Literacy Now

Children inherently are fascinated with exploring their worlds and using their imaginations, the ability to believe in the impossible or to transport oneself into unique and strange environments, in their everyday lives. Books are often a venue that allows their imaginations to soar. Fantasy books invite the reader into worlds with talking animals, strange creatures, and unbelievable possibilities. Science fiction allows readers to believe in the possible. Children and teens are naturally curious and like to think of the possibilities of the world around them. Fantasy and science fiction books allow children to go beyond the boundaries of their worlds and view the worlds through eyes of others and to explore fantastical worlds and possibilities. With the boom of picture books and middle school novels, and the continued popularity of dystopian fiction, a number of books in these genres have stood out in the first half of 2013. Being aware of standout titles will help these novels make their way into the hands of children. ReadWriteThink offers a wide range of lesson plan ideas and activities dealing with the use of fantasy and science fiction books for all grade levels.

 

GRADES K-3

 

Becker, Aaron. (2013). Journey. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Debut author Aaron Becker takes us on a magical journey in his upcoming picture book Journey. Bored at home, a young girl draws a door on her bedroom wall that opens into a magical land—an strange land filled with wonders, danger, and the promise of a great adventure. With the help of her trusty red marker, the girl creates a boat, a balloon, and a magical carpet that whisk her on her journey to the unknown. In the midst of her exploring she is captured by an evil emperor and must find a way to free herself and make her way home. This wordless book, filled with washes of colors and intricate line drawings, shares the story of an ordinary girl on an anything-but-ordinary adventure.

- Melanie Koss, Northern Illinois University 

 

Brown, Peter. (2013). Mr. Tiger Goes Wild. NY: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Author/Illustrator Peter Brown does it again! Brown’s latest picture book shares the delightful story of Mr. Tiger, a Victorian tiger bored with his prim and proper life. He longs for excitement, friendship, and fun, and he knows just how to get it—he goes wild! Be prepared for a shocking spread right in the middle of the book, as Mr. Tiger reaches his height of capers. Brown’s style continues to evolve, with a combination of pencil drawings, manipulated construction paper, and wood borders that lend an old-world charm. His use of color make Mr. Tiger stand out in all his glory against a black and white background, with hand lettered speech balloons that beg to be read aloud.

- Melanie Koss, Northern Illinois University 

 

GRADES 4-5

 

Healy, Christopher. (2013). The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle. NY: HarperCollins.

In this sequel to The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, Princes Liam, Frederic, Duncan, and Gustav are back in another rollicking tale. Now that the countryside is safe from the evil witch, the League of Princes now have to keep a sword with magical powers from getting into the hands of evil warlords who want the object for their own twisted purposes—world domination. But the sword is hidden in the witch’s castle, which they must storm once again. This fractured fairy tale once again provides the male perspective of commonly told tales, and is packed with twists, turns, and a heaping dose of humor. Fans of the first book will surely be just as please with the second, and definitely ready for more.

- Melanie Koss, Northern Illinois University 

 

Mass, Wendy. (2013). Pi in the Sky. NY: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

What happens when you mix a middle grade fantasy novel with physics, time, space, and planets across the entire universe? Pi in the Sky, Wendy Mass’s latest novel. Joss, the seventh son of the Supreme Overlord of the Universe, fades a bit into the woodwork. All of his older brothers excel at everything they do, and he is left to deliver pies. Although these aren’t just any pies, it is still not the most glamorous job. But when Earth suddenly disappears, Joss is called on to do more than deliver pies. He must find Earth and restore it to its place in the universe, not the easiest task. With the help of Annika, a quirky girl from Earth, Joss goes on his once-in-a-lifetime mission. Full of humor, science, twists, and turns, Mass’s novel will challenge lovers of galaxies and pies and push them to new heights. Read an interview about the book on IRA's Engage blog, one with School Library Journal, and another at authorlink.

- Melanie Koss, Northern Illinois University

 

Graff, Lisa. (2013). A Tangle of Knots. NY: Penguin.

