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Using Picture Books in the Middle and High School Classroom
by Toni Enloe
Enjoyed an audio book recently? What made it so enjoyable? Was it the plot or maybe the characters? Maybe it was just the chance to let your imagination run free. Regardless of age, we all enjoy hearing a good story every now and then. Traditionally middle and high school teachers may have shied away from using picture books in their classes but now there are numerous picture books available on more mature topics. At some point in time we have probably all used books like The Lorax or The Giving Tree to introduce new concepts in science. Picture books are great activators as well!
Here are some books that you may not have considered.
The Sign of the Seahorse by Graeme Base
This book has a little bit of everything that adolescents enjoy, with danger, mystery, and romance around every turn. This cast of memorable characters finds their home, Reeftown threatened and must journey through the ocean to locate the origin of the poison that is killing the coral reef. The illustrations in this one are amazing.
The Wump World by Bill Peet
Living in a near perfect world where the grass is green and the air is clean, life is sweet for the cute fuzzy Wumps until they are invaded by the Pollutians, who have ruined their own world and have settled on Wump World to create an industrial wasteland. Forced underground, the Wumps have given up hope until something miraculous happens.
Sometimes picture books can serve a dual purpose. The following books can be used to both teach perspective and introduce science concepts.
The Tree of Life by Peter Sis
Charles Darwin and his father had very different ideas about his future. Told from two points of view, his own and his father's, this book chronicles his life from his childhood through his travels on the Beagle. Beautiful illustrations trace Darwin's thought process and give insight into his ideas about the natural world.
There's A HAIR In My Dirt! A Worm's Story by Gary Larson
What would you do if you found a hair in your food? A young worm becomes indignant, when during a family dinner he discovers a hair in his dirt. Through the humor of Gary Larson (The Far Side) and the worm father, a tale unravels about a fair young maiden who loves the earth to death. The young worm comes to the realization that he has a vital function in nature. It's all about how you look at things!
Remember Kudzu Chaos by Jennifer Holloway Lambe or Feathers and Fools by Mem Fox? These books and others are used to model the use of picture books for teaching and learning in Learning-Focused workshops.
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Writing During the Lesson
by Brenda Hill
"Writing to Learn" at the beginning, during, or at the end of content acquisition lessons connects writing assignments to new learning and allows transfer of skills and concepts across all subjects. In this article, we will focus on short, informal writing assignments that can be used during acquisition lessons.
During lesson writing assignments occur throughout the teaching and aid in student retention of new learning. Again, these are short writing assignments that are made at the acquisition level of learning. Students may be asked to use information from the graphic organizer or respond in writing to key questions developed for that particular lesson. Implementing short writing assignments during teaching can easily be embedded as part of distributed guided practice or distributed summarizing. For example, collaborative partners can share answers to questions posed and then write the answers or they may write answers and then talk to each other about the written response. Adaptations and adjustments for writing are made based upon what is age appropriate for a particular grade level.
During writing assignments, you may ask students to summarize learning in 1-2 sentences "up to that point" in the lesson (Summary Point Writing). Students may be asked to write a short, brief paragraph about the new learning or to work in pairs to write a question about the new learning and pose it to the class. Think-Ink-Share is a great writing strategy to get students talking about content learning and then responding to it in writing. Almost any of the beginning and ending writing ideas can be adapted and used for writing during the lesson.
During lesson writing ideas are easily planned and should be consistently and pervasively implemented across the curriculum. Remember: Students learn more and their capacity to learn is greatly increased when writing assignments are made requiring them to use new content learning. Reflect upon how you can implement writing assignments during lessons to increase student achievement.
For additional writing resources and ideas visit www.learningfocused.com
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Rationale for Conducting Walkthroughs by Denise Burson
Now,
more than ever, principals are being called upon to exercise strong
instructional leadership in their schools. They are expected to coach,
mentor and support teachers as they approach the difficult task of
raising student achievement and meet the increasing demands of NCLB.
School leaders are using a "Walkthrough" to assist in their roles as
coordinators of school improvement efforts. "The purpose of a
Walkthrough is to help teachers improve their instruction and identify
the best teaching practices in your school. Walkthrough visits reflect
your interest in instruction and in your staff's professional growth."
(Blasé & Blasé, 1998, Scholastic, 2005) Benefits: · Assists administrators in determining if the school's focus is consistent, pervasive, and being implemented with quality · Builds rapport, teamwork and professional credibility with staff · Improves accountability · Builds administrators knowledge of instructional practices · Informs implementation decisions Challenges: · Time · Knowledge of effective research-based instructional practices · Understand what to look for · Collection and analysis of appropriate observation data Learning-Focused Monitoring for Achievement provides school administrators a tool for successful Walkthroughs. |
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