The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
October 17, 2009
Urawaza
As a child, I loved reading the "Hints from Heloise" column in the
newspaper - little tips and shortcuts for cleaning house or mending
clothes. The funny thing is I didn't actually like cleaning
house or mending clothes at all. I still don't.
There is just something almost magical when you realize there is a
quick and easy solution to one of life's small irritants (stains in the
sink, a door that sticks) you've put up with forever.
Recently I've been enjoying urawaza, the Japanese version of these
hints and tricks. Are you always left with half a pot of
coffee you throw out at the end of the day because it's bitter and
stale? Stir in a pinch of salt before you reheat a
mug in the microwave, and it tastes almost freshly brewed.
Did you accidentally throw your favorite wool sweater in the wash,
shrinking it from a size XL to a size XS? Soak it in a
mixture of water and hair conditioner, block it to dry flat on a towel,
and voila! You have a size XL sweater again.
Every teacher has their own stash of classroom urawaza - secret tricks for
organizing messy supplies, helping students transition smoothly, or
streamlining the grading process. If you want to strengthen
your school community, getting these urawaza out in the
open is a terrific way to foster a positive atmosphere and more
conversation about classroom practice among staff.
Literacy leaders often have access to many classrooms, and we
immediately note these clever tricks when we see them. But do
you have a process for highlighting them for others? Both the
creator/user of the urawaza and those who benefit from it can't help
but be delighted. Lisa Katayama in her book Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan
uses a
simple format that could easily be replicated in an e-newsletter or
quick tip in a staff meeting. The dilemma is shared in a
couple sentences (the mirror fogs up after your shower so you can't see
yourself while grooming); followed by the solution (rub a slice of
potato across the glass); and ending with why it works (the protein and
starch in the potato absorb moisture). It seems to me the
"why it works" part is most crucial - there is usually a basic
principle from literacy research or human behavior that can allow
teachers to move from what works in one situation to discovering new
urawaza in others.
This week, we've posted a couple articles from the archives with some
urawaza-style cheats for writing report card
comments. Plus more as always - enjoy!
Brenda Power
Editor, Choice Literacy
Free for All
Two features from the Choice Literacy Archives that can help
you make short work of writing report card comments -
If you struggle as a writer at report card time, Easy
Beginnings for Writing Better Narrative Assessments and Report Card
Comments might give you ideas for streamlining your work:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/176.cfm
Adjectives to Anecdotes includes strategies for moving from descriptive
words to full stories about students in assessment narratives:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/186.cfm
Leah Davies has a succinct summary of adjectives and sentence stems for
report card comments that might help teachers eliminate many generic
phrases and replace them with specifics for supporting children and
parents:
http://bit.ly/23nl7p
Trevor Cairney has a wonderful post on his blog about text sets - what
they are, how to develop them, and how to integrate use of Internet
links with these text collections:
http://bit.ly/5MXNq
In celebration of the National Day on Writing (October 20th), NCTE is
opening up their National Gallery of Writing. Choice Literacy
Contributors Franki Sibberson and Mary Lee Hahn are curating a gallery
on stories of reading lives. You can access guidelines for
submission and the gallery after it opens at this link:
http://galleryofwriting.org/galleries/131046
For Members
Only
By this point in the fall, most teachers have a mountain of assessments
in front of them, and administrators might be wondering if they need to
purchase new assessment tools or systems to get better
information. Before your school blows its budget on the
latest and greatest from educational publishers, you might want to read
It's Not the Assessment - It's How You Use It. Clare
Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan discuss ways teachers can get
the most out of any assessment data collected early in the year, moving
beyond numbers for insights into how to structure and target
instruction:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1002.cfm
Many students in the upper elementary and middle school grades shun all
picture books, yet they are an invaluable resource for teaching
sophisticated literacy concepts. Franki Sibberson explains
how to teach the concept of theme using picture books in her latest
booklist:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/995.cfm
It's a concern so many of us have - how can we get everyone in our
school chatting more naturally and spontaneously about their
reading? This "reading culture" is at the heart of producing
lifelong literacy habits. Ellen McEvoy continues her
year-long chronicle of her work to build more reading awareness and
discussion throughout the day at the school where she
volunteers. In Committee of One, Ellen describes
her first tentative steps in creating a steering group, building
interest through fall outreach events, and finding free resources from
the web to share with others:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1001.cfm
Finally, we've posted a new Choice Literacy Cluster on Teaching with
Wordless Picture Books. Contributors Shari Frost, Melissa
Kolb, Katie DiCesare, and Franki Sibberson tackle preschool through
middle grades with their suggestions:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1003.cfm
That's all for this week!
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Jennifer Allen
