> Hi Everyone
> Just wanted to let you know about a Kevin Henkes book giveaway. Four books
> will be given away, including Kitten's First Full Moon.

> Here is the info:
>
> www.educationoasis.com
Kim
(Who is still lurking and learning...:)
++++++++++
>
> From: "ginger/rob" <elephant@foxvalley.net>
> Subject: [mosaic] thanks from Ginger
> Date: Sat, 1 May 2004 23:23:57 -0500

> I just want to thank everyone who sent me their testimonials on the value
of
> the Mosaic listserv. I have received 32 so far. If you are so moved to
> write me about how this list has impacted your teaching and/or your own
> professional growth, there is still time.
>
> Please send testimonials to me at HOME:
> elephant@foxvalley.net
>
> I hope to meet with the president of our teacher's union within the next
two
> weeks. I will keep you updated on our fate!
>
> Thanks for being out there!
> Ginger
> moderator
++++++++++++
>
> From: "Cathy" <cgage@gwi.net>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Struggling Readers Resources
> Date: Sun, 2 May 2004 14:06:09 -0400

> Martha - Amazon lists quite a few books by Kehret. Can you suggest any
> titles that the boys were interested in? Thanks. Cathy
+++++++++++
>
> From: "Martha Hitzel" <mehitzel@cox.net>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Peg Kehret titles
> Date: Sun, 2 May 2004 12:52:06 -0700
>
> Cathy - Two that were very popular were Nightmare Mountain and Desert
> Danger (this ones wins hands down!). I just started Terror at the Zoo
> as a read aloud after an exuberant endorsement by my 16 year old
> daughter who just doesn't get excited very often about books. :>( Her
> 4th grade teacher read it to her class before they did an overnight zoo
> trip - brave teacher! Two of the boys started Danger at the Fair and
> asked to abandon it. They said it just wasn't capturing their interest
> like the Desert Danger one did. I ordered Earthquake Terror, Saving
> Lilly, The Hideout, and The Secret Journey from Half.com. A site
> recommended by someone on the list. All four books with shipping came
> to about $16. I think the books on Amazon are about $6 each so you
> might want to check this site out. I had never heard of it before, but
> know I will go back.
>
> Martha/4/5/az
++++++++++
>
> From: "ginger/rob" <elephant@foxvalley.net>
> Subject: [mosaic] new additions to the TOOLS page
> Date: Sun, 2 May 2004 15:32:36 -0500

> I have just added the following to the TEACHING TOOLS page at:
> http://www.u46teachers.org/mosaic/tools/tools.htm
>
> At the bottom of the LESSON PLANS section:
> 1. First Grade Unit of Study-Determining Importance in Nonfiction and
> Fiction by Laura
> (this information would help all grade level teachers!!)
> 2. Determining Importance in Nonfiction Think Aloud by Deb
>
> At the bottom of the STAFF DEVELOPMENT section:
> 3. Metacognition ideas and thoughts by Deb
>
> At the bottom PARENTS section:
> 4. Parent Workshop Early Literacy PART 1 (schedule and details) from
Patty
> 5. Parent Workshop Early Literacy PART 2 (parent information) from Patty
>
> At the bottom of the OTHER section:
> 6. Book Leveling Correlation Guide from the Dominie Kit
>
> *** Remember to hit RELOAD/REFRESH each time you open the TOOLS page to
view
> the current page. Some of these files take a LONG time to load.
>
> As you can see I've created a PARENT section. If you have any documents
> you've created for parents that you would be willing to share with the
> members please send them to me in a Word file at HOME:
> elephant@foxvalley.net and I will upload them for you.
>
> Happy Reading!
> Ginger
> moderator
++++++++++
>
> From: "Lois Driggers" <loiso@dbtech.net>
> Subject: [mosaic] reading specialist schedule
> Date: Sun, 2 May 2004 16:57:46 -0500
>
> For all of you who are reading specialists (or if you have one in your =
> building), would you mind posting a typical schedule you follow. We are =
> looking at revamping our schedules next year, and I'd like to see some =
> options from other folks.
> Thanks,
> Lois
> RS/AL
++++++++++

From: CNJPALMER@aol.com
> Date: Sun, 2 May 2004 20:15:05 EDT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] reading specialist schedule

> Lois
> Below is a schedule of my typical day.
> To help you understand why it looks the way it does, here is a few
> details about my school. I am the lone reading specialist in a building of
nearly
> 700 students. I have 3 instructional assistants who are trained to do a
> modified reading recovery program called ReAch (Reading Achievement) with
first and
> second graders. Every child in the building is assessed regularly and are
> regrouped based on student need in grades 2 through 5. So...there may be a
> comprehension group, a fluency group, an inferencing group, etc on a
particular grade
> level. The special educator and I plug into the group that basically needs
> everything! So...there is a classroom teacher, a special educator and me
in the
> group that needs a lot of help. It ends up being about 18 kids with three
> teachers...a great ratio!
> To make that collaboration work, we have a built in planning time
where
> special area teachers (art, music, etc) cover the regular teachers
classroom so
> that the special educator and I can meet together to plan.
> I provide reading services in this way because our district has
mandated
> that most of our time should be spent mentoring teachers and doing model
> lessons. Since I work in a plug in situation with students and plan and
teach along
> side teachers every day, I am fulfilling the district requirement and I
still
> get to work with students on a regular basis. Interestingly, our test
scores
> are starting to inch up. I think this is because I plug in with a new
teacher
> on the grade level each year and they really get the chance to be mentored
> along the way.
> Anyway, this works for us.
> 8:30-9:00 Planning with a coteacher
> 9:00- 9:30 ReAch (modified reading recovery lesson with an at risk first
or
> second grader)
> 9:35-10:00 Assessment (Time set aside to test kids at teacher or parent
> request)
> 10:00-11:00 Fourth Grade plug in
> 11:00-12:00 Third Grade Plug in
> 12:00 Lunch
> 12:30 Planning time with my ReAch instructional assistants
> 1:00 Second Grade plug in
> 2:00 Fifth grade plug in
> 3:00 Planning time with a coteacher
> 3:40 Dismissal duty
>
> Jennifer
> Maryland
++++++++++

> Date: Sun, 02 May 2004 18:33:30 -0700
> From: Susan Nixon <Susan@DesertSkyOne.com>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] MOT - the book discussion 3
>
> >1) What were your thoughts on Salvador, and after reading the Cisneros
piece?
>
> My first thoughts were to search among my children for a Salvador. Is
> there one there, hiding, and I haven't recognized him? Or is it a
> girl? Hiding behind large brown eyes, looking to me for knowledge and a
> way out, is there a Salvador?
>
> >2) Quote: p. 33 - "The point," I pulled them back together, "is
> >engagement. The point is that you knew whether or not you understood."
> >... "My concern," I told them, is that many children are not so engaged
as
> >they read. They don't know when they're comprehending."
>
> I believe all of us who are trying to teach our children to comprehend
> struggle with exactly this concern, and what to do about it. Reading,
> comprehension, is so natural to many of us, we can't remember where it
> started, how it came about. Was it something our teachers gave us, or was
> it something we figured out? I've become so aware of my use of strategies
> as I've taught them to children, tracing them ever farther backward in my
> own mind, trying to find the very genesis of comprehension, so that I can
> recognize it in my students and help them build on the foundation they
have.
>
> Sometimes I feel like a bulldozer going where a fine laser tool is
> needed! Yet, they make progress. Without my own understanding, flawed
> thought it might be, I do not think they would be moving as they are. I
> would not be able to help them build comprehension by reading what to do
in
> a teacher's edition, by following a script in a book.
>
> >3) When you read about Sharon Sherman-Messinger's experience in her
> >classroom, what were your thoughts? How are her children like, or
unlike,
> >your own?
>
> How I related to Sharon's experience reading Tiki Tiki Tembo! In my
class,
> at the start of last year, it was Henkes' book, Chrysanthemum. My last
2nd
> grade class had loved books, loved reading, would sit still as long as I
> wanted to read and still ask for more. I couldn't get through
> Chrysanthemum! They were wiggly, some listening, some playing, some
> staring vacantly off into their own worlds. The first time I read this
> book, this part made no impression on me!
>
> When I noticed the story of Sharon's read-aloud for the first time, last
> year as I re-read parts of the book, I remember thinking, "Thank
> goodness! It isn't just me!"
>
> Following her example, I took heart and kept trying with my students. Two
> years later, we are reading Despereaux with great success! Actually, we
> finished it Friday, great sadness all around. =)
>
> So my children were very like hers, and my experience similar, though I
> believe she might have been more organized and purposeful in her approach.
>
> >4) Is reading a passive activity? Why or why not?
>
> Definitely not! Not if it's done right. I tell my students all the time
> that they need to become part of the book, they need to be a character in
> that story, they need to find themselves in the author's words. I know
> each of them did that with Despereaux, and I hope they do it with most of
> the things we read. Someone in my past said that reading was a
> communication between the author and the reader. The author might be long
> dead, but he or she still had something to say to the reader, and the
> reader needed to be engaged enough to hear and respond to the message. In
> the best response, our lives are changed in some way, for the better.
>
> >How can we find out? How can we instruct in such a way that they do
> >become aware, and use the strategies? What can we do, what do you do, to
> >introduce and reinforce the notion of monitoring one's reading?
>
> I think we are all trying to find out what our children can comprehend and
> help them find ways to do it more often and more completely. The
> think-alouds are part of the process. This is how good readers think,
> read, speculate, contemplate, question, visualize. I believe that
constant
> repetition of these ideas is a way to get them to do it themselves. Not
to
> do it for them, no, we have to keep in mind release of responsibility in
> this area, too. We are doing it initially, showing them how the thinking
> works, but eventually, we are asking for their thinking. How better to
> monitor what and how and if? When students are coming up with ideas that
> never crossed my mind at all, I begin to believe that we're making
progress!
>
> >6) Sharon teaches a strategy for up to 8 weeks. Is that enough? Is it
> >too much? How can we be sure we've spent enough time on a strategy?
>
> Gosh, this was a tough one for me. How many times I have seen people on
> this very list asking these questions! I don't know that we can quantify
> the amount of time needed per strategy. It takes ... as long as it
> takes. Fortunately, they can overlap. Last year, knowing I would have my
> students a second year, I didn't try to do all of the strategies. I
> concentrated on one different one each 9-weeks, never completely dropping
> the previous ones. It worked well, and this year, the remaining
strategies
> seemed so easy to present. Does everyone have them all in place? No, of
> course not! But everyone has made some progress, and all of them have
> some, some of them have all.
>
> I know when teaching the 6 traits of writing, I usually felt that students
> had it when *they* started telling *me* about the voice or word choice, or
> whatever of their reading. I have used that as a guage of the
> comprehension strategies, too. When they start predicting before I can
> ask, when they start telling me what they wondered, or asking me if I
> wondered it, too, then I'm pretty sure they have that strategy. Other
than
> that, I think the reading conferences and a moment or two during DRAs and
> other running records to ask strategy specific questions probably give us
> our best data on whether we've spent enough time instructing in one area
or
> not.
>
> >7) Sharon looked up at the lights of her classroom, a signal that should
> >would think out loud. Describe the signal that tells your children you
> >are about to think outloud. Why is a signal important?
>
> Until I read this part *this* time, I hadn't picked up on the importance
of
> the signal. I realized I *have* one, but I hadn't thought about it. My
> students noticed it first. I close the book with my finger inside it and
> usually start out with something along the lines of, "You know, boys and
> girls...." =) I think it's funny that they knew I had a signal before I
> knew! I think it's important because it brings their attention to what we
> are about to say. They come out of the mode of listener into the mode of
> thinker.
>
> >8) Going back to the chapter title, what is it that lies beneath?
>
> I *think* it's our thinking. Our thinking is what lies beneath our
reading
> comprehension, our metacognition. When I thought about this in relation
to
> the Cisneros exerpt, I wondered why they started this particular chapter
> with that particular piece. When I drew a parallel between why lies
> beneath Salvador's rumpled exterior, and what lies beneath our seemingly
> passive reading exterior, it seemed to me that both were a depth of
meaning
> waiting to be discovered. That is, Salvador is like a book I'm going to
> read. Until I open the cover and think about the contents, until I look
> closely at Salvador and think about who he is and what his life is like,
> there is no meaning.
>
> Susan Nixon
> 2nd Grade Teacher
> Phoenix, AZ
++++++++++
>
> Date: Sun, 02 May 2004 19:25:30 -0700
> From: Susan Nixon <Susan@DesertSkyOne.com>
> Subject: [mosaic] MOT - chapter 4 Discussion

