Monday, May 2, 2011

AdLit.org: Adolescent Literacy - Classroom Strategies

This site is a great resource for before, during and after reading strategies in the secondary classroom. Not only are there pdf or Word links to templates, the page indicates which strategies are useful for developing skills in vocabulary, comprehension and writing.

AdLit.org: Adolescent Literacy - Classroom Strategies

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Big Thinkers: James Paul Gee on Grading with Games

An Arizona State University professor sees a bright future for video games in the learning process -- in and out of school.

 

Link to Gee's video

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Testing Text Readability

If you use the Flesch-Kincaid reading check on Microsoft Word and need a refresher on interpreting the results, see this site for details.
http://www.readabilityformulas.com/flesch-reading-ease-readability-formula.php

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Engagement & Motivation - Woodland Elementary

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

There's no "I" in BLT.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I started the school year with the best intentions to keep a literacy blog and then, suddenly, it's January! Ah well... Let's just chalk it up to the fact that I've been very busy getting to know my new colleagues, stretching myself as a coach, and leaving no stone unturned in an effort to discover exactly how DOES one go about leading a school-wide literacy campaign?
Admittedly, over the last few months, I have found myself in a tug o' war at times between literacy and... well, lots of other demands of the job. However, after spending a couple of days at a literacy training with my principal, I realized that my time spent "getting my feet wet" and immersing myself in a new school culture was coming to an end. In reflecting on the many books and articles I've read lately, conversations with veteran teachers, and information I've gathered from observations, I found an answer to my question.
The answer is ONE does not lead a school-wide literacy campaign--MANY lead it. Now, I'm anxiously awaiting the first meeting of the North View Building Literacy Team. When I sent out an email asking for a response from those interested in being on the team, I did not know how many responses I'd receive. In just a few days, about 1/3 of the staff at NVJH expressed an interest in joining the BLT! My goal is to keep posting about our progress here on the blog, so here's to hoping I can get back here before June!