Reading Rockets: Teaching Reading

Children's Book Week: a real celebration

Children's Book Week (CBW) 2012 ended on May 13 but the work of celebrated children's authors and illustrators is sure to continue throughout the year. I have this year's CBW poster hanging in my office. Created by three-time Caldecott Medalist Davis Wiesner, the poster has recognizable characters from renowned children's book creators coming together on a busy street. (For me, it's a what-if scenario; I wonder what would Marshall's George & Martha say to King Babar & Celeste with Wiesner's own three pigs walking on the cross street with Thing One and Thing Two running down the sidewalk … I bet children could come up with even better ideas than I can ….) Perhaps they are heading to the CBW Gala, who knows? It was hosted by the very clever Jarrett Krosoczka (whose interview can be viewed on Reading Rockets. You can also see Jarrett in action at the Gala.) It really reminded me of the Academy Awards program. Nominees were announced, snippets of the books were shared by young people, portions of the books were shown, and then The Winner. Authors and illustrators accepted these awards decided by children's voting — these are the Children's Choice Awards after all. Children's Book Week started a long time ago — 1919 to be exact. My guess is that young people today still like many of the same things: they like to laugh, they like books with feeling, and (increasingly) they like pictures. It seems that young people also like having a voice — more than 900,000 votes were recorded. Let's continue to listen to them especially during the summer when reading prevents the dreaded summer slide — but only when reading is fun. Take a look at this year's Children's Choice books and creators. They may appeal to the young readers in your life, too.

Project Write

If there's someone who knows about teaching writing, it's Steve Graham. He's a nationally recognized professor, teacher, and researcher in the field of writing. The bulk of his work is with students with learning disabilities. His writing is always clear, informative, and helpful. Graham and his colleagues at Vanderbilt launched Project Write, a website "designed to improve the writing and self-regulation behaviors of students in early elementary grades (1-3)." The site includes an overview of the stages of instruction from Develop Background Knowledge through Independent Performance. There are lesson plans that use two strategies to teach persuasive writing: POW and TREE. Last, there is a resource page which offers online and print resources. If you teach writing, I think you'll find Project Write a helpful tool!

Family Literacy Bag: Stars

Go on a "night sky" reading adventure! Teachers can support reading together at home with Reading Rockets family literacy bags — designed to encourage hands-on fun and learning centered around paired fiction and nonfiction books. (Level: Third Grade)

Family Literacy Bag: Flight

Go on a "flying" reading adventure! Teachers can support reading together at home with Reading Rockets family literacy bags — designed to encourage hands-on fun and learning centered around paired fiction and nonfiction books. (Level: Third Grade)

Key Shifts of the Common Core State Standards: English Language Arts and Literacy

The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (ELA) and Literacy are rigorous, internationally benchmarked, and aligned with college and work expectations. The standards set requirements not only for English language arts but also for literacy across the content areas, including history/social studies, science, and technical subjects.

The loss of a friend

I never met him but still feel like I've lost an old friend. Maybe we all lost a longtime friend this week. Maybe we thought he'd go on forever — and I suppose in some ways he will. Maurice Sendak's death last week was widely reported including the [i]Washington Post[/i], on NPR, in the [i]New York Times[/i]. The appreciations keep coming. And they should. Sendak's books have been read by several generations. They speak to contemporary kids as clearly as they did their parents — and even their grandparents. We had shared [i]Where the Wild Things Are[/i] so often that my son was able to "read" it aloud to the delight of his pre-K class. Some of Maurice Sendak's books have offended adult sensibilities (his fantastical [i]In the Night Kitchen[/i]; illustrations for a collection of Mother Goose rhymes entitled [i]I Saw Esau[/i], for example). But his distinct style and unflinching respect for children and their ability to handle deep emotions — whether or not they are able to talk about them — is evident in each of his books. Sendak changed children's literature forever because of his trust in children's ability to recognize emotional truth. Maurice Sendak will be missed but not forgotten. Thanks to Justin Duvall for allowing his artwork to be used.

Stages of Reading Development

How do you hear about great new kids' books?

We're always on the hunt for good books around our house. I rely on friends, librarians, my local bookstore, and several online sources for new titles we should be sure to read. I subscribe to many blogs through my RSS feed, one of which is Getting Kids Reading. Through GKR, I recently learned about two new YA books I think my girls will like: Serpent's Shadow, the latest in the Kane Chronicles from Rick Riordan, and The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict, which is a prequel to a favorite The Mysterious Benedict Society. You can view the book trailer for that book here. I also subscribe to Anita Silvey's Children's Book-A-Day Almanac. Silvey has encyclopedic knowledge of children's books, and always provides enough background to pique my interest. I often go right from her post to our library's site to put the book on hold. An unlikely source of book recommendations comes from a blog I use for recipes! Dinner, a Love Story has a section on kids' books that is usually pretty handy, and it includes a Q&A with David Sedaris, in which a lucky 8 year old got to ask Sedaris a few questions. Their Fave Five (updated weekly-ish) includes a rotating list of recommendations their kids are reading right now. Sadly, some of my other favorite sites seem to have stopped posting, but their archives are worth a look: Open Wide, Look Inside is (was?) a blog about teaching elementary math, science, and social studies. Teach with Picture Books is LOADED with good recommendations. The labels along the right sidebar provide good navigation. I hope at least one of these links leads you to a good book!

Musings on a digital world

I'm seriously considering getting my first-ever tablet soon. Not only would I be able to travel without the heft of enough books to keep me going for a week or so, a laptop wouldn't be needed for email and I could even read my favorite newspapers. As an adult, however, I know how easy it is to be seduced to follow a link that takes me way off whatever topic I started with; what about children who are just beginning to develop skills to stay on task? A recent link sent to me by a friend who knows my concerns about digitizing the world in which children live and learn made me think about where we're heading. South Korea is putting the brakes on making all of their elementary, middle and high schools textbooks digital. Where are books going? They're being offered in multiple formats — digital, physical, audio — often from the time of their release. Is one format more effective for children than another? Why? What is the impact on a child's capacity to focus; to imagine; to solve problems creatively? How do digital books impact children at different ages and stages of development? There doesn't seem to be a great deal of consensus yet and certainly these formats haven't been around long enough for meaningful longitudinal studies. Some are suggesting the death of the book. But it does seem that more thought and research is needed before we diminish the role of physical books.

How much is too much strategy instruction?

Teachers teach reading strategies to help with comprehension. The most common strategies teachers use are likely those found by the National Reading Panel to have enough scientific evidence to conclude that their use can improve comprehension: comprehension monitoring, graphic organizers, question answering, question generation, summarization, cooperative learning, story structure, and multiple strategy instruction. In a recent blog post by Prof. Daniel Willingham, a UVA Professor and Cognitive Scientist at the University of Virginia, Willingham wonders whether teachers are spending too much time teaching strategies. Willingham fears the "collateral damage" of too much strategy instruction is bored kids who never get the opportunity to sink into a book (my words, not his). Willingham reviewed the research on comprehension strategies. Research generally supports teaching children strategies. Evidence suggests that strategies are learned quickly, and can provide a short-term boost to comprehension. But in considering how often the instruction takes away from a child's reading, Willingham asks, "How can you get lost in a narrative world if you think you're supposed to be posing questions to yourself all the time? How can a child get really absorbed in a book about ants or meteorology if she thinks that reading means pausing every now and then to anticipate what will happen next, or to question the author's purpose?" This issue doesn't feel that different to me than problems with prereading. When thinking about effective instruction, it may be that the questions to ask are about time. How many minutes are available for instruction? How many of those minutes are used for strategy instruction (or prereading)? Is that the best use of those minutes? I'd love to hear what you think.

Get Ready for Summer! Ideas for Teachers to Share with Families

Reading Rockets has packed a "virtual beach bag" of activities for teachers to help families get ready for summer and to launch students to fun, enriching summertime experiences. Educators will find materials to download and distribute as well as ideas and resources to offer to students and parents to help ensure summer learning gain rather than loss.

