GIVING NEW READERS A DIET OF MORE THAN LEVELED BOOKS

I just wrote an article for Choice Literacy about the limits of leveled books. It includes a booklist of great books for new readers if you are interested. Here is the beginning of it.


GIVING NEW READERS A DIET OF MORE THAN LEVELED BOOKS

I am going on another diet. Not one of my favorite things, but something I have to do. I know that for the diet to last through all of the weight I need to lose, I need a little variety. I can't eat lettuce, grilled chicken and oatmeal for months at a time. When I have gone on diets without variety, I have always ended up deciding that I'd rather just be a little plump. It isn't really worth it.

I am wondering if this is the same thing that our youngest readers feel when they are given only a diet of leveled books. I wonder if after months and months of leveled books as their only independent reading material, they feel as we chronic dieters do. Do they watch other students in the room reading "real books" in the same way that we watch size 5 colleagues in the lounge eating brownies? Do they think maybe they'd just rather not be readers? (Click here for the rest of the article on the Choice Literacy Website.)

Poetry Friday: Tour America

Tour America: A Journey Through Poems and Art
by Diane Siebert
Illustrated by Stephen T. Johnson
Review copy courtesy of Chronicle Books

Poetry Friday roundup this week at Big A little a.


Here's another book that would prompt these questions for my students: "Where in the library should this book be shelved? Is it poetry? Nonfiction? Geography? Art?"

Our social studies standards say that every fifth grader in the state should be able to

Use maps to identify the location of:
a. The three largest countries of North America;
b. The 50 states of the United States;
c. The Rocky and Appalachian mountain systems;
d. The Mississippi, Rio Grande and St. Lawrence rivers;
e. The Great Lakes.

Wouldn't it be fun to study the way Siebert and Johnson have highlighted, with poetry and art, the 22 states in TOUR AMERICA, and then try to make a supplemental volume that features the other 28 states? Or make a volume specific to the natural beauty, the historical significance, the unique events, and the known (or unknown landmarks) of your state or city?

Author Interview

Awards: School Library Journal Starred Review, Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book, Cybils Honor Book

Reviews:
Wordswimmer
Bartography
propernoun

Setting Reading Goals

I was intrigued when I read this post by Jennifer at Kiddosphere. (thanks for the link, Jen Robinson!) Jennifer wants to read all of the Beverly Clary books before Cleary's birthday on April 12.

It seems that as readers, we set these kinds of goals every day. Fuse #8 has mentioned her goal of reading all of the Newbery books.

Years ago, once I realized that I hadn't really "read" any of the classics in high school or college---just got through the classes, I decided to read one Classic a Year. did this for a few years.

Then there was Mother Reader's 48 Hour Book Challenge--a competitive kind of goal setting thing. Shouldn't that be coming up again soon?

And then, of course, there is the goal that got this whole blog started--Mary Lee and I reading as many great middle grade novels in hopes that we would have read the Newbery before it is announced.


My students set these type of goals for themselves when it is part of our classroom talk. They find a series or an author and decide that reading the whole series is a good goal. Or they might want to try a genre that they have never tried.

Falling in love with a series or books by a certain author seem to inspire lots of goals.

I'm interested in goals that readers set for themselves--just for fun! If you have a minute to share your goals in a comment or on your blog, please do.

The Single, Most Important Thing a Great Teacher Knows

You cannot ask your students to do what you don't do.

NYC Teacher elaborates eloquently on this truth.

E.B. White Read Aloud Award

Don't know how this one passed me by: The E.B. White Read Aloud Award.

The Association of Booksellers for Children (ABC), founded in 1984, is a national organization made up of independent children's booksellers and other individuals that support independent bookselling. The E. B. White Read Aloud Award, established in 2004, honors a book that reflects the universal read aloud standards that were established by the work of the beloved author E. B. White in his classic books for children: Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan. Each year members nominate a list of new books that they believe most embody this ideal, and a committee of booksellers determines the winner. The award is announced annually on the first Monday in April. In 2006, in recognition of the fact that reading aloud is a pleasure to be enjoyed by readers of all ages, the award was expanded to include two categories, The E. B. White Read Aloud Award for Picture Books, and the E. B. White Read Aloud Award for Older Readers. ABC members chose books for distinction based on their universal appeal as a "terrific" book to read aloud.

I found this year's winners here.

Picture Book: Houndsley and Catina by James Howe

Older Readers: Alabama Moon by Watt Key

Social Studies and Science in Literature

Miss Rumphius has been thinking lots about how and when (and if) we teach science and social studies in elementary classrooms, which books might be best for instruction in these areas (math, too), and the power of letting kids play outside.

