Literacy Now

As a writer, I enjoy creating poetry and fictional stories. But I think that writing nonfiction is one of the most exciting genres because it allows me to delve deeply into a subject in which I’m interested.

Nonfiction is also one of the first genres children are interested in, well before they can understand a fictional concept. Young children want to read about trucks, helicopters, and dinosaurs. As they get older, kids should be encouraged to delve into nonfiction topics for both research and writing purposes. The process of finding answers to questions when writing nonfiction is exciting and interesting. As long as students can explore a topic of personal interest, they’re more likely to be enthusiastic and committed researchers.

Teacher and nonfiction writer Deborah Hodge says, “Children have a keen and innate enthusiasm for the natural world. It is the nonfiction author’s job to observe what you are writing about, be it bears in the wild or butterflies in the backyard. There's no way to be authentic and to convey enthusiasm for a subject unless you've actually felt or witnessed it for yourself.”

Take students on a schoolyard exploration. Form partner teams of two and ask teams to look for interesting things in nature. In an inner city school yard, this might be a spider’s web, leaves changing color, or even weeds growing in the cracks of the pavement.

Writers are curious. Encourage students to ask questions, such as:

• What kinds of bugs do they see?
• What do these bugs eat?
• How long will each bug live?
• How does a bug reproduce?

After observations, taking notes and writing down questions, invite each team to select one question to which they do not know the answer. I noticed ants carrying crumbs and leaves, so my sample question will be “How strong is an ant?”

The next step will be to find answers. Take students to the computer lab and show them how to use a search engine to do research. Type in key words of your question. I might type in my entire question or some key words: strength, insect, ant.

When the endless list of possible sites with answers pops up, I scan the URL first. Show students how to judge this information. I do not accept anything listed on a site like Wikipedia since anyone can post information. Encourage your students to look for sites with “edu” or “gov” in the link, or from trusted sources like National Geographic.

I may need to narrow down my search by adding words like “red ant” or “ant carrying weight.” Look for a minimum of three sites posting the same answer. Record these answers, together with the source.

The next step is to use the information and to retell it in your own words. Have students retell the gathered information to their partner in a fun and interesting way that’s all their own:

Ants are so strong they can carry 10 to 20 times their own weight. That is about the same as you lifting a horse over your head!

Note that I had to do a lot of research, reading, and note taking to end up with just one interesting answer to my question. Deborah Hodge says, “The most important task of a nonfiction author may be deciding what to leave out of a book. You don’t want to clutter a topic with superfluous facts or have it bog down, and end up losing the interest of the reader.”

Have fun researching and writing with your students about any topic in the curriculum!

Margriet Ruurs’ latest nonfiction book is AMAZING ANIMALS (Tundra, 2011), a book of world records for animals. She is currently working on a book about global families.

In September of 2011, Lesley Morrow wrote the following post that analyzes and asks questions about six primary covered by the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts. The response was overwhelming; nearly 9,000 people worldwide not only read this past IRA president’s words, they talked back.

Last week, IRA issued its Literacy Implementation Guidance for the ELA Common Core State Standards. So, we thought it was the perfect time to give this post a second look. We hope you do, too.

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are an attempt to coordinate the education of the children the United States. So many families move from one place to another that we need continuity in the teaching of reading throughout the country. The CCSS raise questions of concern that deal with how to implement them and are their goals really the right goals for the children we teach.

One of the elements I like very much about these standards is that they are manageable. They don’t involve a list of hundreds of skills to acquire in one school year. The standards are like a spiral staircase. That is, a standard in third grade builds on the same one in second, first and kindergarten. You can see a definitive continuum. Skills and strategies are repeated but at a more complex level as one goes up the grades.

The ultimate goal of these standards is for students to become critical thinkers about what they read. Text becomes more complex and therefore the child is asked to engage in higher order thinking. The standards ask that the teacher expose children to varied types of text with equal emphasis on informational literature, and narrative literature. The standards guide children to read magazines, poetry, novels, newspapers, and more.

The CCSS are also intended to help children learn information and increase their vocabulary in many areas of the curriculum. To do this, the standards put an emphasis on integrating the use of literacy strategies into content areas such as social studies and science. Using themes for learning will help to achieve that goal. The standards also emphasize the need to be literate with technology.

Although there aren’t any Pre-K national standards just yet, I believe there will be. Many states have Pre-K standards for literacy already. Therefore, it is important to include Pre-K in the discussion of the CCSS. At this time, we can adjust them for four-year-olds.

Most importantly, the standards suggest that every teacher is a teacher of reading and writing. That is, every teacher is teaching reading and writing whether it is during language arts, science or social studies.

The standards discuss six areas which include (1) Narrative Literature and (2) Informational Literature. In each of these two standards there are anchor standards that are the same and they include: Key Ideas and Details, Crafted Structure, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas, Range of Reading, and Level of Text Complexity.

The next major heading is (3) Foundational Skills. The anchor standards in this area are Print Concepts, Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Word Recognition, and Fluency for Kindergarten through Grade 2. In Grades 3 to 5, they are Phonics, Word Recognition, and Fluency.

Writing is given a prominent spot in these standards. (4) Writing is thought about carefully and given the importance it should have. In Writing, the anchor standards are Text Types and Purposes, Production and Distribution of Writing, Research to Build and Present Knowledge, and Range of Writing.

The next standard is (5) Speaking and Listening; the anchor standards in this category are Comprehension and Collaboration, and Presentation of knowledge and Ideas.

The final standard is (6) Language, and the anchor standards are Conventions of Standard English, Knowledge of Language and Vocabulary Acquisition.

Based on what has been discussed so far, and the manner and order in which the standards are listed in the document, the skills in Narrative and Informational Literature, which focuses on comprehension, is emphasized. Foundational skills such as phonological awareness and phonics have been emphasized for early literacy as coming before comprehension in the past, but the opposite is listed here. This is not a bad thing but one hopes that the instruction needed in phonics will continue.

Writing is given a prominent spot in these standards and is finally getting the emphasis it should receive. The last two standards, Speaking and Listening and Language don’t seem to get the emphasis I think they should have. Oral language is an important skill our children need, and vocabulary is crucial to success in comprehension, yet it’s listed all the way at the end.

What many states are doing at this time is looking at their own standards and comparing them to the CCSS to see how they match. They are finding that their own state standards have many more required specific skills to learn, whereas the CCSS are more interested in depth rather than breadth. I am very much in favor of the fact that the CCSS are not as packed with an enormous numbers of skills that can’t be accomplished. Teachers and children are overwhelmed about what they need to teach and learn in a given year and most children aren’t given the time to really learn them all. The CCSS have a spiral effect and build on fewer skills but over a longer period. The same skill however requires more complex thinking as it goes up the grades. For example in writing under “Anchor Standard Research to Build and Present Knowledge,” one of the kindergarten skills is:

a. With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

The exact same skill is listed for first grade:

b. With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

In grade two this standard is to:

c. Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.

The only difference here is that it does not involve guidance and support from an adult. For third grade it is:

d. Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.

For fourth grade:

e. Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.

For the fifth grade it is:

f. Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.

You can see the continuity between grades and the addition of one more element that makes the task a bit more complex but with time to keep practicing the task.

There are suggestions for creating units of study in social studies and science that include the CCSS as well as the content in these areas. This is an important idea but one that will require teachers to be engaged in professional development to learn how to do it. If this is done then reading will be taught all day long in school, which is a necessity. Reading is a skill, not a content area. When we read we can learn information from other fields.

The question that arises in my mind is this: should the content such as social studies and science be a part of the language arts block when explicit literacy instruction takes place especially in the early childhood grades? When reading in small homogeneous groups for skill development, should there be little books about a science theme such as hurricanes or volcanoes, and different levels of little books be created for the different achievement groups? On one hand it would give a purpose for reading. On the other hand, one might argue that it will detract from the explicit instruction.

My other question has to do with complexity of text. How complex should we require texts for children to be so they are considered proficient and fluent readers? How complex should we require texts for children to be so they are considered ready for college or to pursue a career that doesn’t require college?

In the previous paragraphs, I ask questions to which I don’t know the answers. I do believe that we are dissecting reading into too many skills and we need to select the precious few we really need. Sometimes less is more. Being able to do fewer skills proficiently might be better than doing more but not doing them very well. I do feel strongly that reading and writing need to be emphasized all day long in school through content areas, as it is the only way our children will become critical readers.

Lesley Mandel Morrow holds the rank of Professor II at Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Education where she is coordinator of the literacy program. Her area of research deals with early literacy development, and the organization and management of Language Arts Programs. Dr. Morrow has more than 200 publications that appear as journal articles, chapters in books, monographs and books. She received Excellence in Research, Teaching and Service Awards from Rutgers University. Dr. Morrow was an elected member of the board of directors of International Reading Association (IRA) and served as President of the organization in 2003-2004. She was also the recipient of the IRA’s Outstanding Teacher Educator of Reading Award, as well as Fordham University’s Alumni Award for Outstanding Achievement.

by Marilyn Moore and Kareem Captan

Integrating the iPad

Kareem Captan, a high-school teacher, uses iPads in his teaching every day. Teachers at the high school in Long Beach, CA, received iPads last school year to use in class. They underwent training and attended seminars in order to effectively use the iPad in the classroom. Students at the high school received iPads this year for classroom use. Students may also take the iPads home and use them to complete homework.

