new posts in all blogs
Viewing Blog: SSPP Reads, Most Recent at Top
Results 1 - 25 of 124
.png.jpg)
Reading Portal for Kindergarten through Eighth Grade
Statistics for SSPP Reads
Number of Readers that added this blog to their MyJacketFlap:
Summer is just around the corner and many summer school programs are geared up to accept applications. Plan ahead and make sure your student is enrolled in the best program for his or her needs. SSPP Reads offers this list
as a courtesy to our readers only and recommends you speak with your child’s teacher for recommendations.
Summer is just around the corner and many summer school programs are geared up to accept applications. Plan ahead and make sure your student is enrolled in the best program for his or her needs. SSPP Reads offers this list
as a courtesy to our readers only and recommends you speak with your child’s teacher for recommendations.
By: SSPP Reads,
on 3/13/2013
Blog:
SSPP Reads
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Science,
Common Core State Standards,
Edutopia,
CCSS,
Interactive Learning,
International Reading Assoc,
ASCD,
Marzano,
Educational Leadership,
Edudemic,
ISTE,
Learn Zillion,
NETS,
Smart Exchange,
TED,
STEM,
Add a tag
The recent issue of Educational Leadership (March 2013 Vol. 70 No. 6) is chock-full of articles that challenge the way we think about learning and technology. I was especially drawn to Marc Prensky‘s article, Our Brains Extended. He asks,
Is the human brain still the smartest thing on the planet? When enhanced by technology, it is. . . Wise integration of our evolving and powerful technology demands that we rethink our curriculum.
And, I agree with him. I think the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are a stab in that direction. Prensky challenges us,
We need to start teaching our kids that technology is, in a great many cases, the best way to learn something, not just a new way to do old things. Would you maintain an expensive horse in the barn in case your car breaks down?
Ask yourself: Are students engaged? Marzano‘s research tells us that student engagement is strongly influenced by what teachers do in class. I’m not talking gadgets, but 21st century education. So, here we go:
Related blogs:
Graphic from Flickr Creative Commons by Henriksent
By: SSPP Reads,
on 3/13/2013
Blog:
SSPP Reads
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Common Core State Standards,
Edutopia,
CCSS,
Interactive Learning,
International Reading Assoc,
Marzano,
TED,
ASCD,
Educational Leadership,
Edudemic,
ISTE,
Learn Zillion,
NETS,
Smart Exchange,
Science,
STEM,
Add a tag
The recent issue of Educational Leadership (March 2013 Vol. 70 No. 6) is chock-full of articles that challenge the way we think about learning and technology. I was especially drawn to Marc Prensky‘s article, Our Brains Extended. He asks,
Is the human brain still the smartest thing on the planet? When enhanced by technology, it is. . . Wise integration of our evolving and powerful technology demands that we rethink our curriculum.
And, I agree with him. I think the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are a stab in that direction. Prensky challenges us,
We need to start teaching our kids that technology is, in a great many cases, the best way to learn something, not just a new way to do old things. Would you maintain an expensive horse in the barn in case your car breaks down?
Ask yourself: Are students engaged? Marzano‘s research tells us that student engagement is strongly influenced by what teachers do in class. I’m not talking gadgets, but 21st century education. So, here we go:
Related blogs:
Graphic from Flickr Creative Commons by Henriksent
By: SSPP Reads,
on 3/6/2013
Blog:
SSPP Reads
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Science,
American History,
Women's History Month,
Lifelong Learners,
STEM,
FOSS,
International Women's Day,
BASP,
LHS,
NWHP,
Add a tag
March 8 was declared International Women’s Day in 1911 (see International Women’s Day 1911-2011) and has evolved in the US into a month-long celebration honoring the contributions of women to the human story. This year, the National Women’s History Project (NWHP) theme for Women’s History Month is Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (see this blog’s posts: Science Technology Engineering Math– Stem , Sally Ride 1951-2011, and Developing Literacy page for STEM links).
About 20 years ago, I participated in the Bay Area Science Project (BASP) through Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science. It was a fabulous six-week teacher workshop conducted at St. Mary’s High School in Berkeley. We covered lots of STEM topics, and, explored the FOSS and GEMS programs. A focus of the workshop was to bring hands-on science into the schools. One of the lead instructors brought in a lovely science themed calendar demonstrating one small way to include science on a daily basis in the classroom. Marie Curie was the only woman celebrated in the calendar. I commented about the lack of gender equity in the calendar and was surprised to hear the instructor declare, “Well, there really aren’t any of note.” This was Berkeley! I was motivated to find and share the legions of women scientists who had not received public acclamation for their work. Fast forward 20 years, and I was delighted to read about the STEM theme of Women’s History Month.
NWHP honors 18 STEM women.