Here's some good news from my 5th grade classroom on all of those topics:

Before break, my students planted terrariums as a part of their environments unit in science. Every group got the same size container, the same amount of soil and the same kind and number of seeds. Each container got roughly the same amount of light. The variables in this experiment were how they planted the seeds and how much water they gave their seeds. We did observations sporadically and in no consistent format. I told them to date each entry, to write down how much they were watering, and to measure their new plants, but it became obvious that they didn't always take accurate notes. They also experimented with ways to keep their observations: on paper in their Environments Journal, with words in the Memos application on their handhelds, with pictures drawn in the Notepad application on their handhelds, with photos taken with the digital camera on their handhelds, or some combination of methods. When they tried to graph the amounts and dates they had watered the first terrariums, and the growth of their plants, it became clear to them that consistent, regular observations are important if you are going to do anything with your data!

After considering the biotic and abiotic factors in their terrariums, the students made plans for new, more successful terrariums to be planted after break. They also insisted on a regular schedule for observations, and we will create an observation form so that they are sure to gather all the information they will need when it comes time to share the results of their new experiment.

Sometimes, no matter how much instructional time it takes, it's important to deliberately plan for a failure so that students have the opportunity to do an experiment over again and improve their methods. (No, I didn't tell them that I planned for the first terrarium experiment to fail!! Sometimes it's also important to keep your teaching cards hidden!)

To give them a bigger example of the fact that science is not a tidy, works-the-way-you-planned kind of discipline, I read Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs! by Kathleen Kudlinkski. I also want them to know that science is not DONE. There will be lots left to explore and discover when they grow up and become scientists.

I also read them A Seed is Sleepy and An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston. I asked them where they thought these books should be shelved in a library: fiction? nonfiction? science? gardens? birds? My students were in agreement that the two are nonfiction because of the inclusion of facts in the captions, but neither is the kind of book you would use to do research. Both books sparked lots of great discussion. At one point I was reminded of Scrotumgate. A student said humans don't have eggs. I corrected him and said that human females do indeed have eggs, and the student interrupted me to say, "yes, in their stomachs." No, I told him, not in our stomachs (that's where we digest food), in our ovaries. At a swift pace to head off any goofy embarrassment, I reminded them that even flowering plants have ovules and ovaries -- we learned that when we dissected flowers in 4th grade. The large picture of a chicken embryo in an egg caused another student to worry that he was eating baby chickens when he ate eggs, so we talked about the difference between a fertilized and an unfertilized egg. And then, thank goodness, it was time for P.E.!

About 1/3 of my class is involved in a weekly science enrichment pull-out. The rest of the class is working on a project for our preschool and kindergarten classes. I named the project "I See Science." We are taking pictures of anywhere in our everyday environments where we see science. (After another week or two of gathering pictures, we will create a picture book or multimedia project to share with the little kids.) An electrical outlet (the study of electricity), the geranium (biology), computers (computer science). Last week we took our cameras outside. We saw bumblebees, mud wasp nests, hyacinths blooming, a preying mantis egg case, chickadees, and budding trees and bushes. On the playground equipment, we found simple machines: ramps and pendulums and screws. I think they're getting the idea that wherever you look, you see science!

Rather than trying to cram the rest of this year's social studies content into the three weeks after break (before testing), I am going to use historical fiction (Blood on the River: James Town 1607 is our current read aloud), short nonfiction, and some videos and dvds to provide an overview of the remaining topics to build background knowledge that will help me to TEACH the concepts required by the state (after testing) rather than just COVERING the material (before testing). I'm really excited to share a book I found last week at Cover to Cover: Everybody's Revolution: A New Look at the People Who Won America's Freedom by Thomas Fleming. This book is full of great pictures, the text is very accessible, and his premise is perfect for my multicultural, multilingual classroom: What does the American Revolution have to do with me? Fleming highlights the contributions to the American Revolution of immigrants, blacks, Native Americans, women and children.

So that's my (rather windy) answer to the study that says we're not teaching science and social studies and our kids rarely get a chance to think.

Cracking Open the Author's Craft by Lester Laminack

I just received a copy of Lester Laminack's newest book for teachers called CRACKING OPEN THE AUTHOR'S CRAFT: TEACHING THE ART OF WRITING. For those of you who know Lester Laminack, he is a children's author, an author of professional books, and an amazing speaker. Because of this combination, he has written this amazing professional book that allows us to get inside of the decisions he made when he wrote his picture book SATURDAYS AND TEACAKES. 

