Thanks to everyone for sharing their favourite work of children's literature. Some were familiar and others will be worth looking into. Please include the title and author of the book you presented on your entry for this week.
We started off with a Round Robin review game that helps bring the class together, activates prior knowledge and improves comprehension.
Lastly, our thanks to Pearson Canada publishers for generously providing us with a new textbook that will interest all kinds of readers. We analyzed what a good reading program might have and brainstormed some lessons. The image (above) is from a talented artist who illustrates fairy tales. Have a look at his website: http://www.scottgustafson.com/
Enjoy your week.
We started off with a Round Robin review game that helps bring the class together, activates prior knowledge and improves comprehension.
Lastly, our thanks to Pearson Canada publishers for generously providing us with a new textbook that will interest all kinds of readers. We analyzed what a good reading program might have and brainstormed some lessons. The image (above) is from a talented artist who illustrates fairy tales. Have a look at his website: http://www.scottgustafson.com/
Enjoy your week.
June 15th-2009
ReplyDeleteLeah Pells
Blog: Literature for Children.
Hi,
I really enjoyed the class tonight. I find this class seems to really help with teachable ideas (TOC ideas), which is something I am always thinking about now.
The magazine that Sue gave us is great. I can see there are so many lesson ideas in there and also another great resource for the future. I love the fact that we can also get the CD and play the story for the students and they can read along, this will be very helpful for the struggling readers. The assessment section in the teacher flyer looked great, as this is also an area I think (worry) about, so anytime I find information or strategies on assessment I am very happy.
I forgot to share with everyone, but tonight just before class I was reading the paper and found a short article on children at the age of 6 yrs. The article was saying that by the age of 6 a child’s life long success can be predicted. The research was put together into a report by two psychologists (I believe), and it correlates the future success of a child with their SES (Socio-economic status, this was their biggest influence). I found the article depressing, and do not feel that a child’s success is laid out at age 6, but do agree that the SES has a great deal to do with success in school. As when a child is living in poverty they have many other concerns before school. Having said that, I do feel that a child can make positive choices and with some school support have success. I would never believe that by age 6 it was all over. As a teacher I would never give up on a child at any age. If anyone wants to see the article, just let me know.
Back to tonight......the book I chose to bring in was Dr. Seuss, Green eggs and Ham. I loved all the Dr. Seuss books as I loved the rhyming, as well I loved all the made up words and made up animals/people the books have. These books are really timeless and have so many great ways to teach sounds of letters, with the rhyming and the made up words. They are books that are so full of creative imagination, they are so wonderful for children.
Thanks everyone for a great class, and thank you Sue for the book! See you next week, enjoy the sunshine.
Cheers,
Leah
It was wonderful listening about the books you all shared and the childhood stories that went along with them. The book I brought to class was called “Oh, Baby, the Places You’ll go! This book was adapted by Tish Rabe from the works of Dr. Seuss as a tribute to his work. It’s a great story with colorful illustrations, pseudo words, and fun rhymes, which introduces you to some of the characters from Dr. Seuss’ other books. Dr. Seuss was intrigued by research into the development of babies while they are in their mother’s womb. In the book, there is a note from Dr. Seuss’ wife explaining how her and her husband had came across an article where mothers and fathers read “The Cat in the Hat” to their babies in utero. The researchers found increased uterine activity during the reading- and a gradual settling down afterward. This response to the book continued even after delivery. The baby apparently recalled having heard the story before. This just shows how important it is for children to hear read-alouds…even before they are born!
ReplyDeleteThe text also talked about the importance of read-alouds. In my long practicum, the teacher would choose a book to read to the class right after lunch. The book was usually pertaining to a theme the class was learning about. It provided a good transition for students to calm down after running around during lunch time, and the whole class always looked forward to this part of the day. She also scheduled daily self-selected reading every morning for about 20 minutes. Everyday, students would come in, put their bags away and take out a book of their choice and start reading independently. I thought it was a great idea to schedule this right at the beginning of the school day because it again allows students to settle down and it also gives the teacher some time to get organized with permission slips, notices, attendances, etc. The teacher also used this time to read one-on-one with a different student everyday.
