Professional Texts and Digital Resources

Books for pleasure that Clare has read in the last few months

Using Google Apps

Many of the teachers in this vide are OISE grads
Critical Literacies:
Negotiating Critical Literacies with Young Children by Vivian Maria Vasquez. This is an extremely interesting book which shows how to integrate critical literacies into the curriculum with young children.
Getting Beyond “I Like the Book”: Creating Space for Critical Litearcy in K-6 Classrooms by Vivian Vasquez. VERY interesting.
This is a superb article which explains critical literacy and gives excellent examples.
Books from Group 2

Overcoming Dyslexia, S. Shaywith – Long, but highly recommended from Michelle.
Reader Response in the Classroom, N. Karolides
Emerging Literacy: Young Children Learn to Read and Write, D. Strickland and L. Morrow (ed.)
I Read It, But I Don’t Get It, C. Tovani
What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, J. P. Gee – Exactly that. His point isn’t that teachers need to bring video games into the lesson plan, but that video games provide students with complex, high-level skills that are applicable to learning and literacy. Highly recommended by Lucas and Jean.
Shimmering Literacies, B. T. Williams – How to integrate popular culture in classrooms
Teaching Graphic Novels: Practical Strategies for the Secondary ELA, K. Monnin. – Incorporating graphic novels and comic books into the classroom. Includes great resources to work with (eg. work sheets, lists of quality graphic novels, etc).

The Daily Five by Boushey and Moser

I found this book very interesting — especially for those who want to know more about motivation:
Clock Watchers: Six Steps to Motivating and Engaging Disengaged Students Across Content Areas by Stevi Quate and John McDermott.
Two of my favourite writers on poetry in one book! Sheree Fitch and Larry Swartz. The Poetry Experience: Choosing and Using Poetry in the Classroom. This is an excellent little resource for the teaching of poetry.

HOT off the Press! David Booth’s new book on middle school (grades 6-8). I flipped through it and it looks like a FABULOUS resource for J/I teachers.
Attached are three reflection papers from students in my Current Issues in Teacher Education course. They are very experienced teachers and very talented. I thought that you might find these papers interesting/helpful as you navigate the teacher ed program. They gave me permission to share them with you. CK

Both P/Js and J/Is might find this article on Word Walls helpful.
Product DetailsMany students have found the texts by Cris Tovani really useful. Check them out — they are in the OISE libary. Very relevant for J/I teachers. This one is called, Do I really have to teach reading? Content strategies, Grades 6-12.

Patricia Cunningham — texts for grades 2, 4, + 5 are in the OISE library. The texts have tons and tons of phonics and making word activities. Excellent resource!

For those who want to know about the history of literacy instruction in Ontario, definitions of literacy …. this is the lit review from Monica McGlynn Stewart’s thesis. It is very readable and very informative.

For mathematics teachers. You might find this approach to math very interesting and goes “against the grain” of the way that math is typically taught.

Click to access Boaler.Detracked.Math.Approach.pdf

Excellent article for J/I students on comprehension.

Fabulous resource with lots of practical easy to follow lessons.
Reality Checks: Teaching reading comprehension…Reality Checks: Teaching Reading Comprehension by Tony Stead

Tony Stead’s books and videos are extremely popular with teachers.

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts & Other Powerful Web Tools…

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts & Other Powerful Web Tools For Class: Third Edition by Will Richardon
( I found this text highly informative – Ck )
Linda Christensen — Reading, Writing and Rising Up ( I showed the J/Is this book.- CK)

This practical, inspirational book offers essays, lesson plans, and a remarkable collection of student writing, all rooted in an unwavering focus on language arts teaching for justice.
Books on Writing (Lidia Group 1)

Winter, David, Robbins, Sarah. Writing Our Communities: Local Learning and Public Culture. Really great for ideas. Also check out Aaron’s writing blog for activities and ideas, Toronto Words. Even better for ideas, lesson plans, links about Toronto, etc.
Dudley-Marling & Paugh. A Classroom Teacher’s Guide to Struggling Writers. Writing lessons needs to be frequent, intensive, explicit, and individualized. Use workshops and mini-lessons (e.g. Word web for synonyms).
Odell. (2009). “Yes, a T-Shirt! Assessing Visual Composition in a Writing Class.” College Composition and Communication, 61(1), 197-216. Technology: Try Pinterest as a cork board with possibilities (annotation, open-format, diverse). Check out this Conversation Prism, which links and categorizes a whole bunch of media tools, for the class and just for interest. It’s really cool.
Donald Graves. Children Want to Write. The original writing guru. Ask Lorne for his totally awesome movie trailer!
Jacobson, Jennifer. No More I’m Done. (More for primary) Burke, Jim. What’s the Big Idea? (More for secondary, and less helpful). “Show, don’t tell” (in writing).
Elbow, Peter. Writing Without Teachers. Program based on a free write system. 1) Sit down and spew what you think. 2) Scan free write – what are the ideas? What makes sense and what doesn’t? 3) Scan again, don’t throw anything away. Can be done in homogeneous groups.
Lindblom & Dunn. (2006) “Analyzing Grammar Rants: An Alternative to Traditional Grammar Instruction.” The English Journal, 95(5), 71-77. Check out Jean’s Sliderocket presentation.