Anticipation Guides

Although they have been around for many years, Anticipation guides are still a great way to get kids interested in text before reading. Not only do Anticipation guides build student interest but they also activate a student's background knowledge. This helps students get more out of reading and be more interested in the text you want them to read.

Authors on the Web

I recently watched two little second grade boys work on an assignment that asked them to read a couple of books by a specific author. They boys dutifully did this laughing at the funny parts and enjoying the images in the book. When they were finished reading, they were to talk about the book and think about the author who had written them. I was amazed at the rich and thoughtful discussion that took place about the content of the books as well as the man who had authored them. Following this conversation, the boys were then to write a letter to this author. Again, I was impressed with the ideas and questions that these two were able to come up with and put on paper. All of this was done with little direction from their teacher and a lot of interest on the part of the two boys. No, these were not the gifted kids in the class either - just two ordinary little boys who clearly understood how to talk about books and think about the real people who write them. Having watched as they penned their letter, I am sure that the author they were writing to enjoyed getting their letter! For information on authors who have a presence on the web for students of all ages. See my links page.

Readicide

It's April already and the year is just flying by for me! Where does the time go anyway? I just finished reading Kelly Gallager's new book Readicide: How School are Killing Reading and What You Can Do About It and I have to say that Gallager definitely has a winner here! Since the rise of No Child Left Behind, I have also seen a rise in what Gallager refers to as "inane, mind-numbing practices" in schools. I particularly enjoyed Gallagher's chapter on the importance of finding the "sweet spot" between too little teaching of books and the senseless over-teaching that numbs minds and causes kids to turn off to great books. Gallagher's book is a quick read and provides a sensible approach to strengthening the threads of reading. After you have read it, add your thoughts and ideas to this post!

Reading Comprehension Tips

Want your students to understand and retain more of what they read? Far and away the best way to do this is to ask students to summarize a piece of text. After students have read a passage, ask them to write a paragraph of 4 or 5 sentences summarizing the most important points in the passage. If your students have trouble doing this at first, let them work with a partner or trio to write their summaries. This technique is great for any content area and will work wonders for not only comprehension but also remembering key points in a text.

Learn more ideas and tips for improving reading.

Great Read Aloud Material

With the holidays over, I finally had time to pull out my couple of JK Rowling's latest creation, the Tales of Beedle the Bard. I have to admit that I found it delightful and witty! When I was a child, one of my favorite read-aloud books were the Tales of the Brother's Grimm. So many children I meet today have never listened to the classic fairy tales and have never the richness that fairy tales can bring. In Tales of Beedle the Bard, Rowling has blended the richness of the Brother's Grimm with the wisdom of Aesop's fables to create another unique winner. While it probably won't make her the kind of money that the Harry Potter series has done, this book is definitely worth a few pleasurable hours and most definitely a book to share with elementary students! You can easily order by clicking the link below.

Vocabulary Building Ideas

Add a little fun and excitement to your student's lives by helping them learn their vocabulary words in a game format. Run off blank Bingo cards for your class with the "free" space filled in on each card. Provide your students with a list of the vocabulary words you want them to practice and have them write them into the various spots on the Bingo card. Write the definitions to the words on 3x5 index cards. Shuffle the cards and then draw the cards, one by one, reading only the definitions for each vocabulary word. Students must identify the word that matches the definition and cover it on their Bingo card. Play the game until one of the students has their card entirely covered. Students will love it and will beg to play the new vocabulary game.

Motivating Students to Read

I just read about a great idea to get kids excited about reading that I wanted to share today. According to an article in the Washington Post, the Purcellevilla Library in Loudoun County, Virginia has implemented a new program called Paws to Read. In this program, students practice reading their favorite books to specially trained volunteer dogs. According to the article, student interest in reading as well as the growth that naturally comes from more reading has been the benefit. What a great idea and very easy to implement. Kids and dogs naturally bond together so what better partnership than this?

Learn more about teaching reading and building strong fluency skills.