LibGuides: Novel Ideas: December 2017

Announcements

If this quote from Pele is true, then we have surely been successful this fall with the rollout of new materials and curriculum. As we close out a busy first semester, we want to thank you for your perseverance, diligence, and just plain hard work in the implementation of new curriculum and materials to over 26,000 OPS students. Aside from the expected kerfuffles, the implementation has been quite successful - all because of YOU!

We are honored to work with what we consider the best ELA team in Nebraska. Your unfailing commitment to our students is evident in everything you do. Please take some time this holiday season to relax and reflect on your successes as you prepare for the second semester of the year.

Happy Holidays!

Shelley and Julie

Quarter 2 Collections Survey
We would like to gather your feedback on your experiences with the Quarter 2 Collection. This feedback will be used to make any necessary tweaks to the curriculum for next year.

Classroom Spotlight

This month we'd like to give a shout out to Jane Kreber at South High School. Jane works with primarily sophomores and juniors. Every week she provides students an opportunity to hone their argumentative writing skills via the Article of the Week. While you may be familiar with AOW, what makes this particular activity so powerful are the layers of standards and skills it covers: reading comprehension, author's craft, argumentative analysis, writing a thesis, citing evidence, and MLA citations. When combined with the gradual release of instruction, Jane has seen an increase in her students' writing confidence and abilities. And I'll just add that this is a great way to not only build up stamina for longer writing pieces, like the ACT, but to provide background knowledge for a unit of study. Jane, you are AWESOME!

Your Assignment:

Annotate the article. There should be 7-8 annotations for the entire article.
1. Underline the words that you don’t know, and write the definition in the margin.
2. Comment (write your comments in the margin) on the things in the article that interest you.
3. Write questions in the margin.
Write TWO paragraphs answering one or both of the following questions: What is this writer’s argument? Do you agree or disagree? Explain. OR Pick a passage from the article and respond to it.
Create a thesis sentence following this format: (What you believe)________________________________ because (THREE reasons why you believe it) __________________, __________________, and _____________________________.

Example: Everyone in Nebraska should get the opportunity to view the solar eclipse because it is a once in a lifetime event, it links us to cultures of the past, and it will help people better understand the universe in which they live.

Create an MLA Citation for the article.
1. MLA Format: Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). “Article Name.” Name of Site. Version number. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher). Date of last update. Medium of publication. Date of access.

CALL FOR ARTICLE OF THE WEEK/ANNOTATION IDEAS:

We know that many of you utilize an AOW and/or annotation strategies in your classroom. We'd love to hear from you and collect lesson ideas to share with others. If you'd like to contribute, please e-mail Julie at: julie.schik@ops.org.

Professional Development

Transform Their World: A surprisingly simple yet powerful path to successful student achievement!

Reserve your place in these life-changing Professional Development classes for Winter/Spring 2018!
Minnesota Humanities Center together with Omaha Public Schools have created a life-altering approach that addresses the achievement gap at its most powerful intersecting point: student-teacher relationships. This student-centered, strengths-based, educator-led, humanities-based Education Strategy transforms relationships, educational systems, and communities. Visit our web site: http://mnhum.org/ops/

Or for more information, contact Claire Weaverling at claire@mnhum.org

New to teaching and feeling uncertain about how to best incorporate writing into the curriculum? Writing that kids love? These single-day sessions will provide new (0-5 years) upper elementary, middle, and high school ELA teachers with a number of practical, evidence-based, and high-leverage writing strategies that are both powerful and engaging.

Participants will learn a number of strategies aligned with the 2014 NE ELA standards, including a special emphasis on text-dependent analysis (TDA).

