READICT for the iPad: Annotation Tools for Reading

I recently downloaded the new app called READICT for my iPad.  It is a new product by Diigo which sold me on it right away. I am interested in annotation and reading tools that really expand what we can do as readers, writers and researchers.

I became hooked on Evernote last year and have used it for research, notetaking, and bookmarking ever since.  I know I have underutilized it and should spend some time learning all that it can do.  But I have really worked to use it in a lot of situations to get a feel for what is possible with notetaking, research and annotations.

I also began using a Kindle awhile ago and am fascinated by the annotation capabilities. Not only am I able to highlight and add notes while I read, but I can see what other popular highlights are if I would like to.  I can set the Kindle to mark passages that are highlighted by a number of people who have also read the book.  It is funny how differently you read when you know someone highlighted a passage.  The Kindle also lets you access your highlights and notes on your amazon account-it can be accessed online.

All of these new ways to annotate seem to give so many new possibilities for thinking about and collaborating around books and online texts. I see huge implications for book clubs, research projects, and strategy work.  Although we are still merely reading a text, these tools allow us to read a text at a deeper level and to share our thinking on a more global level if we want to.

The ways all of these tools allow us to collect readings, annotate, and save notes changes things for me as a reader a bit. And I think apps like this have huge implications for our kids. It is impossible to use apps like this as a reader and then ask our students to read and research in the same ways we always have.  There are very few reasons I can think of for me to ask my students to write down web addresses, keep notes on index cards, or print our articles with the tools available to them.

I have learned that, as a literacy teacher, I need to experience the new tools of literacy in order to think about how to keep literacy learning authentic for our students. It has always important to me to understand my own reading in order to teach well. Adding the new tools that readers use has been an important part of my own learning. I have to admit, it is not always easy.  I tend to want to fall back and rely on the tools I am used to. But I find that small steps help. Last year, when I worked on a paper for a class, I promised myself to only use Evernote to take and keep notes. When I attended November Learning, I did the same thing. I forced myself to use Prezi for one presentation last year which was a great learning experience.  These three promises gave me the opportunity to see what these tools were about with a short-term commitment. So this is how I approach tools of literacy and creation that I know make a difference in what is possible.  I have usually found that with a short time commitment, I fall in love with the tool and find all kinds of uses for it.  I hope to do the same type of thing with Readict. I'll play around with it and then find some project that I'll try using the app.

Readict serves as both a reader and an annotation tool.  The Readict site advertises it with these words:
"Readict is for those who take reading seriously. IT is an iPad reading app that integrates highlighter and 'read later' functionalities to provide efficient and effective reading experiences." I played around with it this week and I see it as a great tool.

I am able to add my own sites/blogs etc. to my reader and these get refreshed each day so that I can access new posts. I can browse the sites to choose the ones I want to go to:

I can add posts to my reading list--those I want to read later or those that I want to hold onto. It is easy to do so with one click. I can then access those later in my Reading List.  (I am not yet sure if the Reading List can be organized in any way. I need to play with that.)

I can use tools such as the highlighter to mark up articles that I am reading. The notes and highlights are saved when the post/article is placed in my Reading List.  This week, I tried to use the tools on a post from Wonderopolis to help me think about ways that students might use this app and online annotation tools in general to support their reading and research.

Readict also allows you to add notes while you read. You can add them to a certain spot, just as you would a sticky note. When you get to the note symbol on your page, you can open your note up. There is quite a bit of space for notes and you can add as many as you read during your reading.

I see huge implications for tools like Evernote, Readict, etc.  Not only are the social bookmarking tools but they give us the ability, as literacy teachers, to help our students track their thinking, save thinking, and share thinking with online tools.  The strategies they use for online reading are most likely very similar to those they use in other reading so having these tools available to them opens up so many opportunities to build understanding.

I think as a literacy teacher, I need to really pay attention to productivity tools that give kids new ways to read with more depth and understanding. I am excited about this one!

THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR. MORRIS LESSMORE-WOW!