The 2013 Honorees represent a remarkable range of accomplishments and a wide diversity of specialties including medicine, robotics, computer programming, atmospheric chemistry, architecture and primatology. These women’s lives and work span the centuries of American history and come from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. We are proud to honor them and all women seeking to advance these important fields.
Drum roll please:
- Hattie Elizabeth Alexander (1901–1968) Pediatrician and Microbiologist
- Marlyn Barrett (1954) K-12 STEM Educator
- Patricia Era Bath (1942) Ophthalmologist and Inventor
- Elizabeth Blackwell (1821–1910) Physician
- Katharine Burr Blodgett (1898–1979) Physicist and Inventor
- Edith Clarke (1883–1959) Electrical Engineer
- Rita R. Colwell (1934) Molecular Microbial Ecologist and Scientific Administrator
- Dian Fossey (1932–1985) Primatologist and Naturalist
- Susan A. Gerbi (1944) Molecular Cell Biologist
- Helen Greiner (1967) Mechanical Engineer and Roboticist
- Grace Murray Hopper (1906–1992) Computer Scientist
- Olga Frances Linares (1936) Anthropologist and Archaeologist
- Julia Morgan (1872–1957) Architect
- Louise Pearce (1885–1959) Physician and Pathologist
- Jill Pipher (1955) Mathematician
- Mary G. Ross (1908–2008) Mechanical Engineer
- Susan Solomon (1956) Atmospheric Chemist
- Flossie Wong-Staal (1946) Virologist and Molecular Biologist
Graphic Rosie Tech from Claremont Port Side.
By: SSPP Reads,
on 3/6/2013
Blog:
SSPP Reads
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Science,
American History,
Women's History Month,
Lifelong Learners,
STEM,
FOSS,
International Women's Day,
BASP,
LHS,
NWHP,
Add a tag
March 8 was declared International Women’s Day in 1911 (see International Women’s Day 1911-2011) and has evolved in the US into a month-long celebration honoring the contributions of women to the human story. This year, the National Women’s History Project (NWHP) theme for Women’s History Month is Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (see this blog’s posts: Science Technology Engineering Math– Stem , Sally Ride 1951-2011, and Developing Literacy page for STEM links).
About 20 years ago, I participated in the Bay Area Science Project (BASP) through Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science. It was a fabulous six-week teacher workshop conducted at St. Mary’s High School in Berkeley. We covered lots of STEM topics, and, explored the FOSS and GEMS programs. A focus of the workshop was to bring hands-on science into the schools. One of the lead instructors brought in a lovely science themed calendar demonstrating one small way to include science on a daily basis in the classroom. Marie Curie was the only woman celebrated in the calendar. I commented about the lack of gender equity in the calendar and was surprised to hear the instructor declare, “Well, there really aren’t any of note.” This was Berkeley! I was motivated to find and share the legions of women scientists who had not received public acclamation for their work. Fast forward 20 years, and I was delighted to read about the STEM theme of Women’s History Month.
NWHP honors 18 STEM women.
The 2013 Honorees represent a remarkable range of accomplishments and a wide diversity of specialties including medicine, robotics, computer programming, atmospheric chemistry, architecture and primatology. These women’s lives and work span the centuries of American history and come from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. We are proud to honor them and all women seeking to advance these important fields.
Drum roll please:
- Hattie Elizabeth Alexander (1901–1968) Pediatrician and Microbiologist
- Marlyn Barrett (1954) K-12 STEM Educator
- Patricia Era Bath (1942) Ophthalmologist and Inventor
- Elizabeth Blackwell (1821–1910) Physician
- Katharine Burr Blodgett (1898–1979) Physicist and Inventor
- Edith Clarke (1883–1959) Electrical Engineer
- Rita R. Colwell (1934) Molecular Microbial Ecologist and Scientific Administrator
- Dian Fossey (1932–1985) Primatologist and Naturalist
- Susan A. Gerbi (1944) Molecular Cell Biologist
- Helen Greiner (1967) Mechanical Engineer and Roboticist
- Grace Murray Hopper (1906–1992) Computer Scientist
- Olga Frances Linares (1936) Anthropologist and Archaeologist
- Julia Morgan (1872–1957) Architect
- Louise Pearce (1885–1959) Physician and Pathologist
- Jill Pipher (1955) Mathematician
- Mary G. Ross (1908–2008) Mechanical Engineer
- Susan Solomon (1956) Atmospheric Chemist
- Flossie Wong-Staal (1946) Virologist and Molecular Biologist
Graphic Rosie Tech from Claremont Port Side.
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! Happy Reading Celebration Sts. Peter & Paul School! The big day is here and we will join students across America to celebrate reading. This is NEA’s 16th year sponsoring Read Across America. Once again we have more than 40 parent volunteer readers coming to school to share their love of reading and read aloud to small groups of students, from Pre-K to Eighth Grade.
