Monday, May 30, 2011

5 Graphic Novels for Kids



I’m new to graphic novels. Sure, I read comic books as a kid, but these are something much bigger than comic books. Longer and more complex. The books I chose this week have some things in common: the graphics aren't too complicated, the text isn't too tiny and the stories are quite interesting. Four of the five books also have book trailers, which I found fun to watch.
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Squish, Super Amoeba by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
Squish loves comic books, especially ones starring his favorite hero, “Super Amoeba.” When his friend is threatened by the classroom bully, Squish tries being like his hero to help her. At the end of the book, there’s a real science experiment to try. This book is the first of the Squish series.
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Bone: Out From Boneville by Jeff Smith
When his not-so-nice cousin, Phony Bone, gets thrown out of Boneville, Fone Bone and his other cousin, Smiley, go with him. They end up in a strange and dangerous place. Soon, they get separated. Fone Bone has adventures and makes friends as he searches for his cousins. I love the graphics in this novel. There are many sequels to this very popular series.
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Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke
Zita and her best friend, Joseph, find a gadget that opens up a portal to another place. When Joseph is kidnapped, Zita sets out to rescue him. She travels from star to star searching for him, making friends along the way.
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Joey Fly, Private Eye in Creepy Crawly Crime by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Neil Numberman
A long time ago, there were many adult movies with private eyes who made wisecracks about just about everything. Joey Fly is like those guys. His first customer is a beautiful butterfly who has had her diamond pencil box stolen. Joey Fly and his trusty assistant, a clumsy scorpion named Sammy Stingtail, work to find the box. This is the first book of a series.
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The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook by Eleanor Davis
Super-smart but friendless Julian is transferred to a new Junior High. Hoping to make friends, he pretends to be dumb. This doesn't work too well until he’s discovered by two science nuts and the Secret Science Alliance is formed. The three happily invent in their secret underground clubhouse and record their work their special book of ideas. They meet their first big challenge when their idea book is stolen and they suspect a local scientist.
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I hope you have graphic novels to recommend. Please write them in the Comments box!
Gail

Friday, May 27, 2011

20 Funny Jokes about Food


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I figured it was time to have jokes again on Friday Fun. To go with Monday’s cookbook post, here are jokes just about food.
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What did the mother ghost tell the baby ghost when he ate too fast?
Stop goblin your food.
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Why did the student eat his homework?
The teacher told him it was a piece of cake.
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Why do fish avoid the computer?
So they don't get caught in the Internet.
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What did the cannibal order for take-out?
Pizza with everyone on it.
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What's in an astronaut's favorite sandwich?
Launch meat.
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What did the mayonnaise say to the refrigerator?
Close the door, I'm dressing!
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Why don't chickens play sports?
Because they hit fowl balls.
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What's the worst thing about being an octopus?
Washing your hands before dinner.
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Why did the man stare at the can of orange juice?
Because it said 'concentrate.'
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What is black; white; green and bumpy?
A pickle wearing a tuxedo.
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What do you call cheese that isn't yours?
Nacho cheese!
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What's the best thing to put into a pie?
Your teeth!
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Why did the fisherman put peanut butter into the sea?
To go with the jellyfish!
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What kind of nuts always seems to have a cold?
Cashews!
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What is green and sings?
Elvis Parsley
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What candy do you eat on the playground?
Recess pieces.
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Why shouldn't you tell a secret on a farm?
Because the potatoes have eyes and the corn has ears.
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What are twins favorite fruit?
Pears!
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What do you give to a sick lemon?
Lemon aid!
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How do you make a milk shake?
Give it a good scare!
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The jokes came from these websites:
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Ducksters
Cooking With Kids
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So have you heard any good food jokes lately? Write them in the Comment box!
Gail

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Vision Issues in Struggling Readers


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Today's Parent Post is written by Dr. Howard Kushner, who is a Developmental Optometrist in Clifton Park, NY. I met Dr. Kushner several years ago by attending a workshop he presented . This workshop opened my eyes to the world of vision issues in struggling readers. Over the years, I've referred several students to him. Through Vision Therapy, these students have made huge progress towards becoming competent and confident readers and students. Not all struggling readers have vision issues but a surprising number do. Please leave a comment if you have questions or a Vision Therapy experience you'd like to share.
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Does Your Struggling Reader have a Vision Problem?
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Does your child:
  • Lose their place when reading?
  • Have poor reading comprehension?
  • Have poor handwriting?
  • Have a poor attention span when doing close work tasks?
  • Have headaches or eye strain when reading?
  • Tilt their head or close one eye when reading or writing?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then your child may have a visual skill deficit.