Sometimes you read a book and know you are experiencing something amazing.  This is what happened to me after reading the new multimedia book for the iPad called THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR. MORRIS LESSMORE by Moonbot Studios. I heard about this book on Twitter from Jeremy Brueck. If you are not familiar with his work, his site, Raised Digital is a great resource for ebooks for children. Then I learned from this post that the creator is an ex-Pixar designer.  I knew it had to be good.

Here is the thing--there are lots of apps and ebooks being published and it is important to really think about whether the book is good for the glitzy technology or whether it is truly a good story.  I am loving all of the new ways creators are using media to tell stories but many of the new ebooks for kids that I see are of pretty poor quality. Either they are books that have been quickly transformed to an app or they are books created by technology companies who don't always know about child and literacy development. So I was thrilled to see this one. I figured that Pixar people understand story and that is the most important thing, right?

THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR. MORRIS LESSMORE is an incredible story that seems to change things when it comes to what is possible with multimedia storytelling. First of all, it is a great story. I sighed when I finished and I watched other people sigh at the end too.  It is a great story about the power of books and reading and the art (without the animation) is pretty incredible.  The animation and the multimedia effects make the book and the story even better.

I have been paying attention to how using new media draws the reader in and I am amazed at how intuitive this new book is.  I worry when it is the games and outside activities that pull a reader in--so much interaction that doesn't even go along with the story.  But in this book the interaction adds to the story.  Each page of the book gives the reader something that adds a new layer of meaning to the story.  And the way the visuals and the text works, the reader just knows what the interactive invitation is on most pages. It is done that well. Just as Mo Willem's books like DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS invite readers to naturally jump in and participate, yelling out to the pigeon, this multimedia book does the same thing for readers of all ages by inviting readers to interact in a variety of ways. That intuitiveness is important to me.

After I fell in love with the book, I invited (forcibly) several friends and family members to read the book on my iPad. It was too good not to share!  Then, I sat back and watched.  What fascinated me was that I saw the same thing over and over and over.  Whether it was Mary Lee, my 11 year old daughter or my husband, the pattern of the experience was somewhat similar.  Everyone was at first fascinated by the art and the "cool" effects.  They wanted to try everything and touch every page.  But as the story continued, each reader seemed to quiet down a bit. Each reader was immersed in the story and with where it was going.  The animation and interaction continued to be important, but the story took over and they stopped saying, "wow" and "cool" out loud.

Mary Lee enjoying the story:-)

Every interaction in this book is purposeful. There are no games to play and no unrelated actions.   Even the music is connected to the interactivity and adds more meaning to the story. I had not seen that in an ebook before.  (and from what I understand, you can turn off the voice so you can read the words yourself, but still keep the background music on--I need to check that feature out!)  And there are new things to be discovered upon rereading the book.

This is a great story for readers of all ages. It is not short--takes about 15 minutes to read.  It is a picture book that young children can enjoy and one that older readers will experience with depth.  I cannot WAIT to share it with my students in the fall. It is well worth the $4.99 if you have an iPad. From what I understand, it will also be published in several ways and the short film has already won a ton of awards. If you don't have an iPad, I would find a friend who does, and purchase this app for them so that you can experience it yourself! Or I would buy an iPad. This book seems worth an iPad purchase--especially as we watch to see how the concept of books, storytelling and literacy evolve over the next few years. This will be one of the first things I purchase for our iPads at school and I have already ordered a connector so that we can experience the book together on a large screen or Smartboard.

Lots has already been written on this app and it has really changed what is possible with storytelling. So very exciting! You can read more:

Flying Books: The Future of Publishing Has Arrived

Book App Review: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

And even more fun is the Morris Lessmore site which has lots of information on what it took to actually create this app. As the site says, this is "old fashioned and cutting edge at the same time." So true!

Find a way to experience this story ASAP!

PRESS HERE by Herve Tullet

It's not magic -- it's the power of your imagination!





Press Here
by Herve Tullet
Chronicle Books, 2011
review copy provided by the publisher

This book will make you smile. When you rub the dot and it changes color on the next page...when you clap over the dots and they grow...when you tilt the book and they all slide to the other side.