A twist between Savvy and Criss Cross, A Tangle of Knots combines characters with special magical abilities with the intricacies of everyday life. Eleven-year-old Cady is the last remaining orphan in Miss Mallory’s Home for Lost Girls. Talents range, and Cady’s is her ability to bake the perfect cake just right for a person in need. But how can baking save the day? After an air balloon crashes into their building rendering it uninhabitable, Miss Mallory’s charges must move into the Lost Luggage Emporium, a strange place with lost luggage, a Talent Thief, and a woman who lost her voice. The lives of the girls and those that live in the Emporium entwine and mysteries unravel as Cady realizes she might just find out what happened to her missing parents. Told from the third-person perspectives from multiple characters, readers work to put together the puzzle of how the characters’ lives intersect and are led to wonder if there is such a thing as fate. Read more about author Lisa Graff on the Engage blog.

- Melanie Koss, Northern Illinois University

 

Saunders, Kate. (2013). The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop. NY: Delacorte.

Eleven-year-old twins Oz and Lily’s family inherits an old London house and the mysterious old shop downstairs. The house used to be owned by Oz and Lily’s eccentric great uncles, who were great chocolate makers. When they move into the house, they learn that the house, chocolate recipes, and their uncles aren’t all that they seem. The twins wind up in the middle of a wild plot and must save a chocolate recipe from evil villains who wish to steal the recipe and destroy the world. With the help of an odd assortment of characters, including a hilarious immortal rat and an elephant’s ghost, the story will keep you guessing as it leads to its unexpected conclusion.

- Melanie Koss, Northern Illinois University 

 

de Lint, Charles. (2013). The Cats of Tanglewood Forest. Illus. by Charles Vess. NY: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Based on their 2003 picture book A Circle of Cats, de Lint and Vess have created an illustrated novel that beautifully pairs words and pictures into an enchanting whole. Lillian Kindred spends her days roaming Tanglewood Forest, a forest she believes is magical although she has never encountered magic in her life. One day, as she naps, she is bitten by a poisonous snake and saved by magical cats that turn her into a kitten. Together with the cats, a fox, and other woodland creatures, Lillian goes on an adventure to find her way back to being a regular girl. Vess’s illustrations are not to be missed. They appear throughout the book in full color spreads, and are full of details that enhance the richness of de Lint’s words. As an extra surprise, peek below the dust jacket for another stunning piece of Vess’s art. This coming-of-age story details the journey of one girl and asks the reader to question the idea of destiny or if we shape our own lives.

- Melanie Koss, Northern Illinois University 

 

GRADES 6-8

 

Blakemore, Megan Frazer. (2013). The Water Castle. NY: Bloomsbury.

After Ephraim Appledore-Smith’s father had a stroke, his family moves to the mysterious town of Crystal Springs, a town where everyone is just a bit smarter and stronger. They move into his family’s ancestral home, the Water Castle, a stone building on a hill with hidden rooms, mysterious passageways, and a secret past. Mallory’s family has always been the caretakers of the castle and guardians of its secret: a connection to the elusive fountain of youth. But since her mother left she has lost her belief in magic. Will’s family has always been at war with the Appledore family, and he doesn’t like the new kid. But the three inexplicably come together to investigate the secrets of the castle. Blakemore’s writing shares the thoughts of all three characters, intermixed with journal entries from a long ago castle resident. She challenges the reader to decide; do they believe in magic? Read about author Megan Frazer Blakemore's writing process on the Engage blog.

- Melanie Koss, Northern Illinois University 

 

Black, Holly. (2013). Doll Bones. NY: Simon & Schuster.

Consistent with her previous books, Black’s newest novel is just as creepy and suspenseful and does not disappoint. Three friends, Zach, Poppy, and Alice, spent their childhoods playing in a world of warriors, mermaids, pirates, and most of all, the Great Queen, a haunted china doll. But in middle school, Zach quits playing until Poppy begins to be haunted by dreams of the Queen. Together the three seek to lay the Doll Queen’s bones to rest. Sinister traps await the trio, leading the reader to wonder if the doll is just a toy or something real and dangerous. This novel is scary, spooky, and has just enough reality to make one stay up at night. Read more about Holly Black in this Engage blog interview.

- Melanie Koss, Northern Illinois University 

 

Baucom, Ian. (2013). Through the Skylight. Illus. by Justin Gerard. NY: Atheneum.

