Stenhouse Newslinks
August 4, 2005
C O N T E N T S
1) ELL literacy instruction: New book on-line
2) PD Corner: Who will coach the coaches?
3) Author Conversations: Joanne Hindley & Aimee Buckner
4) Rearrange your classroom
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1) ELL literacy instruction: New book on-line
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How many of our students feel frustrated at people's
expectations of them? How many of them are silent in our
classrooms? Do we know what each and every one of our
English language learners is capable of? How much do we
really know about their true selves or their true
potential?
--from Chapter 1 of the new book, Balancing Reading and Language
Learning, by Mary Cappellini
For many teachers, classrooms look very different today than they
did even five years ago. The number of English language learners
in the U.S. is exploding, up 84% from 1993-2003, with many states
experiencing well over 200% growth.
Drawing on over 20 years of experience working with English
language learners, Mary Cappellini presents a comprehensive guide
to the best classroom practices and research on teaching reading
and language acquisition. Regardless of how many ELL students you
have, the new book Balancing Reading and Language Learning is an
invaluable resource for understanding and supporting diverse
learners.
The book is now available in print, and you can also browse the
entire book on-line:
http://www.stenhouse.com/0367.asp?r=n73
Balancing Reading and Language Learning: A Resource for Teaching
English Language Learners
Mary Cappellini * 344 pp/paper * $30.00 * Available Now
http://www.stenhouse.com/0367.asp?r=n73
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2) PD Corner: Who will coach the coaches?
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*August Quote of the Month*
"We want our coaches to understand adult learning, not to think
that, 'I'm the expert here, and I've come to fix what's wrong with
you.' We want them to think, 'It's part of my responsibility to
facilitate your learning, and to bring you the information and
literacy to help you do your job better.'"
-- Cathleen Kral, Boston Public Schools
A recent article from Education Week summarizes the growth of
literacy coaching, and explores issues such as the qualifications
of coaches, proper roles, and integration with commercial reading
programs:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2005/07/27/43coach.h24.html
(Free registration required.)
This article is part of a new Education Week series on "the new
and evolving approaches to professional development in education."
Follow this link to view three other articles in the series:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/collections/leverage-for-learning/
The Annenberg Institute has published a new report featuring
portraits of six high school literacy coaches working across
content areas. It is an excellent starting point for staff
discussions about the potential and the challenges of coaching,
particularly for current and future coaches and coach
coordinators. You can download it from this page:
http://www.annenberginstitute.org/publications/SNSCoaches.html
How can coaches convince teachers that they are not supervising?
How often should coaches report to the principal, and what if the
principal asks for a coach's assessment of teachers? In an essay
from English Leadership Quarterly, Cathy Toll addresses these
questions with several examples, and provides tips for both
coaches and supervisors (large 2.6 MB file may take some time to
download):
http://www.ncte.org/library/files/Profdev/TRC/TollELQ.pdf
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3) Author Conversations: Joanne Hindley & Aimee Buckner
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"So what are we supposed to write about?" Our latest Web-only
video features a conversation between Joanne Hindley, author of In
the Company of Children, and Aimee Buckner, author of Notebook
Know-How. In Part I, Joanne and Aimee talk about getting started
with writers' notebooks:
http://www.stenhouse.com/html/videoconversations.htm
Stay tuned for Part II of this conversation, which will be
featured in the next issue of Newslinks!
Learn more about publications by these authors:
Notebook Know-How: Strategies for the Writer's Notebook
Aimee Buckner * 152 pp/paper * $15.00
http://www.stenhouse.com/0413.asp?r=n73
In the Company of Children * Joanne Hindley
208 pp/paper with full-color insert * $21.00
http://www.stenhouse.com/0010.asp?r=n73
Inside Reading and Writing Workshops * Joanne Hindley
4 20-minute VHS tapes + viewing guide * $395.00
http://www.stenhouse.com/0071.asp?r=n73
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4) Rearrange your classroom
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August is the time when many teachers roll up their sleeves and
rearrange the furniture. For a fascinating study of how lights,
acoustics, and furniture placement have measurable effects on
learning, check out "The Feng Shui of School Design":
http://schoolstudio.engr.wisc.edu/fengshui.html
Scholastic offers an on-line, interactive tool for testing out
different classroom layouts. Just visit the following page, click
"Begin," and start dragging and dropping furniture, doors,
computers, and up to 30 students:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/tools/class_setup/
Teachers working together might also want to reconsider how common
areas of the school are used by students, and what furniture and
materials are available there. "The Learning Street" is the new
buzzword for corridors designed for learning:
http://www.designshare.com/articles/article.asp?article=122
Finally, if you're looking for some fresh ideas for creating a
comfortable and welcoming classroom environment, the book
Wonderful Rooms Where Children Can Bloom has scores of innovative
suggestions:
http://www.stenhouse.com/4814.asp?r=n73
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