Fun with science and math IS possible

All too often, children hear the word math and they freeze. It just can't have pleasure associated with it nor can it possibly have anything to do real life. Math really is everywhere but like the narrator in Jon Scieszka's funny and slightly offbeat Math Curse (Viking), fear of it can be a serious affliction. It can even impact how children perceive and school success — and eventually their career choices. Well, this weekend in Washington, DC, there's a free event, the USA Science & Engineering Festival, devoted to engaging children and adults in the excitement and possibilities in these subjects. There will be lots of authors talking about their books including Sean Connolly who's written The Book of Perfectly Perilous Math (Workman). Even those who suffer from a serious math aversion will appreciate the approach of this book. It presents outrageous stories which can be solved by math. It was the step-by-step explanations that helped me understand some principles that had left me in the dark for what has been a long, long time. Whether or not children understand all of math concepts presented doesn't seem to me as important as the pleasure presented in trying to figure out (as the book's cover declares) "24 death-defying challenges" and the fun of their fantastic, humorous stories with comic illustrations. It's a multi-pronged approach that seems likely to engage the most reluctant young mathematician. Putting some pleasure back into science and math not only makes STEM education more fun but just may present chances for families to find positive new — and important — shared experiences. Yuo might also want to check out Reading Rockets' Literacy in the Sciences tip sheets for parents (in English and Spanish).

More school library dreaming

I'm lucky enough to be involved with our school's library renovation project. I wrote about our first meeting here. Yesterday we met with the architects and we had a chance to see their first drafts. We all know that school libraries are important places. A new two-phase study from Rutgers University helps us understand even more about libraries: they impact entire schools, not just test scores. School librarians are co-teachers to all teachers in the building, and they can help teachers integrate skills and content instruction. Libraries are safe, multidisciplinary learning centers where information is available to all. That sentiment was reflected in our thinking about renovations. Beyond movable shelving units and comfortable cushions, we talked about glass walled "huddle labs" with white boards for planning, and a multimedia project room where students can pull together projects using a variety of technologies. We talked about "ambiguous furniture" that can create partitions but than can be pushed aside to create larger collaborative spaces. And also the need for smaller, cozier spaces for kids to hunker down on their own and fall into a book. We drooled over the ideas and pictures the architects brought, and we left dreaming about how we could transform our library, including the entrance way. And don't get me started on color! There are such neat ways to think about color as a way to welcome patrons, and as a way to delineate and articulate different spaces within the library. Then we all woke up when the building facilitator started talking about costs. And budgets. And using a phased plan. Boo-hiss! Sadly, that's the topic for our next meeting. I'll lobby hard for the PTO to get involved with fundraising, and with the administrator's help, we'll think about different allocations of money that could be used. Want to fall in love with pictures of libraries? I've added several pictures based on yesterday's meeting. Take a look at our school library Pinterest board.

Helping parents help with homework

This week my 5th grade daughter came home with math homework that involved finding the surface area and volume of pentagonal prisms. She needed help with it, and it was really hard! It was hard because I hadn't worked problems like those for years, and even when I did, I'm not sure how easily I did it. We got through the homework okay (after a looooooong time and several Google searches) but the experience made me think about ways teachers can help parents help with homework. I've written about homework before here and here. It's tough to be a Mom, an educator, and a blogger without confronting the H word! One way teachers can help parents help with homework is by encouraging parents to ask questions that encourage thinking about the problem. Rather than being able to solve the problem themselves, parents help their child think through the problem and make a plan for solving it. A teacher once shared with me a helpful handout on this topic, called Parents as Questioners. The handout describes questions parents should use freely and sparingly, as well as questions to avoid when helping their child think about a homework assignment. Parents are encouraged to use freely any questions that will help students think about the way they are tackling the problem. These include: What makes sense so far? Is there another way to think about it? Is this like any other problem that you have worked on in any way? Questions to use sparingly include How might you organize this? Have you tried smaller cases? Can you see any patterns? Questions or hints to avoid include: That's not quite what I had in mind…Explore it like this…;No, you should…. Some of the "use freely" questions may have helped us this week as we worked through pentagonal prisms. I could have guided Molly's thinking by asking her to think about what she's done with rectangular prisms, and how the current problems relate to that. That may have winded us around and gotten us closer in solving the problems. Take a look at the suggestions on the Parents as Questioners PDF and let me know if you think that would be helpful to the parents you work with!

Beyond Earth Day

A friend of my son and I were talking about a high school course he's taking on environmental science. He said that it wasn't as much about saving the planet as it was saving people. I thought about what he'd said and I agree — at least in general. Where does respect for the environment and people begin? When children are very young. My son's interest in observing backyard birds started when he built a small birdhouse as a 6-year old Cub Scout and continues to this day. I was reminded again of this when I read a recent picture book biography entitled Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle (Farrar) by Clair Nivola. Earle's devotion to the outdoors started early on as a young child living in New Jersey. When she was 12, her family moved to the Gulf coast of Florida where her mother is quoted as saying "that Sylvia 'lost her heart to the water.'" Sylvia's wonder becomes the reader's wonder as they examine this handsomely illustrated, beautifully told, and well researched look at one person's life in and near the ocean. And like Sylvia Earle, the more we know, the more we'll want to learn, and the greater care we'll take of this beautiful resource. There are a number of books that are likely to generate interest, inspiration, enthusiasm to last beyond Earth Day. Who knows what wonders will start with a child's sparked imagination?

Family Literacy Bag: Rivers

Go on a "river" reading adventure! Teachers can support reading together at home with Reading Rockets family literacy bags — designed to encourage hands-on fun and learning centered around paired fiction and nonfiction books. (Level: Third Grade)

Universal Design for Learning: Meeting the Needs of All Students

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provides the opportunity for all students to access, participate in, and progress in the general-education curriculum by reducing barriers to instruction. Learn more about how UDL offers options for how information is presented, how students respond or demonstrate their knowledge and skills, and how students are engaged in learning.

Authors are real!

When I was growing up, I thought that all authors had to be dead and gone to have a book published. That misconception has quite happily been dispelled. I've even gotten to know some published authors, all of them quite alive and well. Many of these authors enjoy hearing from their readers. One kindergarten class recently read books by Kevin Henkes and learned more about him. I'm sure that these children and their creative teacher discovered that Kevin won the Caldecott for Kitten's First Full Moon; that it looks different than his other books like Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse or even his newest, Penny and Her Song (all Greenwillow) — and lots more. Their teacher, Laura Caplan, keeps parents informed of classroom activities through regular correspondence. Here, Ms. Caplan shares one of the "Bright Spots:" "Earlier in the year, we did an author study of Kevin Henkes and learned about his writing and artistic style. During our exploration of cities, our class created our own city, Gan Shemeshville. The class did research in Dupont Circle and saw that there are statues of important people located in roundabouts. As a result, the class decided to create a statue of Kevin Henkes in a roundabout in Gan Shemeshville. The class insisted that we write him a letter to inform him of our work and show him a picture of his statue. A week later, we received a personalized thank you letter from Kevin Henkes and a signed copy of his newest book that wasn't published until days after he sent it to us in the mail. This has been a thrilling experience for our class to reach out to a beloved author and hear that he appreciates our hard work." Because of the thoughtfulness, creativity and concern of an inspired early childhood educator and a remarkable author, a group of kindergarten children are on the road to becoming lifelong readers and writers. That's something to celebrate. My guess is that the children's statue of Kevin Henkes will be put in a place of honor — Ms. Caplan was going to the post office today to mail it; maybe next to his Caldecott Medal.

Top 10 Resources on Poetry

Poetry is full of joy, expressiveness, and the pure delight of language. Explore how to introduce poetry to young readers, the value of nursery rhymes in learning about language, writing poetry in the classroom, great poetry books for sharing, and interviews with beloved children's poets. Visit our National Poetry Month section for more resources. As poet Carl Sandburg said, remember that with poetry you're stuffing "a backpack of invisible keepsakes."

Learning more about learning disabilities

All of us who have worked with young children have worked with kids who struggle. Many of us have worked directly with kids with learning disabilities (LD). PBS NewsHour is putting together a terrific series about kids with LD as part of the American Graduate project. I encourage you to read, watch and share! Among the resources: Despite a wealth of information about causes, prevalence, and effective interventions for kids with LD, many misconceptions continue to linger. Five misconceptions about learning disabilities addresses issues such as what is LD? What isn't? Whether learning disabilities are easily diagnosed, the relationship between IQ and LD, prevalence numbers, and whether LD lasts a lifetime. Engaging students with learning issues early on highlights an elementary school with a technology and arts focus to their early intervention. Dr. Tom Hehir from the Harvard Graduate School of Education provides context for the challenges of keeping kids in school and engaged in the educational process. Read advice for parents of children with learning disabilities from Daniel Paris, a graduate student at Harvard who first dropped out of high school and was later diagnosed with LD and ADHD. His advice (be patient, resilient, understanding, and never lower your expectations for your child) is good for all parents! Looks like a good series on an important topic.

Literature-Based Teaching in Science: Poetry Walks

Read and discuss poetry with nature imagery with students. Take students on a poetry walk around the school, neighborhood, or community to observe and collect sensory images from direct experience with nature: the sights, sounds, smells, and textures of things outdoors. Students can take a poetry journal with them to write down words as they observe, listen, smell, and touch things outside the classroom.

