Tip of the Week
summer reading
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Kim M. Bennett, Northside Consulting: Posted on Friday, April 20, 2012 7:59 AM
 What's your favorite recommended read-aloud of all time? Post a link and a short description, with the hashtag #favoritereads to this page... |
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Kim Bennett: Posted on Friday, June 24, 2011 9:56 AM
Teachers and parents often struggle to create a love of reading in young boys. In fact, most of the books that we use in classrooms are selected by their (female) teachers, and appeal more to the sensibilities of the girls in our classrooms more than the boys.
Any of you who either teach or live with a boy from the age of 7 to 27 know that they often operate under a different set of humor rules. For example, all of my boys learned magically how to make rude noises with their armpits (and even the back of the knee!) without begin taught by anyone. An informal survey of the adult males in my life showed me that about 99% of the men I know ALSO know how to do this. For a comparison, count the number of girls and women that report being able to (or even WANTING) to do this. See what I mean?
My experience as a mother and teacher also showed me that boys really like books that come in a series. I can't explain why -- maybe it's the competition with their friends ("I'm on Night of the Ninjas... which one are you reading?"). Maybe it's because the books in series tend to be a series of adventures, which appeal to boys. At any rate, I did well if I bought up a bag of series books at a tag sale -- they flew off the shelf in the hands of my boys.
 Junie B. Jones is one of those kids that stays in a grade a long time, at least in books! The first Junie B. Jones book starts with her entering school as a kindergartner. After 17 books about her kindergarten days, there are 10 in the Junie B. Jones, First Grader series, all written by Barbara Park.
While the main character is a girl, and girls definitely like these books, Junie B. is not your typical girl. Kindergarten through second grade boys love to hear Junie B. tell a classmate, "How would you like me to kick you in your can?" She also has a very interesting perspective on how life and school work, and is always kind of, sort of, in trouble for things like forgetting the "assembly rules" and such.
A good series for 1st and 2nd graders.
 There are currently eight books in this collection, with two (reportedly) in the works by author Dav Pilkey. I know of parents and classroom teachers who banned these books from their kids' hands. Their reasons included misspellings (the books are based on a comic-book series that the two main characters create, and they are known more for their pranks than their literary prowess), irreverence (you know, the "kids against teachers kind") and many, many references to "potty words." Anyone who has taught kids of any age, especially boys, know that potty words, all by themselves, are funny. Whatever the objections, boys eat these books up. Good for great 1st grade readers through 3rd graders.
 I get to visit a lot of schools, and all age ranges of kids. Everywhere I go, I have seen one of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books in the hands of most boys, from grades 2 through 6. This seems to be the next level up for former fans of the Captain Underpants books (in fact, when I was in a second grade classroom last week, one boy was reading a Diary of a Wimpy Kid book that had circulated around his table of friends, and, when I asked if they liked Captain Underpants, too, they all quietly pulled out one of those from their desk, as well!
This, and the aforementioned Captain Underpants series, are a good way to introduce the genre of graphic novel to elementary kids.
 There are a whopping 165 books, written under various titles, in the Goosebumps collections, by R. L. Stine. They are not difficult reads, and are consumed in mass quantities by kids in grades 3-6. The content is definitely suspenseful, and the covers and titles, alone, can cause anxiety in some more sensitive readers. (My own 2nd grader, who is a voracious reader, saw this series at the library, recognizing it as a popular read among kids his age, so he took one home. He read half in bed one night, and was up the rest of the night. He asked me to take it back to the library!).
They are not inappropriate reads for young children, but you will have to judge your own child's sensitivities and likes.
 For upper elementary and early middle school children, or for read-aloud to the nature-lovers in your house or classroom, there is the Redwall series, by Brian Jacques. Set in the countryside, these books tell various tales of the inhabitants of a "town" set in and around an old stone wall. It has lots of things that boys love in a book: animals, adventure, sword-fighting, drama and intrigue, heroes and villains. No magic here, just animals acting like people. My oldest son was a Redwall fan as a child, and, when he moved into his first apartment, I saw his box of books carefully move along with him.
