Some New Titles I'm Trying Out

When I got home the other day, there was a box from Amazon waiting for me!  I am always so excited to get some new titles and try them out as mentor text.  I've been playing with informational text a lot lately, and particularly literary non-fiction, in order to show the students that informational writing involves craft as much as narrative does.  I like to combine informational text with something more narrative in style to show that there are many ways that authors think about their audience and convey their message for different purposes.  Two of the titles that arrived with this order are and then it's spring by Julie Fogliana, illustrated by Erin E. Stead, and A Leaf Can Be... by Laura Purdie Salas, illustrated by Violeta Dabija.  With spring just around the corner, I thought these two titles would be nice additions to my mentor text pile.  Both are truly lovely books, with a lyrical style and beautiful illustations.  I'll keep you posted on how I used them...

Informational Text

I had a great session in West Branch last Wednesday.  I worked in 3rd grade classrooms and did a lesson on informational text.  The students had already been dabbling in writing information but I wanted to approach it from the CRAFT point of view.  I had them pair up then allowed them to choose from a big stack of informational books that I brought.  I then gave each pair 5 sticky notes and had them take their book back to their seats and scour it for features that made them want to read the facts.  They did such a good job and really thought about how the authors had had to make decisions to draw their audiences in.  I gave them a good amount of time, then we came back to the gathering spot and each pair shared one feature that stood out to them.  It was so fun and they were very interested in the others' finds.  We also had fun  sharing some of the surprising facts from our books!  Although the lesson took longer than a normal mini-lesson, it was time well-spent.  I think they will incorporate this view of craft into their work the next time they write! 

Here is a list of the books I used:

ACTUAL SIZE                                                                      Steve Jenkins

ANIMALS IN SUMMER                                                       Jane R. McCauley

BIG & LITTLE                                                                     Steve Jenkins

BIGGEST, STRONGEST, FASTEST                                       Steve Jenkins

BOLD $ BRIGHT, BLACK & WHITE ANIMALS                    Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

DOWN, DOWN, DOWN                                                    Steve Jenkins

EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES                                    Fiona Watt

The FLOWER ALPHABET BOOK                                        Jerry Pallotta & Leslie Evans

FISHES                                                                              Alwyne Wheeler

FOREST: THE LIVING WORLD                                          Theresa Greenway, C. Gunzi, B. Taylor

HOTTEST, COLDEST, HIGHEST, DEEPEST                        Steve Jenkins

INCREDIBLE INVENTIONS                                                Lee Bennett Hopkins

LIVING COLOR                                                                 Steve Jenkins

MOSQUITO BITE                                                             Alexandra Siy & Dennis Kunkel

SEAS AND OCEANS                                                         Felicity Brooks

SEED SOIL SUN                                                               Cris Peterson

SURPRISING SHARKS                                                      Nicola Davies

SURVIVAL AT 40 BELOW                                               Debbie S. Miller

WHAT LIVES IN A SHELL?                                              Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

WIND AND STORMS                                                     Fred & Jeanne Biddulph

Some Thoughts About Blogs

So what makes a good blog?  First of all, it must have some credibility.  Anyone can write about anything, but you have to have cred to be read!  I also think the organization and design of the blog matters.  If it is boring or disorganized, people won't come back.  Finally, a really good blog includes links and embedded video, etc.  It expands the interest in the topic and keeps people engaged.

My blog will help me communicate with the teachers and administrators throughout COOR in a new way.  Instead of just passing along information, my blog will allow me to process my thinking visibly and get feedback on that thinking in a timely manner.  Probably the best part of belonging to the professional networks is having the conversations that challenge our thinking in new ways.  Sharing that on my blog will expand this collaboration to more people.

Blogs provide a super simple way to publish and get to a wide audience efficiently.  It couldn't be easier!

TLA-TAL Getting Started

I now have launched the blog and have to contemplate what I hope to get out of the Teacher as Learner course:  21 Things for Administrators.  I am very excited about working through many of the technology applications, and hope to streamline and organize my work.  I use technology every day but so often I feel that I am inefficient in that usage.  (Sometimes I feel like I have about one million accounts but I lose track of them and god forbid that I have to remember all of the passwords!  Do you ever feel like this?)  I am also really looking forward to the collaboration.  Learning how others are using the various tools will be infinitely helpful to me.  And finally, I am excited that I get to ask all my "stupid" technology questions without judgement...at least I hope that is the case!  It seems like a safe environment to explore and apply new thinking.  Whew...lots of work ahead!

Dipping My Toe in the Water

Yikes!  I have finally started my first blog!  I am standing at the edge of this huge pool of technology, not sure if I can swim yet, but dipping my toe in the water to feel the temperature!  I am excited because I have been trying to make myself start a blog for my job as a consultant for COOR.  Resources, new ideas I'm being challenged by, lists of books I've come across that work well as mentor text or read-alouds...all of these things would make good blog posts!  So...here I am!  We'll see how it goes.