Book battles and shelf guides

Miriam Tuohy at Russell Street School Library shared on the list serv news of Round 2 of the Year 5 and 6 students' Bookapedia book club and the school-wide "Book Battles" they have organised...

Here is a link to the website all about the Battle of the books http://bookapediabattles.weebly.com
and here is the Russell Street Bookclub Blog http://rssbookclub.edublogs.org/

What lively and fun reading promotion is happening at that school!

Miriam also shared this link for icons for labels
http://icons.mysitemyway.com/category/glossy-black-icons/
and her Dewey labels are on the SLANZA wiki as an attachement at the bottom of this page http://slanzawiki.wetpaint.com/page/Dewey+Decimal+Classification

Primary school "50 book challenge"

A boys' school in Auckland runs this programme from the library called "Literacy Awards" for Years 2 - 8 :

"For each of six levels (Yrs 2-3, 3-4, 4-5 etc) we publish a booklet with 450-700 titles in each, sorted by genre. For Yr 2-3 the boys have to read 20 titles but no more than two by the same author or in the same series. The older ones there are the same stipulations plus a max of five and a minimum of two per genre with a combined total of 30 books. This encourages the boys to read widely rather than stick to the same-old, same-old. The incentive is a certificate presented by Headmaster at assembly plus 10 House points - boys being by nature competitive beasts, this works extremely well. Yr 8s who complete the last award also receive a point towards the "Achiever's Tie", something that is highly sought after. It works for us and the boys are the ultimate winners. "

50 book challenge - King's High School Library

Bridget Schaumann, the lively and innovative librarian at King's High School Dunedin, shared on the listserv her school's "50 Book Challenge", as follows :

So here is the deal with the 50 Book Challenge.

• It runs for 6 months from March till October
• You must fill in my very basic forms to have your books counted – What was the story about? What did you like about it? What didn’t you like?
  
• What other readers might like the book?
  
• All books must be about 200 pages (I’m more lenient with the guys who struggle with reading than I am with the avid guys)
  
• The winner gets a nice big $50 book voucher with $25 to the two other runners up
  
• Last year we had it running inter-house but it meant too much benefit to the non readers in the group so now it is just about the guys who really achieve – the group got a pizza lunch paid for – which turns out to be very expensive!
  
• All participants will get a small prize at the end for participating.
  

The main idea for beginning it was:

• I wanted a competitive reading competition which had decent prizes to raise the profile of reading in the school.
  
• The reviews that the students do go on the blog if they are good enough.
  
• Boys love competition – I love competition
  
• I wanted something easy to organise which could be an inter-house comp but not involve any more work for the deans
  
• It is a great promotional tool
  

The results:

• It has completely raised my issue stats and also made the really keen ones read more from my shelves than the public library shelves because they needed more books more quickly.
  
• The boys are doing far more recommending of books to each other than before because they like the ‘quick and dirty’ aspect “He liked it so I probably will too” and I have to say it has made some boys new friends.
  
• It is always the Year 9s and 10s who really buy into it. More senior students start but get bored and don’t continue. But there are a couple of year 13 who read avidly but who don’t want to take part in the comp (beneath them!) but they do check the blog to make sure I have posted their book reviews! (I think that is kinda cool!)
  
• It is a great promotional tool!
  

So there you go. I’m considering running a 100 book challenge next year but that might be a bit much, I’m doing one of those myself this year and am only up to 60 and the year is rapidly ending!
Cheerfully, Bridget
Bridget Schaumann RLIANZA Librarian/Careers Advisor King's High School

Reading 2.0

This post is from the Northland PD day blog but I am posting it here also, to promote the resources linked below which inspire new ways of promote reading...

"If we believe in the value and power of books, stories, poems and plays, we also have to remember that it will never be enough simply to publish good stuff. We have to be committed, ingenious, flexible and experimental in coming up with ways of making all that literature come alive for every single child - no exceptions allowed.”

