Literacy Now

President Obama’s ConnectED Initiative has taken full flight in Huntsville City Schools as our district continues the 1:1 learning journey into year two of digital learning. Moving to a 1:1 digital learning environment has invited educators into the world of today's students and closes the digital divide for those who are less fortunate, the real reason why it was necessary for Huntsville City Schools to embrace the task of becoming pioneers in education when we ventured into the world of digital learning. I'd been an educator for over 25 years when we took on this challenge. I fully understood the necessity of becoming a digital school district, particularly with our commitment to remove the stigma of a desegregation order that had been the district’s reality for decades. Providing students the opportunity to access their world-class curriculum and willingly participate in online learning twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week was the right thing to do to begin closing the digital divide for our more than 24,000 students.

I have an opportunity to view digital curriculum in action, both as the person responsible for the district-wide implementation and as a parent. It is the latter that brings me the greatest rewards. My two children have always been exposed to laptops, iPads, and cellular devices. Since their early tween years, they were always connected and used technology in more informal ways, primarily networking and communicating with their friends and peers via MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. As a parent I was okay with this interaction, but often wondered how much 'real' learning was taking place. I was excited when the opportunity for real learning with technology took root through access to a 1:1 digital curriculum in Huntsville City Schools.

Life in my household has changed as a result of the 1:1 Learning Initiative in Huntsville City Schools. My daughter, who is a student in the district, allows us to see a piece of her world daily when she brings her school issued laptop home bearing her core curriculum, online assignments via Edmodo, and access to an online tutorial when she struggles with a concept. Students in a digital environment learn very differently than what was provided through a traditional education. Parents are also impacted in this environment as we navigate Edmodo to monitor student assignments and stay abreast of the latest classroom assignments.

The true impact of 1:1 digital learning came alive for me when I agreed to watch 3 children ages 8, 13, and 16 on a Saturday afternoon. These students, who are also Huntsville City Schools students, entered my home with their laptops and they remained engaged on the laptop for many hours. When I summoned them to the dinner table, they joined my husband and me grudgingly as they wanted to continue the tasks on the computer. They immediately returned to their computers and remained engaged until they went home. This was a new experience for me as I’m accustomed to being very involved with children when they are at my home. These children required very little interaction and were able to explain what they were learning when the teacher in me just had to ask. The children went on to tell me that they didn’t go anywhere without the computer and they were able to constantly learn, even on the internet connected bus ride home each day.

Digital 1:1 learning is clearly one way to engage students while providing ubiquitous learning experiences for children who have spent most of their lives connected. It requires traditional educators to adapt to becoming facilitators of learning as students become exposed to a world that is constantly changing and providing limitless opportunities for them to take charge of their own learning.

Dr. Barbara Cooper has been a public school educator for over 20 years. She has served in many roles as an educator including teacher, assistant principal, principal, director and chief.  Dr. Cooper has received many awards for her contributions in education, and for her commitment to equality and social justice.  Most recently she received a Civility and Citizenship Award.  She was also the recipient of a Cornerstone Educator Award where she was designated “Educator Leader of the Year.” She currently serves as the Deputy Superintendent for Huntsville City Schools (HCS). 

p: nanagyei via photopin cc

No matter how much some individuals might like things to stay the same, the world keeps on changing. Some of those changes are small and start with one individual who wants to make personal changes while others are more sweeping, heralding an adjustment in how we move from place to place or how society treats groups of people. The wheels of change often move quickly, as when the nation was united through railroad tracks that crisscross its heartland.

Although it may be a platitude, change is, indeed, inevitable, and this week’s reviews from members of the Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group examine change from several perspectives. ReadWriteThink provides a reminder that change can even relate to writing and revising. The website offers lesson ideas like “How to Revise and Edit” and “Collaborative Stories” that teachers may find helpful. “Prompting Revision through Modeling and Written Conversations” and “Inferring How and Why Characters Change” offer additional ideas for using the concept of change in reading assignments.

