International Literacy Day 2012

This past Saturday was International Literacy Day! Did you know we only have one year left in the United Nations Literacy Decade? Not even – the initiative started January 1, 2003, so we’re down to 3 months and 23 days.  Amazingly, the United States continues to report a 99% literacy rate across the population, yet since 1992 The Nation’s Report Card continues to show that at least one-third of our fourth graders are reading below the Basic level.

“If you can’t play sports or video games or hang out with your friends or watch TV, I guess it’s okay.” A preteen boy, asked what he thinks about reading.

We all know kids spend more and more time in front of the television, video game console, computer, or smart phone instead of picking up a book. Several recent articles, blog posts, and research findings indicate that boys are reading less and less and it’s showing in lower and lower test scores. For almost 20 years now, boys have been underperforming girls on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (The Nation’s Report Card).

Rather than a few more scary statistics or some dismal data, how some suggestions for getting your sons (and daughters!) up and reading this summer?

Today is International Literacy Day – have you taken the time to read to someone today? (“Yourself” counts!)

The main purpose of International Literacy Day is to remind us that literacy and education are extremely important, regardless of where you live.  It highlights the fact that of the almost four billion adults on the planet, over 700 million are considered illiterate. Two-thirds of them are women. In our own country, we know that the literacy rate is considered to be anywhere between 65% and 99% (it depends on the definition of literacy.) And that 99%? That means we’re ranked as the 27^th most literate country in the world, and 1^st is a five way tie between Vatican City, Norway, Liechtenstein, Greenland, and Finland.

Often, as the Reading Specialist at K¹², I’m asked questions by teachers, parents, and colleagues alike about various aspects of reading. Below, a random sample of some of the more recent questions:

Why do I need to teach my Kindergarten/1st grade child Phonics? He/she is already reading.

A strong foundations in phonics isn’t just to support decoding and reading. It also supports encoding, or putting words together, and writing. When kids study phonics, they learn about the structure of English and they learn to decode and encode—to read and to spell. If your child is Kindergarten or 1st grade age and is reading but not spelling, you may find it worth your time to work through the Phonics Work program.

Why is Classic Literature in the lower grades important? Why Fairy Tales instead of Sponge Bob?

K¹² incorporates classic literature throughout the Language Arts program. While I personally believe that any reading is good reading—Sponge Bob included—classic literature helps students build a shared, cultural knowledge base while being exposed to well-crafted stories packed full of opportunities to deepen comprehension and vocabulary.

What’s the difference between reading and comprehension?

If you put 20 reading specialists in a room, you would probably get 20 different definitions of the term “reading.” Think about the first time your child read to you – were they reciting from memory a beloved book an adult read over and over and over again to them? Or were they painstakingly decoding each sound in a short a sentence? Some would say that in both cases, the child was reading, while others would say in the first scenario, the child was “reading” (and they’d probably use air quotes when they said the word reading) and in the second scenario, the child was reading (no air quotes, just heavy emphasis on the word). Still others would say the first child is reciting and the second child is decoding.

I feel like we need Reading-with-a-capital-r to denote “fluently and accurately taking written words off the page and understanding, thinking about, and relating personal experiences or knowledge to those words.” That way, reading-with-a-lower-case-r can just be “getting the words off the page.” Both take a huge amount of effort on the child’s part.

Remember, though, comprehension is the entire point of reading. Comprehension is the key, no matter what your definition of reading may be.

My kindergartener is reading at a 3rd grade level, so why does he have to read the lower grades stuff?

Have you ever read the book, Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia McLachlan? It’s a Newberry Award Winning book from 1986, and it’s very short—only 58 pages. With a Lexile level of 560, it falls at an early 3rd grade level. So could your kindergartner read this book? Sure. Would I recommend it? No, not really. Because those 58 pages tell the story of two children whose mother passed away while the youngest was an infant, and whose father, years later, places an ad in the newspaper for a mail order wife—an ad answered by Sarah from Maine, who describes herself as “plain and tall.” Pretty hefty subject matter for a 5 year old (and for an 8 year old, too—but 8 year olds can better relate to the children in this book).

Recently I read that Catcher in the Rye has been “demoted” (where it isn’t still banned) to 7th and 8th grade reading lists rather than 11th and 12th grade lists. Can 7th and 8th graders decode the words? Most certainly. Can they relate to the 17 year-old protagonist? Less than likely. Your student’s time is better spent on developing a love of literature while reading age-appropriate content, rather than weighing him or her down with heavy themes that tend to accompany upper grade stuff.

My child still reverses letters. When should I worry and what should I do about it?

First and foremost, rest assured that letter reversals are developmentally normal and do not indicate dyslexia. Up through the second grade, letter reversals are common (but not unheard of in older students and harried adults!). With older students, you may want to discuss with them why they’re writing letters backwards—are they in a hurry, are they unsure of the proper formation, and so on. If they don’t see the mistake they’re making, then you may want to have their vision checked as well.

Prevention is the best medicine, and prevention starts with proper letter formation in handwriting instruction. Oh, the horrors of watching a first grade teacher absentmindedly draw (yes, draw, not write) the spelling list on the board and then tell the students to copy it while she talked to another teacher in the hallway. Some poor little beans were having such a hard time figuring out how to copy hastily scribbled, semi-cursive "letters," and literally had no idea they were writing the word bat. Instead, the teacher should have discussed (even as a reminder for the 300th time) the letter formation with the students. Something like “stick, circle,” [b] “circle short stick,” [a] “stick, cross it” [t] as she wrote (wrote!) "bat" on the board would have been exponentially helpful for her struggling readers. Spend the ten minutes a day you need to spend to show students their handwriting activities. Learning the fundamentals is well worth it in the end!