The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.
― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!
Our Pre-K kicked off the festivities with a Dr. Seuss Birthday Parade at Morning Assembly on Monday, February 25. A free raffle of Cat in the Hat hats on February 28, one for each class, fed the growing excitement. On our big day, Friday, March 1, parent volunteer readers join us at School, read aloud to our small groups, then at lunch, all the students sing Happy Birthday to Dr. Seuss and are treated to birthday cake. Here are some reading links of recommended books. So, grab your hat and read with the Cat!
Copyrighted logo courtesy of TM & © 1997 Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. and NEA. Cat in the Hat image TM & © 1957 Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. All Rights Reserved.
By: SSPP Reads,
on 2/28/2013
Blog:
SSPP Reads
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Add a tag
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! Happy Reading Celebration Sts. Peter & Paul School! The big day is here and we will join students across America to celebrate reading. This is NEA’s 16th year sponsoring Read Across America. Once again we have more than 40 parent volunteer readers coming to school to share their love of reading and read aloud to small groups of students, from Pre-K to Eighth Grade.
The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.
― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!
Our Pre-K kicked off the festivities with a Dr. Seuss Birthday Parade at Morning Assembly on Monday, February 25. A free raffle of Cat in the Hat hats on February 28, one for each class, fed the growing excitement. On our big day, Friday, March 1, parent volunteer readers join us at School, read aloud to our small groups, then at lunch, all the students sing Happy Birthday to Dr. Seuss and are treated to birthday cake. Here are some reading links of recommended books. So, grab your hat and read with the Cat!
Copyrighted logo courtesy of TM & © 1997 Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. and NEA. Cat in the Hat image TM & © 1957 Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. All Rights Reserved.
February 21, not a particularly notable day, thought I to myself. Day before George Washington’s birthday (February 22, 1732). So, what possibly could have happened?
What a surprise! Here are a few gems from the Library of Congress American Memory Today in History, Arts and Entertainment site This Day in History, and Historyorb.com.
On February 21:
- In 1972, Richard M. Nixon arrived in China for a historic eight-day official visit. He was the first US president to visit the People’s Republic of China since its founding in 1949.
- The National Association for Stock Car Racing, NASCAR, was founded in 1948.
- The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx was published 1oo years before NASCAR in 1848.
- The Washington Monument was dedicated on this date in 1885
- In 1431, England began the trial against Joan of Arc.
- The first known sewing machine was patented in the US by John Greenough in Washington, D. C. in 1842.
- The World’s Fair in San Francisco, officially known as the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, opened in 1915 celebrating the successful completion of the Panama Canal in 1914 and a shout out to the world that Frisco was back in business after the devastating Great San Francisco Earthquake April 18, 1906.
- The first American Indian newspaper in the US, Cherokee Phoenix, was published in 1828.
- And, as we get ready for the World Champion San Francisco Giants 2013 Season, we remember that the then NY Giants played the Chicago White Sox in the first exhibition night game in 1931.
Come back next week as we kick off National Women’s History Month. Graphic from Flickr Creative Commons license courtesy of izik.
By: SSPP Reads,
on 2/20/2013
Blog:
SSPP Reads
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Add a tag
February 21, not a particularly notable day, thought I to myself. Day before George Washington’s birthday (February 22, 1732). So, what possibly could have happened?
What a surprise! Here are a few gems from the Library of Congress American Memory Today in History, Arts and Entertainment site This Day in History, and Historyorb.com.
On February 21:
- In 1972, Richard M. Nixon arrived in China for a historic eight-day official visit. He was the first US president to visit the People’s Republic of China since its founding in 1949.
- The National Association for Stock Car Racing, NASCAR, was founded in 1948.
- The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx was published 1oo years before NASCAR in 1848.
- The Washington Monument was dedicated on this date in 1885
- In 1431, England began the trial against Joan of Arc.
- The first known sewing machine was patented in the US by John Greenough in Washington, D. C. in 1842.
- The World’s Fair in San Francisco, officially known as the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, opened in 1915 celebrating the successful completion of the Panama Canal in 1914 and a shout out to the world that Frisco was back in business after the devastating Great San Francisco Earthquake April 18, 1906.
- The first American Indian newspaper in the US, Cherokee Phoenix, was published in 1828.
- And, as we get ready for the World Champion San Francisco Giants 2013 Season, we remember that the then NY Giants played the Chicago White Sox in the first exhibition night game in 1931.
Come back next week as we kick off NEA’s Read Across America, and then the following week for National Women’s History Month. Graphic from Flickr Creative Commons license courtesy of izik.
