Stenhouse Newslinks
June 17, 2008
C O N T E N T S
1) Make literacy change happen in your school
2) Is zero a fair grade?
3) Put TeamWork reflections into practice
4) PD Corner: Art and literacy
5) When texting & IM intrude on academic writing
Note: If you'd rather not receive Newslinks in the future, just forward this message to unsubscribe@stenhouse.com.
----------------------------------------------------------------
1) Make literacy change happen in your school
----------------------------------------------------------------
"The story that Maren shares in this book is a collective one...the reform could not have happened without the buy-in and active support of the members of the school community--from school principal to teachers to support staff to parents. This book truly is the story of a school that opted to move away from the status quo."
--Timothy Rasinski, from the foreword of Synchronizing Success by Maren Koepf
How do schools accomplish systemic, meaningful, and lasting change in their literacy programs? In Synchronizing Success, district literacy specialist Maren Koepf combines theory about school reform with evidence-based literacy instruction to share what one school has done to develop and sustain a comprehensive literacy system.
Starting with guiding principles--continuity, continuous professional development, and collaborative leadership--Maren shows you how to define your vision of a successful literacy program and provides a framework for systematically tackling the considerable work ahead of you. She then delves into the nitty- gritty of processes and resources for developing and implementing schoolwide assessment, instruction, and professional development.
Synchronizing Success starts shipping next week, and you can preview the entire book online now:
http://www.stenhouse.com/0743.asp?r=n142
Synchronizing Success: A Practical Guide to Creating a Comprehensive Literacy System
Maren Koepf * Foreword by Timothy Rasinski
192 pp * $18.00 * Available June 24
http://www.stenhouse.com/0743.asp?r=n142
----------------------------------------------------------------
2) Is zero a fair grade?
----------------------------------------------------------------
A recent USA Today article sparked a debate among educators about whether assigning 50 or 60 as a failing grade is good practice.
Rick Wormeli, author of Fair Isn't Always Equal, weighed in on the debate during a podcast with the National Association of Secondary School Principals: "Just like we don't want an 'A' to have an undue inflationary influence, we don't want an 'F' to have an undue deflationary influence." Access the USA Today article and NASSP podcast here:
http://www.stenhouse.com/html/news_89.htm?r=n142
----------------------------------------------------------------
3) Put TeamWork reflections into practice
----------------------------------------------------------------
Even if you don't teach in a team, you can learn a lot from discussing the new book TeamWork with your colleagues. We've just posted a free 15-page Study Guide that will help you facilitate group discussions and put reflections into practice:
http://www.stenhouse.com/0711.asp?r=n142
----------------------------------------------------------------
4) PD Corner: Art and literacy
----------------------------------------------------------------
"Art is literacy of the heart."
--Elliot Eisner
Create your own masterpiece at Jacksonpollock.org, a site developed by "existential computing" artist Miltos Manetas. Click to change colors and drag the mouse to create the whirls and lines of Pollack's iconic images. Use it as a hook for a lesson combining art, literature, and technology or as a writing prompt:
Explore great art on the Internet with Artcyclopedia. From movements to masters this searchable database connects you to online museums and other sites you can integrate into lessons by theme, artist, or content:
Solve an art mystery with A. Pintura: Art Detective, an online game about art history and composition featuring works by Raphael, Titian, Millet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Picasso and concepts such as portrait, color, and perspective. Use it as a model for students' own fact-filled mystery stories:
http://www.eduweb.com/pintura/index.html
Connect. Integrate. Innovate. Transform your teaching with arts- integrated resources from ArtsEdge. Their database of over 400 lessons is searchable by art type, content area, and grade level:
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/teach/les.cfm
Is your classroom dance-poor or painting-rich? Discover the power of art-based lessons from a range of arts with The Arts Go to School by David Booth and Masayuki Hachiya. Filled with model units and art activities, the book's design allows you to pick and choose from dance, music, painting, drama, or movement lessons to fine-tune the arts in your classroom. Browse the entire book
online:
http://www.stenhouse.com/8175.asp?r=n142
----------------------------------------------------------------
5) When texting & IM intrude on academic writing
----------------------------------------------------------------
A recent study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, "Writing, Technology and Teens," found that most teens don't view text messaging, e-mail, or website comments as "real writing,"
while almost two-thirds say they incorporate informal styles and text shortcuts into school work:
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/247/report_display.asp
As part of our Question & Authors website feature, we asked Liz Hale, author of Crafting Writers, K-6, to comment on the results of the Pew study. "I think it's great when some aspects of school allow students to communicate however they wish whether it's with blog sites, poetry, personal journals, or even free-writes done in class," she writes. "But I think a majority of writing in school should adhere to standard writing expectations, regardless of current trends." Read Liz's complete response here:
http://www.stenhouse.com/html/news_90.htm?r=n142
----------------------------------------------------------------
Please send comments and questions to Chuck Lerch, Newslinks Editor, at newsletter@stenhouse.com or call (800) 988-9812.
View archives of past issues here:
http://www.stenhouse.com/html/newlinksarchive.htm
We encourage you to forward this newsletter to colleagues. To subscribe to Stenhouse Newslinks, send an e-mail with your request to newsletter@stenhouse.com or visit our Web site at:
http://www.stenhouse.com/html/newsletter.htm
Stenhouse respects your privacy, and we never share e-mail addresses with anyone. If you no longer wish to receive e-mail communications from us, just forward this message to:
unsubscribe@stenhouse.com
Stenhouse Publishers
PO Box 11020 / 480 Congress Street
Portland, ME 04104-7020
Tel (800) 988-9812
Fax (800) 833-9164
http://www.stenhouse.com
----------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright (c) 2008 Stenhouse Publishers
Prices are subject to change without notice
