Connected Youth - Book Lists For a decade, the Austin Public Library has proudly offered an award winning Teen Services program to the teens of Austin. The Connected Youth project, launched in 2009, introduced laptops and creative new programs to the Austin Public Library system. Connected Youth is an exciting expansion of our longstanding services for Austin Teens. Connected Youth Teen Cards Teens (ages 12 through 17) can now apply for a Connected Youth Teen card. Step By Step - How Do I Get a Teen Card? Be between the ages of 12-17. Step By Step - How Do I Check Out Laptops? Get a Teen Library Card (see above). Locations - Connected Youth Laptops Each Teen Center has laptops which are available for check-out, and Teen Services Librarians offer open houses and activities at their home branches as well as other APL branches. Program History: Wired for Youth In 2000, The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, the City of Austin, and the Austin Public Library Foundation established ten Wired for Youth Centers.
Blogging Is the New Persuasive Essay As an English teacher, I’ve had numerous conversations with college professors who lament the writing skills of their first year students. But not all writing. Most students are capable of solid expository writing. I spend three years teaching my high school students how to write a persuasive essay. Part of the problem is that our current school systems — and not just in Canada — aren’t great at producing independent thinkers. So for three years, I write for them, and with them. The truth is lately I’ve come to question the point of much of this. Blogging is a different beast While traditional essay writing may not help alleviate this situation, I think blogging can. For one, the paragraphing is different. Instead, blog paragraphs tend to be shorter. Sometimes a paragraph is one simple sentence, used for emphasis. Another thing is the thesis statement. Double-dog daringly different Blogging also requires a different voice. In a formal essay, I would never use a sentence fragment.
Stronger early reading skills predict higher intelligence later 24-Jul-2014 [ Print | E-mail ] Share [ Close Window ] Contact: Hannah Kleinhklein@srcd.org 202-289-0320Society for Research in Child Development A new study of identical twins has found that early reading skill might positively affect later intellectual abilities. "Since reading is an ability that can be improved, our findings have implications for reading instruction," according to Stuart J. Researchers looked at 1,890 identical twins who were part of the Twins Early Development Study, an ongoing longitudinal study in the United Kingdom whose participants were representative of the population as a whole. The researchers found that earlier differences in reading between the twins were linked to later differences in intelligence. "If, as our results imply, reading causally influences intelligence, the implications for educators are clear," suggests Ritchie. Summarized from Child Development, Does Learning to Read Improve Intelligence? [ Print | E-mail Share ] [ Close Window ]
The Site for Books & Readers - Shelfari Lire en anglais Lessons with Laughter: Reading & Writing Notebooks My students use their reading and writing notebooks daily during our Daily 5/CAFE block. I made these notebooks for them a few weeks into the school year and am SO happy with them! My students love that they each had a unique binder and a place to store all things reading and writing related! I knew I wanted to make reading and writing binders for my students, but I didn't want to have to go out and buy brand new binders. So here is what I started off with: I got this wonderful pad of animal print paper from Michael's with my 40% off coupon! Then I cut the paper so that there was a piece to fit in the front slot of the binder and a small, narrow slip for the side. Next I got on my computer and typed up the labels for their binders! The binders are stored in the shelves on the side of the classroom. Inside the binder I put tabs and labeled them for different sections. The Reading Record section has their reading log. Here are some examples of the letters they write to me.
stronger early reading predicts later intelligence Book Trailers - Movies for Literacy! Featured Booktrailer created by Author April WaylandNew Year at the Pier (21mb) Find out what Tashlish is! This page represents the beginning of a website of short movies (generally 30 to 45 seconds) designed to increase student motivation to READ! Below are a couple of samples. Sammy the Seal Zack's Alligator goes to School Want to contribute some of your own? Other Author Submissions:It's a Dog's Life by Susan Goodman (on youtube, good choice for common core)Bronto and the Pterodactyl Eggs by Charlotte Rodenberg (on Youtube) I wish to thank the students of Dakota State University, St. Please contact Mark Geary at Dr_Geary@yahoo.com if you have any questions.
Teenreads | Reading Response Journals Happy Monday! Is March flying by as fast for you as it is for us?? I wanted to write and tell you about how we have our students complete their nightly reading. Last year we decided that we were finished with having the students complete a reading log. The students have to choose a different topic to write about every night. Response Questions Reading Response Journal Questions Here is an example of one of my student's reading journals. This may not work for classroom. Jon Scieszka on How to Get Kids to Love Reading (Tip: Stop Telling Them How Important Reading Is) « musing Jon Scieszka on How to Get Kids to Love Reading (Tip: Stop Telling Them How Important Reading Is) Posted on Updated on Before we jump into this interview with bestselling children’s and middle-grade author Jon Scieszka about how and why kids read, let’s establish his cred on the matter: Scieszka (rhymes with Fresca) is a former teacher, having taught every grade from 1st through 8th. Together with illustrator Lane Smith, he created bestselling picture books including The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, which won a Caldecott Honor Award. For this discussion, we had just a single question — one we hear all the time from customers: What advice do you have for parents and teachers of kids who don’t (yet) like to read? JS: As a parent, teacher, and author, I have assembled a great list, from actual live experience, of what not to do to engage a kid in reading: - Find out what the kid really loves, and help them find a book, magazine, or any kind of text about that love.
Digital Writing Tools I have assembled a collection of tools which break the mold of traditional writing and use the power of the digital medium to create multimodal, interactive texts. Please add more examples in the comments, I want to keep collecting tools which can help to recreate what writing looks like in the digital medium. These tools move beyond just digitizing words and pictures, pushing digital writing to more creative levels. Add Movement and Scale: Prezi – – if you are stuck in the serial, linear model that writing in a word processor or presentation tool can create, try using the presentation tool Prezi to write a story. Prezi allows for text, image, video, and sound to be grouped and scaled. The Blank Canvas: The New Hive – – Use words, pictures, video, audio, and hyperlinks on a blank canvas to create a story. Create a Multiple Pathway Game Based Text: Playfic – a site to create and play interactive fiction, text based games. Focus on a Skill:
EQAO finds reading for pleasure boosts test results Even just one hour a week of reading for pleasure boosts test results — but when it comes to math, it’s kids’ attitudes that count, says a new tracking report by the province’s standardized testing body. “Students who met the standard in reading in Grades 3 and 6 and were successful in Grade 10 were two and a half times more likely to be engaged in reading outside of school,” said Debra Rantz, chief assessment officer for Ontario’s Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO). “This is not homework — it’s reading outside of school for enjoyment. What kids read does not matter — anything from novels to graphic novels to poetry — “as long as you read … it’s something for enjoyment that makes a difference at school.” In its tracking of students from Grades 3 to Grade 10 on tests in reading, writing and math, the EQAO found that kids who have trouble early will continue to struggle. Of those, 46 per cent who made the grade were reading three hours or more.