Libraries hold key to progress

This letter by well-known US reading researcher Stephen Krashen responds to an article in The Detroit News paper by promoting libraries as the key to student literacy achievement...

"Detroit is looking in all the wrong places to explain its low reading scores and is ignoring the most obvious ("Detroit parents want DPS teachers, officials jailed over low test scores," Dec. 13). Jailing teachers, new reading initiatives and volunteer tutors are not the answer. The answer is improved school libraries staffed by certified librarians.

Study after study has confirmed the common-sense idea that reading itself is the best way to develop reading ability: Children who read more do better on all tests of literacy, including the fourth grade National Assessment of Educational Progress reading test, the test Detroit children did so poorly on. But to read, children need access to books. For children of low-income families, the only source is the school library.

Research done by me, as well as Jeff McQuillan, has confirmed that access to books is strongly related to performance on the NAEP exam for fourth-graders, even when we control for the effects of poverty. A study done by Keith Lance and colleagues in 2003 confirmed that the presence of credentialed librarians in Michigan is related to higher reading test scores. I suggest that the investigative reporters of The Detroit News check on the quality of school libraries in Detroit as well as library staffing.

Stephen Krashen , Professor Emeritus, Rossier School of Education,University of Southern California, Los Angeles USA

Curious expeditions

Curious Expeditions is a wonderful website with the motto "Travelling and exhuming the extraordinary past" http://curiousexpeditions.org/

One of their best known posts is the "love letter" to libraries - gorgeous photos of wonderful libraries - http://curiousexpeditions.org/?p=78

"Everyone has some kind of place that makes them feel transported to a magical realm. For some people it’s castles with their noble history and crumbling towers. For others it’s abandoned factories, ivy choked, a sense of foreboding around every corner. For us here at Curious Expeditions, there has always been something about libraries. Row after row, shelf after shelf, there is nothing more magical than a beautiful old library."

Visualisation, The Magician's Elephant and Reading Rockets

You can subscribe to the useful Reading Rockets free online newsletter with links to various blogs... http://tiny.cc/subscribeReadingRockets

From the website : Reading Rockets offers a wealth of reading strategies, lessons, and activities designed to help young children learn how to read and read better. Our reading resources assist parents, teachers, and other educators in working with struggling readers who require additional help in reading fundamentals and comprehension skills development.

The latest newsletter has a piece by Joanne Meier about the importance of visualisation as a comprehension strategy. "The National Reading Panel includes mental imagery as one of their "top 7" comprehension strategies, citing research that suggests imagery can improve memory, comprehension, and an appreciation for text. "

The Magician's Elephant, a wonderful story by Kate di Camillo is a great resource to practice this strategy - see here for the post : http://www.readingrockets.org/articles/34040

The book's website has a resource kit to go with the book - all sorts of magic tricks and and other activities...
http://themagicianselephant.com/images/resources/ME_ActivityKit.pdf