Crop circles: Hundreds of these strange patterns appear in our fields each year, their vast beauty inspiring awe and wonder. A sudden increase in their number throws Matt Lancing, maths student and amateur symbologist, into a world of intrigue. What is creating them? What is their message? Matt deciphers crop circles for a secret military group led by the mysterious Ember, a determined redhead with strange spiritual beliefs. Uncovering what makes the circles is just the beginning of his journey to a terrifying discovery. Warning: This well documented enigma will question your deepest illusions.

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • A bestselling dystopian novel that tackles surveillance, privacy and the frightening intrusions of technology in our lives—a “compulsively readable parable for the 21st century” (Vanity Fair). When Mae Holland is hired to work for the Circle, the world’s most powerful internet company, she feels she’s been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The Circle, run out of a sprawling California campus, links users’ personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency. As Mae tours the open-plan office spaces, the towering glass dining facilities, the cozy dorms for those who spend nights at work, she is thrilled with the company’s modernity and activity. There are parties that last through the night, there are famous musicians playing on the lawn, there are athletic activities and clubs and brunches, and even an aquarium of rare fish retrieved from the Marianas Trench by the CEO. Mae can’t believe her luck, her great fortune to work for the most influential company in the world—even as life beyond the campus grows distant, even as a strange encounter with a colleague leaves her shaken, even as her role at the Circle becomes increasingly public. What begins as the captivating story of one woman’s ambition and idealism soon becomes a heart-racing novel of suspense, raising questions about memory, history, privacy, democracy, and the limits of human knowledge.

Bringing the school day to a peaceful end enhances learning and reaffirms classroom community. Gather with your class for a 5- or 10-minute activity before dismissal and you'll all leave school feeling encouraged and competent. This book contains 50 easy-to-do activities for the end of the day: songs and chants, individual reflection questions, energetic cheers, silent cheers, quick partner and group chats, team or class challenges, quiet think time, and more. Use the activities as written or make them your own by adapting them to fit your students' mood or developmental needs. Handy size and spiral binding for easy classroom reference.

A breathtaking, suspenseful story of one man’s obsessive search to find the truth of another man’s downfall, from the author of The King Is Always Above the People, which was longlisted for the 2017 National Book Award for Fiction. Nelson’s life is not turning out the way he hoped. His girlfriend is sleeping with another man, his brother has left their South American country, leaving Nelson to care for their widowed mother, and his acting career can’t seem to get off the ground. That is, until he lands a starring role in a touring revival of The Idiot President, a legendary play by Nelson’s hero, Henry Nunez, leader of the storied guerrilla theater troupe Diciembre. And that’s when the real trouble begins. The tour takes Nelson out of the shelter of the city and across a landscape he’s never seen, which still bears the scars of the civil war. With each performance, Nelson grows closer to his fellow actors, becoming hopelessly entangled in their complicated lives, until, during one memorable performance, a long-buried betrayal surfaces to force the troupe into chaos. Nelson’s fate is slowly revealed through the investigation of the narrator, a young man obsessed with Nelson’s story—and perhaps closer to it than he lets on. In sharp, vivid, and beautiful prose, Alarcón delivers a compulsively readable narrative and a provocative meditation on fate, identity, and the large consequences that can result from even our smallest choices.

Introduction to Java and Software Design breaks the current paradigms for teaching Java and object-oriented programming in a first-year programming course. The Dale author team has developed a unique way of teaching object-oriented programming. They foster sound object-oriented design by teaching students how to brainstorm, use filtering scenarios, CRC cards, and responsiblity algorithms. The authors also present functional design as a way of writing algorithms for the class responsibilities that are assigned in the object-oriented design. Click here for downloadable student files This book has been developed from the ground up to be a Java text, rather than a Java translation of prior works. The text uses real Java I/O classes and treats event handling as a fundamental control structure that is introduced right from the beginning. The authors carefully guide the student through the process of declaring a reference variable, instantiating an object and assigning it to the variable. Students will gradually develop a complete and comprehensive understanding of what an object is, how it works, and what constitutes a well-designed class interface.

These ready-to-use, reproducible role sheets make literature circle discussions exciting, informative, fun and easy to manage. Literature circles accomodate a wide variety of reading levels and allow for differentiated instruction. In addition to promoting reading, writing and listening skills, literature circles encourage cooperation and courtesy, allow for individual assessment and motivate students to read! Updated list of books for text sets and end-of-book projects suggestions included. Descriptions of how to get started, troubleshoot problems and assess have been expanded.