Middle School Math Materials for Common Core

Here is a link to PBS resources for Common Core math in the middle school.  Enjoy!

Happy reading and computing,
Christine

The Teashop Girls

 Over the past few years, I've had some students choose The Teashop Girls by Laura Schaefer as their independent reading book.  I've always been impressed with the vocabulary as students read aloud to me and discuss the book during our weekly conferences.  With words like "blissful," "Zenlike," "amidst," "precariously," 'deranged," and "luxuriantly"  appearing in the first chapter, I figured I should give the book a try.  Besides, how could a book which touts the obvious superiority of tea over coffee, be bad?
After reading it, I think it is a fine choice for independent reading.  I'm not sure it is literary enough for a classroom text, as I don't see enough opportunities for the deep analysis called for by the Common Core, but there are definite teachable moments.  Aside from the challenging vocabulary in context, there are also epigraphs at the start of each chapter.  These epigraphs offer opportunities to discuss primary sources and what they reveal about the time period, as well as the chance to make connections between the epigraph and the central idea of the chapter.  There are also delightful recipes and tea-service tips, as well as copies of vintage ads for tea.
So... curl up with some scones and your favorite brew, and enjoy!

Happy reading,
Christine

Be in a National Magazine: Voice Your Opinion on Opting-Out!

Opting out is in, but does it work?
More parents are choosing to opt out of high-stakes standardized testing for their kids. But what impact does not participating really have—and is it really the best way to implement change?

Answer this question here in the comment section, or email me at
bookgirlblogger(at)gmail(dot)com, and your opinion could appear in a national magazine.

Happy reading and writing,
Christine

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck

This weekend, my children and I finished reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck.  Filled with middle school humor and Greg Heffley's continued antics, this book is just as perfect for reluctant readers as is the rest of the series.  Read it with a boy who thinks he hates reading and you'll both be clutching your bellies from laughing so hard.  For my other book picks for reluctant boy readers, click here.

Happy reading,
Christine

Common Core Focus on the Text

The current issue of AFT's American Educator contains this interesting piece on close reads.  While the author acknowledges the importance of prior knowledge in the comprehension of a text, he cautions teachers to be selective in their pre-reading practices.  Additionally, he points out the inherent hazards of  blindly following the Common Core push for asking text-dependent questions.  Are the text-dependent questions that we are asking worthwhile?  Are they promoting higher level thinking according to Bloom's Taxonomy?  For that matter, are the texts themselves worthy of exploration in the classroom? 

Happy reading,
Christine

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh - Teaching Tool

This must have been my fantasy summer.  I'm usually not a fan of the fantasy genre, but this summer, many of the middle grade and young adult books that I read were fantasies.  And one of my favorite fantasies was Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh.
This Newbery winner is an enchanting tale and a great teaching tool for illustrating the importance of world-building in any novel.  This is a clear example of setting driving the story in much the same way that geography shapes history.  (Mrs. Frisby must move from her winter home if she and her children are to survive.)  Starting with the author's description of the winter home on page four, the relevance of setting to the action is evident throughout this book.
It is easy to speculate that this 1975 publication has probably launched many a school year and lay the foundation of lessons on the literary element of setting.  However, this classic is also very timely in the way in which it lends itself to the Common Core Standards adopted in 45 states.  After reading this novel, students can write an argument for or against the use of animals in research and experiments. (Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.)  Now that is writing that can stand the test of time!

Happy reading,
Christine
Literacy Connections Blog

Common Core Test Results

Over the next few days there will be plenty of media buzz over test scores in New York State.  These stories draw viewers, sell ad time and sell newspapers.  Ka-ching!!

As a writer I was impressed by the choice of the word, “plummet” in one headline I saw.  As a teacher looking at the same headline, I hoped the editor who came up with that vivid verb was educated in a public school where he or she not only learned the power of precise words and concise text, but was inspired to pursue a career in journalism.  Because as educators, that is what we aspire to do; to educate, inform, inspire, and yes, adapt to a rapidly changing world. 

The Common Core Standards are a change for the 45 states which have adopted them, this year’s assessments are a change, and APPR is a change.  Should all of these changes have happened in one academic year?  Debatable, but the fact remains that all of these changes did happen at once, so where do we go from here?

