Add Life to Your Teaching with Current Events

Hurricanes are a remarkable force of nature. The combination of powerful winds, waves and tides can wreak havoc.

As the country marks the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall on the Gulf Coast, many are keeping their eyes on Hurricane Earl, which is churning its way through the northern Caribbean. Forecasters say there is a chance the storm will make itself known off the coast of North Carolina about mid-week.

News like this provides an opportunity to teach children. Teachers who keep one ear tuned to current events will find a vast resource to enrich lessons, making them vibrant and relative to life.

It is wise to keep your second ear trained on conversations your students are having amongst themselves. They hear their parents talking and see lots of images on TV. Age-appropriate lessons from a trusted adult can help children sort out facts, fiction and even gale-force worries. Allow adequate time for initial questions and the opportunity for followup conversation.

My family and I experienced a tropical storm firsthand in 2002. We had been living in Barbados for only about six weeks when Lili hit the island. We were in a strong house, but the roar of the storm was deafening on our tin roof. The storm gained momentum after it passed over, eventually reaching Category 4 status over the Gulf of Mexico.

I was schooling my two daughters for the year that we were abroad, so the storm prompted lots of questions and teaching moments.

– How fast is the wind?

– When will the rain stop?

– Where did the hurricane come from?

– Why don’t we have electricity?

– What happened to that person’s house?

– Who will clear the roads?

– Why can’t we go to the beach?

– Where do the birds, sea turtles and monkeys go during the storm?

– Has anyone else ever had a storm like this?

While I could answer some of the questions, it would have been great to pull up an online children’s book to help explore the topic – once the lights came back on. Big Universe now offers several books that would have done nicely!

• The Bellwether book “Hurricanes” by Kay Manolison describes how hurricanes form and behave. Part of Bellwether’s Blastoff! Readers series, the text is aimed at Level 4 readers. The author uses a variety of sentence patterns and expanded vocabulary and punctuation. The graphics are highly appealing. This would have been just right for my new fourth-grader.
•  Rourke Publishing’s “Surviving the Galveston Hurricane” by Jo Cleland would have been intriguing to my sixth-grader (AFTER our storm hit and everything quieted down). Cleland, a professor emeritus of reading education at Arizona State University West, worked in public education for 20 years prior to her university work. She continues to engage children through storytelling. “What we learn with delight, we never forget,” she says.
• “Ready, Set…WAIT! What Animals Do Before a Hurricane” is another storm-themed book on Big Universe’s library shelves. The illustrations by Connie McLennan are charming, and the text written by Patti Zelch is insightful. The extra information in the back of the book allows teachers to expand their lesson plans in many directions. Sylvan Dell Publishing also provides quizzes and cross-curricular activities online.

To read more about ways to use current events to add life to your teaching, read “10 Ways to Use Current Events in the Classroom” or Melissa Edwards’ blog titled “It is All About Making Connections …”. She writes, “When students make connections with the books they read, their understanding, comprehension and recall of the information increases.”  Preach it, Melissa!

Books and Such – Hold the Mayo

It’s January and bazillions of people are dragging their loaded chassis to the gym. Carrots and yogurt are “in.” Sugar cookies and high-octane eggnog are “out.”

My Inbox is getting a workout too. Work memos, sales notices and email replies beg for attention as the new year gets underway. My news alert system is huffing and puffing too, and if sheer numbers count for anything, it would appear that the children’s books industry and literacy movement are alive and well!

I know you are an information-hungry bunch, but are as busy as all get out and are trying to scale back from the onslaught. …So, I did the work for you. For your dieting pleasure, I offer Literary News Lite:

• Newbery medalist Katherine Paterson has been named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. She wrote “Bridge to Terabithia,” “Jacob Have I Loved” and the 2009 title “The Day of the Pelican.” 

• Retired teacher Warren Williams of Bucks County, Pa., has put pen to paper to record a local legend about our first president. “A Basket of Pears for General Washington” relates life as it was during the American Revolution – just in time for President’s Day.

• Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has co-authored a children’s book about his cat and dog. “Jasper and Abby and the Great Australia Day Kerfuffle” debuts Jan. 26 with proceeds going to The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.

• Red carpet seats are being auctioned for the 16^th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Jan. 23 in Los Angeles to benefit the children’s literacy programs BookPALS (Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools) and Storyline Online.”

• Monica Brown’s new book “Chavela and the Magic Bubble” will be available to the public May 3. Although written in English,  the heroine is a Latina girl who loves to chew chicle. Ms. Brown  is also the author of “My Name is Gabito” and other award-winning bi-lingual books. She has four additional upcoming releases.

• India’s disadvantaged are the beneficiaries of new solar energy projects and various micro-loan businesses, which provide free or affordable light to those with no electricity – promoting literacy, improved health conditions and stimulating cottage industry development.  An estimated 76 million homes in India are unconnected to the power grid, according to the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP).

