How Can Readers Connect?

Photo CC- By Tobias Berchtold

Takeaways from Kittle’s, Book Love, Chapters 8 & 9

Kittle has so many amazing ideas, and I have been thrilled to read about them this semester. I find her style of teaching so intriguing, and the desire for me to adopt her methods is strong. Yet another brilliant thought is her theme notebooks. How awesome! A quick summary: Kittle uses notebooks and labels each with one theme, such as hope, gender, love, etc., and then has her students write about their book in whatever notebook “matches up” with the theme of what they are reading. This way all the books her students are reading find a way of being connected, so that the students can relate to what one another are reading. This is a brilliant way to make a community of readers and a method for them communicate on the novels they are reading.

Another part of chapter 8 that I found interesting was the section on reading reflections at the end of each quarter. This is fabulous, as I agree with Kittle, students need to set goals and then take a step back to evaluate how they are doing. We operate on quarters, as well, so it would be very easy for me to make the completion of each quarter be a time when we could look at what we have achieved and what we can work on in our reading lives.

“If we can understand how our standardized measures fail us and fail our students, perhaps we can design better ones.” Kittle says this in her book on page 138, and I absolutely find truth in it. I am not a fan of standardized tests. I do not think they accurately measure what kind of learner or achiever a student is. For example, I took the ACT three different times and ended up with the same score EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I was a straight ‘A’ student through grade school and that continued into college. I was a fairly good studier, but I could not improve my score on that test. The assessment that measures A LOT, like what colleges accept you and how many scholarships one receives. I am a firm believer that standardized tests in this country need to change. Why does it matter how fast I can read a passage, as long as I absorb the information and am able to analyze and answer questions?

Kittle offers incite into some wonderful methods of spreading love for books in these two chapters. I also am very fond of how her school had a quiet time for reading, where four days a week, every student and teacher read at the same time. She discusses the importance of continuing reading into the summer, which I would agree is vital in a student keeping up with their reading pace and level. The truth is that all of these ideas take work; they take effort and time from the teachers, students, and administration. The truth is that readers will blossom with a little nurture…a little “book love.”

Photo CC- By Farid Iqbal Ibrahim

Summer’s Book Love

Photo CC- By Carol Lin

From the time I was in elementary school, I can remember the summer days and the amount of time I spent reading. I was a frequent visitor of our community’s library where I would check out several chapter books and be back for more a couple weeks later. From about the age of ten to fifteen, we lived a few miles outside of town in the “country.” I can remember setting one of my mom’s lawn chairs on the deck. I’d enjoy the piece and quiet and just read….for hours!

As the years have gone by, not much has changed. I still love grabbing my current chapter book and catching some rays while reading on our deck. During summer vacations, I can’t go without a good novel. On our honeymoon, my husband “people watched” while I devoured an awesome book about an Army nurse during World War II. He kept asking me if I was bored of reading. My response…um NO, NEVER! 🙂 Almost every summer my sister and I travel to Vegas to visit our aunt. Our favorite pass-time is reading at her pool. Whether we are laying on floating chairs in the water or sitting pool-side, we both can spend hours soaking up the sun and our books.

Photo CC- By tchelseat

Now that our precious baby girl is here, my reading time has significantly decreased. I don’t like to admit that, but it’s the truth. We’ve had issues with tummy troubles, reflux, colic, and a hip/leg injury. I strongly dislike excuses because I feel like they don’t get a person anywhere, but when I’ve looked back over the last almost 7 weeks, I’ve realized the truth behind my lack of reading has been lack of time. I’m not sad about my decline in reading hours because I’ve been able to spend such quality time with my daughter giving her the care she needs!

As for this summer, I hope that I can pick back up a little, but we shall see! Donalyn Miller discusses in her article, “Summer Reading Plans,” the idea of a book-a-day. This is more than possible with picture books, as I already read to my 6 1/2 week old daughter a lot. As for my own novels, I will continue to shoot for a novel or two a week. I will have about a month break before I start my next grad class, so hopefully I will have a little extra time for reading. I have numerous, I mean A LOT, of books on my TBR list, so I’d love to navigate my way through those. I also have a few books I want to check out in hopes of selecting a new class-wide novel to teach.

