Books to Share

A new book from Patricia Polacco
that restates the power of individual potential.

During the last staff meeting, teachers shared some new books that were great mentor texts for reading and/or writing workshop and wonderful books to read aloud. The titles are...

• Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco

"When young Trisha finds out her class at the new school is known as “The Junkyard,” she is devastated. She moved from her old town so she wouldn’t be in a special class anymore! But then she meets her teacher, the quirky and invincible Mrs. Peterson, and her classmates, an oddly brilliant group of students each with his or her own unique talent. And it is here in The Junkyard that Trisha learns the true meaning of genius, and that this group of misfits are, in fact, wonders, all of them." Amazon.com

• Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester by Barbara O'Connor

“This well-crafted novel creates a charming mix of the commonplace and the extraordinary. . . . Appealing and authentic, this tale of summertime adventure will be a hit with readers year round.”—School Library Journal, Starred Review

• Author: A True Story by Helen Lester

"Lester's lighthearted look at how she came to write children's books will give aspiring authors of any age a lift and encouragement to persevere." Ages 4-8. (Aug.)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

• Dex, The Heart of a Hero by Caralyn Buehner
  

"Dexter the dog is so little that Cleevis the tomcat bullies him. But little Dex has dreams—big dreams. He wants to be a superhero. So he reads all the comic books he can, builds his muscles, and even orders a hero suit. Suddenly, even Cleevis needs his help! Dexter has determination, spirit, and heart as he proves, above all, that no matter how little you are, you can still do very big things." Amazon.com

Two Librarians Share the Latest Nonfiction Titles

Go to the Nonfiction Detectives to read about new nonfiction titles. Two Maine librarians review new books that are sure to excite and inform all readers.

A New Year of Workshop Teaching

This year, evidence that workshop teaching makes a difference appeared on the first day of school. As I walked through the halls, I heard teachers excitedly remarking that their new students could “turn and talk” without being prompted, they understood that reading is about “comprehension and fluency,” and many were choosing books that were “just right.” I saw students sharing books with their friends before the first bell and students “lost in books” in their classrooms. Last week I spent time in 3^rd grade and was impressed with the hum in both classrooms as transitions during Reading Workshop were smooth, calm, and quick. Students clearly understood expectations that, “nothing matters more than time spent reading.”

Reading Comprehension

Here is my blurb for the April newsletter but I am posting it here because I wanted to share the bulleted list with everyone (See below). If all classrooms supported similar language around talking and thinking about reading, I think ALL students would benefit and we'd be developing deep comprehension. 

“Deep comprehension is the result of a well-orchestrated system of flexible decision-making strategies working together (most of the time, unconsciously) to construct meaning for the author’s message.” ~Dorn & Soffos

 

As a teacher of reading, my goal for every one of my students is comprehension or understanding of what they read. Reading without constructing meaning is word-calling and will certainly never hook a student to the joy of reading. Reading is thinking! Students need to think before, during, and after they read. They should infer and analyze the characters in a story, understand the story structure, and interact with their minds about the plot by making connections, asking questions, and visualizing.

 

Teachers prompt for this level of understanding during read aloud, shared reading, small group instruction, and reading conferences. Having conversations about stories develops the skills required for deep comprehension. However, students need to be taught the skills required for successful conversations so that they not become one-way streets in which the adult does all the talking. One way to support and practice those skills is to provide some possible language prompts that will scaffold dialogue such as:

 

• I agree…
• I disagree…
• I don’t understand…
• The evidence from the text is…
• I noticed…
• I wonder why…
• The author’s message is…
• I think the author meant…
• That made me think about…

 

If this language is modeled at school and at home while reading with or to your child, rich conversations and deeper comprehension is sure to follow. This will help build good reading habits and life-long readers.

Poetry Links

Here is a link to resources for poems and poetry ideas. And here is one of my favorite poems:

Dreams

by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

A Poem in Your Pocket!

April is Poetry Month and April 29 has been declared Poem in Your Pocket Day. Click on the link for more information and resources about the day when everyone at Williams-Cone can carry a poem in their pocket to share with whoever they happen to meet in the halls or classrooms in the school. What a great way to spread literacy learning and poetry throughout the building! I'll post some more links for additional resources. 

Maine Literacy Partnership

Marcia Nye Boody, Director of the Maine Literacy Partnership from the University of Maine at Orono, visited on Wednesday. She toured the school and met teachers, students, and Steve. Marcia brings knowledge and skills about best practices with literacy learning. She shared with Steve that MLP is a partner with the University of Arkansas where Dr. Linda Dorn conducts research in lab schools and writes about the results and conclusions in many resources for teachers such as Teaching for Deeper Comprehension that describes the Reader's Workshop and other components of Balanced Literacy.

As students left at the end of the day, Marcia stopped to talk about authors and books. She asked if the students would like to have her share one of her favorite books and she told them the author was from Maine. Well, that prompted many curious questions and name dropping. Who knew these first graders knew so much about Maine authors. It was impressive.

A casual tour of the school resulted in many introductions to the friendly staff at Williams-Cone. Marcia did share that it was obvious to her that this was a school that cared about children because all classrooms were filled with focused and engaged students. I'm sure Marcia left thinking that this is a very fine school for teaching and learning! If you didn't get a chance to meet her today, I'm sure she'll be back. :-)