I am back. Two class days in, I find myself already ignoring the big pile of summer assignments to grade. Tomorrow is another day.
I started the year by taking pictures of my students as they held up notecards with their names. The idea came from a prof reading I did the night before that stated it is inexcusable to let being bad at names (as I am) be an excuse for not knowing kids' names ASAP. How true. We will see if I do better with the pictures.
Right now I am looking at Educational Leadership's Reading to Learn March 2010 issue, which I read earlier this summer. Let's see what I marked...
One article talked about how the term taste applies to both literacy and eating- and to really taste in both, we need to slow down. We can slow things down by memorizing (I have not approved of this, really, but I can see offering it as a choice), reading aloud (always good), and attending to beginnings. For this last one, they used the book Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos. This would be good to use for American Voices.
Another article talked about looking at books with two lenses. The book One Tiny Turtle can be looked at with a literary lens and with a scientific one. Then the author asked how will a student know whether an internet entry on loggerhead turtles is based on scientific evidence. I wonder if I could come up with an activity for Principles of Writing or English 12 on that.
Another article talked about text sets and concentrating less on making students remember books and more on getting memorable books. One text set that might work for American Voices is three about physical abuse: A Child Called It; Three Little Words; Lesson from a Dead Girl.
Here is another tidbit; students gain as much as 20 minutes of reading a day "when teachers designate reading as the only activity for any class time not used for instruction or practice." I need to work reading in in Principles of Writing or English 12.
Mostly, as I look through this magazine, I seemed to have highlighted books to get. I did like the end article, though, which talked about accentuating what you love about this job. Specifically, celebrate success. Don't keep looking at the problems- instead, stay fresh by limiting what you focus on and celebrating what is going well. Not bad advice for the start of a year.
Another publication, English Leadership Quarterly form April 2007 talked about technology... in the examples, the author mentioned having students find three quotes that refer to "the heart of darkness". What does Conrad say in these passages? (The passage bemoans the fact that students use tech to cut and paste these answers in minutes.) This would be a good AP Lang assignment.
