Adventures in Literacy Land: Reading and Writing Redhead

Showing posts with label Reading and Writing Redhead. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reading and Writing Redhead. Show all posts

Books in Verse- a Fun Option for Young Readers



Have you tried books written in verse with your students? These types of books have been around for a while but they seem to be gaining traction this year. Why are these books so hot right now? Readers are always looking for something new and these sure are. The books are often quick and easy reads which make them more accessible to busy children, parents who are doing the read alouds, and a great way to get reluctant readers interested!

If you look at the books written in verse out there, they are also really diverse. The narrators and content covers just about anything you can think of.

In order to help  you get started with types of books,  I have a few suggestions for you and some details about each book, including rough suggestions of what age level the books would be appropriate for. Of course with any book, teachers or parents should always look at it themselves to determine if it is appropriate for a specific child. Check out these selections and let us know if books in verse are in your library!

Love that Dog by Sharon Creech has been out for a while. The narrator of the story is a young boy who learns to use poetry to express himself. It makes for a great read aloud or for students in grades 3 and up.

 
 The Crossover by Kwame Alexander just won the Newbury. It is the tale of twin brothers and deals with issues such as the brother's new girlfriend, their relationship with their father sibling rivalry and all the ups and downs of playing basketball. Some of the verse has an edgy quality that would appeal to kids and sounds similar to rap lyrics. This is a book for older kids though, as it does have a sad ending so maybe try it for ages 10 and up.



  A good read for animal lovers or those who want to start a discussion with youngsters on community and relationships is Little Dog, Lost. There are several different things going on with the plot - a dog who needs an owner, a boy who needs a dog, and a neighbor who needs a friend. This is a great read aloud and I would say would work as one for ages 6 and up and maybe as independent reading for ages 7 or 8 and up, depending on the child's reading level.


  Gone Fishing: A Novel in Verse by Tamera Will Wissinger This one is great for children in grades 1-3 as either a read aloud or independent reading. The story consists of poems of different forms to describe the day of fishing, and has fun illustrations to boot. Kids who dont know much about fishing will still enjoy the style and the story of a boy who is excited for his day fishing until he realizes his little sister is going to tag along too!

 
The Cat on the Mat Is Flat is another fun take on books written in verse. It is a beginning reader's books and consists of seven short stories. They are humourously illustrated and have gotten many a reluctant reader excited. They would probably be good for ages 4-8.





Words with Wings by Nikki Grimes is the tale of a girl whose parents separate after which she has to go to a new school. Grimes is a wonderful writing and the story comes alive. The girl, Gabby, has an understanding new teacher who helps her get her thoughts in writing and a new word of possibilities opens up. This would be a good read for students in grades 4 and up (maybe third grade depending on the student, their reading level and if they were going to read it alone or experience it as a read aloud.


Thank you and happy reading!







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Halloween Books for Kids

Hey there everyone! It's Bex from Reading and Writing Redhead. I am here today to share some ideas for Halloween themed literature you can use in the classroom, suggest to students for their library visits, or share with parents.  And I wanted to be sure to cover books for students through at least elementary school or perhaps evening for middle schoolers! Of course we all know books for students of a certain age can be appreciated by much older or younger children too. Some of the books I read to second graders are aimed to much younger readers and some are advanced chapter books. So treat my age recommendations as just that- recommendations! If the books are new to you, read them yourself first before you decide what direction to go in with them. You can find these books at your local library or click for more information about each book before you decide.

Lets  check out some ideas for the very youngest of children up to about kindergarten.
The Spooky Wheels on the Bus by Elizabeth Mills- The counting in this Halloween version of the famous book goes from One Spooky Bus to Ten Goofy Ghosts. Kids will be singing this one all month!

Spooky Pookie by Sandra Boynton- This cute book has Pookie the pig trying to choose a Halloween costume! Awesome for very young babes and preschoolers.

Little Owl's Night by Divya Srinivasan - While this is not technically a Halloween book, lots of classes do owl units during October so I thought it deserved a mention. Its a cute twist on a bedtime story. Little Owl doesn't understand why anyone would want to miss the full moon. He ends up getting to sleep as the sun begins to rise. Great for babies-preschool.

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson - this fun story includes a witch who loses her hat, then lets a bunch of friends on her broom one by one and has kids wonder if there will be room on the broom for anyone else. It would work for preschoolers- grade 2.

The Itsy Bitsy Pumpkin by Sonali Fry is a cute little twist on the Itsy Bitsy Spider and would be great for preschoolers.

Ten Timid Ghosts by Jennifer O'Connell - in this story a witch moves into a ghosts' house and has to scare them off one by one. It is also useful if you are trying to find a book to make some math connections. This one would probably be appropriate for preschoolers-grade one.


Bone Soup by Cambria Evans is a tale of a little guy named Finnigin who is always hungry! He gets to a new town and no one will share their food with him. What will he do? If he stirs up a little magic, he must just create something good to eat.

The Night Before Halloween by Natasha Wing - great for kindergarten, first and second graders, this book in the Night Before series will get kids excited for Halloween and as a teacher I love the rhyming text!

