TACTics
Journal
A Publication for and by TOC
for Education Practitioners
March 21, 2003
In this week’s issue:
Elementary/Secondary TACTics
(1) Annotated Reading List for
the Evaporating Cloud, Cheryl A. Edwards
Connections
(2) Please Take Note!, Kathy Suerken
(3) 7 th International TOCFE Conference
Information
Editor’s Notes
(4) Kay Buckner-Seal
ELEMENTARY/SECONDARY
TACTics
(1) Annotated Reading List for the
Evaporating Cloud
By Cheryl A. Edwards
My experience has been that you
can’t pick up a fiction book without finding possibilities to help deepen
students’ understanding of the characters and their problems by using the Cloud
thinking process. Here are just a few titles I have discovered. I hope you will
send in your favorites so that we can add them to the list. Many can be adapted
for any reading level.
1. A House for Hermit Crab,
Eric Carle
Picture Book
Studio, 1991 ISBN 0-88708-056-1.
It's the nature of a hermit
crab to move into bigger and bigger houses (shells) as it grows. This one,
however, is particularly reluctant to leave the home his friends helped
decorate. Leave/Don’t leave. Provides a nice bridge to focus on relevant
‘changes’ in their own lives.
2. The Island of the Skog, Stephen Kellogg
Dial Books
ISBN 0-14-054649-9
A Story about how assumptions
affect our behavior. Finding an inhabitant on their newly discovered island
home creates havoc. Treat the Skog as a friend/Treat him as an enemy.
3. The True Story of the Three
Little Pigs, J. Scieszka
Viking, 1998.
A short story telling this
traditional tale from the wolf’s perspective and showing that there are two
sides to every story. Wolf’s motives are good/Wolf’s motives are not good.
4. Fables, Arnold Lobel
Harper Row,
1980
An anthology of contemporary
fables each with an unexpected twist in the lesson to be learned. I like the
“Bad Kangaroo,” -the reader learns that the parents are the cause of their
child’s disruptive behavior by the example they set. Lots of cloud
opportunities.
5. The Lorax, Dr. Seuss
Random House,
1971
A story with implications about
the environment and the long-term effect of business decisions. Do what is good
for the company/Do what is good for the environment.
6. The Kapok Tree, Lynne Cherry
ISBN
0-15-200520-X
This story provides the reader
with an opportunity to think about all of the reasons for cutting down the
great Kapok tree or not cutting down the tree. It opens up the possibilities
for many good solutions.
7. Lon Po Po, Ed Young
This is a Chinese version of
the Little Red Riding Hood tale fostering a discussion of safety. Don’t answer
the door to strangers/Answer the door to strangers.
8. Ira Sleeps Over, Bernard
Waber
ISBN
0-395-53431-3
Ira is going to have his first
sleepover. Should he bring his teddy bear or not?
9. The Berenstain Bears and the
Blame Game, Stan and Jan Berenstain
ISBN 0 679
98743-6
Place blame / Don’t place
blame. Is it better to get to work and solve the problem? This is a series of
books that are especially good for parents to use with their children. No Girls
Allowed. —Allow girls into their clubhouse/Don’t allow girls into their
clubhouse
10. And Then There Was One,
Margery Facklam
ISBN
0-316-25982-9
One of my favorite nonfiction
books about extinction. Lots of opportunities to use the TOC tools.
11. Peace Begins with You,
Katherine Scholes
ISBN
0-316-77440-5.Discusses
why individual wants and needs don’t always seem to fit together and how this
becomes a source of conflict; then moves on to broader national and
international issues.
12. The Orphan Boy, Tolowa M.
Mollel
ISBN
0-89919-985-2
A tale that explains why the
planet Venus is known to the Maasai as Kileken. It is also a story of strength
and weaknesses, youth and age, and trust and forgiveness. The major conflict in
the story centers around the old man’s curiosity and his desire to know the
boy’s secret. Discover the boy’s secret/Don’t discover the boy’s secret.
13. Thank You, M’am, Langston
Hughes
This short story about a boy
attempting to steal a woman’s purse provides several opportunities to use the
Cloud to help the reader understand why the woman did not punish the boy. It is
a great bridge into authentic situations.
14. The Lemming Condition, Alan
Arkin
ISBN
0-553-15016-2
This “old-timer” works
beautifully in understanding issues of conformity and free will. Should Bubber
do what the other lemmings are going to do or should he make his own decision
on what to do? Great bridge into real life.
Some Other Titles to Think
About
Anne Frank: The Diary of a
Young Girl, Anne Frank
What’s the Big Idea Ben
Franklin?, Jean Fritz
Strega Nona, Tomie de Paola
The Breadwinner, Deborah Elles
Flossie and the Fox, Patricia
McKissack
CONNECTIONS
(2) Please Take Note!
From Kathy Suerken
You can now download a
printable conference registration form from our web
page at http://www.tocforeducation.com or email me at suerken@cox.net to
send you one..
(3) 7th International TOCFE Conference
May 16-19, 2003
Ramada Plaza Beach Resort
1500 Miracle Strip Parkway
Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, USA
Hotel:
• For reservations, USA toll
free: 800.874.8962.
• Please reserve your room
under the TOCFE Conference block of rooms.
• Boxed continental
breakfast-up to two per room included.
• Blocked rooms will be held
until April 24, 2003 (afterward, reservations only if space available).
• The following prices are for
maximum of 2 people per room (additional person is $10/person per night up to
maximum of 4 per room).
Standard: $120 (plus tax) per
night.
Courtyard: $135 (plus tax) per
night
Poolside: $155 (plus tax) per
night
Beach Front: $175 (plus tax)
per night
Airport:
• Fort Walton Beach, Florida
(VPS is the airport code).
• Cab/shuttle service from
airport to hotel is about $15.
• Driving information will be
shared in a future TACTics.
Conference Fees:
• Daily Rate: $25 includes
lunch, coffee breaks and all materials.
• Full conference rate: $125
includes 4 lunches, all coffee breaks, all materials and Special
Dinner/Entertainment Event on Sunday, May 18. A Special Event is still being
planned for Saturday, May 17!
• 10% discount if registration
fees are paid by April 1, 2003
Conference Registration Form
You can download a printable
conference registration form from our web site at
<http://www.tocforeducation.com> or email Kathy Suerken at suerken@cox.net
EDITOR’S NOTES
(4) Kay Buckner-Seal
We hope that you will find this
annotated booklist useful in your application of the thinking process induced
by using the Cloud tool. Look forward to more annotated booklists from Cheryl
in future editions of TACTics.
We would love to publish your ideas and applications of the thinking processes. Or, perhaps you would like to share a lesson, make an announcement, and/or etc. If so, send your responses by mail to: Cheryl A. Edwards, 2253 S. Hill Island Rd., Cedarville, Michigan 49719, USA. Or send hyperlink to cedwards@cedarville.net or bucknek@earthlink.net.
You may also view TACTics in
its intended formatting, by visiting our web
site
at www.tocforeducation.com. Click on “What’s New.”