Topic: Electronic Portfolios for Pre-Service Teachers

10-second review: Pre-service teachers put together electronic portfolios that are used in job interviews. What image do they want to create?

Source: HL Hallman. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (March 2007), 474-485. The secondary school publication of the International Reading Association (IRA).

Comment: Need to think this idea through. What goes into the electronic portfolio? Lesson plans? Resume. Photos of the teacher at work? Completed class assignments? Running commentary connecting each component? RayS.

Topic: Portfolios.

Ten-second review: What can teachers learn from reviewing students' portfolios? Teachers reflect on the contents of students’ portfolios and are able to assess not only the students’ progress but also their teaching.

Source: T Hicks, et al. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (March 2007), 450-458. The secondary school publication of the International Reading Association (IRA).

Topic: Portfolios.

10-second review: What are the values of portfolios? Portfolios support students’ reflection that can help them understand their own learning and document growth over time.

Source: HL Barrett. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (March 2007), 436. The secondary school publication of the International Reading Association (IRA).

Comment: Better think about being there when the students reflect, both to learn about how well you have taught and to help the students determine their progress—after the students have tried to reflect themselves. RayS.

Topic: American Reading Habits

10-second review: To what degree do Americans have the reading habit? “…only 5% of North Americans can be thought of as habitual readers, or, to put it rather more urgently, 95% of all those who attend school will probably never take to reading as a matter of habit.”

Source: LF Ashley. “Children’s Reading Interests and Individualized Reading.” 1088.

Comment: I think I would amend this statement to “…never take to reading books as a matter of habit.” President John F. Kennedy said that he never saw his father read a serious book. My own father told me that when he finished law school, he told himself that he would never read another book and he never did. I guess with the requirement to read books in school, books became something to avoid when one was free to do anything one wanted. I don’t think teachers “sold” books as a way of gaining ideas. RayS.

Topic: Contemporary Reading Habits

10-second review: How much time do people today devote to reading? People 65 and over read about an hour a day. Ages 15-24, 8 minutes a day. Overall average, 19 minutes a day for men and 24 minutes a day for women. Spend 2.5 hours a day watching TV.

Source: US Dept of Labor, 2003. The Writer (January 2005), 10. The Writer is a magazine by writers for writers.

Comment: The 15-24 age group amazes me—no reading in school or for school? Or, is this based on reading when not required? RayS.

Topic: Narrative and Expository Reading in Elementary School.

10-second review: What should be the roles of narrative and expository material in the reading program? Strike a balance between narrative and expository reading in the elementary grades.

Source: LB Gambrell. Reading Teacher (March 2005), 588-591. A publication of the International Reading Association (IRA).

Topic: Children with Special Needs

10-second review: What are UN goals concerning special needs children? UN Heads of State, 2002: “Each boy and girl is born free and equal in dignity and rights; therefore all discrimination affecting children must end. We will take measures to ensure the full and equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including equal access to health, education and recreational services by children with disabilities, and children with special needs to ensure the recognition of their dignity; to promote their self-reliance and to facilitate their active participation in the community.”

Source: K Edwards, et al., Language Arts (March 2007), 389. The elementary school publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

Comment: The UN resolution concerning special needs children deserves careful thought for its implications in the classroom. RayS.