> This time, the "Homes in the Mind" title is subtitled "Connecting the
Known
> to the Unknown."
>
> Immediately, as I read the opening quotation from a book, I tried to make
> connections to the known. But I just couldn't, except for feeling a dim,
> long-ago memory of being worried about spending my life with the man I've
> loved for 35 years. It wasn't a strong connection after all this time,
> perhaps if I'd read this then.
>
> I have no wedding pictures of my parents. My mother died when I was 9 and
> there's nothing left for me. I have no great-aunts or grandmother or
young
> memories such as those related. Really, for once, I wanted Ellin and
Susan
> to just get on with it. I could understand what she was talking about,
but
> I couldn't *relate* to it. That caused me to pause a moment. In Chapter
> 3, I said I told my students to find themselves in the story. But what if
> they can't? What if they just aren't there in the story?
>
> So I contemplated the thought of connecting the known to the unknown -
this
> whole piece. Reading on, reading Helen's young interpretation of a part
of
> it was interesting. I still couldn't make a similar connection. Couldn't
> make a text connection. Couldn't make a world connection. I wondered
> about my students. Is this what Liliana meant when she told me she only
> had one thing to write because she only thought one thing - "This is
> boring?"
>
> My number one question from Chapter 4 was, "Can we comprehend something to
> which we cannot relate?" I think of dinosaur books, but then, I've seen
> dinosaur footprints - sat in them while eating lunch, in fact. I've
> collected dinosaur bones, and petrified wood and fossils. I've seen
> Jurassic Park and read the books. I can relate to dinosaurs.
>
> So, things to think about for chapter 4:
>
> 1) How important do you think background knowledge is to comprehension?
>
> 2) What do we activate if there's no prior knowledge?
>
> 3) How do we build children's background knowledge?
>
> 4) In the book, Debbie Miller tells about the research into what good
> readers do. She shares it with her students? Do you? Is it a necessary
> part of teaching the strategies? Do you use the word "schema" with your
> children, and why or why not?
>
> 5) When we are modeling our connection-making, how important is it to
> explain how the connection changed our thinking?
>
> 6) Of the three types of connections, which do you think is hardest for
> children to make, and why?
>
> 7) How can author studies or genre studies contribute to our instruction
> of making connections? Is it necessary to study text formats also?
>
> 8) On p. 71, it says, "...There were, and are, times when my awareness of
> my own reading processes and my use of a strategy like schema are so
> prevalent that they annoy and distract me from my reading...It may be
that,
> in order to empathize with the frustrations of our developing readers, we
> must spend a few extra hours lost in the words, considering,
> simultaneously, the stories we read and the way we read them."
>
> Comment on what this means to you and your teaching.
>
> When ready.
>
> Susan Nixon
> 2nd Grade Teacher
> Phoenix, AZ
+++++++++++
>
> Date: Sun, 02 May 2004 19:35:12 -0700
> From: Susan Nixon <Susan@DesertSkyOne.com>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] [MOT] Chapter three question
>
> >The biggest one I need ideas on is: How do you conference with each
> >student daily? Page 40 says "The codes provide a focus for Pat's daily
> >reading conferences with each child."
>
> I don't think she conferences with *each* student daily, unless she has an
> awfully small class! I could be wrong. I know if teachers are doing
> Reading Workshop it make work differently, but I still don't see how I
> would get to 29 second graders and still have time for a reading lesson,
> even in an hour and a half. There is conference time daily and she
> conferences with as many as possible during that time. The codes shorten
> the time needed, and help the students remember what they wanted to
discuss.
>
> I conference during my self-selected reading time, and usually manage to
> talk with 5-6 students daily. One thing I do to make my time very
> efficient is have the group I'm going to see that day bring their books up
> and sit on the floor in a row, in the order in which I will see them.
They
> read until their conference time. After I conference with them, they
> return to their seats to continue reading silently. This makes the
> transition time to my conference table very short. It isn't an original
> idea - it came from 4 blocks. =)
>
> I use the same conferencing groupings as publishing groups. They aren't
on
> the same day. That is, the group I do a reading conference with and the
> group I publish are not one and the same on any given day. But it means I
> only have to keep track of grouping them once, since it's individual
> conferences for both.
>
> Susan Nixon
> 2nd Grade Teacher
> Phoenix, AZ
++++++++++
>
> Date: Mon, 03 May 2004 16:53:30 -0700
> From: Nicole_Peirce/PSD%PSD@pennsbury.k12.pa.us (by way of Susan Nixon
<Susan@DesertSkyOne.com>)
> Subject: [mosaic] artwork+comprehension

> Hi Susan,
>
> I tried to respond to this type of discussion before but the listserv
> doesn't accept my responses. I just got a book called Weaving Through
> Words: Using the Arts to Teach Reading Comprehension Strategies which
shows
> exactly how the arts weave into reading comprehension. Teachers took
> visual, dramatic and performance arts and tied them to each of the
> strategies in MOT & STW. They talked about where the children were in
their
> learning before they integrated the arts, then reflected specifically on
> how that particular art activity strengthened or changed their
> comprehension. It's published through IRA & it is by Roberta Mantione &
> Sabine Smead. The teachers who wrote it were from Colorado and took part
in
> PEBC's training. I'd recommend it!!
>
> Nicole
> Literacy Staff Developer but future 4th/5th looper
> PA
+++++++++++

> From: "EWW" <emwwhite@inteliport.com>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] artwork+comprehension
> Date: Mon, 3 May 2004 22:58:16 -0400

> There is a sample chapter from the book at this site:
>
>
http://marketplace.reading.org/products/tnt_products.cfm?Subsystem=ORD&primary_id=456&product_class=IRABOOK&action=Long
+++++++++
>
> From: "Donna Baker" <baker@sprint.ca>
> Subject: [mosaic] April Poster Contest WINNER!
> Date: Tue, 4 May 2004 05:56:06 -0400

> CONGRATULATIONS to Martha Hitzel who is the final lucky winner of the
April
> MOSAIC lesson contest. Martha's many lesson submissions are certainly
> appreciated by all of us. Martha wins a full color set of eight strategy
> posters. Thanks to all of the teachers who have participated. Keep those
> ideas coming!
> Donna Baker
> PS For those of you who were not winners, you can contact me at
> baker@sprint.ca to order a set of posters for a mere $15 (American) or
> $23.00 (Canadian).
> ++++++++++++
>
> From: "Lise" <iteach@cybertrails.com>
> Subject: [mosaic] viruses
> Date: Tue, 4 May 2004 06:10:52 -0700

> This morning I received 4 messages from this listserve. Two were from
> Microsoft exchange shield claiming I had sent a virus. First of all I
> haven't sent an email to the listserve in many days and second of all, I
am
> running virus protection software which I keep updated. I have also run a
> virus check and it comes up with nothing.
>
> Please, do not open attachments. even if they are from someone that you
> know. Cut and paste or send the URL, but it's crazy out there in
cyberspace.
> If you don't have virus protection, get some. There's free software on the
> net. What is happening is that the virus is duplicating your address book
> and then sending out viruses under those addresses using the names of the
> people in your address book.
>
> Lise
+++++++++
>
> Date: Tue, 04 May 2004 17:16:33 -0400
> From: "PJ Morrow" <PMorrow@spart7.k12.sc.us>
> Subject: [mosaic] using critical friends protocols...

> As you can see, I'm still reading Learning Along the Way...
>
> I have been using the protocol on page 71 for examining student work,
> and it is working really really well. Teachers were wary at first, but
> feel like we are sticking to the important points and that we get a lot
> done in a surprisingly small amount of time. The teachers who have
> brought work to the table this way say that they did not feel defensive
> (as they had thought they would) and also believe they have gotten some
> helpful feedback. Our study group is over for the year, but we are
> getting ready to start a new one for summer school, and I plan to use
> this protocol (and others) as we teach new teachers to use the dominie
> kit for assessment. Any suggestions?
>
> We have also tried versions of the protocols on pages 69 and 73 for my
> SACs committee work. This is a new group of people, so we'll see how it
> goes...
>
> Does anybody have other protocols to offer?
> Any other experiences with them?
>
> PJ
> 4,5,6 & Lit Coach
+++++++++

> From: SuzTeacher@aol.com
> Date: Tue, 4 May 2004 17:28:22 EDT
> Subject: [mosaic] (mosaic) MOT the book discussion Ch 3
>
> Sorry - I GOT BEHIND!!!
> 1) What were your thoughts on Salvador after reading the Cisneros piece?
> I was so impressed with Cisneros and her amazing ability to describe.
> Visualizing her piece was so easy!
>
> I felt so badly for Salvador, yet I believe he is happy in the only life
that
> he knows.
>
> I worry about the "Salvadors" in our schools - do we miss many of them? Do
> they "disappear like a memory of kites?"
>
> 2) Quote, p. 33: "The point," I pulled them back together, "is
engagement.
> The point is that you knew whether or not you understood."
> "My concern," I told them, "is that many children are not so engaged
as
> they read. They don't know when they're comprehending."
>
> --Going from this quote, why is it important to understand how
comprehension
> happens? How does being aware of our own use of strategies help us teach
our
> children? Is it a prerequisite for teaching reading to our children?
>
> I feel like I spent many years teaching without realizing that my students
> could read the words but may not have understood any of it. I wish I heard
more
> about this in college! I am so glad that I know these strategies, use
them,
> and teach them. It is definitely a prerequisite to teaching comprehension.
>
> 3) When you read about Sharon Sherman-Messinger's experience in her
> classroom, what were your thoughts? How are her children like, or unlike,
> your own?
>
> My students, third graders, are mostly middle-socioeconomic and very well
off
> compared to many. They have TVs in their bedrooms and several game systems
> and game-boys. I feel that in addition to Sharon's and Ellin's comments,
that
> children are too electronically oriented. I don't move around like a
cartoon
> character, nor do the stories and poems, etc., always have action. These
children
> are looking around for other things. They see reading as passive, yet
> game-playing as active.
>
> 4) Is reading a passive activity? Why or why not?
>
> My answer to #3 is a nice lead-in to this question. I think that
occasionally
> reading can be passive - you can choose easy "beach books" and not need to
be
> too active in your reading. Mostly, I believe that reading is an active
> activity. You're learning, thinking, questioning, discussing, agreeing,
> disagreeing, inferring, visualizing, synthesizing, etc.......
>
> 5) I think that key to metacognition and strategy use is like most
anything
> else - practice, practice, practice. I believe I tend to do too much of
the
> thinking for my students. I need to constantly remind myself to release
the
> responsibility to the students. This is the only way that they will learn.
>
> 6) Sharon teaches a strategy for up to 8 weeks. Is that enough? Is it
too
> much? How can we be sure we've spent enough time on a strategy?
>
> I'm not sure that you can ever spend too much time on a strategy. In our
> school, we tried to divide the strategies between the 3 grades 2-4. It is
hard to
> know if the 2nd teacher did enough with the strategy. We always have new
> students coming in. I am hoping that as our K-1 building does more
strategy work,
> it will be easier to move deeper into the strategy process.
>
> 7) Sharon looked up at the lights of her classroom, a signal that she
would
> be thinking out loud. Describe the signal that tells your children you
are
> about to think outloud. Why is a signal important?
>
> I tell the children in September quite explicitly what a think-aloud is
and I
> show them how I will do it. I too look up at the lights, and I close the
> book. if there was no signal, many students wouldn't know when you were
reading
> and when you were thinking aloud.
>
> 8) Going back to the chapter title, what is it that lies beneath?
> I think that "what lies beneath" is all of our own personal feelings,
> interpretations and syntheses. It is metacognition. It is reading. It
makes the world
> the special place that it is.
++++++++++++

> Date: Tue, 04 May 2004 16:46:45 -0500
> From: "Donna mynatt" <Donna.mynatt@gpisd.org>
> Subject: [mosaic] Student advice

> I need some advice. I am working with a 3rd grade student who is in a
> regular ed. classroom. She did not meet the standard on the TAKS (state
> assessment) test. Therefore, she will be retained unless she can
> increase her score to passing in summer school.
> She reads on a DRA level 18 with an accuracy rate of 96%,
> comprehension of 16 (adequate), has a fluency rate of 123 wcpm, and her
> miscues are mostly meaning and visual. She reads with a heavy accent.
> However, she knows very little Spanish and has difficulty comprehending
> what she reads in English. Mom also told us that Spanish is the only
> language spoken at home, and she wants to learn English but mom cannot
> help because she doesn't know English.
> It seems to me that she never had a grasp on Spanish and was never
> able to make the language transition from spanish to english. Also the
> fact that she has been to many schools during the past couple of years
> has not helped either.
> I just need some advice on what to do with her. Should I focus
> heavily on comprehension and vocabulary? What kind of activities would
> benefit her the most? If you have any ideas please let me know.
>
> Donna Mynatt
> Reading Support
+++++++++
>
> Date: Tue, 04 May 2004 17:04:12 -0600
> From: Lori Jackson <ljackson@gwtc.net>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Student advice

