tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post7738905839564499328..comments2024-03-22T01:00:38.320-04:00Comments on I.N.K.: FREE Teachers’ Guides Make Using Nonfiction in the Classroom Less ScaryLinda Salzmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17217322360480267856noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-11712028312253820932012-11-01T07:20:43.701-04:002012-11-01T07:20:43.701-04:00Yes, Myra, thanks for your comments. Like Liz, I w...Yes, Myra, thanks for your comments. Like Liz, I welcome your feedback. You and the teachers you work with have a tremendous body of knowledge that we can all benefit from. Please feel free to email me at melissa@melissa-stewart.com with ideas and criticisms. Melissa Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04322048827106827307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-86653057276615253232012-10-31T14:07:23.279-04:002012-10-31T14:07:23.279-04:00Thanks Myra for sharing these with your grad stude...Thanks Myra for sharing these with your grad students. I can't speak for all the writers, but I know I would welcome any feedback from you and your students on my teachers' guides. Please feel free to email me. author@elizabethrusch.com.<br />Elizabeth RuschElizabeth Ruschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05825584194379652883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-90516152932613408022012-10-31T11:21:41.495-04:002012-10-31T11:21:41.495-04:00I am really enthusiastic about sharing this collec...I am really enthusiastic about sharing this collection of teachers' guides with my graduate students who are currently teaching in NYC public schools. Many of the ideas are thought provoking and will extend the ideas in the books in productive ways. <br /><br />But we also need to be critical consumers of ideas. I am ready, for example, to toss the KWL chart idea out the window. What began as an excellent idea to have children monitor their learning, has become indiscriminately used for too many nonfiction <br />lessons.<br /> <br />When children have little or no background knowledge about a topic, asking them what they KNOW about it is useless. The answer is nothing. Asking them what they <br />WANT TO KNOW is also useless. Again, because they<br /><br /> are running on empty. So, what I'm suggesting is that we reach for the more authentic, mind-stretching ideas and forget about the tried and true because these ideas are getting stale. In that vein, I would also give all Venn diagrams a good long rest.<br /><br />Overall, though I found some useful ideas I am happy to <br />pass on--with all of my opinionated, but experienced-based caveats.<br /><br /><br />.Myra Zarnowskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08384106059616982063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-55299299907590240822012-10-31T08:21:22.705-04:002012-10-31T08:21:22.705-04:00Thanks so much for putting this up here Liz. Hope...Thanks so much for putting this up here Liz. Hope it encourages teachers to use these books in fun and different ways.Susan E. Goodmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08439239997410273932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-88261099422853314002012-10-31T08:21:15.224-04:002012-10-31T08:21:15.224-04:00Thanks so much for putting this up here Liz. Hope...Thanks so much for putting this up here Liz. Hope it encourages teachers to use these books in fun and different ways.Susan E. Goodmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08439239997410273932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-44197528025427649462012-10-30T11:01:45.773-04:002012-10-30T11:01:45.773-04:00Wow, Liz--great that iNKers have so many guides av...Wow, Liz--great that iNKers have so many guides available, and thank you so much for collating all of this info!Dorothy Patenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04897049725319745306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1337206901491734394.post-86521620461966605372012-10-30T08:58:02.313-04:002012-10-30T08:58:02.313-04:00Great job, Liz! The CCSS are designed to mandate t...Great job, Liz! The CCSS are designed to mandate that teachers expose children to great thinking from great nonfiction books. It can liberate the classroom from tedius skill and drill to vibrant centers of creative thought. iNK Think Tank (the company that came out of this blog) is in the process of becoming that go-to central resource to help teachers use great nonfiction in their classrooms, starting with our free online database. So stay tuned......Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07214356318088069618noreply@blogger.com