Showing posts with label School Library Monthly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label School Library Monthly. Show all posts

Monday, November 9, 2009

Reading and writing non-fiction

From the School Library Monthly blog :

http://blog.schoollibrarymedia.com/index.php/2009/10/27/inquiry-and-choice/

"I’ve just finished skimming the Stenhouse title A Place for Wonder: Reading and Writing Nonfiction in the Primary Grades, which you can read in full-text online here. It is full of great ideas that we could extrapolate from classroom-only environments and into classroom-and-library environments.

Among my key takeaways:

  • Consider starting a wonder center where kids can write wonderings on Post-Its and others can answer them.
  • Have a place where kids can deposit wonder items for others to enjoy.
  • When planning a non-fiction piece of writing, have kids use a table of contents page as a way to organize the order of their thoughts.
  • Distinguish between heart questions that can be answered with your inner knowledge (e.g., “What makes a great friend?”) and research questions (e.g., “How do whales breathe?”).
Check out the rest of the post - questioning how the library can capitalise on the wonder children bring, maximise the use of non-fiction, and be partners with the classroom in fostering wonderment and curiosity...

More research on the benefits of reading comics

Various papers have reported on some more research from the US about the benefits of reading comics - for vocabulary, reading motivation, mileage, visual literacy...

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/Academic+pushes+comics+classroom/2198006/story.html

The reports say that the research was published by Professor Carol Tilley in School Library Monthly though it hasn't appeared on their website yet.

You may find School Library Monthly an interesting website to explore... http://schoollibrarymonthly.com/

"School Library Monthly magazine supports K-12 school librarians as they plan instruction collaboratively with teachers. It helps strengthen information literacy skills, inquiry and the research process and encourages the use of a variety of resources. It promotes the integration of technology and provides links to a vast array of literature. The articles in each issue are written by school library professionals, helping others stay abreast of current issues and trends."