Ways In

Lisa Delpit is a well-known African-American education researcher. A few years ago she led a session at a national conference about working with diverse student populations. During the question and answer period after her talk, a young white teacher raised her hand. "I work in a school where most of the children live in poverty, and 98% of them are African American or Puerto Rican," she explained. "Sometimes I don't know how to begin to help my students, because my life has been so different than theirs."

Lisa talked about similar feelings she experienced as an urban black traveling to teach in rural Alaska for two years. She concluded, "Teaching in Alaska showed me you really only need two things to succeed in any new teaching situation--humility and inquiry." Go forth with humility and inquiry. These are good words of advice for any of us, in any new professional context.

One of the new experiences that can be vexing for literacy leaders is that of observer or visitor to the classrooms of colleagues. This week we've posted an article on gaining entry, as well as a simple tool for ensuring you're observing a range of instructional practices throughout the year. Plus strategies for taking notes once you're in classrooms, tips for assessing students in the midst of busy writer's workshops, and more. Enjoy!

Brenda Power

Editor, Choice Literacy

www.choiceliteracy.com

***Free for All***

Jan Miller Burkins finds getting into a classroom isn't that different from getting into a party. It's your choice whether you crash your way in or get a legitimate invitation - and how you get in certainly affects how you're perceived once you're there. Jan shares her strategies in "Making the Rounds," as well as a nifty recordkeeping form for ensuring you observe a balanced mix of instructional activities throughout the month and year. This is another excerpt from her book Coaching for Balance, to be published by the International Reading Association later this year:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/282.cfm

"What am I supposed to do all day?" is a question quietly asked by many a new literacy specialist or coach who has been given a lot of latitude in defining the job. This brief essay from Janice Dole, originally published in The Reading Teacher, defines a few priorities for literacy leaders. The article is available on-line at the Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse, a joint venture of IRA and NCTE:

http://www.literacycoachingonline.org/library/resources/reading-2.html

CAFE in the Classroom One-Day Summer Institutes on integrating reading assessment into daily literacy workshops with "The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) are now open for registration. These are larger group presentations and a more affordable format than our two-day seminars, but the fee still includes a resource binder and DVD workshop kit provided to each participant. Appropriate for K-5 literacy coaches, teachers and school leaders - like all Choice Literacy events, this institute is designed to give participants the tools to lead workshops on the topic in their home districts after the institute concludes. Locations this summer and fall are in Denver, Colorado; Portland, Oregon; and Rockland, Maine. The link below provides a detailed program description, registration forms, and housing information:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/293.cfm

***For Members Only***

Once you're in the classroom observing, what notes should you take? We're launching a new six-part series on notetaking strategies for teachers and literacy coaches. Part I explains the difference between "in the midst" and "after the fact" notes, and which method might work better in different observation contexts:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/292.cfm

We've posted another video from The Sisters demonstrating how flexible grouping works. This week, Gail Boushey leads a small group tackling inference, using the classic Tales of Peter Rabbit as the focus text. Joan Moser debriefs with Gail after the group. It's all part of our ongoing CAFE (Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, Expanding Vocabulary) reading assessment series:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/294.cfm

Two quick reads on assessing writers in workshop - Franki Sibberson writes about how she integrates informal assessment into her workshops, without detailed daily notetaking during workshops:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/286.cfm

Suzy Kaback uses the "Writing Strengths" anchor chart with her middle school students, as a way to build awareness of writing talent in the class and a stronger sense of community:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/283.cfm

That's all for this week!