> For the sake of getting her to fourth grade, I would concentrate on the
DRA. We
> are in the same position, with DRA becoming high stakes. We have worked
all year
> to familiarize the kids with the DRA rubrics, so they know --plain and
simple--
> what is expected from them. This spring we have been practicing in this
way. I
> read a story to them. We ask for a volunteer who comes up
and--bravely--does an
> oral retelling in front of the class. The entire class than reviews the
rubric
> (enlarged to ledger size paper) and they rate by concensus (show of
fingers). We
> give suggestions to the retellers, which have become very specific and
helpful. I
> am so proud that the level of trust is high enough in the room for
children to feel
> comfortable with this. Today we had a long discussion on the rubric
ratings that
> reflect higher level thinking and inference. Then one of my special needs
girls
> went for services, where they did the DRA with her(it is that time of
year) and she
> was able to nail the comprehension score with a 23 and raise her reading
level from
> 4 to 10. This is a good thing. We also periodically do partner ratings
and
> earlier I modeled and modeled and the rated me. If they know the
insturment, the
> expectation and have lots of chances to practice, changes can be made with
children
> who are really struggling. Good luck, Donna, to both you and your student.
>
> Lori
++++++++++
>
> From: "Dorothy Ridge" <dorridge@cox.net>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Student advice
> Date: Tue, 4 May 2004 19:00:01 -0400

> I would try the "NEW HEIGHTS" program from Pearson learning with her. She
> would listen to the set of high interest, low vocabulary books on a
Walkman
> until she had reached a high level of fluency and accuracy. Sometimes it
> takes as many as ten times listening to the same book, but my few who need
> this kind of intense modeling seem to love it.
> Dottie
++++++++++
>
> Date: Tue, 04 May 2004 16:45:04 -0700
> From: Susan Nixon <Susan@DesertSkyOne.com>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] viruses

> I think similar messages are coming to all of us.
>
> Norton caught and quarantined until I could delete.
>Hugs,
Susan, in Phoenix
++++++++++

> Date: Tue, 04 May 2004 16:56:05 -0700
> From: Susan Nixon <Susan@DesertSkyOne.com>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] MOT the book discussion Ch 3

> At 02:28 PM 5/4/2004, you wrote:
> >My students, third graders, are mostly middle-socioeconomic and very well
> >off compared to many. They have TVs in their bedrooms and several game
> >systems and game-boys. I feel that in addition to Sharon's and Ellin's
> >comments, that children are too electronically oriented. I don't move
> >around like a cartoon character, nor do the stories and poems, etc.,
> >always have action. These children are looking around for other things.
> >They see reading as passive, yet game-playing as active.
>
> Years ago, I heard Lucy Calkins speak. I mean *years* ago! =) One of
her
> concerns way back then was that children were not developing the ability
to
> imagine. She talked about her own children going out with a blanket and a
> rope and building pirate ships and castles, but young children with whom
> she was then working had difficulty imagining things, even with a lot more
> props. So how, then, would they visualize for reading?
>
> The concern at that time was for television, with the Sesame Street
> generation who learned with characters singing and dancing and
entertaining
> them. With the advent and spread of Nintendo-like games, I'm sure the
> problem is much worse. Maybe it isn't an entirely bad thing that I teach
> in at at-risk neighborhood. =)
>
> Susan Nixon
> 2nd Grade Teacher
> Phoenix, AZ
++++++++++

> Date: Tue, 4 May 2004 18:13:13 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Heather Wall <heather_wall_2000@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Student advice

> Do you get The Reading Teacher journal from IRA? The
> March issue had a good article dissecting a group of
> 4th graders who failed their state assessment. They
> determined there were 6 types of readers who failed:
> automatic word callers, slow comprehenders, etc. They
> analyzed these kids' word recognition, comprehension
> and fluency to determine their strengths and
> weaknesses. They had advice for each group of kids.
> You might be able to look at the article and determine
> where your reader falls, and therefore what strategies
> would work well for her.
>
> Heather Wall
+++++++++++
>
> Date: Tue, 4 May 2004 21:47:42 -0400
> Subject: [mosaic] science & literacy
> From: Kathy Renfrew <karenfrew@earthlink.net>

> I have just finished reading the Firebug Connection" by Jean
> CraigheadGeorge and I am thinking of using it early next school year as
> I teach science process skills and introduce the keeping of a scientist
> notebook. The story opens with a young girl doing her own
> investigations and recording data.
>
> I was wondering, has anyone used this book before? Or does anyone have
> any other ideas for doing this work?
>
> I was also thinking of Jim Arnosky's Field trip
>thoughts?
>
> Kathy renfrew
++++++++++
>
> From: teacher_b.hillerns@comcast.net
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Student advice
> Date: Wed, 05 May 2004 03:49:30 +0000

> Donna, I know exactly what you're talking about. I teach fourth grade
bilingual in TX.
>
> One thing I did with one of my low students for TAKS was pull her aside
and talk explicitly about the need to reread on the test. We talked about
this especially in relation to the vocab questions. We went over how just
rereading the sentence was not enough, and when it says something like, "In
paragraph 4, the word _______ means", we really need to read the whole
paragraph. This was reinforced when we looked at practice passages and
highlighted where the clue was to tell us what the word meant. It was
(almost) never in the same sentence where the word was, but in the sentence
before or after.
>
> Another thing that seemed to help was when the ADP teacher who works with
some of my students gave me a passage they had done that day in class. The
next day, I had a one-on-one conference with the student who had the most
trouble. We went over the passage yet again, but she was NOT bored even
though this teacher and I communicate frequently and I know we were both
telling her the SAME THING. Instead it really seemed to help that I was
working with her on strategies for something she had done with someone else
in another room. Maybe try this strategy to focus on transfer. Of course,
you'll have to work closely with her classroom teacher in the short time we
have left until school is out.
>
> Finally, Mom can still help her with the thinking/comprehension skills
this girl needs. Try to have a parent conference with her and show her what
kinds of questions she can ask the girl to start a conversation about
stories (either ones they read together in Spanish if mom is literate or
ones the girl reads in school or at home in English). What this girl needs
is thinking skills and practice with vocabulary in both languages.
> The problem is that she may be speaking Tex-Mex at home, rather than
Spanish. And when bilingual children move frequently, the amount of support
in each language varies so greatly from school to school, that, like you
said, they sometimes never develop a foundation in either language. Has she
been tested for a learning disability?
>
> Good luck,
> Beth
+++++++++

> Date: Wed, 5 May 2004 04:29:29 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Yvonne Greene <myvonnegreene@yahoo.com>
> Subject: [mosaic] student advice
>
> It sounds as if this student is needing some ESL types of services. Does
she have the vocabulary in either English or Spanish? If not, I would work
on building her vocabulary first. If she doesn't have words to use, she is
not going to comprehend. You could try picture flashcards that have the
picture name under the picture. If you don't have sets of these available,
check with your speech pathologist and see if she has the program Boardmaker
or Writing with Symbols. Both programs use pictures for every word and are
helpful in making associations. If she is unable to master the vocabulary,
she may have a learning disability. This may be difficult to show since
there are 2 languages involved. I have seen students who were able to
qualify for special education even with second language issues.
>
> I hope this is helpful.
> Yvonne
++++++++++
>
> Date: Wed, 05 May 2004 07:01:51 -0600
> From: Lori Jackson <ljackson@gwtc.net>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] MOT the book discussion Ch 3

> I teach in a poverty stricken area and while many families don't have
phones, I
> have NEVER had a child without a tv. No holds barred on the viewing,
either. I
> think that as teachers we have to assume some responsibility for the
demise of
> playfulness, of imaginative play. I recently observed in Sue Kempton's
> kindergarten classroom in Denver and I can tell you, she understands the
balance.
> Her room invited imagination and still included all the elements of the
High Scope
> program I used in kindergarten yet the the children were clearly learning
the
> so-called basics as well. In so many kindergartens, play has gone the way
of the
> highway as teachers feel more and more pressure to take an academic route.
No
> dramatic play, messy art, sand and water and so on. I had a long talk
with our
> literacy coach and my principal about the issue and how I believe that
play is work
> for most five year olds. They need it to survive, in an imaginative and
playful
> sense.
>
> One of the reasons I so loved Katie Wood Ray's latest book is that she
gets play!
> Let's 'pretend' to write, that is the mantra for the nonbelievers in
kindergarten.
>
> We argue all the time for the importance for DEAR time or SSR in school,
the
> argument being children don't all have the same access to books outside of
school.
> I think we need to think about play in the same way.
>
> Lori
+++++++++++
>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] using critical friends protocols...
> From: TGray@e2ccb.org
> Date: Wed, 5 May 2004 08:41:37 -0400
>
> PJ :
> Glad to hear I am not reading alone!!
> Collaborative analysis of student work has become a pet project of mine
> and it yields such powerful information.
> I was trained in and have used the CASL model, which is very similar to
> the model on page 71. Info on the book and a sample chapter available at
> http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/2003langer/2003langertoc.html )
> I agree that the teachers do not feel threatened when using the protocol,
> but it takes some training using fishbowls to get everyone comfortable. In
> this protocol, it is really recommended that you see the work of only one
> or two students throughout the year and track the progress of those
> students. It makes some pretty powerful statements about the implications
> on classroom instruction!! Unfortunately - I have not yet been able to
> implement this year long model to see it in action.
> The author's of the model published a piece on this model and it's use
> with student portfolios at
> http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/goff214.cfm if you would like
> more information.
> Good luck!!!
>
> Theresa Gray
> Staff Development Specialist
+++++++++++++

> From: "Cherylle Waters" <liverust@starband.net>
> Subject: [mosaic] Testimonials
> Date: Wed, 5 May 2004 07:32:58 -0700

> "From the New York Islands to the Redwood Forests," is of course taking =
> liberty from Woodie Guthrie; but it does sum up the impact of the Mosaic =
> Listserv. When I went through the certification process of the National =
> Board of Professional Teaching Standards, the main thrust of that =
> process focused on the impact of any of the activities on student =
> learning. If NBPTS certification were to be given to entities, then the =
> Mosaic Listserv would receive it hands-down. Not only have I benefitted =
> as a teacher and learner myself, but so have my students when I have =
> gone back to my classroom refreshed each day after having read my =
> listserv email. This service is so important for students across the =
> United States. The suggestions and wise discussions have surely =
> impacted student learning like nothing I have ever seen before. I am =
> more enthused about teaching than I have ever been. I am an "avid" =
> coffee drinker, but I would gladly kick that habit to keep Mosaic =
> online.
>
> Cherylle Waters, NBCT
> Willows, CA
+++++++++++
>
> Date: Wed, 5 May 2004 08:47:28 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Carol Meyer <schoolteacher52342@yahoo.com>
> Subject: [mosaic] New to list and would like advice
>
> Hi everyone, I'm new to the list. My name is Carol. Have spent lots of
time reading and observing and will continue to do so. I was recently
offered a position in a school for the fall. I actually taught from
1991-999 and then took a different job with a community college for five
years working with families in poverty. I quit that job last summer so I
could work on getting back into the schools.
>
> I have done much subbing this past year, most long term and now will have
my own classroom again. I just finished taking a college class where Mosaic
of Thought was the text. I really enjoyed it and it is quite insightful.
>
> However, my question is this...how does it fit in if the school in
question is all about the basal reader and doesn't leave much time for
reading literature? This school is really stick to the text book and don't
deviate. Not sure why that is except that it probably has something to do
with NCLB and being on a watch list.
>
> Sadly, each time I sub at this school I see how really ineffectual the
basal program is. The kids really don't respond well to it. They do have
AR program but the teachers don't have any input in the reading. Kids read
and then take tests.
>
> let me know what you all think? Oh, I'll probably be teaching
Kindergarten. Carol
+++++++++
>
> Date: Wed, 05 May 2004 12:50:19 -0400
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] New to list and would like advice
> From: "Michele Balars" <balarsm@fc.manatee.k12.fl.us>