• Author Ann M. Martin has written a prequel to her gargantuan “Baby-Sitters Club” series (213 titles from 1986-2000). “The Summer Before” is set for publication in April along with revised versions of the first two books in the series.

• Big Universe, an award-winning children’s education website, recently added dozens of titles to its collection of 1,000-plus online picture books from nationally recognized publishers. Reading quizzes, Fountas and Pinnell and DRA leveling, and browsing for books by language, topic and reading level are just a few of this site’s many features.

• Prolific author Marilyn Helmer just had her 27^th children’s book published. “The Fossil Hunters” mystery is the second in her Orca Echoes series. She is perhaps known best for her multiple-award-winning picture book “Fog Cat.”

• Read-a-thons, book drives and celebrity story readings will mark Canada’s Family Literacy Day on Jan. 27, a national initiative to promote learning and reading together as a family.

• Media Source Inc. sold Darby Creek Publishing, publisher of almost five dozen kids’ books, to Lerner Publishing Group Inc. of Minneapolis.

• The Chicago Cubs’ literacy-themed Caravan Tour is scheduled for Jan. 13-14. Players, coaches and staff will visit seven cities, making numerous stops at schools, kids clubs, a library, a hospital and elsewhere. This is the sixth year the team has participated in the “Cubs Spotlight on Reading Program,” which is designed to promote reading enthusiasm and reward reading achievements.

“Miracle of Jonathan Toomey” a Holiday Superstar

“The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey” is by far my favorite holiday story. It’s something my family has read out loud together for years. While the story is poignant, the watercolor illustrations by P.J. Lynch are magnificent – perhaps the best I have ever seen in a picture book.

After a little research, I find that I am not alone in my assessment. Susan Wojciechowski’s sweet tale is an International Reading Association Teachers’ Choices Award winner, an American Library Association Notable Children’s Book, a Christopher Award Winner and a Parents’ Choice Honor Award winner.

“The tale is unfolded with such mastery, humor and emotional force that we are entirely in its power,” writes a reviewer from The New York Times Book Review.

 A Miracle Before My Eyes

For years, I read this book to my third graders during Sunday school class as Christmas approached. I found that the real-time miracle of “Jonathan Toomey” is that it had the power to calm the squirming bodies of 25 little ones who were hyped up on Christmas cookies and ready to get out of their street shoes and itchy collared shirts!

As I would begin to read, it was quite amazing to watch the calm sweep over the group and to watch their facial expressions change from distracted to enraptured. The oversized pictures were perfect, because even the children in the back of our reading circle could see the beautiful details. Now, with the availability of whiteboards, the book can be viewed even more easily in large groups.

Other holiday favorites for this flock of Sunday schoolers included “The Legend of the Candy Cane” by Lori Walburg with outstanding illustrations by James Bernardin, “The Christmas Day Kitten” by James Herriot, “The Gift of the Magi,” published by Candlewick Press  (and also illustrated by P.J. Lynch) and, of course, the Luke 2 passage.

Let’s Not Forget Thanksgiving!

Lest you think I’m one of those holiday-rushers, there’s still time to snag a copy of Cheryl Harness’ “Three Young Pilgrims,” which is recommended for ages 5-10. My girls also loved “Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving” by Eric Metaxas, which tells the historical story of how an English-speaking Indian happened to live in the exact place where Pilgrims landed to start a new life in the New World. This book is also recommended for ages 5-10.

No Time to Head to a Bookstore?

Witnessing that holiday time crunch already? Never fear! Big Universe offers its members several holiday-themed picture books online, including “Holidays,” the illustrated classic “A Christmas Carol,” “Mucky Pup’s Christmas,” “The Miracle Jar,” “Penguin’s Special Christmas Tree,” and “Cat on the Hill,” which is offered for free this week to everyone. Also check out the many free holiday-themed books created by members of the Big Universe community.

* The photo for this blog was taken of a book purchased by our family; however, all credit and honor is given to artist Patrick James Lynch who created his masterful illustrations (© 1995) for Candlewick Press.

Bullying Solved with Good Literature

Bullying in schools is rampant. As much as we would like to think our children are completely safe when we send them to school, we are sending them into a land mine of social fields that we have never thought to teach them about until recently.  As a teacher I see bullying occur almost every day and I am constantly trying to find ways to stop the negative behavior and teach children why bullying behavior is harmful. 

One of the big problems with bullying is its definition or how we perceive its definition. There are so many forms. The one definition everyone thinks of – the big mean bully who scares children – is one we have a lot of strategies to work with. It is the other kinds of bullying that are hard to teach both the bully and the child being bullied how to deal with. This type of bullying is emotional bullying. It’s very insidious. It can occur in the classroom right in front of the teacher. It occurs during a play group right in front of a mom.  It occurs on the computer, during a messaging session. Emotional bullying is the worse kind because it gets inside the child’s head and that’s not as easy to heal as a bruise.