Jared, Shireen, and Miranda have moved to Venice with their family while their professor father is there to do research. Bored, they explore shops in the city and are given presents and a strange book from an old shopkeeper. The gifts bring them great and unexpected powers, and combined with the story found in the pages of the old book, the trio go on an adventure to save three others who live centuries ago. Rashid, Maria, and Francesca were kidnapped and will be sold into child slavery long before during the Middle Ages. Jared, Shireen, and Miranda, with their newfound powers, are the only ones who can save them. Told through stories that intertwine, readers travel from the present to the past and the lives of all six children are at stake. Lending an air of mystery and history are embedded translations of pages of the old book, which move the story on by providing extra bits of information necessary for the trio to solve their quest.

- Melanie Koss, Northern Illinois University 

 

GRADES 9-12

 

Yancey, Rick. (2013). The 5th Wave. NY: Penguin.

Award winning author Rick Yancey’s latest book will have you on the end of your seat and leaving the light on. Aliens have attacked the Earth and only few have survived. Survival might not be a good thing. After the 1st wave, darkness covers the land. After the 2nd wave, the few lucky ones escape, and after the 3rd wave only the unlucky survive. The 4th wave brings the rule to trust no one. Cassie is a survivor but the 5th wave is upon her. She’s alone and running from the bad guys, who look human but are really in disguise. When she meets Evan, she must decide to whether or not to trust. Another book told with alternating narrators, The 5th Wave takes you into the mind of those who wish to persevere and what they will sacrifice for survival.

- Melanie Koss, Northern Illinois University 

 

Charbonneau, Joelle. (2013). The Testing. NY: Houghton Mifflin.

Reminiscent of The Hunger Games, Joelle Charbonneau creates a post-war world with a strong government who has created colonies to help sustain the world. Upon graduation day, colony residents are chosen for The Testing, a rigorous United Commonwealth Program that only the best and brightest are chosen for. Cia is from Five Lakes Colony, and no one from her colony has been chosen for The Testing in years, her greatest dream. When Cia and a fellow colonist Tomas are chosen, Cia must leave her colony with the words of her father, “Trust no one,” ringing in her ears. The Testing puts the students through dangerous mental and physical tests, and only the strongest survive. Tomas and Cia form an alliance with the hopes of making it to the next stage of the program. Charbonneau fleshes out Cia’s character and gives us a strong, confident protagonist to root for. Readers will anxiously be waiting for book 2, Independent Study, coming out in January 2014.

- Melanie Koss, Northern Illinois University 

 

Young, Suzanne. (2013). The Program. NY: Simon & Schuster.

Suicide has become a national epidemic, and teens that exhibit signs of depression are immediately placed in The Program, a proven course of treatment to cure depression and prevent suicide. However, the cure also entails a complete wipe of memories. Sloane knows she is under constant surveillance at home and in school, and fights to keep her feelings hidden to avoid this fate. Her parents have already lost one child to The Program, and she refuses to be the second. The only person Sloane feels safe around is her boyfriend James, but they are both fighting symptoms of depression. Together, Sloane and James fight not only society but also themselves.

- Melanie Koss, Northern Illinois University 

 

These reviews are submitted by members of the International Reading Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) and are published weekly on Reading Today Online. The International Reading Association partners with the National Council of Teachers of English and Verizon Thinkfinity to produce ReadWriteThink.org, a website devoted to providing literacy instruction and interactive resources for grades K–12.

 

Kids love comics. I know I did (and still do). I wasn’t much of a reader when I was younger, but once I discovered comics and comic books, I became more engaged and interested in reading. To see the action drawn out helped reinforce what I was reading in the word balloons and narration boxes. I retained the information much more easily. The more I understood, the more confident I became. And the more confident, the more I wanted to read.

p: Enokson via photopin cc

Words AND pictures. It totally makes sense.

Sometimes you don’t even need the words. Study a Norman Rockwell painting. His paintings had such an effect on me as a child. I used to lie on the floor in my parents’ living room, flipping through their big, heavy book of Rockwell’s paintings. In one single image, his paintings tell a whole story. He was a master storyteller. He’s one of the reasons I do what I do today. In fact, before I knew how to read and write, I would draw my own stories through pictures.

Storytelling, in its most basic form, is a series of images that tell a story. If you think about it, we’ve been communicating and telling stories this way all the way back to cave drawings. And look at our world today—from IKEA assembly instructions to road signs and airplane safety pamphlets; we read pictures to understand information. We know that the smartest way to grasp an idea is to show it in an image or images.

For the past 20 years I’ve worked in children’s TV animation as an artist, writer, director, and producer. More recently I’ve written and illustrated the Ollie & Moon picture book series for Random House Children’s Books. When creating storyboards for a children’s TV show, I want the panels to tell the story without the dialogue. If you can understand what’s happening through the storyboard panels alone, then the scene is working. Adding the dialogue is extra reinforcement.

In my upcoming Step Into Reading comic reader, OLLIE & MOON: ALOHA!, I was able to combine my love of storyboarding, picture books, comic books, and clear communication!

Communication = success.

Often we think communication is just through words. But communication is also very visual. When we learn at an early age how to interpret actions, emotions, ideas, and feelings, we are set up for success. Through words and pictures, our comprehension is enhanced because we’re seeing the action that we’re reading in words.

An important aspect of telling a story through pictures is to show the action that the words describe. In my comic reader, there’s a page where Moon dares her best friend Ollie to play the ukulele while dancing the limbo (they’re in Hawaii after all!) The images that accompany the word balloons not only show Ollie strumming the ukulele and dancing the limbo, they show the emotional shift in Ollie’s face when he feels nervous before doing his dare.

So even if there’s not a ton of action on a particular page— like an image of Moon standing alone on a beach with worried eyes and unsure posture—those simple gestures will convey to the reader what’s happening, i.e., that Moon’s afraid of the ocean.

Here’s an exercise that demonstrates how a picture can clearly convey what’s happening in a story.

• Download the sample Ollie & Moon comic reader page where most of the word balloons are blank. Use it on your SMART board, or create a larger version of the image for your class to see.
• Discuss with your students what they think might be happening by looking at the images. Then have them come up with the dialogue for the word balloons. You write the dialogue in each word balloon.
• When you’re done, read the page you created together aloud. Then read the actual page from the book. If I did my job well, you may be surprised at how close your students got to the actual text in the book!

Here are some more exercises:

• Create your own comics page by cutting out images from magazines or newspapers of people in action, doing specific things (i.e., playing baseball, going to the beach, cooking, etc.). Add word balloons and let your students add the dialogue. You can download a page of word balloons to cut out and paste on your created comics page here.
• Here’s a good one to practice telling visual stories, with no words. Download a sample blank page of panels. Make copies and have your students illustrate a story in just three or six panels (depending on the amount of time you want to spend on this).

Focus the students by giving them a scenario like two dogs flying a kite; an alien landing on earth; a crab building a sand castle; etc. Ask your students to fill in the images and create a sequence of events that tells a story. For example—a crab builds a sand castle and then a wave washes it away.

There are no prizes for being the best illustrator—your students can use stick figures if they want. The point is to tell a simple story in three or six panels with no text or dialogue.

Click here to download blank panel pages.

• Download the images in a sequence that I’ve provided for you. Cut them out and shuffle. Then have your students put the images in the proper order of events based on the clues in the images.

Click here to download images.

I hope your students have fun with these exercises. And I hope they continue to have fun reading words and pictures and learn to love reading of all types!

DIANE KREDENSOR is an Emmy Award-winning artist for her work on animated TV shows such as Pinky and the Brain, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and WordWorld, to name a few. Her most recent children's book, OLLIE & MOON: ALOHA! is the third in the series for Random House Children's Books and introduces a brand new format, Step into Reading Comic Reader. Graphic panels and word balloons full of punchy dialogue introduce emergent readers to the joy of comics. The easy-to-follow plot is about trying new things and what it means to be a best friend. Diane happily lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her partner, their son, and two cats that bear a passing resemblance to Ollie and Moon. See more at http://ollieandmoon.com/ and http://dianekredensor.com/.

by Michael Putman

Have you ever tried to find an app to use within a lesson, only to give up because you are overwhelmed by the sheer number available or because you’ve already spent too much time in a fruitless search? I know I have, but my hope is that by presenting the following two websites, I can eliminate (or reduce) this possibility for both of us in the future.

