tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75107160211959692332024-03-14T00:12:09.931-07:00Lee Brazell, Literacy SpecialistImagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand. ~ Albert EinsteinUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-6179812638640727232010-06-18T17:11:00.000-07:002010-06-18T17:21:31.085-07:00MAKE A SPLASH ~ READ!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/TBwLUnG5tHI/AAAAAAAAAGs/ksFIAXJybX4/s1600/DSC01573.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 220px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/TBwLUnG5tHI/AAAAAAAAAGs/ksFIAXJybX4/s400/DSC01573.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484270894953641074" border="0" /></a> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:drawinggridhorizontalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:drawinggridverticalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:dontautofitconstrainedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Calisto MT"; panose-1:2 4 6 3 5 5 5 3 3 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This year our summer reading initiative is Make a Splash ~ Read!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">As part of this initiative, all students were able to chose a brand new book to take home to jump start their summer reading.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">In the fall we hope students will bring drawings or written descriptions of a favorite part from one book they have read to be displayed at school.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">We are grateful to Mrs. Pyszka and the Maple Avenue Student Council for their support of this reading initiative.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Make a splash with a good book this summer!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >See you in September.</span><span style="font-family:Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-75417607130494810172010-05-26T09:08:00.000-07:002010-05-26T09:28:46.249-07:00Literacy and the Arts Festival<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It has been a wonderful year of learning, thinking and creating.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">As you view this slideshow of our work, you will see evidence of a<br />culture of learners who 'show what they know" and take pride in all that they do.</span><br /><br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Findigo.54%2Falbumid%2F5475591065257351713%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCJeB8Ji84cmsAg" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" height="267" width="400"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-84419030938056843622010-04-08T14:21:00.000-07:002010-04-08T15:34:00.479-07:00April is Poetry Month<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">by Shel Silverstein</span><br /><br /><object id="flashObj" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0" height="412" width="486"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/1670076667?isVid=1&publisherID=1544365588"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=72106409001&playerID=1670076667&domain=embed&"><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com"><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9/1670076667?isVid=1&publisherID=1544365588" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=72106409001&playerID=1670076667&domain=embed&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" swliveconnect="true" allowscriptaccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" height="412" width="486"></embed></object><br /><br />Poetry is everywhere!<br /><br />Naomi Shihab Nye recites <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/poetryeverywhere/nye.html">One Boy Told Me,</a> a found poem created from the things her son said to her. Perhaps this will inspire you to take out your writer's notebook and record some of those funny and interesting things your students say!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.literacyrules.com/concrete_poems.htm">Celebrate Poetry Month with some Concrete Poems</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/S75PhJgkPVI/AAAAAAAAAGc/d22OcmIF4-g/s1600/Picture+1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 351px; height: 385px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/S75PhJgkPVI/AAAAAAAAAGc/d22OcmIF4-g/s400/Picture+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457887229326409042" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And be sure to check in with <a href="http://gottabook.blogspot.com/">GottaBook Blog</a> for a new poem each day in April!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://gottabook.blogspot.com/2010/03/announcing-2010-edition-of-30-poets30.html"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 175px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/S75RY1uP4YI/AAAAAAAAAGk/_0jyYMrA_JQ/s400/30Days.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457889285599388034" border="0" /></a><br />And for even more ideas, check out <a href="http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/94">30 Ways to Celebrate </a>from Poets.org.<br />Here's one suggestion I really like:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5616">Put poetry in an unexpected place </a><br />"Books should be brought to the doorstep like electricity, or like milk in England: they should be considered utilities."<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-36581553420450701002010-02-09T18:00:00.000-08:002010-02-09T19:05:05.096-08:00Digital Writing: Teaching Writing in the 21st Century<div class="prezi-player"><style type="text/css" media="screen">.prezi-player { width: 550px; } .prezi-player-links { text-align: center; }</style><object id="prezi_i2afpiu5-wx0" name="prezi_i2afpiu5-wx0" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="550" height="400"><param name="movie" value="http://prezi.com/bin/preziloader.swf"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"><param name="flashvars" value="prezi_id=i2afpiu5-wx0&lock_to_path=1&color=ffffff&autoplay=no"><embed id="preziEmbed_i2afpiu5-wx0" name="preziEmbed_i2afpiu5-wx0" src="http://prezi.com/bin/preziloader.