Lots of plans, which means a busy summer is on the way! 🙂

Monday Wrap-Up! #IMWAYR ~ “Someone Like You”

Summary: Halley and Scarlett are truly best friends and have been for a long time. Halley has always felt that she’s “followed” Scarlett through life. She sees her as the strong one of the two, or the girl that “has it all.” They know every little thing about one another, and when Scarlett finds out she is pregnant, Halley tries to be there for her. Scarlett needs her, especially considering the father of the baby has died in an accident. Halley comes home from camp to support her friend, but she finds she has her own problems and life to deal with.

Review: I thought this book was a great, easy read. Yet another book by Dessen that I really enjoyed! I am a fan of her books! This semester we discussed how important it is for students to be able to relate to characters and the plot of a book. In my opinion, this novel is a great example of a story line that might not be a fairy tale, but one that a teen could very well live in real life.

Monday Wrap-Up! #IMWAYR ~ “The Pigman”

Title: The Pigman

Author: Paul Zindel

Summary: John and Lorraine are high school students that don’t really fit in at all. John likes to lie and has parents he doesn’t really get along with. Lorraine has a mother that is constantly criticizing her and isn’t afraid to let her know that she is not pretty and not smart. What family! As “outsiders,” John and Lorraine become friends. They prefer to spend their time doing things they shouldn’t like drinking, smoking (John), and playing jokes on people. They like to see who can “prank” someone for the longest amount of time on the phone.

One day, Lorraine happens to “win” the prank calling competition when she dials the number of Angelo Pignati. Mr. Pignati falls for their donation scam and invites them to pick up a check from him at his house. As much as Lorraine is against the idea, John talks her into it, as $10 would buy him all of the illegal things he’s not supposed to be doing. Little do they know, Mr. Pignati is a generous man who is extremely lonely. Oddly enough, the two begin a relationship with the old man. It starts with a trip to the zoo, where they find out Angelo visits daily and has an animal for a best friend.

The two teens decide to write their story and that of Angelo Pignati.

Review: This is an extremely short read with a great story line. I wasn’t so sure at the beginning as I felt like the book didn’t start off and grab my attention. I had to force myself through the first few chapters, but as soon as Lorraine made the phone call to Mr. Pignati, I knew I wanted to find out what happened next.

Motivating Students to Read

I’ve discussed this in previous posts, but I’ll say it again, many students do not like to read. Either the difficulty of the text drives them away, or possibly they just aren’t interested in the book- maybe they haven’t ever found something that truly interests them. So, the questions remains, how can we motivate them to have that burning desire to read? How do we create “book love?”

Let’s Motivate Our Students! Ideas, Ideas, Ideas!

After reading “6 Simple Ideas to Get Kids to Read” by Pernille Ripp, I took away a couple of the ideas that I really liked. First of all, I absolutely love the idea of displaying books everywhere. A cover could very possibly catch the attention of a student, which might encourage them to start reading it. If the book wasn’t displayed, they may have never pulled it off the shelf on their own. I also really like the idea of short and sweet book talks. I am thinking it would be great if my students could occasionally give the daily book talk, so it wasn’t always me doing so. We could take turns!

From the text titled, “Raising Students Who Want to Read” by Phyllis S. Hunter, I once again started pondering the idea of students making the choice on what they read. This is a matter I’ve contemplated ever since the start of the semester when we began Penny Kittle’s book. I know that my students very much dislike the classic books that are the “norm” in English classrooms. I don’t want my classroom to be just like English classrooms were decades ago. Times evolve and, in a way, how and what we teach should progress and change as well. The problem here is that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to completely steer away from whole-class novels. I want us to all read the same book and be able to explore the characters and discuss the plot. An idea, as mentioned in the article, could be to give students choices. I could have maybe three or four choices at a time and let students pick the book that most interests them. Every day, those different lit circles could meet, so they could still learn to share ideas on the text and discuss with one another. I truly believe the fact that they have a choice will really sit well with them.

Another take away from this same article was to use technology as a motivational tool. I’ve already decided that I’d like to have each of my students create a Goodreads account next year, so that we can keep track of what they read. They can all “follow” or add each other as friends, so when they log on, they can see what others have read and what rating they give.

The key for me will be to find a balance. I also am in search for a new novel that my students can read as a class next year. I’m hoping to find something that interests the majority of them because I do want them to enjoy what they read. Over the summer, I intend to “design” how class will work next school year. I plan to incorporate a lot more choice and freedom, which I hope is motivation in itself. I have to let students take a little bit of control and responsibility for their reading. Conferences with students are key in allowing this method of teaching to be successful. I’m also hopeful that meeting with each student will allow me to get to know them and their interests a little better.

So many new ideas! Again!!!

