JThompson                                         ELED 524 Language Arts Curriculum Grades One - Eight

Page last edited on Thursday, March 26, 2009 - Note: This webpage is like a blog - read from the bottom up.

Many folk came by our classroom on Thurs, 12/14 to pick up their Case Studies. These leftovers have been moved to my office, Room 129: Arnold, Carrera, Drake, Elmore, Hamilton, Judie, Lopez, LupPlace, Pruitt, Scott, Stanford, Townsend, & Turner. Check with the front office to pick yours up - or see me next semester - I always teach in Mesquite on Thursdays! It has been a pleasure! Now go read to some child.

Okay, here's the plan: we finished Lit Circles, thank-you all. Many of you also contributed poems, book lists, and predictable books, thanks. Everyone has 100% on this graded item. Now, I'm reviewing all the case studies, and will answer each of you individually with a question, a wonder statement, a point of interest or clarification. I will write to you by 7pm on Fri, Dec 8. Write to me if you don't hear from me by then.

Our makeup Lit Circle presentations will be on Thursday, December 7th, along with our Case Study.

Celebration of Literature Thursday, November 30 Feast of St Andrew December 7 Pancakes - Thompson & anybody else  Diller - Stenford, et al Dr Seuss - Arnold & friends Junie B Jones - Johnson band  Ron Clark - Marquis and others Munsch - Lopez team

Exam III - for Thursday, November 30 Feast of St Andrew December 7, bring evidence of accommodation for diversity in your teaching (e.g. translation of family materials).

http://www.coachdspeaks.com/

Developing Literacy in Second Language Learners

ExchangeEveryDay Google Launches Literacy Portal November 15, 2006   Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. It is a tool for daily life in modern society. It is a bulwark against poverty, and a building block of development… Kofi Annan Google, UNESCO, and LitCam have launched a new “Literacy Portal” on the web to help you find books, scholarly articles, and videos about literacy. The service also connects you to literacy organizations, blogs, and discussion groups around the world. Google Literacy (http://www.google.com/literacy/) allows users to actually search within books and articles to find information related to literacy. Your search for specific topics or keywords will reveal a list of related books, articles, or videos with snippets of copyrighted information and the ability to download non-copyrighted information in its entirety. You can also search for literacy organizations worldwide, using a clickable, zoomable map, and search for, create, or join literacy discussion groups and blogs. In an article for BBC News, Jessica Powell, European corporate communications manager at Google, said, "Our objective at Google is to organise the world's information and to make it accessible to everyone. We think the Internet has an important role to play in terms of accessing information." The service is available in English and German. (Read the BBC article) Contributed by Kirsten Haugen ExchangeEveryDay is a free service of Exchange Magazine. View this article online at ChildCareExchange.com.

Exam II: Match a real skill-development need in your case study w/ an appropriate strategy. Cite the source. Case study information: Current skill-development NEED: After discussing with your Case Study Buddy, how will you implement the strategy to meet the need? Due by email by Monday, November 6.

For November 2 - ReRead Gunning chapter 8 on Reading in the Content Areas. Read Gunning chapters 10 & 11 on approaches to teaching r&w. DUE: the last paper - a reflection of yourself as a Speaker. Exam II - we'll start in class and take home the rest. Match a real skill-development need in your case study w/ an appropriate strategy. Cite the source. Bring this information to class on Nov 2. It will be the first part of Exam II.

Lit Circle Update:  Diller. Literacy Work Stations Clark. Essential 55 Munsch. Collection - and audio Dr Seuss. The Good Doctor's Table Park. Junie B. Jones Growing Up

10/26 Lit Circle Update     11/2 Case Study Update "Any teacher who is interested in exploring new ways of teaching new words should read this book." (Education Book Reviews). Janet Allen's Words, Words, Words provides detailed vocabulary strategy lessons, graphic organizers, and research-based solutions for grades 4-12. Click here to read Chapter 1 online!   Kylene Beers

Reading Strategies Websites (suggested by class members) : Match a real skill development need in your case study w/ an appropriate strategy. Cite the source. Bring this information to class on Nov 2. It will be the first part of Exam II. http://homepages.wmich.edu/~whitten/champaign_project/reading.html www.mayer.cps.k12.il.us/Strategies_that_Work/STW.htm www.itrc.ucf.edu/forpd/strategies/archive.html www.sarasota.k12.fl.us/Sarasota/strattactics.htm www.bankstreet.edu/literacyguide/strategies.html www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001436.shtml http://teacherresourcecatalog.pwnet.org/docs/Reading%20Strategies%20for%20Content%20Teachers.pdf http://www.manatee.k12.fl.us/SITES/ELEMENTARY/PALMASOLA/gr2title.htm http://abcteach.com/directory/reading_comprehension/k2/fictional/ http://edhelper.com http://www.enchantedlearning.com/graphicorganizers/star/ http://www.mayer.cps.k12.il.us/Strategies_that_Work/STW.htm http://www.eduscapes.com/tap/topic73.htm http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/torganiz.htm   (wealth of graphic organizers)  http://www.readwritethink.org/

For Thursday, Oct 19, read Gunning, chapter 7 Complete the handout 11 - three levels of questions. Bring Collections of Reading strategies (textbooks, resource guides, thinking maps, etc). If you have websites, send them ahead, by email to Josh_Thompson@tamu-commerce.edu Comprehension Activity .pdf Comprehension Booklet .pdf Comprehension Definitions .pdf Comprehension Questions .pdf Comprehension Questions .ppt www.Lexile.com read about Lexile in Gunning, pp. 41 & 67

Comprehension - Gunning, chapters 6 & 7 Option A - Read the chapters, come to class Oct 12 & 19. Everyone is expected to come to class on Thursday except Collins, Edwards, Jimenez, Matthews, Townsend & Wright.  Option B - participate in Comprehension Online Activities These six people enrolled in the online activities, and are expected to continue to fulfill their class objectives online: Collins, Edwards, Jimenez, Matthews, Townsend & Wright.

