Beloved Books for Lovely Readers

Why should my child read the classics? More importantly, how do I encourage them to do so? The main reason for reading the classics that I hear is that they are high quality literature, which of course they are, but what does that mean to our little readers? I would argue that the 5 main reasons to read the classics are as follows:

1. Improve  Reading, Writing, and Critical Thinking Skills: It is almost common sense that more reading will lead to improved reading skills. It's just like exercise, the more you practice, the better you'll be. If you ask most authors, they will tell you that they improved their writing by reading more books. In fact many books mention other books that may have been important to the author. For example, Twilight's main character Bella mentions that Wuthering Heights is one of her favorite books. No doubt this was mentioned because the author of the book enjoyed Wuthering Heights. The biggest difference between any old book and a classic is the challenge the book presents and the big world questions they explore. These aspects in particular will truly stretch reading and writing skills while they also stretch critical thinking.
2. Relate to Older Generations: Classics have been loved by many many generations. This is how they have come to be known as classic literature. When children read the classics, they will be able to better understand the culture of the times they are reading about, but also be able to talk about these books with older members of their family. Parents and grandparents can share with their children the memories of reading these books and the feelings they gave them leading to wonderful relationships.
3. Increase Vocabulary: When having kids find "just right books" we tell them to choose a book in which they know most of the words. Why not all? Because we want the kids to learn more words. Classic literature often uses more challenging language, so it naturally leads to an increase in vocabulary as students use context clues or even the good old dictionary to come to an understanding of these new words.
4. Improve Intelligence and Earning Potential: In the words of Dr. Suess, "The more you read, the more you will know. The more that you know, the more places you'll go!" When students read more books they are increasing their knowledge. When students read classic literature they are gaining more knowledge from a quality source. People with a higher intelligence often make more money. So it can be gathered that the more you read, the higher your earning potential. Why not start building intelligence while still in school?
5. Understand Literary References: Lastly, we often hear or read literary references, like "Don't be a Scrooge" or "Well, it's kind of a catch-22.", without realizing that these actually are literary references. When we read classics we become more aware of the things we hear, read, and say and where they came from. This makes it easier to understand the books we are reading and the people we are talking to.

Ok, great, so we have reasons to read the classics, but how do we get our kids interested in reading them? Here are some suggestions:

1. Read to Your Child: I've previously mentioned this in my blog post on helping your child to improve their reading skills, and it's worth saying again, reading to your child is something you should do as long as they will allow you. A bed time story helps children and adults to wind down and relax. Reading to your child models fluency in reading and allows for discussions of what was read. I remember my mother reading Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie to my sister and I when we were young. Those memories are treasures.
2. Read with Your Child: Just like reading to your child, reading with your child can help to improve reading skills and encourage a love of reading. Both of these are great ways for you to share your favorite books with your children. Why not take turns reading maybe you can take every other paragraph, page, or chapter? You could start with a simple book like AA Milne's Winnie the Pooh books or any of Roald Dahl's fantasy wonders.
3. Start with Illustrated Abridged Versions: I remember when I was younger getting a copy of the Great Illustrated Classics version of Great Expectations. I absolutely loved the book and reread it many times. As I got older, my love for the book led me to read the original version which I loved just as much. This series of illustrated classics is still available on Amazon. Usborne books also recently published a set of illustrated abridged classics for kids that are amazing in quality.
4. Try Graphic Novel Versions: Graphic Novels are some of the most popular books in our school library. The comic book format easily draws in reluctant readers which explains why so many novels are having companion graphic novels made out of them. The graphic novel format is also helpful when trying to follow along and understand the story. 
5. Connect the Classic to a Modern Book: As I said before, authors often mention books within their stories. One way to connect a classic to a modern book would be making note of these mentions while reading a modern book and reading the classics mentioned after. Often you can make connections between the story line of the two books. Another way to make connections would be to pair modern remakes of a book with the original. For example, A Tale Dark and Grimm or The Sisters Grimm could be paired with the original Grimm's Fairy Tales,  or for teens, you could pair Pride & Prejudice with Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies.
6. Watch the Movie as a Reward for Finishing the Books: When the weather is icky like it has been lately, what would be better than a movie night? Many of the classic novels we love have been turned into movies or TV miniseries. Why not use the movie as an incentive for reading the book. When you finish the book you can curl up with a blanket and some popcorn and watch a movie. A great example would be to read A Jungle Book  and then watch either the old animated Disney version or the beautifully done updated version of the movie. After watching the movie you can compare it to the book, which in turn improves critical thinking.

