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