I also thought the review activity that we played at the beginning of class was set up well. It’s a great way to get students to pay attention so they don’t miss their answer and it also allows those students who know the answer but may be a little more reluctant to also participate with the rest of the class.
Blog 6
ReplyDeleteWe started the class again this week with a great game to get all of us awake and reflecting about what we have been learning. I really liked the game and as Sue mentioned, it is a great way to get students to review and study before a test in a fun and interactive way. It was also awesome get the free books. Of course it rocks to get things for free, but these books are useful, and through discussion in small groups I learned a lot of different ways to use these books in the classroom and with different age groups.
In class we were focusing on ways to make literature more interesting to the reluctant readers. What I picked up from the class this week was in order to accomplish this task was to:
-introduce diverse types of literature into the classroom
- have students get emotional connected to the reading (develop feelings)
- create a classroom library
- be an enthusiastic teacher and implement book talks
- let student form discussion groups and learn from each other (as we do in this class)
One thing I am still confused about so maybe someone out there can help me, is what is the difference between shared reading, guided reading, talk circles and pair reading? I was under the impression that guided reading was a four step system of: Teacher modeling, shared reading paired reading, independent reading. Can someone help me out here? I am learning a lot in this class, but with knowledge also comes more questions.
I enjoyed how we ended this class discussing our favorite books. I got some really good ideas. It was nice to take a trip down memory lane and revisited how important and magical reading was as child. This was an important feeling to rekindle because it makes me more aware of the power of reading and the importance of helping our youth become successful at it.
The opening card activity was a great way to review a large amount of information. Every student is involved in the activity and listening carefully.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sue for the text! I found the text very applicable to young reluctant readers because of it’s humour and role playing activities. There are boxes where teachers can use to discuss with students, ie. make connections, find important ideas, visualize, interpret figurative language, and infer. This makes teaching a lesson very easy and effective to students. Writing a Satire seems very fun. Students are able to write a short excerpt of how they feel about things, and learn how to attract readers through humour by using puns or juxtapositions. There is another lesson that teaches students how to analyze satirical ads by looking at who is the targeted audience, what techniques are used to attract their attention, and what are the powerful messages and its effects. From this perspective students are able to look at advertisements differently. In our modern word, we are surrounded with advertisements; I feel that students need to know how advertisement can be very manipulative. Another lesson the text has is to show what you have learned about satire and to present it to the class. This enables other students to have a discussion of the ad and realize how the elements of satire affects one’s thinking. Overall I feel that “On the Edge” side of the book is more applicable to me, for primary grades.
The literacy discussion seems quite controversial, when it comes down to education teachers need to be accountable with the material that is being used in the classroom. Books often bring up difficult topics for children to familiarize with different things; I feel that this is very important because some students can identify with the book.
The book I shared for my literacy sharing circle is “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein.
Mable
I had three different books that I wanted to share last night. The first set of books, that I was a huge fan of, at quite a young age were the Berenstein Bears. This was a collection of books that was very popular at the time and intended to teach all readers a moral or lesson of some kind.
ReplyDeleteI was fascinated by mystery at a young age and I found the collection of Eric Wilson’s novels like Code Red at the Mall to be fun, engaging and enjoyable to read. I also liked Sobel’s Encyclopedia Brown. For my first novel, it was so much fun to read.
July 16 2009
ReplyDeleteThe book I choose to bring to class yesterday was Susan Jeffers Cinderella. I was surprised by how deeply finding this book on the library shelf affected me. It was a powerful reminder of how deeply students connect to the books we read to them, even as they are getting older. Another favourite of mine when growing up was the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder as someone else mentioned in class.
I enjoyed the card game at the beginning of class and was impressed with how well it made us pay attention to the entire review, especially the poor people in the back corner who had more than one card!
I am a huge fan of literature in the classroom and in the family. Good books are something we should ALL be reading. In addition, it is also good to read other works, such as magazines and comic books and other things that are short, sweet, and fun. This will help ALL reading to be fun and engaging. When students understand and learn how to comprehend shorter reading material they will be able to apply those skills to the longer works of fiction.
