Missouri State Teachers Association

A Lifelong Love of Literature

Some friends, my husband and I were just discussing literature and reading over the weekend. I think prompted by a "15 favorite books" survey on Facebook. My husband is an avid reader. He started his love of reading with support from his family and a teacher that would let him read science fiction books for class. He still mixes science fiction in with more classic selections.

In a recent article in the New York Times there is an interesting discussion about how students are exposed to reading. It looks at the group read method at one end of the spectrum versus a method championed by Nancie Atwell that allows students to pick the books they want to read. It seems pretty easy to make arguments for both and a middle ground. Personally, it would make me (and my husband) sad if students aren't exposed to one of our favorite books "To Kill a Mockingbird". Hopefully those with the ability to select their own books will give it a try. It might end up on their "15 favorite books" list someday. Of course the students in the article seem to be making some great selections on their own. Maybe I should follow their lead. I could always modify my list, right?

Most beautiful words?

With my vacation quickly approaching, I know what I would vote for as my favorite word. Robert Beard doesn't agree but has compiled a list of "100 Most Beautiful Words". After looking at this list I think I might need to brush off my dictionary and expand my vocabulary. Apparently the list is also a book and will be for sale in August but you can get a sneak peak of the list here. What do you say English teachers and lovers of language? Did they leave anything off? I still vote for "vacation".

A Phrase a Week

     I just added this to my newsreader:  A Phrase a Week.  Yes, this week I learned from where the phrase "had an inkling" comes.  I love these tidbits of information!  Perhaps there is an English or history teacher out there that would like this site too.  Last week, this site "cropped up" on Bloglines and I snagged it.  (Last week's post tells you the possible origins of "crop up". . . )

DailyLit

"DailyLit sends you bite-sized chunks of public domain books (including many classics) daily, on weekdays, or three times a week via email or RSS -- for free. Each serving takes less than five minutes to read, and if you want, they'll send you the next installment right away if you click a link."

     Jonathan Fromme from the "Cool Tools" website turned me on to DailyLit.  Since I am often on the road, with time between appointments, reading small portions of the classics via my Blackberry keeps me occupied while awaiting a meeting.

     I wonder if students might enjoy books by email?   It is a unique mode of delivery, sending small amounts of text guaranteed not to overwhelm the child who is intimidated by the heftiness of a novel.

Webster's Ginormous Mistake

     Merriam-Webster is issuing the newest version of its dictionary, and included in this publication are "words" such as ginormous (a blending of the words gigantic and enormous), crunk (a term associated with rap music), and smackdown (a way to describe a bout in entertainment wrestling).

     Call me old-fashioned, but I am extremely disappointed that such fad-oriented distortions to the English language are being adopted by Webster.  When I last taught a communication arts class, I was battling student use of informal abbreviations like "'b-4."  I'd be going out of my mind these days to combat shortened words, text-messaging lingo, and the slang now deemed acceptable by the most recent copy of the dictionary.

     Surely, I am not the only one who holds this opinion.  Those with an opposing view, please teach me the error of my ways "cuz" I don't get it!

     (Note:  While spell checking this post, ginormous, crunk, smackdown, b-4, and cuz came back as erroneous - just like they should!)

www.litplans.com

     A fair number of authors are represented at this site for communication arts, literature, and reading teachers.  Although the lesson plans, unit plans, and teaching kits are not free, the site seems to be a fairly comprehensive list of what instructional aids are available for a large number of novels.  All major educational publishing companies appear to be included in this one-stop shopping venue.

     The homepage is not pretty, but it is user-friendly.  I recommend Literature Lesson Plans for anyone beginning their 07-08 purchase orders.

Grammar Girl Rocks!

     I stumbled across Grammar Girl this morning and had to share. . .  Not only does technical writer Mignon Fogarty post tips and answer age-old, perplexing questions regarding the English language, she hosts a podcast to do the same.  In fact, I just listened to her explanation of Lay versus Lie.  Her explanation, including the totally inaccurate uses by Eric Clapton ("Lay Down Sally") and Bob Dylan ("Lay Lady Lay"), would have served my students well.

     So I recommend this site for use by Communication Arts teachers at the secondary level.  Screen each episode before use, but I doubt you'll find anything offensive.  Fogarty's lessons are on the mark!

     You may subscribe to Grammar Girl's RSS feed via the website.  You may also subscribe to the podcast at iTunes.