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.

Getting the Most out of Children’s Literature in the Classroom

One of the best things about reading is that it is so versatile and it can be used in conjunction with all subjects in the classroom. When you give children something exciting to read, they enjoy reading and therefor enjoy learning. Instead of having one part of the day dedicated strictly to reading, use literature throughout the day in small increments so that children do not become overwhelmed and the content becomes more relatable for your students. When you construct your lesson plans in this way, children can focus more and use class materials in a more successful and meaningful way.

Creating a Supportive Environment

Highly effective reading teachers create a supportive environment for children to prosper in. Children are encouraged to develop into good readers when they are provided with a supportive environment. Encouraging students to become engaged in reading is an important step in literacy.

Factors that actively involve children in reading:

Positive Attitude: Some children love to read, some children can’t read and some children have never been given the opportunity to read. Attitude or desire is everything and teaching children at an early age will give them the opportunity to fall in love with reading. By having a positive attitude, children feel better and are more inclined to involve themselves with reading.

Engagement: A child who is engaged in reading employs both his mind and his heart and is well on his way to becoming a lifelong reader. Developing lifelong readers should be the goal of every teacher, and, therefore, providing an instructional environment that promotes reading engagement should be at the top of the priority list. The engaged reader is capable of overcoming obstacles such as low parental education and income as well as preferences and abilities associated with gender.

Motivation: Motivation is a critical part of engagement. As motivation increases, students want to spend more time reading. There are 5 main factors that motivate students to read, they are:

1.    Self-selection of books

2.    Access to a variety of fiction and nonfiction books

3.    Books that are personally interesting

4.    Access to lots of books

5.    Being read to by teachers and family members and when peers shared what they were reading with them

Range of Genre: For all children to become good readers, teachers must accommodate their students’ different interests and reading abilities by using a range of authentic texts, such as picture books, easy readers, chapter books, informational books, poetry, magazines, newspapers, and biographies.

Time for Reading: Ample time for reading is defined as: “more time to read than the combined total allocated for learning about reading and talking or writing about what has been read.” Teachers need to ensure that they allow ample amounts of time for children to read every day.

The Benefits of Children's Literature

As I have grown over the years, my appreciation for reading has evolved. The joy has always been there but it is for quite different reasons now than it was 15 years ago. I still enjoy an exciting picture book but I take in different things about it now that I am aspiring to be a successful teacher. As I read and discover new books, I think, “How can I use this in my classroom and will it be valuable to my future students.”  It is important to build an abundant library that includes books of all levels, genres, and styles. Supplying children with numerous books to choose from will allow them to take full advantage ot the benefits they offer.

Children’s literature offers many educational benefits in addition to personal benefits.

Personal Benefits of children’s literature:

·         Provides entertainment

·         Gives children a point of reference for understanding their own life experiences

·         Provides a broader view of the world

·         Develops their imagination

·         Helps children develop insight into human behaviors such as morality, relationships, and compassion

Educational benefits of children’s literature:

·         Helps children with their language and literacy development

·         Increases language acquisition, reading comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, story patterns, writing skills and positive attitude towards reading

·         Allows children to think critically and creatively while solving problems and having discussions.

·         Provides a natural connection to other curriculum areas

Author Study: Roald Dahl

For my first ever blog post, I have decided to write about a very large project that I am having a lot of fun doing! I will continue to update you as the project comes along but for now, here is a little glimpse into the life and works of Roald Dahl and the process of completing this assignment:

I have begun to work on my author study for a Children's Literature course that I am taking. By the end of the 10 week course, I plan on knowing everything there is to know about Roald Dahl plus more! I have had the incredible opportunity to nanny for a member of the Dahl family for two years which just makes this assignment that much more exciting! To be honest, I don’t know where to start but I assume the beginning is as good a place as any!

What many people don’t know about the talented British man is that he is famous for much more than his witty, dark humor, moral filled children’s books. Although he passed away in 1990, Roald Dahl continues to be an overly inspiring author to people all over the world. Dahl’s works vary from children’s stories he wrote for his own children (like Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) to children's poetry to novels written specifically with an adult audience in mind to screenplays he wrote for adult movies such as James Bond: You Only Live Twice and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

So, where did it all begin? Well, Roald Dahl was born in Llandaff, Wales on September 13, 1916; a day that is still celebrated in the UK and various cities across the United States (including Naples, Florida).

            Since this is for a Children’s Literature class, I will focus on each of his unique books designed for children but loved by people of all ages.


Official Roald Dahl Website