The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy June 12, 2010 Back to the Beginning


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The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
June 12, 2010
Back to the Beginning

The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may only
be the beginning.
                                                       Ivy Baker

When I was a writing teacher, I found my students always loved trying out the circular lead/ending in their drafts. The effect could be magical. No matter how messy or out of control a narrative gets in the middle, circling back to the beginning image or idea creates a neat and tidy ending (even if it is just an illusion). This is probably why we love all those slide shows at graduation ceremonies that dissolve from baby pictures to young adults (skipping over all the teen angst in the middle).

Teachers also love a circular lead and ending in their classrooms. Many start out the school year with the ending in mind, carefully documenting with students hopes, dreams, and goals in late summer or early fall.   The materials gathered early in the year are great fodder for documenting change in May or June.

This week we continue our series on closing out the school year with suggestions of circular beginnings and endings. As you close out and clean up your classroom this year, these ideas will get you thinking about some activities to launch the next school year. Plus we've posted more as always - enjoy!

Brenda Power
Editor, Choice Literacy

Free for All

Plan for the start of the year by thinking about the perfect ending. Here are suggestions from teachers across the country and world for launching the year with special ending activities in mind:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/1200.cfm

How do you keep tweens and teens reading all summer? Get them hooked on a new series. Ruth Shagoury at the Lit for Kids website shares a booklist of her favorite new YA series:

http://litforkids.wordpress.com/2010/05/23/great-new-series-tween-and-early-adolescent/

For younger children, Reading Rockets has a classic article of 10 Weeks of Summer Reading Activities to share with families chock-full of fun and easy suggestions:

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/391

If you are heading to NCTE this fall in Orlando, consider coming a day early for a Choice Literacy Workshop. Presenters include Jennifer Allen, Gail Boushey & Joan Moser, Clare Landrigan & Tammy Mulligan, and Franki Sibberson. You can download more information and a registration flyer at this link (it's a two-page PDF file):

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/orlando2010.pdf

For Members Only

Our latest cluster tackles science and literacy, with contributions from Jennifer Morgan, Heather Rader, Andrea Smith, and Karen Terlecky:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1193.cfm

If you're curious about teacher blogging, you might enjoy Karen Terlecky's insights on Getting Started with a Teacher Blog. She shares her experiences, as well as resources and tips for how to use your teaching blog as a mentor text in workshops:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1190.cfm

We conclude our two-part series on using comics in literacy workshops.   Franki Sibberson confers with students and leads a whole-class share session after the workshop:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1198.cfm

Video Updates: We continue to repost many videos in new formats and players (with higher resolution and full-screen options). As we make these improvements, we'll announce them in the newsletter. Here is an updated video you may want to revisit -

Gail Boushey shares her Coaching Notebook organization, which is a leader's version of a teacher's assessment notebook to keep track of collaboration with colleagues. Gail notes conferences and goals using simple management forms. A template is included:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1199.cfm

That's all for this week!