"The Boost" Literacy Builders Newsletter

Week of August 25, 2011

Issue No.26

The Boost

In This Issue

Keeping Connected

Sharing

... And Collaborating

Quick Links

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Literacy Builders Blog

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Quick Links

By now, all of the students in the United States have returned from their summer vacations and launched the 2011-2012 school year. My hope is that it is off to an amazing start. In this issue of The Boost, I tried to combine practical with inspirational. I hope you have a great year and that you enjoy this issue!

Kim Yaris

Executive Director
Literacy Builders

Keeping Connected

NY Times Op-Ed columnist Charles Blow tells an inspiring story about a teacher that made a difference in his life and rallies the charge to bring respect back to the most honorable profession in existence: teaching.

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." William Butler Yeats

Watch the opening reel from the 2010 ISTE Conference for other quotes to inspire the beginning of the 2011-2012 School Year.

What's FREE FOR NOW?

Because we realize that once a month may not be enough of a mini lesson "boost," we are rolling out a new mini lesson freebie program called Free for Now. Throughout the month, we will be posting different mini lessons and mini lesson collections and keeping you updated via Facebook and our website homepage. Be sure to check back often so that you can download the lessons that are relevant to your teaching!

Sharing...

Reading Workshop

Getting students back into the habit of reading is an important charge in September. Visit our Readership page on Teaching with Literature for suggestions and ideas for talking to students about making reading an integral part of their daily lives!

Great news on the home reading front: more parents than ever are reading aloud to their children! Help keep the momentum going and consider sharing this article with your parents at back-to-school night.

Writing Workshop

Kate Messner talks about her writing process and the importance of revision

And as you consider the importance of teaching revision, think carefully about paper choice when getting ready to draft. Our blog post Saving Trees and the Quality of Student Writing offers an interesting suggestion for encouraging students to see the draft as a "first attempt."

... And Collaborating

September 22nd is the International Day of the Girl. Join me as I band together with the folks at LitWorld to advocate for girls' rights to read and write. Check out this page to learn more about what you can do to help in this effort.

As a teacher, you don't need to be reminded that you make a difference, but it's nice to know that other people recognize it, too. Check out this cleaned up video performance of Taylor Mali's inspirational poem and have a great year!

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