Christine Walsh

In this book you will read many examples of rich literacy conversations between a teacher and his 8th grade students that never would have occurred face to face in the classroom. These conversations take place online when 8th graders write to their teacher about the books they’re interested in reading and choosing to read independently. Students write about what happens when they read or don’t read, how they feel about reading, how they’re connecting with characters and ideas, why they don’t have enough time to read, and what their reading goals are. And their teacher writes back to them. Every week. After each conversation you will read some “meta-talk” that shines a light on what the conversation has taught us about this language learner and how this “data”is informing our beliefs and practices. Embedded within the chapters are suggested resources (articles, book recommendations, links, websites, blogs, etc.) you can follow should you want to read more in that chapter. What these students reveal about their own literacy development- their successes, their challenges, their lives- and how their teacher nudges them along socially, emotionally and academically, teach us the value and power of one practical, authentic literacy tool- the Reading Conversation Journal.

In this book you will read many examples of rich literacy conversations between a teacher and his 8th grade students that never would have occurred face to face in the classroom. These conversations take place online when 8th graders write to their teacher about the books they’re interested in reading and choosing to read independently. Students write about what happens when they read or don’t read, how they feel about reading, how they’re connecting with characters and ideas, why they don’t have enough time to read, and what their reading goals are. And their teacher writes back to them. Every week. After each conversation you will read some “meta-talk” that shines a light on what the conversation has taught us about this language learner and how this “data”is informing our beliefs and practices. Embedded within the chapters are suggested resources (articles, book recommendations, links, websites, blogs, etc.) you can follow should you want to read more in that chapter. What these students reveal about their own literacy development- their successes, their challenges, their lives- and how their teacher nudges them along socially, emotionally and academically, teach us the value and power of one practical, authentic literacy tool- the Reading Conversation Journal.

St Katherine of Alexandria was one of the most popular saints in both the Orthodox and Latin Churches in the later Middle Ages, yet there has been little study of how her cult developed before c. 1200. This book redresses the balance, providing a thorough examination of the way the cult spread from the Greek-speaking lands of the Eastern Mediterranean and into Western Europe. The author uses the full range of source material available, including liturgical texts, hagiographies, chronicles and iconographical evidence, bringing together these often disparate sources to map the way in which the cult of St Katherine grew from its early stages in the Byzantine Empire up to c.1100, its transmission to Italy, and the introduction and development of the cult in Normandy and England up to c.1200. The book also includes appendices listing early manuscripts containing Katherine's Passio and including key original texts on St Katherine of the period. This study will be welcomed by scholars of medieval history and the history of medieval art, and as a case-study for all those with an interest in the development of medieval saint's cults.