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="550" height="400" bgcolor="#ffffff" flashvars="prezi_id=i2afpiu5-wx0&lock_to_path=1&color=ffffff&autoplay=no"></embed></object><div class="prezi-player-links"><p><a title="Creating your digital writing workshop - Troy Hicks" href="http://prezi.com/i2afpiu5-wx0/">Digital Writing Workshop</a> on <a href="http://prezi.com">Prezi</a></p></div></div><br /><br /><a href="http://www.heinemann.com/products/E02674.aspx">The Digital Writing Workshop</a> is a new book about using <span style="font-weight: bold;">technology</span> to teach writing by Troy Hicks, Director of the Chippewa River Writing Project at Central Michigan University. Technology can be a powerful tool when integrated into the <span style="font-weight: bold;">workshop model</span> of student choice, revision, and author study that values both the writing process and the final product. Troy also facilitates <a href="http://digitalwritingworkshop.ning.com/?xg_source=badge">The Digital Writing Workshop</a> NING, a companion to the book, for teachers interested in learning more about teaching digital writing in an <span style="font-weight: bold;">online community</span>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.plymouth.edu/pwp/index.html">The Plymouth Writing Project</a> will be offering two special focus sessions this summer on using technology to teach writing: <span style="font-weight: bold;"> Exploring Technology and Writing</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Writing Instruction and Multimedia</span>. Information and registration forms can be found on the <a href="http://www.plymouth.edu/pwp/summerinstitutes.html">Plymouth Writing Project</a> website.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-26077789024850299402009-11-11T11:50:00.000-08:002009-11-11T14:08:45.698-08:00National Day of Writing ~ Celebrating Writing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.galleryofwriting.org/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 110px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/Svs1MRXLcmI/AAAAAAAAAGM/rhJH30rzhZ8/s400/national-gallery-of-writing.banner..jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402970662896366178" border="0" /></a><br />The U.S. Senate recently passed a resolution declaring <span style="font-weight: bold;">October 20, 2009</span>, the first <span style="font-weight: bold;">National Day on Writing</span>. The <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.RES.310:">resolution</a> encourages all schools to join in the celebration by submitting writing to the <a href="http://www.galleryofwriting.org/">National Gallery of Writing</a>.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.galleryofwriting.org/">National Gallery of Writing</a> is a <span style="font-weight: bold;">virtual online gallery</span> that is collecting writing from all kinds of people all over the world. The gallery will accept stories, poems, recipes, emails, blogs, even audio, video, and artwork for submission.<br /><br />The Senate resolution confirms the important role that writing has in our school <a href="http://www.ed.state.nh.us/education/doe/organization/curriculum/School%20Improvement/literacy.htm">Literacy Plan for the 21st Century</a> as well as in our lives. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Writing</span> well is a 21st Century skill that can not be neglected.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.ncte.org/press/21stcentwriting">National Council of Teachers of English</a> recognizes that literacy practice in the 21st Century is in the midst of <span style="font-weight: bold;">profound change</span> and has issued the following recommendations:<br /><ul><li>Our schools and our nation need to recognize and validate the many ways we all are writing. </li><li>We need to develop new models of writing, design a new curriculum supporting those models, and create models for teaching that curriculum. </li><li>We need to make sure that all students have the opportunity to write and learn in intellectually stimulating classrooms. </li><li>We need to recognize that out-of-school literacy practices are as critical to students’ development as what occurs in the classroom and take advantage of this to better connect classroom work to real-world situations that students will encounter across a lifetime.</li></ul>It's not too late for you to participate in this <span style="font-weight: bold;">global celebration</span> of writing. The National Gallery of Writing is accepting submissions until June 2010.<br /><br />Read more about <a href="http://www.galleryofwriting.org/contribute.php">how to submit</a> your writing or view a <a href="http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Involved/DayonWriting/SubmitYourWriting.html">video demonstration</a>.<br /><br />Need some good ideas to get started? Read about ways teachers from the <a href="http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/2960">National Writing Project</a> celebrated with their students or visit the National Gallery of Writing and <a href="http://www.galleryofwriting.org/piece_search.php">read some of the submissions</a> on display. NCTE also has some good <a href="http://www.ncte.org/dayonwriting/tips">Tips for Writers.</a><br /><br />Please join this <span style="font-weight: bold;">global celebration</span> and experience the <span style="font-weight: bold;">power </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">of writing!</span><br /><br />Contact me if you would like help creating your own <a href="http://www.galleryofwriting.org/gallery_start.php">classroom gallery</a> in the National Gallery of Writing.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-9983965913680090762009-10-14T17:29:00.000-07:002009-12-01T16:04:29.833-08:00READING MAKES YOU SMARTER<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/StZtYvynx_I/AAAAAAAAAF0/wjD70O_QAi4/s1600-h/reading.makes.you.grow.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/StZtYvynx_I/AAAAAAAAAF0/wjD70O_QAi4/s320/reading.makes.you.grow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392617875735824370" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Everyone knows that reading<br />makes you smarter....<br />want to know how much smarter?</span><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Imagine this....if you read for 20 minutes every day, in a week you will have read for 100 minutes!<br /><br />Wow!<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/StZtZkDyQhI/AAAAAAAAAGE/O0WRZuhmr7U/s1600-h/dog.reading.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 221px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/StZtZkDyQhI/AAAAAAAAAGE/O0WRZuhmr7U/s320/dog.reading.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392617889766457874" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Now multiply that times 4 weeks...and in one month you will have read for 400 minutes.<br /><br />Think how much you will learn from all that reading!<br /><br />Do that for a whole school year, and you will have read for 4,000 minutes!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Unbelievable!<br /></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/StZtZMpmlZI/AAAAAAAAAF8/6u64ErvUFuY/s1600-h/books.flower.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 161px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/StZtZMpmlZI/AAAAAAAAAF8/6u64ErvUFuY/s320/books.flower.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392617883482625426" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">That is equal to the amount of reading you could do in 10 whole days of school.<br /><br />That makes you 10 days smarter than the average kid!