Oct 5 - Vocab lesson - read chapter 5, bring 5 words on cards Tutoring Gr3-5 .pdf Why Study Latin Write a well formed essay, in three stages, evaluating yourself as a communicator: 2. As a writer of comprehensible reports Using your first writing assignment, assess your self as a writer of comprehensible reports.  TAKS/rubrics/writing.pdf http://www.tea.state.tx.us/student.assessment/taks/rubrics/index.html

Emergent Lit, Phonics Phonological Awareness Continuum .pdf Phonological Awareness definitions .pdf Phonological Awareness Activity Cards .pdf Quick Phonics Screener .pdf Graduate students are urged to vote for their graduate student representative to the Graduate Council.  An election for master's level and doctoral level student representatives will be held by the Graduate School Monday, September 25 through Sunday, October 1st.  Students who are currently enrolled may vote on-line at the Graduate School Webpage. For additional information or if you are unable to vote on-line call Ms. Louise Skinner at 903-886-5162. Phi Delta Kappa chapter 101 is hosting a conference at the Metroplex center on Saturday, October 28 from 9 AM to 12PM. Usually between 75 and 100 people attend this. This is an invitation for graduate students who would like to present at this conference to submit a title and short description of about 100 words for consideration for breakout sessions.  These sessions last about 40-45 minutes. This is an opportunity that might fulfill a residency requirement or enhance one’s resume. Please forward this to your graduate students that might be interested. Send the description along with name, phone numbers and email address to cvornberg@gmail.com   Inquiries are welcome.

Read Gunning chapter 2 - Bring Assessment materials (TPRI, DIBELS, DRA, etc)

For Thursday, September 14 Read Gunning chapters 1 & 4, and Fillmore & Snow http://faculty.tamu-commerce.edu/jthompson/Resources/FillmoreSnow2000.pdf Bring Introduction to your Case Study.

9/7 - We read Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst. We ended with a reading from The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter, by Vivian Paley. 1. Your first assignment (due Thursday, Sept 7) is to read chapter 8 in the Gunning (2005) textbook, and write reflectively (about one typewritten page) about your approach to reading technical texts. Read the intro questions on page 361 for framework. What questions could you ask your peers that could help you improve your writing? Did you understand? Can you relate? do you have another point of view? Who is my target audience? How close did this paper hit the mark? Does it flow? So what? Is it interesting?  2. Identify a Case Study for the purpose of advancing that student in some area of his or her reading development during this semester. What constitutes a good case study? Challenge. Proximity. Objective, room for growth and development, Data – thick, rich descriptions of important events, milestones, activities, Documentation – let us get a good view of the child and her growth through your intervention. On Sept 14, bring documentation introducing the Case Study Participant (I suggest a three-panel poster board, like a Science Fair poster). Identify the child by using a pseudonym, and list demographics (e.g., age, ethnicity, native language, home life, gender, siblings, extended family, interests & hobbies). Tell why you chose this participant for your case study (challenge, interest, proximity). Finally, describe the data (what’s your plan for establishing a baseline). What are you reading these days? Increasing our familiarity with good literature improves our teaching. Bring a favorite book (any level) to class. I'm bringing Vivian Paley (1991) The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter. www.amazon.com Literature Circle Ideas: author study, novel, thematic units, Dr Seuss/Theodore Geisel, digital books, books on tape, reading whole books online, historical, series (Junie B Jones, Babysitters Club, Harry Potter), Ron Clark "The Essential 55."

Required Texts: Gunning, Thomas G. (2005) Creating Literacy Instruction for All Students (5th ed). Pearson Education ISBN 0205410367 Publisher’s websites: www.ablongman.com/gunning  or - for a more direct route: http://wps.ablongman.com/ab_gunning_creating_5 Fillmore & Snow. (2000). What teachers need to know about language. http://faculty.tamu-commerce.edu/jthompson/Resources/FillmoreSnow2000.pdf NAEYC & IRA. (1998) Learning to read and write: Developmentally appropriate practices for young children. http://naeyc.org/about/positions/PSREAD0.asp http://naeyc.org/about/positions/pdf/PSREAD98.PDF IRA (1999) Adolescent Literacy: A Position Statement. http://faculty.tamu-commerce.edu/jthompson/524/IRAadolescent.pdf Additional Resources: Teacher Reading Academies http://texasreading.org/utcrla/ http://www.readingacademies.org/

1. Your first assignment (due Thursday, Sept 7) is to read chapter 8 in the Gunning (2005) textbook, and write reflectively (about one typewritten page) about your approach to reading technical texts. Read the intro questions on page 361 for framework.