Since SATURDAYS AND TEACAKES is such a great book, it makes sense to teach students about the craft of writing using words from the author. CRACKING OPEN THE AUTHOR'S CRAFT digs into Laminack's decisions and gives lessons to go along with several "visual and audible" crafts. Following each lesson, we also get other books that we can use for follow-up lessons on the same topic. Did I tell you the best part? It comes with a DVD of Lester reading aloud SATURDAYS AND TEACAKES and teaching the lessons himself. He tells us at the beginning of the book that the book/DVD set can be used flexibly. As teachers, we can watch the DVD to hear the language Lester would use when sharing the craft. Or, we could just pop in the DVD and have Lester teach the lessons to our students. It is a really unique book and Lester Laminack is one of the few people who has the expertise to do something like this. He is an expert in the field of literacy and he is also a great children's author. The combination allowed him to create this professional resource on writing. The book is not due in stores for a little while, but it is definitely worth keeping on your shopping list:-)

A GREAT PARENT RESOURCE

I just remembered one of my favorite resources: READING AND WRITING: WHERE IT ALL BEGINS. This is a publication put together by a local professional organization (The Literacy Connection). It is a great resource of parents and teachers and anyone who works with young children. I include it in all of my baby gifts. Lots of schools around here buy it for all of the Kindergarten and preschool students. It is a great parent resource for schools and libraries. Did I tell you the best part--it is only $1.50 per booklet.

The book is packed with information about ways to support your child as they become readers and writers-natural, authentic things to do when reading and talking about books. It has just been updated and there is also a Spanish version.

I know this must sound like a big advertisement--it is just such a great resource and when I saw it sitting on the counter at Cover to Cover, I realized that I needed to spread the word!

The Story Behind the Poetry Friday Quiz

I was taking an English course as an independent study in my sophomore or junior year of college. I don't remember why and I don't remember the prof's name. I do remember what it felt like to be substantially behind my peers in the honors program who had earned their honored positions by graduating at the top of competitive urban private and public high schools. I was salutatorian without trying very hard (and without learning very much) in a small rural high school.

By the time I took that independent study, I was well aware of my deficiencies. The professor rubbed salt in those wounds by having me read a paper that Dave Von Goldenboy had written so that I could see an example of GOOD writing.

And then he recited NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY and he asked me if the poem is pessimistic or optimistic. I figured the right answer was probably "pessimistic." Sinking to grief? Dawn going down to day? The gold not staying? But since there was no way I could ever live up to the Dave Von Goldenboy standard, I took the plunge: I said the poem was optimistic, and then I made up my reasons why right there on the spot.

Thanks to all of you who left comments which vindicate my stance. However, I'm realizing as I write this that that moment in my life as a learner was monumental not because of my stubborn, youthful perversity, but because it marks the moment when I started thinking for myself and not just giving the answers I thought the teacher wanted.

Teachers According to Clementine

I just finished THE TALENTED CLEMENTINE by Sara Pennypacker. I must say, I just can't get enough of Clementine. What a great character! As expected I totally love this second Clementine book. I was so excited when I saw it at the bookstore yesterday. The bad news is, I now have to wait for the next Clementine book. Really, this character is, for sure, one of my favorites of all time. She is full of life and the writing continues to be brilliant.

And, I think we need to add Clementine's teacher to our list of Cool Teachers in Children's Literature. What a great teacher! I can't seem to find a name but he definitely belongs on our list.

Now, Clementine seems to have teachers all figured out. Here are some things she says about us in this latest book. It is a little frightening, but she is usually pretty accurate. See what you think.

"I have noticed that teacher get exciting confused with boring a lot."

"But he ignored me, which is called Getting on with the Day when a teacher does it, and Being Inconsiderate when a kid does it."

"My teacher looked at me as if he suddenly had no idea how I'd gotten into his classroom."

"In school, my teacher started in with the 'Talent-Palooza' business so fast I thought it was the last part of the Pledge of Allegiance."

"...so I went up to his desk. I made quick secret-eyes all around behind there to look for the pizza and doughnuts everyone knows teachers eat when kids aren't looking..."

"There should be a rule about that. No laughing for teachers."

"My teacher made a face at Margaret's teacher. It meant they didn't believe that for a minute, but they had to say it anyway."

"If a teacher can have a substitute teacher, how come a kid can't have a substitute kid?"

"When I got back, Margaret's teacher gave me a look that said she was going to remember all this nonsense when I got into her grade."