<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">Now, if you keep reading for 20 minutes every day, by the end of the 6th grade you will have read for the equivalent of 60 whole school days. That's going to make you a very smart kid!</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/StZtYFSvS2I/AAAAAAAAAFk/4ZSUU0HNB08/s1600-h/kid.reading.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 160px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/StZtYFSvS2I/AAAAAAAAAFk/4ZSUU0HNB08/s320/kid.reading.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392617864327809890" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">So find yourself a really good book...and read for at least 20 minutes every day!</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;"><br /></span> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:drawinggridhorizontalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:drawinggridverticalspacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:dontautofitconstrainedtables/> <w:dontvertalignintxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><a href="http://www.ed.gov/pubs/startearly/index.html"><span style=";font-family:";" >Source: U.S. Department of Education, America Reads Challenge</span></a></span><!--EndFragment--><br /><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">images: </span>creativecommons.orgUnknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-92090915994028456542009-08-23T11:11:00.000-07:002009-09-11T06:14:03.963-07:00Back to School ~ Creating Community with Book Recommendations<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/SqpM6rEFg2I/AAAAAAAAADs/f0rt1VAhJ4Q/s1600-h/DSC00780.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/SqpM6rEFg2I/AAAAAAAAADs/f0rt1VAhJ4Q/s400/DSC00780.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380197275723465570" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">As our students come back to school</span> we can't wait to hear about the adventures they have had and the great books they have read. One of the best ways to create a community of readers in the classroom is by giving students the opportunity to recommend books to each other.<br /><br />Some teachers find it helpful to give students <span style="font-weight: bold;">guidelines</span> for sharing.<br /><br />For <span style="font-weight: bold;">fiction</span>: tell us the title of your book, the author, the genre, who the main characters are, and the problem they had to solve. But be careful you don't give away the ending!<br /><br />For <span style="font-weight: bold;">non-fiction</span>: tell us the title of your book, the author, the main topic, something that surprised you, something that you learned, and a question you still have.<br /><br />In addition to giving students time to talk about great books they've read, consider some of these ways for them to share <span style="font-weight: bold;">book recommendations</span>:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/dailylp/dailylp/dailylp023.shtml">create a bulletin board display<br /></a></li><li><a href="http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/swyar/index.asp">write a book recommendation</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://fcit.usf.edu/podcasts/book_talks.html">create a podcast</a></li><li><a href="http://blog.stenhouse.com/archives/tag/classroom-blog/">write a blog post<br /></a></li><li><a href="http://www.sblceastconn.org/CreatingaBookTrailer.pdf">create a book trailer</a> (pdf)<br /></li></ul>Giving students lots of opportunities to recommend books to each other is one of the best ways to effectively create a <span style="font-weight: bold;">community</span> of engaged and excited readers in your classroom.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/SpGfNhZX6BI/AAAAAAAAADk/khqSKb9uXCs/s1600-h/DSC00722.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/SpGfNhZX6BI/AAAAAAAAADk/khqSKb9uXCs/s200/DSC00722.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373250885081622546" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Welcome back!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-238791397962823912009-07-18T07:57:00.000-07:002009-08-23T10:56:55.457-07:00Summer~ a time to reflect, renew and focus<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">LAKE TAHOE</span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/SmHpqGnq5lI/AAAAAAAAADE/84_Ht1uQHjM/s1600-h/DSC00438.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/SmHpqGnq5lI/AAAAAAAAADE/84_Ht1uQHjM/s320/DSC00438.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359821941088380498" border="0" /></a><br />With the end of the school year comes time for teachers to reflect, renew and focus on their own learning. Summer offers stretches of uninterrupted time to read and learn with other professionals, in person and online. Time to read and discuss all those journal articles, professional books and lesson plans you put aside because you didn't have time during the busy school year. Summer is also a great time to take a graduate course or attend a workshop.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/SmHpwkR_BPI/AAAAAAAAADM/nvDqRvygR1g/s1600-h/WorkingWithMeg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/SmHpwkR_BPI/AAAAAAAAADM/nvDqRvygR1g/s200/WorkingWithMeg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359822052129703154" border="0" /></a>This summer I traveled to Tahoe, California, to attend the Technology Liaison Network's Resource Development Retreat with the director of the <a href="http://www.plymouth.edu/pwp/index.html">Plymouth Writing Project</a>, Meg Petersen. As the newest Tech Liaison for the <a href="http://www.plymouth.edu/pwp/index.html">PWP</a>, I was excited to meet and collaborate with techies from <a href="http://www.nwp.org/">National Writing Project</a> sites around the country and spend a week focused on the newest technologies being used in classrooms. Our task was to develop resources for our own writing project site that could be shared with other sites.<br /><br />I learned how to make a <a href="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/">podcast,</a> how to create a <a href="http://www.ning.com/">NING,</a> and how to take a short video clip with my digital camera and upload it to a website. While all this technology is very cool, our focus remains on integrating the technology with the teaching of writing.<br /><br />At the end of a very intensive week, I left the retreat with new friends, new ideas and new technology skills to share. Whatever your plans are this summer, I hope you, too, find time for yourself and your own learning.<br /><br />Have a great summer!<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/SmHunSWWpaI/AAAAAAAAADc/qn37NcjJJ7Y/s1600-h/BigPinecone.Tahoe.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 140px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/SmHunSWWpaI/AAAAAAAAADc/qn37NcjJJ7Y/s200/BigPinecone.Tahoe.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359827390255506850" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-77416433264362138372009-06-26T17:43:00.000-07:002009-06-26T17:58:42.899-07:00Looking for a Good Summer Read?Check out these authors!