Celebrate LIFE!

At a recent birthday party for 6-year-old Maddox, I asked the audience of boys and girls scattered around on the living room carpet to wish Maddox a "Happy Birthday!" There were twenty-plus kids - all his best friends from school along with his four brothers and baby sister and these kids practically gang-tackled Maddox. They patted him on the back, rubbed his head and gave him hugs while screaming their birthday wishes! A KIDshow can often seem on the edge of anarchy (unless you are an expert at audience control like myself), but order was quickly restored after a few more laughs and yells.

And why not?  I couldn't help but appreciated the zeal of the impromptu celebration. This day was all about Maddox, a celebration of HIM - not something he had done, not an accomplishment of some type and not a holiday in the traditional sense. Just him. The unique, perfect, wonderful Maddox.

Birthdays are a celebration of LIFE and the gratitude we feel for that person being in our lives. It seems to me there is nothing more important than celebrating the lives of the people we love.

Ideally, we would show this appreciation every day, but a birthday is a special celebration for a unique, singular individual whom we are fortunate to know. Think about Maddox again - four brothers and one sister between the ages of 3 and 10-years-old - a great big, happy, loving family. And having that day be all about that one little guy does great things for his self-esteem and his sense of place within his family and within the world.

Make the most of each birthday in your family. Let those you love know how much you appreciate their place in your life. Celebrate LIFE.

Why Teach?

This is a great post from The Apple at Monster.com. For a long time I worked with teachers as a teacher and got to hear every horror story in the world about how teaching can stink. There were always the stories about how teaching is sublime as well, but during the course of the year it always seemed that the teachers I knew had more complaints than success stories.

Here is the post by Kevin Bibo:

Why Teach?

        "I went to my 20th high school reunion this weekend. One of my friends, Charles, told me that he could see that I really cared about the success of my students. Another was encouraged by my efforts and said, “that’s what the world needs, more committed teachers!” The thing is, other than sharing the fact that this was my 10th year in the classroom, I didn’t tell them anything about what or how I do what I do. Their comments, while enjoyed by my ego, confounded me. How did they know I cared about my students? How did they know that I was committed to my service?

        Teachers are definitely a breed apart. True we are made, and not created, but it seems like you can always tell a good teacher when you see one, even if you don’t see them teach. I ran into an old student of mine at the car wash earlier that day. She shared with me her desire to teach. I encouraged her because I knew already that she would make a great teacher. Her personality is inviting, she seems naturally kind and patient, she doesn’t judge but instead shares a warm smile. She will be a great teacher regardless of subject matter or grade level. I could see that in her, just like my friends could see it in me

        But I haven’t always been able to see it in myself. The “it” being the qualities and energy of a good teacher. I reflect on my teaching, but usually my reflections display all the things I need to fix, or don’t do very well. Still, I endure, and continue to work at improving myself because I just love what I do, and couldn’t dream now of doing anything else. However, teaching was not my first choice. I did not see myself as a teacher when I was younger. Other people did: my father and my wife. They suggested I try teaching; and it was a good fit. But what makes teaching a good fit for me? And why do I fit teaching? Have you ever asked yourself why you teach?

        For some, the answer is obvious. They teach because that is what they have always wanted to do. For others, they teach because teaching provides a steady paycheck and great benefits. Still others are called by some higher authority to spend their days wiping noses and answering the same question three or more times an hour. If we are to be successful teachers, teachers who change lives, we have to look deeper than the desire, the paycheck, or the calling. I think we have to look deep within ourselves and recognize that not only does the world need great teachers, role models willing to give selflessly, but that we too have a need to play the role or inspirer, sage, and friend.

        Not everyone needs to know that their efforts are meaningful. But I do. I gave up pursuing a career in television because I didn’t want to spend my time away from my family selling soap. It was fun, but empty. Teaching allows me to make the world around me a better place. I regularly see alumni who tell me that the time spent in my class made a difference to lives and changed them in some way. Not all my students, but many share the same experience. Is there something I do directly that changes them? I’m not sure. Like Charles said, it is very important to me that my students are successful. I don’t know yet exactly how that plays out in my classroom, but it is at the top of my list of priorities. As my other friend pointed out, I am completely committed to my students success, but what does that look like?

        The answer is that it is different for different teachers. But one thing is certain, if you are not invested in your students success, and if you are not committed to them, then I have to ask you, why teach?"

As I said, I have had the pleasure of working with many great teachers and administrators as a teacher, a learning specialist, and most recently as a sales consultant. When the topic of "Why Teach?" came up, especially with new teachers, I was always interested in the answer.