Taunting, teasing, and laughing inappropriately at a child are all bullying. Name calling, spreading rumors, forming groups and purposefully leaving one child out are all bullying.  Even the negative connotations that eye contact and a nasty smirk with a child that is being taunted and teased gets across the room from the bully can be considered an act of bullying if it goes with previous behaviors of abuse.  We need to give children  some pictures or examples in their brain so that the next time they are on the playground, on the bus, in the hallway, or in the classroom, they can remember some of the appropriate ways to respond to a bullying situation.

Girls are great at emotional bullying. For years, maybe centuries, they’ve formed cliques. They have spread rumors, sent nasty glances, and slipped nasty notes into backpacks or purses. Boys can be just as good but in my experience they tend to bully only the ones considered lowest in the social scale. Girls don’t have a problem forming a social group against the beautiful blonde but boys don’t get together to bully the football quarter back.

The children I see bullied most often by boys are those least able to defend themselves. These children may be receiving special education services, or they may be socially naïve and immature. Boys do not want a challenge they can’t win fairly easily. They need the ego boost. How do we solve this problem?

The important thing to note with all of these acts of bullying is they begin early – in elementary school. Current surveys show that fourth grade can be one of the worst years for bullying in the elementary years. Don’t get me wrong. The other years are bad, but fourth grade stands out.

I have found books and videos help me to show my students ways to deal with bullying in a positive non threatening way.  For young children the written word becomes proof and seeing it in a video confirms to them that a behavior is wrong. There are also many websites now that have books that show beautifully on a Smart Board.  After reading the books and showing the videos it’s important to have a discussion with the children. Many of the books come with quizzes as do the videos. These can help you to assess their understanding.

Big Universe has several wonderful books that address bullying with gorgeous illustrations. Chester Raccoon and the Big Bad Bully  written by Audrey Penn, and published by Charlesbridge is one of theses books. For more selections go to Big Universe and type bullying in the search engine. A great site for videos on bullying and other character education topics is Discovery Education. If you are a teacher and your school subscribes to United Streaming, you’re in luck!

We can’t ignore bullying.  Just saying we had to deal with it as children and we turned out okay, is not the way to approach the topic. Pick up a book and let your student see how to handle negative behaviors positively. Let’s not send any more bullies into our world.

Right Book – For Who?

Choosing a book to read can be a pleasant experience. First there’s the cover of the book that draws the eye, then there may be illustrations, which draw the reader into the book. Print size, print spacing, is it a chapter book, is it the right topic, can the reader decipher the words and meaning of at least the first paragraph and does it keep their interest? All of this takes place in the matter of less than a minute for the experienced reader. But, what about the young novice reader and the reader who has difficulty with reading in general?

For a child who finds reading difficult, choosing the right book can be very hard. Where to start? Big Universe has over 1,000 picture books and you can now search the publisher books by Fountas and Pinnell levels as well as Interest Levels. The Fountas and Pinnell levels are the actual reading level where the student is performing. There are fourth grade students who are reading at a second grade level. It’s now possible to find appropriate reading material for these children on Big Universe!

For a child reading below grade level there are many books available that he or she can read comfortably and still be working within a book that is grade level material. For a fourth or fifth grade student reading at a second grade level, one of these books is Outer Space, written by Kenneth Walsh and published by Teacher Created Materials. It is written at a Fountas and Pinnell Level L, about middle second grade, but the interest level is through the age of 13.

There are many, many books like this on Big Universe. The key is to find the book that fits the child, NOT the book that fits the grade level.

Picture Power in Books

This week I’ve been sorting through pictures. I’ve got thousands – the old fashion kind – taken with a 35mm camera. It’s funny how quickly things change and become out dated. I bought a converter specifically designed scan photos directly into a computer. 

The old saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” has come to my mind many times this week. Each picture is a special time in place. A picture has the power to make us smile, laugh, or cry. A picture has the power to place us at the beach, in the mountains, in a cozy country kitchen in front of a warm, crackling fire, or in a contemporary living room, lounging on a white leather sofa looking out through a wall of glass windows at a yard of wildflowers. A picture can tell a whole story without one written word. 

The magic of pictures combined with the written words holds immeasurable power in books! The right picture, with the right words can bring to life a whole world for a child and activate neurons in the brain that will enrich the learning process. Unknown vocabulary is easier for children to figure out with good picture reinforcement. Reading comprehension is deeper and more meaningful with the enhancement of quality illustrations.