What does vision have to do with learning? This is a critical question in part because so many children have undiagnosed or misdiagnosed vision problems. These vision problems can interfere with reading,
math, and learning in general.

Vision is the process by which we  interpret and place meaning upon the information that comes in through the eyes. It is critical to understand that vision is a process that involves a connection between the eyes and the brain. 20/20 eyesight does not necessarily mean that you have an efficient visual process. It certainly does not mean “perfect” vision. Skills such as eye teaming, focusing, eye movement control, and the various visual perceptual skills are critical to the visual process.

Vision is our spatial sensory system. It gives us information about where we are in our environment, where objects are relative to each other, and where those objects are relative to us. Yes, we use our visual systems for more than just determining where things are. We use vision to tell us what things are as well. However, the most fundamental function of the system is spatial in nature. The biological advantage that vision offers is directed, meaningful, movement. The visual system is the guidance system for the body, the hands, and the feet. There is such an intimate relationship between movement and vision that I often think of them as one big system. It’s like they are two different sides of the same coin. If we look to nature, organisms that don’t have a spatial sensory system don’t move in a meaningful way. Yes, trees move and they don’t have a spatial sensory system. They sway in the wind, but that is not purposeful and directed.

The point of all this is that our visual systems were not designed to read. The system was designed as a guidance system for the body. Reading is a relatively new activity evolutionarily speaking. In Behavioral Optometric lingo we say that reading is a “socially compulsive, biologically unacceptable task”.

One of the real problems is that the visual system was not designed for sustained precision in coordinating the eyes as a team, focusing the eyes and moving the eyes, when looking up close - which is of great necessity when reading. If we are using excessive effort or attention to coordinate, focus, or move our eyes, we are draining that attention away from the task at hand. So, comprehension suffers, reading fluency suffers, handwriting suffers, etc. Even small visual inefficiencies can lead to big problems academically. Every day I see children in my practice with academic challenges and most of those children have visual skill issues. I always look at visual skills as “learning infrastructure.” Without efficient infrastructure reading and learning cannot be efficient.

So, what can be done to improve visual skills? What can be done to make the visual system more compatible with tasks such as reading and computer work? Often eyeglasses can be prescribed to make it easier to execute visual skills. Also, Vision Therapy is very effective at building better visual skills. Vision Therapy is like Occupational or Physical Therapy, but for the visual system. It is a set of activities designed to improve focusing, coordination of the eyes, and eye movement control. I’ve been in practice for 20 years and I continually see children’s lives get turned around with Vision Therapy. I’ve also developed the Integrative Vision Skills Program. This is an innovative, home based Vision Therapy program. It is very effective at building visual skills and is based on the Vision Therapy activities that I use in my office program. You can check it out here:

Also, for a list of symptoms that could signal a vision problem, you can go here:

Above all, remember that if your child is having difficulty in school, please don’t ignore the fact that visual skill deficits can be part of the problem.

Monday, May 23, 2011

10 Tasty Cookbooks for Kids



There are lots of cookbooks for kids out there! For this  post, I choose books that had mostly simple recipes and clear pictures. When  you look for cookbooks in your library, look in the J 641(call number) section.

