Here is a great opportunity for students to connect with others in different parts of the country - as well as globally. This type of learning opportunity addresses the CCSS ELA standards of listening and speaking. Courtesy of ASCD SmartBrief. Enjoy!

How Google Hangouts can be used for teaching, learning
Google Hangouts offer students "out of classroom" experiences without leaving the building, writes Andrew Marcinek, director of technology for Groton-Dunstable Regional School District in Groton, Mass. Marchinek shares six ways teachers can use Google Hangouts, including broadcasting and archiving live sessions, sharing screens and creating collaborative demonstrations, and making two-way digital conversations. T.H.E. Journal (9/17)

EDU 590 - Has begun at Vinalhaven. August 26-28 ,9 teachers - Pre-K - 12 - began the course. The principal, Robb Warren, also joined the class!! Rich instructional conversations and exploration of literacy within the context of the CCSS took place for the 3 days and will continue throughout the year.

What a great group!!  Student oriented and eager to provide success for students!!!

Back row from left to right: Randy Pitts, Emma Baker, Meagan Davidson, Judd Raven, Robb Warren (principal), Darlene Bassett (instructor), and Bruce Mailloux (superintendent).

Front row from left to right: Hilary Martin, Cherie Doughty, Sue Dempster, Pat Paquet.

Throughout the course, technology will be  embedded in order to allow teachers to experience the new CCSS standards as a student.  Randy Pitts, also lead us in the process of saving files as PDFs and then annotating them during reading, providing students with opportunities for close reading.

Bravo team!!  

Your students are lucky to have you as their teachers!!

Here's some great resources for close reading courtesy of Choice Literacy. Please notice the information is grade specific. Enjoy!

Free for All [For sneak peeks at our upcoming features, quotes and extra links,  follow Choice Literacy on Twitter: @ChoiceLiteracy or Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChoiceLiteracy or Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/choiceliteracy/]     In a new podcast, Chris Lehman and Kate Roberts look at close reading from many different angles: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1851 Close reading is the darling new phrase in literacy education, used to describe everything from end-of-chapter textbook questions to sticky note extravaganzas when reading novels. Chris Lehman explains why Close Reading Isn't Just Anything in the start of a new blog series: http://bit.ly/14Spe6Z   Close reading and rereading are linked in many classrooms. In this article from the Choice Literacy archives, Max Brand shares how he threads rereading throughout his fifth-grade literacy block: http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=41 Nancy Boyles highlights three strategies for bringing close reading to the elementary grades in this essay from Educational Leadership: http://bit.ly/TdDC63 Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris have compiled over a dozen posts on close reading at their blog: http://www.burkinsandyaris.com/close-reading-blog-digest/

Common Core and RTI have mandated "in class" models for more special needs students. Here is a list building on strengths. Courtesy of ASCD SmartBrief.

7 ways to bring out the best in special-needs students
"What we need to do is change the situation around so that right from the start, students with special needs are told about all the things they're good at, and are engaged in activities that are based on those strengths," writes ASCD author Thomas Armstrong. In his recent ASCD EDge post, Armstrong offers educators seven ways to activate the strengths of their special needs students. Read on.

Here is a great resource courtesy of America Achieves the Core.

America Achieves Common Core

Dear Darlene, We are writing to you as a valued registered member of the America Achieves Common Core community. America Achieves launched the Common Core website in April 2012 to assist teachers and principals around the country with implementation of the key shifts that Common Core brings to classrooms. Since its launch, the website has been visited more than 50,000 times and gained over 17,000 registered users - teachers, principals, district staff, educational researchers, and others. Many of you have given us great feedback over the last year and we have worked hard to incorporate your ideas. We are excited to announce that on 25th August 2013 we re-launched the site with lots of new lesson videos and resources. Below is a list of some of the new videos that can now be watched:

Daisy Comes Home Grade K English Language Arts 2D shapes Grade K Mathematics Close Reading: The Case of the Strange Noise Grade 1 English Language Arts The Commutative Property Grade 1 Mathematics Text Evidence to Support an Argument Grade 3 English Language Arts Comparing Fractions Grade 4 Mathematics Close Reading: I Hear the Wail of Millions Grade 10 English Language Arts Trigonometric Ratios Grade 10 Mathematics

Thank you so much for your continued support of our site. We are dedicated to making continuous improvements that deepen knowledge about common core standards and implementation. Please continue giving your feedback and comments via 'contact us' on the website, or email us at common.core@americaachieves.org. Best Regards Support Team Common Core Website America Achieves http://commoncore.americaachieves.org

America Achieves is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization | 2012 America Achieves America Achieves Common Core by commoncore.americaachieves.org is licensed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

Free webinar on Comprehending Content-Area Texts

Content Provided by: A Wider World: Comprehending Content-Area TextsBeing able to comprehend complex texts from a variety of content areas is an essential skill in the information age. Teaching students how to adapt their approach to a text based on its content area is a key part of comprehension. Pearson’s iLit is a comprehensive literacy solution designed to produce two or more years of reading growth in a single year. Based on a proven instructional model that has produced results for students in districts across the country for more than a decade, iLit has been carefully crafted to meet the rigors of the Common Core State Standards and to prepare students for success. In this webinar, Dr. Sharon Vaughn, executive director of The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk at The University of Texas at Austin, will discuss strategies for teaching students vocabulary and comprehension within content area texts, and how iLit provides an effective way of implementing these strategies. Presenter: Sharon Vaughn, executive director, The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk, University of Texas, Austin This webinar will be moderated by John Guild, senior product and marketing manager, Pearson iLit. Register now for this free live webinar.

Webinar Date: Thursday, Aug. 22, 2 to 3 p.m. ET Can't attend? All Education Week webinars are archived and accessible "on demand" for up to four months after the original live-streaming date.

Here are some great resources from Choice Literacy that can be helpful for planning the beginning of the year reading assessments.

 

 

Free for All

 

[For sneak peeks at our upcoming features, quotes and extra links,  follow Choice Literacy on Twitter: @ChoiceLiteracy or Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/ChoiceLiteracy or Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/choiceliteracy/]

 

 

Here are two features from the Choice Literacy Archives to help you and your students assess reading skills and needs.

 

 

Amanda Adrian explains why running records remain an essential assessment tool for elementary teachers in Tried and True Trumps Shiny and New:

 

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1155

 

 

In Eyes on the Fries, Gretchen Taylor helps her middle school students resist peer pressure as they analyze which books are "just right" for their independent reading:

 

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/articles-detail-view.php?id=1449

 

 

This essay from The Reading Zone blog challenges reading assessment data that comes from commercial publishers with a vested interest in the results:

 

http://bit.ly/1a5f18N  

 

 

One of the best ways to learn what students know, value, and need is to have them lead conferences. Pernille Ripp has written a lot about the benefits of student-led conferences, and she's finally compiled her advice in a step-by-step guide:

 

http://pernillesripp.com/2013/08/03/how-to-do-student-led-conferences/

 

 

Autumn in Maine is beautiful (we should know, since it's Choice Literacy's home state). Join us to see the leaves turn and the learning ignite at the Coaching the Common Core Workshop on October 12 - 13 at the Samoset Resort on the ocean in Rockport. Presenters include Jennifer Allen, Heather Rader, and Franki Sibberson:

 

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/workshops-detail.php?id=43