.net/austenbook/

Zen in the Library

The Year 13 RS group have been researching Zen Buddhism as part of their A2 course.

The library has uploaded some assignments, discussions and voting statements onto the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) for pupils to share their thoughts and research.

Pupils have been answering questions like "Is Zen a Buddhist school?" and considering statements such as, "Zen is the unique flower of Buddhism."and "Zen influences not only an individual but the society in which it is practised."

The project was rounded off with presentations in the classroom.

Worcestershire Teen Book Awards

Worcestershire Teen Book Award (WTBA)

We have just received the 6 books that have made it on to the Worcestershire Teen Book Awards short list.

They are:

Ginger snaps by CathyCassidy, Artemis Fowl and the time paradox by Eoin Colfer, Skulduggery Pleasant: playing with fire by Derek Landy, The General by Robert Muchamore, Brisingr by Christopher Paolini & Death's shadow by Darren Shan.

The order for the list has been put in and we are looking forward to reviewing them in our new Book Group in the Spring term and then voting on our favourite read.

For more information on the award use this link:

http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/home/wcc-lib-schools-teenbookaward

Carnegie Prize longlist

The longlist for the 2008 CILIP Carnegie Medal has been announced. The Carnegie Medal is a UK award, given each year to the author of an outstanding book for children. The short list will be published in April 2007 and the award is announced in June.

So if you're not sure what to read - check out the nominations.

Which book do you think should win?

New online book community run by teenagers

I came across this link to an initiative run by Penguin publishers that might be worth checking out if you like reading and want to get the views of teenagers!

Penguin launches UK's first online bookcommunity for teenagers
http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/articles/teensite/index.html

"Penguin UK today announced the launch of a pioneering online book community for teenagers. Spinebreakers.co.uk will be a stimulating and entertaining portal into the world of books, run by teenagers themselves. Editorial control of the site will be in the hands of a core editorial team of nine teenagers aged between 13 and 18 years, supported by a large network of contributing teen editors from across the UK. The teen team will produce a wide variety of multi-media content including video and audio reviews, alternative book jackets and endings, soundtracks, author interviews, podcasts, blogs, short stories and much more."

Just a little reminder about the information that you find on the Internet :)

Always check your sources!

Find more Library cartoons at http://www.unshelved.com/Default.aspx

Year 9 Independent Learning Days

This week some Year 9 pupils have been following their own interests and researching topics to present to an audience of staff and Year 6 pupils. They have had a period of three days to plan, research and present their findings.

They have had to fit in their research around some of their lessons and manage their own time and planning. The presentations were delivered today, Wednesday 20th using Powerpoint slides, music, drama, handouts and quizes.

One presentation was on Harry Potter and the other covered Fashion. Both groups did remarkably well and engaged their audience and entertained us with their presentation styles and materials. Both talks were interactive and made the audience think about the topic e.g. "Is size zero a good thing" or about the facts on the subject e.g Harry Potter quiz.

The students put in a great deal of effort into their projects and enjoyed the opportunity to choose the area of research for themselves. They also realised how challenging it was to organise your own time and motivate yourself to complete research when a teacher isn't constantly organising your time for you.

The pupils found the task to be valuable and good skills training for the start of their GCSE courses in September.