When Response follows Reading

Submitted by: Mrs. Freeney, Aine Freeney, & Ms. Brezek

At the end of the school year, I happened to be in the office and Mrs. Freeney showed me a wonderful drawing her daughter, Aine, did:

I mean, isn't it great? The illustrations, and the text bubbles? And the meshing of the two stories into one?

 I then asked Mrs. Freeney how it came about and she said that her daughter had recently read two books: MacBeth on MyOn and Diary of a Wimpy Kid...

Which got her to drawing that picture up above that was a combination of the two. I thought it was so awesome, as it was an authentic response to reading that was unprompted by any kind of "work" that kids were required to do.

Response is one of the five components of Reading Workshop, which is the model of reading instruction that the teachers at Emerson strive to follow.

One quote about reader's response says, "Research on reader response theories has shown that it is a reader's personal response to literature that encourages that reader to return to literature experiences." So, how are your children responding to what they are reading this summer?

Is it through conversation? That's a natural response selection - and as an adult, when I think of my my favorite books, the first thing I want to do after I finish it is tell someone about it. And if they liked the book as much as I do, then I want to talk about it....sometimes for hours!

I happened on this quote on Twitter last week which supports this notion, "Literate conversations with peers (as little as ten minutes a day) improve students' reading motivation, comprehension, and test scores" (Cazde, 1988 & Nystrand, 2006).

So, this month and always, encourage reading in your home by helping your child to respond to it in any ways they might like...through conversation, through art, through writing. Let's encourage our kids to come back to literature experiences through their response!

READING AND WRITING GO HAND IN HAND

     My son is eight years old and going to be in second grade.  After discovering and devouring both Stick Dog books and a little encouragement from a school assembly with the author, he started creating his own Stick Dog books. Each book follows Stick Dog and his friends in an attempt to get some kind of food.  So, he decides which type of food they are going to try to get and he writes and illustrates his own version.  We even co-authored one version, of course my ideas were generally shot down for his much more creative ones.  :)  What do moms know anyway?

After he finishes his books, we add them to one of our book baskets.  He is an author after all!  Adding a child's work to works of published authors makes them feel more confident and valued.

Imitating a mentor text isn't just for independent readers and writers.  If you have a young child, you could read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie or Brown Bear, Brown Bear.  These books have very predictable patterns that your child will recognize and be able to imitate.  You can record your child's ideas and then he/she can illustrate.

- Ms. Bless

Berwyn Public Library

Do you cringe at the thought of hauling your kids to the Berwyn Library to get books?  Completely understandable!  However, if you know which books you want you can request them from the library online and then you receive an email when they are ready to be picked up!

Type in the book you want here. Then click "Request" and enter your library card account number. 

You can also download eBooks from the library!  http://berwynlibrary.org/books-more

I am reading Bone and it is funny!  In this part, the grandma is chasing the bone people! 
I recommend this book to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders.

- Sam (3SB)

Where can you read?

Submitted by: Mrs. Suomi, Mrs. Monaco & their students

Today the fifth graders in 5MS brainstormed all the places that you can read over the summer. Then, they put all their ideas into a Wordle! Check out their creation and maybe then you could read.... at the beach or on a train!

Thank you 5MS for your creative display of your ideas. Now all you have to do is send us some pictures of you reading in these places!

Stone Fox

We have read so many great books this year in 3SB!

One book we read recently is Stone Fox.  It is set in the past and based on a legend.  The main character, Little Willy, needs to figure out a way to earn money to save the farm.  As I was reading, I found Little Willy to be a very determined boy.  Even though he was told that he should just give up, he refused.  I'm still not sure about the ending and it had mixed reviews in our class.  This is definitely not a book that you can forget after reading it!

- Ms. Bless

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Submitted by: Ms. Brezek

I happened to come across this blog this weekend:

When I was in elementary school and middle school, I loved these books! In fact, I added them to my middle school library and the kids were constantly reading them. And now, maybe they will be a movie!

This summer, you could definitely check these books out for your kids to read with a flashlight at home in the dark, maybe in the backyard! Kids love, Love, LOVE these books! and then, you'll be able to run over and see the movie for some continued summer fun!

Click on over to amazon to get some more details about this series of books by Alvin Schwartz. These books would be appropriate for upper elementary students.

On a side note, I'm still eagerly awaiting any posts from teachers, students, any families...anyone in our community! Let's get this blog rolling before we leave for summer break! Just email your post to me (mbrezek@bsd100.or) through the end of the month, and then Ms. Bless (jbless@bsd100.org) is going to be publishing in June! Check out our How to Submit page for the details on submitting a post!

Hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend!

Book Review: Charlotte's Web

Submitted by: Mrs. Jantz

My all-time favorite book is Charlotte’s Web! Ever since my third grade teacher introduced it to me, I have read and recommended it many times to my students. The first time I read it, I knew how special it was. The relationship Fern, a farm girl, has with Wilber, the pig she saved from being slaughtered, is one I longed to have with a pet of my own. It wasn’t until years later, and numerous times reading it, that I realized the most special relationship wasn’t between Fern and Wilber, but between Wilber and Charlotte, the spider who shares the same barn residence.  As the book unfolds, you will no doubt grow to love these characters and the friendship they have. The loyalty and trust displayed in this book can be life lessons for us all and I guarantee you will be brought to tears!

 This book is great for all ages, but best for 2^nd through 5^th grade.  If you’re too young to read it on your own, have an older brother, sister, parent, or grandparent read it to you!