There's an app for that -- your IMAGINATION!!

Poetry Friday -- Roundup is HERE!

A Warm Summer in San Francisco
by Carolyn Miller


Although I watched and waited for it every day,
somehow I missed it, the moment when everything reached
the peak of ripeness. It wasn't at the solstice; that was only
the time of the longest light. It was sometime after that, when
the plants had absorbed all that sun, had taken it into themselves
for food and swelled to the height of fullness. It was in July,
in a dizzy blaze of heat and fog, when on some nights
it was too hot to sleep...

(read the rest of the poem at The Writer's Almanac)

I know the feeling: 

"...I felt tears 

come into my eyes, absurdly, because I knew
that summer had peaked and was already passing
away."

I mark the passing of summer by the length of the vines in the baskets along High Street in Worthington,

and in the march of blooming things -- the Queen Anne's lace has joined the chicory, which will soon be replaced by goldenrod and tall purple ironweed; and I saw my first mimosa tree blooming this week. 

As the seasons turn and the pages on the calendar flip, let's take a minute to slow down and enjoy a variety of poetry. Leave your link in the comments and I'll round up the posts throughout the day. Happy Friday! Happy Poetry Friday!

*    *    *    *

Father Goose starts us off today with his Cozy Morning Cats. (Mine is watching the morning come to life from the windowsill!)

Kelly Polark returns to Poetry Friday (welcome back, Kelly!) with a poem inspired by a reunion.

Myra at Gathering Books shares a moving tribute to a Philippine poet.

Diane has a quartet of Poetry Friday posts: at Random Noodling, she's thinking about what gets in the way of writing poetry; she continues her poetic story of WWII at Kids of the Homefront Army; Kurious Kitty's Kurio Kabinet highlights a book of camping poems by Kristine O'Connell George; and at Kurious K's Kwotes, she has a quote about the efficient use of language in poetry.

David Elzey visits us from camp -- Vermont College of Fine Arts "camp" where he is a "counselor" this year. He created a writer's toolbox version of The Quartermaster's Store. (Here's a bit of the original for reference.)

Gregory K. at Gottabook has a poem after my procrastinatin' heart -- an original, of course!

Tanita reminds us of a great truth today: we are not our bodies. (Welcome back to PF, Cuz!)

At The Poem Farm, Amy has an original about a cherry tree (and a post that will make your mouth water!)

Steven Withrow's original story/riddle poem will get you thinking...and unthinking!

Madigan at Madigan Reads reviews Margarita Engle's newest verse novel, HURRICANE DANCERS. She's thinking possible Newbery contender!

Nancy shares one of her student's poems today -- about clouds.

Carlie wrote an original summer poem -- about the laundry on her clothesline!

Laura Salas links us in to Sylvia Vardell's video clips of the ALA Poetry Blast, and it's not too late to take part in this week's 15 Words or Less poetry.

Katie at Secrets & Sharing Soda reviews Hot Potato: Mealtime Rhymes.

Pentimento shares Bedtime Story For My Son by Peter Redgrove.

Tara is having a Chelsea Morning with Joni Mitchell today.

Maria at Teaching in the 21st Century advocates for Poetry Friday in the classroom. I second that!

The Write Sisters are on the same wavelength as Tanita (see above) with Homage to My Hips and the advice to get over it and "Just. Jump. In!!!!"

The Stenhouse Blog is sharing a poem about...SNOW?!?!?

Rasco From RIF tells about a very famous Swiss story (told in verse)...that I've never heard about until now!

Elaine is toasting marshmallows over at Wild Rose Reader today! YUM!!

At Blue Rose Girls, Elaine shares an original poem about swimming that doesn't require baring one's "mighty hips" (see The Write Sisters, above) or otherwise worrying about body image (see Tanita's post way up above).

Tricia has a poem for her mom.

Tabatha pops in from her blog vacation with a bit of Harry Potter-ness.

Janet highlights MIRROR MIRROR by Marilyn Singer.