> I just finished my MOT study cadre with my 3-5gr teachers and the last
> meeting dealt with coordinating MOT strategies and the basal
> (Macmillan/McGraw-Hill to be specific). We created a double column chart
> with the MOT strategies on one side and what the basal considers
> "strategies" (standards really) on the other. Since the basal's use of
> the term "strategy" was different from what we've learned in MOT, the
> first thing I did was put together a definition "strategy" from another
> respected source, Fountas & Pinnell's Guiding Readers & Writers: 3-6
> (def. on pg 304 and chart on pg 310) and used the chart on pg 220-221 of
> MOT for an additional reference for our discussion. Then we went down the
> MOT side of our chart and drew arrows, "connecting" each strategy to the
> standard(s) that might support it. I made it into an AppleWorks drawing
> file so they could access it while planning in the future. The thought was
> that, if they felt they needed to follow the basal scope and sequence,
> they could 1) go to the chart to find strategies and then 2) go to the
> school computer server for specific lessons for each strategy (that I've
> stored in a folder from the listserve tools page). I'm also circulating
> my copy of STW amoung them too and have directed them to ask the admin to
> order them copies if they like it (since I won't be there next year to do
> it for them).
>
> Hope this helps...
>
> Michele
> 3-5 Reading Coach
++++++++++
>
> Date: Wed, 05 May 2004 13:20:14 -0400
> From: "Puleo, Suzanne" <Suzanne.Puleo@ScottForesman.com>
> Subject: RE: [mosaic] New to list and would like advice

> Would that correlation be something you could make available to other who
> use a basal?
+++++++++
>
> Date: Wed, 05 May 2004 14:21:24 -0400
> Subject: [mosaic] Strategies & Standard Correlation
> From: "Michele Balars" <balarsm@fc.manatee.k12.fl.us>

> This was generated by my teachers regarding Florida's state standards...
> please feel free to agree, disagree, or make other connections as you see
> them working for your own use... I've sent Ginger the actual chart and she
> might post the file to the tools page... here's the "email friendly"
> version...
>
> Strategies (FL Standards):
>
> Making Connections (Fact/Opinion,
> Compare/Contrast,Cause-Effect/Problem-Solution)
>
> Determining Importance (Main Idea/Details, Author's Purpose)
>
> Questioning (Author's Purpose,Plot/Conflict)
>
> Sensory/Visual Imagery (Main Idea/Details,Characters)
>
> Inferring (Author's Purpose,Characters)
>
> Synthesis (Vocabulary/Word Meaning)
>
> Fix-Up Strategies (Vocabulary/Word Meaning, Reference/Research)
>
>
> Michele
> 3-5 Reading Coach
+++++++++
>
> From: RR1981@aol.com
> Date: Wed, 5 May 2004 16:58:20 EDT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] MOT the book discussion Ch 3

> You know I can understand this, however, as a new teacher, I find that so
> much of time is spent on teaching to the test, test taking strategies,
etc. No
> tmuch time for play.
>
> Rosie
+++++++++++++
>
> From: CATHYMILLR@aol.com
> Date: Wed, 5 May 2004 17:03:03 EDT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] New to list and would like advice
>
> Hi, Carol,
> Welcome! Good luck with your job. I understand about the situation
about
> sticking to the basal. Some districts mandate that, maybe out of fear that
> teachers will get off track. Ironically, that may be the very reason that
this
> school is on academic watch for NCLB - it may not be meeting the needs of
all
> learners by making everybody do the same reading lessons day in and day
our. And
> accelerated reader doesn't help.
>
> I would start by incorporating some mosaic strategies into the reading
of
> stories from the basal. And then look for time for students to read
> independently each day and try to offer them some "workshop" type time.
>
> Cathy
> El.Sup.
> De
+++++++++

> From: "Laura Candler" <lauracandler@worldnet.att.net>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] MOT - chapter 4 Discussion
> Date: Wed, 5 May 2004 22:30:01 -0400

> Susan,
>
> I have to admit that I haven't read the chapter yet, but something amazing
> happened in my class today that ties directly into some of your questions.
I
> just had to share, and then I'll go read the chapter!
>
> I've been working with the strategies, but I'll have to say that I've not
> spent a lot of time on visualizing because I assumed it was so easy. I
can't
> imagine reading a book and having nothing going on in my head and I just
> assumed by 5th grade the kids would be good at this strategy. I know that
> many of them are very good at visualizing because they've been sharing
with
> me some of the images they have in their heads when they read.
>
> I know this seems to be rambling, but stick with me! I have a student
whose
> reading performance has really puzzled me. He is very bright and is ahead
of
> the class in many areas. He finishes his work quickly and with little
effort
> and is a very verbal child. Yet he has not been making the progress in
> reading I would expect from someone of his abilities. He has made almost
no
> improvement according to his benchmark scores. When he reads a book of any
> length he gives up and goes back to something short and easy. I put him in
a
> reading group that was doing Summer of the Monkeys because I felt he was
> capable of doing it in a Literature Circle setting and I thought he would
> enjoy it. He kept up with the reading for a few days but then bombed out.
> Last night when I read his reading letter he said he didn't really like
the
> book because it wasn't funny. I thought this was strange because, to me,
the
> book is hilarious! I was really puzzled by it all.
>
> Then today I had a big Ah ha moment. I started reading Despereaux and I
told
> the kids they had to put away all other assignments and really concentrate
> on visualizing the events. I went into my little speech about good readers
> making a movie in their heads of what was going on. Then this boy raises
his
> hand and completely and honestly says, "But Mrs. Candler, I don't get any
> pictures in my head when I read." Wow!!! What can I say? Mystery solved!!!
> No wonder this boy wasn't enjoying any book he read! How awful to read the
> words on a page and not be able to make a movie in your head of what is
> going on! He's so smart and verbal that I never would have guessed! That
> answered so many questions about why he's struggling.
>
> Frankly, I'm not sure I even know what to do about it. How do you teach
this
> to a kid? Later during reading I went over to him and began talking with
him
> about Summer of the Monkeys. I was trying to find out what prior knowledge
> he had about life in the 1800's . . . and it was ZIP! He has never read
> anything about this time period or seen any movie about life in that time
> period. He really couldn't visualize it because he couldn't relate at all.
> Do you see how this is beginning to relate to Susan's questions about the
> importance of background knowledge?
>
> I called the media specialist and she found a video and some books dealing
> with this time period. He is going to take them home and spend a little
time
> with them. I explained some of the things I was visualizing when I read
the
> book and told him it didn't matter if he pictured it perfectly as long as
it
> made sense to him. I told him to stop frequently and really make an
effort
> to imagine what he was reading as if it were a movie. Later that day I
> checked with him and asked him about what he had read. His face lit up and
> he was all smiles and could tell me all about a funny part in the book and
> the picture he had in his mind. Is what I've done going to be enough? Who
> knows? I guess I'll just have to wait and see. As I said, he's a smart kid
> so maybe this little seed of instruction will make a difference. Any other
> ideas to help kids learn to visualize?
>
> Laura Candler
> lauracandler@att.net
++++++++++

> From: "Kelley Roberts" <krober15@tampabay.rr.com>
> Subject: [mosaic] Tried something new!
> Date: Wed, 5 May 2004 23:22:39 -0400

> Hi guys!
> I just had to share what happened today!
> After all year talking and sharing about reading strategies and asking
> questions and predicting and schema, I tried a unit on Art with my 8th
> graders. I showed paintings and photographs on the overhead and explained
> how artists use perspective, line, and color to get our attention and
showed
> how a jagged line could signify "anger" and a small dot could represent
> "solitude." Students used their reading strategies to analyze the
> paintings! Van Gogh, Renoir, Picasso, you name it, we tried it. I
started
> with think alouds for the first couple of paintings, then gradually asked
> them to fill in the blanks, until by the end of class they could figure
out
> the paintings by themselves! Wow! Never could have done that without
MOT!
> Mosaic of THOUGHT needs to go beyond just reading, but I'm curious about
> using the strategies in other areas and see how it works....next week, we
> try classical music and ballet, maybe even an opera!
> Bill
++++++++++
>
> Date: Wed, 05 May 2004 23:55:04 -0400
> From: Carroll Hockman <johcar79@comcast.net>
> Subject: [mosaic] visualizing

> Laura,
>What a timely question- and I have a response for
> you based on something that I did with my 3rd graders today. I was
thinking
> driving home tonight that I should share this... so here goes-
> <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Last week I picked up a copy of this year's
Caldecott
> winner- <u>The Man Who Walked Between the Towers</u>. If you haven't seen
> it yet it's the true story of a man who walked on a cable between the 2
> towers of the WTC in 8/74 when construction was almost complete. After
> telling this story, the book changes "gears". The next page is totally
> blank with the exception of the words - now the towers are gone. On the
> facing page you see the NYC skyline without the towers and the shapes that
> could be clouds and/or smoke. At this point I stopped and would not allow
> the children to say a word. I asked them to do a quick write as to what
> that meant, their feelings, etc. Third graders still remember 9/11 and
> easily wrote and shared.We then discussed prior knowledge for this page-
> it gave the concept a different twist for sure. Then the final page
repeats
> the previous page of the skyline and "clouds" AND ADDS faded outlines of
> the towers. The words are quite touching. This page is perfect for
visualizing.
> We had another major discussion about this page and what you see in your
> mind.
> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After&nbsp; lessons like we had today I always think
> it's such a shame we can't have the testing folks score these discussions.
> That would raise those reading scores!!!
Carroll/Md/3
++++++++++++
>
> From: "Donna Baker" <baker@sprint.ca>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Visualizing - Response to Laura C.
> Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 05:28:56 -0400

> Hi Laura,
> I know how terrible it is not to be able to visualize "movies in my mind"
> because I can't either. I have memories that I often share when I am
> presenting strategies in staff trainings of being asked to "visualize
clouds
> scudding across the sky" and closing my eyes so tight that I saw stars not
> clouds. During childbirth education classes, being asked to imagine
myself
> on a beach stressed me out. What I do with my students (and what I think
> would have helped me) is start by asking them to draw what they see. I
> bring them to the floor with books or clipboards and a sheet of paper
folded
> in 4. I stop reading at various points and ask them to draw what they see
> in each one of the squares. I do not show the illustrations that day.
The
> next day we come to the floor to reread the text and share our
> "visualizations". The students love this activity.
>
> Another thing that I make sure to do is validate "visualizing" using the
> other senses. I think the visualizing I do well is with the sense of
> hearing. So I make sure to explain to students that "visualizing" is with
> all of the senses.
>
> Donna Baker
+++++++++++
>
> Subject: RE: [mosaic] Visualizing - Response to Laura C.
> Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 07:47:58 -0400
> From: <semartin@clayton.k12.ga.us>

> In third grade this year, I taught visualizing at the same time I taught
> adding details to narratives in Writers Workshop. Students paired up
> and read each other's stories, trying to "visualize" their partners'
> characters, setting, and/or action of the story. When time permitted,
> the partners made a drawing of what they visualized during their
> reading. =20
> It's difficult for students to admit when they need to revise their
> writing, but when told by their partner that there was not enough
> details in the story to "visualize", then they were eager to add more
> details. Also, when students saw their partners' illustrations and
> noticed they did not include enough specific details for their partner
> to visualize what they meant them to see, then the student authors knew
> they needed to do a better job of "showing, not telling." =20
> It was a good way to foster the Reading/Writing connection. I'm
> working on trying to link all my writing lessons with my reading
> strategies lessons for next year, to create more meaningful learning
> experiences for my students like this visualizing lesson.
>
> Shannon Betts
++++++++++
>
> Date: Thu, 06 May 2004 07:04:48 -0600
> From: Lori Jackson <ljackson@gwtc.net>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] MOT - chapter 4 Discussion

> I did a reading conference yesterday with an exceptional second grade
student. He
> is in the gifted program, does exceptionally well with math (just a
natural) and
> although he is a good reader, he often avoids chapter books. He prefers
> nonfiction. He read a Nancy Drew book but really couldn't tell me
anything about
> it. He explained that he had gotten it from the library cart (which
offeres very
> limited choices, which must be made quickly). He had read the title,
which had the
> word alligators in it and he likes alligators. He read the back cover and
thought
> it sounded interesting, even though he does not like mysteries. He told
me that he
> checks the the table of contents to see if the chapters sound good. But
even
> though he did all this, he told me, he didn't like the book. I asked him
what he
> did when this happens and he told me "I just turn off my brain while I'm
reading."
> I had him read a bit to me, and he was fluent, phrased and word perfect.
He
> remembered what he had read but not what had happened in the previous
chapter. I
> suggested to him that, if the book wasn't required reading, he could 'turn
off' the
> book by putting it down and choosing something else. I asked what he
would have
> done if the book were required reading for a subject in school and he
said, I would
> have reread and reread until it stuck.
>
> His comprehension is pretty strong BUT visualization is also a weakness
with him,
> although is very good with other strategies. The one thing in math he as
a tough
> time with is geomtery (at higher levels). He is not drawn to art and even
disliked
> it so much last year, that I thought perhaps he would not return for our
second
> year (looping). He stayed, tries harder at art (doesn't like things that
are
> messy, isn't very good with precise cutting or painting) but it is not his
favorite
> subject. When we reallly concentrated on using imagery to support
comprehension, I
> found him to be much strong with auditory and the sense of smell and
touch. I do
> not consider him to be a visual learner. Do you suppose there is a link
between
> learning styles, multiple intelligences and the ability to visualize?
>
> Lori
++++++++++

