Monday, December 8, 2008
Monday, December 1, 2008
Stargirl in your classroom
Another awesome character to use in your classroom and/or literature cirlces is Jerry Spinelli's "Stargirl". A unique character that creates discussion around the question, "Can one person change the way an entire community thinks"?Guided Reading Level: V
Grade Level: 6.1
http://www.multcolib.org/talk/guides-stargirl.html
Frindle Lesson Plans & Activities
Frindle by Andrew Clements is an AWESOME book to use in your classroom, whether it is used as a read aloud or in literature cirlces, your students will love Nick, Frindle's main character.Reading Level: 4.8
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/fantasy-fiction/printable/56976.html
http://litplans.com/titles/Frindle_Andrew_Clements.html
http://www.writingfix.com/Chapter_Book_Prompts/Frindle3.htm
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=10849_type=Book_typeId=3129
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key in your Reading Class
Joey Pigza is an absolutely wonderful character - perfect for an in depth character unit of study. The link below includes an entire unit map that includes writing an expository essay on ADHD. 
Reading Level: Guided Reading: T
Grade Level: 4.75
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Interview with a past classroom teacher/current administrator
I chose a fellow colleague that I respect and admire to interview and ask these critical literacy questons to.
Here are the questions & her responses:
1. What role does literature play in the classroom curriculum?
A very central role – the best way to increase reading achievement is to get kids reading. In order to get kids reading, you have to get them excited to read. The job of a teacher is to hook kids into books and teach content standards by using the literature as a vehicle. That is, you don’t teach a book – that’s an activity (I often hear teachers say, “this unit we are reading X book”). Rather, you use the book to achieve learning outcomes – such as exploring how characters change over time by reading X books. You don’t want kids just to finish a book – you want them to read in order to think deeply and to use the reading as a model for their own writing in order to help them become better writers. And you don’t want kids to finish a 5-paragraph essay – rather, you want them write a strong literary essay with a compelling thesis, supporting details, and commentary. Teachers should help students learn to read but are also responsible for helping students read to learn!
I recently heard a KIPP teacher talk about a current 8th grade student who is a struggling reader. The student has been at KIPP since 5th grade and his decoding and fluency has improved dramatically. However, he continues to struggle with reading comprehension and mastery of reading standards. Recently in his English class, he has been reading The Giver and has really “gotten it” because the teacher has been highlighting the role of relationships as the central theme of the book. Because this student plays a central care-taking role in his family, he “gets” relationships and, as a result, can really connect to the book. That is the power of literature and good teaching – it can hook kids in to learning and school when they have otherwise struggled or been unsuccessful in school.
2. What kinds of books are chosen for your classroom?
Books for the classroom library were selected based on student interest and readiness so that students could read books of their choice at their level. Books for shared reading/whole-class texts were selected based on the content standards -- the literacy coordinator, with the English department, mapped curriculum/units based on standards and developed essential questions for those units. We then used the standards and questions and brainstormed different books that addressed those themes. Our units were also chunked by genre.
3. Who decides on what books are used in your classroom?
See above – kids, teachers, and admin
4. What is your theoretical perspective on teaching or specifically on using children's literature in the curriculum?
I think I hit this in #1 – if not, let me know and I will write back.
My reflections:
What I'm hearing is that kids need to be absolutely invested in reading (enjoy it, get excited about it) but also, not jut read a book to finish it, they need to think about, for example, How a character changes over time and read a book that truly and really excellently reflects this. We did an amazing character unit in my 4th grade classroom this year and the Read Aloud was Joey Pigza Swallowed a Key - they LOVED this character and in the end were able to explain how Joey changed over time, but also, how the characters in their reading books changed over time.
Here are the questions & her responses:
1. What role does literature play in the classroom curriculum?
A very central role – the best way to increase reading achievement is to get kids reading. In order to get kids reading, you have to get them excited to read. The job of a teacher is to hook kids into books and teach content standards by using the literature as a vehicle. That is, you don’t teach a book – that’s an activity (I often hear teachers say, “this unit we are reading X book”). Rather, you use the book to achieve learning outcomes – such as exploring how characters change over time by reading X books. You don’t want kids just to finish a book – you want them to read in order to think deeply and to use the reading as a model for their own writing in order to help them become better writers. And you don’t want kids to finish a 5-paragraph essay – rather, you want them write a strong literary essay with a compelling thesis, supporting details, and commentary. Teachers should help students learn to read but are also responsible for helping students read to learn!