"Because I love kids," was the most common reply for Pre-K - 8 teachers, and, from my perspective, not the best answer. Loving kids is a great place to start. But, I think even more important is the talent for teaching. I believe there are some requirements for teaching that cannot be learned - love is one of them - but so is the inherent wanting and ability to communicate, share and relish ideas in a meaningful way. To share knowledge and provide value. To be so excited by an idea or skill that your skin jumps when you think about it and the need to share is bubbling out of you.  

I remember the first time I read The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963. I knew that first and foremost my kids were going to love the dialog. They were going to laugh at and fall in love with Kenny and Byron Watson. They were going to get caught-up in the story of the civil rights movement. They were going to sit in awe of the events surrounding the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. I knew all this because the book had that effect on me, and I knew I could carry that enthusiasm into the classroom.

My students learned the mechanics and art of writing funny dialog. They learned about story structure. We supported their history studies by digging into lesser-known events of the civil rights movements. We sharpened their math and geography skills by taking a virtual road trip to Birmingham to visit the church. We compared historical events and fictional events using Watsons and Spike Lee's film Four Little Girls. Heck, I even actually went to the church during a Spring Break to take pictures and talk to the congregants.

Everything was aligned with benchmarks and standards - but most importantly to me - they were excited learners. 

Flash forward a few years. I'm sitting at a traffic light when the car next to me starts honking. I look over to see a smiling young woman waving, so I roll down the window.

"Are you Mr. Smith?" she asks.

"Yep, I sure am!"

"I had you in middle school. I loved when we read that Watsons book in your class!"

"It's a great book!" I yell back just as the light turns and we drive away. She had a baby in the rear seat and she seemed very happy.

Why teach? To bring excitement to everything and to share.

Picture Books and READING

Dr. Suess and Maurice Sendak don't have to worry, but other writers of children's books really took notice of a recent New York Times article that may have been the beginning of the end for children's picture books. This article says that picture books are sitting on the shelves of book stores and then being sent back to the publisher because they are not selling! So, this may be a product of "the economy" (which I'm pretty tired of hearing about and don't understand) but really this is another result of our heavy emphasis on standardized testing and reading scores!

Another example of the tail wagging the dog (which actually sounds like a great title for a children's picture book). Anyway, parents have decided that the pressure is on for their kids and they need to push them a little harder and force them into chapter books in Kindergarten and First Grade. Don't get me wrong, there are great chapter books for young readers, but this trend discounts the great possibilities picture books offer for young readers.

The truth is, teachers and parents should be using picture books to teach reading strategies and to allow kids to practice reading strategies. As the father of a soon-to-be two-year-old, I can tell you that picture books will always have a place in our home. We are visual learners first, and helping kids make connections between ideas, words, and things is vitally important. Picture books can model story elements for kids AND help them with the process of reading, counting, problem solving, communicating and critical evaluation - all 21st Century Skills for success.

For Teachers and Parents check these out:


Books For Teaching Reading Strategies

Why Picture Books

Book Review - New Classics and Big ideas

Does this ever happen to you?

You are so taken with a fine book or movie or CD or idea that you want and need to share it with everybody you love. You want to stock up on this book or CD and save it for birthdays or  Christmas. You want everybody to be as excited about it as you are.

Jon J Muth is a writer and illustrator who brings ancient teachings, stories and simple truths to children's books in a way that makes me want to purchase every copy in Barnes and Noble so that I can give them as gifts.

I have an affinity for books that contain beautiful ideas that are accessible to kids and that are also beautiful to look at. Zen Shorts and The Three Questions are exactly the type of books you should keep to share - with your kids, with your grandkids, with your nieces and nephews. Keep them up on a bookshelf and bring them down for special times.


Zen Shorts is a Caldecott Honor Book that introduces us to Stillwater, a giant panda who moves into the neightborhood and befriends siblings Addy, Michael and Karl. In turn each of the kids visits with Stillwater and shares there own concerns, worries, fears or frustrations. With each child Stillwater shares a story (I love a-story-within-a-story) that illustrates the child's dilemma from a different perspective and provides a short meditation on anger, luck, and giving. Stillwater's stories come from Zen Buddhist and Taoist tradition, but Muth makes them accessible to kids.

 The Three Questions is Muth's take on a Leo Tolstoy's short story of the same name.

"When is the best time to do things?"
"Who is the most important one?"
"What is the right thing to do?"

In Muth's version young Nikolai is searching for answers to these questions (and not getting answers that seem right for him) when he meets the wise turtle Leo digging in his garden. In turn Nikolai helps dig the garden, saves a panda and then her baby from harm. In doing so he has the answers to The Three Questions.

