The Book Fort
Instructional Ideas for Immediate Implementation
Welcome to The Book Fort: Issue 26
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Week Twenty Six: Building Strategic Readers (Pt. 3)
As you know if you checked out The Book Fort last week, I will be sharing some innovative strategies included in 20 Literacy Strategies to Meet the Common Core: Increasing Rigor in Middle and High School (2013) over the next couple of weeks. If you’re one of my many elementary school friends, don’t fret! This text absolutely works for the lower grades and the strategies can be easily adapted. In fact, one of the authors, Elaine K. McEwan-Adkins, has also published several similar books that target K - 6 and has a background in both the classroom and the library.
This week, I zeroed in on the third section of the text, which is focused on Integration of Knowledge & Ideas, to pull out three literacy strategies for you. What I have provided is just a tiny taste of the what the book has to offer. If you find it useful, the whole text is available online in various places, including Amazon. Download reproducibles from Solution Tree here.
McEwan-Adkins, Elaine K. & Burnett, Allyson J. 20 Literacy Strategies to Meet the Common Core: Increasing Rigor in Middle and High School. Solution Tree, 2013.

Integration of Knowledge & Ideas: Anchor Standards 7, 8, & 9
Strategy 1: How to Interpret Political-Editorial Cartoons
In Part III, McEwan-Adkins and Burnett offer a nine-step approach to "reading" political/editorial cartoons (230) that is quite helpful. It is featured in the image below. If you need ideas for political cartoons to use in the classroom, check out this collection published by the Maryland Bar Association.

Strategy 2: Delineate - Evaluate - Explain

Strategy 3: Re-Thinking the Analysis Paragraph

Website of the Week

Discovery Education Spotlight on Strategies
Discovered by a colleague at the TCEA Conference this year and reiterated in my most recent monthly gathering with Wonderopolis, Discovery Education has collected a treasure trove of instructional strategies with teacher samples that is completely free and available without any sort of account or login. Check out the website here and the Google Doc. You will see everything from "3 Truths, 1 Lie" to suggestions for journal writing and they are all free. Thanks to Matt Arend and Renee Cunningham, fellow Wonder Lead Ambassadors, for sharing!
EdTech Tool of the Week

Google Forms for Assessment
Book Recommendations from #KCTE18
Whose Work is This? by Nancy Kelly Allen As I searched the authors' tables for books to buy my baby and toddler nephews and adopted nieces, all under the age of two, I was intrigued by Nancy Kelly Allen's collection of children's books and chose to purchase two for my darling baby nephews. One of the coolest things about Whose Work is This? and the others in this series is that they grow with the kids as they learn to read. There is something for every reader from babies to school age, including gorgeous illustrations and scientific facts, in addition to the engaging story lines. Check out Nancy's Amazon Page here and follow her on Twitter @NancyKellyAllen. | Clayton's River Adventure by Linda M. Penn & Frank J. Feger Similarly, I am always looking for ways to incorporate diversity and regional stories into my recommendations, especially those that are engaging and fun. Clayton's River Adventure is one series, as it captures Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati stories in a light-hearted way while still teaching some valuable lessons. Check out Linda's Amazon Page here and consider inviting both authors to share book talks at your school or library. They are great people and fun storytellers! | The Bully List by Michael Embry A more timely book for young adults I could not find at the conference. This text is perfect for students in middle or high school who are dealing with bullying or similar issues with peers and can be the start of a whole group discussion that needs to be safely had in every classroom. The Bully List is currently free on Kindle Unlimited and a class set or small group set might be something to consider for common reads. Check out Michael Embry's Amazon Page here and follow him on Twitter @MichaelEmbry. |
Whose Work is This? by Nancy Kelly Allen
Clayton's River Adventure by Linda M. Penn & Frank J. Feger
The Bully List by Michael Embry