Further Reading:
Buchanan, J. (2013). How—and why—to encourage your kids to read classic literature. Retrieved from https://www.readingrainbow.com/site/blog/2013/04/09/how-and-why-to-encourage-your-kids-to-read-classic-literature/

Carlyle, R. (2015, March 17). Hooked on classics: Top tips to get your children to read quality books. Express. Retrieved from http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/books/563741/Top-tips-to-get-your-children-to-read-classic-books

Chen, G. (2015). Why read the classics? Retrieved from http://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/why-read-the-classics/

Kersten, K. (2009, September 19). Katherine Kersten: Why students should read the classics. Star Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.startribune.com/katherine-kersten-why-students-should-read-the-classics/59780987/

Leigh, J. (2016). 10 reasons you should be reading the classics. Retrieved from http://www.punchnels.com/2016/02/25/10-reasons-you-should-be-reading-the-classics/

Richardson, H. (2015, September 26), Do children still need to read the classics of English literature? BBC. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/education-34341656

Teaching Students to Find Their Way in the Library

I have a personal goal that all my students become independent users of the library by Winter Break of third grade. In order to accomplish this, I work on building their library skills slowly beginning in kindergarten.

Kindergarten: In kindergarten, we simply learn the basics of the library. We learn the parts of a book and the vocabulary word call number is introduced. We talk about how a book has an address to its home on the shelf. We also talk about how we can use the secret code called the call number to tell where the book goes. A basic introduction to using and exploring the library is a great foundation for what students will learn as they continue on.

First Grade: In first grade, I start to challenge the students a little bit. We review the parts of the book and reintroduce call number as a vocabulary term. As we approach Thanksgiving Break, I begin to have the students put little cards in ABC order with a group. We discuss how the books are in ABC order on the shelf by the author's last name. After practicing putting cards in ABC order, I explain the kind of books that we keep in our everybody section and we practice finding the A, B, C, etc shelf of the section. This allows the students to build a basic understanding of the order of the books on the shelf.

Second Grade: In second grade we begin to get even more in depth. My goal by the end of second grade is to have the students be able to locate books in the fiction and everybody sections of the library when given the book's call number. In order to get students to this point, I begin the year with a review of ABC order. As part of their first lesson, we put cards with one letter on them in order. During the next lesson, students work together to put cards with two letters on them into order. And finally, the students work together to put cards with three letters on them into order. After the student seem to have the hang of ABC order we start to translate this skill to finding books on the shelf. First students learn about the everybody section and the fiction section. We talk about the difference between the types of books in those sections and what their call numbers look like. We then work on finding the A shelf, B shelf, C shelf, etc of each section. After we have identified the shelves, the students begin working with partners to find a book by its call number. This skill is practiced briefly during each lesson for the continuation of the year.

Third Grade: At the beginning of third grade, we do a brief review of the call numbers from the various sections of the library. If a call number starts with E with three letters after it is in the everybody section, if it has just three letters it is in the fiction section, and numbers mean non-fiction. We then introduce using our library catalog to search for books. We spend one lesson just learning how to get to our catalog using the Chromebooks and begin to search for books. During the following lesson, we review how to search and talk about logging into the catalog and putting books on hold. From this point forward, students are able to use the catalog to search for books during their book checkout time. Later on in the year, the students are taught about the different categories of the Dewey Decimal System and practice putting nonfiction call numbers in order and finding them on the shelf. By the end of third grade, students should have a pretty in depth understanding of how to find their books in the library which simply needs to be reviewed in future grade levels.

Green Shirt and Green Screen... Oops.

In October, I began my first attempts at putting together a student new broadcast. The students and I learned lots of things in the first few months as I wrote about in a previous post. We learned how to use the iPad to record, how to utilize Google Docs for script writing, and how to use iMovie for editing among other things. We are still working on fixing some of the problems we noticed way back then, but we have also made other improvements along the way.

One of the problems that we noticed initially is the sound quality while recording with the iPad. This is still an issue that we are battling. We have tried a few different microphones and have not had a lot of success. There is one microphone we borrowed to try out that seemed to work well, so we are in the process of ordering that microphone. In the meantime, it has meant telling the students to speak up and adjusting sound in iMovie.

iMovie: When you click on volume on the bottom,
 you can raise up the sound levels.