Muth combines his study of Zen, Leo Tolstoy, and his belief that learning through stories can help us all to create books for kids that are important.

And there is a reason that Zen Shorts is a Caldecott Honor Book. His artwork is sublime. I happen to love watercolor anyway, but the skill and beauty of these books is incredible. I want to frame every page and put them on the wall.

Get these books!

Superman or Silver Bullet?

A new documentary is getting a lot of attention right now.

Waiting for "Superman" is a documentary by "Oscar-winning filmmaker Davis Guggenheim (AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH) dissects the failing American education system, and in doing so, discovers ways to fix it." 

I have not seen the film, but I plan to. I have been reading opinion after opinion after opinion about this film though - because everybody has an opinion about education. As do I.

As I have not seen the film, I won't comment on the film's content, but I have read the description of the film which I have quoted and italicized above. This description comes directly from the movie's website and seems to present the premise for the movie: America's education system is FAILING! Says who?

Here is my issue. Just because somebody says that our education system is failing doesn't make it true. Just because the U.S. education system ranks somewhere other than #1 does not mean it is failing. So much is made of the United States education system being ranked anywhere other than #1 in the world that we seem blinded to all the good, sound progress made in the last ten years. Prosperity is about focusing on what we do have - not worrying about what we don't have.

When I set personal goals - it is about me, what I want for me and for my family, and how my desires resonate with my standards of integrity. It is not about keeping up with my neighbors or Finland.

Let us set our education goals based on what we want to accomplish for our citizens - for our country.

I do like the title, Waiting for "Superman." We are always waiting for something or someone else to come through and save us. I used to call this the "silver bullet." Educators are always looking for that one book, idea, program or curriculum that will kill the demon of ignorance and save the students - magically helping everyone, everywhere become better readers, better thinkers, better people.

There is no one "silver bullet." There is no Superman. We are our own heroes. It takes hard work, good practice, dedication, innovation, sound policy, and citizens willing to agree that school funding is a top priority.

Also, this movie is going in my Netflix list right now.

How to Change the World

I don't think there are many topics beyond the realm of children. It is never too early to start teaching kids how they can make a positive change in the world. Enter Weezer.

Weezer Changes the World is a great picture book by David McPhail that takes an every day dog who does every day dog things in his every day dog life and through a chance lightning strike (call it epiphany) becomes more interested in the human aspect of the world - like math, gravity, science, the arts, philanthropy, and of course world peace.

Weezer can't do it all by himself and eventually has to go back to being the simple dog who tinkles on the carpet. But Weezer has already changed the world and given everybody the right idea about making the world a better place.

This is a simple but profound little book that I want on the book shelf all the time to keep reminding our kids that they shape their world.



Weezer Changes the World 
Reading level: Ages 4-8 
Hardcover: 40 pages 
Publisher: Beach Lane Books; 1 edition (December 1, 2009) 
Language: English 
ISBN-10: 1416990003 
ISBN-13: 978-1416990000

The Easiest Way for Parents To Help with Reading Instruction

 This is a great reminder from a great blog:

LitBlog

Fluency is the easiest part of reading instruction that parents can help with at home. 

"Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately and quickly.
When fluent readers read silently, they recognize words automatically. They group words quickly to help them gain meaning from what they read. Fluent readers read aloud effortlessly and with expression. Their reading sounds natural, as if they are speaking. Readers who have not yet developed fluency read slowly, word by word. Their oral reading is choppy and plodding.

Fluency is important because it provides a bridge between word recognition and comprehension. Because fluent readers do not have to concentrate on decoding the words, they can focus their attention on what the text means. They can make connections among the ideas in the text and between the text and their background knowledge.

•    More fluent readers recognize words and comprehend at the same time.

•    Less fluent readers, however, must focus their attention on figuring out the words, leaving them little attention for understanding the text.

Research Supported Fluency Strategies in LitART
1.    Model fluent reading and have students reread the text on their own.
2.    Conduct guided reading (provide feedback and guidance during reading.)
3.    Use repeated oral readings of the same text to increase accuracy and rate.
4.    Facilitate partner reading to increase oral reading opportunities
5.    Employ reader’s theatre to allow for a performed reading."

Children Learning in a New World

I've been thinking a lot about how the current school-age generation interacts with technology.

We may joke about how we remember the first cell phone being the size of a brick, but kids today do not know any other kind of world. We may assume that video games, MP3 players, television on our phones and MTV quick editing may be shrinking our children's attention span. At the same time we read reports from all over (specifically Department of Defense studies) saying that the use of video game technology in training has not only led to the amazing ability of drone pilots in the United States flying missions over Afghanistan but also helps foster quick and analytical decision making for ground forces and NFL quarterbacks.

