Play to Learn AND Play to Read!

Recently, I read chapters from Playing, Laughing and Learning with Children on the Autism Spectrum by Julia Moor.   Combining what I read about "Introducing Books and Reading" with my literacy background inspired me to reinact a story I read with my 2nd grade tutee on the Autism Spectrum.  We read the book, Pup and Hound Stay Up Late by Susan Hood.  My friend (we'll call Sam) shared the reason he chose this book was because it reminded him of the times he and his younger brother stay up late.  After reading the story, I asked Sam if he wanted to reenact the story.  He wasn't sure what that meant so I rephrased it by saying, "Let's play the story! One of us will be Hound and the other will be Pup.  Who do you want to be?"  

In our reenactment, I noticed the tension in Sam to try and reenact the story with me, but also desperately wanting to show me what he and his brother do when they stay up late.  Looking at our schedule, I gently reminded him we would act out this story first, then play what he and his brother do during the "break."  

(Yawn and Stretch) "Where is Pup? It's so late! What could he be up to?"  Not word for word, but enough prompting to see if Sam is catching on or even into this idea.  He stops to look at me as if I'm in the spotlight.  "Hmmmm... Could he be out playing with another animal? A fox? A bear?"

"No! A opossum! He's playing with a opossum!" 

I learned that close-ended questions like that helped prompt his thinking and direction in play.  I led the dialogue mostly this time, but I hope to see him lead the play, at least more equally in the future.  It was our first time reenacting a story together.  I also realize this is not an example of free play or Floor Time, but more so using play to help facilitate reading comprehension.  

During our play/reenactment of the story, I found myself getting a little emotional deep inside.  As I tried to engage Sam with the story plot, I had a flashback to when we first met. I was on the floor playing with him, trying to get his eye contact, that same gleam in his eye when he was just two years old.  Those big eyes and chubby cheeks are much smaller and slimmer now.  The fact that he is talking to me, engaged with me and interacting with me, still amazes me to this day.  I am so thankful to be a part of his life again.  Two old friends reunited to play again, but this time the goal is to help with reading comprehension.  To go from that gleam in the eye to working on reading comprehension brings me such joy that I do everything I can to hold back the emotions and focus on how play can help him today, at age seven.  

During our "break" (where we could have some flexibility with the schedule), Sam lead the play by playing himself and instructing me (the role of the younger brother) on how they play a game he created when they stay up late called, "Indoor Exploding Golf."  

This adventure lead to our next literacy lesson: Language Experience Approach.  I used our experience of playing "Indoor Exploding Golf" for the LEA.  More on that lesson in the next post! 

This book is "just right!"

How can I find the right book for my child? 
Some books seem too difficult or too easy for my kid...
How can we find a book that's just right for my child to read at the library?

These are common questions and thoughts of parents of kids who are just beginning to read by themselves.  Sometimes the library can seem overwhelming.  While teachers and literacy tutors use various formulas and assessments to determine reading accuracy and comprehension, here is a simple method you can do with your child when browsing for books.

The 5 Finger Test: 

• Open the book to the middle. Choose a full page of words. Read the page out loud, and hold up a finger each time you come to a word you don't know.
• One finger (thumb): Thumbs up! Great book choice, this will be easy reading for you.
• Two fingers (thumb and index finger): Makes an L, still Looking good! Enjoy.
• Three fingers (makes a W): Warning! This book may be best when read with someone.
• Four or more fingers (whole hand): Stop! This book may be too tough to enjoy alone. Ask an adult or older sibling to read this book to you.

Discover more ways to not only find books your child wants to read, but books that are at their reading level from Reading Rockets:

Finding the Right Book for Your Child | Reading Topics A-Z | Reading Rockets

Happy Reading!

Helpful Fluency Strategies Anyone Can Do

To read fluently is to read aloud smoothly with appropriate expression. The reader reads as if he/she is speaking.  I focused on some fluency instruction towards the end of summer with a student going into the second grade.  Here's what we did that you may also find successful.  We read one of his favorite Fly Guy books, Fly Guy vs. The FlySwatter by Tedd Arnold.

