Introductions, 11/10

I was born in Montana and lived there for seven years, until my family moved to Iowa. I went through the rest of my schooling in Ames, Iowa, graduating from Iowa State University with a degree in Elementary Education. I taught sixth grade for four years in Missouri before moving to Bloomington. I have since earned my K-12 Reading License and Master's Degree in Education through Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. This is my eleventh year teaching and my seventh year at Olson Middle School. I currently teach sixth grade reading and language arts.

I love camping, hiking, reading (check out my book blog), and spending time with my family. I am married and have two children; my daughter, Brennan, is fourteen and my son, Hillel, is three. Our family has two cuddly kitties, Chester and Mol. We also have two dogs – Bailey, a German Shepherd/Alaskan Malamute mix and Shelby, a German Shepherd/Greyhound mix. Once each year my family (including the dogs) spends a week or two at my husband's family's cabin at Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada. The cabin is on an island and has no electricity or running water! While we are there we fish for our food, swim off of the dock, canoe, water ski, read and play games together. That is one of my favorite times of the year.

My other two favorite times of the year are the beginning and the end of the school year. I love the beginning of the school year because I get to know so many new students. It is so much fun for me to see where they are as readers and work to help them showcase their strengths and achieve their goals. I love the end of the school year because I have the opportunity to reflect on the entire learning time I had with my students, to see exactly where they began and celebrate all of their accomplishments.

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• first
• namehobbies/interestsfamily
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Poverty, 11/11

Create a comment to answer the following questions in response to this post:

1. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: I feel like people are divided in our community based on how much money they make. Explain your reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with this statement.
2. How does being poor - as most of the characters in Heat are - affect their chances of achieving their dreams?

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Racism, 11/13

Create a comment to answer the following questions in response to this post:

1. How widespread is racism in our community?
2. What is being done to address racial discrimination in our school? Community? Society? What can YOU do?
3. What examples of racism do you notice in Heat by Mike Lupica?

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Immigration, 11/14

Read several of the stories on the following website:

Immigration Stories

After reading these stories, respond to the following question using a comment to this post:

1. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: It is easy to become a part of the American culture if you are from a different culture.

Explain your reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with this statement. Use personal examples as well as examples from the immigration stories.

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Family, 11/17

Create a comment to answer these questions in response to this post.

1. Do you think it is fair for Carlos to have to sacrifice so much for his brother? Explain.
2. Have you ever been disappointed in an important decision your parent(s) made? Tell us about it.

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Sports, 11/18

Create a comment to answer the questions in response to this posting.

1. How valuable do you feel sports participation is to a teenager? Research by educators and experts has proven that it has the power to combat drug abuse and the high school dropout rate because it can provide contact with caring adults, a safe haven from the streets, a reason to rise above peer pressure, a way to stay in shape, and can promote increased self-esteem. What do you think?
2. Why did Miguel continue to work with his team when he believed he would never get a chance to play in the "big game"? What does this tell us about his character?
3. Which Cougar Pride values does Miguel possess? How do you know?

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Denny Almonte, 11/20

Read these articles about Denny Almonte, the person this book was loosely based on. Create a comment for this posting to discuss your response.

Sports Illustrated Article

ESPN.com Article

Wikipedia Article

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The End! 11/21

Respond to this post with a comment.

Definitions of the word heat

1. the degree of hotness; temperature
2. warmth or intensity of feeling; vehemence; passion
3. extreme pressure, as of events, resulting in tension or strain

Why do you think the Mike Lupica called this book Heat? Synthesize ideas from the story and the definitions above to make your point.

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