Tag Archives: reading

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

Book study reflections

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As one of  the instructional leaders on a campus, it’s important for librarians to stay current on professional reading. This year, MISD librarians divided into groups to read some current professional literature on various topics. Book study options were:

The New Learning Commons: Where Learners Win! by David Loertscher

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Getting Things Done by David Allen

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Librarians as Learning Specialists by Allison Zmuda

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Redefining Literacy 2.0 by David Warlick

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A Whole New Mind by Dan Pink

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Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds

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Each small group met three times for book discussion. We used a protocol called The Final Word to facilitate the discussions. Today each group is making a 10 minute “book talk” presentation in an effort to familiarize others with the titles read.

Librarians will also be commenting on the books they read using a web 2.0 tool called Wallwisher. This tool allows you to post electronic sticky notes to an online board. Our book study wallwisher is embedded below:

(Click on “post a sticky” to see the whole wall.)

Reading 2.0 – Bluebonnet books, moodle and videoconferencing

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presenter Roxanne Glaser – Content director for Whirlidub, formerly at Region 12

TBA_read5This was a great presentation that used the principles outlined in Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds and told the story of a collaborative reading project called The Bluebonnet Project. Reading Methods students from Baylor University worked with teachers recruited by the ESC for the Waco area to get kids excited about reading using technology.

How can we connect reading and technology?

Students are immersed in technology from a young age and are enthralled by it, but teachers sometimes want to operate in a traditional classroom environment with no technology.

The big picture:

Teachers select books. (May)

Baylor students meet their partner classes via videoconference. (Students trained in Moodle in August)

Each class and their Baylor partners Moodle. (September-October)

Each class creates a 7 minute presentation to sell their book. (November)

The project focused on books from the Texas Bluebonnet Award list. Teachers choose one of the titles from the current list to read to their classes.

Classroom students and Baylor students met via videoconferencing to introduce themselves. Each class had two Baylor student mentors. During the first videoconference, the classroom students interviewed the Baylor students to get to know them and make a personal connection.

After the video meeting, the book discussion between classroom and Baylor students moved online to a Moodle forum. Baylor students posted conversation starters/questions for kids to respond to.

After reading and discussion, classroom students make presentations via videoconference about their book to encourage other students to read the book. Five classes presented to each other at a time. Baylor students give feedback on the presentation, then have classroom students ask them questions about the book.

Where does the learning occur in this project?

Classroom students are reading and discussing books, learning interviewing and interpersonal skills, seeing and getting to know students who are in post-secondary education and interacting with them, writing and creating a presentation as a group, presentation skills.

Baylor students learn how technology can be used in a classroom setting, how to construct higher level thinking questions, how to collaborate with another educator and communicate professionally.

Classroom teachers learn to collaborate, how to use technology they might not be familiar with, and new literature that they can recommend to their students.

Children really benefit from the authentic audience of college students and imitate the behavior of their role models.

This project can be easily adapted for use with any configuration of classes and technologies that are available. Key pieces would be a classroom of students and teachers, some older role model students, online discussion and shared presentation.

Try it out yourself!

Reading, writing and wikis

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In this session, two high school English teachers presented the way that they used a wiki to encourage their students to read.

Goals for their free reading project were for students to read good young adult literature, enjoy it and discuss it, just like people do in the real world.

Step 1. Booktalk good books for kids to read. These teachers worked with their librarian and selected lots of good books to recommend to their students. They used YALSA and TLA booklists, such as Best Books for Young Adults, Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, Teens’ Top Ten and Tayshas. Students went to the library as a class and heard booktalks about a few of the books that had been recommended for them to read.

Step 2. Students complete signpost projects. These were simple projects that students could do to mark their progress as they read. There were several choices of projects – most using technology. Directions for these mini-projects can be found on the Warriors Read wiki.

Step 4. Product. After completing their reading, students had to do a final product. Choices were book trailers, book posters, or a booktalk via podcast. Any digital products were uploaded to the wiki for all students to access.

These teachers chose a wiki to house the content for this project for several reasons. Wikis allow for multiple contributors. All teachers of a subject or grade level can monitor and contribute to a wiki. Students can contribute too!

The Wikispaces discussion tab was another reason for using that particular wiki. Students used it to engage in meaningful discussions about their books any time, any place. That meaningful discussion was one of their goals from the outset.

