Stenhouse Newslinks
December 2, 2005
C O N T E N T S
1) When Writing Workshop Isn't Working
2) PD Corner: Getting into grammar
3) Stenhouse author spotlight
4) Helping adolescent readers determine what's important
5) Author Conversations: Debbie Miller & Kathy Collins, Part III
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1) When Writing Workshop Isn't Working
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"I love the format of this book--the way it's organized around
hard, yet common questions that we've all asked ourselves about
writing quality, organization, revision, management, planning, and
even test writing."
--Stephanie Harvey
"A smart, practical first aid kit for writing teachers."
--Georgia Heard
How do you motivate students who don't know what to write about?
What about those who need help crafting more complete and
interesting sentences? And how do you manage writing conferences
effectively?
In his new book, When Writing Workshop Isn't Working, Mark
Overmeyer draws on his experience as a literacy coordinator and
teacher to answer these questions and many others that arise.
Filled with student examples from grades 2-5, this concise
handbook offers a range of suggestions--not one-size-fits-all
prescriptions--and each chapter includes a section on working with
ELL students.
When Writing Workshop Isn't Working is available now in print, and
you can also review the entire book on-line here:
http://www.stenhouse.com/0404.asp?r=n79
When Writing Workshop Isn't Working: Answers to Ten Tough
Questions, Grades 2-5 * Mark Overmeyer * 144 pp/paper * $16.00
Foreword by Stephanie Harvey
http://www.stenhouse.com/0404.asp?r=n79
And check out this 9-minute podcast interview with Mark Overmeyer,
by Paul Cryderman of the Red Cedar Writing Project, at the NCTE
Annual Convention last month. Mark talks about the genesis of his
book, assessment in writing workshop, and formulaic writing:
http://www.stenhouse.com/rdovermeyer.htm
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2) PD Corner: Getting into grammar
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*December Quote of the Month*
"Only in grammar can you be more than perfect."
--William Safire
There is an amazing variety of resources on the web for teachers
interested in grammar--so much that it's hard to wade through.
If you want to start a discussion of grammar and usage at a staff
meeting, a good piece to share is "Usage Experts Change Their
Minds, Too." This brief essay, by the executive editor of the
American Heritage Dictionary, explains how usage of certain words
evolves over time:
http://www.eeicommunications.com/eye/usage.html
Bartleby.com is a great source of reference books that you can
access in their entirety at no charge. They've posted the original
William Strunk classic, Elements of Style, here:
The University of Ottawa's HyperGrammar site has lots of quick
links to definitions and web tools for grammar mavens:
http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/
Paul Brians, a Washington State University professor, has
catalogued the most common errors in English at his popular web
site:
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/
The new Stenhouse book on merging craft and grammar instruction,
Jeff Anderson's Mechanically Inclined, is still available to
preview in its entirety:
http://www.stenhouse.com/0412.asp?r=n79
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3) Stenhouse author spotlight
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***Congratulations to Matt Copeland, author of Socratic Circles
http://www.stenhouse.com/0394.asp?r=n79, who received a $25,000
Milken Educator Award, given nationally to less than 100
outstanding educators each year:
http://reference.aol.com/printcanvas?id=20051104125609990001
***Judith Tannenbaum's memoir, Disguised as a Poem: My Years
Teaching at San Quentin, is available from the University Press of
New England:
http://www.upne.com/1-55553-453-8.html
Judith is author of Teeth, Wiggly as Earthquakes: Writing Poetry
in the Primary Grades http://www.stenhouse.com/0323.asp?r=n79.
***Aimee Buckner, author of Notebook Know-How
http://www.stenhouse.com/0413.asp?r=n79, is featured in the
syndicated column "A+ Advice for Parents," where she explains how
daily writing can help students even if it's not being "corrected"
by the teacher:
http://www.stenhouse.com/rdaplus.htm
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4) Helping adolescent readers determine what's important
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In "The Power of Purposeful Reading" (Educational Leadership),
Cris Tovani writes about how teachers can improve their students'
comprehension by helping them determine importance in text:
http://www.stenhouse.com/rdimportance.htm
Cris Tovani is the best-selling author of the following books and
video series:
I Read It, but I Don't Get It
http://www.stenhouse.com/0089.asp?r=n79
Do I Really Have to Teach Reading?
http://www.stenhouse.com/0376.asp?r=n79
Thoughtful Reading (videos)
http://www.stenhouse.com/0369.asp?r=n79
Comprehending Content (videos)
http://www.stenhouse.com/0375.asp?r=n79
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5) Author Conversations: Debbie Miller & Kathy Collins, Part III
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In the final installment of this three-part video series, Debbie
Miller and Kathy Collins talk about the benefits of having a
designated time for partner reading:
http://www.stenhouse.com/html/authorconversations.htm
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