Reading Rumpus: Literacy Enrichment

Showing posts with label Literacy Enrichment. Show all posts

A Word About Authentic Texts Used As Mentor Texts

Authentic Texts Are Best!

It occurred to me today that I assume those reading my ramblings on Reading Rumpus simply know how to use authentic literature as mentor texts. That was an assumption I made whilst teaching preservice teachers last year - and it was a poor one. Therefore, I thought I should spend a moment talking about selecting authentic literature for instructional use and how most of my full book reviews (not the mini-reviews) include some sort of authentic text teaching ideas, even if I haven't explained HOW to use them as such.

In the previous summer literacy article, we examined the importance of field trips for building vital background knowledge. An extension on the summer field trip is to buy the child a cheap disposable camera (or even a cheap digital in today’s tech-savvy world) and let them take lots of pictures during their summer excursions.

The key to turning the simple act of taking a picture into a literacy activity lies in developing the photos and planning for more than a shoebox full of half-remembered shots.

What to do with all those shots?

1. As you enjoy your summer trips, encourage children to take lots of photographs. Make sure to point our science and nature themes like birds, flowers, rocks, etc…

2. Paste these photos into a summer journal (previously discussed in the first part of this series here).

3. Add souvenirs from the trip, like small rocks, shells, flowers, etc.. to the summer journal pages. Hint: tape seems to work better than glue.

4. Have the child write a fond remembrance of the day or something they observed (scientific discovery) next to the photograph. They can even cut out the photograph's focal point and illustrate their own version of its surroundings.

5. Remind them to use the senses in their writings. Examples: “When we went to the beach the sand felt all hot and scratchy under my feet.” Or “The boardwalk had lots of food stands. The hot dogs smelled so yummy.” Or “We heard this bird chirping and I just had to snap his picture. He sounded like a tea kettle getting ready to boil”

6. As always, a book makes an excellent addition to this activity. Visit the local library or bookstore to find books that match the photographs your child has taken. Or even check out a book on photography.

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Summer literacy activitiy: Field trips of knowledge

Everyday summer activities offer excellent opportunities for increasing a child’s background knowledge; and, there’s an abundance of research supporting the importance of varied and strong background information on future learning success. It just makes sense: the more a child learns in real life, the more he’ll carry into a classroom-learning environment. So, what’s the best prescription for building background knowledge this summer? Simply enjoy a full summer: Play in the park, visit the zoo, watch a baseball game, thrill to the roller coasters at a theme park or go on a nature walk.

In other words, do all the fun stuff you’d normally do, but reinforce the importance of those activities by taking note.

1. As you walk, ride, swim or watch, talk about it. Ask questions. Discuss the science behind the roller coaster, the white fur on a polar bear at the zoo, the insects buzzing all around your picnic.

2. Make notes in a question/answer book either during or after the activity. Illustrate the sites you’ve visited. Press flowers within the pages and write descriptions of the events surrounding the day.

3. Take your experiences a step further by visiting your local bookstore, library or even educational website to find information on the field trips you’re about to take or the ones you’ve already taken. A physics book on roller coasters, a story about visiting the ocean, a rulebook on the ins and outs of baseball or a graphic novel about Abe Lincoln will seem all the more relevant when combined with a field trip.

By coupling a book with an actual summer experience, you are reinforcing the importance of the activity, leaving a concrete reminder for when the subject is introduced within the classroom environment.

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Next up in the Summer Literacy Series: A Photographer Remembers

Note: This activity provides practice in mastering skills included in Florida’s Reading/Language Arts State Standards. For more on Florida’s Sunshine State Standards: www.floridastandards.org
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Summer literacy activitiy: Scavenge for the answers

They wait all school year for it. They squeal as the final school bell rings, “Summer Vacation!” Yet, we’re only a few weeks into the break and already they’re moaning, “I’m bored!” Parents swore that this year would be different. “No more cartoons and video games!” they promised themselves.

Thus begins my summer literacy series: activities that promote family fun time and increase essential literacy skills.

We’ll begin today with an activity for the entire summer: Scavenge for the answers!

1. Hang a sheet of paper and a pencil in handy place (like on the refrigerator). Each day, as you go about your normal summer fun, compile a list of questions. When a question arises, make a big to-do about adding it to the list. Examples: How do fireflies glow? Why does water get in your ears when you swim? Who invented hot dogs? Which star is the brightest?

2. Buy or make a fancy decorated answer book or folder to record your findings. On a specified day (perhaps bi-weekly), copy the list, tape it inside the answer book and head out for the local library.

3. At the library, help the kids look for nonfiction books, magazines and even DVDs that match the questions. Don’t forget to ask the youth librarian for assistance. Older kids can also search kid-safe Internet sites for answers. You can start your safe web search on the American Library Association’s Great Web Sites For Kids link page: HERE.

4. Either check out the books or settle into one of the nice big tables that are usually located in the youth section. Assist the kids in finding the answers, allowing them to write the answers (in their own words) inside their special answer book. They may also enjoy illustrating the answers.

At summer’s end, you’ll have a fantastic memory book as well as a lot of new background knowledge to begin the school year off right!

