[MOSAIC] Test Talk

[Patricia Kimathi]

I love this book.  I bought it shared it with our literacy coach she  
read it and ordered it for every grad level and herself.  I am in awe.   
The children really seem to get it.
Pat K

"to be nobody but yourself -- in a world which is doing its best, night  
and day, to make you like everybody else -- means to fight the hardest  
battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting."

e.e. cummings

On Mar 31, 2008, at 2:04 PM, Ljackson wrote:

> Hello All,
>
> Keith asked me to get the ball rolling on the sharing of Test Talk,  
> which four of us were asked to review and share with you all. Thanks,  
> again, Keith and Stenhouse.
>
> Test Talk:  Integrating Test Preparation into Reading Workshop
> Greene & Melton
> Stenhouse
>
> ISBN:  9781571104618
>
> Why did I bother to include all of that?  Basically, because I am  
> fairly convinced that you all are going to want to buy the book.  I do  
> not know the authors of this book, but I could easily know them.  They  
> are teachers that  begin by describing a holistic teaching program  
> that aligns closely with my beliefs about literacy instruction,  
> describing their frustration and alarm when their school failed to  
> make AYP despite what they believed to be strong instructional  
> practice.  I work with teachers and children in one of the most  
> impoverished counties in the country.  AYP is little more than a pipe  
> dream for our schools--we make steady progress with our students and  
> flirt with making safe harbor.  I am so fearful of what could be  
> pressed on our teachers, our district and our students in hopes of  
> making AYP.  Reading First is not necessarily pretty in my state,  
> though I know it varies widely in state to state implementation.
>
> Early in the book, this quote spoke strongly to me. "[Steps we  
> take]...must be grounded in a staff's common beliefs about how  
> children learn, and in an unwillingness to waver from best practices."  
> The authors identify language, format and stamina as being issues that  
> stand between children and success on standardized tests.  In the  
> remainder of the book, language, format and stamina are addressed in  
> detail with integrated lessons that address these concerns.  The  
> lessons are intended to extend workshop instruction, rather than to  
> become isolated or separate test preparation.
>
> I believe so much in this book that I ordered it for all of our  
> building coaches and hope to have them all read it before the end of  
> this school year.  Why?  I think it would be extremely valuable  
> reading very early in the upcoming school year to center our  
> discussions around making some simple adjustments to ongoing  
> instruction to address testing concerns.  Most specifically, I am  
> hoping that classroom teachers will feel comfortable thinking through  
> the vocabulary lessons in an effort to make sure children 'know what  
> they know' in terms of language they might encounter on a test;  
> incorporating just  a few questions formatted similarly to our  
> standardized test across the school year and the curriculum; and make  
> changes to ensure that kids have adequate opportunities to build  
> reading stamina.
>
> Lori Jackson
> District Literacy Coach and Mentor
> Todd County School District
> Box 87
> Mission SD 5755
> '
>
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>
>
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