As an education sales consultant I can tell you that I have seen a spectrum of technology currently available to teachers and students. And the technology makes some impressive claims - specifically about student motivation, which led me to this article in Scholastic Administrator magazine. In the very near future the text-book will be a thing of the past. It's actually pretty close to extinct right now. Several school districts here in Ohio (Lorain schools for one) have gone completely digital now that curriculum companies are making the content available in digital format.

21st Century Skills and 21st Century Learners are the current buzz words in education. Students today require a new type of learning environment to prepare them for an ever changing future. Students today interact with their world in a different way. Students today learn in a different way. What is amazing is that while students are living and studying in a more virtual world - their learning is actually more "real" than ours ever was.

Today a class can go on a virtual archaeological dig in South America. During this virtual experience they can study history, science, math, writing, communication, and literature. The virtual experience didn't really take place - but it made the learning much more real because it was tied to experience and simultaneously answering the age-old question, "Why do we need to learn this?" By the way - you can replace the words "virtual archaeological dig in South America" with "virtual Habitat for Humanity build in West Virginia," or "virtual heart transplant at the Cleveland Clinic."

But does it motivate kids?


It may be like the new toy Christmas morning - forgotten by dinner.


What technology are your children using in school?


Does it seem to make a difference in their motivation to learn?

Head Start Works

It cannot be stressed enough how important it is for kids to be ready to succeed. This means that no matter how much faith we put in public education, (and I put A LOT of faith in public education) schools cannot be expected to do it all. We need to take responsibility for our children's education and teach them to be responsible for it as well.

Head Start Works

This article from Scholastic Administrator takes a look at a study of Head Start from 2002-2005. The results show that Head Start works! Children are more prepared entering kindergarten with a "Head Start." What this means is that kids who would not typically get the chance to participate in any preschool program have a more even playing field with Head Start.

Akron Summit Community Action, Inc. and Community United Head Start operate the preschool and day care programs in Akron and Cleveland respectively. Get in touch with them if you have a preschool aged child ready to learn.
 
Kids can get a head start in many private preschool programs. It is up to us to make sure that the program our child is in does a great job, has a valid curriculum, and employs certified teachers. Kids who get to take part in a great preschool have a step ahead and Head Start provides that for all of us.

Germphobic, compulsive, hypochondriac children have heros too!

Scaredy Squirrel
written and illustrated by Melanie Watt


The classics are great. Who can’t get into a little Dr. Suess, Brothers Grimm and Mother Goose (each of which are filled with much craziness in their own right). But being a member of Generation X, I find myself looking for the quirky, the fresh, the out-of-the-ordinary, the non-typical in all things. It’s why I rejoiced when bands from my college days like They Might Be Giants and Bare Naked Ladies started making music for kids. They took the genre to knew place and added wit.

This why the books by Canadian author and illustrator Melanie Watt are so fun – particularly her Scaredy Squirrel series which features a compulsive, germ phobic, arachnophobic, anal-retentive, hypochondriac  squirrel who spends all day and night in his tree on the look-out for anything that might harm him. Readers are even warned on opening the book to wash their hands carefully,

Did I mention that Scaredy is anal-retentive? He is the consummate planner and has complete steps and strategies to avoid harm and how to react in case of emergency. Step 1: PANIC!

He has a contingency plan for everything, but when a killer bee flies into his safe area he is so startled that he falls from his safe tree only to discover that he can safely glide to the ground. Once safely on Terra firma, Scaredy realizes that he is still in danger and takes the only course imaginable, he plays dead.

Not your typical book and not a typical telling. Scaredy’s situation is told through great illustrations that include diagrams, maps, daily routines and a full page of Scaredy doing nothing but faking his own death. Of course he makes it back to his tree to continue his adventures of being scared in Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend, Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach, Scaredy Squirrel at Night in which he shares his fears of walruses, rabbits, beavers, piranhas, Godzilla, pirates, jellyfish, lobsters, sea monsters, seagulls, falling coconuts, dragons, faeries, ghosts, bats, unicorns, and polka-dot monsters.

Of course there is nothing to be scared of. And a preposition is something you should not end a sentence with. BUT, that is really the point. There are a lot of real fears that we should take precautions against, but Scaredy goes overboard. Watt may not have had this in mind, but it’s a good lesson for kids anyway – especially if they tend toward the germ phobic and compulsive. Scaredy can be a lesson or a hero – or both.