That made his teacher-mom very happy... |
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Posted on Sunday, June 12, 2011 11:58 AM
 I used to love this time of year, as a teacher (I still do, as a consultant!). We would be wrapping up assessments and grades, and reflecting about our work. Children would be comparing a September writing piece to a May writing piece, and writing about how much they had grown and learned over the year. We would be pulling out those measurement explorations from the start of the year, and measuring how much we had grown in height, how much higher we could count without help, how many math facts we had mastered. We would be reviewing our reading logs from the year, categorizing our books, and making a list of recommendations for the incoming class for their book boxes. What a great way to spend the last days of school!
I know, as a teacher, I, too, would be reflecting and planning for next year. I would already have eyed one professional book to take home and digest over the summer. I would be itchy to see the list of kids I had coming the next year, and already would have begun forming flexible groups for reading, writing, and math, if only in my head. I would be carefully packing up learning centers as we wrapped them up, deciding which ones were "keepers," which needed "tweaking," and which were ideas, but maybe not great ones.
 Tip of the Week: Plan Ahead
As you pack up your classroom, set aside some time to think ahead to 2011-12. And consider these ideas:
Bring more social studies into you language arts block.
- An unintended consequence of high-stakes testing is the squeezing of science, social studies and health into ever-shrinking chunks of the daily schedule.
- Children need to learn about themselves, their culture, their family and community, and then how they fit into time, place and the world. We are creating the future citizens (and rulers!) of our planet. That takes more than oral reading fluency and the ability to solve strand 25 questions in math.
- The ideas and strategies in Teaching History to Your Homeschooling Child, Grades K-3 also work for integrating social studies into your primary grades language arts curriculum. Do some reading up on this over the summer.
Bring more culture, diversity and global perspective into your lessons.
- Bill Howe, from the Connecticut State Department of Education, hosts an outstanding blog on all things multicultural. His most recent post is a young woman singing the National Anthem of the United States, in Lakota.
- Check out his blog, Bill Howe on Multicultural Education. Better yet, subscribe to his newsletter, and you'll get notice of his postings in your mailbox, weekly. Great for your own learning, and also great for sharing with students.
Do a little reading over the summer.
- If you want a quick read: The Daily Five, by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser ("the 2 sisters," as they refer to themselves).
- Check out their website, The Daily Cafe, for many resources on elementary literacy.
- Then, sign up for their weekly newsletter and you will get a "Tip of the Week" in your email box.
- Click on the image for ordering information.
- For something that you will have to ponder over a bit before putting into practice: Words Their Way (Donald R. Bear, Marcia Invernizzi, Shane Templeton, Francine Johnston).
- Includes the Developmental Spelling Inventory, a great tool for establishing the overall literacy level of your students, and for determining a word study focus for your small-group guided reading.
- Activities, word sorts, included on CD with the book. Click on the image for ordering information.
- For a book that will make you go, "Hmmmmm..." : Drive, by Daniel Pink -- a book on that "m" word: motivation, what it is, and what it's not.
- Find out what tasks respond to external motivators, and which might actually be undermined by outside influence, no matter how well-intentioned.
- Click on the image for ordering information.
- Also check out this TED Talks presentation on motivation, featuring Dan Pink.
- If you want something just for fun: Teacher Man, by Frank McCourt, Irish immigrant, author, commentator and high school English teacher.
- If you have not read any of McCourt's books (Angela's Ashes, 'Tis), you are in for a real treat. If you have, you KNOW you're in for a treat.
- Click on the image for ordering information.
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Kim Bennett: Posted on Sunday, May 29, 2011 10:06 PM
Things are wrapping up (although not quieting down!) in schools all across the country this month. I know that this was often the time when I would see some of my little ones just finally getting a head of academic steam. I worried about how they could maintain this over the summer, especially in the area of reading.
One way to encourage reading over the summer is to get your kids signed up for summer reading programs. There are many available, and they all offer some incentive to the students to keep reading even after the last school bell of the year rings. They all allow children to record titles or minutes when parents read to the children, as well as times when the student reads independently. Here are some of the bigger reading incentive programs that are available. Sign kids up for more than one! Get your school to participate!
