Hello,
In addition to writing about literacy research, ideas to try at home or in the classroom with your child, I am also going to begin writing about situations and anecdotes about the students in my classroom. These are those teachable moments or those 'AHAS" that are priceless.
I'll begin with my student who is a reluctant writer and reading used to be a close second for his least favorite things to do. This student is a 3rd grader.
If you've been reading my blog then you know about my students crocheting in the classroom during our independent reading block. Well, a couple of weeks ago my cat, Angelo, broke his arm from a fall. Yes, cats are supposed be invincible when it comes to landing on their feet but not when they are trying to land on hardwood steps and avoid being caught by their sibling cat. This happened on a Friday night. On Monday morning, my students and I share one item from our weekend. I shared my story about Angelo and how he was going to need surgery later in the week. Needless to say, my students were very sympathetic and passed on their well wishes for Angelo. But one 3rd grade boy really surprised me when he gave me a ball of yarn for Angelo as a get well present. But it wasn't an ordinary ball of yarn. He had crocheted multiple colors of yarn together in one very long chain. Then he rolled up the chain into a ball. He also explained how he secured the ends so the ball would not come apart when Angelo played with it - after his arm was better.
I asked my student if he would write a note to Angelo that I could read to him when I showed him his gift. So, throughout the afternoon my student wrote the note. He asked how to spell Angelo's name and crocheted. At the end of the day he gave me his letter. I was shocked! I asked if he had help writing the letter and he said he wrote it all by himself. Well, the letter was perfect. It had capital letters, punctuation, and all the words were spelled correctly.
It just goes to show, given a purpose, kids will rise to the occasion. And, by the way, reading is now one of this student's favorite pastimes, especially when he gets to read to a group of students who are crocheting!
Happy Reading,
Kathleen
Monday, June 15, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Graphic Novels for Boys and Girls
Hello,
I've mentioned before the power of the graphic novel for the reluctant reader but I want to mention briefly how some are especially appealing to both boys and girls.
Sleepy Bear co-hosts a book club for girls at Mockingbird Books in Greenlake, Washington. We meet once a month and it is for girls ages 6-10. Our first book selection was the BABYMOUSE books. The students in my class also read Sleepy Bear's blog so they learned about the book club. Well, it's not only the girls who are enjoying the book club via Sleepy Bear's blog, but the boys are reading BABYMOUSE, too. I can't keep enough of the books in my classroom.
Fortunately for me, I enjoy reading the books just as much as Sleepy Bear and his book club buddies. The authors are a brother and sister team, Matthew and Jennifer Holm.
Happy Reading,
Kathleen
I've mentioned before the power of the graphic novel for the reluctant reader but I want to mention briefly how some are especially appealing to both boys and girls.
Sleepy Bear co-hosts a book club for girls at Mockingbird Books in Greenlake, Washington. We meet once a month and it is for girls ages 6-10. Our first book selection was the BABYMOUSE books. The students in my class also read Sleepy Bear's blog so they learned about the book club. Well, it's not only the girls who are enjoying the book club via Sleepy Bear's blog, but the boys are reading BABYMOUSE, too. I can't keep enough of the books in my classroom.
Fortunately for me, I enjoy reading the books just as much as Sleepy Bear and his book club buddies. The authors are a brother and sister team, Matthew and Jennifer Holm.
Happy Reading,
Kathleen
Monday, June 1, 2009
Parent Talk While Reading Aloud - Part 2
Hello,
Last week I wrote about parent talk during a story book read aloud to your child. Today I want to mention the expository book. This genre is sometimes overlooked when choosing a book to share with your child.
Expository texts have the benefit of pictures with labels, captions, keys and dialogue bubbles to help the young reader make connections between the words and the pictures. These features can be especially appealing to the young reluctant reader.
The story books and expository books are equally beneficial as texts to engage your young reader. As with everything in life, balance is the key.
Refer to my book list for kids for some nonfiction books you might enjoy, too.
Happy Reading,
Kathleen
Last week I wrote about parent talk during a story book read aloud to your child. Today I want to mention the expository book. This genre is sometimes overlooked when choosing a book to share with your child.
Expository texts have the benefit of pictures with labels, captions, keys and dialogue bubbles to help the young reader make connections between the words and the pictures. These features can be especially appealing to the young reluctant reader.
The story books and expository books are equally beneficial as texts to engage your young reader. As with everything in life, balance is the key.
Refer to my book list for kids for some nonfiction books you might enjoy, too.
Happy Reading,
Kathleen
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Parent Talk While Reading Aloud
Hello,
Reading aloud to children is more than just "reading a story" to pass the time. The content and amount of the adult's language is very instrumental to the child's developing language skills. The article in the April/May/June issue of READING RESEARCH QUARTERLY, published by The International Reading Association, goes into great detail about the content of talk while reading aloud. I will summarize a few of the points in today's blog and in next week's blog.
The higher the cognitive demand in the types of questions you ask, the more your child will be engaged in an analytical type discussion. For example, ask your child to make predictions, hypothesise, summarize or explain what is happening in the story. If your child is a preschooler, then you can be the one to model how to think analytically. After reading a part of a story you can say, "I think the momma bird will eventually want to teach her baby birds how to hunt for worms."
This type of language will give your preschooler a head start in comprehension strategies. As an older reader, your child will continue to build on analytical skills and interest in reading.