Black History Month 2013 commemorates two significant events in American History, the 150th anniversary of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, and the 50th Anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, D.C. and Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech.
Black History Month began in 1926, largely through the efforts of Dr. Carter G. Woodson. February was selected because it is in February that we celebrate the birthdays of two great men, President Abraham Lincoln and Abolitionist Frederick Douglass. An interesting project is the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project by Northern Illinois University. Also, you might want to check out Stanford University’s The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute.
Books of interest compiled by Mary Schulte of the Kansas City Star:
- I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes, illustrated by Bryan Collier
- Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald by Roxane Orgill, illustrated by Sean Qualls
- Desmond and the Very Mean Word by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams, illustrated by A. G. Ford
- H.O.R.S.E.: A Game of Basketball and Imagination by Christopher Myers
- The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis
- Courage Has No Color, The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America’s First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone
- I Have a Dream by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., paintings by Kadir Nelson
- A Splash of Red, the Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant
- Unspoken, A Story from the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole
- Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America by Andreas Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
Related Articles:
Graphic from Perris Valley Historical & Museum Association, Perris CA
By: SSPP Reads,
on 2/6/2013
Blog:
SSPP Reads
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Add a tag
Black History Month 2013 commemorates two significant events in American History, the 150th anniversary of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, and the 50th Anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, D.C. and Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech.
Black History Month began in 1926, largely through the efforts of Dr. Carter G. Woodson. February was selected because it is in February that we celebrate the birthdays of two great men, President Abraham Lincoln and Abolitionist Frederick Douglass. An interesting project is the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project by Northern Illinois University. Also, you might want to check out Stanford University’s The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute.
Books of interest compiled by Mary Schulte of the Kansas City Star:
- I, Too, Am America by Langston Hughes, illustrated by Bryan Collier
- Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald by Roxane Orgill, illustrated by Sean Qualls
- Desmond and the Very Mean Word by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams, illustrated by A. G. Ford
- H.O.R.S.E.: A Game of Basketball and Imagination by Christopher Myers
- The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis
- Courage Has No Color, The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America’s First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone
- I Have a Dream by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., paintings by Kadir Nelson
- A Splash of Red, the Life and Art of Horace Pippin by Jen Bryant
- Unspoken, A Story from the Underground Railroad by Henry Cole
- Hand in Hand: Ten Black Men Who Changed America by Andreas Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney
Related Articles:
Graphic from Perris Valley Historical & Museum Association, Perris CA
I teach at Sts. Peter and Paul Salesian School, a Catholic school in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Catholic Schools Week is celebrated this year from January 27 through February 2, 2013. The mission of the Department of Catholic Schools in San Francisco is a commitment to
- the mission of the Church by providing quality learning communities rooted in academic excellence and the Catholic tradition for the children entrusted to our care.
- The development of the whole child, regardless of race, culture or economic background, is achieved through the collaboration of our school staff, parents, clergy, religious and the parish community.
- Our faith-centered, child-focused, family sensitive education fosters within our children a strong personal relationship with God, prepares them for leadership within the Church and the world and empowers them to live the Gospel values of love, peace, justice, respect and service in their everyday lives.
Contact us for a tour and see us in action. Our Open House is Tuesday, January 29, 2013, at 6:00 pm.
By: SSPP Reads,
on 1/27/2013
Blog:
SSPP Reads
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Add a tag
I teach at Sts. Peter and Paul Salesian School, a Catholic school in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Catholic Schools Week is celebrated this year from January 27 through February 2, 2013. The mission of the Department of Catholic Schools in San Francisco is a commitment to
- the mission of the Church by providing quality learning communities rooted in academic excellence and the Catholic tradition for the children entrusted to our care.
- The development of the whole child, regardless of race, culture or economic background, is achieved through the collaboration of our school staff, parents, clergy, religious and the parish community.
- Our faith-centered, child-focused, family sensitive education fosters within our children a strong personal relationship with God, prepares them for leadership within the Church and the world and empowers them to live the Gospel values of love, peace, justice, respect and service in their everyday lives.
Contact us for a tour and see us in action. Our Open House is Tuesday, January 29, 2013, at 6:00 pm.
Educational Leadership Vol. 70 No. 4, Common Core Now What? we’ll take a look at Math and the Common Core. One of my all time favorite educators is Marilyn Burns, a math guru who knows math and how to teach kids. A classic math book I highly recommend to all math students and teachers is The I Hate Mathematics! Book, originally published in 1975. But I digress. Ms. Burns pens the article Go Figure: Math and the Common Core.
The CCSS for Math takes a new look at our old standards and challenges teachers (requires teachers actually)
to strengthen students’ numerical reasoning and mental math skills. There is a two-part structure to CCSS Math: Standards for Mathematical Practice and Standards for Mathematical Content, both equally important.
