Tag Archives: literacy

World Read Aloud Day

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litworldwrad2011badgeMarch 9, 2011 is World Read Aloud Day. This global rally shows the world that the right to read and write belongs to all people and lets the children of the world know that words and stories have the power to change lives.

What would you miss most if you could not read or write?

Imagine your world without words.

Read with loved ones and new friends in honor of World Read Aloud Day from now through March 9, and tally your minutes to help reach the goal of 774 million minutes in honor of the 774 million people worldwide who cannot read or write.

For more information on how you and your school can participate in the events of World Read Aloud Day:

Participate in WRAD
WRAD Activities
Join the Facebook Event

It’s time to join the global literacy movement.

LitWorld Gala 10 Video from LitWorld on Vimeo.

Connecting kids with nonfiction

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P1000109One of the bloggers that I keep up with is Angela Maiers. Angela is a literacy consultant and she has great ideas for working with kids on reading and writing. Her latest series is called Celebrating Nonfiction and there is one post in particular that I thought would be useful to librarians.

Angela describes conversations that she had with students as they selected nonfiction books in the library and what she felt like was missing in their selection process:

Over and over, I would hear comments like:

  • “I need a book on snakes.”
  • “I want to know more about trucks, so I am looking for truck books.”
  • “I have to research the constitution, do you have a book on that?”

So what’s missing? Not one reader mentioned their purpose for reading. Even when I asked:  What is your reason for wanting more information about snakes? What about trucks is most important for you to discover? What aspect of the constitution is the subject of your research?

Readers can only be assured that they have selected the “just- right” text when their purpose aligns with the content.

I know that many of our elementary librarians teach lessons on “author’s purpose” to our students. What a great way of making a connection from lesson to life than to help students relate the author’s purpose to their own purpose for reading a book.

The next time you have kids in the library looking for something to read, don’t just ask them what their interests are or what kinds of TV shows or movies they enjoy. Also talk to them about their purpose for reading. It’s one more piece of information that you can use to help you connect your students to the right books for them!

And if you’re interested in some great ideas for ways to teach your students about nonfiction books, check out Angela’s other posts, starting with this one:

Celebrating Non-Fiction, Part 1

Richardson ISD Literary Festival

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Richardson ISD will be hosting their 8th annual Literary Festival on January 29, 2009 from 4:30-6:30.

This year’s festival features Sarah Weeks, author of more than 30 children’s & YA books, including So B. It, Regular Guy and Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash.

Events include a keynote by Sarah Weeks, booktalks of the current 2×2, Bluebonnet, Lone Star and Tayshas lists, author signing, and a book fair where books by Sarah Weeks and others will be available for purchase.

For more information, download the event flyer.

Technology competencies

Posted on by • Posted in Educational Technology • Tagged , • 4 Comments

In working with teachers and librarians, I have noticed that there seems to be an ever-growing divide between the so-called “techies” and the technology illiterate. As technology and the web become increasingly important in our day to day lives, I’m afraid that people who don’t have these skills will cease to be effective in their jobs.

In a recent blog post, Seth Godin listed several basic technology competencies. Take his little quiz. Here are a few of the questions:

  • Can you capture something you see on your screen and paste it into Word or PowerPoint?
  • Can you open a link you get in an email message?
  • Do you have a signature in your outbound email?
  • Do you fall for internet hoaxes and forward stuff to friends and then regret it?

These are really basic skills that we all need to have. If there is something on the quiz that you don’t know how to do, I encourage you to find someone to teach you. And if you know how to do these things, teach someone else who doesn’t.

Who knows? You may help someone (or yourself) remain employed!

Photo citation: Collage, uploaded on July 14, 2008 by Editor B.

Print vs. online reading

Posted on by • Posted in Teaching & Learning • Tagged , , , • 3 Comments

The New York Times has a very pertinent article that all of us who are interested in the teaching of literacy should read. The article debates the merits of online reading as a means to literacy.

As teenagers’ scores on standardized reading tests have declined or stagnated, some argue that the hours spent prowling the Internet are the enemy of reading — diminishing literacy, wrecking attention spans and destroying a precious common culture that exists only through the reading of books.

But others say the Internet has created a new kind of reading, one that schools and society should not discount. The Web inspires a teenager like Nadia, who might otherwise spend most of her leisure time watching television, to read and write.

Take a look at the article then post your thoughts in the comments. Should we be teaching kids how to read effectively online as well as in print?

Image citation: Study uploaded on June 17, 2008 by Spintwig under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license.