Literacy Now

Just because people experience the same situation, it doesn’t mean they have the same responses to it. We know this very well. We’re identical twins (Jennifer’s six minutes older! Julia is an inch taller!) Other than the six minutes Jen was on earth before Julia, we shared the same room, school and life throughout childhood.

But through very different points of view.

Even though we look alike, if we were main characters in a book, our stories would have different voices, flavors and feel. Think about the old adage of walking a mile in someone else’s shoes: We wear different kinds of shoes both literally and figuratively: Julia is likely to be in wedge heels; Jennifer in cute ballet flats. We’re sitting in a mall right now, and we asked ourselves what we’re noticing this very moment.

Julia is noticing the woman with the cute baby and cute tangerine dress and the people at the next table cracking up. Jennifer is noticing the scent from the pretzel place, the cute baby (but not the woman’s dress) and the song that reminds her of tenth grade.

Every person has his or her own unique point of view in a given situation, even if you’re sitting next to each other (and are close as sisters).

When you write fiction, it can be a challenge to write from a character’s particular point of view. This is particularly true of kids, who tend to automatically write from their own point of view. (Adult writers aren’t immune; you’ve probably read books where the teen characters sound—golly gee—like a grownup.) It’s important to help young writers become aware that if you can capture a character’s point of view, you help your reader connect to the character and understand his or her personality, motivations and emotions.

We write a book series about identical twin seventh-graders who—just like the authors—look like but see things from very different points of view. The books shift perspective between social Payton (trendy wedges) and mathlete Emma (well-worn sneakers and cute but comfy ballet flats.)

One way we show the difference between our characters is to use sensory details. You want your students to walk through the story in their character’s shoes. But, what kind of shoes? Well-worn sneakers? Roller skates? Sky-high heels? Or do they even wear shoes? (They may have hooves or paws or gangrenous zombie stumps.)

Student writers often focus on action and dialogue. While those are obviously crucial to a story, they often leave out an important component: sensory details. What is the character seeing, feeling, smelling, hearing and yes, even tasting? Fiction is descriptive and sensory details add a richness and maturity to students’ writing. (Even the ones about the zombies.) Learning to add sensory details will help writers bring the story to life from their narrator’s unique viewpoint. In TRADING FACES, sometimes we follow Payton and Emma as they experience the exact same situation. However, while the situation is the same, notice the differences in their characters:

The twins walk into a classroom:

Payton sees:

• The empty seat in the back where she can hide from teacher questions
• The people who are watching her walk in, self-consciously
• The trendy coral shoes of the girl in the front row

Emma sees:

• The empty seat in the front where she can best capture the teacher’s attention
• The assignment written on the smartboard
• Her academic arch nemesis already taking notes

Payton hears:

• The whispers of people gossiping

Emma hears:

• The voice in her own head prepping for class

Payton touches:

• The gooey lip gloss as she reaches into her backpack for her pencil

Emma touches:

• The sharp compass point as she reaches into her backpack for a pencil

You can see how sensory details add to our understanding of our characters who, on the surface, seem exactly the same.

Now, things can get pretty creative if the main character is a supernatural being or a historical character. A zombie might walk into a school and see people as food and smell brains (and depending on the graphic writing proclivities of the student, taste them.) The vampire sees necks and smells blood. The historical character might see baffling lights from electricity and computers and the strange wardrobe of students.

Here’s a writing exercise to demonstrate the value of sensory details by introducing and identifying sensory details from their own point of view.

Tell students to imagine they’re going to the mall. Ask them to write down the first place they would go to. They might identify a clothing store, video game outlet, food court, or bath and body shop.

Next have them write down five sensory details they would experience in this setting. Students might write about the vivid colors of the clothes, the noisy beeping of the games, the citrusy, perfumey bath gels, or the rich scents of the food court with all of its different potential tastes.

Have students share their responses with the class. Point out the difference and similarities between their choices of sensory details they “experienced.” This shows how different people have their individual points of view.

Some students will also note they focused on different senses from their classmates. Some people are more naturally visual, others auditory, and others kinesthetic. We see this in our characters Payton and Emma:

“We need signature colors,” Payton said. “Mine is hot pink. What’s yours?”