Firstly, I am a sucker for free things and I love having a new book! Thank you Sue!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the activity at the beginning because it brought us all together and made us pay attention to each other! (Sometimes teachers are the worst listeners!) :) I will definitely use that technique in the classroom. It will help to reinforce material, as well as give students the opportunity to look up their 'answer' so they know the response and when it is their turn. That way, they feel comfortable sharing their answer, and they've checked over their notes in reference.
I had to leave a bit early, as I was feeling ill and it was too hot in the classroom. I didn't get to share my book with anyone in class, so I do hope that'll you check out Bill Peet's childrens books. The one that I brought in is called "Big Bad Bruce" and it's a story about a brute of a bear who gets turned into a tiny bear by a little witch who, in the end, decides to keep him as a pet, taking care of him. Although the moral of the story isn't the greatest for young children, (the bear doesn't really learn a lesson) the illustrations are phenomenal. I remember sitting on the library floor as a child, not being able to read yet, and just flipping through his books over and over again. The expressions on the faces of the animals and characters are priceless, and very rich. I highly recommend taking a browse through them, and you'll know what I mean.
Enjoy the week! :)
When we were told to look our favourite book from our childhood, I actually had a really hard time remembering one. I grew up in Bosnia and the only thing that I really remember was my parents reading to me fairy tale books such as Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. Then we moved to Germany and I began grade one there, and I remember my mom used to buy me fairy tale books from the Grimm Brothers. They were famous in Germany for writing fairy tales and I think that they are known here too? Since I was familiar with these books in Bosnian ever though I couldn’t understand German well I still knew what was going on in the books since I had heard them before. It actually helped me with my German because I was able to recognize through pictures what was happening on the different pages. Then we moved to Canada, and once again I had to learn how to speak English. I remember in ESL I was reading these books written by V.C. Andrews. I really loved these books and I read quite a few of the. The books were mysteries about these girls who lost their parents and were adopted and then lived in the attic. I was very interested in these books and I wanted to know what would happen to these girls. It is important for kids to be engaged and interested in reading and actually love what they are reading. I really enjoyed reading when I was younger, however when I moved to Canada and I actually had to read a lot for school, I lost interest in reading novels because I had to always read to much for school.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, I really liked the different reading activities in chapter 8. I used Readers Theaters with my class in my practicum. They absolutely loved it. I made groups and then I gave them a play that I pre-picked. They had to learn these lines and create their own props and then present it to the class (they were very creative, and I was able to see those kids who were shy and didn’t talk much during class strive and feel comfortable). The kids asked me if they could do it again, so we did it once more in the 8 weeks that I was there. It was a lot of work for me to put them into groups and give them plays so that each kid had a part. I think if it was my own class, I would have also given them a chance to write their own plays and then perform them allow them to be creative and come up with their own ideas. Reading is such a great thing that can be incorporated into many different engaging and fun activities.
Here is link to my favourite book The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nfb.ca/film/sweater/
As Sue mentioned sometimes books can be read for a purpose and sometimes just for pleasure. The Hockey Sweater is very flexible in that sense.
It is important to have variety of literature in the classrooms, because you are going to have a variety of students with different interests.
p.s. let me know what you think of the web link and there are many other clips you can view on it.
Ashok K.
Sorry I missed you all last week! I know there was a lot of valuable information discussed. So again, thank you Ashok for filling me in with all the details and notes!
ReplyDeleteThere are many children’s books I can think of that have really made an impact in my life. I can remember all the memories of my parents reading to me, or the read out loud in elementary school. But my all time favourite children’s book (series) would have to be, “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe”, by C.S. Lewis. The Narnia series were fantastic, I first started to read them when I was around 8 years old and to be honest I just finished reading Prince Caspian again not too long ago. These books have a lot of action and suspense, but what I love the most is all the character development throughout the series. C.S Lewis is a great author and I am quite the fan of his work (ie: Mere Christianity).
See you on Monday!
