LibGuides: Novel Ideas: August 2018

Announcements

Welcome back to a new school year!

I am sure you are eagerly anticipating your new students in the next few days. How I miss those first days of school both as a student and as a full-time teacher. I still love perusing the school supply aisles and I have the sticky notes and perfectly sharpened pencils to prove it. Yes, I love a sharp pencil!

In this issue of the newsletter, you will find some of the same information we provided during Curriculum Day but we thought it merited a second chance. Additionally, Julie found a wonderful website called Crash Course Literature that includes some outstanding and entertaining videos about some of our favorite pieces of literature. I was laughing out loud (yes, really) in my office as I viewed some of these videos hosted by the author John Green (Looking for Alaska, The Fault in Our Stars). The first video espouses the importance of reading good literature and provides some suggestions about the practices, or in some cases, malpractices, that have been broadly used in English classrooms throughout the years. These videos most certainly might have a place as a supplemental piece in your classrooms.

As the new years begins, there are bound to be kinks to be ironed out. We have already been problem-solving with a variety of issues from technology glitches to the search for additional consumables. We appreciate your patience as we seek solutions to problems both big and small.

Again, I wish you a happy, healthy school year filled with magical and inspiring moments. Our students DESERVE the best and in English Language Arts, they RECEIVE the best!

NY Times Access

FREE New York Times Access for OPS Staff and High School Students!

•OPS now has a district-wide digital subscription to The New York Times for all high school students, teachers and staff.

•For full access, visit NYTimes.com.

•No user registration or log in required.

•As long as you are in a district building, you have web access to NYTimes.com on any device – computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone.

•This includes New York Times archived articles from 1851 to the present, with the exception of some articles within the date range 1923-1980.

•Contact Courtney Pentland with issues.

Curriculum Day Feedback

ELA Curriculum Day Feedback

If you did not have a chance to give feedback on the ELA & Reading Curriculum Day, you may still do so.

Survey Link:

https://tinyurl.com/y84yz62c

Articles of Interest

During-Reading Response: Notepassing Discussion
Get all students to participate in class discussion by taking advantage of the fun of writing and passing notes. Adolescents love to write and pass notes—secret missives meant for the eyes of one person at a time. And notes allow time to plan a response and the knowledge that the response will be read and considered. Also, the fact that they do not need to look someone in the eye when making a response is comforting to many adolescents. Teachers can effectively employ this technique in their classrooms through a during-reading discussion response strategy: notepassing.
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YouTube Channels with Strong Educational Content

“I’ve long had a complicated relationship with screen time with my young sons,” says Michael Petrilli in this Education Gadfly article, “but have come to see its benefits, especially if the focus is on quality over quantity.” Petrilli worked with colleagues at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute to compile a list of YouTube channels that he believes provide high-quality content for young people:

Literature:

Crash Course Literature https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSYw502dJNY&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtOeEc9ME62zTfqc0h6Pe8vb – Created by Hank and John Green, this library has 45 videos on literature including Romeo and Juliet, Catcher in the Rye, and The Handmaid’s Tale.

If you know of other educationally excellent YouTube channels, Petrilli would like to hear from you.

“The Best Educational YouTube Channels for Kids” by Michael Petrilli in The Education Gadfly, August 8, 2018 (Vol. 18, #31), https://edexcellence.net/articles/the-best-educational-youtube-channels-for-kids; Petrilli can be reached at mpetrilli@edexcellence.net.

Collections Corner

BEGINNING OF YEAR INFORMATION

Each year, you will need to activate/assign resources for yourself and your students. See our the HMH folder on our ELA SharePoint for a detailed 'How-To'.
You should NOT add any classes or students. My HRW syncs with Infinite Campus. Any information you manually input will be erased each night. As Infinite Campus is updated, so too will HMH be updated. There is a 24 hour lag time.
If you are experiencing issues with the waffle, your rosters, or your actual computer, please contact the OPS Helpdesk.
HMH Tech Flow Document

This document outlines troubleshooting tips for HMH Collections as well as a step-by-step guide on who to contact for concerns.

NICE Program

Native Indigenous Centered Education Program

Mission Statement:

To Educate and empower Indigenous students, families and communities to seek and achieve holistic well-being through self-advocacy, cultural strengths and academic excellence

NICE program can assist Teachers:

•As a liaison with Native American students and families

•Community resource referrals for Native American families

•With any curriculum need pertaining to Native Americans

•Classroom support with Native American topics

•Presentations regarding Native Americans

•Any cultural relevant questions, regarding Native Americans

Contact Information:

Echohawk Lefthand

Native Indian Centered Education Program Director

Omaha Public Schools

echohawk.lefthand@ops.org

P: 531-299-9295

C: 970-570-5971

Professional Books of Interest

Book Resources

The District Professional Library is home to the district collection of professional books that can be checked out by any OPS employee. Below are some recommended books for ELA teachers. To check out these books, visit the DPLs ONLINE CATALOG. You can also access the online catalog (and much more) from the DPLs libguide: http://libguides.ops.org/DPL.

