Stenhouse Newslinks
April 18, 2008
C O N T E N T S
1) Teaching with comics and graphic novels
2) PD Corner: Integrating test prep
3) Free webcast with Jeff Anderson
4) Kindergarten without ceilings or walls
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1) Teaching with comics and graphic novels
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For most teachers, graphica--comic strips, comic books, graphic novels, and manga--is an unfamiliar and challenging medium. But it has tremendous appeal for elementary students and can be a powerful motivator. How can you bring graphica into your classroom and use it to teach comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency?
In his new book, Adventures in Graphica, literacy coach Terry Thompson gives you the lay of the land, distinguishing between the formats and genres that define graphica, exploring its appeal to a wide range of students, and introducing conventions of the medium.
He then shows you how to strategically use graphica throughout your literacy instruction and "translate the transfer" to traditional text, making concepts you normally teach more concrete and tangible.
Filled with examples of graphic texts, Adventures in Graphica will guide you in finding and choosing appropriate graphica and address common difficulties that arise.
The printed book will start shipping by the end of the month. You can preview the entire text online and pre-order now:
http://www.stenhouse.com/0712.asp?r=n137
Adventures in Graphica: Using Comics and Graphic Novels to Teach Comprehension, 2-6
Terry Thompson * 200 pp/paper * $18.50
http://www.stenhouse.com/0712.asp?r=n137
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2) PD Corner: Integrating test prep
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"Strategic, active, flexible thinking occurs as learners make specific decisions to understand--especially when they negotiate the particular demands imposed by high-stakes, standardized tests."
--Conrad, Matthews, Zimmerman, and Allen, Put Thinking to the Test
Filled with vignettes from the authors' own Colorado classrooms, the new book Put Thinking to the Test shows you how to teach students to "think through" tests with authentic lessons that weave thinking and testing together throughout the school year.
Preview the entire book online:
http://www.stenhouse.com/0731.asp?r=n137
This entry from Juli Kendall's Writing Workshop Journal at MiddleWeb reviews Judith Langer's research and shows how to create a unit of study on writing a persuasive essay that anticipates the need for test prep:
http://www.middleweb.com/ReadWrkshp/JK59.html
Liz Hollingworth urges educators to hold their ground and refuse to compromise their teaching practice in the name of higher test scores--and offers practical suggestions for doing so--in her recent article, "Five Ways to Prepare for Standardized Tests Without Sacrificing Best Practice":
http://www.stenhouse.com/rdfiveways.htm?r=n137
Test Talk by Glennon Melton and Amy Greene connects reading workshop to testing by teaching students test-specific language while reinforcing reading strategies. Read Chapter 1, "Beyond Hope and Honeybuns: Changing Our Approach to Test Preparation":
http://www.stenhouse.com/0461.asp?r=n137
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3) Free webcast with Jeff Anderson
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In the classic daily oral language drill, a teacher puts up a sentence filled with errors and students shout out all the things that are wrong with it. Jeff Anderson uses a different approach, presenting a mentor sentence and inviting students to notice its craft. He demonstrated this activity in a recent webcast with a group of a dozen teachers and staff developers from across the country. We've just posted a recording of this 50-minute webcast exclusively for Newslinks subscribers! Access it here:
http://www.stenhouse.com/html/andersonwebcast.htm?r=n137
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4) Kindergarten without ceilings or walls
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Monday's Wall Street Journal profiles German Waldkindergärten ("wood kindergartens") where three- to six-year-olds spend their days outdoors, year-round. The article includes a link to a photo slideshow that vividly illustrates one kindergarten's outdoor
classroom:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120813155330311577.html
Inspired? You don't need access to a forest to incorporate more outdoor learning into your school day. See how with the practical book Schoolyard-Enhanced Learning, which you can still browse online in its entirety:
http://www.stenhouse.com/0729.asp?r=n137
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http://www.stenhouse.com
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