Reading is the complex cognitive process of decoding symbols to derive meaning. It is a form of language processing. Success in this process is measured as reading comprehension. Reading is a means for language acquisition, communication, and sharing information and ideas. - From Wikipedia

Success is measured as comprehension. What do you understand after you have read something? A core idea that has multiple ramifications. This leads me to the question, what do you read and how do you determine meaning?

Now take it one step farther, what do our students read and what are their thoughts and understandings? This is the essence of what we need to be concerned about in all core subjects and across all grade levels and across the Cape Henlopen District.

Let's begin a deeper conversation with the Teacher Book Club, a session that will be offered this Friday, February 15 during out C3 CHAT Connections PD Day at Cape Henlopen High School. Sign up at Data Service on session 76548 or 76549. Hope to see you there.

Reading Makes You Smarter!

According to a recent blog article by Christina DesMarais, reading raises your IQ, makes you happier and protects your memory. Don't believe me? READ it for yourself!

As a bonus, here's a link to the 22 Books that are highly recommended by successful people.

AND a link to Why Daily Reading should be a priority.

Now go read something!

Book Club for Teachers Feb 15!

C3 Cape Henlopen PD Session for Feb 15 - Book Club for Teachers

Book Club for Teachers: Fiction, Fantasy and
Friendly Ideas from the Field

Whole group and small groups will banter and pontificate around this age old question: What are you
reading and why?

Premise: to teach well, we need to replenish our knowledge base. To understand more, we
need to share ideas and perspectives.

Time and space on this golden PD day will allow us to informally share information about
three books: one we recently read, one that influenced us from the past and one book that helped
inform our teaching.

Outcome: More ideas, redirected thoughts and relationships that are based on the incredible
power of books.

RESOURCES

Lit Hub  Lit Hub is a central place for writers, publishers, books, bookstores, librarians, and readers
to congregate and celebrate books and literary culture.

Cult of Pedagogy  With this site, I hope to create what I did not have myself: a vibrant, encouraging, stimulating community of teachers, supporting each other toward excellence. I believe if we can reach across the limits of geography and find each other, there’s no limit to the amazing things we can accomplish.

Common Lit CommonLit delivers high-quality, free instructional materials (to all cores) to support literacy development for students in grades 3-12. Our resources are: Flexible; Research-Based; Aligned to the Common Core State Standards; Created by teachers, for teachers. We believe in the transformative power of a great text, and a great question. That’s why we are committed to keeping CommonLit completely free, forever.

New York Times Special offer $1/week for a year! 

New York Times Learning Network    Whether you’re here for the first time or have been visiting our site regularly for the last 20 years, we invite you to take a look around.

Every school day since 1998, we have offered fresh classroom resources — from lesson plans and writing prompts to news quizzes, student contests and more — all based on the articles, essays, photos, videos and graphics published on NYTimes.com.

All of our features for students are free, and we hear from thousands of teenagers around the world each week. So whether the students you know are interested in politics or pop culture, science or sports, fashion, food or foreign affairs, invite them here to join the conversation.

Reading Bootcamp for K-3 Teachers

Shared reading - this is a PD for learning how to use this strategy for better outcomes.  
From PBS Teacher Line
Thanks to Pete Olson

Holograms of 13 Holocaust Survivors

The Smithsonian Tween Tribute has an amazing resource! Follow this link to get to the story that can leveled and used with your students. Wow!

Talk with 13 Holocaust Survivors, a report on an Illinois exhibit

Challenges to Arts Integration

From ASCD Ideas from the Field

Arts advocates have been saying for years that arts integration can improve social-emotional learning and attitudes toward the arts. A recent meta-analysis of arts integration research as seen through ESSA found that the arts have a statistically significant effect on student achievement (Ludwig, et al., 2017). So, we know arts integration works. But how best to do it?

ESSA Arts Evidence for Student Achievement 

Science News for Students

When scientists finally tally up ocean temperatures for last year, they will probably conclude that 2018 was the warmest year on record. Warming water isn’t only a problem for whatever is living in it; it also contributes to sea level rise. So far, that rise has been limited to inches, but by the end of the century, ocean levels could be feet higher than where they are now. That rise isn’t steady or equal around the world, but it poses a risk to anyone or anything near a shore.

from Science News for Students