Guess My Lexile - The Book Whisperer What do Jeff Kinney's popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Ray Bradbury's classic Fahrenheit 451 have in common? What about Gossip Girl: A Novel, Cicely von Ziegesar's catty romance and The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson's 1979 Newbery Honor book? While clear distinctions exist between each book's literary merit, age appropriateness, and reader appeal, these titles possess one similarity--they sit within the same Lexile text complexity band.** Well-meaning educators, concerned about increasing text complexity and reading rigor, engage in this game of "Guess My Lexile" when denouncing the low-reading level of young adult literature, elevating certain titles over others, or dictating book purchases and recommended reading lists. The Lexile Framework for Reading by Metametrix provides quantitative assessment of both students' reading levels and texts' complexity. I have no issue with assessing students' reading levels and identifying text complexity.
Articles - How to be an anti-racist librarian | BfK No. 243 Zoey Dixon suggests ways to make your library anti-racist. Her advice will be useful for everyone, whatever your role. The recent Black Lives Matter protests have shown how many people recognise that systemic racism, and particularly anti-black racism, is rife in everyday life. People are not just angry at the killing of George Floyd, but at the lack of action from industries and organisations that, often unintentionally, uphold and perpetuate the oppression of Black people. In the library profession, 97% of library workers identify as white (2015 ARA/CILIP Workforce Mapping). As children’s librarians, supporting Black people and being anti-racist goes beyond just listening and educating yourself; that is the first step, but it is not enough. Here are some actions you could take, focussing on supporting Black people to create a diverse and inclusive book collection, work environment and community space: 1. 2. 3. In Lambeth, where I work, more than 50% of staff are Black or Asian. 4.
A Closer Look at Reading Incentive Programs Excerpts from Punished by Rewards (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993/1999/2018) By Alfie Kohn All those reading incentive campaigns inflicted on elementary school children across the country provide sobering evidence of just how many parents and educators are trapped by Skinnerian thinking. Consider the following excerpt from a recent article in USA Today: When school let out for the summer, a Philadelphia mother was concerned her 9-year-old son would take a three-month vacation from reading. The article goes on to note that this summer program is similar to others around the country that offer movie parties, zoo passes, and other prizes to children who pick up enough books. “But at least he’s reading now,” Ms. The experience of children in an elementary school class whose teacher introduced an in-class reading-for-reward program can be multiplied hundreds of thousands of times: The rate of book reading increased astronomically . . . Notice what is going on here. …. 5 Barbara A.
What the Research Says: Reading Self-Selected Books for Fun | edu@scholastic Nurturing a love of reading comes naturally when we rely on good research to guide us. On edu@scholastic, we're featuring five important issues related to children's literacy development—and evidence supporting the importance of each one. Today we take on "Reading Self-Selected Books for Fun." The Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report: Fifth Edition confirms what we’ve long known: Independent reading, both at school and at home, builds successful readers. The report adds to the abundant data we’ve had for years that demonstrates that in-school independent reading centered on reading books for fun creates kids who love to read. Some of the first research linking choice to reading pleasure dates back to the 1970s in a report titled They Love to Read by Dr. References: Scholastic Kids & Family Reading ReportTM: Fifth Edition commissioned by Scholastic and conducted by YouGov; 2014.
FYI | Meeting Readers Where They Are: Mapping the intersection of research and practice Meeting Readers Where They Are: Mapping the intersection of research and practice The reading patterns and habits of young and old are changing as reading migrates from the printed page to the computer screen. Now, new forms of expression such as remixes and mash-ups are emerging from interactive digital environments. How can school librarians help students read with understanding in dynamic digital environments? How can they anticipate the help young people need to successfully negotiate new forms of reading? Examining current reading practices—and the underlying research-based beliefs that may or may not guide those practices—can not only help us improve our work today, but it can also help us create future practices. 1. Do we provide enough reading opportunities? While passive activities create interest in reading, and possibly motivation, they are more effective when balanced with active reading through sustained silent reading. 2. 3. Do young people believe they have free choice?
Build a Reading Culture – Pete the Librarian I asked teacher-librarians for their favourite and most effective ideas to build a strong reading culture in schools. The response was overwhelming, and I’ve collated the ideas under six categories: Reading, Events, Programs, Relationships, Students and Environment. Many thanks to everybody who responded with such enthusiasm and generosity. Select an image to open in a new window. Like this: Like Loading...