Mathematical Practice is the same across all grades while Mathematical Content is particular for each grade. There are eight CCSS Standards for Math Practice:
- Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
- Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
- Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
- Model with mathematics.
- Use appropriate tools strategically.
- Attend to precision.
- Look for and make use of structure.
- Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
The Math Content standards define what students should understand and be able to do. There are clusters and domains, all related, and specific to each grade level. There is no scripted program to follow, but teachers must build on what the student has learned.
Ms. Burns has developed the Math Reasoning Inventory (MRI), an online tool that helps teachers assess their students’ numerical proficiency. It focuses on the numerical skills and understandings required by CCSS for Math for students entering middle school. The MRI website provides, free of charge, complete instructions and support for administering these assessments with a library of over 80 videos that show students solving problems.
As with all the CCSS, the focus in Math is to “help all students develop enough mathematical expertise to be prepared for college or the workplace.”
Related articles:
Graphic from Flickr Creative Commons License Evelyn Saenz
Educational Leadership Vol. 70 No. 4, Common Core Now What? we’ll take a look at Math and the Common Core. One of my all time favorite educators is Marilyn Burns, a math guru who knows math and how to teach kids. A classic math book I highly recommend to all math students and teachers is The I Hate Mathematics! Book, originally published in 1975. But I digress. Ms. Burns pens the article Go Figure: Math and the Common Core.
The CCSS for Math takes a new look at our old standards and challenges teachers (requires teachers actually)
to strengthen students’ numerical reasoning and mental math skills. There is a two-part structure to CCSS Math: Standards for Mathematical Practice and Standards for Mathematical Content, both equally important.
Mathematical Practice is the same across all grades while Mathematical Content is particular for each grade. There are eight CCSS Standards for Math Practice:
- Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
- Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
- Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
- Model with mathematics.
- Use appropriate tools strategically.
- Attend to precision.
- Look for and make use of structure.
- Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
The Math Content standards define what students should understand and be able to do. There are clusters and domains, all related, and specific to each grade level. There is no scripted program to follow, but teachers must build on what the student has learned.
Ms. Burns has developed the Math Reasoning Inventory (MRI), an online tool that helps teachers assess their students’ numerical proficiency. It focuses on the numerical skills and understandings required by CCSS for Math for students entering middle school. The MRI website provides, free of charge, complete instructions and support for administering these assessments with a library of over 80 videos that show students solving problems.
As with all the CCSS, the focus in Math is to “help all students develop enough mathematical expertise to be prepared for college or the workplace.”
Related articles:
Graphic from Flickr Creative Commons License Evelyn Saenz
This week, another look at the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Dr. Nancy N. Boyles in the Educational Leadership article, Closing in on Close Reading, Vol. 7 No. 4, states,
We can’t wait until middle school to teach students to read closely. Three practices bring close reading to the lower grades. . . 1) use short texts, 2) aim for independence, 3) focus on observing and analyzing.
When I read Dr. Boyle’s article, I realized that close reading wasn’t new, but a re-newel of analytic reading, “Close reading means reading to uncover layers of meaning that lead to deep comprehension,” this uncovering of layers allows the reader to examine the meaning of the parts and relate the reading selection to other texts.
Close, analytic reading stresses engaging with a text of sufficient complexity directly and examining meaning thoroughly and methodically, encouraging students to read and reread deliberately. (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, 2011, p. 7)
Some believe that reading instruction for the past ten years has focused too heavily on strategies rather than the text. Here are Dr. Boyle’s three recommendations to engage elementary students in close reading.
- Use Short Texts–not to abandon longer texts, but studying shorts texts is helpful if we want to enable students with a wide range of reading levels to practice closely reading demanding texts. Traditional literature lends itself to close reading, such as folktales, legends,, myths, fables, short stories, poetry, and scenes from plays. Children’s listening comprehension outpaces their reading comprehension in the early grades, so being read to as well as independent reading can build knowledge.
- Aim for Independence–go beyond ho-hum questions and ask a sequence of questions that will lead students more deeply into a text. Teach students to ask the questions so that students can take what they learn from the study of one text and apply it to the next text they read.
- Focus on Observing and Analyzing–see whether students have noticed the details of a passage and can recount those details. If students can’t paraphrase the basic content of a passage, how can they dig for its deeper meaning?
Related articles:
Graphic from stunningbooks.wordpress.com
By: SSPP Reads,
on 1/16/2013
Blog:
SSPP Reads
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Add a tag
This week, another look at the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Dr. Nancy N. Boyles in the Educational Leadership article, Closing in on Close Reading, Vol. 7 No. 4, states,
We can’t wait until middle school to teach students to read closely. Three practices bring close reading to the lower grades. . . 1) use short texts, 2) aim for independence, 3) focus on observing and analyzing.
