Mrs. P's Reading is Cool Blog

Shhh...Listen! Listening helps Build Literacy Skills - Celebrating #AudioBook Month

I’ve written about why I love audiobooks for kids before. Here’s the link as these are still all good tips, but I’ve learned even more about the benefits of listening recently.
                                                                                             

I saw a tweet that caught my eye recently from Mary Burkey. It was an article she had written on The Booklist Reader about new research showing that audiobooks have a powerful impact on literacy development. She noted that the pure impact of “just listening” to books was striking. One of the commenters on her article wrote, Get rid of the “are we nearly there yet?” chant and replace it with, “can I stay in the car until the end of this chapter?” That’s the power of listening!

With summer upon us, this new research study couldn’t be more timely. When looking for ways to avoid the summer reading slump for children, audiobooks can serve as one of the important tools.

As educators and librarians use the summer months to prepare their classrooms for the fall, the study also has ideas for ways to fund audiobooks collections in the library and how to access audiobook grants.

My favorite audiobook company Tales2GO was used in the study that examined the impact of audiobooks on student vocabulary and literacy. The big take-away is that audiobooks improve reading achievment! You can find all of the key take-aways from the study and also information how you can request a copy here.

Since June is the month to celebrate AudioBooks I also wanted to share another timely article, The Case for Making Audiobooks Part of Curriculum.
One of the points in this article is the case that hearing more words leads to better student achievement, and isn’t that what we all want?

While I am it, here is a round up of posts from some teachers that I think you will enjoy:

• Teacher Ashley Alicea on how to intergrate audiobooks into the classroom.
• A case study about audiobooks helped her students succeed in reading.
• Why Audio books in the classroom, from Pernille Ripp

When I find information like this that shows audiobooks drive improvement in reading comprehension, vocabulary, and motivation to read, I just have to ask you to listen!

 

May is the Month to Get Caught Reading! Starting Summer Slide Prevention

May is the month most schools across the country let out for the year or start winding down. It’s important to remind students how much fun it is to read before they start their summer breaks. We’ve all read the research that the summer slide adds up. Children who don’t read over the summer can lose up to two months of learning by the time they return to school in the fall. So we need to be sure to build a bridge for them and help them read over the summer. Children who read a minimum of six books over the summer score higher in reading and math when they return to school. The bottom line is that kids who don’t read during the summer fall behind.  That’s why I’ve created this page full of ideas that teachers and parents can use to keep their kids engaged in reading.

                                                                                                        

Summer Reading Activity Resources

• Your local library! Get a library card, they are FREE! Most libraries have summer reading activities for kids and programs with summer reading book lists.
• Check out the American Library List of great websites for kids to help Encourage summer learning. Try these great websites for kids Guess who is on the list?
  
  
• Get kids making stuff! Remember reading directions is reading! Capstonekids has a perfect page to get kids reading and using their creativity. 
• Participate in a Summer Reading Challenge. The Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge is a free global reading program aimed at encouraging students to read throughout the summer months. Kids read books, log their minutes, and earn virtual rewards all summer.
• Help your kids read, write and imagine with the I Want to Read program. They can get a free reading journal. I love how MackinVia has this resource for teachers and parents.
• For the little ones try out early learning coloring sheets from Capstone. Coloring sheets can spark a storytelling adventure.
• Listen to audiobooks - they help reading comprehension. Summer is a time for car trips. Whether a vacation or just driving to do errands, listening helps build important literacy skills. Try Tales2GO
• Sing Songs! The rhyme and rhythm that music offers help build an important pre-reading foundation assisting in the development of important reading skills. Check out this post of resources from Cantata Learning.
• Go to the Get Caught Reading site and download your favorite poster to inspire reading! You'll find mine there as well!
•  

I've written about this subject before, so you can reference past tips as well.

Read every day! Mix it up, read outside under a tree. Start and end the day with reading. Make it fun!

Need more reasons? Watch this fun video from a library in Texas by kids on why they like to read during the summer

                                                                                             

Plant the Seed to Read - Tips for Raising a Healthy Reader

                                                                                               
As I was working in my garden on a recent spring morning, watching glorious plants bloom that I’d nurtured from tiny seeds, I realized this was a lovely metaphor for how we nurture a passion for reading in children.  As parents and teachers, we “plant the seed” of the joy and importance of reading in our kids and students.  Over time, if we are diligent (and lucky), the seed grows and thrives, and the child blossoms into a lifelong reader.  And, we hope, a perennial and not just an annual reader!