Michael Rosen, Last Laureate Log 11

http://www.michaelrosen.co.uk/foradults_news.html

Think about combining / integrating technology thoughtfully to promote the love of reading… eg using blogs, LibraryThing, texts and tweets, interactive booktalks, book trailers, voicethread, photostory, book related screensavers, audio books, e-books…

One easy and low tech idea from the Reading 2.0 wiki below is putting labels onto books with web information for interested readers to explore themselves, eg

E. Lockhart
If you like E. Lockhart, you’ll like these:
Webpage: http://www.theboyfriendlist.com/
Myspace:http://www.myspace.com/theboyfriendlist
Blog: http://www.theboyfriendlist.com/e_lockhart_blog/
Teen Lit (MySpace): http://groups.myspace.com/teenlit
Readergirlz: http://www.readergirlz.com/ or http://www.myspace.com/readergirlz
Not Your Mother’s Book Club: http://www.myspace.com/notyourmothers

or

Stephenie Meyer
Want more Bella? More Edward? There’s tons more on the web! Check these out:
Webpage: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/
Playlist: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight_playlist.html
Twilight Lexicon (all things Twilight): http://twilightlexicon.com/
Myspace groups: http://groups.myspace.com/stephmeyer or http://groups.myspace.com/booktwilight
Teen Lit (MySpace): http://groups.myspace.com/teenlit
Readergirlz: http://www.readergirlz.com/ or http://www.myspace.com/readergirlz
Not Your Mother’s Book Club: http://www.myspace.com/notyourmothers

In Term 4, consider ways you can encourage students - and teachers - to read during the summer holidays, possibly using a web 2.0 tool to keep connected with the library and other readers, extend and share their reading…

• Reading 2.0 : Getting the gears to work in harmony by Joyce Valenza http://www.sdst.org/shs/library/pdf/reading20.pdf (2008)

• Reading 2.0 wiki – Anita Beaman and Amy Oberts
  http://readingtech.wikispaces.com/
  In the past, the book and the computer might have been in competition with one another...that's a "Reading 1.0" mindset.
  The technological tools posted in this wiki, however, promote reading without diminishing the importance or value of written text.
  Harnessing technology to excite and empower your students' literary development is our mission for Reading 2.0!

• Technology training wheels : What is Reading 2.0? http://technologytrainingwheels.pbworks.com/Reading-2-Point-0

• School Librarian’s role in reading
  http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslissues/positionstatements/roleinreading.cfm
  ALA Toolkit
  http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslissues/toolkits/slroleinreading.cfm
  

• •Promoting reading using this 2.0 stuff by Stephen Abram
  http://stephenslighthouse.com/files/MMIS_26.pdf
  
  “Reading is a social activity. There I said it. I know a lot of people see it as solitary, introverted, internalized, quiet, and even as anti-social! And frankly it isn’t...”
  
  “Since we really care about books (and reading), can we use the new tools on the web to put our services on steroids? Why 2.0? Well, because it offers the first real opportunity to use technology to go beyond search, storage and retrieval and actually engage with readers in a scalable way beyond our walls and beyond physical book formats.”
  
  

Student starred books

Here is a graphic format piece from School Library Journal about a radical idea - getting students to rate books they like with star inside the front cover...

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/slj/home/885428-312/seeing_stars_how_i_ignored.html.csp

What do you think ?!

Gotta keep reading at Ocoee Middle School

Gotta keep reading at Ocoee Middle School, December 11 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6D9jiEYxzs

Australian Library and Information Week May 2010

Ideas for library promotion activities from the Australian Library and Information Association website :
http://www.alia.org.au/liw/great.ideas.html

Share a story / shape a future

I've promoted before on this blog the wonderful Donalyn Miller, both her blog http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/book_whisperer/
and her book of the same title : The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller ISBN: 978-0-470-37227-2 Paperback 240 pages March 2009



Her blog took part in th US reading promotion Share a story, shape a future 2010
Here is a post about it from The Book Whisperer http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/book_whisperer/
Follow the links to explore some other great blogs...

Share a Story Shape a Future is an annual blog event to promote literacy, celebrate books, and provide resources for parents, teachers, and readers everywhere. This year's theme is "It Takes a Village to Raise a Reader." Join us March 8th to March 12th.

Each day a different kidlitosphere blogger serves as host for the posting of several other bloggers. You may visit the host blogs' sites to find a complete blog roll for each day.

March 8th: The Many Faces of Reading

Host: Terry Doherty at Scrub-A-Dub-Tub

Topics of the day will encompass the relationship aspect of helping children learn to read: parent-child and teacher-parent partnerships, literacy outreach; and libraries, to name a few.