Writing the script has been somewhat of a challenge for the students. Some kids are just better writers than others. This has meant that I set the students up to type and allow them to try their best, but then I end up looking it over to make sure everything is correct. When the students have done a good job, there's not much I need to redo, but sometimes the kids do very little and I end up rewriting the whole script. It's ok though because it is all about the experience.

We have made a few improvements over the months since I last wrote about the student news. Our first improvement was to get rid of the printed scripts as seen in this episode:

We replaced the printed scripts with a teleprompter. Our teleprompter consists of a LCD projector on a cart connected to my laptop which has the script set up in cueprompter.com. The script is projected onto a portable screen.

This improvement has meant that there is no more shuffling of papers while a student is speaking and the students are now looking up rather than down at their papers. The end result looked like this:

This was a great improvement, but after attending the TIES conference in Minneapolis this year, I just had to have a green screen. Luckily our previous Media Specialist, the great and powerful Tom Gilgenbach, gifted us the app Do Ink Green Screen. Our custodians were kind enough to paint one of the walls in our studio (back storage room) green over winter break. This has been such fun! We still record using the iPad, then we import the video into the Do Ink app to add backgrounds, save the video to the camera roll, and finish editing in the iMovie app.

Do Ink Green Screen App: Super easy to use!
Even my 4th graders can do it!

The green screen can end up looking really cool, like in this video:

But we have run into the issue of students wearing green shirts, like in this video (oops!):

Looking forward, there are still a number of ways we would like to improve the student news. Ordering the microphone to improve sound quality will be a great help. We are hoping to paint the two walls on the sides of the news desk to improve the adding of backgrounds. Each week we announce winners for good behavior and we announce birthdays daily. We will try to start adding photos of the students as their names are announced.

Looking to next year, I am considering different ways we could have students involved. Currently, all the students have an assigned date to type the script and to be an anchor. Some students dislike typing and others do not like being an anchor. I have had students help with recording and editing in minimal amounts. Next year, I am thinking that I may have students broken up into groups based on which role they would like. Perhaps some students will be our reporters and gather information for our script writers to write into the script. The script writers would perfect their writing skills in scripts that the anchors would read. While the anchors read there would be a director/ producer directing them when to speak, slow down, and speed up as they record on the iPad. After the recording is done, the editors would then put in the green screen background and edit the video in the iMovie app. This would mean that all of our 5th grade students would be involved in some way in the announcements, but in the way that they would most enjoy. This is still a thought I will be pondering for a while.

What Student News Has Taught Me and My Students.

This past month, I have started working on daily video announcements. These video announcements begin as a script typed in Google Docs. The script is printed and two 5th grade students practice for a couple minutes before they are recorded using an iPad Air 2. The video is then edited and additional videos are added in iMovie on the iPad Air. This project has been a learning experience for my students and for me.

I began this project by working with each 5th grade class on how to collect the information for the script. Students learned where to find the weather forecast, school lunch menu, and Monticello sports schedule. The students then got into pairs and practiced by using these tools to create a mock script. The students created these scripts on paper, but the actual scripts are recorded in Google Docs.

After each class created their practice scripts, students were chosen based on their effort to write out the script or record the video. A schedule was also created of when each pair of students would do each job. This was another learning opportunity for students. As pairs they began to learn how to log in to Google Docs and edit the script for the next recording. Some students quickly logged in and got to work. Others had some technical difficulties. Over this process, I have realized that it is important to get the typers set up sooner and with more guidance.

As we began recording the videos, we noticed that some students were a little more enthusiastic and artistic (you know the ones born to be goofy actors/actresses) while others were a little more hesitant.
This is one of the more interesting recordings:

We started out with sound issues. The iPad Air took great video, but some students were really quiet and the sound effects that were later added were almost deafening in comparison. We tried a couple microphones, but have ended up using an iPhone 6 to record the sound and adding it in later. I also learned how to adjust the sound in iMovie so that sound effects aren't as loud. The students also began to realize that they needed to speak more loudly and not read off their scripts by simply watching the way the students before them handled the announcements.