Reading Strategies for Picture Books: Start with the pictures of course. Point and name and have children name the items on the page when they have verbal skills. This becomes really important as children see different images that are vastly different representations of an apple. How many different ways are there to draw an apple? Infinite. But kids being able to identify an apple even in abstract is an important developmental stage and gets kids ready to read.

I have to mention another Melanie Watt book too. (And I should point out that Watt first name is supposed to have a little accent mark over the “e” but I can’t figure out how to do that.)  

Have I Got a Book for You! is a rather silly, hilarious and almost pointless book in which the entire message is to convince the reader to purchase the book they are currently reading about buying the book which they are currently reading about a book they are currently reading about…..you get the idea. I think Charlie Kaufman would do the movie adaptation - starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman. If you have any sales experience - this books speaks to the Sisyphian nature of the world.

Watt is original, funny and witty. She puts a great twist on storytelling.


Scaredy Squirrel
written and illustrated by Melanie Watts 
Reading level: Ages 4-8 
Hardcover: 40 pages 
Publisher: Kids Can Press, Ltd. (February 1, 2006)
ISBN-10: 1553379594 
ISBN-13: 978-1553379591

A funny bed-time book for dad - Melonhead and the Big Stink

 

Melonhead

Melonhead and the Big Stink
by  Katy Kelly
illustrated by Gillian Johnson


Melonhead and the Big Stink is a hilarious chapter book for kids who like funny characters with a knack for getting into trouble – and I don’t know any kids who don’t. Think of this as an updated and more clever Dennis the Menace. 

On the last day of fourth grade we meet Adam Melon (Melonhead) and his best buddy Sam who begin the summer vacation with “The List of Doom,” created by Melonhead’s mother and designed to help Melonhead make good decision, and, therefore, not get into so many….situations.

The List
1. NO walking on roofs.
2. NO climbing trees.
3. NO putting things in your nose.
4. NO snakes.
5. NO rodents
6. NO playing in the yard until after the Capital Hill House & Garden Tour and Contest.
7. NO haircuts by nonprofessionals.

The list is based upon past experience, but Melonhead and Sam assume the summer is basically over if they can’t do anything on the list. They always seem to find new adventures like saving ducks in a fountain that don’t need saving, releasing 500 ladybugs in the kitchen, turning curtain rods into harpoons that fly out the window, and inventing a game called “fenceball”  involving pelting each other with tennis balls. These all end up being additions to the List of Doom.

According to Melonhead and Sam, the only way to save the summer is a trip to the New York Botanical Gardens for the blooming of the titan arum, also known as the bunga bangkai, which is a six-foot tall flower that blooms once every 75 years and smells like a dead, rotting mammal. This is the "big stink," and who wouldn't be up for a trip to New York City to see that?

In order to go see the big stink, Melonhead and Sam decide they better be on their best behavior and to use their own self-improvement plan, the Boys’ Improvement Guide For Acting Responsible Till Stink Saturday or B.I.G.F.A.R.T.S.S. And they try to stay out of trouble. They really do. But they are just so darn good at it.

Writer Katy Kelly has a great knack for dialogue that kids and big folks will both enjoy. It’s quick and light-hearted and keeps moving – important for young readers working on chapter books. Melonhead and Sam zing lines back and forth at each other – often calling each other crazy rhyming names

“I’m ready, Freddie.”
“We rock, Jock.”
“E-Z P-Z like Parcheesi.”
“Let’s go, Moe.”
“No sweat, Claudette.”
“We’ll see, Flea.”
“But I’m still going to win, Flynn.”

The best and funniest moments in the book come when Melonhead is working for their neighbor Mrs. Wilkins.

“Stop slouching and go up to the attic,” she said.
“Really?” I said. “This is my lucky day!”
“I don’t care for sarcasm,” she said.
“I might not either,” I told her. “What is it?

Or when Melonhead suggests he get some friends to come over and help. Mrs. Wilkins doesn’t like the idea.

“One boy is one boy,” she said. “Two boys is half a boy. And three boys is no boy at all.”

Melonhead and the Big Stink is a great companion to classics like Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Super Fudge by Judy Bloom. I especially recommend Melonhead as a great book for dad to read at bedtime. The chapters are short and fast and fun, and you get to say B.I.G.F.A.R.T.S.S almost every chapter.