I knew Payton wouldn’t drop the subject until I chose a stupid color. “Gray,” I told her.

“You can’t have gray!” she squealed. “It’s so blah! So nothing!”

“It’s the shade of my mechanical pencil,” I said, holding up the pencil I was writing with.

“Just pick something else,” she sighed.

“Fine,” I said. “Blue.”

“Baby blue? Greenish-blue? Aquamarine?” she asked. “Turquoise?”

Payton is very visual, which is a common sensory focus. Help students explore all the forms of sensory details with another writing exercise.

Here’s a second exercise you can try:

Student writers need to be able to step out of themselves and put themselves into other characters not only writing, but for literary analysis. So the next step is to have students identify the sensory details that fit their characters.

Have students fold a piece of paper in half, then in half again. Unfold it so there are four blank boxes. Have them label one area: SEE, the next HEAR, then SMELLS LIKE and FEELS LIKE. Explain that these are four of the five senses, and taste is less commonly used in this instance.

Ask students to close their eyes and imagine they have ‘become’ their main character. Now, they should open their eyes and look around. Then ask them to stay ‘in character’ and write down what they see in the classroom. Then what they hear, smell, touch.

After students have had the opportunity to explore their surroundings on paper, invite them to share their characters’ impressions of your classroom. Compare and contrast the different answers.

If we walked into your classroom or library for an author visit, you and your students would see two people who look very much alike and share the same profession. But, you’d soon learn we have different personalities…and styles of shoes.

However, one thing we absolutely have in common is our enthusiasm for students to enjoy writing and to learn to express themselves. And that is a shared point of view that we both share with you.

Julia DeVillers is the identical twin sister of Jennifer Roy. Her book HOW MY PRIVATE, PERSONAL JOURNAL BECAME A BESTSELLER was adapted as a Disney Channel Original Movie, and she is the author of the Liberty Porter, First Daughter series.

Jennifer Roy is the identical twin sister of Julia DeVillers. Her book YELLOW STAR was named an ALA Notable Book and School Library Journal Best Book.

Together, they write the Trading Faces series about (what else?) identical twins. The most recent installment, DOUBLE FEATURE, comes out in paperback on December 18th; TRIPLE TROUBLE will be released in hardcover on January 1st.

In the spring of 2012, a group of English Language Arts educators from Franklin, MA, launched a highly successful middle school reading program around The Hunger Games. In this five-part special series, the teachers who orchestrated the whole-school read will detail, step-by-step, this year’s initiative. Parts I and 2 focused on how the team made this year’s book selection, The Hobbit, and encouraged student participation. Part 3 looked at some unexpected pitfalls the group faced based on book selection, while Part 4 recounted how the group decided which readers would get to see the film adaptation. In the final installment of this five-part series, Mary Cotillo and Erin O’Leary recap this year’s program, and talk about attending the Boston premiere of the movie.

All good stories deserve embellishment.—Gandalf

We don’t know if that line is in the novel The Hobbit, but when Ian McKellan muttered it in his signature Gandalf growl in the film, we looked at each other over our 3D glasses. All good stories deserve embellishment, indeed.

On Monday, Dec. 10, 40 lucky Horace Mann Middle School students assembled in small groups outside of the auditorium. Girls, excitedly fingering their hair, complimented each other’s holiday dresses; boys nodded in acknowledgement, straightening their neckties. There were a few hobbits. One bearded wizard. A bunch of parents, eager to see us off, held cameras and phones aloft.

At 5 p.m. sharp, our perfectly motley crew exited the school and into the winter twilight. As we loaded the students onto the waiting coach bus, whispers of “Is this for us?” caught our ears, and we began to understand. They felt special. They felt exclusive. They were excited to be singled out for special attention and proud that they had earned it.

Warner Brothers gifted us 50 tickets to the Boston premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. They treated our kids to reserved seats, pins, bookmarks, and words of praise. As the theater darkened and the title emerged on the screen, you could hear the shrieks, giggles and spontaneous applause. Our eyes filled with tears as we heard our cherubs whisper the opening lines right along with the movie, “In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit.”

During the three-hour epic, it was hard to pay attention; at times, living this through their eyes was too distracting. Besides, every time a vocabulary word was used in dialogue, Ms. Cotillo was summoned in the darkness and flashed a two-fingered V. “Vocab!” they mouthed. We knew how memorable this experience was going to be, but we didn’t anticipate the change we felt in our kids. They had been raised up. The smiles didn’t leave their faces for the remainder of the week, and neither did ours.

The night was magical and amazing and fantastic and memorable. But instead of focusing on the reward for the reading and the hard work, we have a different plan for this, the final installment documenting our Hobbit journey.

Bilbo Baggins had a million reasons not to embark on his adventure. He didn’t have anything to prove. He didn’t have anything missing in his life. He didn’t need adventure; it wasn’t his thing. He had never done it before. His days were already filled. He liked things just as they were.

Maybe you’re reading this thinking, “I have too much on my plate,” or “I already encourage literacy in my students, why do I need to do any more?” Or even this: “You want me to take hundreds of kids to the movies? Are you joking?”

We hear you. We get it. And we promise we won’t think any less of you if you decide to return to your hobbit hole and your second breakfast. But just in case you, like Bilbo, feel the Took stirring inside of you, allow us to share with you our incentive (or 11) for sacrificing all of our free time and most of our sanity to the literacy gods.

It happens when you least expect it. Usually on the day you come to school over-tired, tapped for ideas, and a little zany; questioning why you were crazy enough to sign up for this adventure. Frustrated over one more complaint, one more request, or one more email you just can’t answer. And then…

• A beaming 7th grader stops you in the hallway, “I couldn’t put it down! I read all day Friday and Saturday until I finished. Omigosh, I loved it! I read it in two days. I’ve never done that before!” 
• You check your voicemail and hear, “Miss O’Leary, I just needed to tell you. Alex finished The  Hobbit last night. He read for over two hours and wouldn’t stop, even though it was way past his bedtime. I’ve never seen him more proud of himself. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you.” 
• Upon returning his borrowed (and completely read) copy of The Hobbit, a struggling reader chooses a new book and says, “I feel like I can read this one. It looked so hard to me before. There were so many words on the page. But now I think I can do it.” 
• You step into a sub-separate classroom to lead a read-aloud, and become audience to Gollum and Bilbo riddling each other, complete with accents, blocking, props, costumes, and scenery. 
• You hear stories (and field chaperone requests from) families who are reading the book together. Fathers and daughters, brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents all get in on the act. 
• A student gazes upon their hard won permission slip to attend the movie, earned after successfully answering the riddling questions, and quietly marvels, “I get to go. I did it.” 
• Despite the cautions of their Wilson instructor as to the complexity of Lord of the Rings trilogy, a recently initiated member of the Tolkien fan club retorts, “I don’t care if they’re hard. I can do it.” (One day later he was on page 25). 
• The A period class is joyfully hijacked by an overzealous eighth grade boy who desperately wants to sing his rendition of the Misty Mountain song. When you acquiesce, his is spontaneously accompanied by his peers singing harmony. 
• Students begin to recognize allusions to Tolkien in other places—Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Origami Yoda, even Family Guy—and can’t wait to tell you. 
• Your principal, still slightly shell shocked from last year’s reading bonanza, dons a Gandalf hat and agrees to bigger and better plans because “at least we’re reading something cool this year.” 
• You stand at the front of a bus and gaze upon students clad in prom dresses, tiaras, cloaks, breeches, beards, and bellies, radiating an aura of confidence and pride. You will never see early adolescents carry themselves with such poise. 

It happens. The tales above are absolutely true stories, free from any embellishment. You will be brought to your knees by the stories of the struggling readers who now, perhaps for the very first time, can add “finishing a book” to their list of accomplishments. Talk about an unexpected journey. 

We shed our tears the Friday before the book was “due,” when our dream of one hundred little hobbits was realized. By the time we put our handkerchiefs away, we’d added 85 more to our party. 185 students read Tolkien. Voluntarily. (If you’re a numbers person, that’s 37% of the entire student body.)

Never underestimate your students. To those wise, credentialed, professional adults who challenged our choice, insisting it was too difficult for our students—“Kids today don’t appreciate complex text,” they decried—the numbers spoke for themselves. A full two-thirds of the sixth grade—the youngest children in the school—accompanied us on our journey.