 

Monday Wrap-up! #IMWAYR ~ “The Book Thief”

Title: The Book Thief

Author: Markus Zusak

Summary: Liesel Meminger and her brother are traveling to live with their new foster parents when her brother passes away. Liesel is now an only child and has to watch him be buried in the frigid, snowy ground. This marks the beginning of “The Book Thief,” as Liesel steals her first book, The Gravediggers Handbook.

Liesel arrives at the home of Hans and Rosa Hubermann in Germany during the time of WWII. She is scared, abandoned by her mother, and alone, but soon she forms a strong relationship with Hans (Papa). It makes the transition so much easier on her. Rosa is a strict, stern woman that appears to have no heart, but Liesel finds that it’s just hidden deep inside.

Rudy Steiner is a blonde haired, blue eyed neighbor boy that falls head over heels for Liesel. He teases her and jokes around, but he loves her so. It takes Liesel a while to realize just how much Rudy cares for her and how he would do anything for her.

Liesel grows to like her new home, friends, and her new skill of reading. She deeply loves her foster parents and forms a bond with them so strong that allows her to hold a serious, dark secret that puts all of their lives at risk during Hitler’s rule in Nazi Germany.

Review: Let me start out by saying that this is my very, very most favorite book, so I might be a bit bias. I will rant and rave about this book, and there won’t be one single negative thing for me to comment on. 🙂

This is a re-read for me, as I read this book in the 8th grade. I absolutely loved it then, I loved the movie, and I still am in love now. Although I knew what was going to ultimately happen, I still cried…a lot! I absolutely love how this novel is written, and I truly feel that I “know” the characters. The author is amazing at creating such a connection. This book is a MUST READ!

YALSA Finds!

After exploring the YALSA book lists, other resources on the site, and The Hub, I compiled a few of my favorite take aways.

Photo CC- By Sarah Mae

Teen Read Week

• What is it?
  • This week, in October, has the purpose of encouraging reading among young readers. It started in 1998 and has been held annually since.
• This year, Teen Read Week will be held October 8th-14th, and the theme is “Unleash Your Story.”
• There is a hashtag for the event- #TRW17
• How can this be incorporated into my classroom?
  • Next school year, I think it would be awesome to celebrate this week in my own classroom. Since the celebration takes place in October, it would be very do-able to set aside a couple days where students could give book reports/talks on novels that they have read so far in class.

Book Lists/Book Database

I couldn’t believe the abundance of book lists present on the site. If one would need a recommendation on what to read, that’d be the place to go. I kept thinking to myself that I should post these lists around my classroom, so students have easy access to book titles that they might be interested in. I also found the book database interesting, as that would be a way for my students to look up novels by genre, author, etc.

I could create posters for several awards, such as the Printz Award. It would be beneficial to post a description of the award so students would know what kind of books they are looking at. (This came from the ALA website.) 

Added to TBR

I found a couple books that I was interested in reading, so of course I added them to my TBR list. It just keeps growing!

I found the description of “Asking For It” to be extremely interesting. The “old” reader in me probably wouldn’t have read this book after reading the summary, but the “new” reader in me is trying to venture outside of my normal box. This book won the Printz Award.

 

 

 

“Tell Me Something Real” was on the Morris Award list I was reading, and it also caught my attention. The story is about sisters that are watching their mother suffer from leukemia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday Wrap-Up! #IMWAYR ~ “Farewell to Manzanar”

Title: Farewell to Manzanar

Author: Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston & James D. Houston

Summary: If you ask most Americans, especially today’s youth, most won’t know much about the internment of Japanese-Americans during WWII. This is largely in part to the fact that it’s not the most popular conversation topic. Also, it isn’t a matter that is strongly taught in school. Because the author, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, was an occupant of Manzanar, she knows much about this time in our nation’s history. She lived this experience that most Americans cannot relate to.

Jeanne, her parents, and nine siblings had their lives turned upside down when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Almost immediately following, her father was taken away and charged with aiding the enemy (Japan). This was obviously not the case at all, but the government would not take her father’s word for it, as he was from Japan, so they assumed he was “friends” of the enemy.

Soon after, Jeanne and the rest of her family were sent off to an internment camp for Japanese Americans- the particular camp being Manzanar. At first, life there was awful. Numerous families occupied each barrack, there was scarce light, and not much room at all to live comfortably. Jeanne was too young to understand why exactly she and her family were sent to such a place, but she learns to adjust, as does the rest of her family.

