"Read and think. Simultaneously if possible.”

Advice to Craig Mullaney (2009) from a teacher when he was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford,
in “The Battlefield Can Be an Unforgiving Teacher” from The Unforgiving Moment

In Honor Of Your Radiant Light

Ring the bells that still can ring.
Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything.
That’s how the light gets in.
“Anthem” by Leonard Cohen

GUIDING STUDENTS TO EDIFYING BOOKS

Books in Their Hands: Why & How Thoughts

Ultimately, we want to develop deeper understanding of how to guide students to books which not only help them become stronger readers but draw them into reading as a habit, an oasis, a lighthouse.

Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell (1999) steer our thinking further: “Matching books to readers depends on three interrelated sets of understandings, all of which are critical to effective teaching:
* Knowing the readers.
* Knowing the texts.
* Understanding the reading process.”

One of the bravest and wisest books about guiding students to books is Beyond Leveled Books: Supporting Early and Transitional Readers in Grades K – 5 by Karen Szymusiak, Franki Sibberson, Franki, and Lisa Kock, Lisa (2008). I also greatly admire and find myself returning to Teri Lesene's (2003) Making the Match: The Right Book for the Right Reader at the Right Time, Grades 4-12 time and time again.

Books in Their Hands, Words in Their Hearts
Like Cinderella’s shoe or Goldilock’s search for the “just right” chair, a good fit between reader and book is essential to support students’ comprehension, confidence, and motivation. Looking for book matching/book leveling resources? Here are some helpful web databases to support your work. Happy reading!

Surfing for BOOKS!
For updated book lists and resources or to add your ideas to our list, please visit this BLOG @ laurabensonopenbook.blogspot.com/ and/or e-mail me to continue our conversation.

Choice Literacy http://www.choiceliteracy.com/ [*For ongoing discussions about book matching as well as incredible bibliographies for students and for us]

Carol’s Corner http://carolwscorner.blogspot.com/ [One of my all time favorite book mentors, Carol Wilcox, a dear friend and incredible educator, created this blog to share her devotion to books, books, books. It is always worth reading Carol’s book recommendations and reflections!]

LeveledBooks.com http://www.leveledbooks.com/booksearch.html

Leveling Tool http://www.heinemannclassroom.com/tools/levels.asp

Book Level Equivalencies Chart http://www.leveledbooks.com/equivalency.htm

Scholastic Teacher Book Wizard http://bookwizard.scholastic.com/tbw/homePage.do

Bookspot http://www.bookspot.com/readinglists/#grade

Beaverton Schools, Oregon http://registration.beavton.k12.or.us/lbdb/

Portland Public Schools, Oregon
http://www.pps.k12.or.us/instruction-c/literacy/leveled_books/

Fountas-Pinnell Leveling Books Website (membership fee + $.75 per "hit")
http://books.heinemann.com/products/002119.aspx

Fountas-Pinnell Leveled Booklist, K-8 2005-2008 (printed text; $40)
http://books.heinemann.com/products/E00819.aspx

Children's Book Reviews [Pre-K to 9th grade] http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/gradetitles.html

Caldecott Medal Books http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/caldecottmedal/caldecottmedal.htm

Caldecott Winners List (1938- present)
http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/caldecottmedal/caldecottwinners/caldecottmedal.htm

Newbery Medal Books
http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/newberymedal/newberymedal.htm

Newbery Medal and Honor Books (1922-present) http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/newberymedal/newberyhonors/newberymedal.htm

RIF Reading is Fundamental- booklists http://www.rif.org/parents/

Kidsreads http://www.kidsreads.com/index.asp

Library of Congress: Book-Promoting Organizations http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/partners.html

READING PLANET http://www.rif.org/readingplanet/

A Year of Reading http://www.readingyear.blogspot.com/

The Boy Reader http://www.theboyreader.blogspot.com/

CONTENT AREA LEARNING RESOURCES
Literacy Matters www.literacymatters.org/teachers

Making Sense in Social Studies (and other content areas, too) http://www.readingquest.org/

Montgomery County Schools http://www.mciu.org/

New York Times www.newyorktimes.com/learning

*More to come!

Poetry Portal!

Need more poetry in your life? Want to marinate your students in poetry? Check out the Online Poetry Classroom for more than 2,000 poems, links, curriculum units and lesson plans, and biographies of poet: http://www.poets.org.

