The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
October 23, 2010
Tourists in Familiar Places
One's destination is
never a place, but a new way of seeing things.
Henry Miller
This week after we finished our Maine Choice Literacy workshops, some
of the presenters and I did a little sightseeing. Joan Moser,
Gail Boushey and I went to the top of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge
Observatory near Fort Knox in Bucksport, Maine. It's the
tallest public bridge observatory in the world, and less than 12 miles
from my home. But as I sheepishly explained to Joan
and Gail, I'd only been up in it for the first time a few weeks before,
even though it opened in 2007. It's an incredible view, and
people travel quite a distance to experience it. But when the
attraction is in your backyard, it's easy to drive by day after day,
not noticing what's in front of your nose.
It's good to be a tourist in your home community. I love
sharing the sights and history of Downeast Maine with friends and
family who visit, because it's a reminder to me of what's unique and
special about where I live. When I visit other states and
regions for work, it's a pleasure to hear from local teachers about the
"must visit" sites, because it's often not what I've read about in
guidebooks.
One of the best things about fall open houses and events is that they
force us to see our schools and classrooms with outsiders'
eyes. Sure, we spruce up and clean out the jumbled wreck of
sweaters and old sneakers in the "Lost and Found" box by the front
door. But we also look again closely at the gorgeous tile
mosaics that grace the entry hall, created by an enterprising art
teacher and a few hundred students years before. We get a
glimpse with an outsider's eyes of the beautiful art or public spaces
that are hard to notice when we're living in them.
Visitors also remind us of the folklore in our schools and
classrooms. If you're a teacher, you're far enough into the
school year to be able to recognize the "stranger handler" in your
classroom. Every culture throughout the globe has them - the
self-appointed guide for visitors. In classrooms, the
stranger handler is the boy or girl who bounds out of their seat to
greet anyone new, whether it's an adult visitor or transfer
student. Watch closely as they give impromptu tours, and
you'll have a window into what students value most by the places they
point out and the tales they tell. It's often surprising what
provokes pride and excitement in students, as well as what has already
emerged in October as the stories that will be retold again and again
all the way through May.
This week we've posted features on choice in reader's workshop, setting
professional development goals, and getting started with a teaching
journal. Plus more as always - enjoy!
Brenda Power
Editor, Choice Literacy
Free for All
In a new "Quick Take" vodcast, Katie Doherty explains the choices
students have for reader's workshop in her sixth grade classroom:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/1323.cfm
Most of us start the school year with the best intentions, including
targets for what we want to learn. Where are you at in
reaching your goals this fall? Cris Tovani, Jennifer Allen,
Mary Lee Hahn, Katie DiCesare and other friends and contributors to
Choice Literacy share their plans:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/1311.cfm
Many teachers find keeping a journal or notebook is an invaluable tool
for charting progress in reaching professional development goals. From
the Choice Literacy Archives, some tips from the pros on getting
started with a teaching journal or notebook:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/134.cfm
We've been amazed this year at the potential uses of the small and
inexpensive Flip video cameras for teachers and students.
Here are some creative suggestions from teachers of how they have
integrated Flips into their classrooms:
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3754931
This is not school related. But if you are a fan of bridges
and views, I can't resist a plug for the Maine Fort Knox and Penobscot
Narrows Observatory mentioned in my lead article. The
volunteers at this historic site have done an amazing job for
decades. Well worth a visit if you're in the neighborbood:
http://fortknox.maineguide.com/
Join us this fall for our final Choice Literacy Workshops of 2010 in
Orlando, Florida (November 17) at the Altamonte Springs
Hilton. Presenters include Jennifer Allen, Franki Sibberson,
Clare Landrigan, Tammy Mulligan, and "The Sisters" (Joan
Moser & Gail Boushey). We've redesigned our workshop
area on the web, and you can now register online with a credit card.
Click on the link to get full details on topics and cost:
http://workshops.choiceliteracy.com/
For Members Only
Heather Rader helps a third-grade teacher break through the
resistance of some student writers. The magic tool?
A dirty onion from the garden. Bringing the Outside In is
another installment in Heather's Injecting Writing into Everything
series:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1322.cfm
We've posted a new Choice Literacy Cluster on ways to improve your
demonstration lesson debriefs:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1321.cfm
Lights, cameras, and even a red carpet! Bill Bass documents
how a film festival brought high school teachers and students together,
with a strong focus on connecting district goals and standards to the
fun projects:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1319.cfm
In this week's video, Courtney Tomfohr confers with a student in her
first-grade classroom. Courtney packs a lot into three
minutes, including conference notes, observing the writing, and
reinforcing story structure elements from the day's minilesson:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1325.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 -
In Every Language Counts, Andie Cunningham explains how including a
simple counting activity in different languages during morning meeting
reaps big benefits in her very diverse kindergarten
classroom:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1324.cfm
That's all for this week!
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