Visual Note-Taking for Educators by Wendi Pillars
ISBN: 9780393708455
Publication Date: 2015-11-30
We've come a long way from teachers admonishing students to put away their drawings and take traditional long-form notes. Let's be honest: note-taking is boring and it isn't always the most effective way to retain information. This book is a guide for teachers about getting your students drawing and sketching to learn visually. Whether in elementary school or high school, neuroscience has shown that visual learning is a very effective way to retain information. The techniques in this book will help you work with your students in novel ways to retain information. Visual note-taking can be used with diverse learners; all ages; and those who have no drawing experience. Teachers are provided with a library of images and concepts to steal, tweak, and use in any way in their classrooms. The book is liberally illustrated with student examples from elementary and high school students alike.
Oh, Yeah?! by Michael Smith; Jeffrey D. Wilhelm; James E. Fredricksen
ISBN: 032504290X
Publication Date: 2012-08-24
Because everything is an argument "In this book, we'll argue that you can teach the writing of argument so that students will not only exceed the Common Core State Standards, but also be prepared for a future as students and citizens." Michael Smith, Jeffrey Wilhelm, and James Fredricksen The Common Core State Standards are an argument that "students' ability to write sound arguments on substantive topics and issues . . . is critical to college and career readiness." This book is an argument. Oh, Yeah?! will persuade you that it is an ideal resource for helping you teach argument writing to adolescents. And not just any arguments, but the kinds of substantive ones the real-world demands. "We believe," write Michael Smith, Jeffrey Wilhelm, and James Fredricksen, "that instruction directed to improve student performance on standards-based assessments MUST be the most powerful and engaging instruction we can possibly offer." To that end they fill Oh, Yeah?! with proven lessons for writing, reading, and discussing arguments that you can use right now. In addition, they provide ideas for how to create instructional contexts that maximize the power of those lessons through a compelling framework that will help you create your own lessons and units in the future. Life may be a series of arguments, but your decision about how to teach argument writing needn't be complicated. Trust Smith, Wilhelm, and Fredricksen, use Oh, Yeah?! in your classroom, and give students an argument for meeting-and exceeding-the Common Core standards.
Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning by Doug Buehl
ISBN: 0872076865
Publication Date: 2008-11-01
Buehl has revised his collection of literacy skill-building strategies to bring this edition more in line with today's thinking about reading comprehension. The format of the strategies remains the same, but you'll find a stronger emphasis on the rationale for each and a broader variety of classroom examples.
Teaching Graphic Novels by Katie Monnin
ISBN: 1934338400
Publication Date: 2013-01-01
Harness the power of graphic novels to promote literacy and engage all secondary students with Teaching Graphic Novels by Katie Monnin! Address print-text and image literacies, from navigating text features to creating standards-based lessons on reading comprehension, fiction/nonfiction, written response, critical thinking, and media literacy. Complete with examples from graphic novels, professional resource suggestions, strategies that can be used with any graphic novel, cross-indexes of middle and high school graphic novels and themes, reproducibles, and extra support for English-language learners. Teaching Graphic Novels was a finalist for both the 2009 ForeWord Education Book of the Year and the 2010 AEP Distinguished Achievement Award in the 6-8 Curriculum and Instruction category!
Vocabulary Games for the Classroom by Lindsay Carleton; Robert J. Marzano
ISBN: 9780982259269
Publication Date: 2010-11-01
Make direct vocabulary instruction fun and successful with this simple, straightforward, and easy-to-use book. Hundreds of critical vocabulary terms handpicked by Dr. Marzano cover four content areas and all grade levels. Each game identifies the appropriate grade level and subject area, as well as whether or not the students should already be familiar with the vocabulary.
The Writing Thief by Ruth Culham; Kate Messner (Foreword by); Lester Laminack (Contribution by); Lola Schaefer (Contribution by); Nicola Davies (Contribution by); Toni Buzzeo (Contribution by); Ralph Fletcher (Contribution by); David Harrison (Contribution by); Lisa Yee (Contribution by)
ISBN: 0872070999
Publication Date: 2014-04-21
It's been said that good writers borrow while great writers steal. Writing thieves read widely, dive deeply into texts, and steal bits and pieces from great texts as models for their own writing. Ruth Culham admits to being a writing thief-and she wants you and your students to become writing thieves, too A major part of becoming a writing thief is finding the right mentor texts to share with students. Within this book, discover more than 90 excellent mentor texts, along with straight-forward activities that incorporate the traits of writing across informational, narrative, and argument modes. Chapters also include brief essays from beloved writing thieves such as Lester Laminack, David L. Harrison, Lisa Yee, Nicola Davies, Ralph Fletcher, Toni Buzzeo, Lola Schaefer, and Kate Messner, detailing the reading that has influenced their own writing. Ruth's beloved easy-going style and friendly tone make this a book you'll turn to again and again as you guide your students to reach their full potential as deep, thoughtful readers and great writers. There's a writing thief in each of us when we learn how to read with a writer's eye