COVER STORY
Corks are popping! January is awards month in the world of children's literature. Esme Codell writes about contenders for the Caldecott award for best illustration in American children's literature, the Newbery for best writing, the Coretta Scott King award, and others...
About Ginny Hoover...
Ginny Hoover took an early retirement after 31 years of teaching in Kansas public schools. Her experience spans the 5th through 8th grades. During the last ten years she has functioned as a trainer of teachers in a variety of areas in her district, surrounding districts, professional organizations, and teacher service centers. At the state level Ginny is a state trainer for the KS State Writing Assessment (based on the Six Traits Writing Model), a member of the Kansas Social Studies Committee for writing the social studies standards, benchmarks, and indicators, and the lead trainer for the state in government and civics.
Recently, Teacher TimeSavers published a variety teaching units and tutoring hookups that Ginny wrote and designed. These include a Six Traits materials, literary unit for Taming the Star Runner, Hookups for Language Arts, Transcripts of Trials for Goldilocks, The Wolf, and Mr. Dad, and Tactile/Kinesthetic Activity Patterns.
The Gifts of Children by Hoover and Carroll Killingsworth, a book about recognizing, acknowledging, and refining the gifts of children, is scheduled to be published some time this year. Visit Teachers Helping Children--The Gifts Project for additional information.
Joyce McLeod, Jan Fisher, and Ginny will soon have a classroom management book to be published by ASCD. It will cover managing time and space, managing the classroom, and managing instructional strategies.
The Gifts of All Children
by Carroll Killingsworth and Ginny Hoover
The Eclectic Teacher
by Ginny HooverStarting a New Year…Ginny's List of 10
It's a good time for reflection. If an ideal time existed to make changes for the remainder of the year, the natural point would be the beginning of second semester. So as you start the New Year, think about…
What am I doing right? Why is it working?
What isn't working? How can I make it right?
What teaching strategies am I using that are working?
What teaching strategies are not very successful for the class? Is there a remedy or do I need to avoid the less successful strategies?
How is my management system working? What, if any, changes do I need to make to increase its effectiveness? Identify specifics; name solutions. What is working? Make sure to identify specifics!
Have my students shown educational growth under my supervision? What and how? Are there still weaknesses? Identify the weaknesses and plan for remediation. Identify strengths and capitalize on the positives!
How is the class interaction? Are students showing respect for other students, teachers, staff, and school properties?
Are you assessing (formally and informally) your students' progress so you can make knowledgeable decisions about the curriculum and instruction?
Are there any unique problems you need to address? Faculty relationships? Parent-teacher communications? Equipment repair? Time for tutoring?
Have you taken care of yourself? Don't forget to provide for your needs.
If you see that changes are necessary, make some environmental changes to the classroom to support the modifications. Change the seating arrangement. Change the location of the teacher's desk. Move things. It will help get the point across that you are looking for change and expect cooperation.
The Eclectic Teacher