The leaves are leaving now

Well, it's officially November, time for WKCE testing and challenges in interventions. I recently took a class on disciplinary literacy that based learning on Doug Buehl's new book, Developing Readers in the Academic Disciplines. If you are anyone introducing a textbook to students for any reason, please read this book. It goes into specifics as to what strategies each discipline uses most in texts. It is not an easy read, but it is worth the challenge and thinking that it takes to read it through.

So, perhaps this is where I'm meant to grow this year. I have never been "the expert" in academic literacy. I've gravitated towards emergent literacy. It would be great to be able to share something with content teachers beyond a graphic organizer that they have seen before. Time will tell where this shall lead...

Falling into Fall

So school has started again, and thus my position has changed. I am still the reading coordinator for our district, but now, besides having my first grade one-on-one readers, I also have intervention blocks at the middle school with sixth, seventh and eighth graders. I remember again why I both love and cringe at the middle school level. Luckily the love is stronger. I also have the opportunity to work with our high school English teachers to update their curricula with the common core standards and weave reading strategies along with it. It is challenging. I'm much stronger in emergent literacy than content, but perhaps this is the plan for me to grow this year. Perhaps NOT getting that job is in the big plan for my learning path.

Along the lines of reading, I have been enjoying The Help, The Eleventh Plague, and finally started Pride and Prejudice. An interesting combination to be sure, but it all goes well the the professional journals that keep piling up on me. So much to learn, so little time...

Waiting and waiting

I can't believe it is mid-May. I'm busy working on the data collection that I'm bound to do at school, volleyball summer seasons have started (yeah, we just had frost warnings on Monday) and hubby's softball is in full swing. Things are changing again at school and I really have no choice but to sit patiently and watch it unfold. (insert deep sigh here)

All I've been reading lately is reports and books that I've already read that don't require much thought. I started Laurell K. Hamilton's series again- Anita Blake is a tough chick! I have a stack of professional journals that I should read, but haven't the heart to tackle. Spring is in the air, we have 16 days of school left, and I'm waiting to hear if my section of Emergent Literacy is going to have enough students for me to hold class in June. Again, patiently waiting...

I guess you can say I've been reading a lot, if you count Facebook. Mostly, though, that's just an escape. Oh, and it lets me know that our 20th class reunion is this summer. Another thing to wait for!

A New Year, a New Start

So here we are, almost midway into the school year. Things are hopping and I'm having a difficult time balancing what I know is right with how to get others to see the same. It all boils down to students learning great things. Why this isn't obvious to some is beyond me.

So enough with the difficulties. On to the positives!

I've been reading Stieg Larsson's trilogy, The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. The first took quite a while to get into (about half of the book!) but the end was so worth it. It propelled me into the second book, which was an exciting and quick read. The third is a bit slower, but I think I'm hooked and convinced that it will end well.

Professionally I'm reading What Really Matters in Response to Intervention by Richard Allington. I'm convinced his model is what really is good for kids that struggle. It's not about ability grouping, but rather knowing students' abilities and working forward from that point. I hope every administrator in every school reads this book. I know I'll be pushing for mine to read it ASAP!

I have been having to take a break on YA books for a while, but I loved the sparkle in my father's eyes when he finally took my advice and started The Hunger Games trilogy. He read the first one in less than 2 days, and was calling me to beg for the second one that night. He had to tell me to hold on to it for a few days so he could get his barn cleaned. He was afraid he was going to get sucked in and get nothing done. Ha! My Mockingjay book was loaned out, so guess what he got for Christmas?? Yep! Now he can read it any time he feels like it.

And the school year is up and running...

and running, and running, and running! Wow. I can't believe we are 6 weeks in already.

Obviously I've read a lot of books since my last post. Most of them were even fun reads. I re-read the whole Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton. It's always entertaining, but NOT for children!! I also read a few free uploads on my Sony Reader. That is one of the best little gadgets I've ever gotten.

Professionally, I tackled No More "I'm Done." It reaffirmed what I already knew about writing- we should teach to love it, not to finish each and every piece. I am afraid that our new curriculum director isn't on the same page with that one, but we'll see how our timed prompts go...

Our kindergarten teachers and I also did a book study on Anne McGill-Franzen's Kindergarten Literacy book. We re-vamped our assessments, found our exactly what our students know, and are working hard to give them what they need where they need it. Now we just need to do it all again in the winter and spring to see what our little sponges picked up. :)

I also grabbed a few good titles from my YA shelf. If you haven't already read Freak the Mighty, I'd recommend it for sure. Anyone who has ever been teased or bullied can relate to this book. The main character and his new best bud are a very unlikely pair, but together they fit perfectly in the world they create. And of course I HAD to find and finish the Hunger Games trilogy. I couldn't put them down. Awesome!

So, school is pulling me back into the professional reading realm. Next I will dive into Charlotte Danielson's Enhancing Student Achievement. I am always looking for a fresh perspective. I am also hoping to get my early readers' times set for interventions. Then I'll feel like a complete teacher again!

Happy Summer!

Wow, has spring gone by fast, and summer is almost at it's midpoint. I can't even think where to begin!

I've been doing a lot of re-reading lately. Of course I had to read Eclipse again, but I also picked up a copy of the new novela, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. Bree is a newborn vampire in Eclipse whose character is around for about 5 pages, but the novela focuses on what brings her to the clearing where she surrenders but is later killed by the Voltori. This book gives an interesting glimpse into what newborn vampires are "supposed" to be in the Twilight world. Overall it was a good, quick read!

Another series I've started to re-read is the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton. This series is definitely for adults!!! I think the vampire link is what gets me again.

Professionally I've had to read a lot of articles, but I'm also still working through some books on professional learning communities, collaboration and cooperation, and of course teaching reading.

Overall, I've been keeping busy with family and friends and work. I've only gotten to go golfing 3 times since the course opened this spring. I hope that changes or my membership will so not be worth it!!

OOF! It's been a while!

Wow, has time flown! Time to catch up...

RIP to my aunt, Eleanor Sellers, who was part of the reason I went into teaching. She was a vivacious, honest person with a bit of goofy nut thrown in. On the 5-day whirlwind trip to her memorial, I finished 2 (yes 2!) books by Jodi Picoult- Handle with Care and The Tenth Circle. If you are a fan of relationship novels, these are for you. I especially enjoyed Handle with Care, I think because it was written as though the characters were writing letters to a child with brittle bone disease.

On the professional front, I have started a lot of books on writing and professional learning communities and honestly have not finished any of them yet. Besides, a review of What Research Has to Say About Fluency Instruction may be a bit dry, so I will forgo those texts.

I have found a very cute picture book, though- Rhyming Dust Bunnies!!! It's so very cute and could really help students learn about rhyming.

Currently, besides all the professional books, I have been trying to find the right next YA novel for me. It's been a while since I've gotten to read any of them!