 There’s a series of things that need to take place in order for complete comprehension to take place. The best way to demonstrate this is through pictures:

8 Strategies for Reading Comprehension

Reading is Fundamental or RIF has a list of tips for using picture books successfully. Being able to interpret illustrations, use illustrations to decode unknown words, tell a story from an illustration, put a story to an illustration and even create stories using pictures are all things that RIF outlines in the attached literacy skills.

Tips for Using Picture Books in the Classroom

As a teacher my problem has always been finding classroom sets of picture books. Now, thanks to technology and Big Universe that’s not a problem any more. Big Universe has 1,000 quality publisher picture books online! These books can be projected to a SmartBoard or other interactive white board for teaching and they can be used on any computer system 24 hour a day. Plus, there is a very high tech, easy to use authoring tool that let’s members design their own picture books. Now everyone, children, teachers, parents, can be a published author. There are almost 7,000 clipart pictures online and a user can import their own pictures and art. 

Picture books are a wonderful way to teach reading and writing. In fact, using picture books to teach any academic subject is the best way to engage both the left and right sides of the brain ensuring you reach all learners in the classroom.

Reading and Writing, A Natural Connection

“When can we write our stories again?” “I’m just finishing up book three and it’s going to be the end of the series so I’ll have to start a new one.” “Please edit my book now so I can publish it!” These are all statements made in one of my recent classes. I teach special education and the students making these statements are fourth grade elementary school children with learning disabilities. “When can we write?” is not a question I’ve been asked by a child with a learning disability until I started using http://www.biguniverse.com in my classroom.

Big Universe has a tremendous area for creating, publishing and printing books. Kids, parents, teachers, anyone, can create their own book. Children, who normally can’t write a complete sentence, let alone one with adjectives, are able to do so when they are doing it around creative pictures and backgrounds. Teaching paragraph writing is much easier once a child realizes that writing a story, which they love to do on Big Universe, is the same idea as writing a paragraph. There’s an introduction, supporting details, and a great conclusion. Watching a child, who normally isn’t able to produce a cohesive piece of writing, print out their own book, is very rewarding. Big Universe makes this reward possible.

I always have my children read at least two of the beautiful picture books on Big Universe before they start working on their own books. I walk around the room as they are reading these books on their laptops and ask them questions about the way the book is set up. Now that they are writing books they notice the way the art is set and the text is put on the top or to the side. I also want my students to see that they can write two or three sentences on a page. Reading and writing are a natural connection. This connection is made flawlessly when the children can read a book and then write their own book on Big Universe.

Our Earth used with Standards of Learning

Books that are readable and have a reason to be read are usually hard to find for special education students. I feel like I’ve found a gold mine at Big Universe. The book Our Earth by Kenneth Walsh is written at the reading level of 2.6 but looks and can be read by children in the 4th and 5th grade who have reading difficulties.

Our Earth is a chapter book, with an index and glossary. The topic meets the criteria in many science curriculums and can be used easily as it is interesting to many 9, 10 and 11 year olds! What more can you ask for in a book? The fact that it’s online only makes it more enticing.

As a special education teacher in Fairfax County Virginia my first thought is always whether I’ll be able to gather any VGLA (Virginia Grade Level Assessment) material by reading a particular text. The VGLA is a portfolio assessment designed to collect material that a student has produced to show that they are at grade level on each and every Standard of Learning (SOL) strand. The assessment is for those students who can’t take the multiple choice test, successfully, at the end of the year, but are able to produce grade level work. Let me tell you I’m starting to realize what an oxymoron that statement is!

With a book like Our Earth and a media like the computer and http://www.biguniverse.com the VGLA becomes more feasible. I read the book and designed a couple of activities that I could use right away for the VGLA for a non-fiction book. I’m going to add more to finish up the standard as I have time.

I think the big idea here is that with the right book, with the right website like Big Universe, teachers can find what we need more easily than we thought. Our job then becomes making the most of it and making it work with what we need.

The following link will take you to a couple of pages of worksheets to use with Our Earth as a VGLA assessment or just a general assessment of your student’s comprehension.       45a45b56a1 (worksheets click here)

If it's on the computer…

It was a typical Friday morning and I had my typical classroom of 8 students. But, none of these children are typical. One is “labeled” as noncategorical, because he fits into so may special education categories, two are learning disabled, but I would call them learning disabled with gifted tendencies, one is learning disabled with tendencies in the complete opposite direction and 3 are typically learning disabled with a true discrepancy between their ability to learn and their actual learning. The saving grace as a teacher of children with such a wide range of differences, is the computer!

I consider the computer the great equalizer. I can always find a way to make a computer lesson that is successful for all of my students. The wonderful thing is no one ever says…”I hate the computer, can I write a paragraph instead?” Giving my students a book to read on the computer, an educational game to play online or an activity to complete on the computer definitely aces a teacher standing at the board! And, lets face it…on a Friday…as a teacher…the computer aces me standing at the board anytime if its going to help my students learn.