Heidi's forgiven her lateness -- she took the whole family to the midnight showing of HP 7.2 last night. Her post is a meditation on incantations -- one in Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Professor McGonagall's in HP.

And something that feels like saving the best for last -- Karissa, at the Iris Chronicles, introduces us to the poet Pamela Johnson Parker, who "finds so many connections between literature, art, poetry, and life. If you are a Wizard of Oz fan, you will enjoy this poem."

SIDEKICKS

Sidekicks by Dan Santant
Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic, 2011
review copy provided by the publisher

Here's another great stand-alone graphic novel that will be a welcome addition to my classroom library.

This is the story of an aging superhero, Captain Amazing, who's going to audition for a new sidekick. (Captain Amazing lives in Metro City, where he belongs to the Society of Superheroes. It's a little like the Imagine Nation in THE ACCIDENTAL HERO.)

This is also the story of the faithfulness of pets. Captain Amazing's dog (Roscoe), hamster (Fluffy), chameleon (Shifty), and his cat (Manny), all have super powers of their own and all are all willing to do whatever it takes to help/cover for Captain Amazing.

The contrasting background in this graphic novel is used mostly for nighttime scenes, but there is one sequence in sepia that is a flashback. It will be interesting to introduce my fourth graders to another way color change in the background is used (most often it denotes dream sequences).

Peanut allergies have an important part in this story. I'm thinking that there are plenty of kids out there who will be heartened by the fact that even a superhero can have a peanut allergy. (Think kryptonite...)

POSTCARDS FROM CAMP by Simms Taback

I am a huge Simms Taback fan.  I love so many of his books-his art always draws me in.  JOSEPH HAD A LITTLE OVERCOAT is the one that seems most loved by children and I can see why.



So, I was thrilled to see a new book by Simms Taback this is a little different from his others--POSTCARDS FROM CAMP.

This is a book told in postcards between a father and a son.  The son, Michael, is at camp and is not quite enjoying himself (he HATES it!) and the father is providing the encouragement he needs to stick it out.  The book is hysterical and I think this is one that older elementary students will enjoy.  The postcards (and a few letters enclosed in envelopes) get more complex as the book goes on. The actual front of the postcards are hysterical in themselves (a few Michael has created himself) and they each tell their own story.  Michael's father's postcards seem to give different messages to his son.  The letters from Michael are often pleading, often relaying terrible camp stories while the letters from his father often look naively on the bright side.

This book has so much potential. Ever since THE JOLLY POSTMAN was published years ago, there have been lots of books filled with letters. But they never quite meet my expectations.  Until this one.  The storyline is fun. The text and illustrations definitely work together and I can see kids spending lots of time reading and rereading these postcards.  In terms of minilesson work, this would be a great book to use with strategy work--so much reading between the lines is needed to understand what is really happening!

This may be my new favorite Simms Taback book!

GRIN AND BEAR IT by Leo Landry

When I saw reviews of GRIN AND BEAR IT by Leo Landry on GoodReads, I was expecting a picture book. So, when it arrived, I was excited to see that it was an early chapter book instead. It is a short chapter book--48 pages and 7 chapters.  Each page has a colorful illustration and most of the illustrations provide good picture support for the text.  Most pages have about 1/2 page or less of text.

Bear is the main character in the book and he is a comedian. He writes great jokes.  But he is a little shy. He so wants to tell jokes and make his friends laugh, and the jokes are pretty amusing. Bear practices and practices but when he finally has the chance to be on stage with his friends in the audience, he gets stage fright.  He is very upset and runs off but things turn out in the end in a happy and surprising way.

I can see 7 and 8 year-olds LOVING this book.  Bear writes and practices new jokes throughout the book, so those jokes that crack 7 and 8 year-olds up, are woven throughout the story. Bear's jokes seem to have nailed that second grade humor so well!

This seems to be a great fit for students moving beyond Henry and Mudge--there are lots more words per page, the phrasing support is not there in the way the text is set up on the page and the storyline and vocabulary are more complex.  I see this as a book for kids who are ready to get started on chapter books that take more than one day to read, but who do not yet have the stamina to stick with longer series books.  This one is appropriate for younger readers who are ready for chapter books. It would also make a fun read aloud!