GRADES K-3

Casanova, Mary. (2013). One-dog sleigh. Illus. by Ard Hoyt. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

The narrator hitches up her sleigh and sets off on what she expects to be a quiet ride through the snow with her pony. But change is afoot in the form of several animals who would like to be passengers in her vehicle. One by one, several animals, including her dog, a squirrel, an owl, a lynx, and several other woodland creatures climb aboard. When the weight of all of them makes it difficult for the sleigh to move, they jump out and push it to the stop before climbing on again for a wild ride. Young readers will enjoy the rhyming text, which makes this one a perfect read-aloud title, and the colorful, action-filled illustrations that show exactly what happens when that sleigh heads down that hill with all the animals in tow. This humorous story is sure to entice just about anyone to change into outdoor clothing and head out on a sleigh ride right away.

— Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Cooper, Elisha. (2013). Train. New York, NY: Scholastic, Inc./Orchard Books.

Beautiful language coupled with stunning pictures make this book about trains an invitation to climb aboard and head off on a journey. Cooper has presented a look at many different kinds of trains and travel. First, he starts with the red-striped commuter train that leaves the city as it passes little towns as the train whizzes by. Then, he offers a look at passenger trains, and from Grand Central Station, a freight train leaves, filled with all kinds of cargo traveling to distant places. An overnight train chugs its way across the country and over the Rocky Mountains. Finally, a bullet-shaped high-speed train takes its passengers on to the big cities of the west coast.

Cooper repeats the phrase, “passengers on, passengers off” throughout the various legs of the journey and provides beautiful vistas and interior views of the different types of trains. Each ride or train brings new experiences for young readers. Teachers may want to read more about the creation of this book with an interview at the blog, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast.

— Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Frasier, Debra. (2013). Spike: Ugliest dog in the universe. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster/Beach Lane Books.

Change may come through a simple act of kindness and the addition of an animal to the household. In the case of this story, no dog could be more deserving of a loving family. After Spike wins the Ugliest Dog in the Universe contest, his owner abandons him. But Joe, the kind-hearted boy next door, is able to see beneath Spike's unattractive surface into his heart, and he begs his mother to let Spike join their family. Trying to impress her, Spike follows the advice from Evangeline, a fancy cat who lives nearby. He is as quiet and as obedient as it is possible for a canine to be. But it will take Spike's heroic efforts to thwart a cat theft to convince Joe’s mother that Spike needs a home of his own — theirs.

Spike really takes a bite out of crime in his neighborhood. This touching story focuses on the all-too-real problem of humans casually leaving their pets behind when it suits them. Not only does the story tug at the heartstrings, but the illustrations, created with Cansons papers, used clothing, and worn parts of 129 pairs of blue jeans, are fascinating.

— Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Garland, Michael. (2013). Car goes far. New York, NY: Holiday House.

Designed for early readers, this book features opening papers with an aerial view of Car sitting in the driveway, ready for an adventure. As the picture swoops down to the driveway, Car’s headlights are seen as eyes and the front grille is a smile.

Ready to go! As the drive begins, though, everyday happenings occur along the way, starting when a truck splashes mud all over Car, and then an egg truck coughs gray smoke into a moving cloud. Finally, pigeons fly by and do what pigeons often do when overhead. Car is ready for a good wash, and quickly heads
off to the soap and suds for a good cleaning. This delightful car ride told in simple language is a treat for emerging readers. Teachers will enjoy printing the flashcards from the publisher’s website that go with this book.

— Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Hillenbrand, Will. (2013). Off we go: A Bear and Mole story. New York, NY: Holiday House.

This is Hillenbrand’s third adventure with good friends, Bear and Mole. This time patient Bear is teaching Mole to ride a bike, and they begin by taking off the training wheels. Fastening on his safety helmet, Mole is ready for takeoff. Bear pats his friend on the back for good luck, and Mole begins his wobbly first attempt that ends in a crash landing with leaves flying and little critters fleeing. Mole is crying and discouraged, but Bear is there to help him try again.

The second attempt is a success, and Mole gains speed and confidence as he zooms away, just in time for the Storymobile. This promises to be a great read aloud, and Hillenbrand has painted wonderful expressions on the faces of characters and used language that will keep young listeners engaged and laughing, bringing to mind their first, or yet to be, attempts at riding a bike alone. Will Hillenbrand has created a 6-minute video on the work behind this book that includes a short video of his son learning to ride a bike. Young readers will get a look at the behind-the-scenes work of an author/illustrator.

— Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Judge, Lita. (2013). How big were dinosaurs? New York, NY: Macmillan/Roaring Brook Press.