We opened the door and our hobbits proceeded to kick it down. They were confident and self-assured. They were chosen. And on at least one magical night in December, they held their heads just a bit higher. All because they were readers.

That’s why we did it last year.

This is why we’ll do it again.

Mary Cotillo and Erin O’Leary both teach at Horace Mann Middle School in Franklin, MA.

Read the rest of the series here:

Six Buses: The Quest for School-Wide Reading Begins!

The Quest, Part 2: Monday Morning Hobbit-Backing

The Quest, Part 3: Goblin Caves and Spider Webs

The Quest, Part 4: Some Shall Not Pass

by Clarisse Olivieri de Lima

Part of being a global citizen is being able to articulate and take positions regarding one's role and responsibilities in the world. Global citizens need to be aware and concerned with what is happening not only in their nation and geographic region but also throughout the world. Global citizens need to develop a voice to promote social and economical justice for themselves and their fellows by demonstrating care and respect for other’s welfare.

Promoting a meaningful and socially valued use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is a crucial task that 21st century teachers may pursue in order to cope with their students' education. The set of basic skills needed to fully operate and participate in a globalized society include the new literacies needed for using Internet-based information.

The Travel Buddies Project is an intercultural exchange project where students from different countries select mascots to go on a journey as a visitor in a foreign culture. In an edition of this project, students in the United States and Brazil participated by sending their buddies to each other's location. As guests, the mascots were involved in activities with the children both inside and outside of school. Students kept in touch throughout the exchange by recording events and activities using photographs, blog posts, email exchanges, and diary/journal entries.

Many subjects from the curriculum can be reinforced in a project such as this one. Connections to reading, writing, the Arts (e.g. music, dance, artistic expression) and Humanities are inherent in all the learning activities that were developed as part of this exchange. Students engaged regularly in shared reading and writing activities using the blogs to register their visitor's activities. They also developed their own individual writing and technical skills through journal entries and the use of software products to create graphic images. Many of the lessons were interdisciplinary in nature and provided opportunities for collaboration between classroom teachers.

Blog posts were used as the central mode of communication between the classes and often initiated spontaneous lessons based on the content that was posted by the partner class. All the activities done by the classes and the mascots that were posted on the blog were done so according to safety and ethical rules established by each school in order to preserve the students’ identities.

Some additional skills that are essential for children to develop for success in today’s world were also emphasized during this project. First, students learned the nuances of acceptable technology etiquette essential to forging respectful social interactions and good citizenship. While the Brazilian and American children interacted through the blog postings, they also practiced examining how individuals interpret messages differently, how values and points of view are included or excluded, and how media can influence their beliefs and behaviors. Additionally, the students learned how to effectively apply more appropriate expressions and interpretations in diverse and multicultural environments.

Telecollaborative projects such as this one provide an opportunity for participants to develop global citizenship skills that are indispensable for their living in a globalized, diverse, and flattened world.

This project was coordinated by Dr. Clarisse Lima (EdTech Consultant, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Dr. Laurie Henry (University of Kentucky, USA) and was held during the year of 2009. 

For complete information: 

Henry, L. & Lima, C. (2012). Promoting global citizenship through intercultural exchange using technology: The Travel Buddies Project. In Kelsey, S. and Amant, K. (ed.) Computer-Mediated Communication across Cultures: International Interactions in Online Environments. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. (pp. 100-119).

To visit the blogs:

Brazil: http://tbteresiano1ano.blogspot.com.br/

USA: http://graytravelbuddies.blogspot.com.br/?zx=4889ea4916054b09

Clarisse Olivieri de Lima is an educational technology consultant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This article is part of a series from the International Reading Association Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group (TILE-SIG).

photo: ARACELOTA via photopin cc

It's been estimated that 90% of all paragraphs contain the main idea in the opening sentence. This fun exercise, inspired by the popular competition show DANCING WITH THE STARS, divides the class into teams, determined to verify or negate the accuracy of this assertion, in relation to a given passage.

Here's how to CARRIE out the activity and LENgthen the pleasure, while avoiding BRUNO-bombastics.

