Mr. Moshé’s Critically Thinking . . . Are You?

What can you do to help the earth (and yourselves) get healthy, and stay healthy?

What can you start doing today?

What can you do from now on?
—-Before you answer, search the internet for EARTH DAY information.
—-THEN, come back here and let us know what you found out.

Welcome to the rest of the year!!!

Literature Circles are about

• digging deep into the text you are working with
• talking about the text
• high level reading skills
• getting everyone to participate
• questioning techniques
• higher order thinking
• discussion skills

Literature Circles are not about

• teaching people how to read
• low level reading skills
• writing skills
• You have to know how to read for this to work. It is not a reading strategy; it’s a discussion strategy

Resources for Literature Circles can be found at the following resources:

General Resources

http://www.npatterson.net/reading.html

http://www.literaturecircles.com/

http://www.proteacher.com/cgi-bin/outsidesite.cgi?external=http://home.att.net/~teaching/litcircl/circle.pdf&original=http://www.proteacher.com/070172.shtml&title=How%20to%20Lead%20a%20Literature%20Circle

http://eduscapes.com/ladders/themes/circles.htm

http://www.litcircles.org/

http://home.att.net/~teaching/litcircles.htm

http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr259.shtml

http://www.branford.k12.ct.us/user/site/staff/cmiller/LitCircles.htm

http://www.allamericareads.org/lessonplan/strategies/during/litcirc1.htm

http://www.homeedsa.com/Articles/Literature%20Circles.asp

http://www.litcircles.org/Discussion/focus.html

http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/fiction/classroom/class3.htm

***A Specific Plan***

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=877

POETRY (literature) Circle Resources

http://www.studyguide.org/poetry_circles.htm

http://www.poetrymagic.co.uk/pleasure.html

RUBRIC(S)

http://inquiryunlimited.org/lit/litcir/litcireval1.html

http://www.litcircles.org/Discussion/focus.html

Rubrics from Patrick Miller who teaches at Algonquin Ridge E.S. Barrie, Ontario, Canada

• Role Cards
• Discussion Director
• Illustrator
• Summarizer
• Travel Tracker
• Wordsmith
• Connector
• Investigator
• Assessment Rubric
• Task Completion Tracker (in Excel)
• Character Education Role Sheet 1
• Character Education Role Sheet 2

Spring Break was Grrrreeeeaaaat!

But it is over, and that means we have to get back to work.

This post is simply to remind you that presentations will begin tomorrow, April 10, 2007.

You must come prepared tomorrow, April 10, 2007.
How can you be sure you are prepared?

Before you arrive:

• Practice. Practice. Practice.
• Know the material you have to deliver.
• Prepare to answer questions about your topic.

When you present:

• Read the Audience Etiquette Brief.
• Bring a copy of the rubric you’ve chosen.
• Respect your audience.
• Be prepared to answer questions about your topic.
• Relax.

When you’re done:

• Read the Audience Etiquette Brief.
• Relax.
• Respect those presenting.

My friends and I have a saying…actually we have thousands of them. Here’s what I want you to do to earn this grade.

• Figure out what it means
  • Break it down into its parts to really figure it out.
• Tell us. How does it apply to you?
• Do you have any personal experience you’d be willing to share with us on this?

“Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.”

So, what do you make of it?