When I read Dr. Boyle’s article, I realized that close reading wasn’t new, but a re-newel of analytic reading, “Close reading means reading to uncover layers of meaning that lead to deep comprehension,” this uncovering of layers allows the reader to examine the meaning of the parts and relate the reading selection to other texts.
Close, analytic reading stresses engaging with a text of sufficient complexity directly and examining meaning thoroughly and methodically, encouraging students to read and reread deliberately. (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, 2011, p. 7)
Some believe that reading instruction for the past ten years has focused too heavily on strategies rather than the text. Here are Dr. Boyle’s three recommendations to engage elementary students in close reading.
- Use Short Texts–not to abandon longer texts, but studying shorts texts is helpful if we want to enable students with a wide range of reading levels to practice closely reading demanding texts. Traditional literature lends itself to close reading, such as folktales, legends,, myths, fables, short stories, poetry, and scenes from plays. Children’s listening comprehension outpaces their reading comprehension in the early grades, so being read to as well as independent reading can build knowledge.
- Aim for Independence–go beyond ho-hum questions and ask a sequence of questions that will lead students more deeply into a text. Teach students to ask the questions so that students can take what they learn from the study of one text and apply it to the next text they read.
- Focus on Observing and Analyzing–see whether students have noticed the details of a passage and can recount those details. If students can’t paraphrase the basic content of a passage, how can they dig for its deeper meaning?
Related articles:
Graphic from stunningbooks.wordpress.com
By: SSPP Reads,
on 1/6/2013
Blog:
SSPP Reads
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Add a tag
Educational Leadership, a monthly publication of ASCD, takes on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in its recent issue, Common Core: Now What?, Vol 70, No.4. Let’s start with Timothy Shanahan‘s piece, The Common Core Ate My Baby and Other Urban Legends, where I am lifting information presented by Mr. Shanahan.
Legend 1: The new standards prohibit teachers from setting purposes for reading or discussing prior knowledge. There is no ban on prereading in CCSS, but the shape and scope of reading lessons have changed. The new standards required students read more challenging texts and engage in close reading in which rereading is a hallmark. Letting kids give the text a try without overpreparing is not unreasonable if you can add needed information back into the equation between a first and second read. Preparation should b e brief and focus on providing tools students need to make sense of the text on their own.
Legend 2: Teachers are no longer required to teach phonological awareness, phonics, or fluency. There’s nothing concerning the foundational skills in CCSS that contradicts No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The CCSS document is organized a bit differently than usual standards documents. CCSS begins with reading comprehension and ends with foundations, but, no matter the order. The new standards require as much early emphasis on decoding and fluency as in the recent past.
Legend 3: English teachers can no longer teach literature in literature classes. CCSS involve more than reading novels, stories, poems, and plays and interpreting literary devices. Informational text is accorded equal footing with literary text in the elementary grades, and literature only makes up 25% of the reading comprehension standards in grades 6-12 (but that’s because informational, social studies, and science texts are all covered by CCSS). 70% of all older student school reading will focus on nonliterary texts, but that is in all subjects, not just reading and English language arts. Teachers in content areas will need to play a larger role in teaching the literacy of those subjects; the majority of texts in English classes will still be novels, short stories, poems, and plays.
Legend 4: Teachers must teach students at frustration levels. There is an increased emphasis on challenging text. CCSS indicate specific levels of text difficulty that students must be able to handle by the end of each school year, considerably higher than current levels. But, CCSS does not raise text levels for Kinder or Gr 1. Raising beginning text levels is not a good idea because it’s more likely to slow student progress in mastering decoding than to improve students’ reading. Students should have an array of reading experiences in the same way that a long-distance runner has a varied training schedule that intersperses different distances and speeds. Over the course of a school year (and even a school day) students would confront texts they could read easily with little teacher input as well as those in the upper bands specified by the standards. Over time, the average level of text difficulty should get more demanding.
Legend 5: Most schools are already teaching to the new standards. Not true. We are going to have to make some real changes in our practices as mentioned above–reading lessons will need to shift away from an emphasis on prereading to greater attention to rereading and follow up; texts will be considerably harder so teachers will need to become more adept at motivating students to read and at teaching students to handle the rigors of demanding text without telling them what the texts say; there will need to be a greater emphasis on history and science texts in the upper grades, and on information texts at all grade levels. Writing instruction will need to focus more on writing about the ideas in texts and less on just putting personal thoughts into words. Reading will involve more critical analysis and synthesis of information from multiple texts.
