The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
January 24, 2009
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Note to self: Never underestimate the power of fun in writer's
workshop.
With these words, Mary Lee Hahn begins her explanation of how she
transformed her fairly typical 4th grade letter-writing unit into a
rollicking good time through readings, discussions, and kids
touting in favorite letters from home.
If you're looking for a terrific way to break the routine of a
staff meeting, study group, or predictable opening activity in a college
course, consider letter writing. In all my years of teaching
adults, it was my favorite workshop activity - hands down. Nothing
brought out more congeniality and sense of community than writing
letters.
All you need is a nice selection of stationery, envelopes, stamps,
some elegant pens if you want to get fancy. The task is simple -
tell everyone they have 20 minutes to write a letter to a mentor
who influences their teaching to this day. You can even broaden
the activity to allow participants to write a letter to anyone
they've been meaning to catch up with (from family members to old
friends).
It's amazing how much it means to teachers to take the time to
remember who got us where we are (and why we were inspired to
teach in the first place). You'll be surprised at how many
participants will know the address of who is receiving the
letters off the top of their heads, since many of us came into
teaching through the influence of our parents or other close family
members. For those who need to look up addresses, leaving the
meeting with a stamped envelope insures the letters get sent.
In a world of twitters and texts, where even email is too slow for
many, there's something comforting, even instructive, about putting
pen to paper to express enduring truths and feelings. No matter
the recipient of your letter, it can't help but get you thinking
about the writing tasks we ask of students, as well as what will
endure from our teaching when they leave our classrooms.
This week, we've got Mary Lee's advice on how to energize a
letter-writing unit in your classroom or school, and much more as
always. Enjoy!
Brenda Power
Editor, Choice Literacy
Free for All
Mary Lee Hahn designs an integrated letter-writing unit that
captures her students' imaginations, and builds home-school
connections:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/819.cfm
Start planning ahead for February literacy activities with
ReadWriteThink's literary calendar. The calendar includes lots of
author birthdays and national literacy events. ReadWriteThink is a
joint venture of IRA, NCTE, and Thinkfinity:
http://www.readwritethink.org/calendar/index.asp?date=2/1/2009
The Planet Esme blog has a terrific booklist of children's
literature with a snow theme, if you're in a part of the world that
is currently buried in drifts:
http://tinyurl.com/c3g7uk
Are transitions a little rough in your classroom? Here are some
tips from Responsive Classrooms for working with students to smooth
them out:
http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/newsletter/19_4nl_5.html
Our apologies to subscribers who had trouble in some browsers
opening the Data Charts link from the "The Sisters" (Gail Boushey
and Joan Moser) last week. You can access the video of this
assessment display system for grade-level teams at this link:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/801.cfm
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
We've also posted our first look at our full slate of Choice Literacy summer and fall events, including new offerings on middle school reading workshops, word work, nonfiction in the intermediate grades, and dealing with assessment data:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/department22.cfm
For Members Only
[Not yet a member? Click here to learn more about our members-only content.]
In the primary grades, the emphasis in read alouds is often on
rhythm, rhyme, and engagement. Yet even young children can enjoy
books that make them ponder bigger themes. Franki Sibberson's new
booklist tackles read alouds that invite thoughtful conversation in
grades K-2:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/820.cfm
If you're looking for a "taking stock" activity with good energy
that fosters lots of reflection, you may be interested in
Cindy Hatt's "What I Know Now" staff meeting or study group
icebreaker:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/817.cfm
Andrea Smith confers with two girls who are working together over a
math word problem in this week's video. In the lesson sequence,
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 second of a three-part video series:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/807.cfm
Finally, we've posted a new Choice Literacy Cluster with a focus on
improving your literature circles and book clubs. Contributors
include Jennifer Allen, Kathy Collins, Shari Frost, and Franki
Sibberson:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/823.cfm
That's all for this week!
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Jennifer Allen
