The Threads of Reading Blog » getting kids to read

Time and Reading

Publishing Student Writing and Generating Reading Excitement

Reading Response Journals

Books for Read Across America Day

Motivating Readers with Interest Charts

Using Guided Imagery To Build Strong Readers

The Weaver — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 17:33:16 +0000

Reading is a participation sport! It can’t be emphasized enough that if we want children to become strong and capable readers, they have to actually READ – plain and simple. Think about it. If you wanted to get better at your favorite sport, how would you do it? First you would ensure that you had any equipment needed (books) and then you would make sure that you had time to practice (reading). If you wanted to get really good, you would probably also find someone who was good at this sport to keep you company (friends to talk about books with) and finally, you might also hire a coach (a good reading teacher) to help you improve your abilities. Researcher Anderson and colleagues reported that students in basal-dominated classrooms spent up to 70% of their reading instructional time completing worksheets. According to the research of Allington and many other reading experts, time actually spent reading is what correlates with higher reading competency. It seems logical that the more someone practices, the better they become at doing what it is that they have been practicing. Unfortunately, what seems logical is not always what happens in classrooms across the country. The research indicates that students perceived as “low” or struggling readers in many classrooms actually spent LESS time reading than did their better performing peers. What’s that all about? The greater the need, the more it stands to reason that those with the greatest need should be doing MORE reading – not less. Take the time to assess how much actual reading goes on in your class and find ways to increase it. Remember, reading is a participation sport which gets better with practice.

The Weaver — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:34:17 +0000

Research shows that writing reinforces and builds reading skills so the more we get students writing, the more improvements they make in their reading. A great way to get students excited about writing is to get their works published on the internet. Reading Rockets and AdLit.org has recently established a monthly challenge that gives students writing prompts that they can address. The prompts are inspired by the Exquisite Corpse Adventure serial saga being presented on the Library of Congress website. Each month, there is a new prompt for students in grades K-12 that correlates with the ongoing Adventure saga. Be sure to check out the prompts and the Adventure. The ongoing adventure is fun and will get students excited and thinking! Your kids will love the writing challenge and may just get their best writing published! There is also a great literacy resource “treasure chest” at the Library of Congress site for both parents and teachers. Be sure to check both of these great resources out!

KTankersley — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:00:01 +0000

Reading response journals can be a great way of helping students of all reading abilities think about the things that happen in a story they are reading. I like to use a spiral binder for this purpose. When students start a new text, they write the details such as title, author, publication date and so forth at the top of a new page. They then divide the page into 3 columns with 1 small and 2 larger columns. The first column will contain the page or pages where they read this information, the second column will be “the event” or a short description of what happened in this section of the text, with the third column labeled, “My Reaction to This.” To introduce journaling to your students, model your thinking aloud for a short passage and demonstrate how to record thoughts and reactions to the text. In addition to being a great tool to get students thinking more deeply about what is happening in the story, journaling helps students improve comprehension and participate in discussions about the text after reading.

KTankersley — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:11:51 +0000

I wanted to share with you some information that you might find helpful for getting some free books for your classroom or school library. Here is the information from their site:

The Literacy Empowerment Foundation (LEF) is inviting school or other literacy projects to apply for free books for Read Across America Day. During the past year, LEF has distributed over 3,000,000 books to schools all across the country for Read Across America Day and other literacy projects. Resources are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Be aware that there is a $.68 per book fee for shipping and handling on all orders. Orders must be received by Feb. 12th, 2010.

Contact: http://www.lefbooks.org/reading_resource_project/

Please note that I am not affiliated with this group in any way and that I am simply passing this resource along as a courtesy to my readers.

KTankersley — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:45:27 +0000

Get students interested in monitoring their own reactions to text by asking them to rate each chapter of a book they are reading on an “interest level” chart. After reading each chapter, students color in the bar to indicate how interested they were in the text of that chapter. Students can then discuss their reactions and what they liked or didn’t like about the various chapters of the book.

My Interest

Level

Wow – I hate to put it down! This was an exciting and interesting chapter.

Good – An Interesting chapter. I enjoyed it!

Ok – but not the best chapter I’ve ever read

So-So – Gave good info but didn’t interest me much.

Boring – I think this chapter should be left out of the book.

KTankersley — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:31:35 +0000

We know that good readers are able to picture characters, scenes and events that happen in the books they read. You can help children build their guided imagery skills by asking children to clarify their vision of what was happening in a book. After reading the story without showing children the pictures, ask children to pick one of the scenes from the book and to draw a picture of it as they saw it “on the movie screen” in their heads while you were reading. After children have shared and discussed their drawings with the class, reread the book and on the second reading, share the illustrations that are provided in the book. Lead students in a discussion about the fact that we all might visualize scenes from books in different ways and that this is using our imaginations as we read.