The CCSS are significantly higher that what we’re used to. Currently, about 70% of students meet state standards and enter higher education, but more than 40% of these successful students require remediation when they get to college, most of those needing remediation fail. New assessments are now under development that are aligned to CCSS and will provide students, parents, and communities with a clearer idea of how students are actually doing. Do we wait or make changes now?
Timothy Shanahan ([email protected]) is a distinguished professor of urban education, director of the Center for Literacy, and chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois, Chicago.
Resources for Understanding the Common Core:
Next week, “close reading.”
Graphic from ASCD Educational Leadership, Vol. 70, No. 4
By: SSPP Reads,
on 1/6/2013
Blog:
SSPP Reads
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Add a tag
Educational Leadership, a monthly publication of ASCD, takes on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in its recent issue, Common Core: Now What?, Vol 70, No.4. Let’s start with Timothy Shanahan‘s piece, The Common Core Ate My Baby and Other Urban Legends, where I am lifting information presented by Mr. Shanahan.
Legend 1: The new standards prohibit teachers from setting purposes for reading or discussing prior knowledge. There is no ban on prereading in CCSS, but the shape and scope of reading lessons have changed. The new standards required students read more challenging texts and engage in close reading in which rereading is a hallmark. Letting kids give the text a try without overpreparing is not unreasonable if you can add needed information back into the equation between a first and second read. Preparation should b e brief and focus on providing tools students need to make sense of the text on their own.
Legend 2: Teachers are no longer required to teach phonological awareness, phonics, or fluency. There’s nothing concerning the foundational skills in CCSS that contradicts No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The CCSS document is organized a bit differently than usual standards documents. CCSS begins with reading comprehension and ends with foundations, but, no matter the order. The new standards require as much early emphasis on decoding and fluency as in the recent past.
Legend 3: English teachers can no longer teach literature in literature classes. CCSS involve more than reading novels, stories, poems, and plays and interpreting literary devices. Informational text is accorded equal footing with literary text in the elementary grades, and literature only makes up 25% of the reading comprehension standards in grades 6-12 (but that’s because informational, social studies, and science texts are all covered by CCSS). 70% of all older student school reading will focus on nonliterary texts, but that is in all subjects, not just reading and English language arts. Teachers in content areas will need to play a larger role in teaching the literacy of those subjects; the majority of texts in English classes will still be novels, short stories, poems, and plays.
Legend 4: Teachers must teach students at frustration levels. There is an increased emphasis on challenging text. CCSS indicate specific levels of text difficulty that students must be able to handle by the end of each school year, considerably higher than current levels. But, CCSS does not raise text levels for Kinder or Gr 1. Raising beginning text levels is not a good idea because it’s more likely to slow student progress in mastering decoding than to improve students’ reading. Students should have an array of reading experiences in the same way that a long-distance runner has a varied training schedule that intersperses different distances and speeds. Over the course of a school year (and even a school day) students would confront texts they could read easily with little teacher input as well as those in the upper bands specified by the standards. Over time, the average level of text difficulty should get more demanding.
Legend 5: Most schools are already teaching to the new standards. Not true. We are going to have to make some real changes in our practices as mentioned above–reading lessons will need to shift away from an emphasis on prereading to greater attention to rereading and follow up; texts will be considerably harder so teachers will need to become more adept at motivating students to read and at teaching students to handle the rigors of demanding text without telling them what the texts say; there will need to be a greater emphasis on history and science texts in the upper grades, and on information texts at all grade levels. Writing instruction will need to focus more on writing about the ideas in texts and less on just putting personal thoughts into words. Reading will involve more critical analysis and synthesis of information from multiple texts.
The CCSS are significantly higher that what we’re used to. Currently, about 70% of students meet state standards and enter higher education, but more than 40% of these successful students require remediation when they get to college, most of those needing remediation fail. New assessments are now under development that are aligned to CCSS and will provide students, parents, and communities with a clearer idea of how students are actually doing. Do we wait or make changes now?
Timothy Shanahan ([email protected]) is a distinguished professor of urban education, director of the Center for Literacy, and chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois, Chicago.
Resources for Understanding the Common Core:
Next week, “close reading.”
Graphic from ASCD Educational Leadership, Vol. 70, No. 4
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen certainly proclaims the jubilation of Christ’s birth, and yet, so many of us struggle to “‘Console my people, console them,’ says your God,” (Isaiah 40:1) during this emotional time of year. Perhaps it’s time to slow down and talk with our children about the importance they hold in our lives.
Here are a few links and books that might soothe the soul and bring comfort and calmness to the hectic buildup to Christmas.
Originally posted 12/07/2011; updated 12/24/2012; graphic from Flickr Creative Commons License by Silver Tusk
By: SSPP Reads,
on 12/24/2012
Blog:
SSPP Reads
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Add a tag
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen certainly proclaims the jubilation of Christ’s birth, and yet, so many of us struggle to “‘Console my people, console them,’ says your God,” (Isaiah 40:1) during this emotional time of year. Perhaps it’s time to slow down and talk with our children about the importance they hold in our lives.