Mr. Captan was especially excited about one lesson using the iPad. The students watched a short historical video on their iPads. Since they watched it individually on their iPads, they could start, stop, rewind, and watch at their own pace. As they watched it, he had them participate in an online discussion about the material. The ongoing discussion was projected on the overhead. The result was an active and ongoing virtual discussion during class that the students could then refer back to for studying and reviewing. At the end of class, students shut the iPads down and had a verbal discussion about the material. At the conclusion of the lesson, he stated, “I was shocked on how effective this lesson worked.”

Literacy activities using iPads

During literacy instruction in the classroom, Mr. Captan uses iPad activities that focus on reading, writing, and peer editing. The following are a few examples of how his students are using iPads this year:

• Discussion Boards: Students post written discussions on the class website discussion board. The posts are viewed by the entire class and commented on by other students. Surprisingly, students are more conscious of their vocabulary, sentence structure, and grammar because they know their peers will critique them. 
• Research and Reading: By using the Internet, students search for secondary and primary sources through academic websites. They read and analyze the material and comment on them on a class discussion board. The students create a collaborative reflection and analysis of primary and secondary sources.
• Dictionary App: When students don’t know/understand a word, they use the Dictionary App to find the definition. In addition, the Dictionary App pronounces the word for the student. Students have created collaborative vocabulary lists as a class. This has been a huge help for English Language Learners and students with learning disabilities. 
• Note Taking App: This app is used while students read online articles on their iPad. They are able to read an article on their iPads and highlight, bookmark, and make notes on articles or books. This app also organizes notes for students. Once again, this has been a major assist for English Language Learners and students with special needs.
• Peer Editing: All students post their essays on the class website and edit their peers’ papers online. This transparency has benefited students who learn from each other and are exposed to the expectations of high-school writing. Moreover, the writing process has a more collaborative as opposed to an individual feel. 
• Group Essays: Students are assigned a topic and assigned to a group. Each group composes one paragraph of a larger essay. These paragraphs are posted on a discussion board, and the students blend the paragraphs into a cohesive and meaningful essay.
• Resources and Tools: The iPads provide the students with instant resources and tools online. This keeps students focused and less frustrated in class. Also, they enjoy exploring resources and tools.

Mr. Captan has concluded that since the students have received their iPads, students are reading more, writing more, asking more questions, researching more, working together more, and are excited about being creative with their iPads.

Dr. Marilyn Moore (mmoore@nu.edu) is a Professor at National University in California and serves as the Faculty Reading Program Lead. 

Mr. Kareem Captan is a teacher at St. Anthony College Preparatory High School in Long Beach, California and a Masters Degree student at National University.

I haven’t always been a children’s author. Previously, I was an advertising/marketing copywriter. I did this for about 15 years—even though I didn’t feel passionate about my craft. Don’t get me wrong. I knew I loved to write. I just didn’t love what I was writing.

My professional life shifted 11 years ago when my daughter, a second grader at the time, became the target of some bullying friends. It was one of those experiences that had a profound effect on both of us.

How do you explain to a 7-year-old…

… the complexity of friendships?
… why her best friends one day can become her worst enemies the next?
… how to gravitate to kids who can accept all the goodness she has to offer and give it back in kind?

I went into research mode to find out as much information as I could about relational aggression, a form of emotional bullying hidden within friendships that often goes below the radar of parents and teachers. I learned that relational aggression (i.e., gossiping, spreading rumors, intentional exclusion, the silent treatment, etc.) is evident as early as preschool and appears to peak in middle school. Researchers report that relational aggression is much more pervasive than physical aggression in our nation’s schools. Kids—both boys and girls—also find it more hurtful than physical aggression.

In my search for age-appropriate books to address the very real and rampant problem of social cruelty among peers, I came up empty-handed. Frustrated with this resource gap, I wrote MY SECRET BULLY (Riverwood Press, 2003) to help empower children to make healthier friendship choices. The outpour of positive reviews and heartfelt responses from young readers, parents, educators, and bullying prevention experts and organizations gave me the impetus to continue writing more books to help kids connect with their peers in helpful, rather than hurtful, ways.