After reading it, my friend retold the story in his own words.  We used his words from the retell to write another story.  We acted out each scene as he depicted it and I took pictures. A fun way to incorporate comprehension! Once the book was put together, he practiced reading his own words.  He read to a camcorder 4 times.  Finally, we watched the final reading with his mother.  He improved in fluency indicators of smoothness, pace and expression each reading.  The repeated reading was purposeful as we were practicing for an audience, his mother.  This combination of Repeated Reading strategy and Reader's Theatre were successful in improving his fluency, but most importantly he had FUN.  Having fun is the main goal during my sessions because I want my second grade friend to develop a love for reading!

If you're looking for more ideas on fluency strategies and why it's important for early readers, check out  this post from Reading Rockets:

Fluency Matters | Reading Topics A-Z | Reading Rockets

Enjoy and have fun with books!!

Raise a Reader This Summer!

Everyone who knows me knows I am a big fan of PBS.  I am super impressed how a public broadcasting system is playing a vital role in helping to prevent "the summer slide."  The Summer Slide is a loss of reading skills during the summer months due to a lack of access of books or reading material. However, I would include a lack of motivation to read, even if one has reading access and reading material.  Reluctant Readers, or those who struggle with reading have a greater chance of losing their skills if not practiced, so the gap becomes even wider because these students were already considered "behind" during the school year.  This sounds depressing, I know.  However, don't fret and stay positive.  Knowledge is power and now that you're aware of this, there is so much you can do.  So keep reading below to discover simple, practical ways to keep your child's mind creative and active this summer!

Not only are the PBS programs aired around a summer theme meant to build background knowledge, but the pbs.org website listed below suggests ways to prevent the "summer slump."

PREVENT THE SUMMER SLUMP

Research shows that children who don’t maintain reading skills over the summer are likely to start the upcoming school year at a disadvantage. Here are our top tips to prevent the summer slump:

• Tip #1: Integrate reading adventures into your daily routine.
• Tip #2: Explore your local library.
• Tip #3: Bring learning tools with you on the road.
• Tip #4: Find educational activities you and your child can do together indoors and outdoors.
• Tip #5: Look for books and programs that feature your child’s favorite characters.

Raise a Reader This Summer!




What's great about this article is these ideas are practical and meant to be easily adapted into your everyday activities. They also utilize the free and accessible resources in your local community.  Hope this resource and article was helpful as we all come together to help raise readers this summer!

Free Web Tools That Encourage Literacy Concepts

My first summer post was about how to get kids interested in reading this summer.  One of my suggestions was using the internet tactfully and purposefully.  I suggested the website Storybird.com as one of my favorite and trusted resources.  Well this week, Edutopia's digital media curator, Amy Erin Borovoy posted a tutorial about using StoryBird for various literacy concepts like storytelling, sequencing higher level thinking and creativity.  Check out this post for other free tutorials as well.  Parents may want to explore these engaging websites with your kids this summer and teachers may want to explore these resources to consider using them in your curriculum this Fall.... For the full post on Edutopia, visit: 

Five-Minute Film Festival: Learn to Use Web 2.0 Tools | Edutopia

Enjoy!

While many of you may be heading for the beach this week, it won't be long before you're ready to start exploring some new tools to help your students be better creators and collaborators when you go back to school in the fall. This week we published a new video on Nicole Dalesio, a fifth-grade teacher who uses all kinds of free technology tools in her class to keep her kids engaged, and it inspired me to go hunt down the best tutorials for all these great, free Web 2.0 tools. Did I mention most of them are free?

While screen-cast tutorials may not be the most edge-of-your-seat viewing, once you've got the basics, you can start digging in to the tool itself. And the best part is, learning to use these tools is as fun for you as it is for your students. What are you waiting for? Try something new in ten minutes or less!

Video Playlist: Web 2.0 Tools Tutorials for Teachers

Keep watching the player below to see the entire playlist, or view this playlist on YouTube.