> Date: 06 May 2004 07:10:22 -0500
> From: Tonya Cogan <tcogan@eldoradoschools.org>
> Subject: [mosaic] help with a student

> I have a student who is a good reader, does well in the Saxon Phonic =
> program with the sounds and the letter combinations which makes those =
> sounds. He does well not great on spelling tests. the probelm is when I
=
> am checking just the basic understanding of writing long and short vowel =
> words that don't break the rules, he does terrible. He might get 4 out of
=
> 10. My question is, do I need to worry about this and if so do any of you
=
> have any ideas that i might not have thought of? I have put him on =
> Earaerobics to help to make sure he is hearing the sounds.
> Tonya
++++++++++
>
> Date: Thu, 06 May 2004 07:35:29 -0600
> From: Lori Jackson <ljackson@gwtc.net>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] help with a student

> Where is your worry based? I have a student who is a strong reader, with
fantastic comprehension and I doubt he knows a long a from a hole in the
ground. I don't worry about that in terms of reading. How often do I, as a
reader, stop to identify vowel sounds? I read, he reads. But he is a poor
speller, in fact, the worst speller I have ever had. We have worked and
worked and worked with him and I somewhat convinced that should he become
the next Stephen King, he is simply going to have to hire a good assistant
to take care of his spelling. It is such a
> struggle, he is not even close enough to get help from spell check in most
instances. Here is one more piece of interesting information. He was
retained as a first grader and at that time, the teacher he had was very
phonics focused. I really think if he was going to get it, he would have
started getting it. He is a smart kid, a very smart kid. I try to help him
with spelling strategies, he is better about recognizing that words are
wrong and reworks spelling until they are at least phoenetic. He needed to
learn patience with rewriting and also needed
> to know that his content was strong in other ways. Kid has great voice
and his content is top notch.
>
> Lori
++++++++++
>
> From: <milesandtannymcgregor@fuse.net>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] help with a student
> Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 12:38:11 +0000

> Tonya,
> Sometimes songs work when nothing else does. I have a CD with songs for
the short and long vowel sounds. If you are interested, email me offline.
The CD is only ten dollars.
> Tanny
++++++++
>
> Date: Thu, 06 May 2004 07:38:45 -0500
> From: Cammy Goucher <camkay@kaving.com>
> Subject: RE: [mosaic] MOT - chapter 4 Discussion

> I think what you did was terrific and very well done. I agree, a lot of
> the time these students lack the background knowledge necessary to "see"
> the book. I know I had a hard time as well understanding that people
> don't all visualize what they read. I think I even see them in color
> and 3D. :-)
>
> Before teaching ESL, I taught special reading for 8 years and also have
> a degree in art... one of the most effective initial exercises I have
> used was to have the students close their eyes and listen while I
> described a setting. Most often I begin by talking about a boy walking
> down a dirt road to go fishing. After my short description (lacking any
> adjectives... just the facts) I ask the students to tell me what the boy
> looked like. It is funny, but a lot of them see pretty much the same
> boy. He has on overalls, blond hair, freckles, a fishing pole over his
> shoulder, no shoes..... I am thinking it has a lot to do with
> television's input (thinking Mayberry here). My ESL students have their
> own visualizations. That has been very interesting.
>
> Cammy
> ESL
+++++++++
>
> From: "Martha Hitzel" <mehitzel@cox.net>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] visualizing
> Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 05:32:19 -0700
>
> I make sure to explain to students that "visualizing" is with all of the
> senses.
>
> I, too, teach sensory imaging, and include what we see with our eyes as
> just one of the ways to "visualize" what is occurring in a text. I
> agree with Donna, that maybe different kids are more adept at using
> different senses to interpret a text's meaning. I think it is important
> to include our emotional response as one of the senses. To me this is
> one of the most important parts of sensory imaging. Isn't the goal of
> most writers to have their reader respond/interact with the text in an
> emotional way? At just about the end of all our reading now, we
> discusss, "What do you think the author wanted us to know, think about,
> feel, from reading this text?" Not really an amazing thing, but like
> I've shared before, this was a huge thing for me to realize I should be
> doing in my personal reading, even though I was seen as a proficient
> reader all of my life.
>
> I shared See the Ocean yesterday with my children after learning of this
> story on the list. It is a great story for demonstrating the use of
> inferring, but it also led to a great discussion of how we create
> sensory images in our minds. Because the girl, Nellie, in this story is
> blind, she has used all of her other senses to create a "picture" of the
> ocean in her mind. A much more beautiful picture than many people with
> sight would be able to create.
>
> I've used a tape of rain and thunder with my kids and had them draw and
> then write about the sensory image that comes to their mind. I also
> share a lot of poetry. The poems from All The Little Things are great
> for this.
>
> I can really connect to your feeling of excitement, Laura, in finding a
> window into how to help this child become a better reader. I'm still
> pretty new at teaching and it was really a revelation to me to find out
> how important comprehension instruction is. When I first started and a
> child would sit down with me and decode beautifully, I sighed a sigh of
> relief, thinking ok, that's one I won't have to worry about. I've since
> learned that often these beautiful decoders sometimes present our
> greatest reading instruction challenge!
>
> Well, I'm going to be late for school! Have a great day everyone!
>
> Martha/4/5/az
+++++++++
>
> Date: Thu, 06 May 2004 07:49:24 -0500
> From: Cammy Goucher <camkay@kaving.com>

> I agree with Lori. ESL students become hyperlexic... can read the words
> beautifully, but have no clue as to what they mean if you don't focus
> more on understanding and put less emphasis on decoding. In fact, when
> teaching ESL (and depending on which authority you listen to), your
> initial focus should be more on teaching vocabulary and such to get them
> started. I tend to believe that is true for non-ESL as well. I know I
> have a co-teacher that is over 50 years old and could not decode a word
> for you if she had to. I always help her. She is one of the most
> admired and successful teachers I know.
>
> I do teach vowels, but through stories. My ESL students love the
> Starfall.com website. If you haven't tried it, it is free and has
> stories for each vowel sound. At first Starfall gave you their books,
> free of charge. Now you have to buy them but they are still very, very
> inexpensive and well worth the cost. You can still download them for
> free.
>
> Cammy
> ESL
++++++++++
>
> Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 09:48:52 -0500
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Visualizing - Response to Laura C.
> From: carol carlson <carlsonca@dist102.k12.il.us>

> THanks for this information
> I am trying to correlate reading strategies with write traits and
> include reading genres and writing forms. One of my third grade
> teachers asked for this. It's a little harder than I originally
> thought, but I am teaching a STW class in the district, and that helps
> jog my memory for the reading strategies.
> This list is great! I'm still trying to write up a testimonial, Ginger!
> Carol
++++++++++++

> Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 09:54:08 -0500
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Visualizing - Response to Laura C.
> From: carol carlson <carlsonca@dist102.k12.il.us>

> I forgot to add this. I call this strategy Creating Sensory Images (I
> know, probably will cause some chuckles in junior high), but that seems
> to encompass all the senses.
> Carol
+++++++++++

> Subject: Re: [mosaic] visualizing
> From: <psherryl@pa.net>
> Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 11:22:24 EDT

> I make popcorn for the students, and talk about making a movie in their
mind (and, what do you eat at the movies?) Each gets a small dixie cup full
of popcorn, and I read aloud, stopping to ask "Can you see that? Close your
eyes -- can you smell that? etc...." When done, I have them draw something
they saw, or I use the visulization chart on the mosaic website that has
them draw what they see, hear, smell, etc.
++++++++++
>
> From: "Rosie Ellendson" <rellendson@fort-dodge.k12.ia.us>
> Subject: [mosaic] skills
> Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 12:23:43 -0500
>
> I am a Literacy Coach in Iowa. We have Rigby Literacy. We have worked =
> really hard with putting the comprehension strategies into all parts of =
> Balanced Literacy(Read Aloud, Shared Reading, Guided Reading, Writers =
> Workshop) I still always get the question "What about the skills?" =
> Does anybody have a good way of explaining this to teachers?
> Thanks,
> Rosie
++++++++++++++
>
> Subject: RE: [mosaic] skills/linking
> Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 14:21:55 -0400
> From: <semartin@clayton.k12.ga.us>
>
> I have just now recently seen how the skills can be tied into the
> Balanced Literacy program. Once I saw, though, it all made logical
> sense. For example, a great time to learn about adjectives and adverbs
> is during Visualizing activities or when students need to learn about
> how to add details to their writing. Verb and verb tenses are very
> relevant to students when they're trying to add action to their stories.
> Capitalization of place names is important during letter writing.
> Etc. Etc. Like I said earlier today, my summer project is linking all
> these things together so I can teach concepts that go together at the
> same time. I would welcome suggestions any of you may have.

> Thanks,
> Shannon Betts
++++++++++++++
>
> Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 11:36:10 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Heather Wall <heather_wall_2000@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] MOT - chapter 4 Discussion
>
> As far as teaching visualizing to someone who's not
> done it, there's a book out called Visualizing and
> Verbalizing by Bell that explains how to teach it step
> by step, for teaching to LD kids. This boy probably
> won't need you to go into this much depth,but they
> start by having kids visualize a word ("clown"), then
> a phrase (i.e. "the mall at Christmas") and then a
> sentence. Have the student draw each one separately
> and compare to others' drawings. Then read a short
> story sentence by sentence. Have him visualize as you
> go, perhaps even getting kids to act it out.
> Gradually, or even quickly, he'll get the idea. I had
> a 4th grader with language problems who'd never
> visualized before, and when she finally did she
> actually jumped in her seat and screamed! "Oh, I see
> him!" It was neat to witness that epiphany in a child
> for the first time.
>
> Heather Wall
+++++++++++

> From: "Dave Middlebrook" <dmiddlebrook@comcast.net>
> Subject: [mosaic] Head in the sand
> Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 21:45:06 -0400

> Several people have left this list because they are receiving virus
notices
> and rejections/bounce-backs of emails that they never sent. They are
> understandably troubled by this. It sounds like they think that if they
> leave the listserv they will somehow insulate themselves from any
problems,
> but that is not the case. The only way to stop these problems is to
> disconnect entirely from the web -- to close your email accounts and stop
> using the web. If you are on line, you are open to viruses. If you have
an
> email address (even if you don't use it), someone can hijack that address
> and send messages in your name (this is called "spoofing"), without your
> knowledge or participation.
>
> If you receive a rejection/bounce-back notice for an email that you did
not
> write, it means that some unscrupulous person found your email address --
> usually on some else's computer -- and is sending email in your name
> ("spoofing"). It's easy to do. There's not much you can do to stop it.
> Just delete the rejection notice and forget about it. It's out of your
> hands.
>
> You can, however, at least ensure that your computer is not mined for
email
> addresses in this way by using a router or firewall, and by installing and
> using antivirus software. If you don't do these things, you will have
> problems and, more important, you will be a source of problems to others
as,
> for example, all of the email addresses in your address book are mined.
If
> you are not using a rounter/firewall and antivirus software, your computer
> is already almost certainly infected with a host of viruses, spyware and
> keyloggers. This means that your email address book is being mined on an
> ongoing basis, as are your data and web browsing activities. It means
that
> your every key stroke is being monitored by automated programs which are
> designed to identify and capture valuable information such as addresses,
> phone numbers, passwords, bank account numbers, and credit card numbers.
> Finally, it means that your computer is being used to spread viruses and
to
> hack into other people's computers.
>
> The problem is not the Mosaic Listserv. While it is true that some of the
> Mosaic members are unwitting hosts to viruses, spyware, and keyloggers, it
> is also true that other people with whom you correspond -- including
friends
> and family -- are likely to be hosts as well. So leaving the listserv and
> changing your email address isn't a solution. The problem is already far
> too widespread. As long as you have an email address and a web
connection,
> you are vulnerable.
>
> The only solution is to use a router or install firewall software, and buy
> antivirus software -- use it and keep it up-to-date. It's a hassle, but
> it's the only way. If you intend to have an email address and access to
the
> web, this is what you need to do. There may be good reasons for leaving
> this listserv (I can't think of many -- it's a great listserv; one of the
> best), but certainly the avoidance of viruses is not one of them.
>
> I hope you'll stay with us. This is a great list.
>
> Don't let the bad guys win.
>
> Read these articles and become an instant geek!
> http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/home_networks.html
> http://www.cert.org/encyc_article/tocencyc.html
>
> Dave Middlebrook
> The Textmapping Project
> A resource for teachers improving reading comprehension skills
instruction.
> http://www.textmapping.org | Please share this site with your
> colleagues!
++++++++++
>
> Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 19:13:43 -0700
> Subject: [mosaic] re: [PERIODIC mosaic DIGEST POSTING]
> From: "Sue Jones" <maps@resourceroom.net>