By the way, you may be like me. I read cookbooks for 2  reasons. Some I read because I like to cook and I’m looking for new recipes.  Others I read just because I like to read about food!
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Pretend Soup by Mollie Katzen
Each recipe has 2 parts. The first part has the regular  recipe with a note to parents and cooking tips. The second part shows the directions in pictures. The Pretend Soup recipe is real and is an uncooked fruit soup. I’m looking forward to making it.
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Salad People by Molly Katzen
This book is set up the same way as the one above. I’m planning to try the Tiny Tacos recipe – made with tortilla chips.
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Kids in the Kitchen by Chicken Soup for the Soul
This is a fairly big book with recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert. It also has Chicken Soup for the Soul short stories between the recipes. The recipes are clearly written with photos of kids cooking.
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Paula Deen’s Cookbook for the Lunch-Box Set by Paula Deen
This book has some fairly advanced recipes but they’re written so clearly, I think it will work well for young cooks and their helpers. There are many clever chapter headings, like The Bake Sale, Pool Party, and
Christmas Cooking Party.
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Banana Berry Smoothies by Brekka Hervey Larrew
Along with a smoothie recipe, there are ones for other breakfast dishes, such as Cheese and Sausage Omelet, Berry Fizzy Pancakes (got to try these) and Crispy Apple Strudel. There are little bits of interesting food
information throughout.
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Super Simple Lunches: Easy No-Bake Recipes for Kids by Nancy Tuminelly
No-bake is a good thing! This book starts with basic cooking instruction for skills such as chopping, dicing and grating, plus explanations of cooking tools. The recipes include wraps, salads and rollups.
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Peanut Butter Party by Remy Charlip
This author has written several successful picture books, including Fortunately. This book has several easy and clever recipes for entertaining party guests (Name Game, Art Party, Monsters You Can Eat…). It also has peanut butter history, jokes and games.
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India by Julie McCulloch
This book is part of the A World of Recipes series. Other titles include: The Caribbean, China, Italy, Japan and Mexico. Each recipe has 2 photographs: one shows the dish itself and the other shows some part of the recipe preparation. Years ago, I was pretty excited when my son started to accept foods from other cultures. This series would have been perfect.
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Indoor S’mores and Other Tasty Treats for Special Occasions by Nick Fauchold, illustrated by Rick Peterson
I love s’mores, so any cookbook with them in the title is going to catch my eye. The recipes are organized by difficulty: easy, intermediate and advanced and are nicely illustrated. Recipes include Apple Party Punch, Sleepy Day Chicken Noodle Soup and Happy Birthday Cupcakes. This book is part of the Kids Dish series.
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Kids’ First Cookbook by American Cancer Society
Drawings and photographs throughout this book make it attractive and easy to follow. There are recipes for all parts of the day, from breakfast to main meals to snacks. Each recipe is rated with 1 to 3 mushrooms for difficulty.
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Do you already cook? Do you have a favorite cookbook? If you aren’t a cook yet, would you like to give it a try? Let me know how it goes!
Gail

Friday, May 20, 2011

Friday Fun: 4 Poetry Websites



This week’s Friday Fun features 4 websites about poetry. The first 2 have poems to read and to write, word games and a rhyming dictionary (very handy!). The last 2 sites are from 2 famous poets who write for kids.
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Poetry 4 Kids
Poems
Word games
Rhyming Dictionary
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Instant Poetry Forms
Click on the different poetry forms on the left. Fill in the blanks and hit the create button. Instant poem by you!
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Shel Silverstein
Games and Puzzles
Things to Print
Things to download
E-cards
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Jack Prelutsky
Poems
Songs
Information about Jack Prelutsky
Letters to Jack
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I hope you have fun with these. Let me know what you think!
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Gail

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Vocabulary Building Ideas for Reluctant Readers, Part 2


