Up, Up, and Away! Soaring in Reading

With the start of the 2013-2014 school year parents are asking the ever-important question, "How often should my child read at home?"  Well, no matter the age or grade of a child daily reading should be encouraged.  Reading daily has many benefits for children including better grades, higher vocabulary, higher critical thinking skills, and more general knowledge (this comes in handy when trying to make connections to new texts).

Children should be encouraged to read at least 20 minutes daily.  Some experts say that a child between five and seven can read up to 30 minutes daily. Remember, this is a suggestion, not a limit.  Allowing a child to read for as long as he wants is a good thing.  This time is outside of the time spent reading homework assignments.  It should be time spent reading something within the child's area of interest.

If your child is too young to read independently, read to or with your child.  A study completed in Australia in 2012 (released earlier this year) concluded that preschoolers who were read to were able to gain a year of academic development over preschoolers whose parents did not read to them.  This was regardless of socio-economic status.  Reading to or with your child at an early stage can make a world of difference.

Further research completed by the National Reading Panel (NPR) and data collected from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) suggest that only 25% of 13 year-olds and 22% of 17 year-olds read daily at a rate of five pages or less a day.  This numbercombined in school and homework reading!  If we want our children to soar in reading, we must change this statistic.  Daily reading will help your child improve as a reader and as a student overall.  So, encourage your child to read every day and soon he or she will be up, up, and AWAY!  This week's featured books would be a way to start!

This Week's Featured Books:

This is the fourth book in Patricia Hubbell's Things that Go series. The book combines the rhythm of poetry with amazing artwork to teach readers about the different types of aircraft that fill skies day and night.  It's a great read!

Author: Patricia Hubbell

Audience: Ages 3 and up

Length: 32 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Two Lions (2013)

ASIN: B008RZDNX6

ISBN-13: 978-0761453888

At age 11, Elizabeth "Bessie" Coleman tired of being told what she could and could not do.  When the Wright Brothers took their historic flight, Bessie vowed that she would be the first African-American female pilot and she would not let sexism and racism keep her from reaching her goal.  Her hard work, faith, and determination helped her overcome obstacles and secure her place in history.  This is an expertly written book with illustrations of the same caliber.  A must read!

Author: Nikki Grimes

Audience: Ages 4 and up

Length: 48 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Orchard Books (2002)

ISBN-10: 0439352436

ISBN-13: 978-0439352437

Candace Fleming is no stranger to writing about history.  She has written books on Ben Franklin, Abe Lincoln and his family, and Eleanor Roosevelt.  In Amelia Lost, Fleming tells the gripping tale of Amelia Earhart's life from childhood to her last adventurous flight to the desperate search for the pilot and her missing plane.  The book includes interactive sidebars that track everything from the history of the flight to what Earhart ate while flying. It's a must read!

Author: Candace Fleming

Audience: Ages 8 and up

Length: 128 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade (2011)

ISBN-10: 0375841989

ISBN-13: 978-0375841989

Beat the Bucking Bull of Vocabulary.

It happens to all of us.  We're reading at a nice pace when along comes a word we've never seen.  Many young readers (and some older readers as well) struggle with these new words.  The struggle to figure out new words can feel like riding a bucking bull.  Cody Custer, world champion bull rider and member of the famous Custer bull riding family, writes that in order to become a successful bull rider a person needs to have foundation.  He says, "Before any other aspect in the sport of riding bulls can be perfected, riding the bucking motion must become second nature for a bull rider to have a successful future in the sport."  So how does this translate to reading?  To be a successful reader, you must also have a basic foundation.  One element of this foundation is vocabulary.

As readers and users of language we have two types of vocabulary: receptive vocabulary and expressive vocabulary.  Receptive vocabulary consist of words we understand when we hear or read them.  Expressive vocabulary consists of words we can use correctly when we speak.  By the time a child is twelve years old his or her receptive vocabulary includes around 50,000 words.  So how do we build this foundation of vocabulary?  Here are some tips on building vocabulary:

• Read to/with your child.  The more reading material a child is exposed to the greater the opportunity to learn new words.  Reading with your child also allows you to help them through new words.
• Talk with your children about the environment around you.  This will improve your child's ability to make connections with the text and will add new words and concepts to his or her receptive vocabulary.
• Teach your child to use context clues.  This is a strategy children learn in school and should be encouraged to use at home.  Context clues are clues in the text surrounding the unknown words. Students can use these clues to figure out a new word's meaning.
• Check it with a dictionary.  Whenever I asked my father what a word meant his answer was always the same: look it up.  I did.  Using a dictionary to verify meaning is a great way to increase vocabulary.
• Learn at least one new word a day.  There are several "word of the day" programs available on-line and through text messaging.  Encourage your child to try and learn and use one new word a day.