Writer's Notebooks

If my house was on fire (God forbid!), I would grab my son's baby pictures, my brother's ID bracelet, and all my writer's notebooks. Even better than photo albums (which are all now electronic anyway), my writer's notebooks are a time capsule of my life, my thinking, and (hopefully) my growth over the years (I have been keeping a writer's notebook since second grade - not a diary!). Just last week, I took a little tour of my 30's by revisting my writer's notebooks. I found so many quotes, so many "Aaaha!" moments, and so many dreams still living and still reaching out to me.

Here are thoughts from fellow writer's notebook lovers, quotes I dedicate to treasured friends Bonnie Campbell Hill and Carrie Ekey as they work on their book chapters about writing this very week :)
Cheers and happy writing!
Laura

"I always tell kids that the most important book I've written is one that will be published: my writer's notebook. As the TV commercial used to say, I don't leave home with it!"
Ralph Fletcher

"The writer's notebook provides conditions that are necessary for students to grow into strong writers...The writer's notebook gives kids a place where they can enjoy language for its own sake..."
Ralph Fletcher


It's a Place

by 5th Grade Poet, John Mihaltses of Long Island, NY

Why am I keeping this notebook?
Because it's a place where I can
keep track of my life.
It's a place where I can observe
closely
And where I can store little pieces of
strength.
It's a place where I can keep the elements
of Life
(lightning, fire, ice, time, and space)
and Writing
(poetry, words, eyes).
It's a place where tales weave.
All in all
It's a place for ME.


"A notebook is a receptacle, a tool, a way to hold on to things. Students should view notebooks as documents of their lives; they learn not only to honor what they see but to look in the first place. If students become more aware of the world around them and know there is a place for these observations, then this awareness will be more naturally included in their own writing. They will learn to think on the page, so their notions of what's possible in writing become less limited."
Joanne Hindley Salch


"Always, though, I write my stories out first in a notebook. That works best for me. Pencils are easy to carry and I can take them any place I go. I have written in dentist' waiting rooms, in my car during a traffic jam, and in a floating chair in our swimming pool. Sometimes I get an idea when I don't have my notebook with me. What a disaster!"
Eve Bunting


"Writing in a notebook is a way to fuel up. Supreme superior unleaded. And it's free!"
Naomi Shihab Nye

Comfort Quotes

In the primer of Life, the first lesson is Love.
Joan Walsh Anglund


God leads men into deep water not to drown them but to cleanse them.
Artist Todd Mossman

We are well practiced at educating the mind for critical reasoning, critical writing, and critical speaking, as well as for scientific and quantitative analysis. But is this sufficient? In a world beset with conflicts internal as well as external, isn't it of equal if not greater importance to balance the sharpening of the intellects with the systematic cultivation of our own hearts? Arthur Zajonc, Love and Knowledge: Recovering the Heart of Learning Through Contemplation, delivered at the "Contemplative Practices in Education: Making Peace in Ourselves and Peace in the World" conference at Columbia University, February 13, 2005

If you are going through hell, keep going.
Winston Churchill

BLESSED with SECOND LANGUAGES and DIVERSE CULTURES: Supporting Literacy Journeys of Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Students

In honor of my beloved god-nephews, Kadeem and Isaiah, the son's of my treasured friend and mentor Dr. Carol Wilcox of Denver Public Schools, and for the incredible international school students I serve in my collaborations with their brilliant and giving teachers...

PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES FOR DEVELOPING Culturally Connected CLASSROOMS and Responsive LEARNING:
Akhavan, Nancy. (2006). Help! My Kids Don’t All Speak English: How to set up a language workshop in your linguistically diverse classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Au, Kathryn H. (1993). Literacy Instruction in Multicultural Settings. New York: Harcourt Brace.
Benson, Laura. (2004). Deep Thinking: Sustaining Students’ Strategy Learning to Cultivate Their Independence. IRA. The Colorado Communicator, (27), 72 – 87.
Benson, Laura. (2003). Drawing From Our Well: Creating Writing Lessons from Our Reading Journeys, Part One. IRA. Colorado Reading Council Journal.. (26), 18 – 24.
Benson, Laura. (2001). Living a Literate Life. IRA. The Colorado Communicator, (25), 1 and 39 – 51.
Benson, Laura. (2005). Promising Stories: Culturally Responsive Literacy Learning and Teaching. IRA. The Colorado Communicator.
Brown, D. (2002). Becoming a Successful Urban Teacher. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Buhrow and Garcia. (2006). Ladybugs, Tornadoes, Swirling Galaxies: English Language Learner Discover Their World Through Inquiry.
Cushman, K. (2003). Fires in the Bathroom: Advice for Teachers From High School Students. New York, NY: The New Press.
Darling-Hammond, L., Ancess, J., and Falk, B. (1995). Authentic Assessment in Action: Studies of Schools and Students at Work. New York: Teachers College Press.
Delpit, Lisa. (1995). Teaching Other People’s Children. New York: The New Press.
Doubek, M. Brandon & Cooper, Eric. Closing the gap through professional development: Implications for reading research. Reading Research Quarterly. IRA.
Foster, M. (1995). African American teachers and culturally relevant pedagogy. In J.A. Banks, & C.A.M. Banks (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Multicultural Education (pp. 570-581). New York: Macmillan.
Freeman, David and Freeman, Yvonne. English Language Learners: The Essential Guide. New York, NY: Scholastic. [*numerous titles]
Gay, G. (2000). Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, & Practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
Gordon, B.M. (1993). African American cultural knowledge and liberatory education; Dilemmas, problems, and potentials in a postmodern American society. Urban Education, 27(4), 448-470.
Greene, S., & Abt-Perkins, D. (2003). Making Race Visible: Literacy Research for Cultural Understanding. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Hale, J. (2001). Learning While Black: Creating Educational Excellence for African American Children. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Hilliard, Asa. (1991). Testing African American Students. Chicago, IL: Third World Press.
Jackson, Yvonne. (2004). Unlocking the Potential of African American Students: Keys to Reversing Underachievement. Theory Into Practice, 44(3), 203-210.
Krashen, S.D., & Terrell, T.D. (1983). The natural approach: Language acquisition in the classroom. New York: Pergamon.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995a). But that's just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory Into Practice, 34(3), 159-165.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995b). Multicultural teacher education: Research, practice, and policy. In J.A. Banks & C.A.M. Banks (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Multicultural Education (pp. 747-759). New York: Macmillan.
Lazar, Althier. (2004). Learning to Be Literacy Teachers in Urban Schools: Stories of Growth and Change. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Levine, Mel. (2006). Celebrate Strengths, Nurture Affinities. Education Leadership.
Lipman, P. (1995). "Bringing out the best in them": The contribution of culturally relevant teachers to educational reform. Theory Into Practice, 34(3), 202-208.
Mahiri, Jabari. (1998). Shooting for Excellence –African American and Youth Culture in New Century Schools. New York: Teachers College Press.
Mahiri, Jabari. (2004). What They Don’t Learn in School: Literacy in the Lives of Urban Youth. New York: Peter Lang.
Mann, Augusta. Touching the Spirit. In Press.
Mohr, Kathleen and Mohr, Eric. (2007). Extending english-language learners' classroom interactions using the Response Protocol. The Reading Teacher, 60(5.4), 440-450.
Morrell, E. (2004). Linking Literacy and Popular Culture: Finding Connections for Lifelong Learning. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc.
Pewewardy, C.D. (1994). Culturally responsive pedagogy in action: An American Indian magnet school. In E.R. Hollins, J.E. King, & W.C. Hayman (Eds.), Teaching Diverse Populations: Formulating a Knowledge Base (pp. 77-92). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Philips, S.U. (1983). The Invisible Culture: Communication in Classroom and Community on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland.
Ritchhart, Ron. (2002). Intellectual Character. San Francisco, CA: Josey Bass.
Rome, Stefanie. (2006). The National Urban Alliance for Effective Education Teaching for Intelligence Conference. Minneapolis, MN.
Rothstein, A., Rothstein, E., & Lauber, G. (2006). Writing as Learning: A Content-Based Approach. Thousand Oaks, Corwin.
Singleton, Glen (2005). Courageous Conversations. National Urban Alliance for Effective Education Conference.
Taberski, Sharon. (2000). On Solid Ground. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Tatum, Alfred. (2005). Nurturing Resilience Among African American Adolescent Male in the Literacy Classroom. Colorado Council of International Reading Association Conference.
Tatum, Alfred. (2005). Teaching reading to black adolescent males: Closing the achievement gap. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.
Teale, William. & Gambrell, Linda. (2007). Raising Urban Students’ Literacy Achievement By Engaging in Authentic, Challenging Work. The Reading Teacher, 60(8), 728 – 739.
Uribe, Maria and Nathenson-Mejia, Sally. (2008). Literacy Essentials for English Language Learners: Successful Transitions. New York: Teachers College Press.
Wolfe, Patricia. (2001). Brain Matters: Translating Research into Classroom Practice. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Wong Fillmore, L. (1991). Second-language learning in children: A model of language learning in social context. In E. Bialystok (Ed.), Language processing in bilingual children (pp. 49-69). New York: Cambridge University Press.