Hi Everyone! Well, I devoured *The Book Whisperer* as did my colleagues in 7th and 8th grade language arts. We are attempting to implement some of her ideas this year. We will be:
-encouraging our students to read 30 books this year -inviting outside readers to read aloud to students -attempting to create a culture of being "nuts" about books--I have a huge tree (with squirrels) that students will place leaves on as they complete each of their books -allowing students 10 minutes of uninterrupted reading time at the beginning of each language arts class -reading ourselves for those 10 minutes -consuming vast numbers of middle school novels so we can put the "right book" into the right hands at the right time (my goal is 50) By the way, I just read the most *wonderful* book in search of terrific titles for my students. It is called *Leo and the Lesser Lion* by Sandra Forrester. It takes place in Depression-era Alabama. The main character is a spunky girl named Mary Bayliss Pettigrew. Near the beginning of the novel her beloved older brother, Leo, drowns. Bayliss breaks her back in the accident. While she recovers she decides she must have been saved for a special purpose and decides to become a nun (much to everyone's dismay, including her teachers at Sacred Heart). She and her family try to deal with their grief while taking on two little girls from a local (overcrowded) orphanage. My description makes it sound depressing, but really, most of the book is not. Forrester's writing pulls you right in and brings Bayliss' world to life. Best, Kim 6th grade language arts On Fri, Aug 28, 2009 at 7:30 PM, Bill Ivey <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi! > > With some of us started back in classes, and others (including me) getting > ready to start, I can't help wanting to hold on to parts of summer break. > So > - I'm wondering what all you did this summer that was meaningful to you. > > For me, it's two main things. I spent a great deal of time down in Chatham, > Virginia, my "second home" where my wife has housing at her school and > which > I have grown to love, and my friends have said I'm becoming southern. I > think in this case, they mean slowing down a bit, taking my time, focusing > more on being in the moment and making connections with people and my > environment rather than rushing through something in order to get to the > next. I would love to keep that perspective going through the year. > > The other thing I want to mention was a more traditionally professional > development kind of activity, reading a book entitled "The Female Brain." > Teaching at an all-girls school, I knew a fair amount of what the book had > to say about female-brain wiring and its effect on relationships and > learning, but I only knew bits about the post-natal effect of hormones on > wiring and on behaviors. It was illuminating, and helps me not only in my > teaching but also in my social justice work. > > How about the rest of you? > > Take care, > Bill Ivey > Stoneleigh-Burnham School > _______________________________________________ > The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive > _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive
