Curly's Summer Reading

My son Curly (8 years old ) is just beginning to figure out how to enjoy reading and how to find book he wants to read independently.   He has always been a safe reader often reading books that he feels very confident reading.  He has been very close to the Stink series this year. This spring we read Ottoline and the Yellow Cat and he was intrigued.   He ended up finishing it on his own and loving it!  

Now that summer has started, he is needed guidance and reminding to read.  After suggesting a number of titles he snubbed at the library, I caught him reading Geronimo's Valentine before bed. (This was a book he received for Christmas from his Nana.)  His "before bed reading" only lasts a few minutes because he is zonked from summer play.  So today I told him to grab his book for the car.  He was shocked when he realized how far he had read just in the car.  I am hoping he will latch on to the car reading.  I think the short rides give him short reading sprees that keep him hooked on reading.  

After the ride today, I asked him if he likes mysteries since Ottoline and Geronimo are both mystery books.  He gave a nod.  I also thought about how both books have lots of pictures, maps, and labels throughout.  I know Geronimo books and the next Ottoline will keep him occupied but of course we are always looking for other favorites.  What is working for your readers?

Don't Forget Questions for Mark

If you haven't yet had a chance to read What Student Writing Teaches Us by Mark Overmeyer, check it out online at Stenhouse. Details about his blog tour can be found in this earlier post.

His first blog stop is here on Tuesday, June23 where I will post answers to the questions you have about his new book.  

Thank you to those who have commented and to those who are still thinking feel free to comment on this post. I will gather your questions through (tomorrow) Friday evening at 5pm and then email your thoughts to Mark.  Tuesday I will post his answers.  Looking forward to hearing from you!

Love that Puppy

A few weeks back I decided to buy Love that Puppy by Jeff Jarka and I 'm glad I did for a few reasons.  This picture book meets graphic novel has cartoonish feel that layers panelling within the flow of the two page spreads .  The story is about something that kids truly pretend about...being a dog.  I have seen kids in K-1 do this year after year during indoor recess. In this story, Peter decides to become an actual dog. The author humorously takes you through his adjustments to this new life and his parents reactions to his sudden change.  The book makes a good read aloud/hand over for kids to read because of the limited text and extra picture support in the panels.  I know it will work for my beginning of the year second graders and fits great in our dog and cat basket.  Hope you LOVE it when you check it out!

Pretending Inspires Reading

When summer begins, my house is often the hub for the older kids in the neighborhood. Let me clarify that the "older kids' are the 9 and 10 year olds that my older sons hang with.  I am happy to be the hub because I want my kids to always feel like they can hang out at home.  

This past week my older boys began to enter into their dramatic play mode (they still love to pretend thanks to Harry Potter, Pokemon and Star Wars).  The boys had laid out their "wizarding toys" which include a book called Wizardology, wands, small containers they fill with sand and dirt for potions and a journal they use to write spells, make maps and list characters.  The boys were completely in character when one of their friends came over to play. ( A friend who often struggles with pretend play, reading and school in general.)  Knowing this, I reminded my oldest to be patient and guide but not force the pretend play ( he tends to be bossy).  The quick advice paid off and the boys were off in their land of wizards. They played for hours running outside to collect materials for spells, battling with their wands and just having fun.  The next day, the boy came back over. He asked not to play but to borrow the Wizardology book because he wanted to READ it!!  We were just as happy as could be to share something that felt like a toy but turned into authentic reading.  I can't help but reflect on a couple things after observing this situation...

Dramatic play is such an essential  part of child development and its implications are huge when we can weave in literature.  Matt Glover writes about dramatic play as an entry point for our youngest writers.  Even older readers and writers continue to enjoy and experiment.

Finding books kids want to read is half ( maybe more) the battle for reluctant readers.   

I will be anxious to talk to the neighbor about the book and the reading he did.  Did he use it to pretend on his own at home?  What did he find out? How did he use the book and how did he go about reading it?  (it is fiction but very much laid out similar to a non-fiction text).

I 'll let you know.

Learning from Saline Michigan

My one and only conference of the summer was filled with learning.  I don't think I've ever been to a conference with 6 writerly teachers of whom I learned so much.  It was a a true learning experience for me in so many ways. I will be thinking about the big ideas I carried away from this conference through out the summer.  If you haven't read the work of the following women...you must!!

Ann Marie Corgill    Of Primary Importance

Cathy Mere               More than Guided Reading

Debbie Miller           Teaching with Meaning, Teaching with Intention

Franki  Sibberson    Beyond Leveled Books

                                   Still Learning to Read                                                                              

Kathy Collins            Growing Readers, Reading for Real

Mary Lee Hahn         Reconsidering the Read Aloud

What Student Writing Teaches Us by Mark Overmeyer

Are you looking for some summer professional reading?  Look no further than Mark Overmeyer's new book, What Student Writing Teaches Us.  This month, I am participating in a blog tour of Mark's new book published by Stenhouse and available online here for all to read before its release in July.  After reading his book,  I am taking away new pieces of  understanding and thinking I will use in my own classroom for next year. (I am also finishing my first book for the 48 hour challenge!!!!)

In What Student Writing Teaches Us, Mark opens our eyes to the many ways we can use opportunities in the classroom to assess and inform our instruction using student writing.  He encourages us to consider thinking about assessment during the process of writing rather than something that happens "at the end" of a piece.  He gives us examples of guiding questions he has used to balance time, topic choice and student talk for writers.  He stresses that rubrics and checklists are only "tools" for summative and formative assessment and that we must use them intentionally.  He reminds us that these tools are holistic when they lead to a discussion about teaching points and how educators can adjust teaching to meet the needs of our students.  Mark also suggests that formative assessment should include student voice and feedback, conferencing and self assessment.  He includes a number of student scenarios, student work samples and record keeping examples as well.  This book will help set the tone for authentic and meaningful writing assessment within your workshop. It is a must read!

For the next two weeks, I will be gathering questions you have for Mark.  Follow the following link to the Stenhouse post to read his book online. After checking out his book, post your questions for Mark in the comment box on this post.  On June 23, I will post Mark's answers to all of  your thoughts.  

The blog tour of this book will continue with the following stops:

June 25   The Reading Zone

June 29  Teaching That Sticks

July 1      Two Writing Teachers

  

Go To Bed, Monster ! by Natasha Wing

I have spent more on books over the past two weekends than I have all year!! I am treating myself and my students because I am looping to second grade next year and I know they have read almost every book in our class library. So, I am hungry for new reads. I can't tell you how exited I am to share another year with them. Second reason for all the spending is the great sale I went to last weekend (hard backs $5 a piece!!). I couldn't pass up the goods.

Go to Bed, Monster is a story that I fell in love with at the sale. It reminded me right away of Harold and Purple Crayon as Lucy, the little girl, decides to draw instead of going to bed. She draws some shapes that come to life as a monster. She and the monster play and play until she is exhausted. She draws him a number of remedies to help him get to sleep but finally a book does the trick. This works as a read aloud and then fits right in the hands of transitional readers.