Understanding Dysgraphia

Dysgraphia is a learning disability that affects a child's handwriting. Children with dysgraphia usually have other problems such as difficulty with written expression. Learn more about causes, the importance of early assessment, dysgraphia and spelling, and effective instructional strategies that strengthen written language skills.

Journal Writing

Writing in journals can be a powerful strategy for students to respond to literature, gain writing fluency, dialogue in writing with another student or the teacher, or write in the content areas. While journaling is a form of writing in its own right, students can also freely generate ideas for other types of writing as they journal. Teachers can use literature that takes the form of a journal by reading excerpts and discussing them with students.

Story Dramatization

Research has shown the positive effects of improvised story dramatization on language development and student achievement in oral and written story recall, writing, and reading. Learn how to integrate story dramatizations into the classroom, using stories that students are familiar with.

Think Like an Inventor

Creativity is an important characteristic to foster in your child. Fostering a creative spirit will give your child experience identifying a problem and coming up with new ideas for solving them. Here are four ways to encourage creativity in your young child.

What books do best

Books entertain, educate, inform, engage, and more — more than we may realize. Readers meet others and see themselves in them. They may feel validated, see change, or may be changed by a book. A recent piece by Katia Hetter exploring how children's books help families explore diversity brought this home for me. Each of the mentioned in this article has withstood the test of time; many of these books help adults tackle difficult ideas, share them, with their children and allow children to see themselves in story. I think that the range of books may also teach something to adults, helping them figure out what withstands the test of time and multiple readings as well as how books in which story comes first convey often touchy themes or ideas effectively. Readers — regardless of age — are engaged readers. I may never again read any version of the folktale, "Bremen Town Musicians" — a favorite of my son when he was very young, read literally hundreds of times — with no skipping parts allowed. There are others, however, that held up well — and which we still quote and produced shared experiences to this day. Farmer Duck is rightfully relieved of his grueling duties and of a slothful human. Ferdinand the Bull is different — but comfortable in his own skin. Max is still loved even though he gets angry. Sylvester is reunited with his parents who never give up. Strega Nona's wisdom can clean up even Big Anthony's mess. And no matter how bad today may be, there's the promise of tomorrow as Alexander figures out. Books shared often are those in which children may most readily see themselves, their families, and their feelings. They are also the ones that can be happily shared again and again.

Sharing science with your youngest learners

I recently read a post about providing opportunities to connect families with their child's education that I really liked. Peggy Ashbrook's post Involving families in early childhood science education from the NSTA Blog provides several ideas and resources for getting parents together with a focus on science. I've listed a few of my favorites here, plus a few others. Family Science offers a few free sample activities that can be done at home, including Wet Surfaces and Charge It, a racing activity that explores the push and pull properties of static electricity. Peep and the Big Wide World from WGBH is a fun online way to teach science to preschoolers. You can watch a video, play games, and do a related activity all based in age-appropriate science concepts. The videos are narrated by Joan Cusack. Bring Science Home from Scientific American features a series of science-related activities. These activities, designed for six-to 12-year olds, include instructions, material lists, and necessary background information. TLC's How Stuff Works offers up a fairly lengthy list of science projects for kids including sugar crystals on a string and soda pop in a balloon. It looks like there are some fun activities here! A love of science can begin at an early age. Hopefully some of these resources can get you and your child thinking and talking about science!

Science vs. Science Fiction

Science fiction is a type of fiction where the stories revolve around science and technology of the future. Science fiction texts are often set in the future, in space, in a different world, or in a different universe or dimension. As exciting as these books can be, it's useful to remind your child that while science fiction may be based loosely on scientific truth, it is still fiction.

Beyond cookies

I was one. So was my sister. We did lots of things in Girl Scouts, but what I remember most is summer day camp and selling cookies — door to door — and having a good time with other kids. I don't remember being taught anything specifically, though I learned a lot. We were part of a Girl Scout troop where learning was engaging and part of all activities. As I listened to the radio today, I found out that Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice, and Lucille Ball were once Girl Scouts, too. (Each of these women clearly took the Girl Scout motto "Be prepared" to heart!) The very first meeting of an American troop of Girl Scouts was held in March 2012 headed by Juliette Gordon Low. Juliette Low, nicknamed "Daisy," was a spunky girl, well ahead of her time. Who would have thought that her organization, established before women could even vote, would still be in existence — and seemingly thriving — a century later; perhaps because it took on the characteristics of its founder. Readers interested in Juliet Low can meet her in a new picture book biography by Shana Corey. Here Come the Girl Scouts!: The Amazing All-True Story of Juliette 'Daisy' Gordon Low and Her Great Adventure (Scholastic) with lively illustrations by Hadley Hooper, presents Daisy and her lively personality, often through Daisy's own words. For older, more sophisticated readers, there's First Girl Scout: The Life of Juliette Gordon Low (Clarion) by Ginger Wadsworth, a highly readable, well researched look at Low and the early Girl Scouts. It's a terrific anniversary to note, especially during Women's History Month. Who knows... maybe a Girl Scout of today will be tomorrow's Secretary of State. She might even become U.S. President. After all, when one is ever-ready, anything is possible.

Magazines for younger and older kids

Magazines are great reading options. There's new content in every one, and if you have a subscription, it's great fun to get the new issue in the mail! Articles are short enough that they can be read in one setting, and there's usually a variety of writing in each one. The best magazines for kids I've seen often include recipes, jokes, craft ideas, and some stories. I've written about magazines for kids before, but am revisiting the topic now that my older daughter is 11 (gulp!). I want to give her a subscription to something age appropriate yet stay away from topics like dating, kissing, and more! Thankfully, Parents' Choice just released their review of children's magazines. The Parents' Choice 2012 Magazine Awards is a really helpful guide to magazine options for kids. Magazines receive a rating ranging from Gold to Silver to Recommended to Approved. Each magazine is reviewed with a full description and a link to the publisher for more information. Based on what I've read, I'm considering ordering Kiki for our 11 year old, and Cricket for our 9 year old. I'd like to see a sample of each one before I place an order for a full subscription, so I'm hoping our public library has back issues of both. How about you? Do you subscribe to any magazines for your child? If so, which ones?

Reading across America

Today is Read Across America Day! It celebrates the Doctor's birthday (Dr. Seuss, that is) and the joy he created with his wonderful imagination. Because of Theodor Geisel, we have unforgettable characters like the mischief-making Cat in the Hat, an environmentally concerned guy named the Lorax, the 20th century Scrooge named the Grinch, and an exceedingly kind elephant named Horton who saved the Whos from utter obliteration. (These and other Seuss creations as well as the doctor himself can be explored on a highly interactive website.) In the official White House proclamation declaring March 2, 2012 as Read Across America Day, the President calls upon "children, families, educators, librarians, public officials, and all the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities." My hope is that the day's activities — and there are lots everywhere — continue throughout the year. There is drama, humor, mystery, hope, camaraderie, information — and well, you name it, you can find it reading. So thanks — and a happy birthday — to Dr. Seuss.

Problems with pre-reading

Pre-reading activities, the things teachers plan and do before reading a text, happen almost every day in elementary school. Pre-reading activities seek to improve a child's comprehension of a text by activating prior knowledge, and by providing time to pre-teach concepts or vocabulary students will encounter in a text. Pre-reading activities can be informal and quick, or they can be more formal, and incorporate strategies such as the Anticipation Guide or First Lines. According to Shanahan on Literacy, two contributors to the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards "have been telling teachers not to engage in pre-reading activities and as a result some districts and states have already started banning the practice." (Shanahan suggests those authors are now softening that message.) What's wrong with pre-reading activities? According to Shanahan, problems include:

They take too much time away from reading.
They're boring.
They focus on the wrong information.
They can ruin the reading experience.
They are rarely purposeful.

Hmmmm…there's probably some truth to each of those reasons, in some lessons and in some cases. But in general I share Shanahan's belief that what we need to do is to "sharpen and focus pre-reading to the benefit of students." So, what does good pre-reading look like? It's short, and it's focused on the text. It highlights story elements that are important to a reader's understanding (for example, an unusual setting or time period). Attention to Tier 2, or useful words, is reflected. And it sets kids up for the "a-ha" moment — the one where they're reading along and they say, "Hey! We just talked about that!" I'm sure there will be more to come on this, but I'd love for your to add to my short list. What does good pre-reading look like? UPDATE 3/26/12: If you're interested in reading Tim Shanahan's guidelines for prereading, here's Part 2 of his posts on prereading.

Developing Research and Information Literacy

Explore two ways you can help your child begin to develop information literacy: learning to tell the difference between fact and opinion, and figuring out if a source of information is reliable.

