English

Creative & Narrative Writing (2006)

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From fiction to nonfiction, short stories to poems to memoirs, creative and narrative writing often stem from writers' imaginations or personal interests, weaving together believable characters, settings, and plots.

Grade Level:

Elementary

Middle

High

Length:

00:23

Writing Expository Essays (2006)

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Presents the basics of expository writing, from composing the introduction and the thesis statement to assembling body paragraphs to writing an effective conclusion.

Grade Level:

Elementary

Middle

High

Length:

00:23

Writing Effective Paragraphs (2006)

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Writers, ranging from a sportswriter for a school newspaper to a student working on a research project, demonstrate the processes of developing a focused thesis statement as well as structuring and writing solid introductory, supporting and concluding paragraphs.

Grade Level:

Elementary

Middle

High

Length:

00:23

Writing for Formal & Informal Purposes (2006)

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This program suggests strategies to help discern the appropriate tone for a piece of writing based on purpose and audience. Student writers, ranging from an avid cyclist on a fundraising campaign for an upcoming school trip to a writer communicating with her fellow club members on the Internet, use formal and informal writing to accomplish their task.

Grade Level:

Elementary

Middle

High

Length:

00:23

Writing Persuasive Essays (2006)

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In this program, a young writer must compose a convincing letter to the school news paper to win his classmates' votes for student council, while another writer is challenged to research and write a supporting argument in favor of an issue that she feels strongly against.

Grade Level:

Elementary

Middle

High

Length:

00:23

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

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From the author of the phenomenal #1 NY Times best seller comes the original screen adaptation of MITCH ALBOM'S THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN. This NY Times best seller is broght to life by an award-winning cast, including Jon Voight, Ellen Burstyn and Jeff Daniels. The NY Times praised it for its "genuine power to stir and comfort." Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven explores the unexpected mysteries of the afterlife by reminding us what really matters here on Earth.

Director:

Lloyd Kramer

Grade Level:

Elementary

Middle

High

Length:

02:13

Virginia Lee Burton: A Sense of Place

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Virginia Lee Burton was one of the most significant and groundbreaking author/illustrators of the 20th Century.

Grade Level:

Elementary

Middle

High

Length:

00:30

My Name is Mina

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Copies: 8

Mina loves the night. While everyone else is in a deep slumber, she gazes out the window, witness to the moon's silvery light. In the stillness, she can even hear her own heart beating. This is when Mina feels that anything is possible, that her imagination is set free.

Author:

Almond, David

Lost and Found (Unabridged)

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The Grayson twins are moving to a new town. Again.

Although it's a drag to be constantly mistaken for each other, in truth, during those first days at a new school, there's nothing better than having a twin brother there with you. But on day one of sixth grade, Ray stays home sick, and Jay is on his own. No big deal. It's a pretty nice school; good kids, too.

Author:

Grade Level:

Lexile:

780L

Length:

02:48

Stargirl

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Copies: 5

Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of "Stargirl, Stargirl." She captures Leo Borlock's heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first. Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal.

Author:

Jerry Spinelli

Lexile:

590L

Writing for Students: Editing & Proofreading (2006)

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It's time to dot your i's, and cross your t's and carefully reread what you've written...in other words, it's time to edit and proofread! The conventions of writing, including grammar and mechanics, ensure that what is written accurately conveys what the writer intended to express.

Grade Level:

Elementary

Middle

High

Length:

:23

Writing for Students: Editing & Proofreading

Dragon of the Lost Sea

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Copies: 5

The outlawed princess of the Dragon Clan and her young human companion undergo fearsome trials in their quest for an evil enchantress. ‘Dramatic tension stays high. Weaves Chinese legend into an exciting tapestry of myth and folklore.’ —BL.
Notable Children's Books of 1982 (ALA)
100 Favorite Paperbacks of 1989 (IRA/CBC)

Author:

Laurence Yep

Lexile:

890L

Redwall

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Copies: 5

Welcome to Mossflower Wood, where the gentle mice have gathered to celebrate a year of peace and abundance. All is well...until a sinister shadow falls across the ancient stone abbey of Redwall. It is rumored that Cluny is coming--Cluny, the terrible one-eyed rat and his savage horde--Cluny, who has vowed to conquer Redwall Abbey! The only hope for the besieged mice lies in the lost sword of the legendary Martin the Warrior. And so begins the epic quest of a bumbling young apprentice--a courageous mouse who would rise up, fight back...and become a legend himself.

Author:

Brian Jacques

Lexile:

800L

The Bronte Sisters: The Brief Lives of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne

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Copies: 7

The Bronte sisters were the most extraordinary of literary siblings. In the nineteenth century, when women were discouraged from writing and publishing books, all three produced one or more novels now considered masterpieces. In "The Bronte Sisters," award-winning author Catherine Reef explores the turbulent lives of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne and offers insights into their passionate and timeless work.

Author:

Catherine Reef

Lexile:

1080L