Black Ants & Buddhists: MC

The story of the black ants - to kill or not to kill - reminds me of the scene in 7 Years in Tibet where Brad Pitt is trying to build the movie theater for The Dalai Lama - but construction stops because of the earthworms that the monks find in the way... Everything stops while the monks painstakingly sift all the earth to remove the worms from harms way... amazing scene!!

OK - point is - finally an illustration of a WL classroom - a critical literacy classroom - sooo helpful to "see" what it is like...
Cowhey mentions a few strategies of interest...

• EVERY DAY she reads aloud to children - using a variety of texts types
  
• Helping to build comprehension using a variety of strategies
• HElping students make connection - text-to-self, text-to-text, text-to-world
• a second read aloud - focusing on a philosophical question - on-going - emphasis on listening skills and oral language development.

Each chapter in the book looks at questions that teachers ask about teaching critically...How do you...

• keep teaching age-appropriate
• keep it authentic and relevant so kids care
• do it all yourself?
• handle it if families react negatively
• know if kids are getting it