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Ruth Shagoury
Ruth Shagoury (formerly Hubbard) is the Mary Stuart Rogers Professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education at Lewis & Clark College. Ruth coordinates the Department of Teacher Education's Langauge and Literacy Program, which leads to Oregon reading specialist certification. She works with students of all ages, from pre-school through adult learning situations, teaching in classrooms as well as conducting workshops across the United States and Canada. She is the author of twelve books, most recently Starting with Comprehension: Reading Strategies with the Youngest Learners with Andie Cunningham(Stenhouse, 2005). Her articles about literacy, research, and teaching have appeared in numerous journals.
Ruth's current research is focused on language and literacy acquisition with diverse student populations. Her writing for Choice Literacy this year will focus on two topics: working with English language learners, and assisting new teachers through school-based study groups.
To see Ruth in action with a young English Language Learner in a writing conference, click here.
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The Book Lovers Quilt Project
Katie Doherty and Ruth Shagoury
We wanted to give the students a chance to talk about these books they love - and we wanted to preserve their choices in a community quilt to hang proudly in the classroom in the fall as a way to transition to the next class with a gift of book recommendations from the previous year. . . .
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Engaged by the World: Maps, Globes, Reading, and Writing with Young Children
Kelly Petrin and Ruth Shagoury
The most important work I do in the classroom is unseen, and perhaps unrecognized by most: watching the children and noting their interests. What I want is a classroom where children are busy and happy--though "focused," "absorbed," or "engaged" are probably better words because there is a type of busy-ness that is not as productive, when children seem wild or bored. This work is vital because it is when children are actively engaged that they learn (they gain competence and skills). "Interest" or "interesting" is a tricky concept because it might seem like it lies wholly in the activity itself, but I find that it is actually an interplay between the activity and individuals. So every teacher will find that there are some students who are more difficult to get--or keep--engaged. . . .
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Drawing to Learn: Conferring with Kyle (VIDEO)
Ruth Shagoury
In this conference with six-year-old Kyle, Ruth Shagoury listens to him explain the stories and meaning behind his drawings during writer's workshop. Kyle's first language is Vietnamese, though English is also spoken in the home. . . .
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"I Used to . . . Now I"
Ruth Shagoury
The ongoing cycle of action and reflection are at the heart of our journeys as educators. We've been exploring questions like "What drew us to teaching in the first place?"; "What are the threads in our teaching lives and commitments that ground us and keep us teaching?"; "How has our teaching practice evolved and changed?" . . .
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Looking for Evidence: Seven Questions
Ruth Shagoury
I have created a list of "Seven Questions" to hold in my mind as I am assessing students' reading, helping me to look for evidence that will support continued growth. These questions are a beginning: I invite you to revise and add to them as you learn from colleagues and students at your school. . . .
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What's the Most Beautiful Thing You Know About . . .?
Melanie Quinn and Ruth Shagoury
We've been meeting each week this spring with a group of teachers pre-K through grade 12, all of us exploring literacy teaching in our classrooms around our teacher research questions. We've all been looking closely at one student in our class that we are intrigued or wondering about. This study group activity helped us look closely at our case studies with fresh eyes. . . .
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More Teaching Metaphors
Ruth Shagoury
Recently there have been a slew of articles published at Choice Literacy focused on teaching metaphors. Bread-baking, wood-working, and piano playing were all conversation starters, drawing out-of-school passions into our understanding of our teaching lives. I continual to draw parallels between my learning and that of students and colleagues. Specifically, I have been paying attention to what literacy lessons I can learn when I approach something that is difficult for me. . . .
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Root Metaphors for Teaching: Learning from Our Passions
Ruth Shagoury
To me, "breaking bread" together is the essence of community. The genuine conversations, the fond chat, the playful banter, that occur as people talk and eat seem to create different bonds. I love the word "companion" because it derives from the phrase "com pan" or "with bread," reflecting how we become friends as we share simple food together. When I'm baking bread or cooking for my students or family, I purposely slow down, and I'm very mindful and intentional about my creations. But until now, I haven't used the baking itself as a metaphor for my teaching. What skills and insights can I bring to my teaching that derive from the world of cooking? . . .
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Finding the Hook: Using Newspapers to Connect to High School Texts
Ruth Shagoury
One of our struggles has been to make explicit connections from the classroom curriculum themes and topics to the contemporary world and what interests our students. I decided to organize a workshop for the teachers to do some curriculum planning together, helping each other search for those links and make real connections for our students. . . .
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Conferring with Eddie (VIDEO)
Eddie is a six-year-old student who speaks Cantonese as his first language. In this conference with Ruth Shagoury, there is little English spoken, and yet there is much communication through gestures and shared history. . . .
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Team Sharing of Writing Curriculum Innovations (TEMPLATE)
Ruth Shagoury
Literacy coaches know that the most successful staff development provides lots of time for colleagues to share their teaching stories, questions, and ideas. Hearing what is happening in the classrooms down the hall or across town is generative--and prompts creative leaps to enliven our own inquiries and curricula. The January doldrums can be swept aside for fresh ideas. . . .
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Recipe for a Literary Tea
Ruth Shagoury
Teachers, literacy coaches, and specialists are often looking for that unique gift for teachers and friends - one with a literary touch to it. I created a "designer tea" for a celebration for a friend, and decided it would be a terrific gift for the teachers with whom I work. . . .
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Conferring with Leonela:
A Two-Day Progression (VIDEO)
Ruth Shagoury
Leonela is a six-year-old student whose first language is Spanish. In these videos of conferences with Ruth Shagoury filmed over two days, she makes connections between her drawing, writing, and experiences at home and in Mexico. . . .
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