TOP 10 REASONS TO USE CLUB CHRONICLETOP 10 REASONS TO USE CLUB CHRONICLE

Kathy Zimbaldi

L. L. Pugh Elementary

January 7, 2004

TOP 10 REASONS TO USE CLUB CHRONICLE

10.Meets all of the TEKS for LA/READING. 9. It’s authentic literature. 8. It’s always changing! 7. Extensive website support for extension activities. 6. Printed in English and Spanish! 5.Kids can take it home! 4.Provides easy home/school learning connection. 3. Written by local author and illustrator! 2. It’s free!!!!

1. KIDS LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!

“Story always tells us more than mere words, and that is why we love to read it and to write it.”

Madeline L’Engle, from the introduction to A Wrinkle in Time

Vocabulary Building ActivitiesThe pre-reading vocabulary experience

is easy to incorporate into a Club Chronicle story.

Students and teachers together prepare lists of words that are difficult or cannot be construed from context clues, in a quick scan of the day’s story.

Reading ComprehensionFrom knowledge to analytical to

evaluative levels, critical thinking skills are easy to build into a Club Chronicle lesson.

Stories in serial format engage a reader in ways that make them eager to read the following day.

BUILDING A LIBRARY! Club Chronicle is a portable classroom

extension activity. With the intent to promote a home school

connection, teachers allow students to make books in English and Spanish to share with parents.

For homes without books, Club Chronicle helps to promote good family literacy habits.

Reader’s TheaterMany Club Chronicle stories lend

themselves to dramatic re-enactment. For ESL students, Reader’s Theater is an excellent means to promote oral language development.

The stories are short, and can be cut up into small segments; even one-sentence parts are possible.

Letter Writing SkillsThrough the efforts of the Readers are

Leaders Foundation, students receive Club Chronicle for free.

It’s a great opportunity to teach letter writing skills.

LOOKING FOR COGNATES!With a school population that is 100%

Hispanic, linking the home language for the ESL student is essential.

Cognates are easy to find in Club Chronicle. With English and Spanish versions side-by-side, students cross- reference as they build their 2nd language vocabulary.

What about Secondary ? Club Chronicle promotes skills that transcend grade

level barriers Teachers can’t presume kids come with a rich literary

background. Club Chronicle is great for: low readers in all upper grades

all ESL students (see NCTE handout)foreign language teachers of Spanisheven GT English!

GT ENGLISH? Fairy tales and fables can be read and

viewed through the lens of literary criticism: Feminism, Marxism, Reader Response, post- colonialism.

“The Lion’s Share,” one of Club Chronicle’s recent offerings, is a good example of this.

See handout.

Sidebar:High School seniors applying to

Stanford University are often required to submit the application essay in the form of an original fable!

Fables can be used to illustrate concepts in Political Science, World History, Economics and Government classes.

COMING ATTRACTIONS….. Folktales in February:

“The Fifth Aztec Sun”-2/13/05, & 2/20/05

“How Coyote Gave Fire to the People,” -2/27/05

ONLINE RESOURCES AVAILABLE @: www.chron.com/cie