The fact that students’ digital work was posted for everyone to see really inspired them to do their best.

Collaborative groups meeting electronically don’t have to worry about transportation or scheduling issues.

A wiki enlarges the classroom by providing access to materials, instructions and multimedia all the time, everywhere.

Some tips for the successful implementation of a wiki with students:

Plan the organization of the wiki before you create it

Create student accounts yourself.

Develop a system for grading.

Post directions for activities on the site

Teach netiquette before you begin

Other ideas for using wikis:

READING

Current events discussions

Post an article or link to an article and have students read it and post their own reactions

Have students post links to news stories they find interesting or relevant. Students can view and comment on each other’s posts

Research and link collecting

In groups or individually, students find and post links to reliable articles or websites for a research unit

Discussion Circles

Students post thoughts as they read a novel

Virtual Book Club

Students “meet” online and discuss the book

Links, articles, pictures – anything about the book can be posted to the wiki

WRITING

Brainstorming and prewriting

Students discuss essay topics BEFORE they write. They see their own thoughts as well as the thoughts of their classmates, allowing them to struggle with the ideas before they face the blank page.

Collaborative stories

Provide a story starter (or have students start one)

Students add to/comment on/continue the story

PUBLISHING

Project showcase

Anything students can create digitally can be uploaded and shared with wiki viewers

Documents and multimedia can be “handed in” electronically

Spread information about your classroom, club or project

SUB PLANS

Not for emergency use, but you can put a PowerPoint or post links so students can get the best of you even when you’re not there

Other uses for wikis can be found at readingwritingwiki.wikispaces.com or educationalwikis.wikispaces.com

Library SIG mtg – Technology and literacy

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IMG00335Live blogged! Please excuse misspellings and awkward phrasing.

The Library Special Interest Group meeting is a mix of literature and technology with free books available for all attendees. The presenter is Dr. Teri Lesesne, speaking on how literature and technology can get along in the library. We need to redefine,  reimagine and perhaps repurpose reading for the 21st century.

What is reading? Not simply sounding out and decoding words!

Literature reminds us that we are all connected. Literature encourages us to think about the “what ifs” in our lives. Literature shows us all of the many ways that we can use words. Literature offers windows and mirrors for us of other people and places.

We need to include the reading of non-fiction in our definition of reading. Reading non-print materials and reading with your ears are also reading. Reading now includes tweets and status updates. Kids aren’t reading less – they are reading things that aren’t valued by researchers who report these things.

Reading doesn’t matter unless we redefine what we mean by literacy. We have to help kids develop strong reading muscles by giving kids great and varied things to read.

Kids today are different and think differently. Kids who will go to college in 2010 have always had GPS systems. They have never used a typewriter. Caller ID has always been available. They have always had the Goosebumps series. Older definitions of literacy don’t apply.

Graphic novels are meaningful for these kids.

Audiobooks and playaways are important too. Most downloaded audiobooks in 2009 were the Twilight series. Most downloaded non-fiction book was Night by Elie Wiesel. (Booklist Online has a great blog about audiobooks).

Kids want to have time to read without “doing something” afterwards. Adults read often without building a diorama after reading. Kids should be able to discuss and share about what they are reading, but not necessarily be tested.

AASL says reading is a window to the world. A foundational skill that allows students to develop new understandings.

One issue is equitable access to books, reading, information. Technology helps us break down some of these inequities.

Kids want to learn in a social context – face to face and with technology.

Better than Life by Daniel Pennac has a Reader’s Bill of Rights. Some of these rights are:

You have the right to read young adult lit no matter how old you are.

The right to read extensively and not always intensively.

The right to demand changes to the literary canon for the 21st century. Read and study something contemporary!

The right to see the movie or the play instead of reading the book.

The right to read books that disturb the reader.

The right to have access to books at school and at home.

The right to read a book with lots of pictures.

The right to refuse to read a prescribed book.

The right to demand a redefinition of what it means to read.

We need to offer kids a new definition of what it means to read if we want to remain relevant in the world of the 21st century student!

Pirates Read, Pirates Blog

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The Pirates Read Book Club at Poteet High School meets every month to discuss a book that all the members have read. At last month’s meeting, instead of having their regular verbal discussion, the students wrote blog entries about the January book selection, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Librarians Sandy Eckstein and Lou Faling worked with their High School Technology Facilitator, Tonya Cox to get the kids blogging!

