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Stenhouse Newslinks
December 21, 2005

C O N T E N T S

1) Teaching reading comprehension with nonfiction
2) Holiday children's books
3) PD Corner: Building coaching and mentoring relationships
4) Creating a culture of literacy
5) Happy Holidays from Stenhouse


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1) Teaching reading comprehension with nonfiction
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"You will like a lot about this book: it is grounded in real 
classrooms, it focuses on what students can do--with help--and not 
what they cannot do, it is replete with classroom artifacts, it is 
written in an accessible and engaging style, and it is full of 
transcripts and tools and techniques."
--Nell Duke, from the foreword to the new book, Reality Checks

Why do children struggle with informational texts? In his new 
book, Reality Checks, Tony Stead explores the skills, strategies, 
and learning experiences that help K-5 students comprehend 
nonfiction effectively--not just reciting facts, but also 
interpreting and critically evaluating text and visual 
information.

Reality Checks is available now in print, and you can also review 
the entire book on-line here:

http://www.stenhouse.com/0364.asp?r=n80

* Special for Newslinks subscribers *
Order Reality Checks on our Web site by January 9 and we'll waive 
the shipping charge (a $5 value!). Just enter the discount code 
NL8A at the "Address" checkout screen.

Reality Checks: Teaching Reading Comprehension with Nonfiction K-5
Tony Stead * 264 pp/paper * $22.00
Foreword by Nell K. Duke
http://www.stenhouse.com/0364.asp?r=n80

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2) Holiday children's books
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Kidsreads.com, "the best place on the web for kids to find info 
about their favorite books, series, and authors," has compiled a 
list of new winter holiday books, with brief descriptions and age 
ranges:

http://www.kidsreads.com/features/2005_holiday.asp

(Follow the links in the left column for past years' book lists, 
including additional suggestions for Hanukkah and Christmas.)

Explore the rest of Kidsreads.com for book reviews, author 
interviews, author biographies, and features on series books 
(including history of more than 60 popular series titles), as well 
as author birthday listings, word scrambles, trivia games, and 
links to author Web sites.

For more holiday children's book recommendations, visit the 
Children's Books section of About.com, which has specific lists 
for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa:

http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/holidays/bb/winterholidays.htm

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3) PD Corner: Building coaching and mentoring relationships
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The new book, Becoming a Literacy Leader, describes how Jennifer 
Allen worked with teachers over time to define her leadership role 
based upon their emerging literacy needs. The book will be 
published by Stenhouse in January, and the entire text is now 
available for preview here:
 
http://www.stenhouse.com/0419.asp?r=n80

In Chapter 6, Coaching in Classrooms, Jennifer describes how she 
observed and assisted a teacher who struggled with classroom 
management issues. The story is one of many in the chapter that 
shows how different teachers require and ask for different kinds 
of support. Jennifer's narrative captures the uncertainty and 
uncharted territory school leaders enter as they try to build 
trusting relationships with teachers, even as they push them to 
improve their instruction:

http://www.stenhouse.com/pdfs/Allen93-112.pdf

Stenhouse authors Jean Boreen and Donna Niday provide a wealth of 
activities for helping mentors deal with struggling teachers. In 
their Read Share Teach workshop guide, they present a series of 
role plays to help mentors develop new skills and strategies for 
problem situations. Download your own copy of the guide, where you 
will find the role play scenarios on page 22:
 
http://www.stenhouse.com/pdfs/rst_0309.pdf

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4) Creating a culture of literacy
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As more attention is focused on adolescent literacy and high 
school reform, The National Association of Secondary School 
Principals recently published Creating a Culture of Literacy: A 
Guide for Middle and High School Principals. This guide summarizes 
the latest research and explores five key elements for success, 
with school profiles that exemplify each element. The full text is 
available here:

http://www.principals.org/s_nassp/sec.asp?CID=62&DID=62
(Click on the link just below the product image to download the 
entire book in PDF format.)

For another new leadership resource available on-line in its 
entirety, check out The Principal Difference: Key Issues in School 
Leadership and How to Deal with Them Successfully. This practical 
book draws on the latest research and personal case studies to 
give principals practical suggestions for improving leadership: 
tackling accountability, building professional learning 
communities, engaging students and parents, responding to 
diversity, and more:

http://www.stenhouse.com/8193.asp?r=n80

Also available from Stenhouse is The Literacy Principal: Leading, 
Supporting and Assessing Reading and Writing Practices. Read 
Chapter 1, "Changing the Face of Literacy Education in Schools," 
here:

http://www.stenhouse.com/8146.asp?r=n80

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5) Happy Holidays from Stenhouse
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As 2005 draws to a close, all of us at Stenhouse hope you have a 
wonderful holiday season, and wish you the very best for 2006!


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