I’ve taken off my gardening gloves for a few moments to offer 6 Tips to Raise and Grow A Healthy Reader
                                                                                                        

• Start early: When we talk, read and even sing with children, we build their vocabularies.  This helps a child’s young brain form new links because they develop much of their capacity for learning in the first three years of their life.  It’s not unlike a plant, which must first develop a strong system of roots before it can grow toward the sky.
• Make sure you have lots of books and magazines around:  Kids are naturally curious, and if there is a lot of literature around, they’re more likely to pick it up to see what’s inside.  And if kids see you reading, you become an important role model.   Just as a plant needs nutrient-rich soil, a child needs an environment where reading is practiced and books are easily accessible.   
• Encourage your child or student to tell you a story:  This helps them learn communication skills, builds vocabulary and encourages creativity.   As with plants, we want kids to grow and develop so they can one day stand on their own. 
• Make reading out loud a daily habit:  Tending a garden is a daily (and often very satisfying) ritual.  Reading should be too.  Here is a great resource website to help:  IWantToRead.org
• Listen to audiobooks: Listening is an important element in developing literacy. You can listen in your garden! Try Tales2GO
• Sing a song together:  Songs help enhance pronunciation, grammatical structure, and vocabulary. Check out Cantata Learning for research on the importance of music on building literacy skills.

And to help inspire your little sprout of a reader, I have a charming story in my video library called “Billy’s New Plant.”  Remember, as a parent or teacher, you can be the light that helps grow a strong and healthy reader!
 

                                                                              

 

Mrs. P's Summer Reading Tips to Keep Kids Engaged! Plus Activity Sheets

Summer is upon us once again, and that means dusting off my annual tip list to help stop the summer slide. Studies have shown that children who don’t read over the summer can lose many months of reading progress. So I've put together my favorite tips because I didn’t want kids to lose the reading skills over the summer they worked so hard to develop in school last year. It's a perfect time when they are getting out of school to have these in your toolbox to share with them.

In addition to these tips I have some activity sheets you can download too. Plus a video called "Sally's Poor Brain", written by Andrea E. Langholff from Wisconsin, who was a finalist in my annual writing contest a few years back. I have chosen this story to share with kids because of its witty lesson about a brain that literally walks away in search of intellectual stimulation. Some important food for thought!

Make sure you check out this website  I Want to Read.  It is an amazing resource for parents and their kids from Mackin Educational Resources  to keep skills sharp all summer long. 

Here are some of my tried and true ideas from past years:

• Reading simple instructions for a task is a great way to improve comprehension skills.  I've created lots of  fun things you and your child can make.  Fans of “Alice in Wonderland” will love the easy and clever homemade toys and games you can make with materials most people have sitting around the house.  Download Alice_guide for easy instructions. Also check out Captone Kids.  They have all kinds of fun maker activities on their site. 
• Get a public library card. It’s FREE, and most libraries have fun summer and after-school activities (as well as books full of wonderful stories and ideas from the smartest people who ever lived.) You can also find good educational videos and audio books at the library.  I have a special place in her heart for librarians, so tell them Mrs. P sent you!
• Making handmade books out of your child’s story is a great way  to nurture a life-long love for books. You can create simple books in many ways, and the materials can usually be found around the house. I have put together a fun bookmaking activity. You can Download Mrsp_bookmaking to help you get started.  Asking your child to tell you a story helps to develop an active mind. Kids are naturally creative; your job is to give them an environment that will let their imaginations flourish.
• Keep a Reading Log. Keep track of the books your child has read with my Kind-Of-A-Big-Deal Download Mrsp_readinglog.  There's even a place for them to color. Reading logs recognize the value of reading every day and can act as a simple reminder. And remember, all reading counts, whether you are being read to, reading aloud, or just by yourself.
• Download a free poster of Mrs. P or another one of your child’s favorite celebrities from Get Caught Reading   Hanging one of these colorful posters in your child’s room will remind them “Reading is cool and so are you!” 
• Encourage Writing. Reading and writing go hand-in-hand; developing skills for one always helps with the other.  Encouraging your students to make up and tell you a story can be an excellent work-out for the imagination – and also a great class project.  And if they come up with an idea they really like, enter your K-4 class stories in my  Be-A-Famous-Writer Contest. The contest opens every September for entries so mark it on your calendar!
• Enjoy an audiobook. Audiobooks help develop literacy skills.  You can enjoy them anywhere too!  I love Tales2GO because kids can also use them at school.

Enjoy "Sally's Poor Brain"