The first site, which is housed within Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Everything, is entitled iPads in the Classroom. By now, many of you are likely familiar with Kathy’s work and have come to know that one of her hallmarks is the sheer number of resources that she provides on selected topics. This website is no exception. In just glancing at the page, you may experience that overwhelmed feeling creeping in – bear with me. Instead, I want to highlight a specific link: Bloomin’ iPad. As you may have guessed, “Bloomin’” refers to Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. What Kathy has created on this page is simply brilliant: a series of visuals that illustrate various apps for several devices that will allow you to structure your technology integration to reach selected levels of the taxonomy. In our current context where we consistently hear of the need to address higher order thinking skills, we now have a tool to determine an app that may help us do just that. For example, if your goal is to have the students engage in some form of literary analysis using technology, an examination of the “Analyzing” gear yields a tool that can be used to facilitate this process. Please note - the most recent version of the “Bloomin’ Apps” is what you see at the top of the page, but I highly recommend that you scroll down the page to examine the previous versions of this tool as they contain additional apps.

The second website is aptly titled “Best Apps for Kids.” It is actually a blog that is not solely focused on education (or literacy), but is intended to be a resource for parents seeking appropriate and, in most cases, educationally sound apps for iPads, iPods, or iPhones. Regardless of the intended audience, there were several notable features I found within the site that made it a great choice for finding apps for use with children. First, each review provided an overall quality rating for the app as well as information on the educational quality, general value, and child friendliness. In each case, the information presented was concise, yet useful in determining the functionality of the app.  Second, I also liked that the user could search the website using a variety of criteria. For example, if I was trying to help my kindergarteners practice letter recognition and wanted to integrate iPads within the activities, I could search for apps via the grade level, device, or topic. Finally, the blog features Free App Friday, which I felt was very relevant given that many of us are on a budget. While the name is self-explanatory, the fact that the authors of the blog compile a current list of free, recommended apps and publish it on a specific day of the week is definitely a welcome relief from happening upon (or missing) “freebies” on your own. (Read more about Best Apps for Kids in Kimberly Kimbell-Lopez’s recent article.)

Whether you are a teacher who just received your first set of iPads or someone looking for new methods to utilize mobile devices within your instruction, I think the resources presented at these sites will help you quickly and efficiently locate several apps relevant to your instructional goals. Happy “apping”!

Mike Putman is an associate professor in the Reading and Elementary Education Department at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

by Jen Scott Curwood
The University of Sydney
June 20, 2013

In and out of school, young adults use digital tools and online spaces to create, collaborate, and communicate through multiple modes and mediums (Curwood, Magnifico, & Lammers, 2013). For example, research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project indicates that 80% of adolescents use online social network sites, 38% share original creative work online, and 21% remix their own transformative works, inspired by others’ words and images (Lenhart, Ling, Campbell, & Purcell, 2010; Lenhart, Madden, Smith, Purcell, Zickuhr, & Rainie, 2011).

But how do teachers view digital literacies and how do they integrate technology in meaningful and transformative ways in schools? Two recent studies address this question.  The first study below reviews a decade of research within the New Literacy Studies and examines the increased focus on digital tools and online spaces. The next study highlights the ways in which teachers’ beliefs and practices significantly shape how technology and digital literacy practices are positioned within (or absent from) the curriculum.

Teachers’ perceptions of integrating Information and Communication Technologies into literacy instruction
Hutchison and Reinking’s (2011) study is the first national survey to investigate literacy teachers’ beliefs and practices related to technology. Notably, nearly all teachers have access to Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) and technology support in their schools, but “relatively few literacy teachers have moved from assimilation of ICTs within their teaching to a deeper curricular accommodation where ICTs are more central to their conceptions of what comprises literacy and literacy instruction” (p. 328). So how can ICTs be centrally and effectively used in the classroom? Another recent study helps address this question.

A review of research on literacy and technology
The New Literacy Studies is a line of research that began three decades ago; it conceptualizes literacy as situated within social and cultural contexts. As such, a young child’s literacy development is inextricably linked to their home and community environments. Mills (2010) reviews 90 peer-reviewed articles and outlines the growing “digital turn” in New Literacy Studies. This is evidenced by empirical studies that show how technology can support collaboration, digital media production, and online communication. For instance, the Computer Clubhouse in South Central Los Angeles offers young people the opportunity to become producers, rather than just consumers, of digital media and take part in the creative process (Peppler & Kafai, 2007).