March 9th: Literacy My Way/Literacy Your Way

Host: Susan Stephenson at The Book Chook

Creative literacy in all its forms (writing, art, computers) will be the topic of the day.

March 10th: Just the Facts: The Nonfiction Book Hook

Host: Sarah Mulhern at The Reading Zone

This is the day for exploring the different genres of nonfiction (biography and memoir, science, nature, math, etc), as well as the use (or not) of historical fiction.

March 11th: Reading Through the Ages: Old Faves & New Classics

Host: Donalyn Miller at The Book Whisperer

Bloggers will share thematic book lists that include newer titles and the classics we loved as kids.

March 12th: Reading for the Next Generation

Host: Jen Robinson at Jen Robinson's Book Page

Join us as we talk about how to approach reading when your interests and your child's don't match. It may be that you don't like to read but your child does, how to raise the reader you're not, and dealing with the "pressure" of feeling forced to read.

AASL - Reading Role

There is a FANTASTIC new toolkit available on the AASL website (American Association of School Librarians - a division of the American Library Association) on the School Library Media Specialist's role in reading...

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslissues/toolkits/slmsroleinreading.cfm

Reading is a foundational skill for 21st-century learners. Guiding learners to become engaged and effective users of ideas and information and to appreciate literature requires that they develop as strategic readers who can comprehend, analyze, and evaluate text in both print and digital formats. Learners must also have opportunities to read for enjoyment as well as for information. School library media specialists are in a critical and unique position to partner with other educators to elevate the reading development of our nation’s youth.

Stephen Krashen

Here is a podcast of a talk on encouraging reading, given by Stephen Krashen at an Ohio educational conference speedofcreativity09012006.mp3

In this podcast he talks about the current Int Rdg Assoc President's messages on testing, research on Accelerated Reader programme, reading rewards - extrinsic and intrinsic, home-run books, subversive reading (Captain Underpants vs Newberry winners), comic books, vocabulary, reading volume, reading aloud, and above all ACCESS TO BOOKS and a quiet comfortable place to read... and that happens during school and in school - in the library...

"A good school library makes things possible, without it you go nowhere. It is the first necessary step..."

"School library research is I think the hottest area of research now in language education where we get the most payoff from the research results...."

2 examples :

• Where did you get the book you are reading ? Most often from a school library.
• The better the school library, the higher the school's reading scores.

Stephen Krashen is an ardent proponent of FVR - Free Voluntary Reading and what needs to be in place for this to happen : access to books and other print resources (magazines, comics etc) through school libraries, making reading time and having reading role models.... He is the author of The power of reading : insights from the research which is a resource I strongly recommend.

Here is his website http://www.sdkrashen.com/

Read to feed - and changing the world

A wonderful account of one school's reading promotion tied into raising money to donate animals in places where it will change lives, and providing students with opportunities to apply what they learn to real life situations where they can respond in a socially just and humane ways...

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/knowledgequest/kqwebarchives/v36/364/364rabbat.cfm

This is from Knowledge Quest, the journal of the American Association of School Librarians.

KQWeb is the online component of this journal, and the archive of articles is here
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/knowledgequest/kqwebarchives/kqwebarchives.cfm

Library reading challenge at Mangonui School

At the network meeting today Carole Archibald from Mangonui Schoool shared an activity she does with her class in the library - We call it the reading challenge (new one each term ) divided into three parts.

• The class challenge where they pick out( as a class ) challenges pretty wide eg A book where a rodent is the central character, a sporty theme, one featuring grandparents etc We started off with eight categories / genre. Just read and record on a fun sheet in reading book. NO OTHER WORK! Just read and enjoy.
  

• The teacher challenge: Each student presents by the end of term the best............... book they've read. Teacher picks category.

• Own challenge: Number of books, finish a long novel, 10 picture books all sorts of things.

Gives a real focus to library times. " I've still got to get a book from the 599's"

What to read next website

From Senga Watson, James Hargest College :

Many of you may already have come across this cool “what to read next” website but I’ve only just recently discovered it. I think it’s great! http://bookseer.com/
I wondered if it might even be useful in finding similar books for themes (wouldn’t always work mind you, but could be a good place to try) where you already have one suitable book but you need others.