Bull riding and reading are two different things, but the can both be a lot of fun when built on a proper foundation.  A vocabulary is a life-long building project.  Every time we read we should be learning new words.  Keep reading and keep building your vocabulary.  This week's featured books are a great place to start.

This Week's Featured Books:

Have you ever wanted to compete in a rodeo?  Well, Nellie Sue has.  Her dream is to beat the Rodeo King in the race around the barrels.  However, at the rodeo she finds herself using her wrangling skills to save the day.  Complete with amazing illustrations, this book is a must read.

Author: Rebecca Janni

Audience: Ages 3 to 10

Length: 32 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers (2012)

ISBN-10: 0803737343

ISBN-13" 978-0803737341

If you want to know the details of the lives of the African Americans who blazed the trail in the old west, look no further than this book.  This book is a fascinating account of real-life history full of rare vintage photos that allow you to meet these heroes face to face.

Author: Lillian Schlissel

Audience: Ages 8 and up

Length: 80 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Aladdin (2000)

ISBN-10: 0689833156

ISBN-13" 978-0689833151

Ever since she was younger, Tye Jenkins has wanted two things: to be a rodeo rider and to have Jake Miller. She had to choose one and rodeo was the winner. At 27 years old, Tye suffers an injury while competing in a bull riding event.  She wants to ride again, but her spirit is as broken as her body.  With her career in limbo, Tye is suddenly thrust back into Jake's world as he is tasked with helping her recover.  Can Jake help her heal and help her ride again?  To find out, open the book.

Author: Grace Branniganl

Audience: Adult

Length: 301 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Quester Books (2012)

ASIN: B008NTRE7C

What's Your Interest?

One of the biggest complaints about reading in school is having to read things outside of one's areas of interests.  Many reading curriculums often have set topics or texts for students to read, but that doesn't mean that teachers can't supplement the curriculum with materials from student's interest areas.  As readers, we need to take advantage of every opportunity to read things that interest us.  Likewise, if we wish to grow as readers we must be willing, at times, to step outside of our comfort zone and challenge ourselves to read something new.  If we open ourselves up to new texts and new genres we may just find that our interests will expand.  Each time we experience something new--do something we've never done before--we get an opportunity to expand our reading interest by finding things to read about that subject.

Recently, I had the opportunity to build a pinewood derby race car with my son.  This was something I had never done before.  In order to make sure that I was doing it right, I enlisted the help of a friend with vast woodworking experience.  He told me which tools to buy and walked me through the process of designing and building a great race car.  I was so interested, in fact, that my son and I took a trip to the library to find books on pinewood and soapbox derbies.  Not only did I expand my reading interest, but I also had a great bonding experience with my child.

So, be willing to step out of your box.  Try something new.  Read something from a genre you might not be interested in.  You might be amazed at the results.  This week's featured books are a great place to start.

This Week's Featured Books:

Everything you've ever wanted to know about one of jazz music's greatest names can be found in this book. The award winning writing of Andrew Davis Pinkny coupled with the award winning illustrations from Brian Pinkny make this a must read for all aspiring jazz fans and book lovers.

Author: Andrew Davis Pinkny

Audience:  Ages 5-10

Length: 32 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (2006)

ISBN-10: 0786814209

ISBN-13: 978-0786814206

While trying to find his way to town a jazzy fly meets some interesting animals.  All of these animals make different sounds.  The Jazz fly collects each of these sounds and uses them to play jazz in a way it's never been played before.  This amazing book comes with a cd full of jazz music performed by the author.  Add the creative illustrations and you've got a great book!

Author: Mathew Gollub

Audience: Ages 4 and up

Length:32 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Tortuga Pr (2000)

ISBN-10: 1889910171

ISBN-13: 978-1889910178

In the winter of 1926 everyone has a positive attitude.  They see nothing but good things ahead.  That is, until Joe Trace, a beauty product salesman, commits an unspeakable crime.  His wife reacts in an equally ugly manner. This passionate story shifts through time to show us the emotions, hopes, fears, and deep realities of black urban life.

Author: Toni Morrison

Audience: Adult

Length: 256 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Vintage (2004)

ISBN-10: 1400076218

ISBN-13: 978-1400076215

Readers Theater at Home Brings Stories to Life!

So, your family loves to read, but you wish you could get more out of books.  Well, fret not!  With reader's theater you can bring your favorite stories to life.  Readers Theater is a strategy that teachers use to increase fluency and comprehension in readers.  It builds confidence and helps the reader learn to read aloud with expression.  Not only does Readers Theater work in the classroom, but it can also be a great reading activity for families to use at home.  My son and I recently read The Perfect Sword by Scott Goto on our Kindle Fire via the Reading Rainbow app.  After reading the story, my son wanted to act it out.  I told him we could do it as long as we used the book (I didn't want to forget my lines).  We threw on some sheets (don't tell my wife) and grabbed some plastic samurai swords and acted out the story as we read through the book a second time.  Afterwards, I asked my son to retell the story.  I was amazed to find that he remembered every detail.  He even gave me reasons for why he acted out certain parts of the story the way that he did.  It was an amazing experience!

So, how can your family have fun with Reader's Theater?  Well, here are some simple guidelines, courtesy of readingrockets.org,  to use when doing readers theater:

• Use a story that can be divided into parts.  This way, each member of your family can have a part to read.  If there are not enough reading parts some family members can be the audience or extras in the play.
• Assign parts to each person.
• Read the story orally for practice.
• Perform assigned parts in front of an audience.  The audience can be made of family members who didn't have a reading part.
• (Finally, one from me) Use of costumes/props can make the experience more fun.

If you don't have any books that you think would make good Reader's Theater you can find free scripts online by clicking any of the links below:

• http://rtscripts.weebly.com/
• http://www.thebestclass.org/rtscripts.html
• http://www.readinga-z.com/book/scripts.php
• http://edhelper.com/Readers_Theater.htm

Well, read on and act out!  Seriously, have fun!  This week's featured books are a great place to start.

This Week's Featured Books:

No one in the world is quite like Oddrey.  She is unique in every way.  So, when her teacher announced that the class would be performing The Wizard of Oz, Oddrey was sure that she would get the starring role.  What a surprise to find out that the teacher had cast her as a tree.  This great story, from Blue Spruce Award-winning author-illustrator Dave Whamond, is about the wonders of being an individual.  It's a must read!

Author: Dave Whamond

Audience: Ages 4 to 8

Length: 32 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Owlkids Books (2012)

ISBN-10: 1926973453

ISBN-13: 978-1926973456

Living under a variety theater has been the perfect way to learn great skills.  Each member of the Roly Poly family has developed talent--acting, dancing, singing, performing magic tricks, etc.  Now, they've finally been given the opportunity to showcase their talents.  Watch out world!  This is a wonderful book written in Spanish and full of wonderful illustrations.

Author: Monica Carretro

Audience: Ages 5 to 7

Length: 36 pages

Language: Spanish

Publisher: Cuento de Luz SL (2011)

ISBN-10: 8493824046

ISBN-13: 978-8493824044

Have you ever wanted to be a star?  Well, Darlene sure has.  She signed up for acting class determined to succeed, but in her first role, she stumbles and spills water all over the stage.  Is he career destined to be one disaster after another?  Read the book and find out!

Author: Amy Schwartz

Audience: Ages 4 to 8

Length: 32 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press (2007)

ISBN-10: 1596432306

ASIN: B0044KMW44

One of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies comes to life for kids in this book.  A complicated work that often has adults stumbling has been made kid-friendly by Lois Burdett.  Now kids can enjoy a story of revenge and power, love and betrayal, sword fights, and ghosts.  Filled with letters and journal entries written by other kids as if they were the characters in the story, this would be a great addition to your family library.

Author: Lois Burdett

Audience: Ages 7 and up

Length: 64 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Firefly Books (2000)

ISBN-10: 1552095304

ISBN-13: 978-1552095300

Improving Reading through Storytelling

One of the earliest--and most important--reading skills a child acquires is the ability to retell a story.  Sara Miller and Lisa Pennycuff (2008), authors of the article The Power of Story: Using Storytelling to Improve Literacy Learning (published in the Journal of Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives in Education) write, "Because of the interrelated nature of the processes involved in reading and writing, storytelling is an effective pedagogical strategy that can be woven into instruction to increase students' compentencies in all areas."  They go on to write that, "Engaging in storytelling activities is a way to motivate even the most reluctant reader or writer."  Finally, the pair states that story telling strengthens readers by giving them a sense of story.

My son loves to gather the family together and tell us a story he's read, heard, or watched on television. When we read together, he is quick to make connections with other texts and tell us those stories, too.  He's a natural when it comes to storytelling.  Through retelling these stories, he has improved as a reader.  Why? Bear in mind that before the birth of the written word, our oral traditions were the tools we used to spread knowledge and keep history.  Storytelling evolved into the books we read today.  It is one of the foundations of reading.

Storytelling can be used at home as well as in the classroom.  Here are some tips to make your storytelling experience amazing:

• Before you tell the story have a way to draw in the audience, such as a song or rhyme connected to the content of the story.
• Ask children if they know any other stories about the kinds of characters in the story you are going to tell or have told.
• Don't be afraid to include the audience.  Ask, "What do you think will happen next?"  Add a call and response to the story or add physical actions that the audience participates in such as rhythmic hand clapping.
• Help children connect to the story by asking them what it reminds them of.
• Give children a chance to tell a story as well.

Have fun telling stories.  This week's featured books are great places to start.

This Week's Featured Books:

Have you ever wondered where stories come from?  Well, you can find the answer in this book.  Packed with Caldecott Award winning illustrations this book tells the story of Anansi's adventure to get stories for the world.  The book also includes the history of Anansi tales.  This is a must read!

Author(s): Gail E. Haley

Audience: Ages 4 to 10

Length: 36 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Aladdin (1988)

ISBN-10: 0689712012

ISBN-13: 978-0689712012

So you want to be a story tell.  Great!  This book is a wonderful way to start.  Margaret J. Olson fills the pages with easy to learn stories.  Each story comes with step-by-step instructions for completing the illustrations as you tell the stories.  Each different action in a story adds a new detail to the illustration.  This book will bring hours of fun.

Author(s): Margaret J. Olson

Audience: Ages 4 and up

Length: 45 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Creative Storytime Press (1963)

ISBN-10: 0934876010

ISBN-13: 978-0934876010

This New York Times Childrens Book Award winner is full of easry stories to learn and tell.  All of the stories come from Nigeria and are full of humor and important life lessons.  This stories are sure to entertain and educate your audiences.

Author(s): Barbara K Walker

Audience: 8 and Up

Length: 112 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Texas Tech University Press (1990)

ISBN-10: 0896722163

ISBN-13: 978-0896722163

Learning about Reading through Sailing

Yo, ho, ho--a sailor's life for me!  If you've never been sailing, you're missing out on one of the most enjoyable activities in the world.  But, it's not just enjoyable; it's also educational.  Sailing can teach us a lot about reading.  If we look closely enough, we can find valuable lessons that will help us to become better readers.  Here are three of those lessons:

• Lesson # 1--Always plot your course before you set sail.  No right-minded sailor starts a journey without knowing where he or she is going.  Sailing ships have nautical charts, maps, and GPS systems to help sailors set a course.  Readers, too, must set their course before they leave the dock.  How do we do this?  We set our purpose.  A reader's purpose is his or her reason for reading.  Are you reading to enjoy a good story, figure out how something works, or learn about history?  We must determine why we are reading.  For example, if I want to learn more about sailing vessels then my reading purpose is to gain information on that subject.

• Lesson # 2--Stick to the course.  Once a sailor has plotted his or her course he or she sticks to it, only making changes if absolutely necessary.  Readers can do this, too.  Once we know our purpose we devise a plan to achieve it.  For instance, if my purpose is to learn about sailing vessels, my plan might be to do close reading and use a graphic organizer or chart to keep track of the pertinent information I discover.

• Lesson # 3--Stay challenged.  Sailing is fun, but not easy.  There is always something to be done on a sailing vessel.  Sailors are challenged physically, mentally, and emotionally on every journey and every journey is an experience that helps them grow in life.  Reading can be this type of experience if we challenge ourselves.  We do this by reading things that are outside of our norm or favorite genre.  We can also challenge ourselves by reading material that may be above our "level" of current accomplishment.  The more we challenge ourselves the more we grow as readers.

So, sail further into reading and have fun along the way!  This week's featured books would be a great place to start!

This week's featured books:

In this colorful book, a young boy sets his toy sailboat on journey that will take it clear across the ocean. The small boat meets many interesting friends along the way and carries with it a message of friendship.  This book is bursting with sound and color, rhythm and rhyme.

Author(s): Janet Buell

Audience:  Ages 0 - 7

Length: 32 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Carolrhoda Books

ISBN-10: 1575058219

ISBN-13: 978-1575058219

Robert F Kennedy does an amazing job telling the story of Robert smalls, a daring and fearless man who at the age of 24 mastermineded the theft of the Confederacy's Army's most powerful gunship and delivered it to the Union Navy.  The story this little-known American hero is brought to life with brilliant illustrations by Patrick Faricy.