To learn more about literacy and technology, see the National Educational Technology Standards and the International Reading Association’s New Literacies Position Statement. Also consider how the Common Core State Standards can be met through integrating new literacies and digital tools into school-based learning.

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This post was invited by the IRA Literacy Research Panel. Reader response is welcomed. Email your comments to LRP@/

Not only does summer provide time for teachers to catch up on sleep and devour books that they might like to use in their classrooms, but those more leisurely days and nights often give them a chance to seek out books about topics that seem interesting or provocative. Sometimes staying abreast of pedagogical trends and literacy research can be challenging during the regular school year because of the many responsibilities placed upon teachers. Now that the previous year’s grading, meetings, and classroom management concerns lie far behind us and the first days of school in August seem so far away, this is the ideal time to explore some of those professional books colleagues have been discussing or find new approaches to teaching practices. Written by members of the Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group, these book reviews on professional texts may encourage changes in thinking about education and they might even prompt some readers to write their own professional books. In addition to the books featured in this column, teachers might want to check out three highly recommended titles reviewed in earlier columns:

• Bullying Hurts: Teaching Kindness through Read-alouds and Guided Conversations by Lester L. Laminack and Reba Wadsworth (Heinemann, 2012)
• Both The Poetry Friday Anthology for Common Core Grades K-5: Poems for the School Year with Connections to the Common Core (Pomelo, 2012)
• The Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School, Grades 6-8: Poems for the School Year with Connections to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English Language Arts by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong (Pomelo, 2013)

Whether read alone or with a teacher study group, these titles offer much academic food for thought. Teachers may be interested in reading about the Professional Development opportunities at ReadWriteThink.

Calkins, Lucy, Ehrenworth, Mary, and Lehman, Christopher. (2012). Pathways to the common core: Accelerating achievement. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Noted literacy educator Lucy Calkins and her colleagues from the Reading and Writing Project at Teachers College, Columbia, University, provide an accessible introduction and pathway to understanding the new Common Core State Standards. In their introduction they state, “This book … is written for educators who are eager to embrace the responsibilities of implementing the Common Core, who see schools as centers of professional study, and who believe that teaching well means engaging in a continual process of studying students and their work in order to strengthen teaching and learning.” The introduction cleverly goes on to question the approach and attitude that educators use when starting on this pathway – as curmudgeons or finding the gold standard? The book is divided into three main sections: Reading Standards; Writing Standards; and Speaking/Listening and Language Standards. The content of the book begins with an overview of the standards and a “nuts and bolts” look at what the standards do and don’t do for reading comprehension implementation for literature and nonfiction. From there, each standard is discussed one by one with chapter headings that include: Literal Understanding and Text Complexity; Reading Literature; Reading Information Text. Moving on to the writing standards, chapter headings continue with: An Overview; Composing Narrative Texts; Composing Argument Texts; Composing Information Texts. Concluding with the speaking/listening standards chapter headings are the Overview and the CCSS-Aligned Assessments Fuel Whole-School Reform. The detailed index makes this a useful and handy tool for implementation by teachers, literacy coaches, administrators or professional learning communities. Teachers can watch students interacting with these techniques in several videos found at The Reading & Writing Project website or listen to Lucy Calkins talk about this book at the vimeo website.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

 

Kelley, Michelle & Clausen-Grace, Nicki. (2012). Reading the whole page: Teaching and assessing text features to meet K-5 common core standards. Gainesville, FL: Maupin House.

