This past week Kristi and I got to sit down with the teachers we will be working with throughout first term and hash out what exactly that will look like. I love this collaborative time; I get so excited to be trying new things and love the energy and learning that goes on when we put our heads together. It is truly one of my favourite parts of the overall shift in how we "do" learning assistance at our school (more on that here, if you're curious). Inevitably, many of the teachers I work with want to focus on literacy, often based on the book Reading Power by Adrienne Gear (Adrienne, coincidentally, was just in Kelowna to talk to us about lit circles. Perfect timing!). Frequently, these teachers would also like me to model a lesson or two before we dive right in to co-teaching; twist my rubber arm, I say. So today, as I was working through my plans for these first few lessons, I pulled out a few of my favourite Reading Power books and thought I would share them here with you too!
Je Reve en Couleurs (Sophie Rondeau) - It was brought to my attention that we have not featured any books in French on #IMWAYR. If you are not a French Immersion teacher it's hard to appreciate how difficult finding resources and books can be and how imperative it is to share anything you find. So, given the nudge by our new (and fabulous!) librarian, I am going to try and feature more books in French here on the blog (I'm headed to a book fair next week so will hopefully stock up the collection!). Please, if you know any French Immersion teachers, let them know so that we can all share the wealth. Back to the book. I stumbled upon Je Reve en Couleurs while looking for some other resources on the Scolartek website. What a find! This book has the most wonderful descriptions, using language that is at once rich and accessible (the meaning of most unfamiliar vocabulary can be easily inferred from the picture or sentence). I use this one for visualization and then generally spill it over in to some writing lessons about word choice. Last year, we had our students create their own pages for a book "in the style of...". The kids loved it and we loved it! Wish this one came in English too! Jessie's Island (Sheryl MacFarlane) - This is a beautiful book, full of powerful imagery. I use this one in much the same way I use Je Reve en Couleurs; linking visualizing and word choice to create powerful learning in reading and writing. There are so many senses that are stimulated by this book so I like to use it to talk about how visualizing can be more than just pictures in your head; that it can be sounds and smells and feelings too. Provided you live near the ocean, this book provides countless opportunities for connection too; if your students have never seen the ocean, use it to get at that idea of how connections help us understand a book. Of course, there are many, many more books that Kristi and I love to use to teach literacy skills. The ones I've featured here are the ones that I went back to today, that fit with the lessons that the classroom teachers and I have decided we want to do, that are some of my go-to favs. We would love to hear about some of your go-to books - we are always looking for great new ideas!
2 Comments
Laurelle
10/15/2014 03:33:36 am
Thanks Bryn,I love IMWAYR!
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10/15/2014 08:08:18 pm
Love everything that Mo Willems creates. Such an ingenious illustrator.
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Welcome!I'm Bryn, teacher, mom, book lover, athlete. I am passionate about living life with my family, teaching and learning something new all the time. I hope you find something that speaks to you here on my blog and would love to hear from you too! Categories
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