Choose a book cover that matches… …YOU

Choose a book cover that matches… …YOU • Share with someone next to you why you picked your book cover Discussion: • Book selections are very personal. A book need to make a connection to our lives may it be our individual interest, hobbies, life experiences… • Students need guidance and to be exposed to as many titles and genres as possible to help them find a book that calls to them, one that they just have to read • There are books out there for every student, including the kids that are proud to say that the only thing they read is their text messages.

Working Together! (Librarians and Teachers)To Promote the Love of Reading Hope Dublin, Librarian Tara Miniter, LA Teacher

Some Facts and Statistics… • The connection between leisure reading activities and reading achievement has been established by numerous studies (e.g., Watkins and Ewards, 1992). • A clear connection between frequent reading for fun and higher average reading scores is suggested by the NAEP 1994 (and 1992) results. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics

More Facts and Statistics… However… Reading is declining as an activity among teenagers: • Less than one-third of 13-year-olds are daily readers. •The percentage of 17-year-olds who read nothing at all for pleasure has doubled over a 20-year period. Source: The National Endowment for the Arts: Reading at Risk, 2004 (A Survey of Literary Reading in America)

More Facts and Statistics… Voluntary reading rates diminish from childhood to late adolescence. Percentage Who Read Almost Every Day for Fun: 1984 1999 2004 9-year-olds 53% 54% 54% 13-year-olds 35% 28% 30% 17-year-olds 31% 25% 22% Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics

Even More Scary… Adult Reading Frequency of Literary Texts: Reading Frequency Percentage Who Read Nonliterary Readers 54% Light Readers 21% Moderate Readers 9% Frequent Readers 12% Avid Readers 4% Source: The National Endowment for the Arts: Reading at Risk, 2004 (A Survey of Literary Reading in America)

Suggestions as to why this is happening: • Limited time for students to simply read • Focused on reading for test taking purposes rather than reading for fun • Students are not exposed to enough titles to find a book that encourages them to read • Students don’t even know what kind of books they like or how to pick the right book for recreational reading (self-selection) • Spending a lot of time analyzing books read in class and not reading them for enjoyment (e.g.: it took me over a month to teach Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry to 6th graders, but an average reader could complete the book on their own in two weeks) Suggested Professional Readings and Sources to Support Above List: Both Writers are Experienced Teachers! Readicide by Kelly Gallagher (high school teacher) The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller (middle school teacher)

How can we collaborate as teachers and librarians to foster a love of reading and thus create life-long learners? This leads us to the objective of our presentation today…

Example Collaboration Activity: For this activity to take place, it would require librarian and teacher collaboration: Teacher: taught literary elements and types of genre Librarian: collection and organization of titles based on communication with teacher of desired objectives • Book Sort: • Directions: • Each Group is given a collection of titles to view • Decide why these books are grouped together • Be able to defend or explain your answer and how your derived your conclusion • What skills would you have to have to sort these titles? • *Understand genre types (Fantasy vs. Science Fiction, Fiction vs. Non-fiction, • Realistic Fiction vs. Historical Fiction, Poetry vs. Drama) • *You would have to know the elements of literature to explain your organization • words like characters, plot, setting • *For some books you had to read the summary on the back or the first few paragraphs What would the students gain from such an activity? • *Exposure to numerous titles • *Assist them in choosing a book for recreational reading • *Review of literary elements

Giving Students More Time to Read: It has been called many different things: SSR (silent sustained reading), DEAR (drop everything and read), FVR (Free Voluntary Reading)… Research shows that it works: Studies have found a high correlation between the amount of independent reading time and students’ reading achievement scores. It results in better reading comprehension, writing style, vocabulary, spelling, and grammatical development (Gallagher 42) It is also simply a good way to get students hooked on reading and will encourage them to read for enjoyment. (Some Researchers: Stephen Krashen, Yi-Chen Wu, S. Jay Samuels, Elley and Mangubhai…)

SSR (Silent Sustained Reading)It’s Not Easy!Here are some of our suggestions for collaboration: • Ways to encourage students to bring in their own book: • Regular library visits (ask for high-interest, low-level books to show to students) • Visit library in advance and make librarians aware of your needs so they can suggest titles for individual students • Book talks by librarian in library or classroom • Homework to view websites suggested by librarian with hot titles for teens • Before a library visit: • Collaborate with librarian to get a list of suggested titles to be given to students that match classroom content (genre of class novel or setting…)

More Suggestions for SSR: • SSR in the library: • Take students to the library to select titles for the 1st half of the class, make the 2nd half of the class SSR time in the library • Students often refuse to bring a book:(alternatives) • Collaborate with librarian to create a temporary classroom library (change it every week so students can check-out books during the next library visit): • Get collections of magazines (good start for some students) • Multiple copies of award-winning books from the library • Checkout paperback books that are high interest for teens • Checkout a variety of non-fiction books: Ripley’s Believe it or Not…Get suggestions from librarian as to what is read or checked out the most by students for recreational reading • Checkout biographies on famous people that influence teens • Checkout graphic novels and books that match movies

SSR (Silent Sustained Reading)It’s Not Easy!Here are some classroom suggestions: • Model, Model, Model • Behavior is not always good when you first start. Kids want to talk rather than read (this is no surprise). Don’t give up! Start with a few minutes and slowly increase time for SSR. • Their book selections are personal! • It does not have to be quality literature • It can be a magazine, non-fiction, graphic novel, even something like Captain Underpants as long as it gets them reading. Their taste will develop and expand.