As stated in the title, this book is geared for elementary students and concepts that teach them to use text features not only in their reading but also guiding them to use text features within their own writing. Logically, chapter one opens the book with the importance of text features, how they help students, stressing the importance of teaching specific features and continuing with assessment ideas. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 offer a plethora of mini-lessons that include specific features on the use of titles, headings and subheadings, bold print italics, captions, pronunciation guides, bullets, sidebars, photographs and drawings, insets, cross-sections/cutaways, diagrams, maps, timelines, graphs, tables, tables of contents, index and glossary features. Chapter 5, the final chapter, offers ways to integrate all these text features with activities like a scavenger hunt, using them in morning messages, flap books and interviews to name just a few. The appendices (A through F) that make up just less than half the book, offer reproducible activities, a chart of the Common Core Standards relevant for student reading, charts, sort cards and more. This book is definitely a “hands-on/use tomorrow” kind of guidebook for teachers who want to get started with new ideas that are standards-based for elementary students. The book includes a CD with interactive reproducible ideas. Educators can take a look at Appendix F available on the CD in this downloadable list of resources available from the publisher’s website.

These two authors collaborated on a project and study guide for IRA entitled, “Comprehension Shouldn’t Be Silent; from strategy instruction to student independence.” The study guide is available as a download from /.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

 

McGregor, Tanny. (2013). Genre connections: lessons to launch literary and nonfiction texts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Author Tanny McGregor (Comprehension Connections, 2007; Comprehension Going Forward, 2011) has returned with a very user-friendly book for classroom teachers to invite the study of genres in today’s classroom emphasizing using concrete and abstract objects. In the opening chapter, McGregor describes the why and how of explaining genre including “launching the sequence” (p.3) to create experiences to understand and learn about genre. This same chapter explains the Concrete Experience to make genre real and moves on to the Sensory Experience featuring art and music. Chapters 2 through 8 deal with the specific genres of Poetry; Adventure and Fantasy: Beyond Realistic Fiction; Historical Fiction; Drama; Image Reading; Biography, Autobiography and Memoir; Informational Text. Within each chapter she has laid out the pattern for each genre instruction with the steps: Launching Sequence; Noticing and Naming the Genre on Their Own; Sensory Exercises; Quotations About …; and Time for Text.  From McGregor’s opening, “There are dozens of genres on the continuum between narrative (story) and expository (informational); this book will explore but a few. Any genre could be launched using the model in this book, for example, realistic fiction, mystery, or technical writing. Teachers can use the seed ideas suggested in this volume with a genre of your choice and see how it grows!” (p.2). Teachers may want to listen to the author discuss her book in an interview on EduTalkRadio.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

 

McLaughlin, Maureen, & Overturf, Brenda J. (2013). The Common Core: Teaching K-5 students to meet the Reading Standards. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Not a minute too soon, teachers can learn about the background behind the sudden appearance of the Common Core State Standards that seem to have threaded their way into state and national requirements and daily lesson plans. In the book’s two sections, the authors explain the CCSS’s key points and then suggest effective ways to use the standards in instruction. Examining the standards vertically within each grade level as well as horizontally across grade levels will help teachers understand grade level expectations. The authors even devote a chapter to assessment, discussing how formative and summative assessment connect to the CCSS, and providing examples of simple types of formative assessment such as discussions or Tickets Out that teachers can use. Using five guiding questions, they examine each College and Career Readiness Anchor Standard for Reading and its related CCSS for grades K-5 Standards. They provide examples of teaching practices and activities that teachers can incorporate as well as discussing links to technology. Although the authors admit that designing student-centered lessons that are based on the CCSS is challenging, this book provides plenty of support and encouragement for teachers to do so. The book is thorough and best understood by reading a chapter or two at a time and then digesting its contents or discussing them with a colleague.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University, Pullman

 

McLaughlin, Maureen, & and Overturf, Brenda J. (2013). The Common Core: Teaching students in Grades 6–12 to meet the Reading Standards. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

As they do so effectively in their earlier title focused on earlier grades, the authors painstakingly explain the CCSS’s key points of the CCSS and provide tips on how to use the Standards effectively in literacy instruction in grades 6-12. The book is divided into two sections with the first part containing six chapters, and the second one containing ten. Chapters in the first section include “How Can Teachers Effectively Use the Standards?” “Assessment and the Common Core,” “Implementation of the Common Core Standards,” “Beginning Readers, the Teaching of Reading, and the Common Core,”  “English Learners, Students With Disabilities, Gifted and Talented Learners, and the Common Core,” and “Reshaping Curriculum to Accommodate the Common Core and the Teaching of Reading.” While exploring assessment, implementation, and curriculum, the authors also look at some of the implications of the Common Core for English language learners, students with disabilities, and gifted and talented students. One entire chapter offers suggestions for teaching students how to use disciplinary strategies to engage, guide, and extend their thinking. The second section of the book examines carefully each of the College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading, along with practical guidance on how to use those Standards to teach your middle school and high school students. Teachers will find the classroom applications and student examples particularly helpful in familiarizing them with the CCSS.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