Why getting out matters

I remember many years ago sharing a book with photographs by Bruce MacMillan with a group of inner-city preschool children. They were bright and vivacious and eager to share what they knew. While I no longer remember the title of the book, I'll never forget a little boy's response when I asked what the full-color image of a black and white cow was. He exclaimed with authority, "A dog!" It made sense: both dog and cow have four legs, a tail, and other physical qualities in common, both could be found outdoors, both could be black and white; and without a scale to measure it by, they both might appear in a picture to be similar in size. The child knew what he had experienced personally: he had come across dogs but never a cow. And he had never gone far beyond his own neighborhood. A recent article in The New York Times reminded me of this preschool and the power of learning through experience. Teachers at a Brooklyn school are taking their young students to lots of places in the community such as an auto repair shop. Before and after the outing, they read books. One child read Honda, the Boy Who Dreamed of Cars by Mark Weston (Lee & Low) but younger children interested in basic car parts might enjoy Byron Barton's My Car (Greenwillow). A ride on the subway may allow children to compare their NYC subway to another shown in Mary Quattlebaum's Underground Train (Yearling, o.p.). The possibility to read related books to enhance and extend these experiences is virtually unlimited. Books can also be companions and guides for outings. What will we see along the way? How long will it take us to get there? If we have to take the subway, how many tokens (or farecards or whatever) will we need for a roundtrip? Why was this bridge given this name? And who knows what other activities may arise out of reading? Map-making? Art? Math? Social studies? Maybe even another trip to the school or local public library.

Interactive Writing

Interactive writing makes the writing process visual to the whole class. Reading literature is an excellent way to initiate interactive writing in the class, and the teacher can continue using literature as the class does interactive writing with any new book that is read throughout the year.

Third grade again?

If you've been following the news, you may have read about proposed state legislation (in Colorado, Iowa, New Mexico and Tennessee) that would make students repeat third grade if they can't pass the state reading exams. Our Rocket Blast carried the story Bills Prod Schools to Hold Back Third-Graders from the Wall Street Journal. Several reports, including Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, summarize recent research on reading proficiency and subsequent high-school dropout this way:

One in six children who are not reading proficiently in third grade do not graduate from high school on time, a rate four times greater than that for proficient readers.
The rates are highest for the low, below-basic readers: 23 percent of these children drop out or fail to finish high school on time, compared to 9 percent of children with basic reading skills and 4 percent of proficient readers.
Overall, 22 percent of children who have lived in poverty do not graduate from high school, compared to 6 percent of those who have never been poor.
The rate was highest for poor Black and Hispanic students, at 31 and 33 percent respectively — or about eight times the rate for all proficient readers.

Third Grade Again: The Trouble With Holding Students Back from The Atlantic includes this assessment from educational psychologist David Berliner:

"It seems like legislators are absolutely ignorant of the research, and the research is amazingly consistent that holding kids back is detrimental," Berliner said. "Everybody supports the idea that if a student isn't reading well in third grade that it's a signal that the child needs help. If you hold them back, you're going to spend roughly another $10,000 per child for an extra year of schooling. If you spread out that $10,000 over the fourth and fifth grades for extra tutoring, in the long run you're going to get a better outcome."

What's your opinion? Do you think a retention policy based on third-grade reading results is a good idea? Has your child been retained? Have you ever retained a child? I'd love to hear your opinion.

Dreaming of school libraries

What does your school library look like? For many schools, it looks just like it did when the school was built, maybe 20, 30 or even 40 years ago. Heavy wooden tables and chairs, a "reading rug" for the read aloud portion of library time, and a big circulation desk for check out. Sound familiar? So that's what the library probably looks like. But is that what it SHOULD look like? Today's learners are far different than they were 20, 30 or 40 years ago. Print encyclopedias? Reference books? They're probably sitting on a dusty shelf somewhere as the kids scramble for the computers for their research work. I have the opportunity to work with a small group working to redesign a school library built during the 70's. As with many budgets, there isn't enough money to do what we'd really like, but there's enough that we hope to make some changes that will update the library and help make it more of a resource for today's learners. To get us started, we thought about flexible learning spaces because that seems most in line with what the teachers need from the space. Then we each looked for pictures of libraries we liked. I used Pinterest to gather mine. I found some great examples of color and lighting, wall art, and some furniture that is much different than what we have now! I'll keep you posted on the project, and try to take some before and after pictures! UPDATE: To see pictures of some beautiful youth library spaces, take a look at the 2012 Library Design Showcase from American Libraries.

Oral History

Oral history is a method to learn about past events from the spoken stories of people who lived through them. When students conduct oral history research with members of their families or community they are participating in active learning rooted in the student's own experience. Students are actively engaged in collecting data when they do oral histories. Not only are they learning history, they are learning to be historians.

We're all hyphenated Americans

We're all hyphenated Americans really. It's the way we identify our backgrounds and that's fine. If, however, identification by self or others becomes a way to maintain separation, well, that's not fine. I was reminded recently that books are important as both "mirrors" and "windows" as I introduced books to a group of teenaged parents. They were learning about their children's development and the role of literature and language in it. How sharing books with babies and toddlers develops empathy came up when we read Ten Little Fingers & Ten Little Toes (Harcourt) by Mem Fox. One young mother exclaimed that the babies were multicultural — and that one looked like her 8-month old daughter. She figured out that the range of faces in Helen Oxenbury's simple but appealing line and watercolor illustrations reflected the diversity of the world in which this child was growing up; that the child would eventually grow beyond her family. What this suggests is that books introduce readers to myriad people of all backgrounds — even in homogeneous communities. Children need to see themselves and meet others. These books must have a universal appeal, an emotional authenticity, and enough story to keep readers engaged. Ezra Jack Keats' Snowy Day (Viking) celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year. Peter, a young African American boy, enjoys a snowy day in the city — just like children everywhere. That the book is older than the teachers and parents sharing it is a testament to the book's widespread appeal. I'm no longer in 3rd grade, my parents didn't divorce, but I do remember trying to make new friends like Dyamonde Daniels. Dyamonde is a bright child whose everyday ups and downs in her new neighborhood ring true not only for newly independent readers but for readers of all ages. And Dyamonde is an African American girl. For middle school readers, the difficulty and joys of growing up in Planet Middle School (Bloomsbury). An African American girl gradually comes to accept the inevitable changes of growing up in this sometimes funny, sometimes touching, novel in verse. All girls (and guys) old and young will see themselves in Joylin as she starts to come of age. It's Black History Month. Let's try to continue it beyond February. African Americans and other hyphenated Americans should be recognized and celebrated throughout the year. It's sure to help children develop empathy to last a lifetime.

My teacher gives more homework

Do you ever hear this complaint? Kids know which teacher gives the most homework AND which teacher gives almost no homework at all. I think there are two issues here: how much homework is good? And should teachers at the same grade level give the same amount of homework? How much homework is good? If you've seen the documentary Race to Nowhere, you may be thinking that no homework is good homework. The research on homework, including a summary from a meta-analysis by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics suggests that recommendations vary by grade and subject matter. For example, homework that involves studying for discrete tests such as those at the end of a unit seems to be beneficial for younger students (although the studies didn't examine long-term retention of that information). Outside of preparing for a specific test, homework appears to be only mildly helpful for younger students. For high-school students, there appears to be a threshold of benefits to homework, suggesting a 90 to 120 minutes maximum. To the second question, should teachers within a grade level at a school give the same (or similar) amount of homework? I can't find any research that answers that question, but anecdotally I think the answer is a resounding YES. I think it presents a united effort to meet curricular goals. I think it also helps parents feel as though their child is getting the same level of preparation, regardless of teacher. I'm curious! Do the teachers at your school (within a grade level) collaborate on homework? Or is there disparity among classrooms? Related reading: Key Lessons: What Research Says About the Value of Homework What does good homework look like? Five Homework Strategies for Teaching Students With Learning Disabilities Homework Tips for Parents

Celebrate Dr. Seuss and Music In Our Schools Month

Share music and playful rhythms to help students generate and organize writing ideas. Kick off Music In Our Schools Month on Dr. Seuss's March 2 birthday with this pre-writing activity.

Music Stories

Music stories are compositions of a narrative or descriptive sort. Students can listen for the story in the music, and this type of music can be integrated with literature, literacy, social studies, science, mathematics, and the other arts.

And the winner is ... children!