SSR (Silent Sustained Reading)Here are some more classroom suggestions: • Get students excited about the time to read: instruction free time, start off class with SSR instead of a warm-up (if they don’t bring a book, they have to do an assignment of the elements of literature) • Do book talks on all of the selections that you bring into the classroom to get them excited about the titles • For students or classes that never bring in their own books: create book marks for them to keep track of the book and page number they were reading from your class sets of books

Post SSR Ideas: • SSR Rubric (included on CD) • Use a teacher or self-evaluation form • Can be used as a weekly grade if desired • Give students time to talk about their reading • What did they like? • What didn’t they like? • Recommendations • Allow them to give a short book talk to you or the class (easy to tell if they have been reading) • Journaling about SSR • Make it a very brief requirement • Can even keep a list of titles in their journal that they want to read and titles that others have recommended • Helps them decide if they like the book: Do they want to continue reading or pick out a new selection for the next day • A reference for self-selection of titles • They need to learn how to choose the correct books that appeal to them as an individual • Use SSR as a spring board to get them started on reading for recreation outside of the classroom • Set requirements for the number of books they should complete outside of school • Don’t ask for a lot of proof; use a simple one-page review to be turned in when the book is complete

Example Activity: • Title Flood • Directions: • Create a list of titles that you would recommend to student for SSR or recreational reading • These can be titles that you have read, ones you have seen other students enjoying, ones that were even recommended to you (2 min.) • Now…find someone in the room to share your list with. Add any titles to your list that are not on yours • Now…find another pair to share your list with. Add any titles to your list that are not on yours How can this activity help your students ? -Exposure to numerous titles to choose from for recreational reading -Gives them time to have open dialog about good books -They receive book recommendations from peers -Great way to conclude SSR for the day

Fun Collaborations to Get students Excited about Reading! (Teaching Self Selection, Exposing Them to a Variety of Titles, and Reading for Fun) • Book Talks • Invite the librarian into the classroom for book talks on titles that are of high interest or titles correspond to a classroom unit • Student Generated Book Reviews on Follett (library catalog) • Encourages students to read books based on other student’s opinions and features a great one page requirement for recreational reading • The new database (Destiny) allows librarians to add book reviews and even give star ratings to evaluate a book selection on the library catalog • Reviews would have to follow a specific format, be delivered electronically to the librarian, and placed in catalog by the librarian • http://www.goodreads.com (or try http://www.shelfari.com) • *Recommended for high school* Collaborate with librarian to have students set up accounts to keep track of reading selections, share book reviews, and to find more titles to read (very addictive!) • It is a database to keeps track of all the books you have read and want to read, also a good source to find titles along with a great way to develop an open communication about the books you are reading • This could be used as a way to monitor and encourage students’ recreational reading for assignments, require a number of reviews and selections for “read and want to read titles” (just have them add you as a friend and you can check their progress at any time. It even gives you the dates that they make, review, and update their account)

Fun Collaborations to Get students Excited about Reading! (Teaching Self Selection, Exposing Them to a Variety of Titles, and Reading for Fun) • Read Alouds (get suggestions from your librarian) • For Middle School students you can complete the entire selection • For High School we recommend reading up to high point of conflict and quickly moving on to another read aloud to encourage reading for recreation • Hot Topic of the Week • Collaborate with librarian to find articles from magazines, newspaper, and websites on hot topics (topics that hold high interest for teens) ask students to read the article and have a time for them to share comments, require them to add thoughts on school regulated blog or blackboard, or simply have them apply “active reading” on the copy of the article (highlight interesting points, make comments in margins) and turn it in. • Reading with a Purpose • Do a Brief book talk on a high interest title that was chosen collaboratively with the librarian • Read aloud page copied from a book that includes the title, author, genre (choose the climax or quick paced section that also features a technique or element you are teaching • Then hand out the copied page that was read aloud with a clear purpose for reading the passages stated on the top of the page. (e.g. Highlight the sentences that show characterization. What is the tone in this passage and what details contribute to your decision?) • This could also be a page from a required novel and done as a second reading of the selection for a purpose