 

Kucan, Linda, & Palincsar, Annemarie Sullivan. (2013). Comprehension instruction through text-based discussion. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

With a free PDF and an accompanying DVD that provide a guide for professional development meetings or teacher educators and suggested informational texts for classroom discussions, this excellent teacher resource provides tools for discussion that is text-based, allowing teachers to adhere to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts that encourage elementary teachers to use more informational texts and promote engagement with text that “builds knowledge, enlarges experience, and broadens worldviews.” The authors provide several suggests for how to build on what students already know by supporting their understanding of the ideas they encounter as they read. After discussing the theoretical support for quality discussions based on texts that are intended to enhance comprehension, the authors explain thoroughly lessons that will help teachers know how to analyze text, plan and initiate discussions, and support students as they work with texts. There are six chapters, four of which focus on planning and discussing “Harnessing the Wind,” “Black Death,” “Coral Reefs,” and “Jade Burial Suits.” These chapters are terrific models of how teachers can stretch their students and enliven their own instructional practices with simple changes.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

 

Martinelli, Marjorie, & Mraz, Kristine. (2012). Smarter charts: K-2: Optimizing an instructional staple to create independent readers and writers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Although commercially-produced charts have a place in the classroom, many teachers want to make sure that the charts they use are meaningful for their own students and will enhance learning. The authors have written a helpful book that shows teachers how to create their own charts while also providing examples of charts they have created. After discussing the importance of visual literacy and the appeal of advertising, the authors provide a field guide to literacy charts, including routine, strategy, process, exemplar, and genre charts. For instance, a process chart is intended to break an important skill into a series of steps (p. xxi). The authors even show teachers how to draw a pencil on a chart and include transcripts of how teachers use their charts with their students. While the charts can be excellent instructional tools, they also can provide ways to assess student progress. Ultimately, as the authors write in the conclusion, “Charts help to make our teaching explicit and clear by providing step-by-step directions and key tips and strategies for how to do something” (p. 86). Since students can use the charts to self-assess and set their own goals, the experience becomes empowering and leads to independence. After reading this book, teachers will never look at classroom charts in the same way. They’re far more part of creating a visually-appealing classroom.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Yopp, Hallie Kay, & Yopp, Ruth Helen. (2013). Literature-Based reading activities: Engaging students with literary and informational text. Sixth Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

This updated version of an ever-popular resource for teachers provides useful tips on how to use literature in the classroom. The book contains five chapters, one of which gives a rationale for using literature in the classroom. Chapters Two, Three, and Four offer 15 prereading, 15 during-reading, and 13 post-reading activities, and Chapter Five explores writing and bookmaking activities. After explaining what each activity is, the authors have provided examples of each activity so that teachers can easily create their own for use in their classrooms. For instance, as part of the preparation for reading, teachers might choose to design an anticipation guide, an opinionnaire/questionnaire, book box, book bits or pull out character quotes to encourage students to draw on and build their background knowledge about a topic or issue as well as motivate them to read. During-reading activities might include literature circles, strategy cards, character perspective charts, and character blogs, among others, all designed to encourage personal responses and deepen comprehension. Intended to help students make connections and to promote reflection, post-reading activities include sketch to stretch, dramatic responses, book trailers, Venn diagrams, and book charts, among others. The final chapter contains creative activities such as pop-up books, accordion books, mini fold-up books, baggie books, and digital responses to literature. Chockfull of activities that students will enjoy immensely, the book also contains a list of Internet resources and the College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for the Common Core State Standards. For teachers searching for a way to add excitement to their approach to literacy, this book is a must-have.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

 

These reviews are submitted by members of the International Reading Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) and are published weekly on Reading Today Online. The International Reading Association partners with the National Council of Teachers of English and Verizon Thinkfinity to produce ReadWriteThink.org, a website devoted to providing literacy instruction and interactive resources for grades K–12.