  
In addition to the ideas in last Wednesday's post (Vocabulary Building Ideas for Reluctant Readers), here are some more for boosting your child's vocabulary. I hope you and your child find a few that you enjoy.
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The alphabet game (great for the car)
Level 1: Recite the alphabet, going back and forth between you and your child, or among everyone in the car
Level 2: Play the game with words, such as apple, baker, cat…
Level 3: Like Level 2, except words are restricted to one category, such as apple, banana, cheese…
(No need to keep score.)
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.Word of the Week
Each person selects a word, taking turns each week. For example, the first week it might be Mother who writes a word on a card and puts it on the refrigerator door. Everyone must use that word as much as possible that week. The next week it's Dad's turn, and then the children's turn, and so on until it is Mother's turn again. As the words are used, they are posted on a cabinet door to stimulate continued usage.
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.Go Fish Games
Not sure how to play the basic game? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Fish
Synonyms
  • Create cards by writing pairs of words that mean the same on index cards. A thesaurus is perfect for this. It’s a good idea to create the cards together.
  • Play Go Fish, except instead of asking “Do you have a 3?” you’ll ask, “Do you have a word that means the same as (or is a synonym for) happy?”
Antonyms
  • Same as above, just create pairs of antonym (opposites) cards.
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While researching for this post, I found 2 vocabulary game sites that I really wish I’d know about when I was teaching.  
.Vocabulary.co.il
This site has a ton of games, so explore to find the ones your child likes. My current favorites are the Idiom, Analogy and Parts of Speech games. They’re not wildly exciting but if you do them together, you and your child are bound to have fun, or at least learn something new!
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Sheppard Software
This is a commercial site, but there are plenty of free games. The grammar games at the top are quite instructional and way more fun that grammar class. Again, I suggest you do these together, to increase the fun.
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Let me know if you try any of these games. How did you like them?
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Gail

Monday, May 16, 2011

10 Excellent Poetry Books for Kids



I haven't always enjoyed poetry. In fact, I’m still not a big fan of most poetry written for adults. (Don’t tell my friend, Nancy, the poet!) It wasn’t until I started reading poetry written for children that I developed an appreciation for poetry. Kids’ poetry is so much more direct and doesn’t leave you scratching your head, wondering what it’s all about.

These books are just a sampling. Give the ones that interest you a look and while you’re in the poetry section (call number 811 in the library), see what other poetry books interest you.
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The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry edited by Bill Martin Jr.
This book has over 170 pages of poems, covering all sorts of subjects, including animals, feelings, food, seasons and school. There are poems from fifty-three poets and the pictures are supplied by a bunch of different illustrators. It’s a good place to read a variety of poems to see what poets you like.
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All the Small Poems and Fourteen More by Valerie Worth, illustrations by Natalie Babbitt
Valerie Worth is responsible for opening me up to poetry. As the title says, her poems are small. They’re also perfect. They capture the heart of every one of her subjects.  
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Guyku: a Year of Haiku for Boys by Bob Raczka, illustrations by Peter H. Reynolds
Haiku, as you may know, is a type of poem that has only 3 lines. The first line has 5 syllables, the second line has 7, and the third line has 5. These haiku by Bob Raczka are marvelous. They cover the four seasons and topics like baseball, skipping rocks, leaf piles and icicles.
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Biscuits in the Cupboard Barbara Nichol, illustrations by Philippe Beha
These poems are written in the voices of several dogs. They are very charming and often quite funny.
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Don’t Forget Your Etiquette! The Essential Guide to Misbehavior by David Greenberg, illustrations by Nadine Bernard Westcott
Warning to parents: this book will not lead to more polite children. It will make them (and probably you) laugh. Topic covered: shaking hands, dressing, eating, answering the phone and more.
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Good Luck Gold and Other Poems by Janet S. Wong
These poems reflect the author’s experiences growing up as an Asian-American girl in San Francisco. They’re very simple and quite charming.
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Bow Wow Meow Meow by Douglas Florian
Each poem is about a different breed of dog or cat. They wonderfully portray the individual animals. The dachshund is a stretch limousine. The leopard poem looks like it is leaping. A clever and fun collection.
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Incredible Inventions selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrations by Julia Sarcone-Roach
I never would have guessed there were poems about all these inventions. Like drinking straws, Velcro, escalators and fig newtons. The poems and illustrations work beautifully together.
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Technically, It’s Not My Fault, Concrete Poems by John Grandits
Concrete poems are poems that look like their subjects. The poem Skateboard is written in long, jumping and looping lines. You can probably guess what How We Ended Up With a Plain Pizza looks like! Quite ingenious.
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My Man Blue by Nikki Grimes, illustrations by Jerome Lagarrigue
Through simple and powerful poems, with outstanding illustrations, this book tells of Damon, who lives with his single mom. Blue, a man of the streets, becomes his friend and shows him how to become a strong and gentle man. It’s a truly lovely book.
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How about you? Are you a poetry fan? Do you write poetry? Do you any favorite poems? Leave a comment!
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Gail

