American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults | Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) YALSA launched a Teen Book Finder Database, a one-stop shop for finding YALSA's selected lists and award winners. Search this free resource by award, list name, year, author, genre and more, as well as print customizable lists. This replaces the individual award and list web pages on YALSA’s site that are not searchable and that are organized only by year. YALSA's Award for Excellence in Nonfiction honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a Nov. 1 – Oct. 31 publishing year. The winner is announced annually at the ALA Youth Media Awards, with a shortlist of up to five titles named the first week of December. Suggest a Title Current Winner & Finalists Official Nomination Lists Previous Winners Policies and Procedures Committee Contacts Seals Teen Book Finder App & Database 2020 Winner Free Lunch, written by Rex Ogle and published by Norton Young Readers, an imprint of W.W. 2020 Finalists 2020 Committee Looking for more Nonfiction? Previous Winners
What is Close Reading? The common core standards are encouraging teachers to engage students in close reading. Much of the focus of discussions of close reading have emphasized what teachers should not do (in terms of pre-reading, or types of questions). I am being asked with increasing frequency what close reading is. Close reading requires a substantial emphasis on readers figuring out a high quality text. However, close reading requires that one go further than this. Finally, with the information gleaned from the first two readings, a reader is ready to carry out a third reading—going even deeper. Thus, close reading is an intensive analysis of a text in order to come to terms with what it says, how it says it, and what it means. Should I give the students a preview of a text? No, you probably should not, but it is not unreasonable to have students do their own look over, allowing them to get the lay of the land. Is it okay to set a purpose for student reading?
Book Reviews | VOYA Nonfiction Monday – Rounding up the best nonfiction for children and teens At Wrapped in Foil blog today we are highlighting Plants on the Move by Émilie Vast . There are many children’s books about plant and seed movement, but this one is certainly unique. In a lot of ways it is from a plant’s viewpoint. As the blurb on the back says: Have you ever bent down to take a closer look, perhaps thinking that we don’t ever go anywhere? The text is well-organized and informative. The Illustrations are otherworldly and mesmerizing. Plants on the Move is a fantastic resource. Be sure to visit Wrapped in Foil blog for activity suggestions and more information. Copyright © 2021 Roberta Gibson All Rights Reserved.
Five close reading strategies to support the Common Core I walked in to my first college class, Political Science 101, eager to learn. For my inaugural college assignment, my professor asked the class to read the first three chapters of the textbook for the next class period. That night, I returned to my dorm room, determined to learn everything I could in those three chapters. However, when I opened my textbook it was unlike anything I had read in high school. I shrugged, pulled out my highlighter and started highlighting. I quickly realized that I had no real game plan for reading this complicated textbook. Flash forward to my first few years of teaching. While this method may have been slightly more effective than what I used that first day of college, it was still too vague and ambiguous for my students. Last fall, I attended an AVID workshop about critical reading strategies. 1. The Common Core asks students to be able to cite and refer to the text. 2. 3. Telling students to simply underline “the important stuff” is too vague. 4. 5.
Blog - Pat Mora Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a 17th century nun who devoted her life to writing and learning and words. Though she died in 1695, Sor Juana Inés is still considered one of the most brilliant writers in Mexico’s history: her poetry is recited by schoolchildren throughout Mexico and is studied at schools and universities around the world. Original cover Pat’s story about the life of Sor Juana, A Library for Juana: The World of Sor Juana Inés, was first published in 2002, with illustrations by Beatriz Vidal, and won the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award from Southwest Texas State University. Here’s what the review journals had to say about the book: “Mora’s beautifully crafted text does credit to its subject, following her from birth to death…an exceptional introduction to an exceptional woman, and would enhance any collection.” 2019 cover Briefly out of print, it has been reissued in both English and Spanish editions by Lee & Low Books with a new cover! You rose on your words,
Finalists for 2019 Young Adult Science Book Award Announced — AAAS/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science Books Built: The Hidden Stories Behind Our Structures, by Roma Agrawal. Bloomsbury. 2018.Built is an informative, entertaining, well-organized, and easily understandable journey through the history of a variety of engineering projects from around the world. It’s all of this as well as an engaging and inspirational personal encounter with an articulate woman structural engineer.Chasing New Horizons: Inside the Epic First Mission to Pluto, by Alan Stern and David Grinspoon. Picador. 2018.Chasing New Horizons is the story of the men and women behind the Pluto mission: of their decades-long commitment and persistence; of the political fights within and outside of NASA; of the sheer human ingenuity it took to design, build, and fly the mission; and of the plans for New Horizons’ next encounter, 1 billion miles past Pluto in 2019.Rocket Men: The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man's First Journey to the Moon, by Robert Kurson.
What the Kardashians Taught Me About Reading Instruction (No, For Real) - The Book Whisperer I don't watch the Kardashians and I admit that I cannot tell them apart. Thankfully, my colleague, Christopher Lehman, found a way to connect the reality TV family with my passion for reading. I hope you enjoy Chris's humorous and insightful guest post! Christopher Lehman (@iChrisLehman) is an author, a speaker, and a lead staff developer with the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University. What the Kardashians Taught Me About Reading Instruction (No, For Real)by Christopher Lehman This all started on Twitter when Donalyn, I and a few friends somehow got on the topic of the Kardashians. Which got me to thinking--and please follow me on this one--we could learn a lot about reading instruction from this particular reality TV family. Brand Yourself as a Reader, So Your Students Will Emulate Kim Kardashian is on television, social media, billboards, magazines, ads on sides of buses, even Oprah. So this year, brand yourself as a reader: Have a predictable opening line.