How long do I continue to do read-alouds with my children?

While it’s easier to read aloud to kids who can’t read yet, kids of all ages can benefit from (and enjoy!) a good read aloud. Be sure to check out my previous post on read-alouds.

Happy reading, everyone!

“The fire of literacy is created by the emotional sparks between a child, a book, and the reading.” Mem Fox

As I sat at my desk trying to brainstorm a topic for today’s blog post, the EdWeek Update email dropped into my inbox. Clicking on the link mostly as a procrastination technique, I was taken immediately to an article titled “Reading Aloud to Teens Gains Favor Among Teachers.” Hmm. Didn’t I recently do a Read Aloud session on Elluminate? I wonder if it says the same things I said? (Namely, that you’re never too old to listen to a read-aloud!)

When I started working at K¹², I had come straight from a primary grades teaching position. While I was really interested in this new and seemingly unique approach to education that K¹² was taking, I really missed a few things from my old job: the students, the camaraderie shared with fellow teachers, and, funny enough, reading aloud to my students. I quickly (and accidentally) found a way to fill that void.

K¹²’s first launch was in the fall of 2001, and that meant the summer of 2001 was a jam-packed, high-pressure, insanely intense time for everyone trying to get the best products possible out the door and online. One day during lunch (at my computer, in a cubicle I shared with five [5!] other people), I found myself staring zombie-like at a pile of children’s books. Chomping away on something way unhealthy, I’m sure, I pulled one from the stack and started reading it to myself. I giggled. I read more. I giggled some more. I was slowly breaking out of my stupor. I swiveled around in my chair just as our project manager was coming by with more work details for us. I held up my book and yelled, “Who wants to hear a story?!?” The PM quickly left, and to my surprise returned in a split-second with his sandwich. As he hunkered down on the carpet of our cube, he exclaimed, “ME!” And a summertime, weekly lunch-hour, read-aloud tradition was born. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day was enough to break adults out of the rut they’d worked themselves in to all morning. So was The Math Curse. And Where the Wild Things Are. And The Paper Bag Princess.

The point here is that everyone benefits from a read aloud. Parents, teenagers, tweenagers, kids, toddlers, babies—the payoff list is long when it comes to taking the time to read aloud. Infants bond with the reader, and neural pathways for language are reinforced. Pre-readers learn that there’s a connection between text and print. Early readers are exposed to proper fluency. Readers see the purpose in reading, and often are exposed to comprehension strategies when the person reading aloud starts asking questions about the story as they read. Teenagers and adults have a rare opportunity to sit and listen, to relax and simply enjoy reading. And ultimately, that’s the goal of reading—to enjoy!

I hope that each of you has an opportunity soon to read aloud; to spend enjoyable time with your family, your students, and a good book. I’m including a list of some of my favorite “Read Aloud Resources” that you may find helpful. Happy reading, everyone!
 

On March 2, 1904, Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. We know him as Dr. Seuss, the author of many beloved books such as The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, Horton Hears a Who, and my own personal favorite, There’s a Wocket in My Pocket. If you’re not familiar with There’s a Wocket in My Pocket, it’s full of silly rhymes (“a nureau in my bureau,” “a zable on the table,” “a bofa on the sofa”--how fun to say!) and classic Seussical illustrations. Dr. Seuss’s fantastic body of work has long been used to entice and teach children to read. A Wocket in My Pocket, in fact, was the very first book I ever read on my own.

In 1998, the National Education Association began a reading awareness program, Read Across America, which is celebrated on March 2 of each year. In honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday, children across the country engage a wide variety of reading events. Reading parades, read-a-thons, community reading activities and more, are pretty common in schools and homes all over the country on this day. The Seussville website includes a link to ideas for Read Across America day, as well as lots of other reading ideas, activities, and games.

I hope you and your students are able to take some extra time today to read together and celebrate Read Across America. Happy reading, everyone!

Anybody else love book stores the way my family and I love book stores? You know—you don’t run in just to grab your purchase and get out. You go because it’s an event. You peruse, aisle by aisle, and gather and peruse some more. Eventually your pile is so huge that you must sit down, perhaps enjoy a snack and a beverage while paging through, reading, and deciding. Often times my sister and I would find we picked some of the same titles. In the end, the huge pile has to be returned, albeit reluctantly, and decisions need to be made about what we can live without versus what we need. Always a tough decision.

A book that I bought on one such trip is Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting Children’s Reading Success by the National Research Council. I bought this book the year it was published, right after I had finished all of my requirements for my Master’s program in Reading Education. I was thirsty for anything that would help me apply my new knowledge, and I found it to be very helpful in my then-position as a classroom teacher. It’s something I still rely on today when designing curriculum or presentations for our teachers and learning coaches.

In the 10+ years that have passed since I bought this book, I’ve had dozens (and dozens) of friends and coworkers get married and start families. And for every baby shower I’ve had to attend, I’ve never had a problem wondering what to buy—it’s always this book.

As someone who isn’t a parent, I can’t imagine the feeling of wondering just what one is supposed to do to make sure kids learn everything that they need to learn. Learning to read is a daunting task for anyone, and this book provides information, ideas, and benchmarks for kids from birth through 3rd grade. A final section on preventing reading problems provides a wealth of information that’s not meant to scare parents in to one particular program or another; it’s designed to arm them with the tools they need to help their children succeed. The book is easy to read, and not full of education jargon. Book lists are included as well.

Making sure children know how to read is a passion of mine, and as parents you want to be sure your kids have the one skill that can make all the other content areas accessible to them. And with books such as this one, you don’t need a degree to make sure that happens. Happy reading, everyone!