[LIT] beginning of the year question

[khonyx at aol.com]

I use several of Eve Bunting's picture books and Avi's and Sandra Cisneros' short stories..."Eleven" and "Salvadore Late or Early" are two of my favorites.????


Karen Onyx
Carusi Middle School


-----Original Message-----
From: Bill IVEY <bivey at sbschool.org>
Bcc: khonyx at aol.com
Sent: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 8:08 pm
Subject: Re: [LIT] beginning of the year question



"A list for improving literacy with focus on middle grades."
<lit at literacyworkshop.org> on Monday, June 25, 2007 at 4:04 PM -0500 wrote:
>as an upcoming 3rd year teacher, i'm still looking for the perfect
>curriculum and instructional combination:)  something tells me this won't
>change from year to year. 
Hi!

Well, I'm still fine-tuning my teaching and I've been at it since 1981 :-)
>
>here's my question: i'd like to begin the year (i teach 7th grade
>reading) with reading picture books, quality books that i can preview the
>major elements of fiction we'll be studying this year. does anyone have
>some good ideas for picture books that lend themselves to lit. study? i'm
>not wanting to get into anything too heavy, but it would be nice to give
>students an overview of what we'll be doing for the year--at least in
>fiction. i'm open to poetry and non fiction books as well. 
I love "Hip Cat" by Jonathan London - beautiful jazz poetry, and an upbeat
"do what you love to do and do it well" message. "Song and Dance Man" was
another of my son's books that might work well with middle schoolers. It's
about a man who brings his grandchildren up to the attic and gives them an
impromptu show demonstrating what he used to do on stage in the good old
days.
>
>after the first week, we'll launch into the novel, holes. i use holes
>because most students have either read the book or watched the movie.
>since we get so many transfer students, holes is something most students
>can get on board with ease--even if it's at the end of the novel. they
>all seem to know the story of hole. 
Sounds good!

Take care,
Bill Ivey
Stoneleigh-Burnham School


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