Lexile: 400
ISBN-10: 044042187X
ISBN-13: 9780440421870
Published: Yearling, 05/11/2010
Pages: 240
Recommended Reading Level Minimum Age: 8
Maximum Age: 12
Minimum Grade Level: 3rd Grade
Maximum Grade Level: 7th Grade

Hooray for Reading Day: Readers Theater

“Somewhere along the way I came to understand that reading skills are simply thinking skills applied to a reading situation. Is the problem that kids with reading difficulties really can't analyze, can't evaluate, can't classify? That they lack those thinking skills? Or can they not do those things in a reading situation? To find out, I began listening to students with reading difficulties talk, recording what they said to learn what type of thinking their talk revealed. As I listened, I saw what the skill-activity sheets weren't showing me: these students certainly can analyze, synthesize, and evaluate. They can compare and contrast and classify, and they can summarize an event, pulling out the main ideas. They can do the thinking. They just didn't yet know how to connect their thinking skills to a reading situation. They needed a strategy, a scaffold, that would provide the framework for the thinking they needed to do to read with certain skills.”

                          -Kylene Beers and Reading Strategies


This is a great quote and set of ideas from Kylene Beers who is one of the top thinkers, writers, and teachers in the field of reading instruction. Her experience as a reading teacher started as a literature teacher for secondary students, but she realized that her kids had not yet made the transition from “Learning to Read” to “Reading to Learn.” That is – they were still decoding, not fluent, and, therefore, not great at comprehension.

Reading is a tool we use to get at the knowledge we seek, which means it is kind-of odd that Reading is now a subject in upper grades rather than just in lower grades. Sadly, unless kids start school with a foundation for reading (and I mean in Kindergarten), then there is a good chance that “reading” will be something they need to study and work on well into adolescence.

Which brings me to a great kids book. Hooray for Reading Day by Margery Cuyler and illustrated by Arthur Howard follows Jessica the Worrier through a day at school and small-group reading time in Mr. Martin’s class. As the kids take turns reading from “Hot Pot” Jessica does nothing but worry about her turn and her fear of messing up in front of everyone – which she does.

Sure enough, Mr. Martin assigns everyone a part during “Reading Theater” day. This worries Jessica even more but she practices with her dog at home and on the day of the big presentation in front of parents and everyone – she does a great job.

I like Hooray for Reading Day primarily because Jessica’s teacher, Mr. Martin, uses a great reading strategy that parents can use at home with kids during the summer, over holiday breaks, or as a weekend activity. Readers Theater helps kids to build fluency. Fluency is vital to reading comprehension. Fluent readers understand pace and intonation and most importantly – they understand (comprehend) what they are reading.

As Kylene Beers put it, “…students certainly can analyze, synthesize, and evaluate. They can compare and contrast and classify, and they can summarize an event, pulling out the main ideas. They can do the thinking.”

As I mentioned in a previous post – kids like to do things over and over again. Readers Theater asks students to read the same thing many times to build fluency. Practice makes better and getting better leads to excellence.

Readers Theater Resources:
Aaron Shep
Literacy Connections
Readers Theater Book Resource List
More on Kylene Beers

Joke of the Day

This from a reader....


How do you have a party on the moon?







Answer:    PLANET!

OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER and...you get the idea.

Helping Struggling Readers by Susan Fondrk

 and Cheryl Frasca

So, my 21-month-old daughter, Rhiannon, is well-versed in creating games that never end. Even if you are not a parent you, at some point, have found yourself caught in a never-ending game with a kid that he or she likes so much they don't want to stop, and that you also enjoyed - the first 100 times. While we were in Washington DC, my friend Cole pointed out that Rhiannon was throwing her straw on the ground so that he would pick it up as part of a grand psychological experiment. This is quite right.

Kids perform experiments all the time and want to repeat things all the time because that is how they (and we) learn. I’m not sure what she is learning by poking both of her wet fingers deep into my ear canals repeatedly, but it must be something. The great thing for us is that we can take advantage of this need to repeat and use it for good.

Right now Rhi is watching “Signing Times with Alex and Leah” over and over and over and over. Say the word goat or show her a picture of a goat and this girl will throw her hands to her chin and then prongs to her forehead faster than a lamb can wag its tail. She is also watching some French instructional videos over and over and over. She seems to enjoy the pictures, but she looks at me like she's asking why the cartoons can't speak right.

But there are other ways to use this need to repeat over and over again and at the same time begin to develop some reading comprehension skills - even for pre-readers. The beginning stages of comprehension are recognizing and recalling, which we can assess through simple who-what-where-when questions. That book that you have read at bedtime 4500 times is a great place to start. For us this might be Curious George Goes to the Zoo.

