The Reading Connection:
REG is a networking organization for reading educators.

By: Janice Blanton

Keeping in touch with former classmates from the CSUF graduate reading program is sometimes easier said than done. I know, as several of us have been planning and canceling get-togethers for months now! Hopefully, via this trusty column, we can keep up our networking and share what is keeping many of us so busy.

We have several graduates who are first-time community college instructors this fall—myself included. I am teaching a "Basic Reading" class (881AB) at Long Beach City College. My students enroll as a result of their score on an assessment test, which is an integral part of the registration procedure at LBCC. I am using the Langan and Broderick textbook, Ten Steps to Building College Reading Skills (Townsend Press). At LBCC, the reading program is part of the English Department and resides in a wing of the library, which is a very practical and convenient location. LBCC has just this fall opened a computer lab, which will have growing pains for awhile. Finding effective software is the current objective. Currently, the programs in place are directed at assisting the English writing classes.

Nancy Rucker is also teaching at LBCC and, in addition, at El Camino Community College and Saddleback CC. She has been vigorously initiated into what is affectionately labeled the "freeway faculty." At LBCC she is teaching a developmental reading class (882AB).

Nancy’s assignment at El Camino Community College is "English R," which is a first level reading skills class. Nancy is quite impressed with the supplemental learning labs that exist at El Camino CC. Their is a computer assisted instruction (CAI) lab and a Learning Resource Center where students can receive individual tutoring.

At Saddleback Community College, Nancy is teaching a spelling class (English 234).The textbook is Feinstein’s Spelling Demons, which Nancy describes as a little "hokey," but the students love it.

Melanie Haeri is teaching two classes at Irvine Valley CC and one class at Saddleback CC. In one of her classes at IVCC, Melanie took advantage of McGraw-Hill’s option program where you literally create your own textbook. A Primis (Haeri,ed.) is composed of a collection of famous essays selected by Melanie and assembled by McGraw-Hill.

One aspect of applying for a community college instructional position which is of interest is the interview process. Although it varies at each campus, there are some commonalities. The following topics were touched on in each of our interviews:

1)Discuss the reading -writing connection;

2)Describe your experience in setting up a reading lab;

3)Discuss multi-cultural instructional approaches; and

4)Discuss the value of CAI to reading instruction.

In the next newsletter, I plan to feature how our graduate degree has empowered the careers of former classmates teaching at the elementary level. Please feel free to contact me through e-mail (jgreenbaum@fullerton.edu) to share any information which you think would be of interest to your colleagues in education.

Faculty Footnotes

by Kathi Bartle Angus

Ash Bishop was pleased to announce, at a recent faculty meeting, that the undergraduate and graduate reading enrollment is at 120% of capacity. This resurgent interest in reading has also caused the state to develop a new certificate program for reading education. This certificate will be somewhat similar to the old Miller- Unruh Reading Certificate. CSUF will be offering the certificate to graduate students who complete a four course series: Read 507, 508, 514 and 581.

The College Reading and Learning Association Conference, in Sacramento, October 22-26, was well attended by Reading faculty and alumni. JoAnn Carter-Wells and Carla Thomson made a presentation on integrating various forms of information technology into the critical thinking classroom of the future. Brenda Spencer and Kathi Bartle Angus conducted a symposium on accessing multiple intelligences by using student presentations as an instructional strategy. Also attending the conference were JoAnne Greenbaum and Toni Chambers, who were able to join keynote speaker Dr. Vincent Tinto, Bill Moore, coordinator of the Perry Network, and JoAnn Carter-Wells for a fascinating dinner on Friday night.

Technology Talk

by JoAnne Greenbaum

If you were inspired by "Inspirations," the software program that enables students to create graphic representations of ideas and concepts, then you might want to visit the Concept Mapping Homepage at :

http://www.to.utwente.nl/user/ism/lanzing/cm_home.htm

This web site provides an explanation of the concept mapping technique and possible purposes for using the maps. There is also an example of a concept map, and most importantly, a reference list for those of you who are interested in locating tools for concept mapping as well as books and articles on the subject.

Recommended Reading

by Carla Thomson

At the CRLA convention in Sacramento last month, I attended a session where reading teachers got together to discuss the novels we enjoy reading and those we use to encourage our students to read for enjoyment.

One novel, Snow Falling on Cedars by Guterson, received enthusiastic acclaim from all those present who had read and used it in the secondary or post-secondary classroom. A thoughtful, poetic first novel, this book is packed with lovely moments as compact as haiku and, at the same time, a page turner full of twists.

Consider placing it on your "using novels to teach reading" list, especially if you have a unit with a multicultural literature theme.

Synopsis:

A Japanese-American fisherman’s 1954 murder trial becomes the backdrop of a story that follows a doomed love affair between a white boy and a Japanese girl, a simmering land dispute, and the wartime internment of San Piedro’s Japanese residents.

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction

ABBY Award Winner

upcoming events

Reading Educators Guild’s Annual Winter Dinner will be held on February 18, 1998 at the CSUF Marriot.

Attendance at this event will give you the opportunity to visit with faculty and friends, enjoy a delicious dinner, network with reading educators, and learn what’s going on in the field of reading.

The keynote speaker at this years dinner will be Adria Klein, a distinguished reading professional.

Members will be receiving invitations and additional information about this important event, but now is the time to reserve the date on your busy calendar so you don’t miss out on a special evening.

************************ Special Notice ************************

Your membership expiration date is now printed on your address label. You will be receiving a registration renewal form with your newsletter at the appropriate time for you to renew. We hope this new system makes the renewal process easy and convenient.

food for thought

" The best service one person can render another person is to help him help himself."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Reading Educators Guild Newsletter Staff

Editor: JoAnne Greenbaum

The Reading Connection: Janice Blanton

Faculty Footnotes: Kathi Bartle Angus

Technology Talk: JoAnne Greenbaum

Recommended Reading: Carla Thomson

If you would like to contribute to the newsletter, by being a regular column writer or just an occasional article donator, please contact JoAnne Greenbaum at jgreenbaum@fullerton.edu. We need all of you to help make REG great!