Heading for Chicago and the IRA Convention

Heading for Chicago for the International Reading Association 2010 convention. I'm excited about presenting at the Bibliotherapy & Reading symposium with colleagues who share the commitment to bibliotherapy: using books for personal growth, healing, and problem-solving.

Please join us if you're in Chicago on Monday 26 April 2010:

McCormick Lakeside Center, E260

3:00 pm - 5:45 pm

"Bibliotherapy in Changing Times"

For the 2010 IRA Convention, the Bibliotherapy and Reading Special Interest Group will continue to emphasize the use of multiliteracies to stimulate the imagination and increase awareness through reading in addressing the emotional and intellectual needs of children and youth. The two foci for the academic session are (1) identifying literature and other resources (media, technology, etc.) to address the climate of changing times that influence how children and youths make text-to-self connections and (2) highlighting research, theory, classroom practice, and strategies that support bibliotherapy for meeting the unique needs of children and youths in the midst of change.

2010 Power of Words conference - TLA (Transformative Language Arts) Network

The 8th Annual Power of Words conference brings together writers, storytellers, performers, musicians, educators, activists, healers, health professionals, community leaders, and more. We're very excited about the workshops we'll be offering and think you will be too. Check out our conference workshop offerings and schedules here, with links to our online registration as well.

my new favorite movie...

My new favorite movie is actually a actually a Syfy Channel original mini-series.

In this reimagining of Lewis Carroll's classic novels, Caterina Scorsone stars as Alice, a young woman who descends into the twisted world of Wonderland after her boyfriend is abducted by the Queen of Hearts (Kathy Bates) and forced to gamble in her royal casino. As the Hatter (Andrew Lee Potts) helps her battle a secret society called the White Rabbit, Alice uncovers the source of the Queen's wicked power. Tim Curry co-stars in this miniseries.

Click here for details.

My Amazon review of TEACH LIKE A CHAMPION: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College

5 stars for Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov! Here's the review I posted on Amazon.com:

Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov is a gold mine for teachers and equally valuable for all classroom presenters.

As a presenter in middle- and high school classes teaching the Peace Through Fiction creative reading method, I definitely will focus on using these key techniques from the book: Threshold (#41), The J-Factor (#46), The Hook (#12), Everybody Writes (#26), Wait Time (#25), Strong Voice (#38), and Emotional Constancy (#47).

The book as a whole will better inform all my classroom visits and help me to more effectively support the teachers with whom I partner.

My interests in bibliotherapy and Peace Through Fiction give me a special interest in the sections on text connections. I agree with Mr. Lemov’s assertions that “Thoughtful connections can often be the jumping-off place for inferences about the text. . .Effective connections can also help students see the story from a character’s point of view by accessing their own analogous experience. . .It may also be that people naturally make connections, and so the skill doesn’t need to be taught so much as managed and guided. The skill is in making connections effective and focused.” (303-304). These perspectives are simpatico in letter and spirit with both bibliotherapy and Peace Through Fiction, thus benefiting my work specifically.

I look forward to sharing Teach Like a Champion with colleagues at the International Reading Association 2010 convention in Chicago!

Enjoy! New Music Video from Manisha Shahane

Please Vote! Help SDCN - Sustained Dialogue Campus Network

Please Vote! Help Cleveland performers create a comedy performing arts center

MUSIC VIDEO - How Things Change (excerpt), Manisha Shahane

"It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it."

- J. Bronowski

from the LaVilla School of the Arts, Jacksonville FL, Creative Writing Program page

Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov

Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College

by Doug Lemov

Just starting to read this new book -- will keep you posted.