TOP 10 REASONS TO USE CLUB CHRONICLE Kathy Zimbaldi L. L. Pugh Elementary January 7, 2004

“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 Activities  The 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 Comprehension  From 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 Theater  Many 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 Skills  Through 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 Spanish even 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