porary basis, is now on a full-

time, permanent contract.

The English Department

has expanded to include

Reading teachers, Marcy

Morris and Shannon Clap-

saddle. The move makes

sense organizationally,

but, as importantly, the

synergy of the subject

matters will enrich the

entire department. The

number of English Lan-

guage Arts faculty in-

creases from 10 to 12.

We are also pleased that

Natalie McLean, who has

been

with

us for

two

years

on a

tem-

Twitter, Moodle, blogs, wikis. If it sounds

a little like a foreign language, the EETT

grant has given us an immersion course.

Armed with StarBoards, iPads, Netbooks,

and a lot of professional development,

English teachers regularly incorporate

technology into classroom life. Technol-

ogy in education, I think, is not a fad

driven by cool new toys and terrific

grants. The availability of information,

the skills students need in order to nego-

tiate technological advances in the fu-

ture, the benefits of collaboration, and

the sheer power of Web 2.0 tools that

are out there to engage students all

point to the potential for significant

change in how we educate. We use tech-

nology in our communication with stu-

dents and parents, in addressing real-

world reading and writing tasks, and in

exploration of the curriculum. It’s an

exciting venture, and it’s fun and exhila-

rating to see the various ways English

Language Arts teachers discovering new

ways to use technology in the classroom.

A N e w L o o k

S P E C I A L

P O I N T S O F

I N T E R E S T :

A New Look

The Corner Chair

Credit Recovery

Faculty Activities

Soon to be...

Strategy Spotlight

Miscellany

Poetry by Faculty

T h e C o r n e r C h a i r

C A R B O N D A L E C O M M U N I T Y H I G H S C H O O L

English Language Arts

Department News

September 2011 Volume 3, Issue 1

Credit Recovery continues to be a cornerstone of the Terrier Tutoring program, and tutoring hours are now offered on Tues-day and Thursday as well as on

Monday and Wednesday when students may earn credit for failed classes. Over the sum-mer 16 students earned English credit. In order to earn credit, stu-dents must have failed, but with an average of 50%. Stu-dents must spend 20 hours reading a novel, writing journal entries, and composing analysis and research essays. Students also make their way through the program. The rigor of the credit recovery program The Credit Recovery program

grew out of College Readiness efforts. CCHS, in coopera-tion with John A. Logan Col-lege, has developed a model College Readiness program. Cheryl Staley heads the Eng-lish department’s contribu-tions to Terrier Tutoring.

summer where she studied Thoreau and the Transcen-dentalists.

Emily Hayes is serving as the Special Sessions Chair for the NCTE National Conference in Chicago in Novemeber. Emily also serves on the IATE Execu-tive Board and has been appointed Constitution Chair.

Emily Hayes in an adjunct English instructor at Morth-land College. She’s cur-rently teaching British Lit-erature, Part I.

Kim Herron-Titus has com-pleted her +24 hours with a focus on technology. She attended the METC Tech-nology Conference last Feb-ruary.

Bryan Dunn, Emily Hayes, Cheryl Staley, and Danny Wilson will feature as an Illinois Showcase at the

Shannon Clapsaddle and Marcy Morris both passed their Reading Specialist certification test with flying colors.

Justin Dennis continues to teach CI 571 at SIU. The Secondary Curriculum is a course in the MAT se-quence.

Tarrie Dullum has begun her MA in English Studies at SIU.

Bryan Dunn has begun his MA studies in Teacher Leadership at SIU.

Betsy Geiselman presented at both the IATE annual conference and the Interna-tional Reading Association annual conference in Flor-ida. Her topic was teaching morphemes.

Betsy Geiselman attended the week-long workshop, Approaching Walden, this

National Council of Teach-ers of English National Conference in Chicago. Their presen-tation is ti-tled “Keeping the Wolf from the Door: Teaching Creative Writing in the High School Class-room.”

Cheryl Staley was named 2nd Vice President of the Illinois Association of Teachers of English. Her responsibilities include plan-ning the IATE annual con-ference.

Cheryl Staley continues to serve as liaison with John A. Logan College College Readiness.

C r e d i t R e c o v e r y

F a c u l t y A c t i v i t i e s

P a g e 2 E n g l i s h L a n g u a g e A r t s

A view of Walden Pond from Thoreau’s Cabin Site

Photo by Betsy Geiselman

Cheryl Staley and Marcy Morris

and producer Carl Jackson. The

double CD will be released on Sep-

tember 21 and can be ordered

through the Mark Twain Boyhood

Home and Museum.

Mr. Wilson and Ms. Hayes continue

to work with the Museum. Most

recently they assisted with its first

scholarly conference. They also

continue to edit The Village Pariah,

a biannual literary publication.

The English Language Arts Department is undertaking a long-term project to review and revise its

current curriculum. Several factors prompt this review. First, we need to ensure that the curriculum

responds to new regulations, including the Common Core Standards and RtI . Second, we have a lot

of new faculty members, and it’s important that they have a say in the curriculum that they are re-

sponsible for teaching. Third, and perhaps most significantly, is the necessity of preparing students

with “21st Century Skills.” The world of education and the world of work have changed. Although

the current curriculum is a living document, one that has evolved over the years to meet the needs of

students, its basic purpose and shape hasn’t changed in 20 years or more. The opportunities Tech-

nology provides educators and students alike to engage, communicate, learn, and produce make it

vital that we take another look at what we’re teaching. We expect the process to take two years.

which personal factors, like identity and literacy habits, may influence their achievement. With her dissertation defense in Oc-tober, Ms. Clapsaddle ex-pects to graduate in De-cember.

