The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy November 14, 2009 The Right Container


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The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
November 14, 2009
The Right Container

Years ago a good friend bought me a very expensive leather briefcase for my travels. I lugged my computer and paperwork in it for months. Finally I had to make a choice - get a lighter bag, or face shoulder surgery down the road.

I replaced the briefcase with one of those gadget-type cases which was almost as expensive. It had a compartment for everything - computer, passport, pens, gum, aspirin. . . I found myself on many trips spending long minutes just outside the security line, frantically rummaging through the 30 different compartments in the bag, trying to remember which one had my boarding pass or driver's license in it.

I finally set that beautifully designed but virtually useless bag aside, and purchased a plain black case at the local office supply store for $10. I knew it wouldn't last long, but it had just a few compartments, enough padding to safely hold my computer, and it weighed almost nothing.

I've been using that bag for six years. It's held up just fine. Nothing fancy to look at, but it does the job, wipes clean, and is perfect for my needs.

Classroom book boxes or bags have to be functional above all else. Many teachers have discovered through trial and error that pretty or fancy containers aren't necessarily the best choice. I have a friend who is a first-grade teacher. She was excited some years back when she found beautiful cloth bags at a discount store to use that year as her book bags. The bags were colorful, with snap enclosures and fun designs on the fabric.

Using the bags in the classroom was a disaster. Some of her students had trouble opening the snaps, the cloth was a magnet for dirt, and the designs on the bags were so similar that children were always confused about which one was theirs. After a few months, she reluctantly set those lovely bags aside. What she's been using ever since with great success is cereal boxes. The empty boxes are easily cut to look like the banker's boxes commonly used in many classes. They are sturdier than they look, and easily replaced when they get ragged.

Once you've found the perfect book boxes or bags for your students, the bigger challenge is to figure out what to put in them. We've posted resources to help think through book choice this week. Plus more as always - enjoy!

Brenda Power
Editor, Choice Literacy

Free for All

How do you organize and use book boxes? Every teacher has their own twist on the answer to this question. In Book Boxes: Voices from the Classroom, Choice Literacy contributors give examples from grades 1-5 of how they use book boxes and bags with their students:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/1027.cfm

Next question - what should you put in those book boxes? The "Kidlitosphere" on the web has scores of bloggers offering excellent advice and reviews, but its sheer size can be overwhelming. In This Blog's for You from the School Library Journal, Elizabeth Bird highlights 10 blogs we can't live without:

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6703692.html

We can always depend upon Jim Trelease to cut through the nonsense and remind us of what matters in our work. His heartwarming essay of the week is the tale of a child ashamed of his love of reading, and a librarian who bent the rules to encourage that reading. This is a terrific short read-aloud for a staff meeting or study group:

http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/essay-of-week.html

Kidsmomo is "dedicated to motivating kids to read for pleasure." This site is packed with lively reviews and recommendations presented in ways sure to appeal to kids of all ages. Check out their podcasts at this link:

http://www.kidsmomo.com/podcasts/

We're receiving many inquiries about when our 2010 workshop slate will be posted, since most of our workshops sold out quickly in 2009. We're putting the finishing touches on the schedule now. Big Fresh subscribers will be notified of the schedule first in mid-December, with registration beginning in early January.

For Members Only

By mid-November, teachers know their students and their curriculum plan for the year is mostly in place. A day-to-day challenge most of us still face is matching students and books. We've posted a wealth of new features this week to help you meet that challenge.

In Using Student Conferences to Build Book Selection Skills, Franki Sibberson provides focus questions and a template to help you choose books with students for independent reading:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1025.cfm

As students move up through the grades, their recommendations to each other become more valuable than ever. In this week's video, a small group of boys recommend books from a collection they've put together for readers who like the sports writing of Matt Christopher:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1024.cfm

Both of the above features are included in our latest Digest in the Teaching Reading Beyond Levels. This new digest has a focus on conferring to assist students in selecting books. The digest includes over a dozen articles and videos from the site, with advice on everything from time management in conferences to status-of-the-class notes:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1023.cfm

We've posted a bonus video this week from a preschool classroom. Kelly Petrin works with youngsters who speak many different languages. Her daily Book Time is a wonderful way to tap the languages and expertise of many family volunteers at once, and expose children to lots of different children's literature at the same time:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1021.cfm

Finally, the latest Choice Literacy Cluster is on Selecting Books for Instruction, and it includes resources from Jennifer Allen, Aimee Buckner, Shari Frost, Franki Sibberson, and Karen Terlecky:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1022.cfm

That's all for this week!