Fun Collaborations to Get students Excited about Reading!(Teaching Self Selection, Exposing Them to a Variety of Titles, and Reading for Fun) • Book Pass • Collaborate with the librarian to find titles that are of high interest and match the setting or genre of a classroom novel, • Hand each student a book, ask them too look at title, author, back of book, inside flap book summary, first few sentences. • Give them a time limit of 1-2 min. and they pass the book. • Repeat until students have been introduced to numerous titles. • Make an arrangement with librarian for students to bring a book they wish to check-out back to the library to have it checked-out in their name. • Book Trailers: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1867219/the_graveyard_book_trailer_narrated_by_neil_gaiman/ • http://www.viddler.com/explore/cosproductions/videos/432/ • Collaborate with your librarian to create a web quest for Book Trailers. Students can keep notes on what attracts their attention and it encourages them to read the book. • Have students create book trailers for a novel that they have enjoyed (Flip Video). • Simply showing the videos to the class can encourage them to read titles that their classmates have enjoyed and the librarian can use videos as publicity for new books. • Reading Logs • To be used as a weekly grade of student independent reading outside of the classroom • Can help you track the books that are of high interest to students and provides a spring-board for them to share titles with their peers

Example Reading Log: September 2009 Name: Class:

More Fun Ways to Get students Excited about Reading! (Ways to divide classroom time equitably between reading for fun and analyzing literature.) • 50/50 suggested by the author of Readicide, Kelly Gallagher • Purpose: to prevent lengthy teaching of class required novels which can cause students to lose interest and discourage the idea that reading is fun • Make the 1st half of the book academic: do pre-reading activities, pull out techniques and literary elements, read the book together… • The 2nd half of the book is for recreational reading: let them independently read the remaining half of the book • Book Trade • For a week have students bring in books that they have read and no longer want. They receive a ticket for each book they bring in. After a week and the stacks of books have increased, allow them to trade their ticket for any book in the stack. Students can from that point on bring a book and make an even trade. (classroom or whole school) “Jenga” • To review literary elements or literary techniques students are placed in team. Team chooses a captain to speak for the group; teams are asked a question. If the answer is correct, a team member gets to pull block from “Jenga” stack. The winning team is the one that has answered the most question correctly when the stack falls, The team that pulls the doomed block is automatically disqualified from winning the game. (Kids love it!!!)

More Fun Ways to Get students Excited about Reading! (Ways to divide classroom time equitably between reading for fun and analyzing literature.) • Basketball Review • You will need a “Nerf” basketball and hoop that fits on the classroom door • Students are placed into teams, teams are asked a question, The team gets a point for the correct answer and then gets an attempt at shooting the ball from a placed marked on the floor. If they make the basket, it is a bonus point for the team. • Reading Picture books and Graphic Novels • Ask your librarian for suggestions: read a picture book as a pre-reading activity for a novel to intro the style of writing, tone, genre, or setting. • Analyze a short story that covers all the required elements instead of the novel and have students read the novel as an independent assignment with a final comparison for student accountability. • Example: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor (novel) and Freedom Schools by Amy Littlesugar and Floyd Cooper (picture book) • Example: “Macbeth” and Macbeth (Graphic Shakespeare) from Shakespeare Graphic Library

More Fun Ways to Get students Excited about Reading! (Class Reading) • Smart Board Games to Review • We have used one in the library that was created for National Library Week. On the CD that you receive, you can alter the questions to review literary elements or simply review the plot of a novel read in class. • Jeopardy Review Game (included on CD) • Can be used and altered to review classroom concepts connected to required novels or literary elements

Suggested Websitesfor finding literature recommendations for students: • VA Readers’ Choice: http://www.vsra.org/VRCindex.html • Book Awards by Association for Library Service to Children: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/index.cfm • Goodreads (a great way to get book recommendations from friends and read book reviews, you can also keep track of books you wish to read): http://www.goodreads.com/ • Teen Reads: http://www.teenreads.com/ • Jen Robinson’s Book Page (recommended by author of “The Book Whisperer”): http://jkrbooks.typepad.com/ • YALSA (Young Adult Library Service Association) http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklistsbook.cfm • Prince William Public Library System/Teen Reads (library suggestions for teens and Kid recommendations and reviews): http://www.pwcgov.org/library/teens/teen%20book%20club.htm • Terry Lusesne’s Website: http://professornana.livejournal.com/

Time to Share… • What works for you? • How have you successfully fostered a love for reading? • Share some successful collaborations between you and your librarian? *Write ideas on supplied materials to present to our group

Don’t Forget to Pick Up: • CD with digital copy of today’s presentation and other helpful handouts • List of recommended titles for Middle and High School

Works Cited Miller, Donalyn. The Book Whisperer. San Francisco:Jossey Bass, 2009. Gallagher, Kelly. Readicide. Portland: Stenhouse Publishers, 2009. “To Read or Not To Read: A Question of National Concequence.” National Endowments for the Arts. 2004. 7 Aug. 2009 <http://www.nea. gov/research/ToRead.PDF>. “Reading: The Nation’s Report Card.” National Center for Education Statistics. 2008. U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences. 7 Aug. 2009 <http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/reading/>. “2008 Kids & Family Reading Report Reading in the 21st Century: Turning the Page with Technology.” Scholastic. 2008. 7 Aug. 2009 <http://www.scholastic. com/aboutscholastic/news/kfrr08web.pdf>.

Choose a book cover that matches… …YOU