Dinosaurs roam the pages of this picture book, which puts the lie to the notion that all dinosaurs were enormous in size and lived in similar habitats. What many readers think they know about dinosaurs dies hard, but Judge provides compelling evidence that much of what has been assumed to be the case is not actually so. Because the author/illustrator juxtaposes different types of dinosaurs against animals with which most readers will be familiar, it's easy to see that dinosaurs varied in size. For instance, the Microraptor was slightly smaller than a chicken, and the Leaellynasaura was only two feet tall and lived near the South Pole.

The book also makes it clear that size didn't necessarily translate into brain capacity or smarts; for instance, the Stegosaurus, which weighed about as much as three cows, had a walnut-size brain. The facts and comparisons come fast and furious in this picture book, which concludes with information about how scientists use fossils to help them make conjectures about the appearance of dinosaurs. The softly-colored illustrations enable readers to compare the different animals while looking at them carefully. At the end of the book, four pages fold out to reveal all the dinosaurs and modern animals featured in the book and allow young readers to size them up. This is another exceptional title from Lita Judge, who answers the title question, "How Big Were Dinosaurs?" by saying, "Not as big as you thought they were."

— Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Macdonald, Ross. (2013). Henry’s hand. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams.

As this hilariously quirky cautionary tale proves, it is never a good idea to take your friends for granted, since you will surely miss them when they’re gone. Henry, a giant, often loses body parts. It just so happens that his right hand is his best friend. They do everything together, but after Hand begins to feel used, he leaves Henry behind. Things aren’t easy for Hand at first, and he struggles to survive on the street. But fortune smiles on Hand when he happens to be at the right place at the right time once he arrives in the city. After saving the life of a wealthy businessman, he ends up living a life of luxury amid a great deal of acclaim. He even has employees who answer his fan mail. When he receives Henry's letter of apology, Hand decides to go home since he misses his friend so much. A terrific reminder about friendship, the book is filled with lovely watercolor and pencil crayon illustrations that pay tribute to a most unusual friendship and a bond that seems likely to last.

— Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Rinker, Sherri Duskey. (2013). Steam train, dream train. Illus. by Tom Lichtenheld. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Using dark jewel tones to represent the night, the steam train, “Through the darkness, clickety-clack… /coming closer, down the track … /hold your breath so you can hear /huffing, chuffing drawing near” (unpaged) arrives at the station. All the workers are there to greet the train and begin their work. Told in clever rhyming text, the story shows how each animal is well matched for its task. Monkeys juggle many items in addition to loading the monkey bars, rabbits bounce into the open door with their pogo sticks, the giraffe works the front loader with its tall neck, while the kangaroos bounce balls into the next awaiting train car.

Filled with action words and action pictures, the night train is loaded. When the job is done, the crew put themselves to bed on the flatcars, and the train moves through the night. The precious last picture perfectly ends the dream train journey as readers see a small boy asleep in bed with his train set on the floor beside him. Readers may enjoy a wordless book trailer produced by the publisher.  Watch for new downloadable activities at the author’s website.

— Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

GRADES 4-6

Floca, Brian. (2013). Locomotive.  New York, NY: Simon & Schuster/Atheneum Book for Young Readers.

From end paper, title page, to page one, and on to the last end paper, this beautifully designed book is a train-lover’s delight from start to finish. The front endpapers tell the story of the building of the Transcontinental Railroad so that the story within the pages shares the journey of an unnamed family traveling in 1869 all the way from Omaha, Nebraska to San Francisco, California. Told in poetic prose, the book immerses readers in the trip with sounds, colors, and images of train travel in those early days. The use of a wide variety, size, and style of fonts adds to the kinetic feel of the journey.

Floca takes reader/passengers from the engine to the caboose. The jobs of the conductor, the engineer, the coal man, and the newspaper boy are visible. Readers will travel with the passengers as they get on and off at different towns, stop for a bite of food, explore parts of the train and watch the towns of America fly by. Detailed notes on the history of the locomotive add further historical background to this visual narrative of early trains. Teachers can use 3 short videos of the author talking about the book. They can also read an interesting interview from Publisher’s Weekly  with authors Brian Floca and Elisha Cooper as they discuss their new books, both entitled, Train. A detailed CCSS guide can be found at Brian Floca’s website.

— Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Mulder, Michelle. (2013). Pedal it!: How bicycles are changing the world.  Olympia, WA: Orca Book Publishers.

