Leveled Books

Most of you know that I think we've gone too far with leveled books in our classrooms. Don't get me wrong...I think they are a great resource, especially for beginning readers. (I was just reading a few with my first grader.) But, too often, the thing that was meant to be a tool for teachers, has become a competition for our kids. By encouraging kids to move from level to level to level, they lose the purpose for reading and the love of reading. Not much different from the SRA's of my childhood. (I was stuck in the blue box for a LONG time!) Lisa Koch has a great new article about her son's experience with leveled books on Choice Literacy's website. I wrote one about my daughter a while back too, that talks about the variety of books that kids need in their reading lives. I just worry that we've gone too far and taken out so many of the great, quality picture books that don't "fit" the level formula.

Poetry Friday: Ode to my spine

The Snake
by William Matthews

A snake is the love of a thumb
and forefinger.
Other times, an arm
that has swallowed a bicep.

The air behind this one
is like a knot
in a child’s shoelace
come undone
while you were blinking.

It is bearing something away.
What? What time
does the next snake leave?

This one’s tail is ravelling
into its burrow—
a rosary returned to a purse.
The snake is the last time your spine
could go anywhere alone.

*****

I love those last two lines so much, here they are again:

The snake is the last time your spine
could go anywhere alone.

NCTE addresses NCLB

NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) has posted their recommendations for No Child Left Behind. You can read the statement on the NCTE website.

Holiday Wish List

I love that Liz B. at at "A Chair, A Fireplace and A Tea Cozy" posted her book wishlist! What a very clever idea.

So, I got thinking about the books that I would like as Chrismtas presents. (My husband seems to find this idea amusing since he can't imagine that there are books out there that I want that I don't just buy! But, there are a few.)
I just realized that Philippa Gregory's new book is coming out this week. So, that is my number 1 book wish. I LOVED THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL. So I am very excited about this new one--THE BOLEYN INHERITANCE. It is on the top of my holiday wish list.

It got me thinking that it would be fun for all of us bloggers to post a book or two that we hope to get as holiday gifts this year. It would be fun to read what everyone is hoping to read in early 2007!

Mary Lee, you can go first:-)

365 Penguins

Have you seen this new book? 365 PENGUINS by Jean-Luc Fromental. LOVE it! I actually purchased it before I had even read it. It was such a fun-looking book that I knew I had to have it. It is really big. There are fun penguins on the frong. It has bright colors--well one bright color (orange). The pictures are engaging. When I got it home, I read it. I was pleasantly surprised to find a fun, simple story. The story includes some math problems as the family tries to figure out what to do with all of the penguins in their house. A nice addition at the end is some info on global warming and the harm it is doing to animals. A great book and so many ways to bring it into the classroom. I read it aloud to my students for fun and they loved it. I think it is one of those books for all ages.

New Holiday Book

I am loving the new book called THE BUMP ON SANTA'S NOGGIN by Jeffrey Schatzer! I didn't know the author but my daughter received it as a present. It is quite good and quite funny. Santa gets a bump on his head and can't remember what his job is. People around the community give Santa clues so that he'll remember his job, but he keeps making incorrect guesses. The pictures--photos of Santa dressed as all sorts of things--are pretty hilarious. Santa finally does get it right. I have favorite holiday stories and always have trouble finding new ones that I love. This story made me laugh. It would definitely make a great Christmas present. As a teacher, I can see young children jumping in to help Santa figure out who he is. It would definitely make for a fun read aloud. I don't know of his other book but I will certainly check it out now.

The Cybils Picture Book List

The Cybils fiction picture book list is up for anyone interested. 111 titles! Such a great year for picture books:-) Whether you are interested in possible award winners or just excited about great new books for kids, check out the link. Lists are also posted for other genres on the Cybils site. (I am just especially excited about the picture book category since I am part of the nominating committe!) Thanks again to Kelly Herold of Big A little a who has been coordinating so much of this! (The list is posted on her site too!)

Poetry Friday

Morning
by Billy Collins

Why do we bother with the rest of the day,
the swale of the afternoon,
the sudden dip into evening,

then night with his notorious perfumes,
his many-pointed stars?

This is the best—
throwing off the light covers,
feet on the cold floor,
and buzzing around the house on espresso—

maybe a splash of water on the face,
a palmful of vitamins—
but mostly buzzing around the house on espresso,

dictionary and atlas open on the rug,
the typewriter waiting for the key of the head,
a cello on the radio,

and, if necessary, the windows—
trees fifty, a hundred years old
out there,
heavy clouds on the way
and the lawn steaming like a horse
in the early morning.

NCTE News

The NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) Convention was great! Like Mary Lee, I went to lots of great sessions. According to Chicken Spaghetti, lots of us were there! It is a great convention for fans of kid lit! We also heard Bruce Degan and Joanna Cole talk about the 20th anniversary of The Magic School Bus. It is pretty amazing that it is 20 years old! They were great speakers and the 20th anniversary book looks like it might be my favorite in the series. The Books for Children Lunch is one of my favorite sessions every year. We get a great speaker (children's author, we get to sit at a table with a children's author AND we get free children's books! Sharon Taberski, author of On Solid Ground, was the opening speaker for "A Day of Early Childhood". It was a great talk about appropriate comprehension instruction in grades K-2. 

Lots of talk about No Child Left Behind and the harm it is doing to children. I went to a session and heard Susan Ohanian. She has an interesting website that I would suggest visiting. Lots of interesting things going on around this NCLB stuff. She has several initiatives and lots of info on her site. In the name of children, lots of bad things are going on that are getting in the way of student learning. My favorite adult author, Ann Patchett spoke on Thursday evening but I missed her. There were also lots of other sessions with children's authors. I tend to go to teaching sessions but for those of you interested in children's books, you could technically go to 3-4 days' worth of author sessions. I heard that the ALAN (The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents) sessions were amazing on Monday and Tuesday but I couldn't stay for those. Next year, NCTE is in New York City! I would highly recommend it!

More News From Nashville

My brain is overwhelmed.

Instead of attending sessions that sounded interesting because the presenters were talking on topics near and dear to my heart, I've been going to sessions that are pushing me way out onto the edge of my learning curve. Because of that, I am drowning in information that needs to be absorbed and sorted and linked to what I know. In other years at this point in the conference, I would be giddy with the obvious possibilites for applying new ideas to what I already do in my classroom. This year, I feel like I need to go back and completely reinvent my classroom.

Examples: Bud Hunt (aka Bud the Teacher), Bill Bass and Greg VanNest talking about blogging and podcasting with their students. How am I going to get started blogging with my 5th graders? Scott McCloud talking about comics/graphic novels/manga. A whole body of literature I'm just beginning to read. How will I ever catch up? An amazing 11 year-old speaking passionately and knowledgably about social networking on Club Penguin. What aspects of my students' lives are invisible to me?