As we continue learning how to create quality student announcements, I am hoping to move into having students do some editing. I would like to see these kiddos take as much ownership of this project as possible. I believe that one of the best parts of a Media Program is empowering children,

Author Study: Duncan Tonatiuh

Duncan Tonatiuh was born in Mexico City and grew up in San Miguel de Allende. His father was American and his mother was Mexican. He attended art school in New York and began his career as an author and illustrator. Tonatiuh models his art after ancient Mexican art.

The style is called Mixtex.
. His goal in writing children's books is to have picture books that Latino children feel connected to. He has already received the Thomas Rivera Award. I am very excited to now have these books in our Media Center.


Book Reviews of Some of his Books:

Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin. This book is written as letters between cousins. One cousin lives
in America and one cousin lives in Mexico. Throughout the book various common Spanish words are introduced. This book is a great introduction to the Spanish language and the differences between life here and life in Mexico. It would be the perfect read for a kindergarten or first grade Spanish class.

Diego Rivera: His World and Ours. This short book gives the background on Diego Rivera. It tells about his art education, his artwork, and what he might paint if he were alive today. The book encourages young artists to create their own murals. This book could be useful to discuss culture in a Spanish class or as an introduction to Diego Rivera in an art class. It is best fit for first through third grade students.

Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote. This book tells about the difficulties Mexican workers face in Mexico
and the challenges they face on the journey to the United States for work. The story is told using animals and is easily understandable for elementary students. Because the content can be somewhat scary, I would recommend the book for grades 2 and up. The last two pages of the book give some information about the author and the journey many Mexican migrants face. This would be a great book to share with students, especially in a Spanish class or in a community with many Mexican immigrants.

Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and her Family's Fight for Desegregation. The book itself was written at a level that a 2nd or 3rd grade student would understand. I believe this story is an important story to tell. It is relevant to many students as the Hispanic population grows in Minnesota. I like that this is a story about Mexican Americans integrating the school system. We often hear about the African American students in the south, but rarely about the struggles other Americans went through. I like that this book also has more information, sources, and definitions in the back.

Why is it important to investigate and vote on your school's referendum?

There are times when our schools ask us to vote on their operating levies. Many times when we hear that the school is asking for more money, we grumble about raising our property taxes and the schools not handling money correctly. We wonder why they would need money for such silly projects. I'm just as guilty of doing these things, but this year I am working in a district that has an operating levy on the ballot. After walking through some of the schools, listening to the superintendent explain the needs (not wants) that the money would cover, and how taxes would not increase, I've changed my mind. I never got informed about the school levies I voted on in the past. I would consider the little bit of hearsay I had heard and vote based on that. I have voted yes, and I have voted no. Now that I have actually gotten some information on the levy in my current district, I have come to the realization that we need to be more informed when voting on these levies.

When you are considering whether to vote on a levy, it is important to gather some information: How will this affect my tax rate? What will the money be spent on? Is this a need or a want? Is this something I would support? What are the plans to accomplish the goals of this levy? These are all important questions to ask of the district officials and of yourself. To gather answers to these questions, visit your district website. More than likely they will have some information posted in regards to the levy. If they have information meetings regarding the levy, attend several to get the most information and best understanding. Talk to your neighbors and friends and get their thoughts. Finally, spend some time thinking about what your answer will be.








If you live in the Monticello School District, please vote yes for our operating levy. All of the items it would cover are needs. You can learn more here.

Are your students represented in their reading material?

Students are more likely to read and enjoy a book if they can relate to the characters. This means that white, female students are often able to find books that they enjoy. Many books today are written about white, female characters. So what about those other groups of students that we may be leaving out? Well, it is important to seek out books that fit with the population at your school, and some that have characters from outside that population. When I was in Willmar at Kennedy Elementary, I did this by selecting books in Spanish and Arabic (for our Hispanic and Somali students). In Prior Lake, I purchased books in Russian for our Russian immigrant students. While these books did help the students feel more at home in the library, the problem still remained that many of them were simply translated books about a white, female main character. Each year, while ordering books, I made it a priority to purchase books that covered a variety of topics and viewpoints. I would do this by looking for suggested book lists, finding books that had won awards for representing minority or diverse cultures (Coretta Scott King Award), and talking to other librarians. A great blogger, Ms. Debbie Reese, with the help of Edith Campbell, Sarah Park Dahlen, Lyn Miller-Lachmann, Sujei Lugo, Nathalie Mvondo, and Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, created and shared an inclusive and diverse summer reading list. I am currently reading many of the books on this list. I am enjoying them and will post follow up blog posts with reviews of these books. In the meantime, hop on over to https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxR5BGEloI_cS2R4cEQwWlN2bnM/view and download the reading list for yourself. Then take the list down to your local library and check out the fantastic books on the list.
Get your summer read on!