Find a passage with at least eight paragraphs. Make copies—one for each member of the two groups. Ideally each group will have six-to-eight members. Three students will serve as judges. And two students will be the "stars." If the class has more than 21 students, have the remaining students answer these questions while the other groups are doing their assignments.

• What is the value of knowing the main idea of a paragraph?
• Where can the main idea be found?
• When does it make sense to skim the rest of the paragraph once the main idea has been identified?
• What kinds of reading material should never be skimmed, but rather should be read very carefully, word for word?
• What is the advantage of placing the main idea in the first sentence of a paragraph?
• What is the advantage of placing the main idea in the last sentence of a paragraph?

Have Team 1 read the first four paragraphs and decide, as a team, what is the main idea in each paragraph. They will write their four ideas on flip chart paper.

Have Team 2 read the last four paragraphs and collaborate regarding the main idea for each of their paragraphs. They will also write the four main ideas on chart paper.

Two students (ideally, one boy and one girl) will be "the stars." They will read only the first sentence in each paragraph (the "starts") and will write each one on chart paper. (There will be eight sentences altogether.)

Appoint three judges. (For fun, you could seat them as a panel with the DWTS judges' names in front of each seat.) While they wait for the main ideas to be recorded by the teams and by the stars, the judges can read the passage. They should not be asked to determine what the main ideas are--they should merely read. Have three paddles with numbers on them for each judge to hold up: 5 would mean "barely the same," 8 would mean "close," and 9 or 10 would mean "virtually the same."

Team 1 begins by telling the judges what the first paragraph's main idea is. The "stars" come next. They give their main idea--viz., the start of the paragraph for the first paragraph.

The judges score how well the stars did with their main ideas. If their first-sentence ideas are close to what the teams wrote, after reading the full paragraph, the judges will award an 8. If the two main-idea presentations are not at all alike, the judges must give a 5. And if the two presentations are virtually the same, the scores will be 10.

Continue with the team reports, the stars reports of "starts," and the scoring until all eight paragraphs have been covered.

Depending on the judges' scores, lead a discussion regarding where the main idea is typically found and whether or not students can count on finding it in the first sentence of a paragraph. Continue the discussion, using the answers to questions in Step 1. (If a team worked on these questions, have them provide a report.)

Segue from reading the main idea to using the main idea. Divide the class into three teams and have each develop a one-paragraph letter to one of the three DWTS judges. Use this as the main-idea sentence:

Our class worked a "Dancing with the StarTs" reading exercise.

If you think your students would like the attention, notify the local media of the exercise and the subsequent letters that were written to the actual judges. Here's the address:

Dancing With the Stars
c/o CBS Television City
7800 Beverly Blvd.
Bungalow #1
Los Angeles, CA 90036

And, if the letters are mailed, re-invite the media to do a story about the responses received if and when Len, Carrie Ann, and Bruno reply!

Marlene Caroselli, Ed.D. writes extensively about education topics. Among her books on the subject are 500 CREATIVE CLASSROOM CONCEPTS and THE CRITICAL THINKING TOOL KIT.



Teaching Tips: Grammar Games to Deliver Fun and Confidence

Teaching Tips: Putting the 'Fun' in Reading Fundamentals

DADDY CHRISTMAS AND HANUKKAH MAMA (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2012)
Written and illustrated by Selina Alko
Pre-K through Grade 3

DADDY CHRISTMAS AND HANUKKAH MAMA provides a good introduction to the differences traditions can make in families.

Sadie, the young girl in this story, has parents who are from two different backgrounds. The story shows a marvelous blend of traditions that honor both parents’ beliefs. Sadie’s father celebrates Christmas and her mother celebrates Hanukkah. The story explains how the two were able to mix the two together to teach Sadie about both.

Each page has marvelous illustrations which show both holidays being celebrated in conjunction. Sadie’s dad makes latkes while her mom hangs stockings. In this story, Santa’s favorite treat is not cookies, but rather latkes. When they decorate, the family uses both reindeer and Queen Esther. Candy canes adorn the menorah branches. Caroling includes songs from both holidays. The book ends with a look at the timeline of all other holidays celebrated by the family, which includes a mix of both parents’ backgrounds.