1. Sit with the book and your kiddo but don’t open the book.
2. Point out things on the cover. If the characters appear on the cover point to them and ask WHO they are.
3. Ask “Who are the other characters in the story?” (Zookeeper, Man with the yellow hat, animals)
4. Ask “Where did George go?” (the zoo, to see the lions, to the rain forest)
5. Ask “What did George do at the zoo?” (gave the animals snacks, found the bird, fixed the fence)

Simple answers and simple questions, but they are important questions and can become more complex the more you read the book. Kids like the repetition of the same book again and again (although I admit to hiding The First of Octember).

The same who-what-where-when questions can be used as kids get older and start to develop reading skills. Have kids read short sentences independently or with your help and then answer the same questions. Eventually ask the 4-Ws about full paragraphs and chapters of books.

Recalling and recognizing are the beginning of reading comprehension, but you don’t have to wait until kids can read to start building the reading muscles.

Take advantage of what kids already do - over and over and over again ñ and turn them into teachable moments.

8 Great Parent Habits That Teachers LOVE

In a recent issue of Scholastic Instructor writer Suzanne Tingly describes 8 Great Teacher Habits Parents Love. Her advise is for teachers and how they can prevent difficulties with parents during the school year, and she makes some great points:

1. Give parents as many specifics as you can.

2. Write positive or encouraging comments.

3. Provide timely updates and information.

4. Invite parents to lend a hand in your classroom.

5. Give parents plenty of lead time.

6. Send home good news.

7. Go beyond the regular curriculum.

8. Have clear rules and consequences.

My guess is that every teacher has learned the hard way that these eight guidelines can save a lot of heartache. The fact is, while the teacher is working hard at school (and at home) to prepare and teach the best lessons possible, parents are at the same time working hard to provide the best they can for their kids. This often leaves it up to the kids to provide the communication between school and home. 

I wonder if the lines of communication ever get crossed? You bet they do. 

With the new school year quickly creeping up, it's a good time to think about how parents can maximize the effort of both teachers and students. So, not only do teachers need to have good habits, parents do too.

8 Great Parent Habits That Teacher LOVE

1. Make a point of listening to both sides of every situation.

Nobody would ever accuse a child of lying, but that doesn't mean the whole truth is getting home. Through no fault of the child, he or she is seeing the situation, whatever it is, from their own perspective and may not understand all the details. Whether it is the reason for a detention or low grades on homework, listening to the teacher first-hand can clarifying a lot of misunderstanding.

2. Read the syllabus, class expectation or grade level expectations and understand time lines.

There are differing of opinions on homework but it is never the case that students did "Nothing" during the school day. Enough cannot be said for helping even the youngest students be organized and keep track of their work. By knowing what teachers and students are up to parents can stay on top of class requirements, project due dates and test dates. This is also a great way to catch any learning issues early. Internet based grade-books and teacher web-sites make this easy.

3. Ask teachers for rubrics and grading criteria.

Teacher don't give failing grades because they dislike students. Teachers develop  grading and achievement guidelines and rubrics based on grade level expectations and state standards. It's important for parents to know what is expected from students and what the child should be able to accomplish based on the child's grade level or age. Obviously not every student is at the same place developmentally, but comparing your child's work to rubrics and standards will give you an idea of what he or she needs to work on.

4. Take advantage of any opportunity to go to school and meet teachers.

Most schools have an "Open House" or "Orientation" at the beginning of the year and parent-teacher conferences at other times. Don't let these be the only times you go and make an appearance. Make a point of visiting regularly (schedule your appointments first) and getting the know teachers (and principals) personally. Many parents never miss a sporting event but find it hard to make it to school for academics updates. Teachers love meeting with parents and can provide specific insight into learning styles, needs and social dynamics that parents may not be aware of.

5. Trust teachers' professionalism.

Teaching is an art and a craft. Those who take on this profession not only understand their subject area but are also experts in how kids learn. Trust their judgment because teachers don't take the responsibility given to them lightly.

6. Keep track of your child's homework.

Making it a habit of requiring that you look at all homework, review the expectations and even initial the homework helps your student stay on track and means there won't be any surprises. Have students complete homework in a common room where you can monitor and help. Discuss the work and have the kids teach you (this is high-level thinking).

Take everything out of the book bag every day. You might be surprised at what is hiding in there. (I won't tell you what I saw climbing out of a student's book bag during class one day.)

6. Don't do homework or projects for your children.

Sometimes parents don't know the line between helping and doing. Teachers can always tell and this really isn't fair - to your child. Getting the grade is not the point. Learning is the point. Like everything else is life - the learning is in the process.

7.  Speak positively about school and teachers.

We realize early on that children learn by observing.

"I don't know where my child learned to use such language!"