Presenting Budgets and Staffing Proposals

I am currently working at two middle schools. When I started working at the schools, I realized there was a large discrepency in the money in the budgets. For example, my budget for books at one school was almost twice that at the other school. I have asked my building principals if I would be able to present sugested budgets to them for next year. I am working on these presentations now as both principals agreed to hear me out. I am planning on creating an excel spreadsheet of what would be purchased from each budget, and an accompanying Word document backing up the use/need for each item and state standards regarding these items as appropriate. Have you submitted a similar proposal to your administration? If so, how did you present it, and what were the results?
Being split between two schools makes it hard for me to collaborate with teachers because I have a fixed schedule. I am at one school in the afternoon and the other in the morning. Since I am in a middle school, this means that I miss some periods of English classes, and some periods of other classes as well. In order for me to teach research methods to my students I have to coordinate with my support person at each school. This can be a pain if teachers need to reschedule or wait until the last minute. I am proposing that rather than having my time be split between both buildings each day, that I would have a full time support person in each building to free up more time for collaboration and technology integration. I am going to submit this as a Word document backed up by research by Keith Curry Lance and MEMO standards. Has anyone else done something similar? Can you give me any pointers?

First Amendment Rights and Access to Information

I am a lucky Media Specialist. I have an aide at both schools where I work. I am thankful for that. The challenge that I am having right now is that one of my aides does not understand the student's right to access information. She is the mother of a sixth grader at our sixth through eighth grade middle school. She has had concerns about some of the books that her sixth grader has checked out. I am glad that she watches what her daughter reads, and that she is involved in her education, but the books she has brought to my attention are, in my opinion, perfectly appropriate for most middle school students. There was only one book I found that was not really appropriate for the middle school, and I sent it to the high school.

Today she brought up that she had heard that the public library has some books that parents must sign out for their children in order for the children to access them. This infuriated me. I am very much in support of students reading what interests them no matter what the material. Sure, middle school students probably shouldn't be reading playboy, but there might be a book about homosexuality that they really want to read that is appropriate. What really frustrated me about this story is that it was a young adult book that I have in the Media Center collection.

I am glad that some parents are watching what their children read, but I wonder about the kids who can't get information they need because of a permission slip. What about the student who's parents are not around for them to sign the permission slip to check out the book. This might be a book that they would really relate to and help them understand their life. It might be about content that they are personally struggling with. Sometimes reading can be an escape for students who don't have the best life. Are we really going to deny kids this escape? What about the homosexual student who has no one to reach out to? Their parents believe that homosexuality is wrong, or the child just doesn't feel comfortable approaching someone about the topic. Are we going to deny that student the chance to learn about themselves, or find a story with a character they can relate to that makes them feel better about themselves? How can we deny students these opportunities?

Another topic that my aide was opposed to was rape. These are middle school students, by this point in their lives they may very well know someone who has been raped or have been raped themselves. We can't know each child's story. We hope this is not the case, but we just don't know. I understand that this can be an uncomfortable topic, but if the story handles the rape in a productive way and it is middle school appropriate, it will be in the Media Centers.

I want the students to have access to books about many different topics so that they can find books that they are interested in. I want my students to have access to stories they relate to. I want my students to read, enjoy reading, and grow from the reading they do. How can I handle my aides lack of support for the free access philosophy? How can I support the books in the collection should another concern arise?

Weeding: The Same in Libraries and Gardens

 Occasionally libraries need to weed their collection. I was recently working on weeding the collection at one of the elementary schools I am student teaching at. My cooperating teacher was trying to get the teacher resource rooms cleaned out a bit. We got rid of all the VHS tapes since they have become an obsolete format and we got rid of the professional books that the teachers never come to check out. The picture you see on the left is the cover of a book we discovered. The book was from 1984, and if you view the page below, you will realize how much this book needed to be weeded. This book was outdated, it really only addressed the female side of this issue, and it was much too wordy for any child to be expected to sit through. It may be a worthy topic of discussion, but there has to be a better book out there. I shared this book with my boyfriends mom and with my own mom. They both said that there needed to be a more child friendly book available, and a book for little boys. If you would like to view more of this book check it out on Google Books.