Brandt
The flashcard game at beginning of class was very similar to a game I have mentioned in class called “I have, who has”. Sue’s version was a more advanced version of this game. I found it great as a tool for review and reflection. The game ensures that the whole class is involved because you always have to be listening in case someone asks the question that your answer corresponds with. This is definitely something I would incorporate into my classroom
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated the Literacy in Action book we received this class. There were so many great ideas and activities. I preferred the “On the Edge” side of the book, which is likely due to the fact that I am a primary teacher. I found the readings in this side more appealing to younger grades (although too advanced for primary of course). I enjoyed the opportunity to hear about everyone’s favourite childhood book. There were a few books that I had never heard of and am interested in reading. There were also many that I too loved as a child (and even now because I love kids books!!). The books I brought in were Scardey Squirrel Makes a Friend by Melanie Watt and Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.
Hi Everyone,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you all had a great class this week – I’m sorry I missed it! The book that I was going to bring in was Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. In kindergarten I remember watching the movie instead of reading the book but when I finally read it in grade 3 I fell in love with it! The characters were so interesting and funny and I was engaged until the very end, waiting to see what would happen to Wilbur! It’s a good book to have as a novel study for younger kids and there are so many activities that can be done with it. I think that it’s a great book to read out loud in a class as well as there are many issues that can be discussed from it – the issue of friends, growing up, and even death.
As a teen I also remember being a huge fan of the R.L. Stein books as well as the Babysitter’s Club series. Both of them were great for individual reading time and I liked the fact that, like most books in a series do, they recapped the important information at the beginning of the book. That way you didn’t have to read them in order.
Thanks Sue for the great resource!
I would just like to begin this entry by saying a big thank-you to Sue for the books and teacher’s booklets that she gave us. I had a pretty good look at the book while I was in class, but since then I have had another chance to flip through the pages and it is just so awesome! It is great to have a resource which presents so many possibilities for promoting reading and it is even better because it is was a gift. I would also just like to say that I find it refreshing to look at a book that is so diverse and full of humor. I can really picture children of many ages enjoying it for different reasons and now I wonder what the other books in this series are like.
ReplyDeleteI was also really impressed with the opening activity that we did. It was a very refreshing way to monitor student understanding and access prior knowledge, and it was actually a lot of fun. Instead of asking students to respond to questions by posing the questions and calling on “hands” to gain the answers this activity involved the whole class working together and I think that this is part of its success. During the activity I couldn’t help but think that this task could be prepared and used in any class, at any grade level. It is an activity based on listening for questions and being able to provide the answer, which means that the whole class has to be listening and participating. I thought that it was a great way to begin the day because it got us focused and got us ready for the next lesson, and I will definitely use it when I have a classroom of my own.
Lastly, it was pretty impressive to see everyone’s favorite books. As some of you know, I work in a public library and I am continually blown away by how many of the books ‘we’ consider to be childhood favorites ( many of which were shared today) are still considered to be ‘gold’ in the eyes of young children. I almost want to say that they have become classics. Books by Bill Peet, Dr. Suess, Robert Munch, C.S. Lewis, and many others are still what children gravitate towards, and while I will be the first to say that the children’s books that are coming out right now are amazingly fabulous, I think it is interesting to see that our favorite’s are favorites for the current generation. So is this because parents like their children to read and get engaged in the books that they loved, or are they truly great books. I tend to think that it is a bit of both. Like many of you, I had a hard time picking just one favorite to bring and share with you today…So I brought three- and all of them were favorites at different times in my childhood. The first book I brought was “The Jolly Postman: or other People’s Letters” by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. I loved this book for a number of reasons. First is the fact that the postman in this story visits all sorts of characters, many of which are from fairy tales or nursery rhymes- which make them familiar. Secondly, there is a bit of rhyme in the story which makes it really nice to read and listen to. And lastly, it is hard to resist opening up all of the envelopes and looking at the individual letters that the postman is delivering. I loved this book so much that my mother had to keep it from me, in order to prevent me from taking it apart and writing all over it. Now that I am 25, however, she thinks that it is safe and can be given back! The other books that I brought were “The True Story of The Three Little Pigs!” by Jon Scieszka and “The Velveteen Rabbit” by Margery Williams. All of the books that our class shared together today were wonderful and I really enjoyed being able to share them. What a good class. Thanks!
