Reading Flashmob

Aclades to Occoee Middle School in Florida for demonstrating their commitment to education by promoting reading among youth in a creative, dynamic and exciting way.  With so many other interactive mobile and internet sites to stimulate a student’s attention, the art of reading (fiction/non-fiction) takes a back seat, especially with students who struggle.  Reading is not always seen as cool.  Clearly, Occoee Middle School changed their students’ perception by inspiring them to do a singing and dancing music video called “Gotta Keep Reading“ to the tune of “I Gotta Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas.  The video relates reading and literacy to encourage kids to prepare for the process while exposing them to various genres.  Congratulations! Recently, my students and I followed in their foot steps and performed our own version of this song and dance ensemble for our  school assembly.  The tune was absolutely contagious and inspirational!  View link to video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6D9jiEYxzs&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNpNfhpqDk4

To view lyrics click on link below:

https://www.ocps.net/lc/west/moo/Documents/Gotta%20Keep%20Reading%20Lyrics.pdf

Raise a Reader

As a teacher I’m always looking for great read aloud storybooks and novels to fill my classroom library. There is a lot of value in reading mystery, biography, science fiction, fairy tales, folktales, humor, poetry and plays. Books are dedicated to encouraging, promoting and supporting your child’s imagination and creativity while helping their reading and writing skills. Books can offer boys and girls the opportunity to escape to a new world filled with adventure or learn about something new. The knowledge they gain from literature is powerful. It’s important that boys and girls are exposed to a variety of literature (fiction and/or non-fiction) so that they can connect and enjoy. Stocking a home library is important. Today many bookstores have recommendations for different age groups so it’s easier to pick the right book that fits with the child’s interests. A excellent resource for teachers and parents is “The Read-Aloud Handbook”: by Jim Trelease. This all-time bestselling guide is highly recommended by universities. My colleagues and I use it as a reference. Jim Trelease’s website explain’s the components of this book perfectly:

It’s divided into two parts: the first half contains the “ways” and “whys” of raising readers; and the last half consists of an annotated bibliography (The Treasury) of almost 1000 children’s books for reading aloud, from picture books to novels and anthologies, with synopses on hundreds of the stories and guides to the age of the audience for which it was written.

I found it was a very useful guide because it advocated the benefits of reading to children.  Also, it helps me find appropriate storybooks for young children. In doing so, this helps children see books as their friends.

Here’s a list of my favorite places to shop for children’s books:

• Chapters Bookstore
• Scholastic
• Kidsbooks

Back to School Learning for Your Child

Well it’s that dreaded time of year again when students have to say goodbye to their relaxing summer break and hello to reading books, writing, routines & homework. Ahh….so sad!

Luckily there are some students who are very excited about heading back to school, especially to see their friends and use their new supplies. Either way during the long summer break, students often lose much of what they were taught during the school year. A child’s school experience can be a happy one. Teachers and parents play a key role by working as team to support the child. Like the saying goes, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Giving a child endless amount of boring worksheets to work on isn’t the answer. Students need to engage in their learning experience, both hands on and minds on. I understand that parents are busy with work, household chores, etc. so time is important. But, there are simple strategies that parents can do at home to ensure their child’s success in school and in their future. Here are some practical ways to support your child’s learning:

• Encourage your child to read daily. If reading is a problem then encourage him/her to read newspaper articles, magazines or even comic books. Establish a home library.
• Ask who, what, where, when and why questions to extend your child’s thinking skills and knowledge.
• Join and use your public library.
• View and talk about educational television.  Encourage your child to ask questions about T.V. programs.
• Watch news on T.V. and discuss daily events.
• Spin a globe and pick a place to research like famous places, location, time, language spoken, and interesting facts.
• Grow a vegetable garden.  Then have your child keep an observation book to record what is happening in the garden as it grows.
• Bake a cake from scratch. This allows your child to follow the directions and measure out all of the ingredients.
• Take a trip to a children’s museum, Aquarium, Stanley park, Planetarium, Vancouver Zoo or Science World and talk about what you see.
• Be a tourist for a day and visit historical places of interest in your area.
• Have your child write her/his own book.
• Play games with your child: I Spy, Junior Scrabble, Pictionary, Boggle, card games, Guess Who, Memory etc.
• Register in Parks and Recreation programs.
• Give your child a job at home, for example, set the table, or do the dishes.  Encourage your child to stick to jobs at home until completed.
• Check the homework planner daily and check for completion.
• Communicate with your child’s school when you have questions.