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World Read Aloud Day

3/6/2012

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 Tomorrow, March 7th, is the third annual World Read Aloud Day. This is a celebration we can all get behind!

No one describes the power of read aloud better than author extraordinaire, Mem Fox.

Reading aloud is not a cure-all. Not quite. But it is such a wonderful antidote for turning on turned-off readers and brightening up dull writing that I feel it's worthwhile to plead again for its regular occurrence in every classroom, not only those classrooms at the younger end of the school. Even in my forties I have benefited as a writer directly from hearing writing read aloud. The music, the word choice, the feelings, the flow of the structure, the new ideas, the fresh thoughts -- all these and more are banked in my writing checking account whenever I am fortunate enough to be read to.   Mem Fox, Radical Reflections

Mem's bold book, Radical Reflections, is organized around 16 lessons that teachers can learn from parents, because long before kids come to school, they've successfully learned many complex behaviors, the least of which is their home language. In many homes, that language learning is undeniably influenced by being read to.

The findings of a recently reported study in the UK show that daily reading aloud at home boosted children's success at school, including knowledge and understanding of the world, literacy and math. These children also outscored classmates in assessments of their social, emotional, physical and creative development. An emphasis on teaching kids the alphabet and to count, in contrast, was not shown to significantly impact school success. (My apologies that this study is not currently available online.)

So to all you parents out there, thanks for the inspiration, including Lesson #16: "Read aloud, once again, with feeling!" And today while you're reading, take satisfaction that empirical evidence supports the importance of what you've known all along.

Here are a just a few of many favorite read aloud titles (and please respond with a few of your own!).

For young ones, look for titles by Mem Fox. "More, More, More," Said the Baby! (Vera Williams) is another favorite, and comes as a board book. Peek-a Who (Nina Laden) is also a winner!

For 4-7 year olds, nothing beats Martin Waddell's Pig in the Pond or The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything (Williams & Lloyd). And Mo Willem's books are fabulous, including The Pigeon and anything from the Elephant & Piggie series.

For slightly older kids, Roald Dahl always hits a home run, and my absolute favorite title of his to read aloud is The Enormous Crocodile. It makes a great readers theater book if you can find multiple copies and highlight the different voices.

Afternoon of the Elves (Lisle) offers girls a lot to talk about, and it was one of few "girl books" that my 3rd grade boys also enjoyed.

For older kids, ask what they're reading. You might read it together or have your child read to you. The range of great books is limitless!

Finally, if you're the parent of an older, disengaged guy reader, check out some guy recommendations on Jon Scieszka's site, Guys Read. It's never too late to reengage!

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New in the Library

2/28/2012

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Students keep requesting books, and we aim to fulfill their requests. Here are our latest arrivals!

The latest from those characters, Elephant & Piggie!
I Broke My Trunk / Willems
Listen to My Trumpet / Willems

For YA Readers
A Monster Calls / Ness
Anya's Ghost / Brosgol
Beauty Queens / Bray
Between Shades of Gray / Sepetys
Chime / Billingsly
Closer (Tunnels Book 4) / Gordon
Divergent / Roth
Everybody sees the Ants / King
Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun / Canada
Freefall (Tunnels Book 3) / Williams
Guantanamo Boy / Perera
Hunger / Hamsun
Jackie & Me / Gutman
Milkweed / Spinelli
The Scorpion Races / Stiefvater
Spiral (Tunnels) / Gordon
Stupid Fast / Herbach
The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic / Wolf
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Declaration of Interdependence

2/2/2012

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_Just for eReaders! Declaration of Interdependence: Poems for an Election Year, is poet Janet Wong's most recent publication. Priced at $3.99, the poems offer lots of opportunity to talk about what it means to live in a democracy. Here's a little taste.
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Liberty

I pledge acceptance
of the views,
so different,
that make us America
To listen, to look,
to think, and to learn
One people
sharing the earth
responsible
for liberty
and justice
for all.

- Janet Wong
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February 1st Set as the First Digital Learning Day

1/30/2012

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_Wednesday marks the first annual celebration of digital learning, a national celebration initiated by the Alliance for Excellent Education. Digital learning is defined as any instructional practice that is effectively using technology to strengthen the student learning experience and encompasses a spectrum of tools and practices. Examples include online and formative assessment, online content and courses, applications of technology in the classroom and school, adaptive software for students with special needs, and/or providing access to challenging content and instruction. A recently coined term--blended learning--is any time a student learns, at least in part, at a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home and, at least in part, through online delivery with some element of student control over time, place, and/or pace.

The iPad and Kindle grants received by Pathfinder teachers are bringing more digital possibilities to our students' learning! What has been your child's most powerful digital learning experience?
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Check Out the New Changes in the Pathfinder Library!

1/29/2012

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__Color. Art. Space. Books. Computer access. You name it, we've changed it! Here are some highlights.

New Color:  Led by lead designer, Rosemary Woods, a team of parents and I painted the library walls and circulation desk over the winter break. Thanks to Rosemary, Sue Bell, Peggy Flynn, Toni Wells, and LaShanna Williams. And thanks to the Pathfinder PTA for funding the paint!

Art: Rosemary also donated a collection of Book Week posters, and framed them with donations from Michael Lieberman, David, and me.

Space: Opening up the center of the library was possible after weeding out-of-date books and rearranging the location of others, allowing us to move out two large bookcases. Thanks to Sylvia, Cathy, Roger, and library teaching assistants Alexis, Amaris, Josh, Lenny, and Yitzy for helping accomplish that huge task.

Books: Weeding out damaged and out-of-date books created room for new books, and our emphasis is on buying books the kids request.. We earned over $1000 in Scholastic book credit as a result of the December book fair, and are spending that as requests come in, e.g. The Chronicles of Vladmir Tod, The Throne of Fire, and Behemouth, all books from popular series. Unfortunately, Scholastic doesn't  publish everything we'd like, so we recently applied for a DonorsChoose grant to increase our collection of contemporary Young Adult titles. Keeping current with books that teachers want and need, and kids want and need, is an ongoing commitment!

Computer Access:  Students working on school projects have computer priority during the school day. Check out the library hours link for choice open access times. As a means to increase our technology resources, I applied for and received a district eReader grant for 10 Kindles. These are currently targeted for use in the middle school reading classes. Next up--an application for a state technology grant for more computers.

Reupholstering the Library Chairs: Ann Marie Bennett has agreed to lend her professional seamstress skills to reupholstering the three plaid, very worn (but very comfy) chairs. Thanks again to the PTA for covering the cost of materials!  We hope this work will be accomplished within the next month!
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Book Fair

1/29/2012

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_The Book Fair drew in a record number of families, scheduled the same week as the Winter Music Program and the Craft Fair. Purchases came close to $3,000, earning over $1000 in Scholastic book credit. We used the money to buy all the books on the teachers' wish lists (they were thrilled), and the rest remains in our Scholastic account, to be spent on student requested books.

A smaller book fair will be scheduled in the spring, this time with a local bookseller. Fewer trinkets and more flexibility, and although we'll make a smaller percentage of the profits, the fair will include a greater variety of books. Stay tuned! 
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    Author

    _I've loved to read for years--remember these Little Golden Books--and I can't imagine a better job than being a librarian!
    I hope you'll stop by frequently, both online and in person!  Kathy

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