Shannon Clapsaddle has made the most of her year-long leave of absence to pursue her Ph.D. in Read-ing from the Department of Curriculum and Instruc-tion at SIU. For her dis-sertation, Ms. Clapsaddle has done case studies of resilient adolescent readers to determine the degree to

T w a i n A t L a s t

C u r r i c u l u m R e v i s i o n S t u d y

S o o n - t o - b e D r . C .

P a g e 3 V o l u m e 3 , I s s u e 1

In last year’s English Department

newsletter, it was hinted that excit-

ing (Mark Twain) news was immi-

nent. By now it’s pretty well known

that Danny Wilson and Emily Hayes

wrote a song that was recorded by

Brad Paisley for a Mark Twain trib-

ute album. We’ve been waiting

anxiously for the release. The al-

bum, Mark Twain: Words &Music,

features the voice talents of

Jimmy Buffett, Garrison Keillor,

and Clint Eastwood. Among the

performers on the album are Emmy-

lou Harris, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill,

WE’RE ON THE WEB!

HTTP://WWW.CCHS165.JACKSN.K12.IL.US/

ENGLISH/ENGLISH.HTM

Strategy Spotlight:

Independent Reading

One of our most important goals is to create excitement about reading. If students discover that reading opens doors to self-discover, imagination, access to knowledge of others and the world around them, we have succeeded. Most of the faculty have some sort of Independent Reading project. Natalie McLean and Media Center Coordina-tor Stephanie Parton developed one such project and presented it at the Illinois School Library Media Associa-tion annual conference last October. The session was titled "Empowering Reluctant Readers with Technology." This project was chosen by the EETT grant evaluator as an exemplary project. They cre- ated a documentary which will be used at the state (and perhaps) national level as an example of how to incorporate student use of technology into curriculum. To see the documentary, go to the TerrierTube page on the TerrierNet website and click on “Parton & McLean—Reading Wiki and Ani-moto. Animoto is a free Web 2.0 tool though which students can input text, pictures, and music and easily generate a 30-second video. Students used wikis to post responses and create dialogues

about the novels. Ms. McLean at her

desk.

M i s c e l l a n y

Fun Facts about Thoreau

(Provided by Betsy Geiselman)

Thoreau went to Walden Pond for the first time when he was 4 years old while on a picnic with his parents.

Thoreau is often pictured sporting a beard around his throat. These were called Gallway Whiskers and were believed to help protect the throat and protect against tuberculosis.

Thoreau is perceived as a hermit, but there were several oth-ers living near his cabin in the woods. Concord outscasts were pushed to the woods around Walden Pond.

While at Walden Pond, Thoreau’s home was part of the Underground Railroad, and he often cared for slaves passing through. He also fed and clothed Irish railroad workers.

Thoreau and his brother, John, both proposed to Ellen Se-wall and both were rejected. On his deathbed, Thoreau said of Ellen, “I have always loved her.”

Drainage Ditch Odyssey by Cheryl Staley It rained last night and as I breathe this morning’s air I exhale memories of Lakeside Drive where my brother and I tied cold green beans to bits of string before racing to the overflowing drainage ditch in front of our house to fish for crawdads. Our neighbor Steve was turning over dirt with a garden spade, finding wondrous, wormy treasures while his little sister poured heaps of sugar into pitchers of Kool Aid, the nectar and ambrosia of our childhood. We were open for business. Steve brought his trumpet to our bait stand and when men in pickup trucks appeared on the lake road he played the “Kool Aid, Kool Aid, tastes great” jingle, a sirens’ song which drew the men who plunked down quarters and dimes for Kool Aid, worms and crawdads (bait for the baited). Later we lay awake on those rain-soaked nights, thinking of the music made by coins striking the sides of Folgers coffee cans. Then, like Calypso the seductress, the music lured us on a mysterious voyage as we slept the sleep of crawdad dreams.

Shoes for the Bridegroom by Cheryl Staley “I bought your father a pair of shoes today.” Unsure how to answer, my mind skips like a smooth stone over dark waters and settles on, “For the Great Gettin’ Up Morning?” “He’s not dead, you know.” The stone sinks to serpentine depths. “Who did we bury, Mother?” “That man was far too dark to be your father.” Catching me looking into the hallway, she adds, “Don’t be trying to get that man out there on your side.” Her ancient eyes spit flames of fire. “The marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife has made herself ready.” Suddenly the fire in her eyes turns to filmy rheum and her heart beats mark time with the pounding hoof beats of the pale horse whose rider spirits the bride away. Fare thee well. Fare thee well.

How I Would Know

by Jan Presley

I wouldn’t hear the spew of orchid-mist before the clink-and-grind of coffee-call. You would sleep in. You wouldn’t fall to sleep with your right hand, its weight a lullaby of fire, on my left inner arm. I wouldn’t see you weigh a dinner’s bearing in the balance of your face. Your eyes wouldn’t light right. You wouldn’t wax didactic on umami. You would sigh less. You would sigh more. You wouldn’t curse over mundane furies only.

I wouldn’t watch you move from tai-chi to shaving to iron, from wiring to bread dough to pruning shears keyboard to aquarium, to reading science in a rocker by a blooming hibiscus in one December day.

You wouldn’t notice orange and green in winter or go outside the back door one more time, for sky, before getting into bed.