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© 2007-2009 Cheryl Vanatti for www.ReadingRumpus.com
Review also posted as National Reading Examiner.
*Photo courtesy Franklin Park Library via Flickr Commons

Fluency: The Missing Link

One of my soapbox reading education topics is the decline in reading fluency due to the shortage of students hearing words read correctly. Mom & Dad are busier than ever and -gasp- perhaps they might not be the best oral readers themselves. Some students sit in a classroom where correct modeling might happen twice a day, the rest of the time they have to listen to Suzy struggling, haltingly through The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe until they nod off at their desk.

I am here today to sing the praises of recorded stories. You can get almost any book in electronic or CD form. Load up those iPods! Play Diary of a Wimpy Kid from the car stereo! Let them HEAR good words told smoothly, with inflection, with panache, with proper grammatical pausing! Soapbox end :-)

For a more structured look at recorded reading, here are a few tips:

*Make sure your young reader has a copy of the recording. It is important to make a connection with the text and the sounds. The struggling reader might start to daydream, but re-center them on the page when necessary.

*Pause frequently to discuss the story. Ask what is happening. See if they caught little hints and funny spots. Ask them how they know what they know (what in the text gave it away). Make predictions about what will happen next.

*Have the reader reread the last section aloud. Do not stop them if they fumble, but assist if they get stuck. Never ever criticize the reader. EVER. If they struggle, ask what was hard for them and would they like to listen to that section again?

*For younger students, read aloud along with them in a chanting sort of manner. This works especially well with poetry/rhymes and song lyrics.

Although NCLB covers repeated readings and silent reading as ways to improve fluency, I feel that just listening to positive models is one of the easiest ways to improve fluency. I have met a ton of kids who tell me that their parent never reads to them and that they have never, really, heard the way reading should sound (not enough to feel comfortable, anyway).

So next time you are trying to entertain them as you drive about, instead of popping in a DVD, pop a CD in the stereo :-)
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Great Reading Sites For Kids

One of my personal favorites is Scholastic Kids. It's filled with games, book guides, author information, contests and a forum to discuss books with other kids. There are tabs at the top for parents and teachers filled with great stuff too!

Another great site I happened upon targets those reluctant reader boys. It's written by author extraordinaire, Jon Scieszka. Head over to Guys Read for book recommendations and club news geared toward the fellas.

A site geared toward the teen reader, and with a slightly female slant, is Teen Reads. There are contests, reading guides, author interviews, book clubs and tons of stuff all about young adult literature. A really excellent site!

Though I don't know much about Sylvan's Book Adventure site, it looks very promising. There are also sections for parents and teachers as well as quizzes, prizes and teams for kids to join.

I think they're all worth checking out :-)
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Great supplemental materials for Number The Stars by Lois Lowry

Lois Lowry, one of my favorite authors, has posted what could be some wonderful supplemental material for her Newbery winning book, Number The Stars. A character in the novel, Peter, was inspired by a real person. Lowry's posted excerpts from personal letters Peter wrote during his time imprisoned by the Nazis. [Here's the link to her site]

For anyone who has somehow managed to miss this absolutely amazing book:
From Publishers Weekly: "Set in Nazi-occupied Denmark in 1943, this 1990 Newbery winner tells of a 10-year-old girl who undertakes a dangerous mission to save her best friend. Ages 10-14." It's this and SO much more. Every student should have exposure to this book.

Order: Number The Stars here
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National Poetry Month: Ideas galore all across the web

Here is a hodge-podge of sites for my teacher friends:

Poets.org has great ideas for incorporating poetry ---> Here
and also on conducting a poetry read-a-thon -----> Here

and ways to get the community involved ---> Here

and a list of cities with poetry activites ----> Here

Scholastic has a great support site with grade level resources -----> Here

Teacher Vision has awesome poetry podcasts ----> Here plus... poems of the day, lesson plans and slideshows -----> Here

Teacher Planet has complied stuff from around the web -----> Here

Education World has stuff ---> Here

Harcourt Books has a downloadable curriculum kit ----> Here

Read Write Think is stocked with a roundup of sites ---> Here

Finally, hurry on over to author Karma Wilson's blog to enter for a chance to win a signed copy of Bear Feels Sick. I couldn't find a deadline so you'd better hurry -----> Here
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Audible Kids: What's So Great?

I have long been a proponent of using audio books in the classroom, especially with struggling readers. In so many instances, children are just not hearing the way correct reading should sound. But instead of jumping on my soapbox, I decided to share some great news!

Audible has just launched a children's literature section: AudibleKids. After perusing the site for a few hours, I can exceedingly hype the site! What's so good?

There are categories for age and grade level as well as genre.
Each title has a nice little preview and it's enough to give you a good feel for the narration style.
The price is reasonable.
Members, a whole social network of children's book enthusiasts, can write reviews, recommend titles, and share with friends. How do you find these friends? Well ... your profile links you to others with similar interests and same age children.
Parents can create accounts with content and spending restrictions for their children.
There are exclusive books and 99 cent specials.
And if you scroll to the very bottom of the page, RIF features a great selection of freebies (hope this is a rotating thing!). A great resource for reading teachers everywhere!

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