The international focus, the wonderful photographs, the informative sidebars, and the author’s enthusiasm for bicycles all make this a fascinating look at bikes, from boneshakers and high-wheels, to sprockets and gears, to all the things a bicycle can do that most people never imagined. Starting with the history of bicycles and their construction, maintenance, and use, the author discusses the evolution of the bicycle through today’s aerodynamic designs. Learning to ride a bike is also explained.

The author shares vignettes of stories and her many, many bicycle sightings around the world. Actually, she explains not just sightings, but how important bicycles are in meeting a large number of countries’ economics and transportation needs. In addition to the health benefits of pedaling, the author describes how bicycles are helpful as ambulances, or taxis, or basket-filled couriers of all kinds of food and trade goods. For bike-lovers young and old, the book will appeal to a wide audience who will enjoy this colorful and informative history and explanation of the wonders of bicycling. ReadWriteThink offers a lesson idea entitled: “Our Classroom: Writing an Owner’s Manual.” Visit the author’s website and learn about her Skype visits to classrooms. The publisher’s website offers CCSS connections for this book.

— Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

GRADES 7-8

Anderson, T. Neill. (2013). City of the dead: Galveston hurricane, 1900. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Publishers.

As today’s news is full of the recent devastation in the Philippines, another disaster in American history is remembered. Considered the deadliest storm in U.S. history, the 1900 hurricane that slammed onto the Texas coastline in the Gulf of Mexico changed the landscape of Galveston forever. The island city of Galveston was one of the biggest ports in the United States a hundred years ago. Over 6,000 people were killed, and some estimates report 8,000 deaths on that day on September 8, 1900. The water rose so suddenly that many people were trapped in collapsing buildings while high winds thought to be around 120 miles an hour whisked debris and bodies everywhere.

Author T. Neill Anderson has created an amazing book of historical fiction based on actual accounts using oral histories, letters, interviews and records from Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word as he recounts what it must have been like that horrible day. Black and white photographs add to the disastrous fact-based storyline. This fast-paced narrative depicting several points of view will appeal to middle and high school readers.

— Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

Gantos, Jack. (2013). From Norvelt to nowhere. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

As twelve-year-old Jack Gantos and his parents prepare to leave the town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania behind for a move to Florida, the town's serial killer strikes again. This time, he (or she) poisons Mrs. Custard on Halloween. Jack has the bright idea of dressing up like Spizz, the presumed murderer of all those elderly women in the previous title, Dead End in Norvelt (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2011). Needless to say, his costume does not go over well. When Eleanor Roosevelt, the town's founder, dies, Miss Volker needs Jack's assistance and makes a pilgrimage to her heroine’s grave site. Their journey, by train and car, takes them through Miss Volker's hometown of Rugby, Tennessee, on their way to Florida where she plans to catch the villain responsible for all those Norvelt deaths.

Readers may especially enjoy the bits of history sprinkled throughout the book as Miss Norvelt writes Eleanor's obituary, but the increasingly eccentric and abusive behavior of Miss Volker herself may wear thin quickly. Still, laughing most of the way, readers will willingly follow Jack and Miss Volker to the end of the line and the changes that await them there. The book is an excellent reminder of the complexity of human beings, whether they are actual historical figures such as presidents or fictional ones such as Miss Volker.

— Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Kinney, Jeff. (2013). Diary of a wimpy kid: Hard luck. New York, NY: Abrams/Amulet Books.

With the Diary of a Wimpy Kid craze showing no signs of dissipating, the latest title offers fans another slice of Greg Heffley’s life. Things aren't going very well for Greg; in fact, his life might be summed up as the lines in a country song: "If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all." Clearly, something needs to change. He and best friend Rowley barely have time for each other since Rowley spends all his time with his new girlfriend Abigail, and Greg can't seem to find anyone else to hang out with at school. He considers joining clubs and befriending someone else and even gets involved in the yearbook, but still, he can’t find a good friend or change his luck.

Various amusing vignettes about Greg’s family, including his aunts and cousins, are threaded into the narrative. When Greg finds a Magic 8 Ball, he decides to let it determine his future actions. Of course, with its vague responses, this leads to many problems. Although the book is hilarious at many points, it also has a serious side as Greg happens upon evidence that changes how he regarded his childhood. Those who are sure that this author/illustrator has run out of things to say might as well prepare for more ruminations from the Wimpy Kid since Jeff Kinney continues to rely on Greg's family history for rich material. Here’s hoping the popular series never ends.

— Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Thimmesh, Catherine. (2013). Scaly spotted feathered frilled: How do we know what dinosaurs really looked like? Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers.

Readers will be mesmerized by this informative text that’s likely to change what you know about dinosaurs and how they are studied. Anyone interested in the ancient creatures will be fascinated by this title. Accompanied by colorful illustrations from paleoartists who rely on fossils and accompanying evidence to flesh out what dinosaurs might have looked like, the text describes how today's scientists and artists have revised early ideas about the likely appearances of dinosaurs. While much of their work is still only conjecture, it is closer to what the truth might have been than the first renditions of dinosaurs. Most intriguingly, the author recounts how some of the artists eventually decided to incorporate feathers in many of the dinosaurs they replicated as they began to recognize the connection between birds and dinosaurs. This is mesmerizing and opinion-altering stuff, especially since there is no way to know just how accurate any of the artists’ depictions are. 

— Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Westrick, Anne. (2013). Brotherhood. New York: Viking/Penguin Group.

Things changed after the Civil War, especially in the south. The setting is 1867 in Richmond, Virginia. Reconstruction is underway, carpetbaggers have moved in and Yankee soldiers are stationed to restore peace and oversee the rebuilding of the city. Shadrach has lost his father to the war, as did many other children and families in the south. His older brother Jeremiah is still fighting the war, and his hatred of the Yankees steers him into joining a new organization that pledges to help Confederate war widows. They take the name of Ku Klux Klan. Shad follows his brother one night and unwittingly becomes part of the Klan. However, Shad has not only become friends with a young educated Negro girl, but she has also offered to teach him to read if he will teach her colored students the trade of sewing like Shad’s family’s tailoring business.

Readers will recognize that Shad is dyslexic and has never been able to learn to read, and he is desperate to do so. The bargain he makes with Rachel is costly. As Klan activities swell to deadly heights, the inner turmoil in Shad and the changing landscape of the South and the newly freed slaves make for a clash in the minds of many people as Shad tries to sort out right from wrong. The author provides a detailed discussion guide at her website. Teachers might like to use the ReadWriteThink lesson plan idea, “Using Historical Fiction to Learn About the Civil War.”  Pair this book with Susan Campbell Bartoletti’s They Called Themselves the KKK: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010).

— Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant

GRADES 9-12

Clark, Kristin Elizabeth. (2013). Freakboy. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

This important book, a novel in verse, covers territory that has rarely been explored in literature for teens—gender variance. Told from three points of view, those of Brendan Chase, a wrestler and top student who realizes that he may be transsexual; Vanessa, his girlfriend who has forsaken all her other friends for him; and Angel, who volunteers at a center for LGBTQ teens, the book explores the life experiences and emotions of all three main characters as their lives intersect. All three main characters are likeable, and readers will hope for a happy ending to the story while also knowing that having such a happy ending isn't likely. The author makes it clear just how hard it is for Brendan to accept himself and his burgeoning desire to feel like a woman, and even if he does, how difficult it may be to gain the acceptance and understanding of others.

Those who like to put individuals into tidy little boxes will find this book disconcerting as its characters defy easy classification. Brendan, for instance, enjoys sex with Vanessa while also fantasizing about having soft skin and long, feminine hair and wearing female undergarments. When his best friend bursts into Brendan’s room while he is wearing the bra he purchased at Victoria’s Secret, Brendan knows that his life will be changed forever. Reading the book may open the minds of those who would judge Brendan harshly, while reminding many readers that gender is not dependent on the sex organs with which individuals are born. This one should generate a lot of discussion—and maybe encourage changes in attitudes toward those like Brendan.

— Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

These reviews are submitted by members of the International Reading Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) and are published weekly on Reading Today Online. The International Reading Association partners with the National Council of Teachers of English and Verizon Thinkfinity to produce ReadWriteThink.org, a website devoted to providing literacy instruction and interactive resources for grades K–12.