> I don't find it terrible not to visualize... never have truly visualized
and am off-the-charts verbal (which is, I trust, why I don't visualize --
not in the "movie" sense at any rate). So please, please... encourage this
child to draw what's in the books, encourage the process (I did beneft from
the kind of things that get people visualizing) but don't make him feel like
there's something wrong if he doesn't see movies.
> You might also make sure he can read accurately independently. It's
not common, but I've known a few highly verbal kiddos who were also
dyslexic.
++++++++++
>
> From: "Anne Blake" <anneb4534@earthlink.net>
> Subject: RE: [mosaic] Head in the sand
> Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 21:15:59 -0500

> Well said, Dave!!
++++++++++
>
> From: Patty526@aol.com
> Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 23:14:29 EDT
> Subject: [mosaic] Debbie Miller's Music
>
> Hi,
I think this has been posted before, but can anyone tell me where the song
> "All the Way Around the World" can be found? A group of teachers watched
the
> Happy Reading video and loved the song. Thanks,
>
> Patty
+++++++++++
>
> From: "J Grand" <grandj@hotmail.com>
> Subject: [mosaic] retirement?
> Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 06:06:22 +0000

> I really could use some help:
>
> We have tons of teachers & administrators retiring this year.
>
> Does anyone have any great suggestions on gifts or poems or funny songs to
> send them on their way & for serving so many years with children?
>
> txs,
> grandj@hotmail.com
+++++++++++
>
> From: Twinkie139@aol.com
> Date: Fri, 7 May 2004 06:38:46 EDT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Head in the sand reply to dave
>
> About 2 months ago, I had experienced "spoofing". Someone used my email
> address and sent out 300 emails! i received all sorts of angry responses,
plus
> AOL suspended my service! I called AOL and straightened it out, but it
wasn't
> the first time they had heard about this. I already had Norton Antivirus,
but
> I installed a personal firewall and have had NO problems since then. It's
> really sick that some people do this, but I agree with Dave; quitting the
> listserve is not the answer.
>
> Dianne
+++++++++++
>
> From: "Laura Rieben" <ljrieben@msn.com>
> Subject: RE: [mosaic] Debbie Miller's Music
> Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 07:29:02 -0400

> Chicken Soup for Little Souls at Amazon.com
++++++++++
>
> From: <milesandtannymcgregor@fuse.net>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] retirement?
> Date: Fri, 7 May 2004 11:54:18 +0000
>
> > For teachers who are retiring this year....
>
> Miles and I have written a song called, "Thirty Years". It talks about how
things were 30 years ago; how some things change and some things stay the
same. For info. on how to get this song on CD, just email us offline.
>
> Tanny
++++++++++

> Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 10:05:57 -0500
> From: "Susan Parks" <Parkss@lawson.k12.mo.us>
> Subject: [mosaic] Greetings
>
> I am looking forward to being a part of this listserv. I am an
> Elementary Principal and have been an avid fan of Mosiac of Thought! I
> know I will enjoy and appreciate the ideas, suggestions, and
> conversations regarding comprehension strategies and literacy
> instruction!
>
> Susan Parks, Principal
> Southwest Elementary
> Lawson, MO 64062
> 816-580-7272
parkss@lawson.k12.mo.us
+++++++++++
>
> Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 12:05:55 -0400
> From: "Dawn Haithcock" <Dhaithc@we.hcs.k12.sc.us>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Debbie Miller's Music

> It's on the Chicken Soup for Little Souls. I bought mine from Barnes
> and Noble online.
+++++++++
>
> Date: Fri, 7 May 2004 14:35:04 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Bonnie Blackman <ladybook1956@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] national testing
>
> Wendy -
>
> While this isn't a political forum, the fact that Ted K. and many others
helped write this bill doesn't mean it is sacrosanct. This can and should
be discussed by people all over the country. High standards are to be
encouraged, and we who receive this listserve are doing our level best to
bring our students to an ever higher standard. As a 22 year special ed
teacher, however, I know that yearly evaluations for IEPs does not guarantee
increased learning, and annual state/federal standardized testing will not,
either.
++++++++++
>
> Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 16:14:05 -0700
> From: "Wendy Wahlen" <wwahlen@lbusd.k12.ca.us>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] ladybook

> The only reason I put in my email about Ted Kennedy is that their was a
> subscriber who was blaming No Child Left Behind all on George Bush.Don't
> get me wrong I am no fan of the bill. I think we should discuss it .
> Let's just remember that both sides of the platform helped put this
> together. Thanks!
+++++++++

> From: JATShaw@aol.com
> Date: Fri, 7 May 2004 20:21:23 EDT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] MOT - chapter 4 Discussion
>
> In a message dated 5/6/2004 4:58:56 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> ljackson@gwtc.net writes:
> Do you suppose there is a link between
> learning styles, multiple intelligences and the ability to visualize?

> That's a really interesting question! And I wonder whether some of the
other
> sense tap into multiple intelligences as well. Our staff and some
volunteers
> had a discussion about visualizing and talked how images and imagining are
> related. Then we wondered whether using both words, "visualizing" and
> "imagining" would help in teaching this concept. I don't see pictures in
my head but
> know I imagine things, especially when seeing a movie where the
characters,
> setting or whatever doesn't match what's in my imagination. I can "see"
when
> words are misspelled also....but there's no movie. And then there's the
ability
> to see things spatially, like those gears on certain tests...some folks
can do
> that easily and others go through all sorts of gyrations to figure them
out.
> It's a fascinating topic, and my guess is that we have just barely begun
to
> understand how it all fits together.
+++++++++
>
> Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 19:16:00 -0600
> From: Lori Jackson <ljackson@gwtc.net>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] ladybook

> I think we all need to understand that the agenda of this legislation was
largely
> unknown to many who signed it. It sounds pretty hunky dory, doesn't it,
this notion
> of leaving no child behind? That is, if you are willing to some how
accept that
> the majority of educators were doing so. Putting that on the back burner,
this
> legislation was sold well. It was unwieldy and unread by most who signed
it. They
> put their faith in the National Reading Panel, something I have not been
willing to
> do. And as some are finding they have been sold a bill of goods and are
beginning
> to question certain aspects of the legislation and are making public their
> concerns, I would prefer to gratefully accept the scrutiny rather than
defame them
> for not having made wiser choices in the signing of the bill. While both
sides are
> responsible for the legislation, it is interesting to see who is willing
to admit
> error.
>
> Lori
+++++++++
>
> Date: Fri, 07 May 2004 21:15:08 -0700
> From: "Wendy Wahlen" <wwahlen@lbusd.k12.ca.us>
> Subject: [mosaic] re: ladybook

> Lori, you make some valid points. I am curious, who do you see as
> willing to admit error? Wendy
+++++++++
>
> Date: Sat, 08 May 2004 05:51:20 -0400
> From: SKosmoski@aol.com
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] MOT - chapter 4 Discussion

> Good morning--
> i recently read a book by jeff Wilhelm on the topic of viualizing. He
supports the fact that our ability to visualize is directly linked to MI.
those of us who have a strong dominence in the visual spatial intelligence
visualize quicker and easier because they tend to retain pictures at a
higher rate than they retain words or numbers.
> His book is an interesting study of how to get older students (especially
boys) to be able to "see" what they are reading.
> Mary Anne
++++++++++
>
> Subject: A Fun New Book and a couple of interesting links to share
> >
> > I recently stumbled across a fun new picture book called The Fairytale
> News
> > by Colin and Jacqui Hawkins. It would be a great way to introduce a
unit
> on
> > newspapers and is just plain fun. It even includes a real issue of the
> latest
> > edition of The Fairytale News in a pocket in the back of the book! Our
> staff
> > and my adult students loved it, too.
> >
> >
> > NIFL and NCSALL provide diagnostic information for adult reading at the
> > following site:
> > http://www.nifl.gov/readingprofiles II don't know whether this
> information
> > would be helpful for adolescents or not. It looks very interesting to
me.
> >
> > This past week there were two interesting features on NPR: for those
MOT
> > readers who read the Cisneros excerpt in Ch. 3, she was interviewed
about
> her
> > writing on 5/03 The other is a research study by Sally Shaywitz which
> contains
> > an interesting comment about the importance of being read to at an early
> age.
> > The rest is interesting also, but the findings about being read to slip
by
> > really quickly. See links below.
> >
> > http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1872098 Study: Poor Reader
> Can
> > Improve Brain Function
> >
> > http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1866475 Intersections: When
> > Languages Collide (interview with Sandra Cisneros)
> Judy S.
++++++++++
>
> From: CATHYMILLR@aol.com
> Date: Sat, 8 May 2004 08:49:40 EDT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Greetings (to susan lawson)
>
> Welcome, Susan,
> There don't seem to be too many administrators on this website, so I
am
> happy to see a principal join us.
>
> I have recently used MOT as a book club selection with the reading
> specialists in our district. It has been a wonderful experience for all of
us and
> has led us to see thing more consistently district-wide. We will choose
another
> book for next year soon. I am thinking about Reading for Meaning.
>
> Cathy Miller
> Elementary Supervisor
> Indian River School District
> Delaware
++++++++++
>
> From: CATHYMILLR@aol.com
> Date: Sat, 8 May 2004 09:00:03 EDT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] national testing
>
> I don't mind a little political commentary on here every so often, and we
can
> usually tell by the title what the comments are about, can't we? If I am
not
> in the mood to enter into that type of discussion, I don't read the
message.
>
> I believe that, no matter which party is in power, NCLB is here to stay in
> some form. The morale of all teachers is probably taking a hit from the
> unreachable goals of this bill. Good teachers know that learning is about
improving
> instruction, and that is what all of us who enter into these discussions
> believe, or we wouldn't be here in the first place.
>
> Cathy
> El.Sup.
> DE
++++++++++
>
> Date: Sat, 08 May 2004 09:05:20 -0600
> From: Lori Jackson <ljackson@gwtc.net>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Student advice

> It is a copyrighted rubric but essentially is a 1 to 4 rating that
addresses
> elements such as:
>
> important events/ideaas & sequencing
>
> important details & story language
>
> character identification (ranging from general pronoun id to naming all
important
> characters)
>
> confusion about story line ...some...literal...higher level thinking
>
> one that deals with inferential thinking
>
> one that deals with response to prompts and number of prompts required
>
> I am sure you could track it down pretty easily. And I am not promoting
this
> retelling as the only or best measure of comprehension, but as it is
becoming such
> an important hurdle imposed upon my children, I want to make sure that
they
> understand they instrument. When my own boys perform at music contests,
they know
> exactly what the judges are looking. I want to give my students the same
> opportunities. And at least we weave the strategies into the discussion
when we
> address higher level thinking and inference. It has improved my students
> comprehension scores as measured by this instrument and the practice has
done
> wonders for their listening and speaking skills. They are deeply
attentive when I
> read the book, eager to stand in front of their peers and making their
thinking
> visable, far more willing to listen with deep respect to the speaker and
the verbal
> interaction as they rate the retelling is both genuinely complimentary and
> supportive in suggestions for improvement. When I administer the test, as
I began
> doing yesterday, the kids don't rush away from me, relieved to be
finished. They
> draw near to me and participate in the rubric rating of their reading,
most of them
> fully aware of their strengths and weaknesses. I completed six DRA's
yesterday and
> will likely readminister if time allows as both fluency and comprehension
were
> extremely high. The lowest comprehension score I gave was to a special
needs
> student who received a 19 and an oral fluency score of 97 at a level 10.
> Previously, she has not read above level 4. When I retested her at a
level 12, she
> had a comprehension score of 23 and her higher level thinking skills were
amazing!
> She launched, without prompting, into a very well articulated connection
between a
> personal experience and the story, inferring jealousy. Sadly, she missed
fluency
> by a single point (93 vs 94) and I have to leave her score at level 10,
but I know
> so much more than those figures will ever show!
>
> Lori
++++++++
>
> Date: Sat, 08 May 2004 09:08:37 -0600
> From: Lori Jackson <ljackson@gwtc.net>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] re: ladybook

