Our CRES Guidance Counselor, Margaret Page, just posted an article on the staff email that I would like to share with you. It's "What Schools Can Do to Help Boys Succeed." In the article, the "Guys Read" website is noted (one of my favorites).
The article mentions a dire prediction that men eventually will not even attend college, BUT with the Common Core's emphasis on Non-Fiction, I actually think that boys are going to have a renewed interest in reading in the future. That's my optimistic prediction.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Friday, October 18, 2013
Why did you bring THAT book home?
One of the pillars of library service to children is free choice. Research has repeatedly shown that children who choose their own reading material become better readers.*
But for children, learning to make good choices is a process. Part of our library instruction time for students is about book choice. I encourage students to think about why they are choosing their book. I tell them not to “judge a book by its cover,” but to spend time with the book - open it up and start reading a few of the pages. I encourage them to choose books they are truly interested in. I explain to them that the way to become a good reader is not by forcing yourself to read books that are too hard, but to read a lot of “just right” books. I teach them strategies for finding “just right” books.
But in spite of all of that, children, like all of us, sometimes learn better from their own experience than from the words of others. When a child comes up to the checkout desk with a book that I think may not be the best choice, we sometimes have a conversation like this (this conversation would be with a younger student who is just beginning to learn to read):
Mrs. Meservey: “Wow, someone at home must have a lot of time to read to you if you’re checking out such a loooong chapter book.”
Student: “No, my parents work a lot and they don’t have time to read to me much.”
Mrs. Meservey: “Hmmmm.... Did you look inside of that book, dear? Lots of words, not many pictures. Is that really what you want to borrow this week?”
Student: “Yup! I love this book. I like the pretty princess on the cover.”
Mrs. Meservey: “You’re sure that’s what you want? That looks maybe more like a book for an older student. I could help you find a book about a princess that has pictures.”
Student: “I’m sure! I really want this book! ”
Mrs. Meservey: “OK - here you go. Have a great day” (as I check out the book with my scanner).
More often than not the student only makes a poor choice like that a few times and then he or she realizes that it’s not much fun to have a book they really can’t enjoy on their own, or a book that their parents don’t have time to read to them. I encourage good choices, but I don’t force them. So in spite of my best efforts, I sometimes have to let them figure these things out on their own.
Sometimes an older student takes really hard books to impress friends or parents - wanting those significant others to believe he or she can read those books. This breaks my heart, because I’d love for that student to feel secure about who he or she is, and secure about where they are in their reading ability. I don’t humiliate the student by not allowing them to borrow books that are too hard. I might walk that student over to some books that I think are a better match for their ability, or make some other suggestions - but I don’t force. I know that in their reading classroom, they are having choices made with guidance from the teacher that are appropriate to their reading level and that are “just right.”
We as adults don’t always read “just right” books. When we’re tired or want to relax, we read short magazine articles and fun fiction - or we flip through a non-fiction book and just read the captions under the photos or read only the parts we are interested in. Kids are the same. They are not always going to choose books that perfectly match their reading ability or that challenge them. Sometimes they are going to choose a book because they like looking at the photos inside, or they just want to hold it for a while because they hope they can read it some day. Some days they are tired or stressed out and they want to relax with something comfortable. Sometimes they want to experience something they are scared of in a safe way - through a book. Sometimes they just want to escape for a while.
If you’re concerned about the book choices your students are making, please feel free to call me or send me a note or an email.
* Great books that discuss the research done on “free choice reading:”
The Power of Reading; Insights from the Research, 2nd Edition by Stephen D. Krashen
The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease
The Book Whisperer; Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller
One of the pillars of library service to children is free choice. Research has repeatedly shown that children who choose their own reading material become better readers.*
But for children, learning to make good choices is a process. Part of our library instruction time for students is about book choice. I encourage students to think about why they are choosing their book. I tell them not to “judge a book by its cover,” but to spend time with the book - open it up and start reading a few of the pages. I encourage them to choose books they are truly interested in. I explain to them that the way to become a good reader is not by forcing yourself to read books that are too hard, but to read a lot of “just right” books. I teach them strategies for finding “just right” books.
But in spite of all of that, children, like all of us, sometimes learn better from their own experience than from the words of others. When a child comes up to the checkout desk with a book that I think may not be the best choice, we sometimes have a conversation like this (this conversation would be with a younger student who is just beginning to learn to read):
Mrs. Meservey: “Wow, someone at home must have a lot of time to read to you if you’re checking out such a loooong chapter book.”
Student: “No, my parents work a lot and they don’t have time to read to me much.”