Articles of Interest

Station Learning Engages High School English Students
Look at a lesson that does an excellent job of getting students to critically examine and consider various kinds of texts to internalize what the American Dream is in preparation for The Great Gatsby.
How to Deal with Student Grammar Errors
Grammar taught in isolation, outside the context of meaningful writing, has been found to have no significant impact on the quality of student writing; in fact, excessive drills can have a detrimental impact on it.
A Reading List for Differentiated Instruction
"Meeting the needs of all learners does not have to be difficult. Any instructional practice or system we explore that attends to student voice and agency can be personalized to individuals and groups—which is differentiation...you can get ideas on the topic from all sorts of sources. To that end, here are readings that encourage reflection and conversation about effective practices that we might include in our toolbox."
Why This/Not That? A thinking routine to move kids from identification to analysis
Read about one teacher's struggle to tackle rhetorical analysis with students.
"One of the biggest challenges in teaching rhetorical analysis is teaching kids to move beyond identification to actual analysis. I have found over the years that when I teach kids to look for certain things, they find them!! If we talk about repetition, they can track it down. If we talk about parallel structure, boom. However, I’ve also found that many struggle to move beyond that identification.
During a class discussion of a text a few weeks ago, I was digging for a more analytical answer and I said, “Yes, but why this word and not another one?” It was one of those teaching lightbulb moments when I realized it was a prompt my students could be asking themselves: Why this and not that?"
3 Fun Strategies for Note Taking
Note taking can be active, collaborative, and tailored to each student’s pace—and you can skip the lecture.

Taking notes is a necessary component of many classroom curriculums, as lecturing is arguably the most effective way to get information to students quickly, but we can try to enhance the activity. These three strategies help make taking notes more fun and engaging for students and teachers.
Tips for Awakening the Thinkers in Your Room
So here’s a question: How do you influence your students’ experiences for connecting with themselves as learners on a deeper level?
Here’s the simple truth. For more than 150 years, pedagogy has been driven by the Industrial Age—with a priority on teacher-centered methodologies with teachers as the key controllers of their content area knowledge conveyor belt. Here’s how it works: Teachers turn on the switch…and the teacher becomes the information giver…while the students remain passive information receivers.
Read on to find out how you can make instruction student-centered and awaken the thinkers in your room.

Tech Tips

Looking for things to read, professional or otherwise, over Winter Break? Check out the District Professional Library on OverDrive.

Getting started with digital titles from your library

All you need to borrow digital titles from your library is an internet connection and your login information.

Click here for more information. Happy Reading!

Collections Corner

Collections Assessment
Quarter 2 leveled assessments are posted in our ELA SharePoint. Remember, you can use this assessment as a semester final if you wish.

Did you know you have access to Turn It In via your HMH account?

As a valued customer of our Collections © 2017 program, we are proud to announce that Turnitin® Feedback Studio is now available for use in your Holt McDougal Online (my.hrw.com) account! Accessible through the myWriteSmart tool, Feedback Studio checks students’ work for improper citations and originality by comparing it against the world’s largest academic database. Feedback Studio's streamlined interface brings plagiarism prevention, feedback, and grading into a unified view that makes it easier for students to see what they're doing well and what they can improve on. Need help getting started? Read more about using Feedback Studio on the Manuals and Guides page. Our Technical Support Group will also be happy to assist you with any questions you may have. Please do not hesitate to contact them at techsupport@hmhco.com, 800.323.9239, (+1) 973.368.0392, or through our improved online service request system.

Key Things to Know

Turnitin Feedback Studio is now available for use in your my.hrw.com account
Access this valuable originality checker and feedback tool through myWriteSmart
Feedback Studio manuals and guides are available to help you get started

User Guides - Click Here

Essay Contests

Dear Educators and Mentors,

My name is Carrie Firestone and I'm a young adult author. My recent novel, "The Unlikelies," follows five teens through a summer of do-gooder vigilantism. I am launching #TheUnlikeliesChallenge to give real-life teens in grades 7-12 the opportunity to create service projects fueled by their individual passions and using their unique talents.

THE CHALLENGE

Answer the following question: If you had $1,000, how would you use it to change the world?