> So far, I don't see it tied to party line but to individual conscience. I
doubt
> that the NRP or the current administration will ever admit to error
without lots
> and lots of pressure. For my money, having been actively involved in
letter
> writing and following this for four years (and I admit to sitting on the
sidelines
> too long),
> the late Senator Paul Wellstone from Minneapolis was the only actively
involved
> politician who truly understood the good, the bad and the ugly of this
legislation.
>
> Lori
+++++++++++
>
> From: Renee Goularte <phoenixone@mindspring.com>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] re: ladybook
> Date: Sat, 8 May 2004 07:27:49 -0700

> John Kerry is calling for full funding of NCLB and better teacher
> preparation. He doesn't get it either.
>
> Renee
+++++++++
>
> From: "Lise" <iteach@cybertrails.com>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] re: ladybook
> Date: Sat, 8 May 2004 07:35:03 -0700

> >>>>John Kerry is calling for full funding of NCLB and better teacher
> preparation. He doesn't get it either.
>
> You are correct; sadly, he doesn't. This is definitely one of those hold
> your nose and vote kind of elections. I wonder when the word progressive
> will no longer be a dirty word.
>
> Lise
+++++++++

> Date: Sat, 08 May 2004 08:38:22 -0700
> From: Susan Nixon <Susan@DesertSkyOne.com>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] ladybook

> The one thing I will say that I have noticed since NCLB was enacted is
that
> everyone is working harder to keep children from falling between the
> cracks, something that was happening all too often before.
>
> I am in many schools, because of my consulting, and I have seen
instruction
> and instructional leadership changing because of schools' panic about
> scores and percentages of children achieving, schools which did not seem
to
> be concerned before NCLB. Maybe it's too stringent, maybe it goes too
far,
> maybe there are problems of many kinds, but it *is* making a difference to
> a lot of children.
>
> I look at it as one more challenge in a challenging career.
>
> Susan Nixon
> 2nd Grade Teacher
> Phoenix, AZ
++++++++++
>
> From: "Michelle Hulke" <shelltchr@wowway.com>
> Subject: [mosaic] Autisim resources
> Date: Sat, 8 May 2004 09:18:44 -0500

> Hi all. I teach a 1/2 multiage class and it has come to my attention that
I
> may have an autisic boy entering my class as a first grader next year.
> While I am highly interested in having him in our class, I have never had
an
> autisic child in my room and therefore I really want to make it the best
> environment I can for him.
>
> Does anyone out there have any suggestions for books I can read this
summer
> on autism? It is my understanding that he can decode books like a
champion
> (but comprehension is almost impossible to measure) and he is a wiz with
the
> computer. If indeed I do get this boy in my class, of course I will get
more
> information about his skills and abilities from the specialists at my
> school. I admit that I know little about autism, but I am eager to learn
so
> any help would be appreciated.
>
> My district offers a class or two on autism, but not until the fall and
I'd
> like to be prepared before school starts.
>
> Thanks a million!
> Michelle
> IL
+++++++++++
>
> Date: Sat, 08 May 2004 09:09:44 -0700
> From: Tandy Gunn <tgunn@island.net>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Autisim resources

> See if your district has the "Asperger's Syndrome Video" by Dr. Tony
> Atwood. Easy to watch, as it is broken into 1 hour chunks and he is very
> informative without being toooooo boring! If your district does not have
> them, a local autism support group may or they are available from Amazon.
>
> Good luck and have fun!
>
> Tandy
++++++++++
>
> From: Casey1532@aol.com
> Date: Sat, 8 May 2004 12:15:03 EDT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Autisim resources
>
> Hi Michelle,
> This past year, I was privileged to work with students and staff assigned
to
> ASD classes. A diagnosis of Autism is placed some where on a large
spectrum. I
> would suggest you find out about where he was placed. Also, before you
> purchase reading material, I would also suggest that you use the internet.
It has a
> wealth of information at no cost. After you gain a working background
> knowledge, you can be more selective in the professional material you
purchase.
> I hope this is of some help,
> Karen
+++++++++
>
> From: RR1981@aol.com
> Date: Sat, 8 May 2004 13:58:39 EDT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] national testing

> In a message dated 5/8/2004 9:00:40 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> CATHYMILLR@aol.com writes:
> believe that, no matter which party is in power, NCLB is here to stay in
> > some form. The morale of all teachers is probably taking a hit from the
> > unreachable goals of this bill. Good teachers know that learning is
about improving
> > instruction, and that is what all of us who enter into these discussions
> > believe, or we wouldn't be here in the first place.
>
> As a second year teacher, I have really struggled with parts of this bill.
> Specifically that my worth as a teacher is based on my students' test
scores.
> Why would a teacher want to teach in a school with minorities and other
> populations where test scores are traditionally lower? I love my students
and feel
> that I can make a difference, however I have students with an average IQ
in
> the low 80's. Will these children be able to pass a grade level test?
Many of
> them will not.
>
> I teach in a school with a high population of students who are considered
> "at-risk." As a parent of two children with learning disabilities, I
understand
> that not all children will be at grade level with all subject matters. It
is
> not the fault of the teacher.
>
> What about that students who have down's syndrome, autism, etc.? We
cannot
> expect them to be "proficient" on a grade level test.
>
> If we tie teacher pay to these scores, then most teachers, are going to
want
> to work in schools where the majority of the students are at grade level.
> This just makes things worse for the students and schools where the
majority of
> the population is "at-risk."
>
> Rosie
++++++++++++
>
> From: "Lise" <iteach@cybertrails.com>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Autisim resources
> Date: Sat, 8 May 2004 11:18:59 -0700

> Hi,
>
> My youngest son has Asperger's Syndrome (high functioning autism) He was
> always mainstreamed in an inclusion setting. He will be graduating
> highschool with honors this year and going on to college in the fall. I
> really believe that inclusion is the best model for high functioning kids
> with autism.I have also taught autistic kids in my classroom. I love
working
> with them.
>
> Here are some links to my favorite websites: you can order books from them
> too!
>
> http://www.teacch.com/
> http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/
> http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer
>
> Carol Grey has several books out called "Social Stories" which you might
> find useful.
> Tony Attwood has a book called Asperger's Syndrome which is a pretty easy
> read.
>
> Feel free to email me privately if you want further information
> iteach@cybertrails.com I am more than happy to help.
>
> Lise
+++++++++
>
> Date: Sat, 8 May 2004 18:24:35 GMT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Head in the sand
> From: dshadwick@juno.com
>
> Thanks for the tips on helping with (not getting) the viruses. I have
thought of a firewall and will have to get one of my computer geek sons to
address this problem better.
>
> I wouldn't think of leaving this listserve. It has given many pointers
which help me while I'm subbing and may be part of the reason why I'm in the
running for a class at one of the schools I sub for. I'm still hoping for
my own classroom:-)
>
> Diane
+++++++++
>
> From: CATHYMILLR@aol.com
> Date: Sat, 8 May 2004 15:24:50 EDT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] national testing
>
> I agree, and, unfortunately, the teacher shortage will be worse. And many
> good teachers will go to private schools to teach - since the private
schools are
> not held to these standards.
>
> Is it any wonder some of us think this bill is designed to dismantle the
> public school system?
++++++++++

> From: CNJPALMER@aol.com
> Date: Sat, 8 May 2004 20:21:59 EDT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] politics
>
> I just attended the Milken National Educators Conference in DC this week.
> NCLB was a main part of many panel discussions. There were legislators
there,
> including Republican John Boehner from Ohio who is the chair of the House
> Education and Workforce Committee and Mary Landreiu who was a senator from
Louisiana
> on a panel discussing "reforms that work". Rep. Boehner insisted that
NCLB
> was not going away and that both sides of the political fence were
committed to
> it and its goals. It is THE reform that will work in their opinion.
Senator
> Landrieu talked about making adjustments, but Boehner pretty much
indicated
> that this was a reform that was going to work because it had 'teeth,' and
should
> stay as-is.
>
> Even when audience members questioned NCLB because it was an 'unfunded
> mandate' the panel dismissed the question by talking about how much
additional money
> is being added to the federal education budget and that states are
probably
> not spending money on what would really work anyway.
>
> While I think most of us applaud the INTENT of NCLB and find that the
> implementation may be next to impossible, it sure sounded to me that we
will be stuck
> with it for quite a while. Perhaps the folks on the panel discussions I
saw
> were not representative of the true opinions of our representatives.
However,
> it sure sounded like we will have an upward battle convincing our policy
makers
> if we need an alternative reform.
>
> As for politics on this forum, I know that the main purpose of this list
is
> comprehension strategies and reading instruction. The reality of our
teaching
> context now is that we all must be informed and become political or face
> working conditions that are unbearable. We must, however,remain respectful
of the
> differences of opinion of colleagues.
> Jennifer
> Maryland
+++++++++

> Date: Sat, 08 May 2004 21:00:52 -0700
> From: "Colleen Mussetter" <cmusset@mlsd.org>
> Subject: [mosaic] Checking

> As the listserve not been very busy Friday and Saturday? There's
> usually 10 -20 each day and I've had only the 2 digest postings. Just
> checking if something's up with my computer. Happy Mother's Day to all
> you wonderful mothers out there, too. CM
+++++++++
>
> From: CATHYMILLR@aol.com
> Date: Sun, 9 May 2004 08:11:36 EDT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] politics
>
> Thanks for the information, Jennifer. As I said, I agree that it will not
go
> away. My greatest fear in all this is that the definition of reading will
be
> reduced to decoding and fluency. There is so much "big business" money
tied to
> this: testing companies and publishing companies who programs have made
the
> list for NCLB. In our state, teachers will be deemed highly qualified if
they
> can pass the Praxis II. Again, more $$ for testing companies.
>
> Cathy
> DE
+++++++++++
>
> From: CATHYMILLR@aol.com
> Date: Sun, 9 May 2004 08:12:14 EDT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Checking
>
> Not too many messages this weekend for me either.
++++++++++
>
> From: "btillman" <btillman@farmerstel.com>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] ladybook
> Date: Sun, 9 May 2004 08:30:19 -0400

> Reply-To: mosaic@u46teachers.org
> Susan,
> I will agree with you there! I am in many schools as well, and had seen
many
> kids put in special ed so their scores wouldn't "count". And often after
> being put into special ed, they did not continue to learn. Now, don't get
me
> wrong, I know many fabulous special education teachers, but I also know
some
> who think that kids in their classes shouldn't be expected to learn.
> Districts pushed much of this under the rug, and often let teachers who
had
> no business being around kids continue because it was just easier. Now,
with
> the levels of accountability so high, districts are being forced to deal
> with these issues. And this in the long run is much better for kids. They
> need to be taught by teachers in field (not coaches who need a job). I am
> thrilled to see things changing for the better because of NCLB. Is it
> perfect? Of course not. Failing children is never an answer in my book,
and
> that is what Georgia is choosing to do. But there are many, many children
in
> my district who will get a better education because of NCLB.
> Cece/LC/GA
+++++++++++
>
> Date: Sun, 09 May 2004 08:13:08 -0500
> From: Judy's mail <jggasser@swbell.net>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] re: ladybook
>
> Having just come from IRA, it seems both presidential candidates need to
> seek out more informed educational advisors. To Kerry's credit, of
> which there is not a lot at this point, he does seem to be considering
> secondary education and the dropout threat. This is a major concern
> that must be addressed or we are truly going to be in "dire straits." JG
++++++++++++
>
> From: "Debbie Lacy" <dklacy@usmo.com>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] Autisim resources
> Date: Sun, 9 May 2004 10:09:44 -0500

> Michelle--to really get inside the head of a child with Asperser's (which
> sounds like your little guy) read Temple Grandan's book (check Amazon,
the
> name escapes me right now) She is an extremely intelligent woman who has
a
> doctorate in animal sciences and she functions well, but she talks about
how
> she does not "get" the social part of the world--the "Hello, nice to meet
> you stuff" just doesn't make sense to her.
>
> I've taught preschool spec ed with autistic kids that ranged from the
> non-verbal, no kind of eye-contact kid, to the kid who was reading at
> three--(but couldn't "get" how to do circle time greetings)--then last
year
> I had a little boy in my first grade room. My philosophy was that I was
> happy to provide whatever adaptation's he needed to learn and be a part of
> my classroom--but I also held him to the same standards of behavior that
> were expected of the other kids--to follow the rules, to not interrupt my
> teaching and other's learning and to not hurt anyone else. We had
> consequences for him and for the most part it worked. I guess my main
thing
> is--this kiddo will need to function in the world like everyone else and
we
> need to start now helping him understand how that world works.
>
> Also, as soon as you can, start having contact with the parents, they
should
> be your greatest source of info in what works for their child--because
he's
> not a "syndrome"---he'll have all his own unique quirks, just like the
rest
> of your class!
>
> Good luck and have fun!
>
> Debbie
+++++++++++