It's always heartening to be with other booklovers — especially those who recognize that the younger we start sharing the power and pleasure of language and story with children the more likely they'll grow into lifelong learners. It was exciting to attend what has become known as the Youth Media Awards announcements at the midwinter conference of the American Library Association. I sometimes wonder about the effect of too many awards (it sure made for a lengthy program). Is there such a thing as too much of a good thing? Are there too many honors given? But I've concluded that awards can help identify books (in one form or another) that are in some way outstanding in this overcrowded field. Sometimes authors and illustrators are recognized more than once, as was the case with this year's Caldecott Medal winner. Chris Raschka received the 2006 Caldecott for The Hello Goodbye Window (Hyperion) and the 2012 Medal for A Ball for Daisy (Schwartz & Wade/Random). While Raschka has a unique style, he uses it very differently in [i]...Daisy[/i]. The story, which is told almost entirely without words, unfolds rather like a comic book. The visual storytelling, however, needs no words to convey the small dog's joy in a toy, the devastating loss, and ultimate friendship. Young children are the most likely to take the time to carefully examine the illustrations, but readers of all ages will recognize the emotions in this seemingly simple presentation. So congratulations to all the award winners and especially to Chris Raschka who has joined a select group of artists who can claim more than one Caldecott Medal!

Teacher appreciation a few months early

Teacher Appreciation Week is typically the first week of May. But January can be long, cold, and drab with mid-year assessments and paperwork taking up too much time. This seems like a good opportunity to remind all teachers just how important and wonderful you are! Every day you stand before very special people, and every day you have the power to ignite a spark that will last a lifetime. Need some inspiration to get through January? Read How Mrs. Grady Transformed Olly Neal from last Sunday's New York Times. Olly was a poor, tough kid who gave Mrs. Grady (and other teachers) lots of grief. From the story, as reported by Nicholas Kristof: One day in 1957, in the fall of his senior year, Neal cut Blakely's class and wandered in the library, set up by Grady, the English teacher whom he had tormented. Neal wasn't a reader, but he spotted a book with a risqué cover of a sexy woman. Called "The Treasure of Pleasant Valley," it was by Frank Yerby, a black author, and it looked appealing. Neal says he thought of checking it out, but he didn't want word to get out to any of his classmates that he was reading a novel. That would have been humiliating. "So I stole it." What happened to Neal? What secret did Mrs. Grady hold for years? You'll have to read the story to find out. Or listen to Neal tell his story on StoryCorps. Need more inspiration? Read Lisa Belkin's post Teacher's Words That Changed My Life or visit Thanks for Teaching. Thank you, teachers!

The Vocabulary of Science

10 Things You Can Do to Raise a Reader

Parents are a child's first teacher, and there are many simple things you can do every day to share the joy of reading while strengthening your child's literacy skills.

Map Making

Students often have difficulty understanding abstract map symbols. Learn how to introduce map skills with literature that contextualizes mapping in a narrative, can be related to where in the world each student lives, and engages students by actively "doing geography."

Super Ambassadors for young people and reading!

What do a red cape, a magic wand and a light sword represent? Each seems to be a sign of magic, heroics, something more than mere human, right? What happens when the writers who hold these objects come together in one room? They become the superheroes and spokespeople to let the world know about the importance of reading. These are the Super National Ambassadors for Young People's Literature! Together, their power can change the world! And that's just what current and former Ambassadors have set out to do. Newly inaugurated Ambassador Walter Dean Myers flanked by outgoing Ambassador Katherine Paterson, and Jon Scieszka, the first Ambassador, talked to a standing-room-only crowd at the Washington, D.C. independent bookstore Politics and Prose Bookstore on Tuesday. They talked about the power of reading. Each shared personal stories about their passion and power of story and reading. They have each seen the power of story, how books change lives — even save lives. It's a big job to catch and keep the country's attention to remind them of something as seemingly simple yet powerful as the power of reading, books, and libraries. Learning to read requires time, patience and resources. Libraries have to be open, materials accessible. It's a never-ending job — but one with endless rewards. I am confident that the current Ambassador — with the support of his predecessors and of teachers, parents, and others — is more than up for the position. So as your work continues, congratulations again, Mr. Ambassador! We're behind you 100%!

Creating Timelines

Timelines are graphic representations of the chronology of events in time. While they are often used as a way to display information in visual form in textbooks as an alternative to written narrative, students can also become more actively engaged in learning the sequence of events in history by constructing timelines themselves.

Time Well Spent: Eight Powerful Practices of Successful, Expanded-Time Schools

This report reshapes the field for expanded-time schools by outlining specific practices that can lead to dramatic increases in student achievement and preparation for success in college and the workforce.Time Well Spentoffers an in-depth examination of 30 expanded-time schools serving high-poverty populations with impressive track records of student success, and demonstrates how these schools leverage their additional time in order to implement other critical reforms.

How e-book reading changes reading behavior

I feel like I barely go through a week without reading about a school or district adopting e-readers for classrooms. Even at home, e-readers are becoming commonplace. Families are spending more time reading books with e-readers, even with their very young children. Researchers at the Erickson Institute at Temple University seeking to understand the effect of an e-reader on the amount and types of verbal interaction between child and parent found some startling patterns. From the press release: "It turned out that reading electronic books became a behaviorally oriented, slightly coercive parent-child interaction as opposed to talking about the story, relating it to the their child's life, or even talking about the book's pictures or text," Parish-Morris said. "Parents were under the impression that when you are sitting down with a book, you are supposed to read it," she added. "But what was happening with the e-books is that reading was not even part of the process, probably because these books literally read the story to the child. So parents are not needed. The book makes commands and tells the child what to do; it encourages them to play games and reads to the child, so parents are essentially replaced by this battery-operated machine." This is bad news for those of us who know how valuable and irreplaceable parent–child conversations are for young children. As educators, we must recognize the role of e-readers in today's world, but also continue to advocate for traditional book reading experiences filled with language experiences as well. Some recommendations for those with e-readers:

Don't let the e-reader drive the whole reading experience. Take the time to stop the reading of the book, to talk about what's happening and to enjoy the pictures.
Continue traditional book reading, and read together every day! Talk about the content and use interesting words as part of the conversation.
Regardless of the format, help your child make connections between the book and their own life. Engage in rich conversations and circle back around over and over again to books you both love.

There's a workable balance between traditional and e-books out there. Let's help our families find it!

Family Literacy Bag: Building

Go on a "building" reading adventure! Teachers can support reading together at home with Reading Rockets family literacy bags — designed to encourage hands-on fun and learning centered around paired fiction and nonfiction books. (Level: First or Second Grade)

A new year and a new National Ambassador

A new year has started and with it a new National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Our new Ambassador continues a short but highly distinguished group of spokespeople for the importance of literature in the lives of children and young adults. Walter Dean Myers will assume his newest role next week at a ceremony at the Library of Congress. Walter Dean Myers writes books for every age. Each unique book reflects a particular interest of the author, his passion for history, and a depth of understanding about young people's emotional response to difficult situations including war. Mr. Myers has been a longtime presence in our home. One of my son's favorite books as a young child was Brown Angels (HarperCollins). He enjoyed the lively, rhythmic poetry and meeting children who lived long ago. It didn't matter that the children in the old photographs dressed differently and didn't really look like my son. He instinctively understood that they all shared something more meaningful; perhaps it was simply childhood. My son was introduced to the Viet Nam war (in which his favorite uncle was involved) in Fallen Angels and later what soldiers experienced in Iraq through Sunrise Over Fallujah (both Scholastic). He was able to glimpse prison and the justice system, pondering guilt and innocence — from the outside and from the inside — with Monster (Amistad). Readers of all ages can go on a Blues Journey (Holiday), listening to its music in the poetry while envisioning the period from which it grew through the evocative illustrations by Myers' son, Christopher Myers. They can meet a real African princess taken to England At Her Majesty's Request (Scholastic, o.p.) and feel the pressure of guns and gangs with Jamal in the Newbery honor Scorpions (Amistad). So, congratulations Walter Dean Myers, Mr. National Ambassador of Young People's Literature! We look forward to an exciting term — and always, always to your next books.

PreK-Grade 3 Reading and Literacy Practices That Matter

This snapshot of five recent research studies addresses reading and literacy in the early grades. Policy recommendations on practices that matter are included for each of the five studies.

Take a Giant Step: A Blueprint for Teaching Young Children in a Digital Age

In January 2010, the Cooney Center and the Stanford Educational Leadership Institute convened a Digital Age Teacher Preparation Council to look at current practices for teaching young children and to design a professional development action plan for integrating the effective use of technology in preschool and the primary grades. This report describes the Council's action plan to enhance teacher education and a higher quality, 21st century approach to the learning and healthy development of children in preschool and the primary grades. The report sets forth several goals for the nation to meet by 2020, including advancing technology integration and infrastructure; a more robust professional training program for early education professionals; the expanded use of public media as cost-effective assets for teachers; and the establishment of a Digital Teacher Corps.

