Stenhouse Newslinks
August 16, 2007
C O N T E N T S
1) Out of the Question
2) Teaching *with* the test
3) Author Conversations: Stephanie Harvey & Anne Goudvis, Part II
4) PD Corner: Preparing for the first weeks of school
5) Three common school improvement pitfalls (and how to avoid
them)
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1) Out of the Question
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How can you make your classroom more "question-friendly"? The new
flipchart Out of the Question offers many starting points for
guiding students to critically evaluate what they read, see, hear,
and do. It includes 19 practical activities and strategies plus an
assessment rubric. And you can browse the entire flipchart online:
http://www.stenhouse.com/8214.asp?r=n119
Out of the Question: Guiding Students to a Deeper Understanding of
What They See, Read, Hear, and Do
Sally Godinho and Jeni Wilson * 32-page flipchart * $9.50
from Pembroke Publishers
http://www.stenhouse.com/8214.asp?r=n119
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2) Teaching *with* the test
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"After much soul-searching, we had to admit that state and federal
pressures were not the only reasons students needed to learn to
pass tests. Test-taking is a life skill...we decided it was our
duty to do everything we could to help our students beat this
test--everything, that is, except give up powerful, purposeful
instruction."
In this commentary from the current issue of Education Week, Amy
Greene and Glennon Melton, authors of Test Talk, present three
principles for preparing students for tests that helped raise test
scores at their Title I school:
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/08/15/45greene.h26.html
(Free registration required.)
And if you missed their online chat last week, a transcript is
available. There were a variety of participants--reading
specialists, principals, preservice teachers, and classroom
teachers--and questions on topics ranging from poetry in test
taking to raising our society's esteem of teachers:
http://www.edweek.org/chat/transcript_08_07_2007.html
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3) Author Conversations: Stephanie Harvey & Anne Goudvis, Part II
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In the second of their two-part podcast, Stephanie Harvey and Anne
Goudvis discuss the new content literacy section in the second
edition of Strategies That Work. They affirm that "it's not
strategies for strategies' sake" and stress the importance of
merging comprehension instruction with content learning:
http://www.stenhouse.com/harvey_goudvis2.asp?r=n119
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4) PD Corner: Preparing for the first weeks of school
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"Improving the learning environment requires asking--and
answering--a critical question: What must our students know in
order to be part of a cooperative, rigorous, and supportive
classroom community?"
--Paula Denton and Roxann Kriete, from The First Six Weeks of
School
By devoting a week or two to team- and community-building
activities while teaching necessary procedures and getting to know
your students, you will reap the benefits all year long.
Wilderdom, a site devoted to outdoor education and experiential
learning, offers team-building activities, initiative games, and
problem-solving exercises such as Zoom and Multi-Way Tug-of-War.
Once your students are engaged, be sure to observe. Who hangs
back? Who needs peer support? Who takes the lead? Use your
observations while planning for whole- and small-group instruction
to build on students' strengths:
http://wilderdom.com/games/InitiativeGames.html
What do your students need to know in the first week of school?
Each others' names? Classroom routines? Teacher expectations? If
you are looking for fresh first-week activities, check out
Education World's Back-to-School page, which has over 100 links to
icebreakers, ideas for new teachers & substitutes, and more:
http://www.education-world.com/back_to_school/index.shtml
And here's another back-to-school page at Education World, this
one for Administrators:
http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin231.shtml
Are you new to middle school? Rick Wormeli's Day One and Beyond:
Practical Matters for New Middle-Level Teachers addresses everyday
practicalities from setting up your grade book to teaching a
strategy lesson. Wormeli's warm, often humorous, and always
practical voice will guide you flawlessly as you begin your year.
Read Chapter 1 online:
http://www.stenhouse.com/0355.asp?r=n119
The first six weeks of a new school year is a unique time: a time
of introductions. In their book The First Six Weeks of School,
Paula Denton and Roxann Kriete show us how to create a community
and teach processes and procedures that students can build upon
all year. Read Chapter 1 ("Week One") online:
http://www.stenhouse.com/8904.asp?r=n119
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5) Three common school improvement pitfalls (and how to avoid
them)
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The spring issue of Changing Schools (McREL) includes a short
article that highlights three "common, yet avoidable" mistakes
that schools make in their improvement efforts: 1) treating the
symptoms instead of the problem; 2) ignoring intangibles; and 3)
biting off more than you can chew:
http://www.mcrel.org/topics/products/306/
(Click on the "Three school improvement mistakes" link.)
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