Ready Reader Books » Reading

Children’s Book Giveaway: May I Please Have a Cookie?

Ready Reader — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 03:26:07 +0000

Scholastic Reader Level 1: May I Please Have a Cookie? (Paperback)

By (author) Jennifer Morris

List Price:	$3.99 USD
New From:	$1.03 In Stock
Used from:	$0.01 In Stock

Alfie loves his mommy’s cookies, and he wants one more than anything! But grabbing for one, fishing for one, and dressing up as a cookie inspector don’t seem to work. His mommy says there is a better way. What is it? Beginning readers will learn proper manners with Alfie as his mommy teaches him to say the magic words.

“A wonderful read with a message about manners.” – Ready Reader Books

Children’s Christmas Book Giveaway: “May I Have a Cookie?”

1 .To Enter: Simply comment on the book below.

2. Extra Entry: RT or Follow The Ready Reader on Twitter (DM me your comment on the book with your Twitter ID)

Open to US residents only. Giveaway ends 11:59pm on Wednesday August 31st.

Winner will be chosen through Random.org

Revisiting silent reading

Ready Reader — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 20:36:03 +0000

Those of us familiar with the 2000 National Reading Panel report remember that the report did not support teachers’ use of silent reading in the classroom. The research evidence that it had any effect on reading achievement just wasn’t there. Some school districts and teachers greatly reduced or stopped providing time during the instructional day for silent reading. Other teachers continued to provide daily DEAR or SSR time, citing the benefits of such a practice.

A new book from the International Reading Association, edited by Elfrieda Hiebert and Ray Reutzel, Revisiting Silent Reading, encourages us to rethink silent reading, to consider some advice about it, and to think about how to make it work in your classroom. Chapter 8 provides teachers with good information about four factors related to silent reading. A summary of the information is here:

Student self-selection of reading materials: Teachers should guide students to choose good texts to read during silent reading time. The books should be of interest, should draw from a variety of genre and topics, and should be at an appropriate level — not too easy, not too hard.

Student engagement and time on task during silent reading time: Teachers should keep a pulse on students during DEAR time. Emphasize that DEAR time is reading practice time. It’s not indoor recess, but rather it has an important purpose: to provide time to practice reading skills. Read the full chapter for a good description of gossips, wanderers, and squirrels. See if you have any of those in your classroom!

Accountability: Related to the above, accountability is an important piece to silent reading. Several methods of accountability have been suggested, including logs, reader response, and anecdotal records. This seems like a highly personal decision, and it would have to be something easy and quick.

Interactions among teachers and students: It’s important to foster teacher-student and student-student conversations about books. Rather than using your DEAR time to read yourself, engage your students in conversations about what they’re reading.

There’s much more in Chapter 8, and the entire book Revisiting Silent Reading. I encourage you to take a look!

Opinion: Parents Key in Kids’ Education

Ready Reader — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:42:39 +0000

Education isn’t just a thing that happens to students in a building 180 days of the year. Parents of all income levels and educational backgrounds must take education seriously to improve the academic success of children.

To Raise Bilingual Children, Some Families try ‘One Parent, One Language’ Approach

Ready Reader — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 14:36:48 +0000

Lifestyle: An increasing number of Americans are living in homes where a language other than English is spoken. While past generations of Americans sometimes encouraged children to abandon mother tongues in order to assimilate faster, today’s parents see the benefits of being fluent in more than one language, and they look for ways to encourage it. Find out why!

Arizona Law Holds Back Students Who Can’t Read by 3rd Grade

Ready Reader — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 21:42:38 +0000

In less than two years, a group of young Arizona students must show they can read or risk being held back a grade. That group is this year’s first-graders. State lawmakers passed legislation — dubbed “move on when reading” — in 2010 that requires them to demonstrate proficiency on the reading portion of Arizona’s Instrument to Measure Standards in spring 2013.

Opinion: Encourage Children to Pursue Their Own Summer Reading Lists

Ready Reader — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 21:42:35 +0000

Summer is a magical season for kids — a time when they finally get to make many of their own decisions. Except when it comes to reading. Right now, millions of children are slogging through a school-assigned reading list. And that may not be such a good thing. Educators have long been aware of the "summer slide," when many children, especially those from low-income families, experience a disturbing decline in their reading skills.

No Summer Reading Can Put Kids Back Two Years

Ready Reader — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 21:42:33 +0000

Children who don’t read over the summer can lose up to two reading levels by the time the school year begins. Experts say it doesn’t take a lot of reading to make sure that doesn’t happen. “If a student reads just four books over the summer, they will maintain their grade level if they left the school year reading at grade level,” said Sherri Thomas, school librarian at North Frederick Elementary School. To help students with their summer reading workouts, North Frederick has opened its media center once a week for the past three weeks and will offer one more session next week.

Literature-Based Teaching in Science: Q&A Reports

Ready Reader — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 21:42:32 +0000

Using students’ questions as a basis for investigations in science education is an effective teaching strategy. Not only do students pose questions they would like answered, but they are asked to find ways to answer them. This article also recommends nonfiction science books that use a question and answer format to find information and model how to communicate what you know.

Teachers Converging on Washington for 4-Day Schools Rally

Ready Reader — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 21:42:32 +0000

Politics K-12: Today kicks off the four-day Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action, a gathering and rally in Washington, D.C., organized by teachers who say they are fed up with test-driven accountability for public schools — and, increasingly, for teachers.

Science Notebooks for Students

Ready Reader — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 21:42:31 +0000

Keeping a science notebook encourages students to record and reflect on inquiry-based observations, activities, investigations, and experiments. Science notebooks are also an excellent way for students to communicate their understanding of science concepts, and for teachers to provide students with feedback.