Just Buffalo's The Big Read

Last year, Just Buffalo ran The Big Read program with Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. They provided classroom copies of books to teachers who would teach it in class. It's the whole "What If Everyone Read the Same Book" idea. This year's book is Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God.

The application appears below. If it isn't big enough, here's a link to the Just Buffalo website, which I've also added to the sidebar for easy access. You'll have to click around to find info about The Big Read.

Ayn Rand Contest

Ayn Rand's ghost is still trying to steal your children's souls. Their deadline is April 25th, 2006. In all seriousness, her foundation will give you a free class set of books if you espouse her beliefs...I mean use her book in the classroom. Go to www.aynrand.org for more info.

Book List

Above is the chart that depicts the division and assignment of certain themes to grade levels. The first column is for 9th grade, the second if for 10th grade, third for 11th grade, and the fourth column is 12th grade. (Utopia/Dystopia is supposed to be in the 12th grade column.

We devised these categories based loosely on a combination of the sections of the ML textbook and major themes that we found from other sources and deemed important.

Essentially, we're collecting input. What books do you want on the list for Anne to buy? We are generating a big list, and then we're going to whittle down. As always, if you have ideas, post them in the "Comments" section under this post.

ELA Lead Teachers Meeting - WNED

Here are the major points covered at the ELA Lead Teachers Meeting:

Language! Walk Through
We will have an administrative team doing a walk through on February 14th. They will be specifically looking at Language! classes. Even if you don't teach this course, make sure your proverbial T's are dotted and I's are crossed. I handed out a walk through evaluation sheet a month or so again. If you need another, let me know.

High School Declamation Contest
The district is trying to drum up interest in the declamation contest they have each year. Basically, we need an advisor for our building. This advisor will be paid a 7 hour stipend. Advisors help students find a 4-6 minute speech, and then coach them to effectively deliver it. First there is a schoolwide contest, and the winner of that contest goes against other students from the district. There are other guidelines, and Anne will make them available to us. If you're interested, see me.

Exam Scoring - 8th Grade ELA
On the half day (1/30), we will be reporting to school 86 to be trained for exam scoring. The next day we will score exams. I have been assigned the role of table leader. We will all be at the same table, barring any last minute changes. Tell Brian to bring the Wasabi peas. No Language! students from our school will be taking the exam. (applause)

Book List
We spent a lot of time talking about a book list. I'll do a separate post, because it's quite elaborate.