Friday, May 13, 2011

3 Art Websites to Explore



This week I found 3 very different websites with an art focus. Have fun exploring!
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Ed Emberly
There are a ton of activities on this site, organized by month. I’m looking forward to trying out the frog activity using geometric shapes!
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The Art Institute of Chicago
One way to start with this site is to click on the Collections button at the top of the page. From there, you can explore the collections that interest you.
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The Smithsonian Institution
This site has a lot more than art. It covers all the Smithsonian museums – there are 20! A good place to start on this site is the Kids button at the top. Or, just click on a museum listed at the left and go from there.
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Have you found any good art sites? Please share them in the Comments box!
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Gail

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Vocabulary Building Ideas for Reluctant Readers



As I’ve written about before, (see Tips for Encouraging Reluctant Readers), readers often run into difficulties when they aren’t familiar with the vocabulary used. They may be able to decode the words (sound them out) but they don’t know what the word means. For example, a struggling reader may be able to decode the following sentence:
Jennifer composed a note covertly.
But if the reader is unfamiliar with the words composed and covertly, he won’t realize that all it was saying was:
Jennifer wrote a note secretly.

Running into unfamiliar words occasionally is a good thing – it’s what helps us grow as readers. Running into them repeatedly makes us want to just set the book down…permanently.
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The two most powerful ways to increase vocabulary are conversation and reading. When you and your child have conversations, don’t be afraid to ask her what a word means. Lots of kids’ slang is a mystery to us adults. Or maybe there’s a school vocabulary word you’ve never heard before. By modeling this asking behavior, your child may be more willing to ask when she doesn’t know a word.
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TV can also give us opportunities to learn new words. Make a point of looking up an unknown word you hear on TV. Maybe everyone can make guesses before you look it up and see who’s closest.
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Reading, of course, can give a huge boost to vocabulary. This is when read alouds are especially powerful. Struggling readers seldom learn new vocabulary when they read because so much of their efforts go into the actual work of decoding the words and making sense of the sentences. This is not a good time to ask your child to stop and look up words. It will most likely make a difficult task harder.
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Reading Rockets (http://www.readingrockets.org) is a powerful website with wonderful suggestions for all aspects of reading. Here is a list of some of their suggestions for vocabulary development with a few of my ideas.
1.   Have structure and organization behind the words you present
Present words in related groups. Try making posters of the words. A thesaurus is a wonderful resource for this. Examples:
  • Feeling words [afraid – anxious, terrified, worried…]
  • Movement words [walk – stride, tiptoe, glide…]
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2.   Incorporate multisensory learning from the beginning
This is where games come in. I like to modify existing games for vocabulary development. For these 2 games, create a list of target words (school vocabulary, fun words, whatever you like) and post them for everyone to see .
  • Pictionary Whoever is it chooses a word from the list and starts drawing (on paper, white board, chalkboard). The other players can guess at any time but can guess only one time until everyone has a chance to guess. If there’s still no right answer, players can guess again. Once someone guesses correctly, both the drawer and the guesser get a point.
  • Charades Same rules as in Pictionary, except you act the word out instead of drawing it.
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3.   Model the activities first
Whenever we ask kids to do something confusing and/or embarrassing, we need to first model doing it ourselves .
Also, make sure you alternate the student/teacher roles as often as possible. Here’s an activity that uses this role alternation.
Vocabulary Bingo
  • This works best with more than 2 players. Collect words to learn/reinforce (school vocabulary, fun words, whatever you like), plus their definitions (ex. agrarian: having to do with farming or rural life) or sentences that include them (ex. A farming community is an ______ community. [agrarian])
  • Write the words in random order on bingo sheets (paper marked into grids of 9 or 25 squares).
  • Write the words and their definitions (or fill-in-the-blank sentences) on index cards.
  • Take turns being the caller. The caller reads the definition; the others mark the words on their bingo cards.
  • The first one to get a vertical, horizontal or diagonal line of markers wins. Markers can be squares of paper, buttons, coins, whatever.
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4.   Most work with vocabulary should be done with the meanings available
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5.   Keep an ongoing list prominently posted.
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6.   Go beyond the definitions of the words
Try making books, collages or posters of words that have multiple meanings with illustrations.
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There are lots more games and activities. I’ll include more in later posts but these are a good place to start.
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This is a very cool website and one I’ve been playing for years. It’s a vocabulary quiz in which you answer questions to earn rice for the World Food Programme. The beauty of it is, as you answer questions, it senses what difficulty level the next word should be, so there’s less chance for frustration. Give it a try!
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What vocabulary ideas do you have? Share them with us!
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Gail

