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Summer Is a’Comin In
By Patricia Broderick and Allen Raymond
Unless you're in a year-round school or you're looping, it's almost that bittersweet time when you have to hand on your kids to someone else. It's the time of year when teachers always seem to have second thoughts about what they should have, could have, might have done differently.
The reality is that we don't know of any teachers who don't give 150% all the time. So, relax and refresh.
When you're ready to think about what you'll do next year, the items we've reviewed in this month's column can really help light up your curriculum.
WorldScapes™
Here's some exciting news: there's a new real-world based literacy series, WorldScapes, which explores 25 countries and a few general areas such as "Arctic," "Pacific Islands" and so on. The series provides examples of nonfiction, fiction and biography for each country. This unique 84 book leveled series for grades three through six from ETA/Cuisenaire is sure to be a winner.
At each grade level students will learn about seven different countries. There are three books based on each country: a nonfiction photo essay, (Social Studies), a book of fictional stories (Language Arts) and a book of biographies of people important to that particular country (History).
We saw the books on China. The book of nonfiction photo essays really provides a "slice-of-life" view of present day China. Fishing with the Birds is a short story about traditional fishing methods. Also included in the book is general information about various topics such as the most popular mode of transportation in China, giant pandas, feasts and festivals, manufacturing and so on. New vocabulary words are highlighted in the text and explained on the bottom of the pages. Several of the chosen words have to do with universal, or core, virtues. There are discussion starters at the back of the 24-page paperbound book.
The second part of the China experience is the traditional fictional story, The Golden Fish, somewhat reminiscent of the Cinderella tale. Here, too, some vocabulary words are highlighted in the text and defined at the bottom of the page.
The third book of the China series is The Chance to Dance, the story of Li Cunxin, a boy from a small northern Chinese village who became principal dancer with the Houston Ballet.
Okay. These three books are for the kids, but ETA/Cuisenaire hasn't forgotten you. There are really neat teachers' guides for each of these books. The guides are six-page foldouts that cover the high points of the particular title: At a Glance, Learning Outcomes and Visual Elements. There's a short "Focus on Fluency." In the case of Fishing with the Birds, the focus is on chunking phrases. The inside of the folder goes into specific detail with charts headed "During Reading" and "After Reading."
In the "During Reading" section, there are page-by-page notes that cover reading and discussion of the literature selection, focusing on visual and text features and observation and assessment. "After Reading" deals with ideas for developing comprehension, vocabulary, writing and extending the learning experience. Also included is a blackline master for synonym and antonym work. The reverse of the master explores one of the vocabulary words, in this case, "Respect." Essay is the format for that activity.
The teacher's guide for the other two China books follows the same general format described above, with different literacy activities. There is a Spanish version of WorldScapes available, and math and science strands will be available this fall.
We can't file this review without noting the art and color in the series, from world-class photos to outstanding artwork.
The whole series can be bought on a mix and match basis, so we wouldn't begin to list prices. And, surprisingly, the pieces are not that expensive. We recommend that you beat the drum for this terrific series.
One of the best things about the series, as far as we're concerned, is it's global reality: it's the true face of our classrooms and the face of our country. If you'd like to talk with someone about this program, call 800-445-5985 or see the website address below.
ETA/Cuisenaire
www.etacuisenaire.com
Celebrity authors
In the last few years we've seen a plethora of children's books by celebrity authors. Some of these books we thought were good; about others our feeling was that they should have saved the trees. We were pleasantly surprised when we read Daddy's Girl by Garrison Keillor.
This is a book with four sections, narrated by an adoring father, celebrating various aspects of his baby girl's day-to-day life. The text is all in rhyme and has a lovely pattern. Daddy's Girl must have been written to be a read aloud. Not surprising, since Keillor earns some of his living talking. The detailed artwork extends the poetic statements and creates a very rosy world for baby; a world into which the reader is gently drawn.
The book is a great read, and also has a lot of potential educational extensions. The street fair scene brings in characters from the earlier scenes and is ideal for sharpening visual skills. Other daily scenes are those that kids will relate to and that make good discussion starters.
Included with the book is a CD with four songs sung by Garrison Keillor. The words to the songs generally follow the text, but add synonyms, other examples and so on; lots of opportunities for language expansion here. And the music is super, too!
In the lingo of celebrities, "We give this book four stars." $16.99 at your local bookstore.
Hyperion Books for Children
TimeMachine
Remember the old kindergarten clocks to help kids learn to tell time? Well, like everything else, kids need more skills to cope with today's world. Enter World Class Learning with their TimeMachine™ for All Time.
The clock is synchronized for teaching time in the present, future and past. Kids get a sense of elapsed time, beginning time and ending time. A lot of parents will be grateful for this one when kids are wheedling for time!
The clock features three completely synchronized dials that can be moved either clockwise or counterclockwise. The clock itself is 15" highand 13" in diameter. This large display features big, colorful hour and minute hands plus easy-to-read numerals noted in five minute intervals like most clocks. There are two small dials synchronized to the large face to display digitally the elapsed and beginning and/or ending times in hours and minutes. There are two reset buttons on the reverse to set the hour and minute hands. A built-in easel stand as well as a cutout for hanging and hideaway handle makes it completely adaptable to your classroom.
With the emphasis on everything digital, it's great to see that the analog clock has been brought into the 21st century without losing it's basic common-sense appeal.
World Class Learning/em>
410-633-0730
Word Wisdom
The rest of the name of this program is Vocabulary for Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. It's new from Zaner-Bloser and provides one of the neatest instructional plans for teaching vocabulary that we've seen.
Four weeks are spent on each of nine units and work is scheduled at 15 minutes per day. Part one of each unit covers context clue strategies; part two deals with Latin and Greek roots; part three involves reference skills and part four is the review and assessment process.
The first three days of each week are the "unlock" time when the meanings of new words in context with key strategies are studied. The fourth day deals with the "process;" the new words are studied through activities that reinforace meanings. On day five, the word is "apply." New words are applied through activities that access higher level thinking skills.
We've all used the pieces of this program, but nowhere has it been so neatly tied together and organized so that it fits into any classroom's daily schedule. The first book, level C is suggested for grades three and up. There's a book for each level through grade eight, and every book follows the same format we've described. Student Editions are $11.99 each.
The Teacher Editions are spiral bound, 272 pages and include the CD-ROM for that level. These guides provide annotated Student Edition pages, lesson planning guides, assessment blackline masters and helpful tips. There are weekly pretests and posttests and unit posttests included. The CD enables you to print flashcards, graphic organizers, word lists and word ladders. The Teacher Edition is $49.99, but there is one copy provided free upon request with the purchase of 25 matching student editions.
There's also a classroom poster (22" x 33") included in the program. The poster displays the Context Clues Strategies students will use to unlock the meanings of new words. One side of the poster is for grades three and four, the other side is for grades five through eight $5.99. Shipping and handling charges apply to all prices quoted.
This program can make your life so much easier, you owe it to yourself and your students to find out more about it.
Zaner-Bloser
www.zaner-bloser.com
