Shared Writing- A Strategy

Just like shared reading, shared writing can take place during any time of the day. Shared writings can be short or long and can really help students improve upon their ability to write well. Shared writing activities can range from retellings from read alouds, original stories, poems, and book reviews, journal entries, class rules and morning messages, and content area writing activities.

            Shared writing allows students feel like they have power while also helping them maintain or gain confidence when it comes to writing. You can give students as much or a little freedom as you like while still teaching them without them truly knowing the power of what they are doing. You can give students tips about writing without making them feel bad and you can allow students to use creativity to improve their skills.

Reading to and with Children

First off, make it interesting! Use varying methods and materials to make a lasting impact on them. Vary times and ways that you read aloud, encourage children to take part in reading, use shared reading techniques and involve exciting activities like readers theater and guided reading in order to excite children when it comes to reading and writing. Reading and how you incorporate it is usually what makes the largest impact on students especially at a young age. Shared characters, shared language, and shared experiences through the read aloud process transport us in time and place to another world, one filled with excitement, anticipation, hope- a whole range of emotions that bonds us together and pulls us in.

Reading gives teachers the opportunity to peer into their students minds in creative ways to learn more about their thought process and ideas. Take the time to really emerge yourself into reading and your students will follow.

Encourage Reading

Studies show that kids who read during the summer jump back into school with a head-start. Kids who take the summer off from reading, often tend to struggle at the beginning of the school year. So for all kinds of reasons, it’s good to keep kids reading during the summer. Some children don’t like to read or think they don’t have to since school is no longer in session but with just some common creativity and maybe a little extra encouragement, it isn’t so hard to transform a child into an avid reader. Just a year ago, the boys I nanny would do whatever they could to avoid having to read (including eat extra vegetables) but now, they beg me to let them read to me and take them to the library.

·         Many libraries offer summer reading programs where they give children fun incentives to read more often.

·         Plan a trip to the library at least once a week and make an adventure out of it. Kids usually love it because they are getting something new in a way.

·         Use audio books of any type to replace TV time.

·         Invest in an eReader. Kids feel like they are empowered and special when they have one to read and they actually want to read more when there is one available.

·         Let kids read comic books, magazines, or packages. (Just because they aren’t reading a book, they are still reading).

·         Buy them a book and surprise them with it. Every child loves presents!

Summertime Reads

The weather here in Florida has been pretty gloomy lately and with that said, I have done a lot of rainy day reading outside of my required course materials.

Some must reads I’ve encountered include some that I’m sure many of you have already read as they have been the talk of the town for quite some time now.

Here’s my list:

Fifty shades trilogy

Hunger Games Trilogy

Out of my Mind

When you Reach Me

Speak

Nineteen Minutes

A Secret Wish

Each of these books has left me with some newly acquired knowledge that I can truly appreciate. I’m so glad that I finally have the time to read more often now!

Traditional Literature in a Nontraditional Way

What exactly is traditional literature and what does it include?

Traditional literature is the canon of tales, stories and poems of a people that have been passed down by word of mouth through many generations. Traditional literature includes folklore, myths and legends, folktales, fables and tall tales.

            The textbook poses the question: “Do you know the four most powerful words in the English Language?” and goes on to inform the reader that they are “Once upon a time.” These four words are internationally known to evoke strong feelings and images that help us remember a world where dreams come true and good always triumphs over evil. Who wouldn’t want this?

            As I was growing up, I loved traditional literature unless I knew it was traditional literature. If this doesn’t make sense to you then, please let me elaborate. There is something about traditional literature that makes it fun and exciting on its own but when you start explaining to kids that this stuff is old and their parents learned about it too, they begin to lose interest.

            Traditional literature is ever so popular because it satisfies our need to explain the natural world in absence of scientific information, it helps us with our need to articulate our fears and dreams in a way that makes them accessible and manageable, it helps us impose some order on the apparent random nature of life which in turn, helps us understand our place in the universe and last but certainly not least, it lets us satisfy our need to entertain each other as well as ourselves. As you can see, traditional literature is a powerful thing but can be a painful thing if it is presented to students in the wrong way.

            Thinking outside the box is the best way to teach traditional literature. Rather than telling students to sit down, take out their textbooks and read 100 pages before testing them on it, try to get inside their shoes. Be creative and let them be creative. Allow them to make plays and act out stories, let them write their own versions of stories and let them come up with new ways to learn about these old pieces of literature.

            Traditional literature helps students develop literary language and abstract and internal thinking. Students will generally be very responsive to traditional literature because of the things it represents. There is no need to force traditional literature upon students. If you find yourself doing this, try something new.

Annotated Bibliography

Another course requirement of the semester that actually turned out to be a great assignment and very beneficial was an annotated bibliography.

We had to create an annotated bibliography on children’s books for grades K-6 and it really gave me an insight into building a diverse classroom library. Through the process of researching books for the assignment in each different category of literature (fiction, fantasy, etc) I have learned about great websites to use in order to build a great library and have actually gone and bought the books to get my library started. I was able to learn about awards that books have received and I have learned about ways that books can be used in the classroom.

Technology and Reading

Technology has come such a far way just in the past few years. New inventions and ideas make reading much more convenient and in my opinion, much more fun.
With items like the Nook, the Kindle and other electronic readers, millions of books of all genres and for all ages are readily available literally at our fingertips. I was never one to read so much just because of the sole fact that lugging around a book was obnoxious. I had lists upon lists of books I wanted to read but hated going to the library because they were usually checked out and I hated going to the bookstore because many times, I would use the gas and they wouldn't have the book i wanted anyways. Then, this past Christmas, I received a Nook as a gift. I was immediately thrilled and went book crazy immediately. Books on these extremely convenient readers are less expensive and very easy to read. You can change the font size, highlight, take notes, and change the brightness all with just the touch of a button. Recently, I even started getting textbooks on my electronic devices which is great so I don't have to lug around 50 pounds worth of books and break my back!
There is a a whole chapter in my class textbook dedicated specifically to talking about the online world of children's literature and I have to say, that I am excited about the advancements they are going to make with this in the very near future.
The Internet even offers sites that have read alouds that children can listen to as a change up from the voice of their parents and teachers. Interactive storybooks online get students involved with the books they are reading which helps them form connections and therefor have better comprehension.
The possibilities are never ending and this somewhat newfound technology is a great thing to incorporate into the classroom because it is something that students at all ages really respond too.