Secondary ELA Newsletter
May 2019
Featured in This Month's Newsletter
- Teacher Appreciation Week!
- Pasco World Class Learning Institute
- "In Praise of One Pagers" by Kelly Seltzer, English Teacher at Gulf High School
- Preventing Summer Slide: Free Home Reading Resources
- #PascoSummerReads
If you have information or a highlight you'd like me to share in an upcoming newsletter (or you're interested in being a guest columnist!), don't hesitate to reach out via email.
This past Saturday, I stood backstage at TEDxPascoCountySchools and listened as 71 students stood alone on a quiet stage and talked about Triumph and Tragedy. Their parents and families sat in the audience but I know it's their teachers who were standing behind them.
Sometimes when I walk in classrooms and I bend down to chat with a student, they whisper to me that this teacher is their favorite, that she's really working hard, that he's the funniest teacher they've ever had. They want me to know--and I want you to know: they care about you, too.
There is not a group of people I respect more in the world than public school teachers. Thank you is certainly not enough, but I hope it's a start.
Pasco's World Class Learning Institute: June 17-20 at WCHS
We are excited to offer our very own "Standard's Institute" in partnership with Unbound Ed. We heard such amazing feedback from the hundreds of leaders and teachers that attended the Unbound Ed Standard's Institutes over the last couple of years that we decided to bring the opportunity to Pasco so we could engage many more teachers, coaches and leaders in this work. The content of the sessions offered at the World Class Learning Institute is the same, just with our teachers and leaders as co-facilitators and without having to travel far away from home to engage in the great learning. There is still time to sign-up and we have plenty of space in both Elementary and Secondary ELA and Math tracks. And don't forget that participants will receive their hourly rate of pay for 6 hours each of the 4 days!
Click here to register for the Pasco County World Class Learning Institute
"In Praise of One Pagers" by Kelly Seltzer, English Teacher, Gulf High School
Email: kseltzer@pasco.k12.fl.us
The majority of my students have an extreme aversion to taking notes. I am continuously searching for different ways in which to engage them. Over the years we’ve used two-columns, three-columns, Cornell, outlining and Mind Mapping to name a few. In March, Kristen Ingold visited my school to offer a professional development on yet another note taking method. This one was called “The One Pager.” I was scheduled for the training and walked into it with an open mind and an extra-large coffee.
Ms. Ingold separated us in groups of four and began explaining “The One Pager” process. We watched a video and were given the task of making our own example. We then presented it to each other and had a conversation about what we’d done. I was a bit shocked at how fun it was. I wondered how I could roll this out to my students as we were about to take on Macbeth.
We began the play in the usual way. We prepped by reading Why Read Shakespeare by Michael Mack. I put on my crazy teacher hat and praised the works of “The Swan of Avon.” My enthusiasm for “The Bard,” the witches and the class role playing typically keeps them engaged until the analysis questions start. Before we even attempted the textbook questions, I rolled out “The One Pager.” The task was set: on one 8x11 piece of paper each student had to write 5 vocabulary words from Act I along with 3 images (drawn or cut from magazines) representative of the reading, 2 quotes from the reading, 2 Costa’s Level 2 or 3 questions (with answers), and the main idea of the reading. The paper had to be as colorful as possible with a symbolic border around the edges of the page. I showed them an example I had made and then I stepped back.
What I observed was miraculous. Students who typically struggled with note taking embraced this new strategy. Some of my best note takers also enjoyed this new way of documenting their learning. Students who begrudgingly worked in groups discussing literature were now critiquing characters and author motives with each other. When I suggested rewriting the ending (in typical English teacher fashion) the majority of my kids expressed numerous ideas and strategies they would use to keep their audience’s attention.
Overall, I would say this was a win-win for my classes. They enjoyed this new way of taking notes and quite frankly, it was fun working with them in this capacity. My students this year scored higher on third quarter assessments than last year. Was it this new strategy? I’m not totally sure, but I am will to try it again.
Preventing Summer Slide
Bookshare is providing a summer reading program (please see the below information). Bookshare offers free audio books to students with print and reading disabilities.
For other free home reading resources, please click below.
#PascoSummerReads
We hope that you enjoy summer vacation and spend some time recharging and relaxing! To celebrate and share great reads throughout the summer, please tweet a picture of yourself reading a great book with the hashtag #PascoSummerReads. Each person who posts a picture with the hashtag will be entered into a raffle drawing with the chance to win some additional great reads from our team.
Wednesday, May 29, 2019, 05:00 PM
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Enjoy your summer!
On behalf of the entire Pasco Literacy team, thank you for all you do to support students in your school! We value and appreciate the tireless work you do to cultivate a love of reading with your students!
Have a great summer! See you on #PascoSummerReads.
Contact
Rachel Hatten, Sr Instructional Specialist, ELA 6-12
Email: rhatten@pasco.k12.fl.us
Website: https://twitter.com/PascoLiteracy
Location: 7227 Land O' Lakes Boulevard, Land O Lakes, FL, USA
Phone: 727-774-2242
Twitter: @hattenenglish
Cassie Hernandez, ELA Curriculum Specialist 6-12
Email: crhernan@pasco.k12.fl.us
Website: https://twitter.com/PascoLiteracy
Location: 7227 Land O' Lakes Boulevard, Land O Lakes, FL, USA
Twitter: @herncas22