June 15, 2009
ReplyDeleteMy favourite children’s literature book is “PaPa, Please Get The Moon For Me” by Eric Carl. In this story, little Monica tries very hard to touch the moon, but is unable to, no matter how far she stretches. She pleads with her father to bring her the moon, and he does everything he can to oblige her request. My favourite part of this book is when the moon gets small and grows large again. It seems to be a wonderful story to introduce primary children to conceptual themes such as astronomy, the solar system, and lunar phases.
I liked the activity we did in class today. Each student got one card which had one question written on the front and an answer for another question on the back. As Sue said, this activity was suitable for a whole class to review any test or important information of any subject. Also, Sue talked about how to make literature interesting to reluctant readers. My child Tony (Grade 3) likes to read books aloud for me. At least, he is not a reluctant reader I guess. However, when he has to write something for homework after reading a book, he does not enjoy it as much as reading. How can I encourage him (or my students) to enjoy writing after reading?
Juila I liked the round robin activity as well… It can be used in different subjects and a great review, fun activity and energizer.
ReplyDeleteHere is my second idea or comments for this week:
Reading… does it really matter if it’s elementary or highschool? Why?
Teaching reading is vital at the elementary level. As an elementary teacher it’s something you need to be very good at teaching. As a highschool teacher not everyone teaches English or a specific Language Arts subject. As an elementary teacher you have to be a generalist with knowledge of many subjects. As a highschool teacher you specialize in a few subjects. I have an opportunity to teach PE and not yet sure what the other subjects are but it has been on my mind lately. It would be in India. I did my practicum in elementary. Teaching elementary is my preference but the school is grades 6-10. However, I really want to teach and be in India right now. But, it’s interesting now in my mind I am beginning to feel and think as highschool teacher. How applicable is the stuff we are learning to my immediate teaching opportunity? I think its still very important and whether its PE or whatever I can still integrate reading and writing into PE and other subjects such as drama. Looking at my essay I wonder though are the reading strategies I have practiced and taught in elementary something I can use and teach in highschool?
p.s. thanks sue for the comments to my last weeks post questions… It was helpful! :)
Ashok K.
Blog #6 June 19, 2009
ReplyDeleteHi Everyone
One of my favourite books that I shared was “Come Over To My House” by Theo LeSieg. I am sure all of you Dr. Seuss fans are aware that Theo LeSieg is one of Theodor Giesel’s pen names (LeSieg is Giesel spelled backwards). I loved looking at the pictures in this book and imagining all the places in the world that I would travel to when I was older. It is kind of neat to think that something that you are interested in when you are five or six becomes your passion when you are an adult! In this way, books that our children and students pick can give us an insight to their interests and personality. Another book I brought to class was “Ann Can Fly” by Fred Phleger. I am pretty sure this 1950’s gem is no longer available! But as I said in class, my kids got a kick of how outdated the pictures and text were; (“There are many Indians here. One of the Indians looks after the plane.”) They also loved it when my husband changed the words in the story. He did that all of the time with books that were read over and over and over. Perhaps I wouldn’t use the same language in the classroom as he did (adding “and they farted” to the end of every sentence), but it is a clever strategy to motivate students to follow the text. If it is a story that they are familiar with, I can see primary students getting a kick out of the teacher “making mistakes” for them to catch and correct. That’s it for now,
Thanks for listening,
Sharon
Blogg 6:
ReplyDeleteI too am sorry I missed class this past week! It sounds like I missed a great opening activity and book sharing session.
The book that I was going to bring is “Green eggs and Ham”, I remember having this book read to me over and over as a young girl and wondering if there really were such a thing. I loved the flow of the book, it felt energetic and fun, but I did get hung up on the literal and don’t remember ever asking my parents if there was such a thing. Later when I was 15 we went on a family holiday driving up the Oregon coast; in a restaurant somewhere along the way Green eggs and Ham was on the menu. This of course instantly threw me back to the question I had in my younger years.
I enjoyed the reading this week and really appreciated the brief descriptions provided for each strategy. I also like the tips on how to begin gathering books for my own classroom library. I am wondering how engaged the students (and their parents) would be doing a big project such as a Book Response if it wasn’t going to be assessed. I would like to discuss this and hear what people think in class because I like the idea but am having a hard time figuring out how to sell it without assigning a mark.