The story reference above is from Moosey-Moose's blog post today. Yes, we have a new family of robins in our garden! Check out his blog at Mooseymoosewrites.blogspot.com.
Happy Reading,
Kathleen
Reading aloud to children is more than just "reading a story" to pass the time. The content and amount of the adult's language is very instrumental to the child's developing language skills. The article in the April/May/June issue of READING RESEARCH QUARTERLY, published by The International Reading Association, goes into great detail about the content of talk while reading aloud. I will summarize a few of the points in today's blog and in next week's blog.
The higher the cognitive demand in the types of questions you ask, the more your child will be engaged in an analytical type discussion. For example, ask your child to make predictions, hypothesise, summarize or explain what is happening in the story. If your child is a preschooler, then you can be the one to model how to think analytically. After reading a part of a story you can say, "I think the momma bird will eventually want to teach her baby birds how to hunt for worms."
This type of language will give your preschooler a head start in comprehension strategies. As an older reader, your child will continue to build on analytical skills and interest in reading.
The story reference above is from Moosey-Moose's blog post today. Yes, we have a new family of robins in our garden! Check out his blog at Mooseymoosewrites.blogspot.com.
Happy Reading,
Kathleen
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sleepy Bear Hosts a New Book Club
Hello,
Sleepy Bear is hosting a book club for girls ages 6-10 at Mockingbird Books in Greenlake, WA. We will meet on the third Wednesday of each month from 7-8pm. Sleepy Bear will then post questions and answers on his blog.
If you live in the area, we hope to see you at Mockingbird Books! If not, be sure to visit his blog every Thursday for the latest news. His blog is: SleepyBearWrites.blogspot.com
Happy Reading,
Kathleen
Sleepy Bear is hosting a book club for girls ages 6-10 at Mockingbird Books in Greenlake, WA. We will meet on the third Wednesday of each month from 7-8pm. Sleepy Bear will then post questions and answers on his blog.
If you live in the area, we hope to see you at Mockingbird Books! If not, be sure to visit his blog every Thursday for the latest news. His blog is: SleepyBearWrites.blogspot.com
Happy Reading,
Kathleen
A Few of My Favorite Things at the SCBWI Conference
Hello,
This weekend I had the opportunity to attend the SCBWI Western Washington Regional Conference. It was two full days of meeting fellow authors, agents, and editors.
I will highlight some of the authors and their books that I'm sure you will enjoy reading for yourself or for the kids in your world.
On Saturday we had the pleasure of being entertained by the keynote speaker, Adam Rex. He is the author of THE DIRTY COWBOY, FRANKENSTEIN MAKES A SANDWICH, a New York Times bestseller, THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY and his newest book, FRANKENSTEIN TAKES THE CAKE.
On Sunday, Jon Scieszka, the first National Ambassador of Young People's Literature, gave the keynote address to close the weekend. He is also the founder of GUYS READ, a literacy initiative for boys. A few of his titles are, THE TRUE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS, THE STINKY CHEESE MAN, the TIME WARP TRIO series, and the TRUCKTOWN series, just to name a few.
Other authors and or illustrators who attended the conference were Justina Chen Headley, Sundee Frazier, Ellen Hopkins, Nina Laden, and Grace Lin, just to name a few. I highly recommend their books!
Until next week,
Happy Reading,
Kathleen
This weekend I had the opportunity to attend the SCBWI Western Washington Regional Conference. It was two full days of meeting fellow authors, agents, and editors.
I will highlight some of the authors and their books that I'm sure you will enjoy reading for yourself or for the kids in your world.
On Saturday we had the pleasure of being entertained by the keynote speaker, Adam Rex. He is the author of THE DIRTY COWBOY, FRANKENSTEIN MAKES A SANDWICH, a New York Times bestseller, THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY and his newest book, FRANKENSTEIN TAKES THE CAKE.
On Sunday, Jon Scieszka, the first National Ambassador of Young People's Literature, gave the keynote address to close the weekend. He is also the founder of GUYS READ, a literacy initiative for boys. A few of his titles are, THE TRUE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS, THE STINKY CHEESE MAN, the TIME WARP TRIO series, and the TRUCKTOWN series, just to name a few.
Other authors and or illustrators who attended the conference were Justina Chen Headley, Sundee Frazier, Ellen Hopkins, Nina Laden, and Grace Lin, just to name a few. I highly recommend their books!
Until next week,
Happy Reading,
Kathleen
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Do Crocheting and Literacy Really Have a Connection? - Update
Hello,
A quick update on the progress of my students and their crocheting.
The students are creating a variety of projects. Some have decided to make coasters, others scarves, and others are making hats!
During our choice time in the classroom, some students will sit around a table to crochet while one student reads aloud to them. They take turns passing the book around the table to read.
Another positive for the students learning how to crochet is that they talk about how relaxing it is to sit and crochet while they visit with friends during recess or watch TV at home.
All in all, a great success!
Happy Reading,
Kathleen
A quick update on the progress of my students and their crocheting.
The students are creating a variety of projects. Some have decided to make coasters, others scarves, and others are making hats!
During our choice time in the classroom, some students will sit around a table to crochet while one student reads aloud to them. They take turns passing the book around the table to read.
Another positive for the students learning how to crochet is that they talk about how relaxing it is to sit and crochet while they visit with friends during recess or watch TV at home.
All in all, a great success!
Happy Reading,
Kathleen
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