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Stenhouse Newslinks
December 4, 2003

C O N T E N T S

1) PD Corner: Are your staff meetings productive?
2) Teaching from a critical distance
3) Education Oasis
4) *New* GUIDED READING BASICS

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1) PD Corner: Are your staff meetings productive?
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*December Quote of the Month* 

"I don't discount the importance of staff meetings. I think they 
can be very valuable. But we've kind of dumbed them down. We've 
used them as a 45-minute memo."
--Mike Murphy, former Texas elementary school principal
 
Meeting together at any age can be a catalyst for learning, or a 
routine that becomes rote over time. If one of your goals is to 
revitalize meetings among students or adults, you might want to 
check out these resources.

The National Staff Development Council has developed guidelines 
to improve collaborative work among colleagues. Tips include 
strategies for "checking in" at the start of meetings, and 
streamlining the number of committees and length of meetings:
 
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/tools/tools10-99rich.cfm

http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/tools/tools12-01rich.cfm

Many of the same guidelines for effective meetings among adults 
also apply to students, especially when they gather in groups to 
talk about books and their own writing. Linda Dorn and Carla 
Soffos, in their new video series DEVELOPING INDEPENDENT 
LEARNERS, show how teachers can assist students as they learn to 
work together. The Viewing Guide for the videos includes 
checklists for teachers to observe, analyze, and improve student 
work in groups. This free Guide can be downloaded and viewed at:

http://www.stenhouse.com/0382.asp

DEVELOPING INDEPENDENT LEARNERS: A Reading/Writing Workshop 
Approach
Linda Dorn and Carla Soffos * 2 30-minute VHS tapes * $195
Available now!
http://www.stenhouse.com/0382.asp

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2) Teaching from a critical distance
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"Being in the classroom and seeing from the critical distance of 
academic theory was like trying to walk with binoculars to my 
eyes. Yet, how can I still see clearly enough to keep the vision 
of how things should be, while living in the daily reality?"

In this Education Week piece, Anne Fairbrother reflects on her 
return to the classroom after five years in graduate school, and 
the challenge that academics and practitioners have in learning 
from each other's world:

http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=13fairbrother.h23
(free registration required)

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3) Education Oasis
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Here is a new not-for-profit Web site that is growing into a fine 
resource, including lesson plans, links to on-line references, 
and book reviews:

http://www.educationoasis.com/

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4) *New* GUIDED READING BASICS
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Looking for classroom-tested guided reading strategies for grades 
K-3? The new book GUIDED READING BASICS is a complete resource 
for organizing and managing a guided reading program. It includes 
model lessons for emergent, early, developmental, and fluent 
readers, and an array of instructional strategies.

You can review the entire book on-line:

http://www.stenhouse.com/0383.asp

Special for Newslinks subscribers
Order this book on our Web site by December 21, and we'll waive 
the shipping charge (a $5 value)! Just enter coupon code NL42 at 
the first checkout screen on our Web site.

GUIDED READING BASICS: Organizing, Managing, and Implementing a 
Balanced Literacy Program in K-3
Lori Jamison Rog
128 pp/paper * $19.00 * Now available!
http://www.stenhouse.com/0383.asp

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Please send comments and questions to Chuck Lerch, Newslinks 
Editor, at  or call (800) 988-9812.

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