Because the social world of today's children is very complex and difficult to navigate, I try to incorporate into my books the wisdom and insights of young readers who preview my stories, so that they resonate with the authenticity of real life experiences and views. I also collaborate with renowned experts in the field to ensure my messages of empowerment are on target with the latest bullying prevention research findings and practices. Equally important, I have the added pleasure of creatively tapping into my own inner child—letting her laugh, cry, and simply breathe. I've finally reached the point where I not only love to write, I truly love what I'm writing.

But writing stories is just one part of my job. I also spend a lot of time traveling throughout the US, presenting at conferences and in schools to provide children, educators, and parents with practical tips, tools, and resources to help them create safer, kinder school communities.

Turning Stories into Teachable Moments

Numerous studies have shown that literature—with proper adult guidance, supervision, and assistance—is an effective supplemental tool at home, in the classroom, and in the counseling practitioner’s office to build social-emotional learning (SEL) skills, teach empathy, and foster perspective in children.

In her book, TREATING CHILD AND ADOLESCENT AGGRESSION THROUGH BIBLIOTHERAPY (Springer, 2009), Dr. Zipora Shechtman states, “Through the imaginative process that reading involves, children have the opportunity to do what they often cannot do in real life—become thoroughly involved in the inner lives of others, better understand them, and eventually become more aware of themselves.” And the more competent children are in SEL skills, the more successful they will be in school and in life.

There is a wonderful Chinese proverb that I take to heart: “I listen and forget. I see and remember. I do and understand.”

When I present to children in elementary and middle schools, I don’t want the students to just listen to me as a guest speaker. I also want them to do activities with me to help them better connect with the characters in my books, with themselves and, most importantly, with each other. Some of my activities include:

• the use of paper dolls for younger audiences to show how our words and actions can break down or build up the human spirit (click here to download a detailed description of this activity);
• a bully web to show how bullying negatively affects the entire school community; and
• a role-playing activity with my “Empower Tools,” as described in my sixth book, CONFESSIONS OF A FORMER BULLY (Tricycle Press, 2010). In this activity, I provide kids with a starter set of communication tools that allow them to respond to hurtful comments in nonviolent ways and to help them get away as quickly and as safely as possible, with their dignity intact.

photo: edenpictures via photopin cc

Adult-guided activities help instill critical thinking skills in children, getting them to understand and engage with the stories they read and with each other in constructive, pro-social ways. Role-playing scenarios, introspective essays, creative drawing/writing projects, and discussion questions are a few ways to accomplish this goal.

I also encourage teachers to visit authors’ or publishers’ websites for ready-made lesson plans. To see an example, take a look at the guide I recently penned to accompany R.J. Palacio’s WONDER (click here to download “Teaching WONDER with Trudy Ludwig”). Another option is to do a Google search on the Internet by entering the title of the book chosen for a class reading, followed by the words “lessons,” “activities,” or even “Teacher’s Guide.”

What I’ve Learned from School Visits & My Hopes for the Future

I’ve presented to tens of thousands of school children over the years and I continue to walk away from every author visit feeling reassured that most kids are decent and caring people. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Numerous experts including technology journalist and Internet Safety advocate Larry Magid and researchers Dr. Justin Patchin and Dr. Sameer Hinduja report that most kids think it’s uncool to be cruel—online or offline.

The reality is that kids make mistakes. Our job as caring adults is to help ensure they don’t keep repeating those mistakes and move forward in their lives in more positive, healthy ways. We need to be better role models, not only “talking the talk,” but “walking the walk” in modeling how to deal with those we encounter in life.

Last and equally important, we also need to drive the vital message home that every person—regardless of age, gender, physical appearance, sexual orientation, political or religious beliefs, race or ethnicity—has value. While we all may not agree with one anothers’ opinions, while we all may not end up being friends, we all deserve to have our presence acknowledged and to be treated in a civil and respectful manner.

References:

Committee for Children (2012). Why Social-Emotional Learning? Retrieved from: http://www.cfchildren.org/advocacy/social-emotional-learning.aspx

Hinduja, S.and Patchin, J. (2012). School climate 2.0: Preventing cyberbullying and sexting one classroom at a time. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Shechtman, Z. (2009). Treating child and adolescent aggression through bibliotherapy. New York: Springer: 26-37.

