Stenhouse Newslinks
December 18, 2007
C O N T E N T S
1) Embracing 21st-century literacies
2) PD Corner: Differentiating instruction
3) Author Conversations: Mary Cappellini
4) The effects of praising students' intelligence vs. effort
5) Happy Holidays from Stenhouse
Note: If you'd rather not receive Newslinks in the future, just forward this message to unsubscribe@stenhouse.com.
----------------------------------------------------------------
1) Embracing 21st-century literacies
----------------------------------------------------------------
"Students need to learn from us how to engage in online spaces and still have academic discourse, to do it for purposeful, functional needs."
--Sara Kajder
An article in the November issue of NCTE's Council Chronicle surveys the range of 21st-century literacies and how they're taught in today's classrooms. Several leaders in the field are quoted, including Stenhouse author Sara Kajder:
http://www.stenhouse.com/html/news_40.htm
Sara is the author of Bringing the Outside In: Visual Ways to Engage Reluctant Readers and The Tech-Savvy English Classroom. For details and sample chapters, click on the links below.
Bringing the Outside In: Visual Ways to Engage Reluctant Readers
150 pp/paper * $18.50
http://www.stenhouse.com/0401.asp?r=n129
The Tech-Savvy English Classroom
160 pp/paper * $18.50
http://www.stenhouse.com/0361.asp?r=n129
----------------------------------------------------------------
2) PD Corner: Differentiating instruction
----------------------------------------------------------------
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away."
--Henry David Thoreau
Looking for material to engage a variety of readers? Check out the Naturescapes website. From animals, plants, and other living things to water forms, weather, and natural forces, students can choose from among three levels of text--Basic, More Detail, or In- depth--for each topic. The site is richly illustrated with photos and includes a dozen WebQuests:
Get more ideas about differentiation from a free webcast featuring Lyn Sharratt, Jeffrey Wilhelm, Camille Williams-Taylor, and Elizabeth Coelho, compliments of Curriculum Services Canada. A viewing guide and recommended reading list are included:
http://www.curriculum.org/secretariat/march29.html
Interested in learning how to use technology to differentiate instruction? Most of the tech tools discussed in "Using Flexible Technology to Meet the Needs of Diverse Learners" by Lisa Wahl and Julie Duffield are tools that teachers already have on hand. From talking text to gauging readability, learn how to put your computers to work for the diverse learners in your classroom:
http://www.wested.org/cs/we/view/rs/763
(Click on the View Online/PDF link just below the authors' names.)
In the second installment of a three-part podcast, Rick Wormeli, author of the new book Differentiation: From Planning to Practice, Grades 6-12, describes the importance of pre-assessment and adjusting instruction as a result of information learned from it:
http://www.stenhouse.com/html/wormelipodcast.htm?r=n129
----------------------------------------------------------------
3) Author Conversations: Mary Cappellini
----------------------------------------------------------------
"Just because they are not speaking the language doesn't mean that they're coming in with a clean slate. They may be very well- educated in their first language and we may not know it."
We caught up with author and consultant Mary Cappellini at the NCTE conference in New York last month. In the latest episode of our Author Conversations podcast, she talks about some common misperceptions that teachers have about English language learners:
http://www.stenhouse.com/html/cappellinipodcast.htm?r=n129
Mary is the author of Balancing Reading and Language Learning: A Resource for Teaching English Language Learners, K-5. Get details and read the first chapter here:
http://www.stenhouse.com/0367.asp?r=n129
----------------------------------------------------------------
4) The effects of praising students' intelligence vs. effort
----------------------------------------------------------------
"Praising students for their intelligence hands them not motivation and resilience but a fixed mind-set with all its vulnerability. In contrast, effort or 'process' praise fosters hardy motivation."
In "The Perils and Promises of Praise" (October Educational Leadership), Carol S. Dweck, a psychology professor at Stanford, presents research suggesting that the type of praise kids get affects their mind-set about intelligence and ultimately their motivation to learn:
http://www.stenhouse.com/rdpraise.htm?n=129
Peter Johnston, author of Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Children's Learning, wrestles with the use of the word "smart"
when praising students and its implications for how kids view their intelligence:
http://www.stenhouse.com/html/mp3peterjohnston1.htm?r=n129
(6-minute podcast; Peter turns to the subject of praise midway through the audio.)
----------------------------------------------------------------
5) Happy Holidays from Stenhouse
----------------------------------------------------------------
As 2007 draws to a close, all of us at Stenhouse hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and wish you the very best for 2008!
----------------------------------------------------------------
Please send comments and questions to Chuck Lerch, Newslinks Editor, at newsletter@stenhouse.com or call (800) 988-9812.
View archives of past issues here:
http://www.stenhouse.com/html/newlinksarchive.htm
We encourage you to forward this newsletter to colleagues. To subscribe to Stenhouse Newslinks, send an e-mail with your request to newsletter@stenhouse.com or visit our Web site at:
http://www.stenhouse.com/html/newsletter.htm
Stenhouse respects your privacy, and we never share e-mail addresses with anyone. If you no longer wish to receive e-mail communications from us, just forward this message to:
unsubscribe@stenhouse.com
Stenhouse Publishers
PO Box 11020 / 480 Congress Street
Portland, ME 04104-7020
Tel (800) 988-9812
Fax (800) 833-9164
http://www.stenhouse.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright (c) 2007 Stenhouse Publishers
Prices are subject to change without notice
