The Quill
Serving
Gloucester, Newport News,
Poquoson, and York County
President’s Message
Dear Colleagues,
I hope that your start to the
new school year has run smoothly. Last year we were able to provide the
members with a fall and spring conference. We partnered with the
Hampton Reading Council in the fall and provided many sessions for the
spring conference. Both reading councils have been very busy
planning for this year’s conference. This year, our fall
conference was held on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, from 5:00 P.M. to
7:00 P.M. at Tabb Elementary School. The vendor fair began at 4:30
P.M., and boxed dinners available for purchase were provided by Jason’s
Deli of Hampton. This year we will continue to work towards
fulfilling our mission to provide the best developmental and remedial
programs possible to children and adults. This mission cannot be
accomplished without members. I encourage you all to share the benefits
of membership with your faculty, staff, and community. I also
invite you all to join a committee.
Sincerely,
Chynita Turner, President
2008-2009 NNRC Board
Chynita
Turner –
President
Sherry
Edbauer-Vice
President
Kelly
Cartwright –
Corresponding Secretary
Verdis
Knight –
Recording Secretary
Ken
Schmidt –
Treasurer, Membership Chair
Beth
Guthrie –
Historian
NNRC Legislative Update
By Marilyn Schempf
Plan ahead….The
International Reading Association’s annual Legislative Workshop will be
held next year in June rather than in February, in order to allow more
members to participate. The dates are June 25-27, 2009. The
workshop helps strengthen advocacy efforts and allows members to meet
with their elected representatives or staff to make an impact on
education legislation.
News: This is the last year for Reading First.
This year Senator Kennedy has introduced Senate Bill 3431
called “Time for Innovation in Education (TIME)” Act to provide federal
funding to expand the school day in pilot schools in each
state. Remember to contact your Senators and
Representatives to let them know how you feel about literacy issues.
A comprehensive literacy bill was to be introduced in the
House of Representatives in September, so look for information in the
next newsletter about this.
The Great Fuzz Frenzy
By Janet Stevens & Susan Stevens Crummel
(A Review)
The Great Fuzz Frenzy by
Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel is a delightful story about the
prairie dog community. When a tennis ball crashes into the prairie
dogs’ underground home, chaos is the result. Since they don’t know what
the “fuzz” is, the prairie dogs use it to “ham it up” and have a bit of
fun, except for Big Bark. This bossy dog encourages everyone to
straighten up and be serious. Soon the joke is on him when an eagle
tries to eat Big Bark for lunch. The good-natured dogs rally and bail
him out of trouble. Thus, all ends well.
The authors have used humor to delight young readers as they
laugh at the prairie dogs’ antics. Teachers and speech enthusiasts will
love the exceptional descriptive language. And young readers will be
able to identify with the peer pressure of following what their friends
are doing or standing up for what’s right. No wonder this book is a
Virginia Readers’ Choice for this year!
Written by Gail F. Robinson
Tabb Elementary School
York County School Division
.
Teaching the Brain to READ: Strategies for
improving Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension
Judy Willis, M.D.
2008, ASCD
(A Review)
Brain Research:
Lately, we have been hearing more and more about brain research and how
it can help us better understand how our students learn. This
book, Teaching the Brain to Read, focuses on how brain research might
inform our reading instruction in specific ways. The author, Judy
Willis, MD, is uniquely positioned to help us understand the
connections between brain research and classroom practice because she
is both a medical doctor specializing in neurology (or brain processes
and functions), and she is also a middle school teacher! That is
a winning combination for us as educators.
Brain research that examines brain functioning in educational
settings is still in its infancy. But, Willis is able to draw on her
expertise as a neurologist and teacher to suggest connections between
findings in brain research and educational practice. She provides
a wonderful, accessible overview of brain functions and how they may
relate to reading processes. Then, she turns to a discussion of
specific reading processes, related brain functions, and instructional
strategies that capitalize on brain functions to teach phonemic
awareness, decoding, pattern recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and
comprehension.
In sum, Willis applies brain research across the reading
curriculum in teacher accessible ways. This would be a good
choice for any teacher who wishes to learn more about brain research,
how brain functions relate to reading processes, and how to teach
reading in ways that are compatible with what we know about the brain.
Book Review – September 2008
Newport News Reading Council, Quill
Kelly B. Cartwright, Ph.D
TOP TEN REASONS FOR
JOINING NNRC
At $20, membership in the NNRC and VSRA is a bargain. Here
are some of the benefits of membership:
*Reading Council workshops
are free
*Membership in the Virginia State Reading
Association
*Reduced registration for the annual VSRA conference
*Four NNRC and Four VSRA newsletters per year
*Annual VSRA journal-Reading In Virginia
*Teachers as Readers groups
*Textbook Scholarships
*Legislative advocacy
*Professional networking
*Recognition through awards for outstanding teachers,
administrators, and school reading programs
This fall we are offering two incentives to join the Reading
Council:
*The school with the highest
percentage of members by November 11th will receive a $100 gift
certificate to Parents Teacher Supply. One school from Newport
News, one from York County, and one from Poquoson will win.
*All new members will be entered in a drawing. Five
names will be selected to receive a $20 gift certificate to Barnes and
Noble.
NNRC is an organization that offers an opportunity for professional
growth to the individual and the profession as a whole. Join
today.