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews"><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:180%;" >Video Interviews </span></a><br /><br /><div class="h1sub"> See interviews with renowned children's book authors and illustrators</div><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /><a href="http://www.ucalgary.ca/%7EdkBrown/authors.html"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Authors & Illustrators on the Web </span></a></span><br /><br />Find authors' personal websites and websites maintained by fans, scholars, and readers.<br /><br />HAPPY READING!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-33495724728640506812009-05-08T09:48:00.000-07:002009-05-12T17:50:54.085-07:00Higher Order Thinking Skills and Blogging<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Blogging is an easy way to begin preparing elementary students for the new literacies of the Internet. </span> (2009, Zawilinski)<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>In a recent article titled <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">HOT Blogging: A Framework for Blogging to Promote Higher Order </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Thinking</span> in the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.reading.org/General/Publications/Journals/RT.aspx">Reading Teacher</a></span>, Lisa Zawilinski identifies four common types of blogs currently found in elementary classrooms: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">classroom news blogs, mirror blogs, showcase blogs </span><span class="Apple-style-span">and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">literature response blogs. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The internet is this generation's defining technology for literacy (Coiro & Dobler, 2007; Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, & Cammack, 2004; Leu et. al., 2007). It is home to a continuously emerging set of new technologies for literacy such as search engines, e-mail, blogs, wikis, instant messenger, social networking tools, and many others yet to emerge. Each requires new skills and strategies. Schools need to prepare students for these new literacies by integrating them into the curriculum, and blogs are an easy way to begin.</span> (Zawilinski, 2009)</span><br /></span></div><div><br /></div>I recently started a <span style="font-weight: bold;">literature response</span> blog with one of my reading groups called <a href="http://we-blog-books.blogspot.com/">We Blog Books</a>. We use the blog to focus our discussions on the <span class="Apple-style-span">Higher Order Thinking</span> strategies we've learned this year: <span style="font-weight: bold;">monitoring for meaning, using 'fix-up strategies', visualizing, determining importance </span><span>and</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> questioning</span>. <div><br /></div><div>Students log on daily to respond to a prompt or discussion question and read what their classmates have written. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Engagement</span> is high and, like an anchor chart, the blog makes our thinking visible so that we can refer to it throughout our book discussions.</div><div><br /></div><div>As a result of this experience, I've discovered that to be successful, teaching students how to <span style="font-weight: bold;">write</span> blog comments requires the same <span style="font-weight: bold;">modeling</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">guided practice</span> that other reading responses require. I've also learned that effective blog prompts need specific criteria to scaffold student responses. Finally, I've learned that giving students permission to share their own thinking, questions and observations is a powerful <span style="font-weight: bold;">motivator</span> and an effective way to <span style="font-weight: bold;">'gradually release responsibility'</span> for thinking to students.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><div><br /></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-87874931720483133732009-03-28T11:28:00.000-07:002009-05-12T17:51:21.619-07:00CELEBRATE POETRY<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/Sc5uIAVPGSI/AAAAAAAAACA/4WPmXG2oVsc/s1600-h/pocket_logo.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 197px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/Sc5uIAVPGSI/AAAAAAAAACA/4WPmXG2oVsc/s200/pocket_logo.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318309293778213154" border="0" /></a><br />April is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Poetry Month</span> and I've discovered some wonderful places to visit online to celebrate reading and writing poetry.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/406">Poem in Your Pocket</a><br /><br />The second national <span style="font-weight: bold;">Poem In Your Pocket Day</span> is Thursday, April 30, 2009!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Choose</span> a poem you <span style="font-weight: bold;">love</span> during <span style="font-weight: bold;">National Poetry Month</span>, copy it down, and carry it in your pocket to share with family and friends on April 30, 2009. Teachers, visit <a href="http://www.readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?id=720">Read Write Think lesson plans</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/Sc5wQeTqoII/AAAAAAAAACI/umtBT2Dli5s/s1600-h/30poets30days.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 107px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/Sc5wQeTqoII/AAAAAAAAACI/umtBT2Dli5s/s200/30poets30days.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318311638286901378" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">30 Poets/ 30 Days</span><br /><a href="http://gottabook.blogspot.com/">Gottabook Blog</a> is publishing <span style="font-weight: bold;">thirty new poems</span> from thirty poets during the month of April. Check back each day during the month of April to read a new poem. Some of my favorite poets will be participating: <a href="http://floriancafe.blogspot.com/">Douglas Florian</a>, <a href="http://www.jackprelutsky.com/">Jack Prelutsky</a>, <a href="http://www.patmora.com/">Pat Mora</a> , <a href="http://www.janetwong.com/">Janet Wong</a> and <a href="http://www.janeyolen.com/">Jane Yolen</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br />Or celebrate poetry by writing some of your own. Visit the <a href="http://www.magpo.com/kidspoetry/playonline.cfm">Kids' Kits Online Magnetic Poetry</a> site and write your own poems on the virtual refrigerator! Play with words online!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-21005160490853697392009-02-21T13:27:00.000-08:002009-05-12T17:49:36.559-07:00Get Out of the Reading Rut!