Trudy Ludwig is a member of Random House Speakers Bureau, a children’s advocate, and the bestselling author of seven books: MY SECRET BULLY, JUST KIDDING, SORRY!, TROUBLE TALK, TOO PERFECT, CONFESSIONS OF A FORMER BULLY, and BETTER THAN YOU. She is nationally recognized by educators, experts, organizations, and parents for her passion and compassion in addressing friendship, bullying, and cyberbullying issues. An active member of the International Bullying Prevention Association, Trudy collaborates with leading U.S. experts and organizations and has been profiled on national/regional television and radio and in newsprint. For more information, visit http://www.trudyludwig.com.

Bullying and relational aggression have been receiving a lot of attention in the media lately, but it's not a new problem. What is new is society's attitude towards bullying and relational aggression. What used to be accepted as a natural part of growing up has changed because now we know that bullying has serious consequences for everyone involved.

As a primary school counselor, I am devoted to the prevention of bullying behaviors. Every student can benefit from gaining the knowledge and skills needed to safely and effectively address bullying behaviors if encountered in any setting. My goal is to empower children to stand up for themselves and each other. My bullying prevention lessons are focused on developing a school culture of kindness and compassion; communication, problem solving, and conflict management skills; strategies for standing up for yourself and others; and reinforcing the importance of reporting bullying behaviors to a trusted adult.

Trudy Ludwig's books are the core of my counseling curriculum. She is a powerful advocate for children and the author of exceptional children's books. The themes of her books are relevant and meaningful to children. I read MY SECRET BULLY, JUST KIDDING, TROUBLE TALK, CONFESSIONS OF A FORMER BULLY and BETTER THAN YOU in my counseling lessons. These books address issues of aggression and help develop empathy in children as they navigate their complicated social world.

One of my favorite activities for building empathy is "Stand Up in Silence." There are variations of this activity, but after leading them through a reading of one of Trudy’s books, this is what I do with my students:

Stand Up In Silence

Intro

You may have strong feelings during this activity, but it is important that we honor each other's feelings by doing this activity in silence.

I am going to read several statements out loud to you. If I read a statement that is true for you please quietly stand up. If I read a statement that is not true for you, please remain seated or sit down.

Activity

Stand up if you have ever been teased about the clothes you wear, your height, your weight, or the size or shape of your body, or if any of these things has happened to someone you care about.

Stand up if you have ever been teased or made fun of for how you look or talk, or if this has happened to someone you care about.

Stand up if you or someone you care about has ever been put down, teased, or excluded because of skin color.

Stand up if you or someone you care about has ever been put down, teased, or excluded because of religious beliefs.

Stand up if you have used words to hurt others by calling them names or putting them down.

Stand up if you’ve been on the giving end or the receiving end of silent treatment or intentional exclusion from a group, game, or activity.

Stand up if you’ve smiled, laughed, clapped, or even remained silent when someone was being teased or bullied in front of you.

Stand up if you’ve ever emailed, texted, or posted something online about someone that you wouldn’t say to their face.

Stand up if you’ve been told that you act or look like a boy or a girl and that’s not who you are.

Stand up if you have ever been on the receiving end or the giving end of comments like “you're a loser,” “you’re so gay,” or “you're retarded.”

Stand up if you’ve ever felt pressure from friends to do something you didn’t want to do and felt sorry or ashamed afterwards.

Stand up if you’ve spread rumors or gossiped about someone else.

Stand up if you or someone you know was physically or emotionally hurt and you were too uncomfortable or afraid to say something.

Debrief

It takes courage to stand up. Lots of us stood up many times. When you stood up, you remembered what it feels like to be the target, the bystander or the bully. That is what empathy feels like.

Everyone here knows what it feels like to be hurt, to see someone be hurt and to cause the hurt. If we can remember what we’ve learned here today—that we’ve all been hurt by bullying—we will stand up and stop it from happening to someone else. We share a collective responsibility to prevent bullying behaviors.

Remember! It's a choice! If you don’t like how you are being treated or how you are treating others, stand up and do something about it!

If you are a target of bullying, report to an adult you trust at school and an adult you trust at home.

If you are a bystander, stand up! Report to an adult.

If you are a bully, stand up and get help! Talk to an adult you trust and learn skills to manage your emotions and behavior.

Laura Barbour, M.A. has taught and counseled children from preschool through high school in a variety of educational and mental health settings for over 20 years. She presently works as an elementary professional school counselor at Stafford Primary School in West Linn, Oregon. Laura joined authors Trudy Ludwig, C.J.Bott, Deborah Ellis, and Jennifer Brown at IRA’s 2011 Annual Convention to present a bullying prevention workshop titled “From Kindergarten to High School, Bully Books Start Discussions and Create Safer Classroom Environments.”