> From: Dave Middlebrook
> To: Mosaic Listserv
> Sent: Sunday, May 09, 2004 10:42 AM
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] politics
>
> Interesting piece in on NCLB by William Raspberry in today's Washington
Post
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61657-2004May2.html
>
> The Washington Post online is free. The registration process is real
easy.
>
> Dave Middlebrook
> The Textmapping Project
> A resource for teachers improving reading comprehension skills
instruction.
> http://www.textmapping.org | Please share this site with your
> colleagues!
++++++++++++
>
> Date: Sun, 09 May 2004 11:27:01 -0700
> From: "Wendy Wahlen" <wwahlen@lbusd.k12.ca.us>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] ladybook

> I agree I also think it has gotten the public off teachers backs.
++++++++++++

> From: Renee Goularte <phoenixone@mindspring.com>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] ladybook
> Date: Sun, 9 May 2004 12:04:25 -0700

> Who, exactly, is "the public"?
>
> I never felt that "the public" was on my back, but I sure do feel the
> weight of the government on my back, now, imposing impossible standards
> coupled with ridiculous requirements, established by CONGRESS rather
> than being established by people who have actually worked in a
> classroom.
>
> I don't see teachers working harder now than they used to. What I see
> is teachers working more ineffectively now than they used to. How can
> that be good?
>
> Renee
++++++++++++
>
> From: RR1981@aol.com
> Date: Sun, 9 May 2004 15:27:58 EDT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] from Dave M.
>
> In a message dated 5/9/2004 2:23:38 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> elephant@foxvalley.net writes:
>
> > Interesting piece in on NCLB by William Raspberry in today's Washington
> > Post
> > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61657-2004May2.html
>
> Very interesting article. I believe that as long as we live in a
democratic
> society that some children will always have an educational advantage.
Because
> they live in homes with more money, they have more access to educational
> opportunities.
>
> Rosie
++++++++++++
>
> Date: Sun, 09 May 2004 11:45:40 -0800
> From: Katharine Klevinskas <katha@syix.com>
> Subject: [mosaic] NCLB --was: ladybook

> I agree, Renee. I don't know about children 'falling through
the
> cracks' in the 15 years I've been teaching. I remember fondly being able
> to recommend children to after school tutoring, or before. We used to
have
> reading recovery and Miller-Unruh teachers whose sole job was to pull out
> small groups of needy children, or push into the classroom to help. We
had
> "Indian Ed" and bi-lingual teaching assistants. Gosh -- remember teaching
> assistants?
> These days, due to lack of federal and state financial support,
we
> have none of these. The only intervention I have for my kids who struggle
> is retention. Which is certainly leaving children behind in the most
> literal of senses.
> As far as I'm concerned, this NickleBee business is eating up and
> destroying everything I love about educating small children. It's
> impossible for me and my first grade team to do all the teaching we used
to do.
> As for 'who is the public' -- that'd be the media. Aren't they
> the ones who decide what people think?
>
> Frustratedly yours,
Katharine/1st/N.California
++++++++++++
>
> From: FEARNOT24@aol.com
> Date: Sun, 9 May 2004 16:14:37 EDT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] NCLB --was: ladybook

> Hi Everyone!
>
> I am new to the group....I haven't quite figured out how to post and all,
but
> I know how to hit the reply button !!! I am a fourth grade teacher in
> Colorado.....Spent the first 12 years of my career in Iowa in a pretty
economically
> disadvantaged district, and the past 13 years in one of the wealthiest
school
> districts in the country......
>
> NCLB and other "initiatives" are nothing more than political
> smokescreens......teachers, as is almost always the case, are expected to
take on substantial
> more responsibilities with nothing coming off of the plate at the same
time
> and nothing being given in return.....as time has gone by, these
"initiatives"
> just keep rolling in and the only thing that goes away are the things that
> teachers in the trenches know to be the activities where AUTHENTIC
learning takes
> place.....School activities have become mundane by mandate and activities
that
> motivate and intrigue the minds of learners get left out.......
> Then when the ROTE RESULTS roll in and kids demonstrate some increase in
ROTE
> RECALL, the media and politicians all jump up and down with glee,
celebrating
> the "success" of their "initiatives." However, those of us who have been
> around a few, know better......I actually LOVE new strategies and New ways
of
> approaching teaching, but I see results when I as the teacher am allowed
to BLEND
> the new with the old and am trusted as a professional to do this
> effectively....NCLB does not allow for this professional
judgment.....Someone out there
> has decided they know best and we are just told to do it......then when
all the
> state mandates clash with the federal and the results have a school
> OUTSTANDING by one set of standards and FAILING by another, Well, how is
that explained
> ?????
> My current district and school has a 97% graduation rate with almost 90%
of
> our kids going on to college level studies, over 80% of our kids are
advanced
> or proficient in most every checkpoint......yet because there wasn't a
Special
> Ed kid in a building who scored ADVANCED, the school or district is
labeled
> deficient........How crazy is that????? The state mandates that kids do
not
> qualify for Special Ed unless they are at least two years off level, then
the
> federal Gov. says you are deficient if a certain percentage of Sped kids
score
> ADVANCED....not just proficient.....I would be interested to hear an
explanation
> for this.....
> Robert
> "Changing the World One Fourth Grader at a Time"
++++++++++++
>
> From: FEARNOT24@aol.com
> Date: Sun, 9 May 2004 16:18:41 EDT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] NCLB --was: ladybook

> That last line should have said that the Fed. Gov. says you are deficient
if
> a certain percentage of Special Needs kids DO NOT SCORE ADVANCED....
> Sorry
> Robert
++++++++++++
>
> From: CNJPALMER@aol.com
> Date: Sun, 9 May 2004 16:25:44 EDT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] politics
>
> Cathy
> I hear you and have the same fears. For the teacher quality panel, I stood
up
> and asked about pedagogy. I said that I believed that content knowledge
was
> important to assess if we want highly qualified teachers in every
classroom but
> I wondered what we were doing to ensure that teachers actually had
teaching
> strategies to help them convey that content. My concern was acknowledged
to a
> point, but no one on the panel had any suggestions for that portion of
'highly
> qualified'...thus, the Praxis and other tests are the only solution. It is
a
> shame.
> Jennifer
> PS Have you read the book "Big Brother and the National Reading Curriculum
by
> Richard Allington? If you haven't you will find that he addresses the same
> fears we have.
++++++++++++

> From: CATHYMILLR@aol.com
> Date: Sun, 9 May 2004 16:28:55 EDT
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] politics
>
> Thanks for the comment and book recommendation. I have heard of that book
and
> know that Allington has come down hard on one side of this debate. It was
an
> issue in many NCTE sessions this past November.
>
> Cathy
> DE
++++++++++
>
> From: "Michelle Hulke" <shelltchr@wowway.com>
> Subject: RE: [mosaic] Autisim resources - everyone who replied
> Date: Sun, 9 May 2004 15:40:39 -0500

> Thanks to everyone who has replied to my Autism questions. I should know
> within the next two weeks if he will indeed be in my class. We have a
fair
> number of children with Asperger's at our school so I am sure other staff
> members there can help, too - I just wanted to get a "head start" as it
> were.
>
> Have a great week!
>
> Michelle
> IL
++++++++++
>
> Date: Sun, 09 May 2004 15:47:35 -0600
> From: Lori Jackson <ljackson@gwtc.net>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] NCLB --was: ladybook

> I believe that the cracks are societal. As an example, I have a student
with
> significant development delays and a very low I.Q. Not, however, lower
than my own
> disabled son, who has managed, with considerable support, to learn to read
at a
> functional level that allows him to follow simple recipes, take medication
> independently and so on.
>
> The child was identified for services by a very able Headstart teacher.
The child
> has gotten lots of extra support, when in been in school. As we reach the
end of
> her third year in school, the total number of days the child has acutally
been IN
> school does not equal one year. I have turned my own teaching schedule
upside down
> to work around all the support personnel and still have an opportunity to
work with
> the child every day. Although several other special needs children have
benefitted
> from this effort, this child has not. Often I am forced to send the child
home on
> days present, as the child is battling head lice constantly. The school
has
> truancy officers but without support at a tribal level, nothing is likely
to
> happen. The child is often unclean, sick and unattended to. Social
services has
> been notified. This child will not meet AYP but beyond that, this child
may not
> ever learn to read or to function to the best of his/her ability.
>
> If you ask me, this child is not falling through a crack. This child is
falling
> through a damned crevice and this particular legislation gives credence to
the
> belief that the school system alone can do anything about it.
>
> Lori
> In the same boat as Katharine, and mad as hell about it.
>
> PS We still have full time aides AND Reading Recovery.
++++++++++
>
> Date: Sun, 09 May 2004 14:19:13 -0700
> From: Susan Nixon <Susan@DesertSkyOne.com>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] ladybook
>
> >I don't see teachers working harder now than they used to. What I see is
> >teachers working more ineffectively now than they used to. How can that
be
> >good?
>
> I guess it depends on the teachers being observed. I know ours are
getting
> a lot more inservice time now, and are working more efficiently, more
> purposefully. Our district has put together more effective ways of
> measuring the progress in math, reading and writing each quarter. The
> instruction is more unified across our district of 25 schools. We have
> children who move in and out of schools in the district, and now they are
> getting pretty much the same instruction at each site.
>
> Perhaps we should have done it on our own, but it *is* being done now, and
> because of NCLB. I don't think it's perfect, but I do think it has
> addressed some needs in some situations.
>
> After a career of 29 years, I know that whenever change is required of
> teachers, we are going to gripe about it. We're human. We get going in a
> particular direction, and we don't want to shift. Obviously, those on
this
> list are interested in finding new and better ways of doing things. That
> makes us a small minority in the teacher population. That's not my
> opinion. That's fact supported by research. When I first heard from
Harry
> Wong that only 2% of teachers voluntarily participated in continuing
> education, I didn't believe it. I *couldn't* believe it could be so low.
>
> We are fortunate not to have to pay for the Mosaic list, though I'd be
> willing to do so.
>
> Hugs,
>Susan, in Phoenix
++++++++++++++++++

> Date: Sun, 09 May 2004 14:23:39 -0700
> From: Susan Nixon <Susan@DesertSkyOne.com>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] NCLB
>
> >I remember fondly being able to recommend children to after school
> >tutoring, or before. We used to have reading recovery and Miller-Unruh
> >teachers whose sole job was to pull out small groups of needy children,
or
> >push into the classroom to help. We had "Indian Ed" and bi-lingual
> >teaching assistants. <snip> These days, due to lack of federal and state
> >financial support, we have none of these.
>
> One thing I've seen is that districts handle money differently. Here in
> Phoenix, where districts of like populations and neighborhoods should be
> getting the same $ per student, I see districts which have programs such
as
> you've described and ones which don't. Some districts go after more grant
> money than others.
>
> My district still has reading recovery. We have literacy and math coaches
> at each school site. Arizona is not a bilingual education state any
> longer, but when our classes go over a certain size, we have teaching
> assistants, usually fully qualified teachers, who work at least 1/2 day in
> those classrooms. We have Title One programs, including reading and
> technology aides.
>
> Hugs,
> Susan, in Phoenix
++++++++++

> From: Renee Goularte <phoenixone@mindspring.com>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] ladybook
> Date: Sun, 9 May 2004 16:21:58 -0700

> Susan,
>
> I have a different experience. Before NCLB, my school district offered
> and subsidized MANY teacher inservices and workshops throughout the
> year. Some were after school "one-shot" deals, others were all day
> affairs, and still others were many sessions and ongoing. After NCLB,
> these have come to a grinding halt due to lack of funds. This year, my
> school had one optional after school (two hour) workshop on writing.
> There is NO money for professional conferences, and no money for subs
> either, should you want to fund a conference yourself. All the money
> seems to be spent on testing or test-related things (we had one all day
> teacher work day during which we were asked to evaluate last year's
> test scores).
>
> Renee
+++++++++++
>
> Date: Sun, 09 May 2004 18:33:19 -0600
> From: Lori Jackson <ljackson@gwtc.net>
> Subject: Re: [mosaic] ladybook

> Our travel and professional development has dried up as well. Although
there are
> quite a few classes being offered over the summer, many the district would
like to
> offer cannot be supported with the 'right' kind of research. Although I
did attend
> a one day conference on my own this fall, I was supported with
administrative leave
> so at least my sub was covered. And when I asked for leave to go with my
husband
> to Denver, planning to meet with Debbie Miller and do some observing in
area
> schools, I was granted that leave as well. In the past, I know that all
associated
> costs would have been paid for. I am paying for WLU on my own this
summer, in
> hopes that my request to attend NCTE in the fall will meet with full or
partial
> funding. Time will tell.
>
> Lori
+++++++++++

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