<span style="font-family:arial;">Are your students stuck in a reading rut? Reading the same author or genre over and over? Are they bored with the books in your classroom library? Are you looking for a way to infuse your <span style="font-weight: bold;">independent reading time</span> with energy and excitement? Find out more about an approach developed by teacher Andrea Smith when she decided to create a classroom ritual to share, read and enjoy <span style="font-weight: bold;">nonfiction texts</span> with her students every week. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Simple in nature, Expedition Monday incorporates the workshop elements of sharing, time to read, independent choices, and community. Our intention is to discover the unlimited supply of nonfiction resources that surround us. Children are simply given time to explore self-selected topics free from the guidelines of our content studies. The effects of this routine and ritual have been far reaching, and just like Poetry Friday, have made a significant difference in the lives of my students. - Andrea Smith</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">To learn more about <span style="font-weight: bold;">Expedition Mondays</span> and how to integrate it into your <span style="font-weight: bold;">Reading Workshop</span> read <a href="http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/835.cfm">Expedition Mondays: Launching the Week with Nonfiction</a> by Andrea Smith at Choice Literacy.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Rekindle your students' passion for reading and learning with nonfiction!</span><br /><br />RESOURCES<br /><br />Nonfiction Book Lists:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ncte.org/awards/orbispictus">NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children</a><br /><a href="http://www.lookingglassreview.com/html/non-fiction.html"><br />Through The Looking Glass Children’s Book Review</a><br /><a href="http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=951"><br />Informational Texts Using the 3-2-1 Strategy</a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lesson Overview</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Being able to effectively read informational texts is a fundamental quality of successful readers. In this lesson, students learn to use the 3-2-1 strategy, which involves writing about three things they discovered, two things they found interesting, and one question they still have. After teacher modeling, students read a magazine article independently and use the 3-2-1 strategy to comprehend what they read. </span><span>This strategy can easily be adapted for use with Expedition Mondays.</span><span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-52887158749791464962009-02-11T05:43:00.000-08:002009-05-12T17:51:46.970-07:00FAIRY PENGUINS<script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgets.clearspring.com/o/46928cc51133af17/49a1da5d8190f5da/46928cc516a6a652/ef5a11bd/-cpid/4df6f2866571cc0/autostart/false/widget.js"></script>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-17668871839594056292009-02-07T11:43:00.000-08:002009-05-25T15:22:21.447-07:00Creating a Video Slideshow with Animoto<a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://education.animoto.com/">Animoto</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> is a cool </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >online tool</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> that lets you create short</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" > animated videos</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> from digital pictures. It takes just minutes to produce a video and is really easy to use. First you upload the images you want to include, then choose the music, and the program does the rest. You can email or embed the videos into your blog or download them to your computer for in-class presentations! Registration as an educator is required.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">In one of my literacy groups we were </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >reading</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> a play about fairy penguins. Both the students and I wondered if fairy penguins were real or if we were going to be reading about magical creatures. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Non-fiction or fantasy</span><span style="font-family:arial;">? A quick internet search </span><span style="font-family:arial;">helped us locate photographs and links to lots information about </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >fairy penguins</span><span style="font-family:arial;">. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/SY3pkwOkYPI/AAAAAAAAABo/6rIEbyv7x28/s1600-h/Group.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/SY3pkwOkYPI/AAAAAAAAABo/6rIEbyv7x28/s320/Group.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300149154115510514" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We learned that they are the </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >smallest penguins</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> in the world, they live in </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >New Zealand</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> and Australia and they are </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >endangered</span><span style="font-family:arial;">. We also read about an effort to <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/national/puppy-power-is-penguins-saviour-20081113-6682.html">protect fairy penguins using <span style="font-weight: bold;">sheepdogs</span></a>!</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-63843765105816159752009-01-31T08:17:00.000-08:002009-05-25T15:18:52.661-07:00CORE READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES<span style="font-family:arial;">David Pearson and other researchers studied proficient readers to identify how they process text. They identified <span style="font-weight: bold;">seven</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">core strategies</span> that help readers comprehend.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">A strategy is a <span style="font-weight: bold;">plan of action</span> a reader can use to increase their understanding of a text. With continued practice, the strategies become <span style="font-weight: bold;">skills</span> that the reader will apply automatically and flexibly when reading.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Activating background knowledge to make connections between new and known information.</span> Proficient readers make many connections: text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Questioning the text.</span> Proficient readers are always asking questions while they read. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Drawing inferences. </span>Proficient readers use prior knowledge about a topic and information in the text to make predictions. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Determining importance. </span> Proficient readers prioritize information as they read. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Creating mental images.</span> Proficient readers create mind pictures and visualize as they read. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Monitoring and repairing understanding when meaning breaks down.</span> Proficient readers stop and use "fix-up" strategies when they don't understand. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Synthesizing information.</span> Proficient readers make connections, ask questions, and infer to integrate new understandings. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">To learn more about teaching comprehension strategies:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.stenhouse.com/shop/pc/viewprd.asp?idProduct=9126&r=&REFERER="><span style="font-family:arial;">Teaching with Intention by Debbie Miller</span></a><br /><br /><a href="http://reading.ecb.org/teacher/strategies.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">Into the Book: Strategies for Learning</span></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.readinglady.com/mosaic/tools/tools.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;">Mosaic of Thought: Teaching Tools</span></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.stenhouse.com/html/news_10.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;">Merging Comprehension with Content Learning</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">PODCAST with Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis</span></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-3125016248403881472009-01-25T05:48:00.000-08:002009-05-12T17:53:28.827-07:00WRITING WORKSHOP: Planning a Unit of Study<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/SXxuO7YTLmI/AAAAAAAAABg/X0BGzn_mta8/s1600-h/StudyDrive.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 120px; height: 155px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/SXxuO7YTLmI/AAAAAAAAABg/X0BGzn_mta8/s200/StudyDrive.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295228464617696866" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">What do you want to teach your students how to do next in writing? <span style="font-weight: bold;">Persuade? Describe? Explain? </span> As teachers of writing guided by curriculum and Grade Level Expectations, we know what to teach. The challenge comes in deciding the best way to do it.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Katie Wood Ray</span> has written a wonderful book called <a href="http://books.heinemann.com/products/E00750.aspx"><span style="font-style: italic;">Study Driven: A Framework for Planning Units of Study in the Writing Workshop</span></a> that outlines a framework for designing <span style="font-weight: bold;">units of study</span> based on inquiry. The framework involves these steps:</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >• Gathering Texts<br /></span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >• Setting the Stage<br /></span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >• Immersion<br /></span> <span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;" >• Close Study<br /></span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">• Writing Under the Influence</span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Katie's framework reminds us about the importance of<span style="font-weight: bold;"> immersing</span> students in the genre by providing lots of opportunity for students to read mentor texts. Close study of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">genre</span> allows students to notice and identify the characteristics of the genre before they begin to write. This <span style="font-weight: bold;">'joint construction of knowledge'</span> engages students and empowers them to tackle new writing challenges. An inquiry based unit looks very different than one that begins with a teacher explanation of the genre's characteristics and a rubric.<br /><br />Try it and you will discover that students who participate in inquiry based genre studies are <span style="font-weight: bold;">successful</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">motivated</span> writers.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Preview <a href="http://books.heinemann.com/shared/onlineresources/E00750/section3.pdf">Chapter 3</a><a href="http://books.heinemann.com/shared/onlineresources/E00750/section3.pdf"> </a>of Katie's book.<br />Read Write Think inquiry based lesson plan: <a href="http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=187">Investigating Animals: Using Nonfiction for Inquiry-based Research</a><br /><a href="http://www.stenhouse.com/pdfs/0352ch01.pdf">Thinking Through Genre: Units of Study in Reading and Writing Workshop 4-12</a> by Heather Lattimer<br /><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-64999760184729301832009-01-23T14:05:00.000-08:002009-05-12T17:54:16.734-07:00VOCABULARY: What does it mean to know a word?<span style="font-family:arial;">By the end of 4th grade students are expected to have a </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >variety of strategies</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> for identifying the meaning of unfamiliar words. They should have acquired a breath of vocabulary knowledge about </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >word meanings</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> and understand how words are related. They should be able to identify s</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >ynonyms, antonyms, </span><span style="font-family:arial;">and</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" > homonyms</span><span style="font-family:arial;">. Finally, they should be able to use </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >context </span><span style="font-family:arial;">to select appropriate words when writing. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">There are degrees or </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >stages</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> of knowing a word and these stages can be represented as points along a </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >continuum of knowing</span><span style="font-family:arial;">. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Stage 1: Never saw it before.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Stage 2: Heard it, but don’t know what it means.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Stage 3: Recognize it in context as having something to do with _____.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Stage 4: Know it well.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Readers have a 5-20% chance of learning a new word from just reading it in text (Krashen). This is one reason why </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >independent reading </span><span style="font-family:arial;">is such an important component of our literacy framework. But all students benefit from </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >explicit instruction</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> to learn new words and increase the number of partially known words on the continuum that ultimately become well known. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Begin by teaching students how to </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >monitor </span><span style="font-family:arial;">on vocabulary when they read (Harmon). Metacognitive students are independent learners. They ask themselves questions:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >• Do I know this word?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >• Do I need to know this word to understand what I am reading?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >• If I think this word is important, what do I already know about it?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >• What does the word have to do with what I am reading? What is it referring to?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >• How is it used in the sentence? Does it describe or show action?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >• Do I see any word parts that make sense?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">To find out more about effective </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >vocabulary instruction</span>, <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span>check out these websites:</span><a href="http://www.literacy.uconn.edu/compre.htm#vocab"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><a href="http://www.readingquest.org/"><br /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://www.readingquest.org/">ReadingQuest:</a> strategies for reading, writing, organizing, discussion, and vocabulary in Social Studies (and all subjects!)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://reading.uoregon.edu/voc/index.php">IDEA: Institute for the Development of Educational Achievement</a><br />Vocabulary in Beginning Reading<br /><br /><a href="http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=886">Read Write Think Lesson Plan</a><br />Using Word Storms to Explore Vocabulary and Encourage Critical Thinking<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">For students</span>:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wordcentral.com/">Merriman-Webster's Word Central</a>: Build Your Own Dictionary, Daily Buzzword, Games<br /><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-34498067928181859452008-12-11T15:06:00.000-08:002009-05-12T17:56:56.516-07:00VACATION READING<span style="font-family:verdana;">If you are a <span style="font-weight: bold;">reader</span>, you probably have a small stack of books put aside that you are looking forward to reading during the holiday break. As readers we do not always <span style="font-weight: bold;">have enough time</span> to read, but we always have <span style="font-weight: bold;">a book or two</span> waiting to be read.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />Not so with our reluctant and struggling readers who not only have trouble finding books they like but making time to read as well. We can teach those students how to choose <span style="font-weight: bold;">'just right' books</span> but if they never sit down to read them, they will not improve as readers.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><a href="http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/department47.cfm">Franki Sibberson</a>, a teacher and writer, gives her students a few <span style="font-weight: bold;">guiding questions</span> to help them find the time to read during vacation. </span><br /><br /><ol style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;"><li><span style="font-size:130%;">When will you have time over vacation to read? Will it be short bursts or long periods of time? </span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;">Will you be in the car or on a plane for a long time? What kind of books might you take? </span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;">What places will you visit that you might like to read about? </span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;">What magazines or quick reads would you like to have on hand for short bursts of reading? </span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;">Which relatives might you like to read with? What might you read to/with them? </span></li></ol><span style="font-family:verdana;">With a little planning and a couple of 'just right' books to take home all of our students can return from winter vacation more practiced readers!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-66626024890021955702008-12-03T15:13:00.001-08:002009-05-12T17:57:21.146-07:00Summarizing: Getting the Gist<a href="http://www.readingquest.org/strat/summarize.html">Summarizing</a> is an important skill and one effective readers use all the time. When we summarize, we <span style="font-weight: bold;">'get the gist'</span> of the what we are reading. But summarizing can be a very hard skill to learn and to teach.<br /><br />Summaries differ from <a href="http://www.nwrel.org/comm/monthly/retelling.html">retellings</a>. Unlike retellings that include everything that happens in a story, a summary requires the reader to be selective, to include only the <span style="font-weight: bold;">most important information</span>.<br /><br />When summarizing fiction, ask students to tell just the names of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">characters</span>, the <span style="font-weight: bold;">setting</span> where the story takes place, the <span style="font-weight: bold;">problem</span> facing the characters, the important <span style="font-weight: bold;">events</span> that happen to the characters and how the problem is eventually <span style="font-weight: bold;">resolved</span>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.learner.org/workshops/teachreading35/classrooms/cv8.html">Summarizing nonfiction</a> is different. We read nonfiction to learn new things. So when summarizing nonfiction, ask students to tell what new things they learned! <span style="font-weight: bold;">Who, what, when, where, why and how</span>? What surprised them? What do they still wonder about?<br /><br />Whether reading for pleasure or to learn new things, summarizing is a key strategy for students to use to comprehend text.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-84156754774674601232008-11-22T05:44:00.001-08:002009-05-12T17:58:20.353-07:00Finding that 'Just Right' Book<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/SSgU9FmDiMI/AAAAAAAAAA4/FbD9exRsdSg/s1600-h/Time_Warp_Trio_Book.jpg">,<img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 282px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/__B3pEc0zKMg/SSgU9FmDiMI/AAAAAAAAAA4/FbD9exRsdSg/s320/Time_Warp_Trio_Book.