How to Read Nonfiction Text

Many kids love to read about science and nature as well as real people, places, and events. Nonfiction books present information in engaging and interesting ways. Find out how you can help your child learn to navigate all the parts of a nonfiction book — from the table of contents to the diagrams, captions, glossary, and index.

A book on every bed this holiday

We started a new tradition in our family last year. We'll do it again this year, and I hope you'll consider adding this tradition to your family holiday too! It's a simple one: put a book on every bed. Last year, the Family Reading Partnership and Ask Amy from the Chicago Tribune launched a homegrown, grassroots literacy campaign with a goal to raise a generation of readers. The idea was inspired by the author David McCullough, who says he woke to a wrapped book at the foot of his bed every Christmas morning during his childhood. Here's how it works: Take a book. Wrap it. Place it on a child's bed so it's the first thing the child sees on Christmas morning (or the morning of the holiday you celebrate). Thats it. "A Book on Every Bed" is an appeal to spread the love of reading from parents to children. It also encourages families to share books by reading aloud. I particularly like that, within this idea, the books don't have to be new. They can be books parents are handing down to their kids. Last year, I gave our younger daughter my much loved copy of The Giving Tree, and my husband handed down to our older daughter his well-worn copy of Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Our girls had already read those books, but now they are the proud owners of their own worn and loved copies. I hope one morning they'll be wrapping up those books for their own growing readers. Last year's choices were highly sentimental for me. This year, not so much. Our choices were based on books they couldn't seem to get enough of at our school book fair. My older daughter will have Are You "Normal"?: More Than 100 Questions That Will Test Your Weirdness (National Geographic Kids) waiting for her, and our younger daughter will waken to The Encyclopedia of Immaturity: Volume 2. Who knows? Maybe a book on every bed will keep them in bed Christmas morning! (Doubtful). Happy holidays to you and your family. I'll see you again in 2012!

The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2011

A nationally representative sample of 213,100 fourth-graders participated in the 2011 assessment. Learn more about the key findings and trends in this Reading 2011 snapshot.

Starting Out Right: Pre-K and Kindergarten

The report looks at the effect of various combinations of pre-k and kindergarten on third grade reading skills, a key predictor of future academic success. Findings show that children who attend pre-k and half-day kindergarten are more likely to have higher reading skills by the third grade than those who attend full-day kindergarten alone. The impact was greatest for Hispanic children, black children, English Language Learners, and children from low-income families.

Classic slow downs

Have you been around a school or even a group of children in the past few days? They seem to be having a tough time sitting still, concentrating. Lots of adults are, too. December is a busy month: presents to buy or make, wrap, give or receive; parties to prepare for; friends and family to see. And more, lots more. Maybe it's time to slow down and celebrate the season with a good book. You may want to start with a couple of holiday classics, like Chris Van Allsburg's [i]Polar Express[/i] (Houghton) or [i]How the Grinch Stole Christmas[/i] (Random) by Dr. Seuss. Though they couldn't be more different in style and presentation, both books deal with believing and faith. Readers can visit familiar friends like in Karma Wilson's [i]Bear Stays up for Christmas[/i] (McElderry) or share Clement Moore's [i]The Night Before Christmas[/i] (Little Simon) again with Robert Sabuda's amazing pop-ups. If you tired of all of the holiday brouhaha, then how about taking a look at the season? There are lots of snow-filled classics that share well again (and again and again). Share Peter's fun on [i]The Snowy Day[/i] (Viking) or join a girl and her father as they search for a nocturnal bird when there's an [i]Owl Moon[/i] (Philomel). Take a close look at snowflakes with [i]Snowflake Bentley[/i] (Sandpiper) or see how a dull town is transformed by [i]Snow[/i] (Farrar). And if you do slow down with a book, then maybe — just maybe — the busy season won't feel quite as frenzied.

Understanding images starts early

I enjoy reading, sharing, and sometimes just thinking about picture books. There's been a lot written about them lately; some people are even calling for their demise. But I know better. They help children understand their world. I was reminded of the power of pictures when I read a recent blog by Joanne Meier, fellow Reading Rockets blogger. She wrote about "infographics" which are visual representations of information or data. Adults use them all the time. I look at the weather online and in the newspaper — especially when bad weather is expected. We quickly absorb information conveyed by images, almost in one fell swoop. It's just the opposite when reading words. Then we take in information little by little, having to put it together to gain meaning. (I think of the words that compose a sentence, the sentences that make a paragraph, etc.) Words and image come together in "infographics" to create meaning quickly but in some depth. A young child gains meaning from illustrations much as we all do (that is, of course, if adults bother to really look any more). What is conveyed? Meaning, certainly. (It's a cat, house, tree.) Mood, most likely. (It looks happy, sad, scary.) Attitude, perhaps. (What will children come away with, for example, if all scientists are depicted as male?) Words and image come together in the picture books in many ways and in ways that are both traditional and unexpected. The range of styles and media used are as broad as any museum collection. In picture books, words and illustration can be deceptively simple (Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggy books, for example) or lush and complex (such as Gennady Spirin's Firebird). But together they create meaning for readers young and experienced. And that meaning is all the more significant (and fun) when shared between an adult and a child.

Infographics for young kids

There seems to be an explosion of infographics these days! If you're not familiar with that term, an infographic is a visual representation of information or data. A lot of information can be displayed visually, both quickly and clearly (at least most times). As someone who has always been drawn to the visual display of information, I love a well done infographic. And I think they have potential value for the elementary classroom too, although most are designed for older students. For an infographic to be fully appreciated, teachers will have to help students "read" the graphic. Just as they do when they read a nonfiction text, students will first need to pull back and determine what information is presented. Then they'll need to figure out how to navigate the graphic. Some use very simple lines to help the reader understand the flow; others use block structures or flow chart designs. I created a Reading Rockets Pinterest board full of examples for young kids. Take a look! Which one is your favorite? If you're interested in reading and learning more about teaching with infographics, this article from the NY Times is a great place to start!

How Words Can and Cannot Be Learned by Observation

"If language experiences are not rich, then where is your interest to retain them?" says Janice H. Im of Zero to Three: the National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families. A new study from University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University suggests that understanding basic words may come from a flash of initial insight more than repetition. The study's findings suggest that children build concrete vocabulary by interacting with a complex, rich learning environment, not just repeated exposure to words in isolation.

Hugo Cabret, from page to screen

Thanksgiving has come and gone but the fond memories of family, friends, food — and a new movie — linger. Even though the holiday was celebrated at our home, we had time to see a movie that I've been anxious to see. It's called Hugo, based on The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (Scholastic). The novel unfolds in a series of words and images which use the conventions of cinema, specifically the drama of old black & white silent films. Many were surprised (shocked may be a better description) when Hugo Cabret won the Caldecott Medal. This prestigious award is for a picture book, one that provides readers with a visual experience. The book certainly does that; readers pan in and pan out, view panoramas, see Paris from unique perspectives, and share Hugo's emotions and discovery. Much of this is conveyed through a series of black and white drawings that are interspersed with text. (Together they create a visual experience of over 500 pages.) The film adaptation uses similar cinematic conventions — similar but different, of course, and in color. (I was surpised that Hugo was directed by Martin Scorsese, a filmmaker who is better known for different types of films, like Raging Bull). It's also in 3-D — which has always seemed to me a major gimmick. Well, I had to adjust my bias when I saw the use of it here; it was done beautifully and added to the film's fantasy. Like the book, the film pays homage to old films and moviemakers, especially the filmmaker Georges Méliès (Ben Kingsley, the actor playing Méliès in the movie bears a strong resemblance). Also like the book, the film is really for children 9 and older — and their families, of course. The film is fine adaptation of a memorable book. It is true to the book while doing what film does best. Both provide insight and inspire awe, each in their unique way. [You can watch our interview with Brian Selznick, where he talks about his inspiration for The Invention of Hugo Cabret.]

How important is it to match a reader to a text?

The Common Core Standards are national standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics. They've been adopted by over 45 states and six provinces, including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. According to the Common Core website the standards "provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers." The Common Core Standards place a new emphasis on informational text. There's specific wording about the craft and structure of texts, the integration of knowledge and ideas across multiple texts, and a range of reading and levels of text difficulty. Reading Hall of Famer Tim Shanahan (see Shanahan on Literacy) posted recently about an IRA Webinar in which he outlines what he sees as some of the challenges the CCS present for teachers. Among the challenges (and there are many, but that's too long a post): (1) students will likely be taught from texts that are more challenging than in the past, and (2) the emphasis will be on stretching students to meet the demands of the text rather than matching the text to the reading level of the student. That's quite a paradigm shift for teachers who work in a district where the edict has been on matching a reader with a specific leveled book. Sure, there are scaffolding strategies teachers can use with students, but if the foundational skills and the "cognitive hooks" needed for understanding aren't there, I worry that a lot of instructional time will be wasted using text that is too challenging. What are your thoughts?