1. Super Storytelling with StoryBird (04:31)
   StoryBird is a collaborative, web-based storytelling tool. Very little teacher prep time and lots of fun! Check out this Edutopia blog post by Lisa Dabbs on using StoryBird for beginners.
2. VoiceThread - Simply Speaking (02:21)
   Want to create an online discussion with your students, based on media assets like images or videos? VoiceThread lets you do that. Even cooler, the comments themselves can be text, video, or audio. A collaborative multimedia explosion! This video is a great overview in just two minutes. We have another Lisa Dabbs how-to blog post for VoiceThread, too.
3. Edudemic Uses Pinterest (05:32)
   Pinterest is one of the latest darlings of the internet, and teachers were quick to find classroom uses for this visually appealing and engaging social bookmarking website.Edudemic shows us how. You can also read a blog post by Eric Sheninger on the topic.
4. Dropbox (05:25)
   Easily the coolest web-based cloud storage solution out there, Dropbox makes it easy to share and access any kind of files from any device with a connection. Adam Bellow fromEduTecher walks us through the joys of Dropbox. Nicholas Provenzano also wrote a blog post about the benefits of cloud-based storage.
5. How to Use Animoto for Education (04:17)
   Animoto makes it easy for you and your kids to build a professional-looking video using images, video clips, and audio of your choice. You can upload your own, use their library, or gather from around the web. Blogger Ron Peck shares ways to use Animoto and other video-production tools in the classroom.
6. Twitter for Educators (07:51)
   The education community has really embraced micro-blogging site Twitter -- both for classroom use and for DIY professional development. This how-to vid is produced by an ed tech company, but it's fairly recent and quite comprehensive. Joe Mazza shares twelve reasons to start tweeting this summer in this blog post.
7. Evernote Tutorial (09:33)
   Evernote is like a virtual junk drawer -- you can save images, links, text, voice memos, etc. -- and then access them all from multiple devices or share them with other users. Power users say they can't live without it!
8. Prezi Tutorial (03:16)
   Linear slide presentations are so last decade! Check out Prezi, a non-linear storytelling tool that lets you share your ideas from a virtual canvas. This tutorial is aimed towards students, but has all the basics.
9. Edmodo Made Easy (05:02)
   Edmodo is a popular social network application designed for educators and students to connect and share information -- like a safe and secure Facebook for schools. One of many excellent tutorials by Learn It In 5.
10. Google Docs - The Basics (07:56)
    Google Docs is not really about whistles and bells so much as filling basic needs -- it's a great way for teachers and students to back up, access, and collaborate on spreadsheets, word processing documents, and presentations. TeacherTechVids gives a great basic tutorial. Then, this Edutopia article on Google for educators takes you beyond Google Docs.
11. Detailed Tutorial on Glogster EDU (05:04)
    Use images, audio, and video to create a fantastic interactive poster with your students using Glogster -- an online tool to create "graphic blogs."
12. You Suck at Photoshop (03:47)
    If you've really made it through watching all those dry tutorials, you deserve a good laugh. This is an ENTIRE SERIES of parody tutorials on Photoshop. Definitely not safe for work -- but hey, it's summer! Laughing Squid has the full story on this hilarious series.

More on Free Web 2.0 Tools

It's easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of tools out there, and even finding the best support resources can have you tearing your hair out in no time. My suggestion? Pick two or three new tools you want to focus on this summer and put your energy into getting comfortable with just those tools. Don't spread yourself too thin -- there's always next summer.

In the meantime, here are a few resource guides to help you in your search for which fun tool you want to use first -- some include brief descriptions or reviews. Most of the tools featured in the playlist have special websites just to support educators, I've linked to them in the descriptions above. And if you're really jazzed about a tool not featured here, I've listed a few of my favorite tech tutorial sites for educators, where you can find videos to teach you how to use nearly any tool you can find. Happy learning!

Judge A Book By Its Cover: Summer Reading Lists!

Reading Rockets recently posted a wonderful summer reading list.  Now, you may be thinking, what can be so wonderful about a summer reading list? Well, not all reading lists are age appropriate, give enticing yet brief descriptions AND display the colorful book covers like this one.  "But you shouldn't judge a book by the cover right?" Well, no, but the illustrator's job is to grab your attention and get you to pick up the book.  Admit it, who doesn't enjoy browsing the children's section of Barnes and Noble? Those who do browse the children's section do so because the books are displayed with the covers facing out. The artwork is eye candy and it's supposed to be!  Reading a book based on the cover is one of the many reasons we pick up a book to read it. Children book illustration is another great topic for another post, but for now, let's take a look at this suggested summer reading list.

http://www.readingrockets.org/books/summer/2012/

Check out the summer reading list and let me know your thoughts.  Did your child get a summer reading list? Does he/she like any of the books on the list so far?

It's Summer. How can I get my child to read?