THE PROJECT

Students should choose an issue they are passionate about. Next, they should consider their own talents, skills and interests. The best projects will come from finding creative ways to connect issues they are passionate about with skills they already have. For example: Teaching squash to vulnerable youth, or organizing a 'code-in' to bring awareness to animal cruelty or collecting used instruments to teach elderly veterans how to play.

THE DELIVERY

While we ask that students limit their project proposals to 1,000 words, they can be creative! We'll accept essays, graphic organizers, or any other thoughtful presentation. Submissions should be emailed to me at carriefirestoneauthor@gmail.com

by January 30, 2018.

THE WINNERS

Five winners will receive $1,000 seed money grants to bring their projects to life and coaches to guide their efforts.

UPDATES AND TIPS

Check for updates and tips every Friday on Twitter, Instagram and my author FB page (Carrie Firestone Author) under the hashtag #1K4Good. Please feel free to share this with students, service group leaders and community organizations.

A committee of judges will select five winners based on the following criteria:

Creativity - Have you come up with a clever concept?

Impact - Will your idea have the potential to significantly impact your target community?

Passion - Does your passion for the issue resonate with our committee?

Realistic Use of Funds - Have you factored in what you can realistically do with $1,000 in see money?

Good luck!

Carrie Firestone

New Novels: 8th Grade

The Good Braider by Terry Farish
ISBN: 9781477816288
Publication Date: 2014-05-27
The Good Braider was selected as the 2013 Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year and a book of Outstanding Merit. In spare free verse laced with unforgettable images, Viola's strikingly original voice sings out the story of her family's journey from war-torn Sudan, to Cairo, and finally to Portland, Maine. Here, in the sometimes too close embrace of the local Southern Sudanese Community, she dreams of South Sudan while she tries to navigate the strange world of America--a world where a girl can wear a short skirt, get a tattoo, or even date a boy; a world that puts her into sharp conflict with her traditional mother who, like Viola, is struggling to braid together the strands of a displaced life. Terry Farish's haunting novel is not only a riveting story of escape and survival, but the universal tale of a young immigrant's struggle to build a life on the cusp of two cultures. The author of The Good Braider has donated this book to the Worldreader program.
The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
ISBN: 9780375866289
Publication Date: 2012-01-10
When Jessica is told she'll never run again, she puts herself back together--and learns to dream bigger than ever before. The acclaimed author of Flipped delivers a powerful and healing story. Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She's not comforted by the news that she'll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run? As she struggles to cope, Jessica feels that she's both in the spotlight and invisible. People who don't know what to say act like she's not there. Jessica's embarrassed to realize that she's done the same to a girl with CP named Rosa. A girl who is going to tutor her through all the math she's missed. A girl who sees right into the heart of her. With the support of family, friends, a coach, and her track teammates, Jessica may actually be able to run again. But that's not enough for her now. She doesn't just want to cross finish lines herself--she wants to take Rosa with her. "Inspirational. The pace of Van Draanen's prose matches Jessica's at her swiftest. Readers will zoom through the book just as Jessica blazes around the track. A lively and lovely story." --Kirkus Reviews
ISBN: 978-1933718576
Surviving the Angel of Death by Eva Mozes Kor; Lisa Rojany Buccieri
ISBN: 9781933718576
Publication Date: 2012-03-13
Eva Mozes Kor was just ten years old when she arrived in Auschwitz. While her parents and two older sisters were taken to the gas chambers, she and her twin, Miriam, were herded into the care of the man known as the Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele. Subjected to sadistic medical experiments, she was forced to fight daily for her and her twin's survival. In this incredible true story written for young adults, readers learn of a child's endurance and survival in the face of truly extraordinary evil. The book also includes an epilogue on Eva's recovery from this experience and her remarkable decision to publicly forgive the Nazis. Through her museum and her lectures, she has dedicated her life to giving testimony on the Holocaust, providing a message of hope for people who have suffered, and working for causes of human rights and peace.