Monday, May 9, 2011

10 Kid Books About Art


Are you:
  • an art admirer?
  • an art creator?
  • both?

I have to admit I’m a big art admirer. I will sometimes try creating, but mostly I just admire what others create.
Today’s blog post is about art books. Books that:
  • show the work of artists
  • give us ideas for how we can make art ourselves
  • show us artists’ work and then give us ideas of how we can create our own

I found all of these books through my local library. If there’s a book here that interests you but your library doesn’t carry it, I’ve included the call numbers. That way, you can go to the right library shelf and look at the books your library does carry. You can also ask your librarian to help you find books.
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A is for Art Museum by Katy Friedland and Marla K. Shoemaker [J 700 Fri]
This book presents 26 pieces of art. I like it because it shows such a wide range, from oil paintings to photographs to quilts to sculpture to drawings. A fun thing for me was to look at each picture and try to guess what in the picture represented the letter.
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Art Up Close by Claire d’Harcourt [J 709 Dha]
This book shows 23 paintings from all over the world and from a wide range of time – from 1300 B.C. to 1948. The really neat feature is it’s also a Where’s Waldo kind of book. Details from each picture are shown in the margins and you search for them in the picture.
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Speaking of Art by Bob Raczka [j 700 Spe]
The paintings of 18 artists are shown with quotes from each artist. The Spanish painter, Juan Gris, said, "I always pet a dog with my left hand because if he bit me I’d still have my right hand to paint with.”  Bob Raczka has many books about art and I love every one of them.
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Drawing with Your Hands by Godeleine De Rosamel [J 741.2]
This book makes drawing recognizable animals seem very do-able. And it just makes me smile. It’s part of the series, Drawing is Easy.
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Ed Emberly’s Picture Pie by Ed Emberly [JP741.2]
Ed Emberly has many drawing books, including his Fingerprint Drawing Book. I included this book because it uses only cut-out circles to create pictures from simple to complex. It made me feel like I could do it and made me want to try.
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What’s the Big Idea? by Joyce Raimondo [J 709 Rai]
I was so happy to discover this book. The author shows the work of 6 famous artists and then makes suggestions for how we can create our own art using their work as inspiration. This book is part of the Art Explorers series.
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How Artists Use Shape by Paul Flux [J 701.8 Flu]
This book demonstrates how artists use shapes to create their paintings, drawings and sculptures. It’s part of a series.
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1 2 3 I Can Sculpt by Irene Luxbacher [J 731.4 Lux]
Fun ideas! Each sculpture uses stuff that we might already have in the house (cotton balls, foil) or stuff that wouldn't be too hard to get (clay, pipe cleaners). This book is part of the Starting Art series.
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Sculpture: Three Dimensions in Art by Anne Civardi [J 730 Civ]
I’m a big fan of sculpture. This book shows examples of many kinds of sculpture. If you find this book, look on pages 12-13 to see my favorite sculptor. And look on page 21 to see the sculpture I go visit every time I’m in Minneapolis. This book is part of the Artventure series.
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Lines by Rob Court [J 701.8 Cou]
This book is part of the Young Artist Basics series. It shows ways lines are used to create pictures and effects. Other books in the series cover color, form, light, patterns, shapes, space and texture.
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Do you have books about art that you like? Write them in the Comments!
Gail