Giving boys a love of reading

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that one blog in my RSS feed is written by Lisa Belkin. Belkin's blog, Parentlode, can be found in the Huffington Post. Many of Belkin's posts speak to me on a personal level, and some circle into my professional life as well. This week, Belkin bantered with Pam Allyn, author of Pam Allyn's Best Books for Boys on the topic of giving boys a love of reading. If you have boys, or have boys in your classroom, I recommend reading this post. In it you'll learn about an acronym READ (ritual, environment, access, and dialogue), ways to make reading part of the active lifestyle boys tend to lead, and a slideshow of humorous books boys might like. Enjoy!

Building and Supporting an Aligned System: A Vision for Transforming Education Across the Pre-K-Grade Three Years

Children who attend high-quality pre-kindergarten programs are more likely to graduate from high school, says a report from the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) that calls on states and communities to build an aligned system to support early childhood learning and kindergarten programs. The report addresses the need for kindergarten programs to be included in national standards, noting that "the availability of kindergarten is highly variable, with unstable funding in many districts and parents paying for full-day programs." NAESP recommends 10 action steps for policy makers to improve fragmented early childhood learning.

Share What You Discover! Publishing Your Work

Almost every week there is a news story about a new finding or discovery in science. These news stories are one of the exciting steps in the science world: sharing what you find! Helping kids share their own scientific findings will make them feel like part of the scientific community.

Giving thanks

She's best known for a ditty that young children sing but she was an activist who made sure that there was a national day of thanksgiving. Sarah Josepha Hale lived in the 19th century, wrote the poem, "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and other works for adults. She also wanted to make Thanksgiving a consistent celebration in all states. Hale urged numerous U.S. Presidents over the course of more than a decade to do so. But it was Abraham Lincoln who saw the value in unifying a country engaged in a civil war and declared Thanksgiving a holiday to be celebrated across the country on the same day. There's still value in coming together to remember all that there is to be thankful for. We may find A Little Peace in unexpected places; after all we have One World, One Day. Thanksgiving can be a time to build memories of when The Relatives Came or remember 1621: A New Thanksgiving. So Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving — it was your tenacity that helped bring the country together for a day and to whom we owe this week's celebration!

Head Start and the Changing Demographics of Young Children

Head Start and Early Head Start programs have always understood that high-quality services are grounded in a thorough understanding of the children and families in their communities. And the portrait of our nation's children is changing rapidly. Results from the 2010 Census show a dramatic change in the racial and ethnic composition of children, particularly increases in Hispanic and Asian children and declines in white children (and a slight decline nationally in the number of black children). Other recent national surveys show a sharp increase in the proportion of children, and young children in particular, whose parents are immigrants. Based on these trends and recent Urban Institute research, this paper makes four recommendations about how local Head Start practitioners can best meet the needs of today's young children and their families.

Trajectories of the Home Learning Environment Across the First 5 Years: Associations With Children's Vocabulary and Literacy Skills at Prekindergarten

A study that looked at the home environments of more than 1,850 children from households at or below the federal poverty line showed that factors such as levels of shared reading, exposure to frequent and varied adult speech, and access to children's books had an impact on school readiness skills. "As a parent, it is never too early to engage your child in learning," said Amber Story, a social psychologist and deputy director of the National Science Foundation's Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, which funded the study. "This research suggests that the degree to which parents read and talk to their infant; point and label objects in the environment; and provide engaging books and toys when their child is only 15 months old can have long-lasting effects on the infant's language skills years later."

Learning Time in America: Trends to Reform the American School Calendar

This report shows that while some states and local governments have reduced learning time in response to severe budget pressures — typically by reducing the number of days in the school year — others have prioritized expanding learning time to better prepare students for success in high school, college and the workforce. Schools, school districts, and states around the country are developing and implementing innovative and cost-effective ways to expand learning time for students in an effort to boost students' academic achievement and provide a well-rounded education, according to the most comprehensive study of time and learning policies ever conducted.

Human Voice Recognition Depends on Language Ability

Impaired phonological processing is characteristic of dyslexia and thought to be a basis for difficulty in learning to read. A recent study suggests that how people with dyslexia hear language may be more important than previously realized. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found that people with dyslexia have more trouble recognizing voices than those without dyslexia. Dr. Sally Shaywitz, a director of the Center for Dyslexia and Creativity at Yale University, said the study "demonstrates the centrality of spoken language in dyslexia — that it's not a problem in meaning, but in getting to the sounds of speech."

Go to article about the study >

Picture books in science class

We all love picture books, and hopefully a really good one finds its way into your hands at least once a day. What might happen less frequently is that you use a picture book to help you teach science. I've got a great resource (with a free PDF!) that will hopefully encourage you to use more picture books in science. Picture Perfect Science Lessons describes how a picture book can help guide students through an engaging hands-on inquiry lesson. The lessons are designed for students in grades 3-6, and include reading comprehension strategies. It's a great supplement to your existing science program. Chapter 1 reminds us why picture books are so great in science class. Reasons include:

Picture books provide context for the concepts you're exploring. The colorful pictures and graphics help explain abstract ideas.
A picture book will tend to focus on fewer topics and give more in-depth coverage of a concept.
Reading a picture book in science gives kids a chance to practice reading a somewhat unfamiliar genre.
Picture books can help correct science misconceptions.

Chapter 2, on Reading Aloud, provides ten tips for reading aloud, information about reading comprehension strategies, and tools to enhance comprehension. The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) has a free PDF of the first five chapters of the book. To access it, you'll need to establish an account at NSTA and add the PDF to your virtual professional library. It takes an extra few clicks, but I think the free download is worth it. Looking for ideas for outstanding science trade books for students K-12? Click here to see lists of books by year

The Impact of Two Professional Development Interventions on Early Reading Instruction and Achievement

The report describes the effectiveness of two specific professional development strategies in improving the knowledge and practice of 2nd grade teachers in high-poverty schools and the reading achievement of their students. Both the 8-day content-focused institutes series (treatment A) and the institute series plus in-school coaching (treatment B) produced positive impacts on teachers' knowledge of scientifically based reading instruction and on one of the three instructional practices promoted by the professional development. However, neither intervention resulted in significantly higher student test scores at the end of the one-year implementation period. The institute series plus in-school coaching did not produce a significantly greater impact on teacher practice than the institute series alone.

When is a box not a box?

Recently I watched a small group of young children playing in a childcare center. There were toys and books and lots of other things around but that's not what held their attention. What did? A large (particularly when compared to the children) cardboard box. I didn't hear the conversation because I didn't want to become a distraction to their play. But they were clearly imagining something much more interesting than the box. Had it become a train? A car? A house? I suppose it could have been any one of these or virtually anything else — limited only by the children's imagination. Play has changed over time. There are many more distractions, lots of concerns over safety and well-being, and pressure to perform — much of which impacts children's ability to play independently. Nonetheless, the benefits of creative play are recognized; it has a positive impact on children's social, emotional, and cognitive development. How has our society's affinity for electronic gadgetry had an impact on children's play? Has it changed how adults interact with children and the behaviors that adults model for children? Maybe Antoinette Portis' mini-classic, It's Not a Box (HarperCollins) should become required reading for adults — then shared with children. The book is a simple yet totally recognizable take on imaginative play — with a box. Like the children I watched play, this rabbit/child's box takes him to places that can only be imagined. We should try to give children space for imaginative play. It's when a box is not a box.

What teachers should know about research

Classroom teachers are really busy people. It's often hard enough to keep up with the day to day demands of the classroom, without having to worry about keeping up with the latest research and scientific findings. Any more, it seems as though every product and curriculum out there touts their "research based" foundation. With all the hype about "research based," "scientifically based" and "results driven," is it really worth paying attention to it at all? The answer is yes. An article from the September 2011 issue of the Reading Teacher, 10 Things Every Literacy Educator Should Know About Research (the full PDF is available for free!) distills what educators, including coaches, principals, and specialists should know about research. The authors, Nell Duke and Nicole Martin, also hope to guard against the misuse of research in the classroom. The very first point in the paper (What Research Can Do) describes how sometimes our own experiences and commonsense thinking lead us to wrong conclusions in our teaching. Carefully designed research can help us recognize different approaches that may result in greater learning than the ones we comfortably use. Researchers also have benefits and access that teachers typically don't enjoy — for example, researchers can complete extended studies in homes or libraries, and can distill from those experiences information that couldn't otherwise be gained. 10 Things Every Literacy Educator Should Know About Research also contains a handy note-taking sheet to use when reading a piece of research. Using the guide can help one understand what is and isn't research. With so much out there to read, it's good to recognize when something may be more of an opinion piece or a summary of lots of different research. Those types of writing are still valuable; they're just different than research writing. So, food for thought. Enjoy the free PDF and let me know what you think of the article!

Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Child-Parent Center Early Education Program

Children who attended an intensive preschool and family support program attained higher educational levels, were more likely to be employed, and less likely to have problems with the legal system than were peers who did not attend the program, according to a study funded by the NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The Child-Parent Center (CPC) early education program is a large-scale, federally funded intervention providing services for disadvantaged 3- to 9-year-olds in Chicago. The researchers identified five key principles of the CPC that they say led to its effectiveness, including providing services that are of sufficient length or duration, are high in intensity and enrichment, feature small class sizes and teacher-student ratios, are comprehensive in scope, and are implemented by well-trained and well-compensated staff.

Let's leave the fun in learning

A staff member at a child care center I visited this week looked at me very skeptically when I said that we were going to have a good time together. I was there to introduce the staff to children's books and how media and hands-on activities help lay a firm literacy foundation. For the next hour, we read, watched a short clip from a children's television program, sang, made noise, read some more, discussed educational benefits and generally had a good time. I was heartened when the skeptic in the group actually smiled. Why would anyone be skeptical when learning is associated with fun? When did learning become the antithesis of pleasure? What sucked the light out of education? I suppose it really doesn't matter but let's start taking pleasure in not only what children learn but how they learn it. What might children gain when they and their teachers, child care providers or parents share a book like The Seals on the Bus by Lenny Hort (Holt)? (You can tell from the title it's a take-off on the familiar song, 'The Wheels on the Bus.') Children will recognize the pattern of language, how to predict from textual and visual clues, differentiate sounds, encounter different animals in an unlikely setting — all while having fun and building on (or meeting for the first time) a recognizable tune — and having a good time with an adult. Both children and adults enjoy the sound of the nonsense words, are introduced to a jazz great, and have a ball with Chris Raschka's Charlie Parker Played Be Bop (Scholastic). This picture book was inspired by Parker's rendition of 'A Night in Tunisia.' It's a fascinating book to share in lots of different ways: as a call and response, fast or slow, with exaggeration, and more. (Even if you're familiar with bebop, jazz or scat, it's worth seeing — and hearing — how this book is shared on Between the Lions.) Don't we do more of the things that we enjoy? Keeping or sometimes putting the fun back in learning may make it easier for all of us to do more of it — a crucial notion to share with our children.

Creating Bar Graphs

Real-life scientists use charts and graphs as a way to organize and understand the information they have gathered. Young scientists can do the same! These activities will help you and your child create simple bar charts together, learn the vocabulary of graphing (axis, scale, labels, etc.), and have fun building "on-the-ground" graphs using real objects.

Teaching Flexibly with Leveled Texts: More Power for Your Reading Block

Leveling mania has gripped many elementary schools. The use of carefully leveled texts designed to meet the developmental needs of many readers is a common feature in current reading programs. Although popular leveling systems — Reading Recovery, Benchmark texts, Lexiles — may vary in terms of the number of levels and discrimination among them, at the core they all attempt to classify texts in terms of their perceived difficulties for specific readers. In a desire to match readers to texts, books are scrutinized, classified, and sanctioned for reading only when the match between reader and text has been firmly established.

Top 10 Resources on Speech, Language, and Hearing

Discover the importance of early language, listening, and speaking on literacy development. If you suspect that your child or a student is struggling with speech, language, and/or hearing problems, learn more about testing and assessment, accommodations, and additional professional help. You'll also find tips on reading aloud with children who have speech and language problems or who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions

Families Matter: Designing Media for a Digital Age

A new report from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, focuses on two complementary studies that document how families with young children are integrating digital media into the rhythm of daily life. Results from a survey of more than 800 parents of children ages 3 through 10 reveal how parents nationwide feel about raising children in a digital age. In-depth case studies provide further insight into these statistics, probing how parent attitudes toward technology, along with family values, routines, and structures, are shaping young children's experiences using digital media.

Family Literacy Bag: Weather

Go on a "weather" reading adventure! Teachers can support reading together at home with Reading Rockets family literacy bags — designed to encourage hands-on fun and learning centered around paired fiction and nonfiction books. (Level: First or Second Grade)

Reconsidering Silent Reading

It's called lots of different things: Drop Everything and Read (DEAR), Sustained Silent Reading (SSR), and Million Minutes to name a few. Regardless of the different names, the intent is the same — to develop fluent readers by providing time during the school day for students to select a book and read quietly. Nearly every classroom provides some time during the instructional day for this independent silent reading. Despite its widespread use in classrooms, silent reading hasn't enjoyed much support in the research literature.

Cause and Effect

Discover some simple hands-on activities and games that can be done at home or in the backyard to help your child develop a deeper understanding of cause and effect — and strengthen reading comprehension and scientific inquiry skills.

Supporting Scientific Language in Primary Grades

The framework provided in this article for viewing students' science writing offers teachers the opportunity to assess and support scientific language acquisition.

Learning to Read: Developing 0-8 Information Systems to Improve Third Grade Reading Proficiency

This resource guide provides background on the importance of third grade reading proficiency, resources and promising practices for developing information systems to address third grade reading proficiency, and recommendations for next steps at both the state and community levels.

Reading Intervention Programs: A Comparative Chart

Reading intervention programs play an important role in helping all students become confident, skilled readers. There are lots of programs available to schools. If you are planning to purchase an intervention program for instruction, it is important to do your homework — and get as much information as you can about a program's benefits and effectiveness. This article provides basic comparative information about a range of commercially available intervention programs.

New Roles in Response to Intervention: Creating Success for Schools and Children

The International Reading Association (IRA) convened a group from the special education and regular education associations to craft a set of fact sheets on the roles of the various professionals and parents who are involved in implementing response-to-intervention (RTI) procedures. The outcome of that effort is a collective set of papers that represent each organization's distinctive constituency and viewpoint regarding RTI.

Family and Neighborhood Sources of Socioeconomic Inequality in Children's Achievement

Researchers examined family and neighborhood sources of socioeconomic inequality in children's reading and mathematics achievement using data from the 2000-2001 Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey. The researchers found no inequality in children's achievement by family income when other variables in the model were held constant. Mother's reading scores and average neighborhood levels of income accounted for the largest proportion of inequality in children's achievement. Neighborhood economic status appears to be strongly associated with children's skills acquisition.

Educator's Guide: Identifying What Works for Struggling Readers

This report published on the Best Evidence Encyclopedia (BEE) website provides an extensive review of the research on the outcomes of 27 early childhood programs. Six of the programs produced strong evidence of effectiveness in language, literacy, and/or phonological awareness. All of the effective programs had explicit academic content, a balance of teacher-led and child-initiated activity, and significant training and follow-up support.

Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Learners in the Elementary Grades

The target audience for this guide is a broad spectrum of school practitioners such as administrators, curriculum specialists, coaches, staff development specialists and teachers who face the challenge of providing effective literacy instruction for English language learners in the elementary grades. The guide also aims to reach district-level administrators who develop practice and policy options for their schools.

Using Student Achievement Data to Support Instructional Decision

This guide offers five recommendations to help educators effectively use data to monitor students' academic progress and evaluate instructional practices. The guide recommends that schools set a clear vision for schoolwide data use, develop a data-driven culture, and make data part of an ongoing cycle of instructional improvement. The guide also recommends teaching students how to use their own data to set learning goals.

The Effectiveness of a Program to Accelerate Vocabulary Development in Kindergarten

REL Southeast conducted a randomized control trial in the Mississippi Delta to test the impact of a kindergarten vocabulary instruction program on students' expressive vocabulary — the words students understand well enough to use in speaking. The study found that the 24-week K-PAVE program had a significant positive impact on students' vocabulary development and academic knowledge and on the vocabulary and comprehension support that teachers provided during book read-alouds and other instructional time.

Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention (RtI) and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades

This guide offers five specific recommendations to help educators identify struggling readers and implement evidence-based strategies to promote their reading achievement. Teachers and reading specialists can utilize these strategies to implement RtI and multi-tier intervention methods and frameworks at the classroom or school level. Recommendations cover how to screen students for reading problems, design a multi-tier intervention program, adjust instruction to help struggling readers, and monitor student progress.