I also found it useful how to use different strategies to reach learners of various levels and often this is proposed without anyone even noticing. Getting the parents involved in helping to build the library is a great way to involve eager parents and build community and encourage communication with that group.
I too am a free stuff junky and can’t wait to see the new book, thanks for getting it for us Sue.
Tania
Hi Everybody!
ReplyDeleteThank you Sue for the gifted book this week! I am getting some great ideas about how we can use “non-traditional” texts for creating reading interest in students. It was not only educational, but incorporated many important teaching tools and was laid out in an exciting way to draw readers in.
I also liked the round robin activity- this would be a great thing to do right before a test so that the students can review the material, or vocabulary-definition. I will DEFINITELY use this.
I chose a few books as my "favourite book from childhood"... I was a total book geek... I was always reading something— my mom really impressed reading upon me at a very young age and read to me constantly (THANKS MOM!). She was (and still is) and incredibly avid reader – because of her influence and dedication, I advanced in reading very early... The only problem is, when I hit the teen years, my interest completely dropped off the face of the earth and seemingly never came back.
Thinking about the power of read aloud, I my thoughts keep coming back to a book I read for Children’s Lit a few years ago: "Cushla and her Books" by Dorothy Butler. Cushla was born with chromosomal abnormalities that had caused severe deformities in her limbs and several vital organs, as well as severe mental disabilities. In the beginning, she wasn't expected to live and, when she did, her parents were strongly recommended to institutionalize her. Despite these disabilities stunting her cognitive and physical development, her parents were determined to give their daughter the best quality of life possible. The story follows the actions of her mother (it is more of a research paper) who read to her on a continual basis from infant age – like 30 to 40 books a day at times. The story progresses to explain that, as time went by, this girl ended up not only surviving, but her cognitive ability was markedly increased due to being read to every day. She began to recognize words and pictures and developed a love for books, and TAUGHT HERSELF TO READ at age 5 despite having severe visual impairments. As she got older, she progressed through all the “normal” reading stages, and was eventually tested to have age appropriate (if not excelled) reading skills, yet was profoundly low functioning in all other areas.
This was not only an inspirational read, but also says a lot for the power of read aloud!
My favourite book was “The Missing Piece” by Shel Silverstein… look it up… it’s amazing. It could be applied to so many themes…
When I googled it to find out the year it was written (1976!!), someone has turned it into a slideshow if you want to see it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=744JBwjrlKk
I also mentioned Richard Scarry- his books are very busy with illustrations. Good for building vocabulary and may be good for ELL learners! Lastly (I did not mention in class) at an older age, I was obsessed with Choose Your Own Adventure/ Time Machine type books. I still think they were (and are) one of the greatest book inventions of all time.
--being able to read them over and over and change what happens? Genius!!
Whatever happened to these?? I would think they could be a great entry into chapter books for boys...
I really liked the opening card game, even if it took me a moment to connect my card. I can see playing that game with so many subecjts in my own class as a quick and easy way to go over vocab and ideas we have covered. It reminded me of things I had forgotten and showed me how much we've already covered.
ReplyDeleteI love the books that we got from Sue from Pearson this week as well! They had such interesting articles, especially some that would fit those difficult middle years. I find that the older elementary (sometimes) through middle school are often very difficult for language arts. The kids feel they are too old for many of the read together/read aloud books that we may have read in elementary but they are too young to really start into the older books of high school. As well, general language arts activities that kids of this age really connect to can be hard to find. I like the introductions to satire in the magazine as well as the shorter, step by step instructions and guidelines for students to try and write their own articles. I am really pleased to have this resource to work with.
The books that I brought in were "The Giver" by Lois Lowry and "The Eleventh Hour" by Graeme Base.
Hello! First off, the book I shared tonight was called Is Your Mama A LLama by Deborah Guarino. Such a cute book :)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed looking through our new free books last class (thank you again!). I know that I'll refer back to it, especially as a great tool in teaching satire. I thought the short stories written by celebrities were so funny and great way to really capture students using old content with a "hip" twist. I would love to have my students read a few of them and then create their own. I think the power of examples is huge, and these were excellent examples they could refer to.