Classroom practices are constantly changing. From loose-leaf paper and no. 2 pencils, to iPads and gaming apps, it’s important that teachers are evolving with the times and instructing children in ways that are conducive to their individual learning styles. Students who are uninterested and unmotivated have impacted us all. Imagine using those children’s keenest interests to develop literacy skills and motivate reading more frequently—all while engaging with peers and having fun.

p: aperturismo via photopin cc

Reading failure is a serious national problem. More than 50 percent of children in affluent homes and 80 percent of children in less affluent homes are not reading proficiently. Reading drops off significantly after age nine. Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of dollars are spent each year to focus on the act of reading, with little impact on improving the issue. The issue is tied directly to the underlying motivation to read, rather than a student’s ability to read.

Motivation is the gas that fuels a child’s educational engine. Although digital learning technology has become more prevalent in the 21st century classroom—enabling kids to be more engaged—there are few platforms today that help children derive knowledge from what they find interesting. If intrigued by the material, children will conquer a major barrier to reading development. Providing reading and learning methods that include students’ keenest interests plays a significant role in empowering them to become confident, life-long readers.

Teachers often ask me, “What do you do to keep them interested?” I respond by telling teachers they need to get to know their students and learn their interests first. I’ll never forget a little boy that was like a statue in my classroom. Once I was able to get him talking about his bicycle, and more specifically, its new fenders, it was like a switch turned on. He was finally engaged.  

Understanding learning styles and tying the lessons to the child’s interests is also important. There isn’t one universal teaching or learning method, of course. But in the modern classroom, digital games are a powerful platform for motivating student learning because they are directly tied to students’ interests. Not only does edu-gaming help children embrace knowledge and improve critical thinking abilities, but it also plays a significant role in developing social skills. In fact, playing the right games can offer these educational benefits. Despite the naysayers’ opinions, playing video games will not rot your students’ brains.

Education is not only about teaching workplace skills; it’s also about teaching kids to understand culture and vital concepts, such as supply and demand. When playing Minecraft or Clash of Clans, for example, kids have to earn available supplies within the game for survival. Kids also learn about teamwork and cause and effect. Today, edu-gaming can provide these lessons and are more than simple forms of entertainment. Kids use their imaginations, employ problem-solving strategies to overcome obstacles and practice social skills through online and offline interactions with other gamers. In essence, gaming teaches important life skills that kids can easily pick up on.

While playing games of all kinds, children get a desire to tackle obstacles that are challenging, but achievable. This feeling of success prompts the children to play the game again. A game-based approach to teaching incorporates reading, writing and mathematics in a fun and meaningful

Using writing materials—or even tactile items such as noodles and pipe cleaners—to make words can be effective for reading comprehension, but these “old school” methods are often being replaced with technology. Still, technology alone is not the answer. When paired with a child’s interests and learning styles to drive reading proficiency, technological solutions are an effective way to engage children. This, in turn, motivates frequency and generates positive outcomes. If we help build children’s knowledge through what they are engaged in and enjoy, we will see results.

Incorporating games into your classroom

Engaging kids using educational games in the classroom encourages them to reason and perform like problem solvers. In addition, critical thinking and strategizing skills are used to expand student-learning opportunities beyond the classroom. With a decrease in school funding, providing devices for all students continues to be very difficult. However, allowing students to BYOD or Bring Your Own Device—a constant in my elementary classrooms—provided students an engaging channel for their independent study. An e-reader had incredible impact on one of my third graders. She struggled with reading from the beginning and rarely picked up a book in class. However, once she received an e-reader during the holidays, she would read every chance she got. Her favorite reading materials were immediately accessible, and what she used to view as a daunting task seemed minimal, as she could read one screen at a time. By allowing today’s kids to use these innovative tools, their deepest interests are piqued and their needs are met.

Building digital literacy using educational games also creates a much needed, differentiated-learning environment. Educational technologies can transform a scholastic environment by making learning personalized to each student’s individual style. Incorporating educational games through all mediums as a daily routine enriches the curriculum already in place and helps the educator teach the way today’s kids want to learn.

Lindsey Hill is a two-time Elementary Teacher of the Year honoree and former teacher of 14 years. She now oversees Reading Engagement Innovation at Evanced Solutions, LLC and explores current trends in reading innovation to aid in the development of solutions that increase reading proficiencies among our youth.

With expanding understandings of literacy based in multiliteracies necessary for the 21st century, ELA teachers must support students in an increasingly wide variety of skill sets. As a middle school ELA teacher, I have felt overwhelmed when considering how to meet the real needs of students.