The Exquisite Corpse

In a blog by Joanne Meier http://www.readingrockets.org/blog/33402 accessed through Reading Rockets, is a post about an online reading writing promotion event run through the Centre for the Book at the US Library of Congress.

It is like a game of what we call "consequences" where installments of a story are continued by the next person... and what a collection of authors is taking part in this collaboration : Jon Scieszka has started it off, followed by Katherine Paterson and to come luminaries such as MT Anderson, Natalie Babbitt, Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket), Shannon Hale, Susan Cooper, Kate Di Camillo, Calef Brown, Nikki Grimes, Steven Kellog, Linda Sue Park,Patricia and Fredrick McKissack, Timothy Basil Ering, Gregory Maguire, Chris Van Dusen, Megan McDonald, James Ransome...

Here is part of Joanne Meier's post...

"Ever heard of an Exquisite Corpse? It's not what you might think. An Exquisite Corpse is an old game in which people write a phrase on a sheet of paper, fold it over to conceal part of it and pass it on to the next player to do the same. The game ends when someone finishes the story, which is then read aloud.

Our "Exquisite Corpse Adventure" works this way: Jon Scieszka, the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, has written the first episode, which is "pieced together out of so many parts that it is not possible to describe them all here, so go ahead and just start reading!" He has passed it on to a cast of celebrated writers and illustrators, who must eventually bring the story to an end.

Every two weeks, there will be a new episode and a new illustration. The story will conclude a year from now. To get bi-weekly updates with new Exquisite Corpse Adventure chapters, click on the subscribe link at the top of the page. "This story starts with a train rushing through the night...." No one knows where or how it will end!

http://read.gov/exquisite-corpse/

Themed literacy bags for younger students

I recommend checking out the Reading Rockets website http://www.readingrockets.org/
it is full of interesting links and useful resources. I've subscribed to the free monthly newsletter.

From their 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.

In the latest newsletter from Reading Rockets there is a new "literacy bag" based on the "Where the wild things are" by Maurice Sendak. Browse their full library of Family Literacy Bags. And for additional information about Family Literacy Bags, you might want to read this article.

I could imagine these literacy bags being a great resource for Parent Mentoring Programmes or in junior classrooms.

Teen Read Week USA

Teen Read Week is a national literacy initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association. It is aimed at teens, their parents, librarians, educators, booksellers, and other concerned adults. The 2009 theme, Read Beyond Reality @ your library, encourages teens to read something out of this world, just for the fun of it, including sci-fi, fantasy, virtual realities, and much more.

For more information on Teen Read Week, please visit www.ala.org/teenread

There are suggestions for activities, top teen reading picks, and a "sample proclamation" !

• Whereas, the ability to read and process information is a basic survival skill in our global information society; and
• Whereas, the reading proficiency of teens has remained stagnant over the last thirty years; and
• Whereas, the number of students who can read but choose not to do so is increasing; and
• Whereas, the most effective way to improve reading skills is to read regularly and often; and
• Whereas, too few teens think reading is a valuable tool for enjoyment and relaxation as well as for schoolwork; and
• Whereas, regular daily reading for the fun of it creates the reading habit for life; and
• Whereas, parents, teachers, librarians, and all concerned adults can serve as role models by reading for fun themselves;
• Therefore, be it resolved that I (name, title of official) proclaim October 18-24, 2009, Teen Read Week(TM) in (name of city, state) and encourage teens to read for the fun of it.

Readicide by Kelly Gallagher

The book Readicide by Kelly Gallager (Stenhouse 2009 ISBN: 978-157110-780-0) has been widely reviewed and discussed in the USA this year. It looks at instructional practices, particularly in (US) schools which "kill reading" /discourage students from reading.

Read-i-cide n: The systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools.

You can preview the whole book online http://www.stenhouse.com/emags/0780/pageflip.html. I've skim read it and found it interesting and readable (even online, enlarged 50%) and full of practical suggestions.

About the book from the publisher's website : http://www.stenhouse.com/shop/pc/viewprd.asp?idProduct=9158&r=eu091006&REFERER=

"Reading is dying in our schools. Educators are familiar with many of the factors that have contributed to the decline — poverty, second-language issues, and the ever-expanding choices of electronic entertainment. In this provocative new book, Kelly Gallagher suggests, however, that it is time to recognize a new and significant contributor to the death of reading: our schools.