We talked a bit about the importance of students picking books that capture their interest as a critical aspect of learning to love reading, especially for reluctant readers. This made me think of a strategy I've seen used that is based on a book called The Daily Five. It's written by a couple of sisters that I can't remember the names of, but I know if you google The Daily Five you can find it. One of the aspects of this book is called I PICK. It's a way to help students pick out books that are of interest and at appropriate reading levels...
I...I choose a book
P...Purpose-Why do I want to read this book?
I...Interest-Does it interest me?
C...Comprehend-Am I understanding what's read?
K...I know most of the words
This is just one of many great strategies that book discusses. I HIGHLY recommend finding it.
For our struggling readers, it is so important to set them up for success and this is one way to help do that.
I had many favourite books when growing up, one of which was about a mother duck that had two ducklings and an egg. I can’t recall what the book was called or who wrote it but I always remember my mom reading this to me ass a child. The book was relatable to my life, as I had a younger brother and my mom was expecting another child, hence the egg. I think it’s important to provide books for children that they are able to relate to on a personal level. This personalization of books will hold children’s attention and create excitement about reading.
ReplyDeleteOne child’s book that I still have on my book shelf today is Dr Suess’ “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” This book is wonderful and is representative of many classic Dr. Seuss books; offering rhymes and his usual colourful and crazy characters. When reading this book as an older child I always imagined the places I would go and what I would become as an adult. Surprisingly when I graduated from high school, more than ten years ago now, my neighbour gave this book to me as a gift. I still periodically pull it out and read it and imagine where I will go next. When my cousin graduated from high school last year I bought her this book and hope she will enjoy it as much as I did.
Cheers, Alanna
The practicum classroom that I worked in was similar to Reema’s. The first part of the day after the students arrived to school was self-selected reading time. Students pulled out their library books or went to the bins at the back of the classroom to select a book. What I found really interesting is that my teacher had labeled the bins with different colored shapes according to the reading level of the book. This way students could easily select a bin without taking the time to decode the words on the label, cutting down the time searching for the specific bin and finding a book to read. During this time, I was able to take attendance, to put stickers in their signed planners, and make sure everything was ready. I also used this time to check up on students or talk to them if they were not feeling that great. It was a smooth transition between the excited voices and chatter when students came into the classroom and the beginning of the first lesson.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed listening to all the books that were brought into class. I found that many students really enjoyed reading Dr. Seuss books. The rhyming and the beautiful artwork are captivating. The book that I brought in was Can’t you sleep Little Bear? by Martin Waddell. I decided to bring in this book because it was a story about being scared of the dark. I could see how students could relate to this same fear when they were younger and identify with the character. I believe that bringing in stories that students can relate to is important because they not only make connections with the character but also think about similar life examples. In one of the classrooms that I volunteered in story time was not just for telling stories, the students would listen to the story and there would be time to share favorite pictures afterward. When they shared their favorite picture, students would discuss why it was their favorite picture and an experience that it reminded them of in life. It was interesting to see the connections and associations that they made between pictures and life experiences, they also had a great time doing it.
Favourite books are the key to get kids reading! My reluctant reader got so excited this week when the library called and she got one of the first copies of Diary of a Whimpy Kid #3. She read it on and off for hours. She was just as excited to hear that a #4 Whimpy Kid was being published very soon. I asked her what she liked about the books. She stated it was the perfect reading level for her: easy. It was very funny and had great pictures (the script is like hand printing and the pictures are simple cartoon like drawings). I asked a friend and fellow PDP student, who works at Kids Books why these books were so popular, she completely agreed with my daughter. I believe this is the key to liking a book and being engaged in a book: it needs to be of interest to the reader, at their reading level, great pictures and humour always helps! As I listened to everyone in class sharing their favourites their eyes lit up and they spoke of the book with great affection. It was obvious that everyone was reliving the moments they spent with their books. Happy readings as you discover more favourites!
