Hi!
I hope you are well and having a great school year! I miss Norway, but it is nice to be home and working with my own students
again. I am having a terrific semester teaching Children's Literature and an English language arts methods class called The
Teaching of English, the second methods class in our program that covers writing pedagogy. The students in this class are
having their first practice teaching experience in the middle schools or ungdomsskolen, so after my year in Norway we have
much to compare.
While I was roving last year, many teachers I visited asked for web sources for teaching ideas and primary texts - especially
around American holidays and studies. I thought you would benefit from accessing the free National Council of Teachers of
English's sponsored website called Read, Write, Think at
http://www.readwritethink.org/index.asp
It has many grade indicated lesson plans around recommended texts for adolescents, both first and second language learners.
Most convenient is the calendar that links to special days and their events with grade appropriate lesson suggestions. You
can find the calendar at
http://www.readwritethink.org/calendar/index.asp
Specific holidays that might interest you this time of year may be found by clicking:
Halloween
http://www.readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?id=315
American Indian Heritage
http://www.readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?id=618
Voting Rights
http://www.readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?id=332
American Veterans Day
http://www.readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?id=339
Thanksgiving
http://www.readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?id=360
I can't thank you enough for sharing your classroom and teaching ideas with me. My teaching is richer; I returned to the United
States with a better understanding of teacher educator because of you. Please extend my regards to your colleagues and your
wonderful students!
All the best,
Donna
_________________________________________
Donna L. Pasternak, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor and Program Chair
Early Adolescence to Adolescence English Education
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Enderis 391
School of Education
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
P.O. Box 413
Milwaukee, WI 53201
414-229-4592
http://www.uwm.edu/~dlp2/
