My newest book Beyond Retelling Toward Higher Level Thinking and Big Ideas written by Patricia Cunningham and Debra Lynn Smith is available now!
ISBN 10-0205542174 ISBN 13-978-0205542178 http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Retelling-Toward-Higher-Thinking/dp/0205542174 It is awesome for teaching THINKING THEME which is a specific strategy for teaching comprehension. It is nothing like a RAN chart or KWL, but it is similar in that it is a specific way of teaching students to think deeply about their thinking. Many schools, classrooms, and specific kids who have learned this strategy have raised their reading and writing scores on the high stakes test over the last several years. One district went from 3rd lowest in the county to third highest in one year! What I really appreciate about the strategy is that the students actually are learning about thinking while reading, not just a quick fix to a test taking skill! Do I sound excited? YES! I can't believe that my book is actually published. I also am excited because other teachers across the country can try what I have found to be so successful! By the way, I tried out the lessons in lots of different types of classrooms. We had awesome results in high poverty classrooms. I worked with a school that only had 10 percent free lunch. The scores here went up too! The results were also incredible with ELL kids also. Every subgroup went up. We are closing the gap and making a difference. My staff development involves training, modeling, coaching, and collaborative conversations with teachers as an author and consultant. I have also had the honor of presenting at International Reading Association the last several years including last year. I recently shared my book at the Arkansas IRA conference. I will be at Michigan's Reading Conference in March. Happy Thinking Theme! Deb Renner Smith _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
