http://www.readingrockets.org/ Launching Young Readers en-us Reading Rockets hourly 1 http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35778 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:43:44 GMT The charter school powerhouse uses motivational techniques inspired by America's top corporations, to impressive effect. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35778 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35777 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:43:03 GMT There are lots of Valentine's Day stories to engage and entertain children. The owner of Rediscovered Bookshop in Boise shares her top 10 Valentine's Day books for kids. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35777 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35776 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:41:58 GMT Susan Engel, senior lecturer in psychology and the director of the teaching program at Williams College, says our current educational approach — and the testing that is driving it — is completely at odds with what scientists understand about how child development. Simply put, what children need to do in elementary school is not to cram for high school or college, but to develop ways of thinking and behaving that will lead to valuable knowledge and skills later on. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35776 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35775 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:41:00 GMT Dan Willingham, one of our favorite cognitive scientists, wrote a lucid critique of Susan Engel's op-ed "Playing to Learn." Engel's lack of focus on content is one reason Willingham had a problem her argument. He also worries that relying solely on progressive principles could leave many children without the more challenging teacher-student interactions they need to reach new levels of understanding. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35775 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35774 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:40:12 GMT Rick Riordan's son, Haley, has dyslexia and ADHD. Aged nine, he refused to read, but loved Greek myths so Rick turned his boy into a latterday hero — Percy Jackson — in a series of bestselling books and now a Hollywood movie http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35774 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35772 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:59:57 GMT Haven Academy in the South Bronx is the first school in the New York City designed for children from broken homes. A third of its K-2 students are in foster care. Of all the supplies at the school, it is the squishy — a colorful rubber ball with dozens of tentacles that can withstand the strength of any young student — that daily absorbs a fit of anger or a mess of tears. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35772 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35771 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:49:36 GMT No, David! which became 'A'ole e Kawika! But others were fraught with cultural conflicts which made translation imprecise or awkward. If only books for young readers of the Hawaiian language were written in the Hawaiian language. Warner almost reluctantly realized that the task fell to him. ]]> For a while, Sam L. No'eau Warner was translating children's books written in English into Hawaiian. Some of the stories were big hits with students in Hawaiian immersion programs, like No, David! which became 'A'ole e Kawika! But others were fraught with cultural conflicts which made translation imprecise or awkward. If only books for young readers of the Hawaiian language were written in the Hawaiian language. Warner almost reluctantly realized that the task fell to him. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35771 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35770 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:48:22 GMT For a wonderful and cheap Valentine's Day, why not give the gift of reading to the one you love? The Wilmington Memorial Library has staff picks, new movies, books for borrowing and for sale, and many activities for Valentine's week. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35770 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35769 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:47:11 GMT Later this month, children's book illustrators along with authors and publishers will share their work with fans at the 18th annual African American Children's Book Fair held at the Community College of Philadelphia. The award-winning illustrators attending this year's event understand the importance of artwork in children's literature and of making books accessible to young readers. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35769 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35768 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:44:58 GMT Within a circle of children seated on the carpet of New Bern Mall listening to a story, 4-year-old Julia Phelan was standing transfixed, her eyes wide. Julia came to the mall with her mother and sister for Reading Fun Day, a free literacy outreach event for children organized by the Twin Rivers Council of the International Reading Association, the Craven County Association of Educators, Craven Smart Start and the Sun Journal's Newspapers in Education program. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35768 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35752 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:51:42 GMT Amiya Olden could have been a poster child for a reading crisis that affects nearly 2 million Michigan residents older than 16: They read below a sixth-grade level, sometimes way below, which makes it difficult to function, to find jobs and to improve their lives. But Olden is nobody's victim. Instead, she's a shining example of what is possible in Michigan if we stop fighting a reality that results from years of residents earning prosperity in jobs that didn't require high reading levels. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35752 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35751 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:51:14 GMT The dream and mission of the public education system is equal opportunity. The ideal is tested constantly by the day-to-day reality of how classrooms across Colorado deliver that opportunity. From Adams County to Aspen, from third-grade reading to sophomore social studies, snapshots of life in the classroom offer different pictures of skill, funding, achievement, teaching style and student engagement. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35751 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35750 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:50:53 GMT "Husky Reach", the community service program of the UConn Division of Athletics, concluded the second year of its reading initiative on Tuesday night with the Verplanck Elementary School in Manchester, Conn. This year's program was called "The Reading Millionaires Plus: A Roaring Reading Challenge". At the beginning of the school year, UConn student-athletes extended a challenge to this year's Verplanck students, encouraging them to top the mark of one million minutes of reading that was accomplished in 2008-09. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35750 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35749 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:00:36 GMT Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief doesn't have much going for him. Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is dyslexic, has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, keeps getting thrown out of schools and hasn't seen his father for years. He has a nasty, sneering stepfather. The good news is that he is a Greek demigod, with supernatural powers. But that's a bit of a mixed blessing, too. Indeed, the further we get into the book, the more we discover the down side of being half boy, half god. ]]> At first sight, the young hero of Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief doesn't have much going for him. Twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is dyslexic, has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, keeps getting thrown out of schools and hasn't seen his father for years. He has a nasty, sneering stepfather. The good news is that he is a Greek demigod, with supernatural powers. But that's a bit of a mixed blessing, too. Indeed, the further we get into the book, the more we discover the down side of being half boy, half god. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35749 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35742 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:46:52 GMT Caldecott Award-winner Jerry Pinkney, his wife Gloria Pinkney, their son Brian and his wife, Andrea Davis Pinkney, have all been published. Younger son Myles and his wife, Sandra, combine photography and words for picture books. "It's a dynasty," says poet Nikki Grimes. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35742 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35741 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:46:05 GMT Andrea Kantor was looking for a way to keep her daughter's Girl Scout troop together — a cause for them to embrace. So she founded "Reading Dream," a local nonprofit organization that collects children's books and sends them to school districts and libraries in need around the world http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35741 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35740 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:45:22 GMT The Needham Education Foundation is hosting a presentation by Harvard reading researchers Nonie Lesaux, Perla Gamez, and Joan Kelley. They say that encouraging your children to read is essential, but it is only a piece of the academic puzzle. Their research concludes that children need exposure to academic vocabulary and practice using academic words in order to read and understand middle school and high school textbooks, and ultimately achieve in school. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35740 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35739 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:44:43 GMT On a family excursion to Belize, 4-year-old Daniel glanced up to ask me, "Grammy, are we still on Earth?" I assured him that we were, even though it did feel a bit unreal. I am sending him these books so that he can remember our trip. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35739 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35738 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:44:02 GMT Honored earlier this year for a lifetime of work in literacy, Dr. Margaret Lipp says it extends far past just reading and writing. "Literacy is the core of who you are. It is the foundation of all you have learned … It's expressed through your culture, through your language … it's your ability to learn new skills, the mathematics, the physics, the problem solving — all of this is based on your level of literacy." http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35738 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35706 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:38:35 GMT February is Black History Month, a time to honor such great African Americans as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who dedicated his life to achieving equal rights for black Americans. It's also a time to celebrate ordinary people, and kids, too, who fought for equality. Here are some nonfiction (meaning true) and fiction books about African Americans from the days of slavery to the more recent days of Martin Luther King Jr. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35706 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35705 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:38:13 GMT A legislative proposal to hold back third-graders who can't read very well is too little and way too late. If we want to avoid reading woes with our third-graders, we have to address the root of the problem: Our kindergartners, first-graders and second-graders aren't being taught right. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35705 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35704 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:37:37 GMT If you read a lot of books as a child, chances are good that "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle blew your mind. Rebecca Stead has written a middle-grade book called "When You Reach Me" (Wendy Lamb Books) in which L'Engle's book figures prominently. Stead's exquisitely crafted story won the Newbery Award last week, the prize for the most distinguished contribution to American children's literature. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35704 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35703 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:37:01 GMT Reading is more than just another avenue of entertainment for kids; it's the cornerstone of their education. Studies consistently show that frequent readers are better readers. True, getting millennial kids to put down their cell phones and pick up a book might seem like a David vs. Goliath-caliber battle--but, hey, look who won that fight. Here are eight simple suggestions for raising readers in a digital age. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35703 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35681 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:55:01 GMT Educators in area school districts are starting to collect hard data to help prove the Raising a Reader (RaR) program. Every fall, RaR provides participating preschool classrooms with red "Read to Me" book bags filled with age-appropriate books, both in English and Spanish, that encourage daily family reading time. Students take a bag home for one week, then trade it out for a new bag the next week. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35681 http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35680 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:53:36 GMT Bridge to Terabithia is now taking up the banner to get your kids (and you) to read more. ]]> An interview with the new Ambassador for Young People's Literature Katherine Paterson. The beloved author of Bridge to Terabithia is now taking up the banner to get your kids (and you) to read more. http://www.readingrockets.org/news/35680