Playing With Words--A Picture Book With Fun Plurals!

I was determined not to buy a book last week when I popped into a bookstore before meeting a friend for dinner. But I could not resist adding one more book to my Word Play collection.  One Foot, Two Feet:  An EXCEPTIONal Counting Book by Peter Maloney and Felicia Zekauskas is a counting book that celebrates irregular plural nouns.

Each number is introduced with a single object--such as "One Foot".   The illustration of a single foot shows through a cut-out frame in the page.  When the reader turns the page, he/she realizes that only part of the illustration has been visible and the one object turns into a group of objects--such as "Two Feet".  The book works its way from 1-10 (and then a billion:-) starting back at one for each new object.

Readers are introduced to words like mouse and mice, ox and oxen, octopus and octopi and more.

This book can be enjoyed in so many ways.  Without even thinking about the irregular plurals, this is a fun counting book for young children.  The numbers, the groups, and the illustrations make it a great concept book.  But the irregular plurals make it very unique.  I think this one will be a hit for so many reasons:-)

BAD ISLAND

Bad Island

by Doug TenNapel

Graphix/Scholastic, 2011

review copy provided by the publisher

In the same way that it's hard to find stand-alone novels for the die-hard series reader, it's hard to find stand-alone graphic novels for the graphic novel series reader. In my 4th grade classroom, I work with series readers of all kinds to venture into non-series books. One is not better than the other, it's just that they each take some very different reading strategies.

Kids will be drawn to Bad Island by the monsters and the fight scenes and the sight gags, but it's a pretty complicated story that I will want to make sure I conference with readers about when they've read it or are reading it.

I will want to know what they think of the characters and the way they change or don't change. This is the story of a dysfunctional family that goes on a sailing trip that only the dad wants to do. They get shipwrecked in a storm on an island that turns out to be a monster that was exiled from another world long ago. The dad and the brother in this story change and grow in satisfying ways, but the mother's character is pretty flat, and the little sister is just plain annoying and weird all the way through.

Readers need to know how to attend to the back-story of the monster and how he came to be an island in a different world. This other story is told on pages with a tan background, so readers of BabyMouse who know that the dream sequences are always in pink should be able to make that connection. But readers also need to be able to put together the clues from the back-story with clues from the family's story to figure out how the two connect.

As always, reading a graphic novel is way more than just looking at pictures. If you don't often read graphic novels, but your students do, you need to make a point read some and think about the strategies you are using as a reader, and the ways you can teach into the reading your students (sometimes/often) love best.

Check out Adventures in Graphica by Terry Thompson for more ways to use graphic novels in your reading workshop.

Fuse #8's review here.
Review from HighLow Comics here.

Poetry Friday -- Seeing Instead of Just Looking

To His Piano

by Howard Nemerov

Old friend, patient of error as of accuracy,
Ready to think the fingerings of thought,
You but a scant year older than I am
.

.

.

To see you standing there for six decades
Containing chopsticks, Fur Elise, and
The Art of Fugue in your burnished rosewood box,
As well as all those years of silence and
The stumbling beginnings the children made

.

.

.

(the whole poem is at The Writer's Almanac)

Men Throwing Bricks
by Michael Chitwood

The one on the ground lofts two at a time
with just the right lift for them to finish
their rise as the one on the scaffold turns
to accept them like a gift and place them
on the growing stack. They chime slightly
on the catch. You'd have to do this daily,
morning and afternoon, not to marvel.

(this poem can be found at The Writer's Almanac)

There is such a beauty in the ordinariness of life -- the things around us that we sometimes look at without seeing, but which hold so much meaning inside our memories -- watching others do hard work with ease and grace (or finding those moments of ease and grace in one's own work).

Ordinary: the screen door to the back yard of my childhood home. And yet, when I look at that picture, I hear the sound of the door handle, and feel the lush grass on my bare feet, the heat of the morning sun on the patio.

Elaine has today's Poetry Friday roundup at Wild Rose Reader.