Yes you do.

Kids will not only pick up your words, tone and mannerisms, they will learn your attitudes too. Speak about school and teachers with respect, humor, and admiration.

8. READ WITH YOUR CHILDREN!

This should be the number one things parents do with kids from infancy. It is bonding time and creates good, life-long readers. Notice I didn't write "Read TO your children." Reading TO kids is important for fluency. But I like the idea of reading WITH your kids. Have conversations about books and stories. Quiz each other. Take turns reading aloud. Make a game of reading and let them see you reading for information and for pleasure.

Subversive Poetry for KIDS (that adults will love too)

First, understand that I am a teacher advocate. I taught for a long time and I love the art and science of teaching – it is a passion. But, there have been many hundreds or thousands or perhaps millions of students through the decades turned off to POETRY because of teacher.

Typically this happens because, A) the teacher knows a lot about poetry and loves it but doesn’t know how to teach it, or B) the teacher knows nothing about poetry and so uses the English textbook or reading adoption and so the kids only get those selections. This, my friends, is a crying shame, because the truth is that kids LOVE poetry.

Kids of all ages will gobble poetry up and write some of the most insightful, lyrical work you have eve laid eyes on if given the opportunity, guidance, and passion. I recommend introducing kids to poetry early and often AND it just so happens that using poetry in reading lessons is a great way to get struggling readers to stick with it because poems are typically not long, daunting sections of text loaded like a minefield with words ready to tie the tongue of every unsuspecting reader who isn’t quite capable of mastering every phoneme thrown his or her way. Also, poems for kids are great for grownups too as read-aloud at bedtime or choral readings.

Which brings us to our recommendations for this week:

take me out of the bathtub and other silly dilly songs
written by Alan Katz
illustrated by David Catrow
Margaret K. McElberry Books
ISBN: 0-689-82903-5

Don’t Say That Word
written by Alan Katz
illustrated by David Catrow
Margaret K. McElberry Books
ISBN: 0-689-86971-1

Alan Katz and David Catrow might possibly be the most perfect match of writer and illustrator since Hunter S. Thompson and Ralph Steadman brought us Gonzo journalism with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. And the beauty of take me out of the bathtub and Don’t Say That Word is that any adult who knows the work of Thompson and Steadman will quickly see the comparison. Manic, subversive, gross, unpleasant, and rebellious, these poems and illustrations for elementary readers might be called Fear and Loathing in Rhyme. Don’t be scared off by the comparison though; these are great books that speak more to the snakes and snails and puppy-dog tails side of childhood as opposed to sweet rhymes about eggs falling to pieces (but even that poem wasn’t about an egg – more on that in a later post). Be prepared for booger and fart jokes – which kids LOVE by the way.

take me out of the bathtub and other silly dilly songs is a re-writing of songs that most kids already know. The title poem, for instance, is sung to the tune of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” but find our protagonist in the bathtub while wearing roller skates and a great visual of his backside as he flies through the air.  “Stinky Stinky Diaper Change” (to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”) relates the less satisfying parts of being a big brother. Catrow's illustration here does not spare the reader as the baby is flown out the window like a kite only to have his diaper impair the flight of a flock of birds. Other poems include an homage to baby-sitters, the joys of being dirty, and every kid’s bane – cleaning the bedroom.

Katz takes a different tact in Don’t Say That Word. Here, he tells one story in rhyme. Catrow’s cover art shows our hero, think Calvin crossed with Bill the Cat, sitting in the corner savoring a mouthful of soap. As you might guess, the theme here is all those words that kids love to say and hear but which adults are quick to point out – are not nice. We are not talking about cursing here. This is not the seven words you can’t say on television – this is the seven words Mom doesn’t want to hear come our of your mouth:

WARNING: Graphic Content Ahead (eh?)

Booger
Burp
Poop
Butt
Barf
Toilet and
Fart

This is a particularly clever outing for Katz and Catrow, as those seven words never actually appear in the book. Just as our pug-nosed young man is about to say the word his mother yells, “Don’t say that word!” This actually employs an excellent reading strategy for kids to fill in the missing words – similar to a cloze activity.

Catrow’s illustrations here are wonderful and deserve a close inspection because there are visual jokes all over every page. The family dog silently watches the boy’s adventures at and seems to relish the trouble the boy endures for his language. We can only imagine the torment the boy has put the dog through although we get an idea on the back cover as the boy blows his “Pork Radish N Cheese Chip” breath in the dog’s general direction.

Get your kids reading poetry and use poems they can relate to and will excite them.

Remember - read with your kids every day!

Mr. G