In the June issue of Parenting: School Years,  I wrote an article entitled, Great Expectations in which Michael Keany, co-founder of School Leadership 2.0, Kate Gerson, Sr. Regents Fellow, and New York State Education Commisioner, John B. King, Jr. all offered tips to parents to better prepare children for the rigor of the new standards.    We know that we can’t achieve anything without parental support and involvement, but what else can teachers do moving forward?  How can we reconcile these disappointing results with all of the hard work that we know we did last year?

The first instinct might be to blame the test.  We can fairly question the validity of the most recent tests as accurate measures of a child’s college and career readiness.  We can continue to complain about the way in which these changes were rolled out, but what is done is done.  How do we as individual classroom teachers help students thrive in a less than perfect system? 

First we have to embrace the goals of the Common Core Standards themselves.  The goal of increased rigor and more challenging tasks is a lofty one.  How do we make it practicable?

Long Island commuters are all-too-familiar with the phrase, “Mind the Gap,” and since I really started researching the Common Core Standards in earnest back in 2011, that phrase kept coming to mind.  “Mind the Gap.”  First, I was trying to identify gaps between the old New York State Standards and the new Common Core Standards.  What would I need to give my 6^th graders to ready them for the new standards that they weren’t prepared for by the old 5^th grade standards?  Now, with the state releasing these disappointing test scores, I’m “Minding the Gap” again.  What was the gap between what we prepared for and what the tests revealed?  More importantly though, I’m “Minding the Gap,” between test prep, APPR, and the real work of teachers to educate, inform, inspire, and yes, adapt to a rapidly changing world.  For it is the real work of educators, that we don’t want to fall in the gaps.

 

Happy reading and teaching,

Christine

Literacy Connections Blog

What I'm Reading Now: Rick Riordan

In preparation for teaching the new 6th grade module next year, I am reading The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan.  Fantasy usually isn't my thing, but this book is great, and ties in perfectly with the sixth-grade social studies curriculum here in New York. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series, and I can't wait to see the movie Sea of Monsters, sequel to The Lightning Thief, when it comes out in August.
Yesterday's New York Times Book Review contained this piece on Rick Riordan's newest work, the short story, The Son of Sobek.  Available as an e-book, this story unites the characters from the Percy Jackson series and the Kane Chronicles series.  Greek mythology together with Egyptian mythology ... sounds perfect for sixth grade!
More on this module as I attempt to implement it in the fall...

Happy reading,
Christine
Literacy Connections Blog

Coliseum Lesson

Yesterday's Newsday contained this article on the two finalists for the redevelopment of the Nassau Coliseum.  If I were teaching summer school in Nassau County, I would use this informational text as a multi-day lesson for my students.  After a close read of the text, we would complete a compare/contrast activity, and culminate with a written argument in which students defend their choice of the better option for the county.  To launch debate, I might ask students if it is right to allow MSG to have such a vice grip on New York sports.  When it is so expensive for families to go see professional sports, should MSG be allowed to control this arena too?  What about the fact that the Ratner group brought the Islanders from Nassau to the Barclays Center?  When families want to see any New York sports, they will continue to have to do so at the terms (prices) set forth by very powerful companies.

Happy reading,
Christine
Literacy Connections Blog   

Help a Writer and Improve Education

I saw this on  an education writing blog:

NEED YOUR HELP ON AN ARTICLE

Hi all...this is a bit off topic, but whom better to reach out to than a group of educators?

I am working on an article for Teaching Tolerance. The article will look at how to effectively and appropriately  introduce and teach about slavery in K-5 classrooms. This topic emerges in  light of the February 2013 incident of a teacher having students re-enact a slave auction in the classroom. The article will look at how teachers might  be generally unprepared to address the topic and also how the common core  standards provide a narrow view of what the teaching of slavery should be.

This story looks at the particular challenges faced by early-grade teachers (e.g., misordered standards, adapting a difficult topic to be age-appropriate) and then offers implementable solutions to those challenges.


I am interested in learning from elementary school teachers how they deal with this topic in a sensitive, appropriate fashion, and would like to be able to chat with curriculum directors or state education department reps in places like Mississippi or Alabama, to learn more about strategy, approach...and also, if there are any model programs out there, great.

You can contact me at mi@micheleisrael.com.

Thanks ahead of time.

Michele

 

I hope you can help this writer.  Her contact info is above.

 

Happy reading,

Christine

Literacy Connections Blog