Thinking Outside the Bin: Why labeling books by reading level disempowers young readers Leveled reading systems are popular in many school districts but are they doing more harm than good? Illustration by James Steinberg A child enters the library, looking for something to read. She wanders the aisles, glancing at book spines, running her finger along the shelf, and lingering at a display of new titles. “Can I help you?” The librarian is engaging in readers’ advisory—matching readers to books. That process is often different from the hunt for “just right” books in classrooms and collections in which books are organized by reading level. In classrooms across the country, reading instruction, assessment, and labeling of material have impacted how people search for and engage with books, sometimes resulting in restricted reading choices—even for independent reading. What’s wrong with “just right” books? Most educators and researchers agree that student choice is a huge part of reading motivation. Leveling the books, or the child? Miller says that this can be very damaging.
Knowledge Quest | AASL Reading communities: why, what and how? Cremin, Teresa (2019). Reading communities: why, what and how? NATE, Primary Matters Magazine. Are you seeking to build a vibrant community of readers in your classroom and/or school? monthly total How School Leaders Can Attend to the Emotional Side of Change “It’s a conservator’s occupation,” Evans said. “Tons of what we do in school are about values that don’t, we hope, change. It’s not just about things that do change.” These tensions inherent to the system mean that what educators most need is not constant change, which can be off-putting and stressful if sustained for too long, but creativity. One of the most difficult things about leading change in schools, according to Evans, is that there often aren’t clear structures to deal with conflict or disagreement. “In school, everything is personal, which is how we want it,” Evans said. Evans draws on the work of Roland Barth, who describes the difference between congeniality and collegiality. “If you take the congenial out of the school, you strip it of all the connective tissue that makes it a decent place to be,” Evans said. But no matter how productively colleagues can disagree or how much they work to improve, schools are only one part of the achievement puzzle.
The Draw-a-Reader Test: Informal Assessment Supporting Teacher Inquiry My department was trying to fill a position in science education and we were interviewing a candidate who had worked extensively with inner-city youth to support their interest in and confidence about science. The job candidate presented a fascinating Powerpoint presentation showing photographs of the summer workshops she facilitated in which girls and boys from economically disadvantaged homes gathered for six weeks in the summer to explore science. To measure the impact of the summer program on children's perceptions of what it meant to be a scientist, the facilitators asked students to take the Draw a Scientist Test (DAST) at the beginning and the end of their summer experience. The DAST was designed "as an open-ended projective test to detect children's perceptions of scientists" (Nuno, 1998) by asking them to draw a picture of a scientist doing science. Other researchers used Chambers' data to develop a checklist of children's stereotypes about scientists (i.e. Next Steps 1. 2. 3.
Enid Blyton slammed by English Heritage as a “racist, sexist, homophobe” | Th... Celebrated children’s author Enid Blyton has been trending on Twitter in Australia after her work was deemed “racist and xenophobic”, according to English Heritage. The Sun reports that an article on English Heritage’s website about the late Famous Five author noted that her work “has been criticised during her lifetime and after for its racism, xenophobia and lack of literary merit”. It noted that her story The Little Black Doll was criticised after “the doll of the title, Sambo, is only accepted by his owner once his ‘ugly black face’ is washed ‘clean’ by rain”. English Heritage also claimed Blyton was rejected by the Royal Mint for commemoration on the 50p coin because she was “a racist, sexist, homophobe and not a very well-regarded writer”. However, the organisation confirmed it has “no plans whatsoever” to remove a blue plaque for Blyton. The author is commemorated with a plaque from the heritage organisation outside her former home in Chessington, southwest London.
How to Find Public Domain and Creative Commons Images In last week's survey of Free Technology for Teachers readersFlickr The Commons, Photos for Class, and Pixabay were chosen as the best places to find public domain and Creative Commons images. All three can be used to find images that can be re-used in a variety of presentation formats. The videos embedded below provide an overview of how to use each image source. Pixabay hosts high quality public domain images. Photos for Class is a free site that helps students find Creative Commons licensed images. You can put the the Photos for Class search engine in your own blog or website. Flickr The Commons hosts images from libraries and museums around the world.
Research supporting a focus on independent reading for students by tforrest Nov 13