Choose the following link to read more about Shakespeare’s influence:
Transmediation is the process of transforming writing into another medium such as poetry, music, or art. This process can inspire students see their writing in a new light. Using apps to facilitate transmediation is a fun and rewarding activity to enhance students’ creativity during the revision process. Choose the link below for more information:
Whether you are a teacher or student, writing skills are essential to your success. With the rise of the information age and the increased use of emails, blogs and social networks, the ability to write clear, correct English is more important than ever.
Daily Writing Tips publishes a new article each day, with topics such as grammar, punctuation, spelling and vocabulary.
The Daily Writing Tips Blog may be helpful for your students. Choose the link below for daily writing tips:
Why do we spend professional learning time on creating a writing continuum rather than simply “working on the teaching of writing.” Anne Davies, Sandra Herbst and Brenda Augusta’s response to that question is that by building a continuum collaboratively, we are working on writing!! Choose the link below to read Brenda Augusta’s blog post:
The average high school girl may find that books are a great way to escape the pressure of school. This time is also a make or break when it comes to developing a passion and love for reading. These 7 classic books will spark their curiosity to explore wonderful characters from world’s unknown to them until now.
“We need to balance pleasure with challenge, increasing volume for all readers and setting up an environment in our classroom that manages kids as they choose books, set goals, and develop a reading habit. We have to consider how to teach reading skills through the deep analysis of texts, both short and long, and learn to confer with and assess readers in ways that will lead them to more complex texts. Last, we have to have the courage to lead in classrooms, in our schools, and in our communities as we commit to develop readers, writers and thinkers…” p. 8 Book Love by Penny Kittle
Book Love by Penny Kittle is available to sign out at CRC.
Please choose the link below for the Saskatchewan Curriculum ELA 9, 10, 20 and 30 Resource lists:
Choose the link below for Penny Kittle’s suggested reading list:
Poetry In Voice is a recitation contest for high school students in Canada.
Students memorize and recite poems chosen from among the hundreds in the online anthology. By learning poems by heart, students develop lifelong relationships with poetry while improving their language, public speaking, and memorization skills.
The contest begins in the classroom. Top-scoring students, selected from across the country, win a trip with their teachers to the National Finals in the spring. More than $75,000 in travel and prizes are awarded each year.
A student can compete in one of three contest streams: English, Bilingual, or French:
The League of Canadian Poets is the professional organization for established and emerging Canadian poets. Founded in 1966 to nurture the advancement of poetry in Canada, and the promotion of the interests of poets, it now comprises some 700 members…. The League strives to promote equal opportunities for poets from every literary tradition and cultural and demographic background. Choose the link below:
Knowing how to get the right book in the hands of a reluctant reader is the key to helping children tap into all reading has to offer.
1. Looking Beyond Levels:
It is extremely important that the books reluctant readers pick up interest them. They must be taught how to find books related to their interests or that feature characters they can relate to.
2. Go Beyond Traditional Books:
Let them peruse a graphic novel, listen to an audio book, check out an animated version of a book online or read a non-fiction book with a lot of pictures.
3. Connecting it to the Curriculum:
If you are studying butterflies, read a book that involves butterflies and incorporate it into you lessons. This may encourage your students to read more.
4. Talk about Reading:
Let your students know that even you struggle with reading sometimes and share what you do when you encounter a book you don’t like or talk about your process for finding a book you do like.
“Encourage my students- this school year I resolve to slow down and appreciate each of my student’s accomplishments…”
As the new school year approaches what do you resolve to do?
Choose the link below to read new school year resolutions made by parents and students.
The number of books a child finishes is the most significant statistic of all; it represents and predicts so much about their academic future.
Nancy Atwell, winner of the 2015 Global Teacher Prize,
I recently attended the 1st Annual Summer Literacy Institute. Penny Kittle presented at the conference. She teaches middle years and secondary ELA in New Hampshire, U.S.A. She said that her school had one of the highest drop out rates in the country. Since she and her colleagues have become living, breathing mentor texts for their students, their drop out rate is now 0!
Penny spoke about how brain research has shown that people are developing:
“bi-literate brains…the superficial way we read during the day is affecting us when we have to read with more in-depth processing… Humans…seem to be developing digital brains with new circuits for skimming through the torrent of information online….This alternative way of reading is competing with traditional deep reading circuitry developed over several millenia.”(Maryanne Wolf)
For this reason, we need to build and prepare kids with the deep, slow reading they get from reading books.
In her presentation Penny talked about taking student apathy head on. First, by recognizing why students don’t read. Second, by giving kids books that are right for them, along with time to read and time for regular response to their thinking. These simple steps can create a pathway to satisfying reading that leads to more challenging literature and ultimately, a love of reading.
Penny’s Independent reading essentials:
-Relationship with the student is positive and encouraging meeting them where they are.
-Classroom library and book talks in a wide variety of texts.
-Time to read everyday and time to confer regularly.
-Choice in what to read, when to abandon a book, and when to reread a book.
-The student sets regular goals for improvement.
This time of year is very busy, but after your summer holiday and a well deserved break consider looking at her resources. I purchased three of her books at the conference: Book Love, Write Beside Them and My Quick Writes. Her books are available to sign out if you would like. I will leave a copy of her handout in your mailbox. The link to her website is below: