Matthew is thrilled when he finally gets his own bedroom, but then all Mom's relatives come to stay. How can he get his room back?

Everybody has a teen bedroom story. The teen bedroom has universally been regarded as a safe haven for adolescents from all classes and backgrounds, and a near-sacred space that s basically off-limits to everyone but its teenage occupants (and their invited guests). But it s a relatively recent Western phenomenon that assumed a prominent role in socializing teens and shaping their identities during the years following World War II. As part of the identity-shaping process, the teen bedroom became a safe space for teens to express their growing consumer power, parallel to the emergence of youth subcultures after the War. Reid tracks the history of bedrooms for children back to the Civil War period, though the bulk of his research stretches from the late 1950s through the beginning of the 21st century. The rock posters, stuffed animals, and record players that found their way into teen bedroom during this period represent ways in which tends became major contributors to the postwar consumer economy. Reid by no means neglects popular culture, in the meantime, detailing the ways in which the teen bedroom appeared in song, film, television, and literature. It was often portrayed as a space of personal development and self-expression, but also as a site profound loneliness and romantic longing. To quote the Beach Boys 1963 hit song In My Room, the postwar teen bedroom featured just as much sighing and crying as it did scheming and dreaming. "

This packet, employing the popular Four Square method, serves as a personal coach for students who want to develop their writing skills. These exercises will get your students to think about how their bedroom has evolved since childhood, and are designed to meet the interests and abilities of writers in grades 7-9. Tackle the writing process from every angle with art, word association, questions, poetry, and planning and composition of prose. The topics are personal and centered around the students' own lives, their families and friends, and their favorite places to go and things to do.

The moon was bright and full that night, bigger than I could ever even remember it. Maybe because it was moving towards me... After giving the worst violin recital of his life, and being laughed at by the entire school, the boy vows to never play music again. Later that night, when the moon swallows up his bedroom, it shares the secrets of being a true artist, helping the boy re-claim his self-confidence, overcome the pitfalls of perfectionism, and believe in his own dream. Each of the five stories in The Night the Moon Ate My Room! is designed for young readers to experience the joy of self-discovery, valuable life lessons, and the adventure of turning their greatest dreams into reality. 'In lyrical prose Jesse Wilson explores fundamental childhood issues: overcoming adversity, discovering your courage, and the power of dreams.' Laurel Schmidt, author of Seven Times Smarter: 50 Activities, Games, and Projects to Develop the Seven Intelligences of Your Child.

Bob Schwartz reminds us of the necessity, no matter how harried or confusing things are, to appreciate the humor in the day-to-day nature of family life. Bob gives parents a reason to laugh as he navigates the unexpected twists and turns of parenthood every mom and dad has experienced - such as that feeling of panic when you hear the toilet being flushed and immediately followed by your child's less than reassuring yell of "Uh-oh!" Or the admonition to your five-year-old of, "No, you can't have the leftover cotton candy for breakfast, even if you do pour milk over it." Perhaps parents also need the reassurance that Bob offers. In looking back on his initial years of parenthood, Bob writes, "There was one word that sprang to mind - Naive. That's French for 'Buddy, you don't even have a clue.'" If you, like Bob, are entirely clueless at the beginning of parenthood, there's hope for the future. For while imparting crucial information to his children like "the shower curtain goes inside the bathtub; don't put marbles into the garbage disposal, and it's not a great idea to see how many peas you can stick up your nose," Bob did learn things like how to navigate the challenging world of school carpool pickup without infuriating the power hungry fifth grade Safety Patrol. And you, like Bob, might also make some headway with the linguistic parental challenge of cracking the grunt communication code of teenagers. Bob Schwartz tackles these problems and more. He tells us that the purpose of his essays is to have us embrace the humor of parenthood and the fun of family life. "Let laughter be the fuel for this thrilling, and yes indeed, sometimes pandemonium-producing journey." Book jacket.

Individual Lap Book

Finding himself locked in his room for six weeks, a young officer uses his imagination to travel around his room, using the various objects it contains as inspiration for a delightful parody of contemporary travel-writing and exercise in Sternean picaresque, and humorously demonstrating what one can explore without having to travel to exotic locations. Contains a foreword by Alain de Botton