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271486403543533762" border="0" /></a><br />If you're like me, you sometimes have trouble finding a <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=916">'just right book'</a>.</span> Because it's not just about how hard the words are. I can read all the words in every book in the library, but only some of them are 'just right' for me. I've discovered that a 'just right book' is one I enjoy reading.<br /><br />I have to really like the characters to spend time with them in a book! Here's a tip. Once I've found a <span style="font-weight: bold;">character </span>I love, I know I will enjoy reading other books about them!<br /><br />Now the Webster Public Library has created a website called <a href="http://seriesbinder.lishost.org/index.php/Main_Page">The Children's Series Binder</a> that makes it easy to find the all titles of books in a series by author or genre. Once you know the titles, start a <span style="font-weight: bold;">Books I Want to Read</span> booklist!<br /><br />Did you just love reading about the adventures of the four friends in one of <a href="http://www.guysread.com/">Jon Scieszka</a>'s <span style="font-weight: bold;">Time Warp Trio</span> books? A quick search on the Series Binder and I discovered that in addition to the 16 books in the Time Warp series, the author has also written 4 Time Warp Trio <span style="font-weight: bold;">graphic novels</span>.<br /><br />Did you read <span style="font-weight: bold;"> Amber Brown is not a Crayon</span>? Want to read more about Amber? Another search showed me the titles of all 9 Amber Brown books by <a href="http://www.scholastic.com/titles/paula/">Paula Danzinger </a>and 6 more easy books about Amber written at a beginning reader level.<br /><br />Reading books in a series is my number one tip for finding a <span style="font-weight: bold;">'just right' book</span>!<br /><br />Happy reading!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-30718619077745829052008-11-15T09:11:00.000-08:002009-05-12T18:01:05.254-07:00READING STRATEGIES AND TEXT SETSIn some of my literacy groups this month we have been using <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">text sets</span> to learn more about interesting topics like <a href="http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kids/news/story/0,28277,1057180,00.html">mummies,</a> the <a href="http://www.visitnh.gov/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">state of New Hampshire</span></a><a href="http://www.visitnh.gov/"></a> and <a href="http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Animals/CreatureFeature/African-elephant">elephants.</a><br /><br />A <a href="http://forpd.ucf.edu/strategies/strattextsets.html">Text Set</a> is a multi-genre collection that can include nonfiction books, poetry, realistic fiction, internet sites, and videos all related by a common element, topic, theme, or type of text (Opitz, 1998). Text sets are a great way to engage students. Using a variety of resources about one topic is an exciting and authentic way to teach students how to make <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">text to text connections</span> </span>when they read, as well as to build <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">background knowledge</span>.<br /><br />We are using <a href="http://www.educationoasis.com/curriculum/graphic_organizers.htm">graphic organizers</a> to keep track of our thinking as we read. The organizers help us create a record of our connections, <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">summarize</span> important information, and share what we have learned with each other.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-20619266870841346682008-11-07T16:38:00.000-08:002009-05-12T17:59:54.943-07:00NOVEMBERThis month 4th graders in my literacy groups are learning how to use <a href="http://www.readingrockets.org/article/103">Collaborative Strategic Reading</a> to understand nonfiction text.<br /><br />CSR begins with a <span>guided </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Preview</span> of the text. We use the title, subtitles, pictures, captions, and glossary to make predictions about what we think the text will be about. We also make connections to the genre and our background knowledge to support our predictions.<br /><br />Next we '<span style="font-weight: bold;">Click and Clunk</span>' as we begin to read. 'Clicks' mean we are understanding what we read. When we come to a 'clunk' we stop, think and use a 'fix-up' strategy to figure out the hard parts.<br /><br />Then we <a href="http://searchlight.utexas.org/content/fourth-grade/activities/activity-review-the-strategy-get-the-gist/view?SearchableText=academy&search=true&Subj=None"><span style="font-weight: bold;">'Get the Gist'</span></a> of what we have read. We summarize the important parts in our own words by telling 'who or what' is the most important person or idea and why.<br /><br />Finally, we <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wrap Up</span> our reading by asking and answering questions about what we have read.<br /><br />We can use these<span style="font-weight: bold;"> strategies</span> whenever we read to help us understand and remember information. They not only help us read better in social studies and science but will help us do better on reading tests, too!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7510716021195969233.post-32370232990110026402008-11-04T10:47:00.000-08:002009-05-12T18:00:31.180-07:00OCTOBERWe have spent time in our literacy groups this month creating <span style="font-weight: bold;">community</span>. We have practiced listening to each other and taking turns sharing our thinking because we learn so much from each other.<br /><br />We have been focusing on <a href="http://www.readingrockets.org/article/3479">monitoring our comprehension</a> and learning a variety of <a href="http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/teacher_resources/literacy_pages/fixup_strategies.htm">strategies</a> to <span style="font-weight: bold;">'fix-up'</span> our understanding when we have trouble with an unknown word or get confused.<br /><br />We have practiced rereading to learn how to increase our <span style="font-weight: bold;">fluency</span> and read out loud with <span style="font-weight: bold;">phrasing</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">expression</span>.<br /><br />We have reviewed the difference between <a href="http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/i/fictionnonp1st.cfm">fiction and nonfiction</a> and how to choose a <span style="font-weight: bold;">'just right' book</span> for <a href="http://www.pbs.org/parents/bookfinder/">independent reading</a>.<br /><br />We have learned how to use an organizer to <span style="font-weight: bold;">summarize</span> the important elements in the books we are reading.<br /><br />Next month we will learn some new strategies for reading <span style="font-weight: bold;">nonfiction text</span>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com