Professional Book Review
by Kelly Cartwright, Ph.D.
Christopher Newport
University
Poetic
Possibilities: Using Poetry to Enhance Literacy Learning
Edited by Susan E. Israel with Michelle M. Israel
2006, International Reading Association
(IRA Members: $15.96, Non-members: $19.95)
As I wrote this
review on Mother’s Day 2007, it occurred to me that Poetic Possibilities is the
perfect choice for today. A
mother-daughter team wrote this text!
Susan E. Israel, Ph.D., a literacy professor, researcher, and former
classroom teacher, produced this text with her daughter, Michelle M.
Israel. Poetic Possibilities offers a
marvelous collection of poems, reprinted from The Reading Teacher, to provide literacy educators a wonderful way
to introduce literacy concepts and foster metacognitive reflection on literacy
with students from elementary school through high school (or even college – I
may use some of these with my own students!).
The poems in this
collection all center on literacy-related themes and are organized into five
sections, each with a different instructional purpose. Additionally, each poem
is followed by instructional prompts and specific literacy applications for the
classroom, making them perfect for introducing important literacy concepts to
our students.
The first group of
poems focuses on “Discovering the Value of Reading” – a value that is central
to the mission of the Newport News Reading Council. The second group of poems provides teachers
ways to help students “make connections” between texts and their own
experiences, an essential strategy to foster reading comprehension. The third group of poems was chosen because
they can be used to motivate students as writers, and the fourth group of poems
was selected to highlight the different perspectives that students may have or
encounter when engaged in literacy tasks – another essential understanding to
support comprehension. Finally, the fifth group of poems was chosen with
literacy teachers in mind, as they each foster reflection on our various roles
and responsibilities as literacy educators.
This is a refreshing
collection, peppered with inspiring quotes, and presented in an easy-to-use
format. If you enjoy poetry and are looking for new ways to inspire your
students’ literacy learning or your own literacy teaching, this text may be
just what you’re looking for!
"Oh, magic hour, when a child first knows she can read printed
words!"
—
Betty Smith in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, 1943
Looking for some great books to read this summer? Check out these websites that feature summer
reading lists for teachers.
http://surfaquarium.com/newsletter/summer_reading2003.htm
http://www.readingrockets.org/xarpages/calendar/summer
http://www.debbiediller.com/index.cfm?ThisPage=whatimreading
NNRC 2007 Membership Awards
Dutrow Elementary School
Christopher Newport University
Mt. Vernon Elementary School
Highlights
from the Newport News
Reading Council’s
Annual Banquet
“Take Me Out to the Ball Game”
May 3, 2007
Newport News Marriott
Thanks to Michele Reed for planning and
organizing this year’s banquet!
Paraprofessional of the Year
Lynn Gray was named the 2007-2008 NNRC Paraprofessional of the
Year. Lynn
is a paraprofessional at Tabb Elementary School in York County. Her award was presented by Cheryl Parr,
principal.
Reading Teacher of the Year
Kathryn Morgan
was named the 2007-2008 NNRC Reading Teacher of the
Year. Kathryn is a Reading Recovery
Teacher at Sanford Elementary School in Newport News.
Her award was presented by Marcia Binns, PALS assistant.
Administrator of the Year
Susan Tilley was named the 2007-2008 NNRC Administrator of the Year. She is the principal at Gildersleeve
Middle School in Newport News.
Her award was presented by Jean Winkeler, reading teacher.
Volunteer of the Year
Margo Drucker was named the 2007-2008 NNRC Volunteer of the Year. Mrs. Drucker volunteers at Yates Elementary School
in Newport News. Her award was presented by Nancy Slate, first
grade teacher.
2007 Young Author Award Winners
K-2
Timothy M. Braxton, 1st Place, Achievable Dream Academy
Deanna Wilson, 2nd
Place, Achievable Dream Academy
Sequoia Waite, 3rd
Place, Hilton Elementary
3-5
Tristan McCauley, 1st Place, Riverside Elementary
Hunter Schmitz, 2nd Place, Riverside Elementary
Emily Jewell, 3rd
Place, Hilton Elementary
6-8
Treyvon Randall, 1st Place, Passage Middle School
Bethany McKay, 2nd Place, Passage Middle School
2007-2008 NNRC Board
Chynita Turner
– President
Christina Head
- President-Elect
Sherry Edbauer
- Vice President
Kelly
Cartwright – Corresponding Secretary
Verdis Knight
– Recording Secretary
Ken Schmidt –
Treasurer, Membership Chair
Beth Guthrie –
Historian
Check us out on the web!
www.nnreadingcouncil.org
Teachers as Readers Groups
Hilton Elementary School
Submitted
by Shelly Zimbro
“Hilton Elementary had two
Teachers-As-Readers group. The first group consisted of Kindergarten and
Grade 1 teachers. We did an author study on Lisa Campbell Ernst. We
read several of her books and discussed what similar characteristics they had
and how we could utilize them in the classroom. Our librarian, Mrs.