Author(s): Robert F. Kennedy

Audience:  Ages 8 and up

Length: 48 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (2008)

ISBN-10: 1423108027

ASIN: B003F76DTC

Forget everything you thought you knew about pirates.  This book dispels all the myths Hollywood gave us and brings us into the truth about pirates like Blackbeard and Captain Kidd.  It takes us to the earliest roots of piracy in the Dark Ages to the golden age of piracy in the 1800's.  The author, Dr. Konstam has vast knowledge of maritime history and has studied countless artifacts to bring us this accurate record of the history of piracy.

Author(s): Angus Konstam

Audience: Ages 12 and up

Length: 192 pages

Language: English

Publisher: The Lyons Press (2002)

ISBN-10: 1585745162

ASIN: B001C46QRO

This interactive book includes charts, maps, lessons, and cautionary tales to teach the reader about pirates.  While reading, you'll work through the ranks of cabin boy to seaman to bo'sun to captain.  Pirates beware!

Author(s): Captain William Lubber

Audience: Ages 9 and up

Length: 80 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Candlewick (2008)

ISBN-10: 0763637947

ISBN-13: 978-0763637947

History: Boring?! No Way!

That's right! Reading about history does not have to be boring.  In fact, it can be downright fun!  Here are some tips to help make reading about history part of your family's summer fun.

• Select a good book.  Steven Kreis (2000), author of "The History Guide," writes, "Reading history can be a satisfying experience... ...It all depends on the book you are reading."  He goes on to say that readers of history need to find books that transport them through time and space.  One way to know if the book you want to read is one of these "transporting" books is to do a good preview of the book.  When you preview a book do the following things:

• Find the title and the author.  Are you familiar with this writer?  Have you read any of their other work?  Does the book include additional information about the author?
• Look at the front and back cover.  What kind of information can you get from the covers?
• If the book includes summaries or excerpts, read them.
• Read any introductory material, like dedications or forwards.
• Look through the table of contents and read chapter names.
• Check out any illustrations

• Find activities that you can do which are centered on the theme of the book.  If you are reading about the Civil War go and visit a reenactment. If you are reading about dinosaurs visit a museum and see their skeletons and other fossils.  If the book has a movie version watch the film (after you finish the book because the book is always better).

• Read with someone else.  Having a partner or reading group always makes reading about history more fun because you can discuss what you learn with others.

• Use a notebook or reading journal to keep track of all the interesting things you learn.

Learning about our history doesn't have to be a boring task.  Make it as fun as you want it to be!  This week's featured books are a great way to get started.

This Week's Featured Books:

David Catrow takes an important, but often difficult to understand piece of history and explains it to kids in a very enjoyable manner.  The book includes a forward, written by Catrow, and a glossary of terms so that young readers can learn the meanings of all those important words that form the foundation of our constitution.

Author(s): David Catrow
Audience: Ages 5-10
Length: 32 pages
Language: English
Publisher: Puffin Books (2002)
ISBN-10: 0142402761
ISBN-13: 978-0142402761

This Corretta Scott King Illustrator Award winning book takes the powerful poem, written by Langston Hughes and pairs it with equally powerful images created by Bryan Collier to promote the promise of equality guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States.

Author(s): Langston Hughes
Audience: Ages 4 amd up
Length: 40 pages
Language: English
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers (2012)
ISBN-10: 1442420083
ISBN-13: 978-1442420083

In this story, a family is torn apart by the Revolutionary War.  Tim has always looked up to his brother Sam, but when Sam joins the Revolutionary Army to fight the British Tim is torn between having to choose his brother or his father, who supports the British rule.  Not only does Tim have to decide between his brother and his father, but he must also decide if he is going to join the rebels or enlist in the British army and fight against his brother.

Author(s): James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
Audience: Ages 12 and up
Length: 240 words
Language: English
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks (2005)
ISBN-10: 0439783607
ISBN-13: 978-0439783607

Tom Morris is just a kid when the Declaration of Independence is signed.  So, when the British respond by raiding his village of New Haven and burning house to the ground, he doesn't know what to do.  After his family is forced to live in the pigpen, Tom decides to help the rebels.  In doing so, he gains a new appreciation for the Declaration of Independence.

Author: Wilma Pichford Hayes
Audience: Ages 10 and up
Length: 64 pages
Language: English
Publisher: Coward-McCann (1959)
ASIN: B0007E1SOK