In Readicide, Kelly argues that American schools are actively (though unwittingly) furthering the decline of reading. Specifically, he contends that the standard instructional practices used in most schools are killing reading by:

• valuing the development of test-takers over the development of lifelong readers;
• mandating breadth over depth in instruction;
• requiring students to read difficult texts without proper instructional support;
• insisting that students focus solely on academic texts;
• drowning great books with sticky notes, double-entry journals, and marginalia;
• ignoring the importance of developing recreational reading;
  
• and losing sight of authentic instruction in the shadow of political pressures.

Kelly doesn't settle for only identifying the problems. Readicide provides teachers, literacy coaches, and administrators with specific steps to reverse the downward spiral in reading—steps that will help prevent the loss of another generation of readers."

Teachers as Readers (UK research)

The UKLA UK Literacy Association has undertaken research which I find interesting, about teachers as readers and about the relationship between reading instruction and reading for pleasure. There is such a role for the school library to play here...

The first phase of the Teachers as Readers research (2006-7) looked at patterns in primary teachers' reading, both personally and professionally - looking at their own personal reading habits and preferences, their knowledge of children's literature, their own childhood favourites and books significant to them, their use of texts in the classroom, and use of libraries... Download the full report

The goal of the second phase of the research is Building Communities of Readers (2007-8) to improve teachers’ knowledge and experience of literature in order to help them increase children’s motivation and enthusiasm for reading, especially those less successful in literacy, to build new relationships with parents and families and to explore the concept of a reading teacher: a teacher who reads and a reader who teaches (Commeyras et al., 2004).

The Executive Summary provides an overview of the research and the key findings as well as recommendations. It argues that teachers need support in order to develop children’s reading for pleasure, which can influence both attainment and achievement and increase young learners’ engagement as self- motivated and socially engaged readers.

Download Teachers as Readers :Building Communities of Readers: Phase II (2007-8) Executive Summary

Click on the picture to enlarge a summary of key findings :
Reading instruction - oriented towards learning to read, Reading for Pleasure oriented towards choosing to read...

Serving teens through readers' advisory

I'd like to recommend an interesting book which I borrowed from National Library Wellington called Serving Teens through Readers' Advisory by Heather Booth (American Library Association, Chicago 2007). If you google the title, a big proportion of the book is available for preview online through Google Books http://tiny.cc/ServingteensHeatherBooth

It can be a challenge keeping teens reading - and we all know how important it is to keep teens reading for pleasure - the impact on academic success, lifelong learning, an engaged life...
This book outlines strategies for building book relationships with teens, suggests approaches for "interviewing" teens about their reading needs and preferences, provides some "sure bets", and ways of dealing with various issues... It would be of interest to secondary school library staff and English teachers.

Here is a starred review from Booklist
As the teen specialist at Downers Grove Public Library, Booth brings together her experience working with an active readers'-advisory department as well as her knowledge of teen library patrons to cover all aspects of readers' advisory for teens. The first few chapters discuss teen reading habits and why readers' advisory for this group is different and also provide "Tips for the Generalist" who may not be an expert in teen fiction. Other chapters cover elements of the readers'-advisory interaction ("Opening the Readers' Advisory Interview," "Detecting Interest," "Articulating Appeal") and survey the various resources and tools that are available for identifying appropriate books. Two unique chapters offer well- thought-out and practical advice on making reading-related homework assignments less painful for staff and students as well as suggestions for providing readers'-advisory services to teens through their parents or other adults. Appendixes list popular authors, "sure bets," and teen-selected book awards. Filled with excellent tips and great ideas, Serving Teens through Readers' Advisory makes an important contribution to readers'-advisory services and is essential reading for all readers' advisors and any library staff who work with teens. Highly recommended for all school and public libraries. Moyer, Jessica

Reading promotion

I've mentioned the Read Kiddo Read website before and I've put a link on the right hand side of this blog... It has lots of great book recommendations and advice on getting children reading. I've signed up for their monthly e-newsletter - http://tiny.cc/Readkiddoreadnewsletter

I've also mentioned Judy Freeman, a friend of Roxie Munro - here she is writing on the Read Kiddo Read site with 12 TRIED AND TRUE WAYS TO GET YOUR KIDDOS READING - good suggestions - maybe useful for sharing with teachers and parents ? It can be downloaded as a pdf for printing...