Williams, provided extra resources to help children think about what they are
reading. We talked a bit about fractured fairy tales. Our second
group consisted of upper elementary teachers and we studied Andrew
Clements. We read three of his books and again discussed how they were
alike. The most interesting thing about this group is that through our
discussion we arrived at reading a different book, Good Night Mr. Tom. WOW!”
Yorktown Elementary School
submitted by
Jamie Colonna
“Our faculty divided into four groups (each
grade level was asked to send one person each to each book club). The
principal chose four books that she wanted us as a faculty to work
on. We used the $100 to help purchase these books. The four
books discussed were:
1.
A Framework for Understanding Poverty
by Ruby Payne
2.
Classrooms Instruction that Works by
Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, Jane Pollock
3.
Bringing Words to Life by Isabel
Beck, Margaret McKeown, Linda Kucan
4.
Black Students, Middle Class Teachers
by Jawanza Kunjufu
One Tuesday morning a month, we would meet as a group to discuss our
particular book. Some groups took turns bringing in refreshments to help
"spice" up the discussions. How it was done varied among the
groups. All of the groups had a designated leader. Chapters were
assigned to particular people to discuss or some groups read the whole book and
everyone discussed it at the next meeting. We talked about how we felt
about the information and how we would use the information or if we had had any
experiences like the ones in the book. Sometimes articles were shared with
the group relating to their particular topic. This year we had
implemented grade level vocabulary lists, so the group working with Bringing
Words to Life, reflected on the various grade level lists and how they
coincided with the information in the book. We talked about Tier 1, 2,
and 3 words and how our lists compare. We will be using what we have
learned to refine our lists for next year.”
Mount Vernon Elementary School
submitted by
Ann Campas
“Mount
Vernon Elementary Teachers as Readers chose to read The Fluent Reader by Timothy V. Rasinski. Our group was made up of some classroom
teachers from each grade level, K-5, resource teachers, and our guidance
counselor. The meetings always entailed
lively discussions about our reading assignments and the pros and cons of each
strategy.
The
Fluent Reader was an excellent choice for our group, as the book had
something for everyone. We found the
book to be filled with interesting strategies that were easy to implement, and
teachers appeared eager to try them.
Several teachers tried Poetry Coffeehouse, Paired Reading, and Radio
Reading and found these strategies to be very successful.
While
many of our teachers were already using such strategies as Repeated Reading and
Reader’s Theater, the book’s elaboration of these strategies gave new meaning
to them. We all agreed that modeling
reading and motivating readers through read aloud must be a daily
priority. We also agreed as a group to
include more poetry and a variety of the follow-up response activities as
suggested.
It
was interesting to hear how the strategies worked at the various grade levels
and how they could be recommended to parents for use at home. Some teachers
were able to modify the log sheets to share with parents.
We
felt our TAR group to be a success and are now trying to decide which book to
explore next year! It was particularly
meaningful to see the commitment and dedication to teaching reading at Mount
Vernon Elementary.”
Bethel Manor Elementary School
submitted
by Betsy Poulsen, Ed. D.
“Teachers read the book A Learning-Driven
School by Dr. Barry Beers. The discussion helped teachers further
understand and develop Learner Plans or student-centered plans. The group
discussed how specific objectives written for a particular lesson should focus
on what the student should be able to perform at the end of the lesson. By
narrowing the objective, teachers can guide their instruction and monitor the
students' learning more precisely. Objectives should state the expected
learning, not the activities that will occur. Learning how to break objectives
down into daily segments has proven to be both very challenging to write and
extremely important in developing a clear, sequential progression to promote
student learning.
Newport News Literacy Coaches
submitted
by Arlene Ashe
Small-Group Reading Instruction A Differentiated Teaching
Model for Intermediate Readers, Grades 3-8
By Beverly
Tyner and Sharon E. Green
“This interesting book addresses
the importance of and the need for literacy intervention in the intermediate
grades. The book emphasizes the need for
differentiated instruction through the use of small groups. Although small group reading instruction is
commonly found in elementary schools, this practice is not as prevalent in the
intermediate grades. Most intermediate
teachers use the “whole-class” approach.
As it is noted in the book, “traditional whole-class reading instruction
alone fails because all classrooms have multiple levels of readers”. The book provides classroom-tested, research
based strategies that focuses on fluency, word study, and comprehension. It also supplies lesson plans and student
work samples. I highly recommend this
book because it provides strategies and materials that can be used to support
students and help to create proficient readers.”
It’s hard to believe that the school year is over! This year
has been quite busy! We had a hugely
successful fall conference attended by approximately 250 participants from 