Summer is a fun time to read because the goal is to read for pleasure! For the reluctant reader, try to get creative.  Find out your child's independent reading level from his/her classroom teacher (an independent reading level means easy reading. In oral reading, a child would have one or less word calling errors in 100 words of text, with 100 percent accuracy on comprehension questions about the story. A student could read it alone with ease). You can either ask your child's classroom teacher for a summer reading list at his/her independent reading level or ask your local librarian for help.  Your child may even be able to tell you too! Once you know your child's reading level, you can look up books of that level at the library through titlewave.com.  If you have a youngling, you can still try out these creative ideas, except you'll probably be reading to your little one.  Although, you're never too old to be read aloud to, so keep that in mind no matter how old you are! Here are those creative ideas to get you started.

1.  Create a creative personalized special space for reading.

If you don't have one already in your home, create a special dignified space for reading, especially for those rainy days.  In your indoor space, you'll want some pillows and anything to make it comfortable. Consider "reading buddies" which may be some stuffed animals, action figures, dolls or toys, but not too many so the space doesn't get overcrowded. Kids usually enjoy a small audience, especially when it's their trusted "playmates."  A small light is a nice touch as well.  You can use a nightlight or move your child's bedroom lamp to the floor, or wherever this special spot may be.  Make this a big deal for you and your child by helping them set up the space.  If you're excited about it, they'll be excited about it.  Ask them, "Of all your toys, who has the honor of joining you in your special reading corner?" Your child can even make a sign for this spot and give it a name.

On a rainy day when your child is bummed for not being able to play outside, pop some popcorn and offer to join them in their special reading spot! You can even create an indoor fort with blankets, couch cushions and pillows-- another great place to read.  Use a flashlight and read camp stories.  Your child will surely be hooked onto reading.

Now, since it's summer, create a special reading spot in your backyard or somewhere outside!  Trees are a great place to start.  You can read in a tree (with parental consent of course), under a tree or in a tree fort.  Putting a blanket outside and having a picnic with your "reading buddies" is always fun too.  A sign is appropriate to create for an outdoor space as well.  If you create one, I'd love for you share a picture on the blog. :)

Maybe you want to reinact your favorite story outside!? You can create flyers and tickets for a performance.  If the sweltering heat is getting to you, create a Lemonade Stand and sell Lemonade.  Now performing and selling lemonade is not reading you say?  Look again! They are valuable literacy-based activities helping your child to critically think and apply their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills to real world experiences.  If your child does most of the organizing and planning, LOTS of natural problem solving skills and reading skills are naturally incorporated... you'll be surprised.

2.  If you're more apt to stay in an air conditioned home and are internet savvy, you can still enjoy reading with these websites:
www.starfall.com has lots of phonics and early reading activities that several local school districts use.
www.storybird.com is a fun site where kids can collaborate, retell and create stories online.
www.storylineonline.net has famous actors and actresses who will read aloud their favorite stories to you!
www.bookglutton.com is fun for the older readers who have experience with literature circles, but want to try it out online.
Family Literacy Bags: Adventures in Reading | Reading Topics A-Z | Reading Rockets is great for those younger readers to do with a family member.  Reading Rockets is one of my all time trusted resources so I highly recommend these family literacy bags...which are a FREE download by the way!
http://interactbooks.com/ is a publisher of high quality interactive books for the iphone or ipad.  Adults will have fun with this too.  You use your touchscreen to interact with the illustrations and the text.  It also has an option to highlight the text as it reads aloud to you.  Great for building fluency skills.

3. Ask your kid!
Ask your little guy or little gal what they'd like to do/learn/create this summer.  Their answer may require research and a trip to your local library.  Learning new things involves reading in the process, especially if you let your little one take the lead.  For example, a fellow mother friend of mine said her little girl wanted to create her own holiday this summer. What a fun idea! She said she wanted to have a Summer Christmas for animals! I immediately thought of Jan Brett's books (www.janbrett.com) for inspiration and suggested it to her.  It's also a low cost idea to implement.  Books can always come from the library, and use nature to decorate nature.  For example, painting rocks would be a fun idea for this event and fine motor skills are naturally practiced.

Please share your ideas in the comments below if you've asked your child this question.  Kids are super creative and imaginative, especially if we listen to them and let them be kids.

Happy Reading this summer! Let me know if you'd like more ideas or need me to elaborate on anything I've mentioned.  Remember we want to make reading fun and enter the school year with a positive attitude.  Reading is power and your child will feel empowered when they can say to their teacher and classmates what they read, learned and created over the summer.