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Club members also participated in an OFYP parade that was held in Poteet’s hallways at the end of January. OFYP stands for Optional Flexible Year Program. This new program allows high school students who are successful on TAKS and in their classes to get out of school on May 21 this year – a full 8 days early. Teachers and administrators are working hard to let kids know about this option and encourage them to be able to participate. The parade was just one of many activities Mesquite high schools are having to promote the program. Pirates Read members are all planning on taking advantage of the opportunity!

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Favorite Christmas books

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An administrator called last week looking for a new picture book to share with all the little ones who will be at her house this Christmas Eve. She was ready for something other than old favorites like The Polar Express and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. These are the titles (in no particular order) that MISD elementary librarians recommended.

The Gift of the Christmas Cookie: Sharing the True Meaning of Jesus Birth by Dandi Daley Mackall

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That’s Good! That’s Bad! on Santa’s Journey by Margery Cuyler

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A Cup of Christmas Tea by Tom Hegg

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Welcome Comfort by Patricia Polacco

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Santa Claustrophobia by Mike Reiss

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Mortimer’s Christmas Manger by Karma Wilson

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Bear’s First Christmas by Robert Kinerk

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The Little Drummer Mouse by Mercer Mayer

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Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner

What are your new Christmas favorites?

Kindle or Nook? Neither!

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If you’re thinking of putting an e-reader like the Amazon Kindle or the Barnes & Noble Nook on your Christmas list, you might want to wait. Google is about to enter the e-book game, possibly rendering both of those devices obsolete.

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Live Science reports:

On Oct. 15 Google announced plans to open an electronic book store. Unlike Amazon’s strategy with the Kindle-only format, Google plans to deliver eBooks to any device with a web browser. Google has not announced a format, but it is likely Google book downloads will only require a browser plug-in to read books on any device with a screen.

If Google is successful, hardware will be moot, any screen will do, and the largest collection of reading material in the world will be available to anyone and any institution with a screen.

Read the full article here.

Reaching out to your community

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At last week’s Library Expo, I attended a session called Reaching Beyond Library Shelves, where three librarians from Plano ISD described things that they do that help expand the library program into the community.

bookwithswirlogo2Glenda Welch uses a program called Books of Hope. Books of Hope is a service-learning program where U.S. schools select a sister school abroad and create books to help meet the students’ educational needs. Each year her students write, write, illustrate and bind books about various topics, including science, math, geography, reading, grammar, etc. These books are kept in the library during the school year, then packed up in May and sent overseas to their sister school that has been assigned to them through Books of Hope.  Glenda says students really enjoy making these books for students overseas. It fosters empathy and social responsibility in them and enhances literacy for the students in their sister school.

2716474603_bc81971160_mA program for students in need closer to home is provided by Jayme Karen. Jayme’s school population does not have a lot of books at home, so she started the Book Bazaar. The Book Bazaar is a community book drive  to provide free books for students to read during the summer months when they are not in school. Jayme’s goal is for each child to receive at least one book from the Book Bazaar. She solicits donations from the families and the community at large. She has also obtained books from the Half Price Books Donations Storefront, where free books are available to educators and other non-profit groups on Saturdays from 9am-2pm.

The third program described in this session was Catch the Reading Wave. This was a summer library program created by Kelly Hamilton. Kelly’s school is in an area that isn’t serviced by a public library, so she volunteers her time and has her school library open one morning a week during the months of June and July. Students come to check out books and participate in activities led by other volunteers, such as teachers, other librarians, district office staff, firemen, police officers and other community volunteers. The volunteers read aloud to the children and lead activities that go along with the book selections.

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Other ideas that were provided during the discussion portion of the session were to host a day at your public library and to check out firstbook.org, which gives grants to Title I schools to provide books for students.

What are some ways that you have reached out and provided services to your community through your school library program?

Image citations: Books Bazaar by Kenzoka and Summer Reading 4 by KOMUnews

The Hunger Games

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Have you read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins? If you haven’t, put it at the top of your summer reading list! It’s the best book I’ve read in a long time and I’m dying to get my hands on the sequel, Catching Fire. It won’t be out officially until September, which is why I can really relate to the guy in the cartoon below. I’d do almost anything to get my hands on an Advanced Reader Copy!

\Shelf Check 353\

The Hunger Games official web site