DADDY CHRISTMAS AND HANUKKAH MAMA is a playful and intricate blending of the two very different holidays and provides a great example of acceptance of other people’s beliefs.

Cross-curricular connections: Social Studies, Art, Math, English

Ideas for Classroom Use:

Christmas Around the World

The purpose of this activity is to introduce students to many different cultures and areas with which they may not be familiar. For older students, this can be a research project for individuals or small groups, and for younger students, this can be a class project looking at a different culture every day. Ask students what holiday is coming up soon and acknowledge their answers. Some areas may have an answer of Hanukkah, some Christmas, and some may even talk about other holidays, such as St. Lucia’s Day. Then, ask the students if everyone in the world celebrates the same holiday they do during the winter. Allow children time to answer thoughtfully.

After this discussion, read the book DADDY CHRISTMAS AND HANUKKAH MAMA. Ask students to compare the events in the book with the events in their own life. Do they have the same traditions or different ones? Record their thoughts for further use.

Explain to the children that not all people celebrate the same holidays. Ask if the students know anyone who celebrates differently than they do. Take note of any alternate holidays mentioned. As a class, or in small groups/individually, look into other countries’ process of holidays. Some suggestions to study are Diwali in India, St. Lucia’s Day in Italy, and Las Posadas in Mexico. Discover the types of decorations used, the foods that are eaten, the season the holiday is in, etc.

Make a poster comparing the different traditions in each country. Showcase this information in a holiday party to teach other people about the different ways we can celebrate during the winter months.

Hanukkah vs. Christmas Graph

The purpose of this activity is to use the illustrations in DADDY CHRISTMAS AND HANUKKAH MAMA to chart the different items that are Hanukkah traditions and Christmas traditions. Using a t-chart, list all the items found in the illustrations that are Christmas on one side and then all the Hanukkah items on the other.

Students will then transfer this information in a graph using colors appropriate for each holiday. The Christmas graph could be in red and green, while the Hanukkah one could in blue and gold. Compare the two holidays to see if the family mixed the traditions evenly or if one had more items than the other.

Some items may be unfamiliar to students and may need justification as to why they belong in each column.

Alternate methods would be to give a group of students illustrations from different pages to use to compare. Then the groups’ results could be compared for consistency throughout the book.

Traditions

The purpose of this activity is to engage students in discussion with their families about Christmas traditions. Have students talk to their families about what traditions they use during their winter holiday. Send home a list of similar topics for Christmas Around the World, and have students list the foods they typically share, the types of presents that are given, the activities they usually do, and where the traditions started. Encourage dialogue between family members about the family’s cultural backgrounds.

Have students create a book about their family’s traditions to share with the class. Older students can create their own storyline and younger students can dictate the story to a teacher to write down.

As a culmination for this project, invite parents to bring in a food or other item that they feel showcases their family’s tradition. Have students share their books and items to the class to promote acceptance of other cultures.

Additional Resources and Activities:

Christmas Around the World This website is a compilation of information by countries regarding their winter holidays. The explanations are easy for younger students to understand and provide a variety of information about each country’s traditions. This site will be a good starting point for teaching students about different winter festivals.

Staple-less Books
This website provides a customizable staple-less book for students to create their traditions books. The students can type in the stories and add a digital image or print it out to add hand drawn illustrations. The book has directions for folding and is easy to use.

How We Celebrate Hanukkah
This website provides a quick look at the holiday of Hanukkah and provides information to adults needing to explain the holiday to children. The site provides an overview, blessings, traditions, history, and activities that can be used to explain the traditions. A Hanukkah book list is also included with both adult and children’s books listed.

Kathy Prater is a Reading Specialist who works with students with dyslexia, an Adjunct Professor at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Mississippi, and a full time pre-kindergarten teacher at Starkville Academy in Starkville, Mississippi. Her passions include reading, writing, tending her flock of 15 chickens, and helping students at all levels to find motivation for lifelong reading and learning. She believes that every child can become a successful reader if given the right tools and encouragement.



Reviews of New Holiday Books

Putting Books to Work: Jan Brett's HOME FOR CHRISTMAS