Friday, May 6, 2011

3 Fun Book and Game Sites for Kids



Here are 3 websites that I thought you might like trying out. The first 2 sites are based on books that you’ve probably seen and maybe read.
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Magic School Bus
This site has lots to check out.
  • games based on the Magic School House books
  • coloring pages
  • science experiments
  • science videos
  • online stories
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Magic Tree House
This site offers adventures to follow. You are asked a series of questions to get clues. When you’ve gotten all 4 clues, there’s one more question to solve the mystery. Don’t know the answer? No problem. When I gave the wrong answers, I was just given more chances until I got it right.
You’ll be allowed to play the game once, without registering. Registering means giving your first name and your parents email address. If you register, they’ll keep track of your medals and offer more adventures.
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This next site is not based on a book. It’s one I used to use in my classroom. It has lots of games that give practice with listening to sounds. They may not be as exciting as video games, but they’re worth trying. My personal favorite: Wizards and Pigs Poetry Pickle. It took me awhile, but I finally mastered it!
Earobics Game Goo
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Please let me know what you think of these sites!
Gail

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Tips for Encouraging Reluctant Readers



Reluctant readers often resist our encouragement to read more. I think the most successful ways are based on attracting our kids to reading, rather that promoting more reading. Here are some tips for ways you may not have tried yet.
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Read alouds
This is my number one tip for increasing interest in books. You may have stopped reading to your child when he first learned to read. If so, I encourage you to start again. Reading aloud, for as long as your child allows it, has lots of benefits:
  • gives your child the opportunity to “read” the books she wishes she could but can’t yet
  • shows that you value reading
  • conditions your child to associate reading with pleasure
  • creates background knowledge
  • builds vocabulary
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Model reading
Let your child see you reading. To quietly demonstrate the benefits of reading, point out some interesting stuff from what you are reading.
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Offer a wide range of reading materials
  • fiction
  • informational (nonfiction)
  • graphic novels
  • picture books
  • magazines (kid and adult)
  • comic books
  • Closed captioning: Turn on the closed captioning while you watch TV. Closed captioning didn’t exist when my son was young, so I can’t say much about this. If you try it, let me know how it works! 
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Read the Books Your Child Reads
There are lots of wonderful kids’ books out there. If you read some of the books your child reads, you’ll have something to talk about. Ask your child for some recommendations. Also, consider reading books he’s reading for class. 
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Read to younger kids, pets
Even though I was a decent reader as a student, I hated reading aloud in class. It wasn’t until I started babysitting and reading to my charges that I lost my aversion to reading aloud. Reading to younger kids and pets offers lots of practice with easier books and starts to build confidence.
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Audio Books
I’m a big fan of audio books and always have one in my car. I have warm memories of listening to audio books with my son while on trips. Audio books give the same benefits as read alouds.
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Book series
When I find an author I like, I’ll often check out if she has more books with the same characters. They become familiar, a little like family. Kids often feel the same way. Book series offer built-in reading motivation. Even if the reading level becomes more difficult, the motivation often remains. Motivation is good!
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Special interest books
Give your child books about his special interests. His background knowledge will make somewhat challenging text not so challenging, because he already has a clue as to what it’s about.
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Poetry and Joke books
There are some pretty entertaining poetry and joke books out there. Consider checking some out from the library and taking turns sharing poems that appeal to you and jokes that crack you up.
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Go to the library
Let your child pick out whatever books she chooses – even if you think they are too easy or too hard. And then, when you get home, allow her to choose whether or not she reads them! Libraries are all about choices.
In the library, consider finding a shelf that looks good to you, sitting down, and pulling books off the shelf to look at. This keeps you out of your child’s face and models that books interest you. Do the same with magazines. There are many fun kids’ magazines that teach me something new every time I read them.
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Family stories
Most families have stories. Consider writing some of them down. Maybe even putting them in a book to read at bedtime.
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Resources I used for compiling these tips
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What are some ways you've attracted your child to read more? Write them in the Comment box!
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Gail