I recently heard a KIPP teacher talk about a current 8th grade student who is a struggling reader. The student has been at KIPP since 5th grade and his decoding and fluency has improved dramatically. However, he continues to struggle with reading comprehension and mastery of reading standards. Recently in his English class, he has been reading The Giver and has really “gotten it” because the teacher has been highlighting the role of relationships as the central theme of the book. Because this student plays a central care-taking role in his family, he “gets” relationships and, as a result, can really connect to the book. That is the power of literature and good teaching – it can hook kids in to learning and school when they have otherwise struggled or been unsuccessful in school.
2. What kinds of books are chosen for your classroom?
Books for the classroom library were selected based on student interest and readiness so that students could read books of their choice at their level. Books for shared reading/whole-class texts were selected based on the content standards -- the literacy coordinator, with the English department, mapped curriculum/units based on standards and developed essential questions for those units. We then used the standards and questions and brainstormed different books that addressed those themes. Our units were also chunked by genre.
3. Who decides on what books are used in your classroom?
See above – kids, teachers, and admin
4. What is your theoretical perspective on teaching or specifically on using children's literature in the curriculum?
I think I hit this in #1 – if not, let me know and I will write back.
My reflections:
What I'm hearing is that kids need to be absolutely invested in reading (enjoy it, get excited about it) but also, not jut read a book to finish it, they need to think about, for example, How a character changes over time and read a book that truly and really excellently reflects this. We did an amazing character unit in my 4th grade classroom this year and the Read Aloud was Joey Pigza Swallowed a Key - they LOVED this character and in the end were able to explain how Joey changed over time, but also, how the characters in their reading books changed over time.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
My Text Set: Oliver Button is a Sissy
Right now I am thinking about using the book Oliver Button is a Sissy by Tommie DePaola about a little boy who would rather sing, dance, draw, dress up, and read than play sports and do what "typical" young boys do. Book information can be found at:
http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/picturebooks/fr/oliver.htm
I absolutely love this book! Oliver is teased by others and called a sissy because of his interests. I think that bullying and teasing is a huge problem in my school and classroom and I just wish that all my students felt comfortable just being themselves. This is something that a lot of adults and even I struggle with today. I 'd like to inspire my students to respect every single persons individuals interests, and hobbies. And to embrace them, ask questions about them, and support one another. Really, I think this book is about freedom of expression and individuality and I think there are a number of monuments/landmarks in Washington DC that represent this. I am thinking about the large number of theaters, or more specifically, a place that has persevered, like Oliver has to in this book.
This leads me to my tentative symbol for my text set: I'm thinking of the 1st Ammendment: Freedom of Expression and the National Endowment for the Arts. The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Endowment is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases.
I feel like there are a MILLION images that can represent the theme & message of Oliver Button is a Sissy. This is my initial idea - my others would stem from anti-violence and anti-bullying symbols such as NAPE's dove symbol. NAPE is the National Association for Peace/Anti-violence Education. I believe their home office is in Louisiana & perhaps I can find something local that represents NAPE'S mission implementing curriculum in the K-12 grades that promote peace and anti-violence.
http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/picturebooks/fr/oliver.htm
I absolutely love this book! Oliver is teased by others and called a sissy because of his interests. I think that bullying and teasing is a huge problem in my school and classroom and I just wish that all my students felt comfortable just being themselves. This is something that a lot of adults and even I struggle with today. I 'd like to inspire my students to respect every single persons individuals interests, and hobbies. And to embrace them, ask questions about them, and support one another. Really, I think this book is about freedom of expression and individuality and I think there are a number of monuments/landmarks in Washington DC that represent this. I am thinking about the large number of theaters, or more specifically, a place that has persevered, like Oliver has to in this book.
This leads me to my tentative symbol for my text set: I'm thinking of the 1st Ammendment: Freedom of Expression and the National Endowment for the Arts. The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Endowment is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases.
I feel like there are a MILLION images that can represent the theme & message of Oliver Button is a Sissy. This is my initial idea - my others would stem from anti-violence and anti-bullying symbols such as NAPE's dove symbol. NAPE is the National Association for Peace/Anti-violence Education. I believe their home office is in Louisiana & perhaps I can find something local that represents NAPE'S mission implementing curriculum in the K-12 grades that promote peace and anti-violence.
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