Review: Although this book is not the most exciting, or thrilling, story, it definitely shines a light on an important part of history. I actually read this novel in high school, but couldn’t remember anything about it besides that the book was about an internment camp, so I decided to pick it up again to fill a Book Bingo box. Jeanne and her family endured so much, were shamed because of their ancestry, and still overcame those years of obstacles. I love reading books based on/during the time of WWII, so that was another plus of this book! Also, I don’t read non-fiction books all that often, so this book was a great way to step outside of my box.

YAs, Reading, & Social Media

Photo CC- By Sean MacEntee

Why is it important for teens to read?

Based on a little Google research on the topic, I found more information and support as to why it’s important for teens to read. I was already aware of this prior to reading a few more articles on the matter, but I found some pretty interesting reasons. The article “Engaging Teens With Reading” not only pointed out the importance of a full reading life, but also went into ways to encourage reading.

Some reasons as to why it is positive for teens is the fact that books help them deal with their complex lives. Young adults need to be able to relate to characters in books. The characters can actually help them navigate life and difficult situations. In addition, reading, of course, is extremely beneficial in expanding vocabulary and writing skills.

One of the ideas as to how to encourage young adults to read really stuck out to me. The article mentioned that teens need to have role models that they see reading. Basically, the act of reading needs to be practiced for them and not just preached. I don’t read during the ten minutes of free reading when my students do, but I plan to change that. If I want them to read, I need to read. It doesn’t have to be every single day, but I need to show them that I expect the same of myself.

Does Social Media encourage reading?

I read/scanned about ten articles and couldn’t find much as to how teens use Social Media to share their reading lives. I found they use sites like Goodreads for book recommendations, as well as Twitter, but most are not using Snapchat, Instagram, or Facebook to talk about the books they are reading.

I will admit, I wasn’t really too surprised by my findings. I watch the youth of today all day every day (well when I’m not on bedrest or maternity leave), but I see how phones (and being on social media) has negatively affected teens’ reading lives. I can remember being in high school and always having a book checked out that I carried from class to class. If I didn’t have homework in study hall, I read my book. I discussed this in a previous blog post actually, which I do believe was my very first post. The thing is is that this is “normally” not how it works now. I see more teenagers with their faces buried in their phones rather than a book. I have a little cousin that used to love to read, but I’ve noticed all of her social media outlets have really deterred her from picking up books.

I am not saying social media is completely a bad thing, but I do think it gets in the way. I also believe it is changing how people, especially teens, interact and communicate. CNN wrote an article with some interesting information on how social media affects teens.

Can Social Media be beneficial for reading and writing?

I was surprised to find an article on the Alberta Teachers’ Association site about how although social media does get in the way, it can encourage students to become stronger writers. When students are constantly posting on Facebook, tweeting on Twitter, and writing on their blogs, they are actually strengthening their abilities in writing.

This article was an interesting read that pointed out some positives, which I needed. I don’t want to be a social media hater! 😉 I need to learn more about how social media can encourage my students to be better readers and writers. I want them to use apps like Facebook and Snapchat to share their love for literature!

 

Monday Wrap-up! #IMWAYR ~ The Watsons Go to Birmingham- 1963

Title: The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963

Author: Christopher Paul Curtis

Summary: Kenny Watson lives with his parents and brother and sister in Flint, Michigan. His momma doesn’t like living in Flint because she misses the warm weather of the South (and her family). Dad enjoys their life in Michigan and constantly tries to jokingly encourage momma to like the snow and cold as well. Kenny gets along with his little sister Joey, but not so much his older brother Byron. Byron tends to treat Kenny with disrespect and gets in a lot of trouble with his friends. Dad and Momma are about at their wits end with him, and he receives warning after warning. When he is lighting things on fire in the bathroom, Momma threatens to burn him with the flame. When Byron tries getting a new hair-do, Dad shaves his head. The adolescent boy just can’t seem to learn, which is why Momma and Dad decide to take a trip down South to visit Grandma Sand’s, who they plan to leave Byron with for the summer in order to teach him a lesson or two. This period of time in the South was extremely hard for African Americans, and the Watson children soon realize that because of their journey. The events they experience truly affect them, and especially Kenny, as his internal struggles after their trip are more than visible to readers.

Review: This is a great, fast read that truly displays what the African American people endured during the 60s in the South. As we’ve discussed in class, diversity in literature is extremely important, and this book is exactly that as the entire novel is based on an African American family and culture. I recommend this book, as I really did enjoy it!