Giving our Students What They Deserve

According to the International Reading Association’s position statement on Adolescent Literacy (2012), adolescents deserve:

• content area teachers who provide instruction in the multiple literacy strategies needed to meet the demands of the specific discipline.
• access to and instruction with multimodal, multiple texts.
• differentiated literacy instruction specific to their individual needs.
• opportunities to participate in oral communication when they engage in literacy activities.
• access to a wide variety of print and nonprint materials.

These are a lot of needs to be met by one English Language Arts teacher. With the emphasis on multiliteracies and expert instruction we should access the support and guidance of our colleagues to truly allow students to explore literacies in the 21st century.

Providing Access to Multimodal Texts

Multimodal texts are sophisticated and require a range of expertise on the part of the teacher to fully facilitate quality reading, response and composition by students. Educators must be proactive, seek help and supports, and work to meet our students’ needs. Specifically, seeking new instructional models that support integrating the Internet, information communication technologies (ICTs) and multimodal literacies are requirements for effective classroom teaching (International Reading Assocation, 2009).

Motivated by both the needs of my students and a sense of self-preservation, I sought help from my school’s Library and Media Specialist, Katie. Over the course of one year, we collaborated on major units covered in my ELA classroom. This allowed for a depth and breadth of multimodal work that would not have been possible without co-teaching.

Collaborative Teaching

Greg Conderman (2011) provides a guide for effectively integrating co-teaching into your classroom:

• Discuss pedagogical and philosophical views on teaching to avoid conflict.
• Chart expertise in order to employ each teacher’s strengths.
• Layout specific goals to guide instruction.
• Take time for co-planning.
• Employ a range of co-teaching methods.

Katie and I were able to follow these guidelines to support students in a range of units because we created space in both of our classrooms to co-teach. I saw students for 90 minutes daily. Katie had Library Class one day a week for 45 minutes. We decided to use Katie’s Library class and an additional 45 minutes once a week in my ELA class for co-taught time. Combining our classes in this way required us to combine specific content goals. 

Each of us brought different expertise to the classroom. Katie took time to be sure our units included authentic research goals and guided mini-lessons on a range of computer software, Web 2.0 tools and other ICTs. I emphasized literacy and composition skills and choose appropriate texts. Together we planned units that met these broad goals as well as more specific ones necessary to meet curricular goals and benchmarks. In co-planning we negotiated these goals and focused on integrating appropriate texts, tools, and skill sets into our classroom.

Our Sixth Grade Greek Mythology Unit

In sixth grade students at my school immerse themselves in studies of ancient Greece. In my ELA classroom we focus on mythology. Katie and I developed a unit that we hoped would give students the opportunity to:

• Develop a range of writing skills (outlining, summarizing, research, script, and narrative writing)
• Research authentically in following a research question to its natural conclusion by using online texts such as databases, websites, news sources, etc.
• Read online using online reading skills and critically evaluate online texts to determine authority, usefulness, and bias
• Compose digital and dramatic multimodal texts

In order to meet the goals we set forth in our co-taught classroom we realized we would use all of our co-taught class time and some of my ELA class time. In total the unit described below took us five weeks from start to finish.

Visual Commentary on a VoiceThread

After an introduction to Greek mythology through a PowerPoint presentation and myth reading, students chose a mythological figure that fascinated them. Then we worked in ELA class to develop research questions about that figure. Next, Katie began mini-lessons on research tools while we also worked on how to “be” researchers. As they researched students created outlines using Microsoft Word and compiled a reference list of both text and image sources. As they researched on the Internet we both conducted lessons on reading and critically evaluating online texts.

The culminating phase of the unit was the creation of a VoiceThread, a Web 2.0 presentation tool that includes images, documents, and pre-recorded written, audio and visual commentary by the presenter. Based on their individual research, we gave mini-lessons that supported students in determining and ordering appropriate images and documents, writing a script of their commentary and choosing which type of commentary was appropriate for a given slide. I then gave mini-lessons on narrative monologues while students wrote their own from the perspective of the mythological figure and designed costumes. Finally, we invited family and friends to watch our monologues and VoiceThreads at “Greek Fest.”

Written Commentary on a VoiceThread

A combination of our individual expertise and goals centered on multiliteracies made this unit as rich and sophisticated as possible. Choosing to work with Katie allowed me to meet the real needs of my students. We owe it to our students to reach out for help to meet the complicated goals of multiliteracies necessary to the world in which students live.