ReplyDeleteThe Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, an The Big Hungry Bear by Don Wood
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the book share and found it really useful. I got some great new ideas for books to read and share to my class. It was enjoyable to hear everyone share their favorite children’s book. The books were spoken about with such enthusiasm and excitement and with a positive recollection of re-reading these books until they nearly fell apart. In the text it discusses literature is linked to positive feelings, and in our sharing session it was evident how these books created such positive feelings for us and still do to this day. Thank you for sharing everyone, I really enjoyed it.
The text discussed using the children’s opinion, under the heading Book Displays. There is a chart with some book titles on it and there is a coding system to rate if the book, two thumbs up was a green sticker etc. I liked this idea for younger children, it is a beginning step to metecognitively examining what they are reading by using a fairly simple technique.
It is empowering to have the child share their opinion and it is possible to share it in an anonymous manner. I would like to try this activity is the fall.
First off, just another thanks to Sue for the resources. I really liked them and think that though it is meant for gr.7/8 students, it can still be used for younger grades that might want a more challenging read and I think there are still ways to incorporate the information, such as the retelling of the classic stories. These could still be used in the younger grades to give students a different perspective of the same story, or help students in building their own retellings of their favourite stories.
ReplyDeleteFrom the readings, I appreciated the various ways the text offered to celebrating book responses. I worked with Literature Circles during my practicum and found it kind of hard to reach the struggling or reluctant readers. The stories used were linked to the Inuit, which was what the students were learning in Social Studies, but I do not think that the students were very into the books. I feel that most of the boys were just reading it because they 'had' to, not because they were actually enjoying the story. I found that Reader's Theatre was much more successful for these boys and struggling readers because they were able to practice over and over again in their own groups, as well as, as a whole class and it allowed the students to become the characters and be dramatic. Students were definitely more engaged during Reader's Theater.
Sorry this is a bit late!
ReplyDeleteThe book that I brought to class for our “book share” was The Lights Go On Again by Kit Pearson. This is the last in the War Guests Trilogy, with the first being The Sky is Falling and the second being Looking at the Moon. I think I read them when I was around 9 or 10. Set during the second world war, they all follow Norah and her younger brother Gavin as they come from war-torn England to stay in Canada with a host family. Themes surrounding role models, parents, national and cultural identity, bullies, first love, and coming of age are presented within the books. I really enjoyed all three of these books as a child, because I felt like I could relate to Norah a lot in the first two books. I enjoyed seeing the world from Gavin’s perspective in the third book.
Kit Pearson was one of my favourite authors when I was younger, and after I read The Sky is Falling, I tried to find and read every book that she wrote. Other noteworthy books by Pearson are The Daring Game and A Handful of Time. The Daring Game is set at a boarding school in Vancouver, where a pair of girls form a friendship over a game where they must dare each other to do different things. A Handful of Time is a time-slip novel. A girl caught in the middle of her parents’ divorce spends the summer with her aunt and her family at the family cottage. She finds a pocket-watch that takes her back in time to a summer when her mother was her age.
Week 6 Post
ReplyDeleteHooray for free resources!! Thanks Sue for doing the legwork to provide us with this great book! I am hoping to be able to do some more investigating into access of the CD’s that are related. Amassing an arsenal of books, ideas, videos, DVD/CD’s, etc is proving to be quite successful – and I think that as a TOC in the fall (hopefully), they will serve me well!
My favourite books were “Buford the Bighorn Sheep” and “The Wonderful School” – sadly, neither is in general circulation anymore, However, my mother did a Google search and found them both, so I may have to order a copy to add to the cache. DOES ANYONE REMEMBER THE SERIES ABOUT EDDIE WILSON AND HIS PET SHEEP GARDENIA?? I would love to find that one too – it was a read aloud that was done in my grade 3/4 class and we all loved the carpet time when those books came out!
The flashcard game was great fun – sorry Leah for teasing you so much! Again, another comprehensive and functional way to review and assess the students’ in a non threatening manner – great for the test-phobic! I was amazed at the variation in what students clearly knew from daily discussions and sharing, from that which their tests told me they knew. In fact, what I discovered was what the students clearly did not know – and more than likely it was because we had not spent enough time on it to ensure their comprehension.
Have a wonderful week!
Jennifer