Here are a few links and books that might soothe the soul and bring comfort and calmness to the hectic buildup to Christmas.
Originally posted 12/07/2011; updated 12/24/2012; graphic from Flickr Creative Commons License by Silver Tusk
The fourth Sunday before Christmas marks the first Sunday of Advent. This year it is December 2. Advent is from the Latin adventus meaning coming. It’s not just the shopping days until Santa’s arrival, but a time of preparation observed by Christians celebrating the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, and awaiting the return of Christ. In anticipation of the Nativity, children prepare Advent Wreaths, mark the days using an Advent Calendar, sing Christmas Carols, and decorate their homes. The symbol of Light representing Jesus is of particular significance and is found on our Christmas trees, in the lighted candles of the Advent Wreath, and on public display on houses, department stores, high rises, and tree lined streets.
The carols that tell the Christmas Story have special meaning and are well worth teaching our children. Singing the songs gives children another way to learn the meaning of Advent and Christmas. Singing also generates mirth and good cheer.
The first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the Catholic Liturgical Year. The Catholic Company has a list of Christmas children’s books, Amazon also carries a huge selection of Christmas and Advent themed children’s books.
Not to be missed is the Third Annual Crèche Festival of the Diocese of Oakland’s Cathedral of Christ the Light will take place December 14-16, 2012.
Originally posted 11/28/2010,updated 11/30/2011 and 12/5/2012 on SSPP Reads. Graphic courtesy of AHarden, Flickr Creative Commons License.
By: SSPP Reads,
on 12/5/2012
Blog:
SSPP Reads
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Add a tag
The fourth Sunday before Christmas marks the first Sunday of Advent. This year it is December 2. Advent is from the Latin adventus meaning coming. It’s not just the shopping days until Santa’s arrival, but a time of preparation observed by Christians celebrating the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, and awaiting the return of Christ. In anticipation of the Nativity, children prepare Advent Wreaths, mark the days using an Advent Calendar, sing Christmas Carols, and decorate their homes. The symbol of Light representing Jesus is of particular significance and is found on our Christmas trees, in the lighted candles of the Advent Wreath, and on public display on houses, department stores, high rises, and tree lined streets.
The carols that tell the Christmas Story have special meaning and are well worth teaching our children. Singing the songs gives children another way to learn the meaning of Advent and Christmas. Singing also generates mirth and good cheer.
The first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the Catholic Liturgical Year. The Catholic Company has a list of Christmas children’s books, Amazon also carries a huge selection of Christmas and Advent themed children’s books.
Not to be missed is the Third Annual Crèche Festival of the Diocese of Oakland’s Cathedral of Christ the Light will take place December 14-16, 2012.
Originally posted 11/28/2010,updated 11/30/2011 and 12/5/2012 on SSPP Reads. Graphic courtesy of AHarden, Flickr Creative Commons License.
By: SSPP Reads,
on 11/28/2012
Blog:
SSPP Reads
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Add a tag
The Lexile© Measure, while not new, is a recent addition to our standardized test data from the Iowa Tests.
Lexiles are the most widely adopted reading measure in use today. All major standardized reading tests and many popular instructional reading programs report student reading scores in Lexiles. For example, the Terra Nova, the Iowa Tests, the Stanford Achievement Test Series,and the Metropolitan Achievement Tests, among others, report student reading on the Lexile scale. (Scholastic Professional Paper)
Our students and their families recently received their Lexile range, a three digit number followed by an “L”. According to both the Lexile© website and a professional paper published by Scholastic Books, Lexiles: A System for Measuring Reader Ability and Text Difficulty A Guide for Educators by MetaMetrics, Inc. :
Lexiles provide a common scale for measuring text difficulty and student reading ability. As the most widely adopted reading measure in use today, Lexiles offer a scientific approach that facilitates learning and instruction by improving interpretability and informing educational decisions and instructional strategies. Using Lexiles, it is possible to match students with appropriate texts and track student reading ability over time using a common scale.
So, what do you do with your child’s Lexile measure? These measures inform us about text difficulty, not the literary or informational content. You can use a Lexile measure as a tool to match your student with a text that is at his/her reading level. It is never meant to harness your child’s eagerness to learn, but to offer a guide to access books your child can read. Check out these helpful links to find a book:
For contrasting views of the Lexile© Measure you might want to explore:
Graphic from Orange County Public Schools (Florida), Lake Nona High School
View Next 25 Posts
[...] Students First? Tech First? (ssppreads.wordpress.com) [...]