Mrs. Meservey: “Hmmmm.... Did you look inside of that book, dear? Lots of words, not many pictures. Is that really what you want to borrow this week?”
Student: “Yup! I love this book. I like the pretty princess on the cover.”
Mrs. Meservey: “You’re sure that’s what you want? That looks maybe more like a book for an older student. I could help you find a book about a princess that has pictures.”
Student: “I’m sure! I really want this book! ”
Mrs. Meservey: “OK - here you go. Have a great day” (as I check out the book with my scanner).
More often than not the student only makes a poor choice like that a few times and then he or she realizes that it’s not much fun to have a book they really can’t enjoy on their own, or a book that their parents don’t have time to read to them. I encourage good choices, but I don’t force them. So in spite of my best efforts, I sometimes have to let them figure these things out on their own.
Sometimes an older student takes really hard books to impress friends or parents - wanting those significant others to believe he or she can read those books. This breaks my heart, because I’d love for that student to feel secure about who he or she is, and secure about where they are in their reading ability. I don’t humiliate the student by not allowing them to borrow books that are too hard. I might walk that student over to some books that I think are a better match for their ability, or make some other suggestions - but I don’t force. I know that in their reading classroom, they are having choices made with guidance from the teacher that are appropriate to their reading level and that are “just right.”
We as adults don’t always read “just right” books. When we’re tired or want to relax, we read short magazine articles and fun fiction - or we flip through a non-fiction book and just read the captions under the photos or read only the parts we are interested in. Kids are the same. They are not always going to choose books that perfectly match their reading ability or that challenge them. Sometimes they are going to choose a book because they like looking at the photos inside, or they just want to hold it for a while because they hope they can read it some day. Some days they are tired or stressed out and they want to relax with something comfortable. Sometimes they want to experience something they are scared of in a safe way - through a book. Sometimes they just want to escape for a while.
If you’re concerned about the book choices your students are making, please feel free to call me or send me a note or an email.
* Great books that discuss the research done on “free choice reading:”
The Power of Reading; Insights from the Research, 2nd Edition by Stephen D. Krashen
The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease
The Book Whisperer; Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Research supports full-time certified librarians in schools
Once again, the latest research shows that students in schools with full-time certified librarians consistently do better on standardized reading tests - and the most significant impact shows up in students who are economically disadvantaged and those with IEPs.
Overall, the greatest impact on student test scores was seen from having a full-time, certified librarian.
To read about this study - go to http://www.elc-pa.org/schoollibraryresearch_alert.html .
To read a summary of all previous studies concerning the impact of school libraries on student achievement, go to http://library.mansfield.edu/impact.asp .
Overall, the greatest impact on student test scores was seen from having a full-time, certified librarian.
• Students who have access to a full-time, certified librarian scored higher on the PSSA Reading Test than those students who do not have such access. This finding is true for all students, regardless of their socio-economic, racial/ethnic, and/or disability status.
The latest research also showed that having a full-time certified librarian had a significant impact on writing scores as well.
• For several student groups that tend to experience achievement gaps—economically disadvantaged, Hispanic, Black, and those with IEPs (Individualized Education Programs)—Reading and Writing results are markedly better when those students attend a school with a librarian and library support staff, according to the research. In fact, they benefit more proportionally than the general student population.
To read about this study - go to http://www.elc-pa.org/schoollibraryresearch_alert.html .
To read a summary of all previous studies concerning the impact of school libraries on student achievement, go to http://library.mansfield.edu/impact.asp .
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Maine Student Book Awards
New Interactive Chickadee Book Award web page
A reminder that the CRES Library Web Page has many interesting resource links, such as Tumblebooks - an entire library of free, animated picture books (which is only free for you if you enter Tumblebooks from the CRES library web page link), and more.
Just added to the webpage - a link to a Glogster page that features all ten of this year's Chickadee Book Award books. Each of the ten books are represented on the web page by a picture of the book's cover, and for each book there are links to videos, photos and other web pages that go along with the book, or allow you to meet the author or illustrator.
Go to http://www.fivetowns.net/cres/library/index.html , and click on the link for the 2012-2013 Chickadee Books.
Just added to the webpage - a link to a Glogster page that features all ten of this year's Chickadee Book Award books. Each of the ten books are represented on the web page by a picture of the book's cover, and for each book there are links to videos, photos and other web pages that go along with the book, or allow you to meet the author or illustrator.
Go to http://www.fivetowns.net/cres/library/index.html , and click on the link for the 2012-2013 Chickadee Books.
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