The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
October 15, 2011
Towel in the Dryer
The problem is that perpetually
doing, without ever turning into the center of our being, is the
equivalent of fueling a mighty ship by tossing all its navigational
equipment into the furnace.
Martha Beck
My daughter Ahna and I have a favorite ritual on the mornings she takes
a bath. She bathes in a room we've nicknamed the "Frog" bathroom,
and it can be chilly in the morning. Years ago I started popping
a towel in the dryer a few minutes before she got out so it was extra
warm.
When I hear "Mommmm . . ." I grab the towel, help her out, and dry her
off with a heated hug.
One morning last year I didn't put the towel in the dryer and told her
to use one off the rack. She was obviously distraught as she ate
her breakfast. That afternoon she told me she'd been cold all day
in first grade.
"I really think that towel in the morning makes a difference," she
explained.
I'm sure she's right. That warm towel is connected to her
well-being. Ahna is a good role model for me. I'm tempted
this time of year to cut back on my exercise, movie watching, and
pleasure reading time: the ingredients of my joy. There are many
things on my task list, and they all deserve my focused time and
attention.
In the past when I've decreased my joy ingredients, perhaps I've
started out completing more tasks, but I ended up unbalanced and
wondering where my groove went. Just like the towel in the dryer,
I pay attention to those things that bring me joy and try to do more of
them, not less, when things get busy. What's your towel in the
dryer? What fuels the best version of you?
This week we're featuring some resources for struggling readers. Plus
more as always -- enjoy!
Heather Rader
Senior Editor, Choice Literacy
Free for All
[For sneak peeks at our upcoming features, quotes and extra links, you
can follow Choice Literacy on Twitter: @ChoiceLiteracy]
From the Choice Literacy Archives, two articles to help you reach
struggling readers.
Cathy Mere compiles a list of
Books Struggling Readers Can and Will Want to Read:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/1619.cfm
Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan show how the "why and
watch me" strategy can make the abstract concrete for struggling
readers:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/765.cfm
In a quick take vodcast, Katie
Doherty shares tips on starting a middle school reading
workshop:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/1643.cfm
Choice Literacy contributor Jill Ostrow and her colleague Jane Wellman
have created a site rich in videos and podcasts for teachers new to
working with English language learners. Take a Minute for ELL has
many brief visual and audio resources to explore on your own, or with
other teachers in professional development settings:
http://takaminuteforell.weebly.com/
The most recent issue of the New Yorker features a long and fascinating
article on the value of coaching in any profession, including those
folks who are in mid-career lulls:
http://nyr.kr/q5iRjZ
For Members Only
Writing can only improve so much from revision if you're starting with
a weak foundation. In Better First Drafts, Aimee Buckner gives practical
suggestions for helping students craft stronger early writing:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1687.cfm
Coaches can't always be right beside teachers when they are needed. Heather Rader shares the nuances of
offering gentle guidance from afar in Virtually Coaching a Lesson:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1679.cfm
You can watch Heather do some live coaching in a new edition of Listen
In. She helps Myia create an About the Author page, and later talks
with her teacher Linda Karamatic
about the value of this type of writing:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1607.cfm
Wouldn't you love a strategy to help young students monitor their
thinking during read alouds? This technique from Jennifer McDonough also does double
duty by limiting the number of raised hands and interruptions:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1686.cfm
Continuing the theme of reinforcing thinking with concrete actions,
here is a bonus video from Beth
Lawson's second-grade classroom, where she confers with an
English language learner using a simple hand motion to teach the
strategy of stretching words in writing:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1685.cfm
That's all for this week!
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About
Jennifer Allen
