The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
January 17, 2009
To Build a Fire
How cold is it in your neck of the woods? Much of North America is
in the midst of a bitterly frigid stretch of weather. I awoke this
morning to a reading of 27 degrees below zero (at least according
to the ancient thermometer on our deck). With the windchill,
temperatures feel like -45F. My husband and I compared notes, and
we're fairly certain this is the coldest weather we've experienced
in the 20 years we've lived in rural Maine.
Whenever there is a cold snap and I find myself hunkered down or
trudging through the snow, I think about one of my favorite short
stories, Jack London's To Build a Fire. I haven't read it in many
years, but the images from it stick with me, especially the ones in
this passage:
Fifty degrees below zero stood for a bite of frost that hurt and
that must be guarded against by the use of mittens, ear flaps, warm
moccasins, and thick socks. Fifty degrees below zero was to him
just precisely fifty degrees below zero. That there should be
anything more to it than that was a thought that never entered his
head.
As he turned to go on, he spat speculatively. There was a sharp,
explosive crackle that startled him. He spat again. And again, in
the air, before it could fall to the snow, the spittle crackled. He
knew that at fifty below spittle crackled on the snow, but this
spittle had crackled in the air. Undoubtedly it was colder than
fifty below--how much colder he did not know.
It's that crack in the air, like the shot of a gun, that wakes the
man up and makes him realize he'll have to give more thought to the
cold throughout the day. Everything has changed because of how low
the temperature has dipped, and his survival depends upon dealing
well with the changes in the landscape.
This week I sat in on an assessment study group in Waterville,
Maine. I couldn't help but think of how things have changed when
it comes to assessment and testing in schools as I listened to
these teachers struggle to make connections between their teaching
and the state exams.
Much as we keep trying to make the relentless testing
fit into our classroom landscapes of workshops, inquiry, quality
literature, and authentic learning, there's not really much of a
match. Whatever we do to prepare students for timed exams - from
treating tests as another "genre," to holding schoolwide pep
rallies to up everyone's enthusiasm for #2 pencils and bubble
sheets - there is no getting around the nagging sense that too much
of testing these days is about survival. And as long as testing is
about fighting for the survival of anything - of our schools on
"failing lists," or our kids who are struggling with performance
anxiety, or even our own self-esteem as educators - it will never
really be about learning.
So we gear up and make do, turning to each other for tips,
strategies, and the good humor we need to get through the slog of
the testing season. I know before long that ancient thermometer on
my deck will be framed by a basket of flowers and registering
warmth again. There will be real learning and energizing
curriculum again in the weeks beyond the tests, too - we know this,
and it keeps us moving forward with optimism.
This week, we've got advice on how to organize your testing data
with colleagues, last minute warm-ups to help students focus during
exams, and much more as always. Enjoy!
Brenda Power
Editor, Choice Literacy
Free for All
Organizing data so that teachers can see patterns for instruction
and allocating resources is an ongoing challenge. In this
four-minute video,"The Sisters" (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser)
present data charts, an ingenious method for at-a-glance viewing of
student progress across a grade-level team:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/801.cfm
Jennifer Jones discovers just a few minutes of focused preparation
right before tests can make a big difference in performance for
easily distracted students. She shares her tips in "Warm - Ups for
Wandering Minds" from the Choice Literacy Archives:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/480.cfm
The Children's and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards (better
known as the CYBILs) have released their shortlist of finalists for
this year's awards. The way in which the books are selected with
input from so many avid readers ensures these are wonderful
choices. Categories include easy readers, poetry, young adult
fiction, and many more:
http://tinyurl.com/7f4gjj
If you are in the mood for a provocative think piece on how
technology is changing the way we read, you might enjoy "People of
the Screen" by Christine Rosen:
http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/people-of-the-screen
"To Build a Fire" by Jack London as well as a wide range of public
domain literature can be found ad-free and available to read
online or download for students at the Internet Accuracy Project:
http://www.accuracyproject.org/t-London,Jack-Fire.html
Registration for CAFE in the Classroom summer and fall workshops is
now open, with events scheduled in Oregon, Texas, Ohio, and Maine.
These popular workshops with The Sisters are designed to help
teachers integrate reading assessment and goal setting into their
student conferences and small groups. Participants each receive a
copy of the CAFE in the Classroom DVD/Workshop Kit, a $229 value.
You can access more details on the workshop and download a
registration form at this link:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/600.cfm
For Members Only
[Not yet a Choice Literacy member? Click here to become a member using our quick and secure enrollment form.]
You are not the boss of me! Andrea Smith uses this rallying cry
from the playground to rethink test prep with her 4th graders. In
this lesson progression, she helps her students think through the
reading strategies they will need to make sense of word problems on
upcoming state tests. This is the first of a three-part video
series:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/791.cfm
We're also continuing Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan's
three-part series, From Data Drowning to Data Wise. This week,
they give advice for how to create databases and graphic analyses
of assessment information that teachers can readily access and use:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/798.cfm
Nothing hooks kids on books more than a favorite character. Franki
Sibberson presents some new series books with intriguing characters
that will delight your students:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/799.cfm
Finally, we've posted a new Choice Literacy Cluster with a focus on
coaching teachers one-on-one. Featured authors include Gail
Boushey, Shari Frost, Karen Szymusiak, Tammy Mulligan, and Clare
Landrigan:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/800.cfm
That's all for this week!
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Jennifer Allen