Tip of the Week: Summer Reading Programs
 1. Barnes and Noble's 2011 Summer Reading Program: "Imagination's Destination" offers elementary age students an opportunity to win free books for reading, as well as a chance for their parents to win a Nook Color. They simply go to the website in the link, above, and download a reading journal, then start reading! When they have read 8 books, an adult at home signs their reading journal, then they take it to their nearest B&N to exchange for one of a selection of free books. This challenge can be repeated until the ending date for the summer. Check out their website for the downloadable journal, as well as details on other offers, including a free tote bag for online orders.
2. Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge is set up for both individual readers and schools to participate. Students participating in the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge log their minutes of reading on an online log. Kids can either register online themselves, or, alternatively, teachers can register their class. This latter option lets teachers monitor the reading activity (i.e., minutes read) by their students. Parents can log in and download reading activities to do with their kids. Students who meet whatever the weekly challenge is, will receive an email with an electronic prize, and a chance to win a set of books, just for participating. See the link for entry information.
3. Not to be out-competed by other booksellers, Borders has its Double-Dog Dare Reading Challenge, for kids 12 and under. Like the B&N summer reading program, kids download a reading log from the Borders website, and record their titles. When they reach 10, they can take their reading log to their nearest Borders, where they can exchange it for one of a number of selected titles, for free. Visit the link above for more details, and to see the list of free titles.
4. If you have a Half-Price Books store near you, check out their Feed Your Brain summer reading program. The HPB program offers kids $5 gift cards redeemable at their stores. Like the others, above, kids download a reading log from the HPB website, and log the minutes they read. When they reach 600 minutes, they simply bring the log (signed by an adult) to the store, and receive their gift card, plus a chance at winning a $20 gift card. Check out the details, and download the reading log, at the link, above.
5. For something a little different, see TD Bank's Summer Reading Program. Just download a reading log from their website, and read 10 books. For every ten books that a child reads, TD Bank will deposit $10 into an existing or new Young Saver's Account. See the website, for details about the YSA accounts.
6. Do kids want to go to the movies? National Amusement's "Bookworm Wednesdays" reward students' summer reading by paying their way to selected movie showings. They simply read a book, then complete a book report form, which they download from the website. Then, on Wednesdays during the summer, they pay their way into the theater's 10:00 showing with their book report! For more information about the movies running on Bookworm Wednesday's, check out their website, at the link, above.
7. How about joining a reading club? H. E. Buddy Summer Reading Club runs a summer reading program similar to many of the ones above. The student must record books he's read on a downloadable reading log. When he has read 10 books, he then mails the form to the address listed on the website. In 3-4 weeks, he receives a T-shirt as a prize.
8. If a child is a Chuck E. Cheese fan, there are downloadable rewards calendars for summer reading, as well as other goals. If the child successfully meets the goal every day for 2 weeks, she can bring the completed calendar to Chuck E. Cheese and get 10 free tokens in exchange.
9. Don't forget your local library. All of them run some kind of summer reading program. Check out their website, or, better yet, encourage kids to stop by in person. Most libraries also have special summer activities, story hour, visiting authors in the summer. Many also sponsor daily free lunch for school-age children. Start checking now for information on your local library.
10. Your State Department of Education probably offers a reading incentive program for individual students or schools. In Connecticut, it is called Connecticut Reads 2011: One World, Many Stories. Schools register, and distribute reading logs and information to students. When the kids come back in the fall, the school collects the reading logs, and schools get prizes for student participation. Check out the website, above, for a downloadable reading poster, as well as suggested reading lists by grade level.
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 For more ideas on encouraging boys to read during the summer, read the entry, "Engaging Boys in Reading," our article, Literacy 101.
For your own reading, check out Bill Howe on Multicultural Education -- an incredible assortment of articles on cultural issues in education, that you can get delivered to your inbox free.
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The staff at Northside Consulting wishes you a peaceful, enjoyable holiday weekend!
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