References

Conderman, G. (2011). Middle school co-teaching: Effective practices and student reflections. Middle School Journal, 42 (4), 24-31.

International Reading Association (2012). Adolescent literacy: A position statement of the international reading association. Retrieved from
/Libraries/resources/ps1079_adolescentliteracy_rev2012.pdf

International Reading Association (2009). New literacies and 21st century technologies. Retrieved from /Libraries/position-statements-and-resolutions/ps1067_NewLiteracies21stCentury.pdf

Alexandra Panos is a former middle school Language Arts teacher and current doctoral student at Indiana University in the Literacy, Culture and Language Education Department.

This article is part of a series from the International Reading Association Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group (TILE-SIG).

"But Daddy, I can't read the words.”

This statement stopped me dead in my tracks. My daughter, Zoe, was three years old. It was bedtime and I was in her doorway, about to close the door. She had slept with a book every single night since it was safe to leave objects in her crib, and since she graduated to her big-girl bed, it was a nightly tradition for her to select a few titles to sleep with. This sudden insecurity was a make-or-break moment for me as a father. Even though we had been reading three to five picture books per day since her birth, Zoe's reading life could be unraveled by my response.

I sat on the edge of her bed and told her, “You can read the pictures, and the pictures tell the story as well.”  Her face filled with a newfound confidence. Her dad was right; through the illustrations she was able to read the book and follow the story. I pulled a few wordless picture books off of her shelf, like OWLY & WORMY: FRIENDS ALL AFLUTTER by Andy Runton, and TUESDAY by David Wiesner, and she happily got back to reading when she was meant to be sleeping.

Over the ensuing weeks, my daughter’s insecurity vanished and she continued to read book after book. Please note that I am not putting the word “read” in quotation marks, because my daughter was in fact reading—she was reading the pictures. She was following a narrative cover to cover, and eventually she began putting sounds together.

Jeff Mack's GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS was the first book where she read the entire text aloud all by herself. (The book consists of five words, and it's hilarious.) As she grew over the months, I challenged her to read more of the text in the picture books as we read together. BINK AND GOLLIE and LING AND TING are some heavily-illustrated early readers that she especially enjoyed. I attempted reading aloud books with more challenging texts and selected JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, the edition lavishly illustrated by Lane Smith. She loved it so much that when I later suggested we read CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY because the author, Roald Dahl, had also written JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, Zoe looked at me indignantly and said, “No Daddy, that book was written by James Henry Trotter” (a.k.a. the book’s protagonist).

But when we turned to read another one of my childhood favorites, THE MOUSE AND THE MOTORCYCLE by Beverly Cleary, she lost interest. At first I thought it might be the story; perhaps my daughter wouldn't take to all of the same characters that I had loved as a kid. But then I realized that the problem wasn't the narrative, but the book's sparse illustrations. Great as they are, there just weren't enough illustrations to hold her interest. She wasn't as involved with the reading process because she wasn't able to follow along on her own. We put the book aside and will revisit when she's a little older.

I often rail against the grown-ups who want to push their children out of picture books too early. At first I feared that I was becoming that which I preach against, but I reassured myself that I had remained in tune with my daughter's comfort level. And besides, when she does read chapter books independently, I do hope that we as a family still cuddle up at night to read aloud a good picture book.

It's my hope that teachers could adopt this same mentality. Why not take some time out of the sixth grade school day to read aloud a great picture book, old or new? I am of course, no trained educator, but as an author of children's literature I am often asked for reading advice. I've written twenty-three books, but it's as a parent that I can tell you with confidence: to create a reader from the ground up, you cannot go wrong with a book that has a strong picture to text connection with a high interest and low readability.

Jarrett J. Krosoczka is the author and illustrator of twenty books, which include picture books (PUNK FARM), graphic novels (LUNCH LADY AND THE CYBORG SUBSTITUTE) and chapter books (PLATYPUS POLICE SQUAD: THE FROG WHO CROAKED). Jarrett will celebrate the release of his next picture book, PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLYFISH, on April 8, 2014. His work has been featured in THE NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY, and on PBS and NPR’s ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. His TED Talk, which chronicles his path to publication despite challenging childhood circumstances, has amassed more than a half a million views online.