Hallo-Weiner by Dav Pilkey is just awesome. I bought it back in 2007 and have taped and retaped it several times because the students can't seem to put it down. Its a cute story about a weiner dog who is teased for his costume but ends up saving the day (or Halloween night, actually). It appeals to kindergarteners-grade 2 or 3 I'd say.

The Best Halloween Ever by Barbara Robinson- this is the author of the well-known books The Best School Year Ever and the Best Christmas Ever. In this story, the six Herdman siblings always ruin Halloween by stealing candy and stirring up trouble - until the mayor cancels Halloween! Can it be saved?!

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Spears - a classic story that you probably already know. This is definitely for older children, perhaps ages 12-13+ and explores what would be like to be a young  girl in the 1600's who is suspected of witchcraft.

Zombie Chasers by  John Kloepfer -  Great for grades 5-7, this book combines silly and spooky as three kids try and deal with a zombie outbreak!

 So what is your favorite Halloween book to read? Let us know in the comments below.






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Apps to Support Reading Comprehension


Hey everyone!  It's Bex here from Reading and Writing Redhead. There are SO many apps out there to wade through so I wanted to take a look at a few that could support your students as they work on reading comprehension skills. It is easy to find apps for phonics and vocabulary but trying to find apps for comprehension or ways to use apps to support it is not such a piece of cake. 

And of course as with an app or technology, it won't work for everyone in every circumstance so please comment and let us know what you like and what works for you and your kiddos! Additionally, for most of these I have the free versions but there are paid versions so if you have the paid versions let us know what additional features you can access!

First here are a few apps that are straightforward and your child should be able to use it independently.

Inference Ace

Inference Ace is one of a series of apps from Happy Frog. Inference Ace has a cute and simple interface. In it, students are presented with a series of situations and asked to think about "when", "where" etc.

Here are the levels and as you finish level one, yes you unlock level 2. A level can be repeated so a student who needs more practice could do that or this app could be used by multiple students.


Here is an example of  situations and the options for students to decide when it is happening.


I like that if the student gets it wrong, they prompt her, much like a teacher would.


Occasionally I think you would get a situation a student might be confused by like this one. If you have no background information about camp, you might be stumped, but cafeteria is a big clue here and might make up for that.

The only thing with this app is that it does not give an option where the question/responses can be read aloud so your student needs to be a pretty fluent reader. Also of course, no app like this can ever replace skilled instruction from a teacher, but this is a nice option to supplement what you might be doing in the classroom.

Inference Clues is of course another one of the series of apps from Happy Frog. It has a similar interface. On this app, if you click on the person icon, you can sign in so students can play under their names.



Inference Clues asks students to look for clue words or phrases that help them figure out when or where things or happening. Oh, and by the way, the circles on top fill up as students answer questions right. 


There is a user management tool with these but it is not passcode protected so students might access it; however this could be handy for a teacher! 


Here are some apps that may involve more support from you, the teacher and a little more management and supervision but are still possible uses in small groups, independently or even whole class.

Story Creator
I am new to this app but it is great and has a lot of possibilities! If you want to try it, I highly recommend you search for videos on all the ways to use it because I will barely be able to scratch the surface here. But in any case, you can have students read a story - for example an ebook, and respond to it in in this app. 

So let's say you had your students read the ebook Tuggy and Friends (free by the way) in iBooks.  Have them snap some screenshots while they do this. Then you can have them open Story Creator and start by having them either post their name on the cover or post a screen shot of the cover of the book and their name. See how they can add text, images from the camera roll, take pictures, or do drawings? Neat!


Then they can turn the virtual page and add pictures,  text etc. in whichever way you direct them. You can have them summarize the book, respond based on character and setting and so much more. Sky's the limit with this one!


Want your students to have a virtual version of notetaking when they read an ebook, like when you give them post its to take notes? Or maybe note taking on  a tablet is more motivating for reluctant readers? Here are a few apps that may help!

Mental Note
Mental note allows you to type notes, (it gets saved under the first few words of the note so students should type their name first) and then also draw pictures or handwrite notes. The notes can be saved as PDFs, pictures, text, or just in the note app.


       




Note Master

This is a favorite because students choose a title for their notes and then can type and insert pictures from the camera roll. So if  your student read Tuggy and friends and took some screen shots, she can type a response (here she is giving evidence of how she knows Tuggy is friendly) and then paste a picture! These notes can be uploaded right to dropbox, icloud, emailed, or opened in word or a a .txt file.

      


Popplet
I love Popplet. Right now I have the lite version on my phone but my iPad which is at school has the full version. This would be a great way to create a story map, character maps, and endless other reading responses - Cause and Effect, Setting....

I don't have tons of screen shots but when you start a new one you can type text or insert images.
You can add a lot of popples and you can set them up in all kinds of way. This is a very basic one!

       

And when done, students can save as a jpeg, or email it. There are lots of ways  to customize them too with colors and  themes!



BONUS: Reading Island #1 
I couldn't put it with the others because it is not really for reading comprehension but it is really fun and teaches lots of different reading skills in a fun way.
Here is part of its short vowel sounds section! It has a combination of videos and games. I ran through it for a while and did short vowel sounds, initial, medial and final sound replacement, and spelling. 



So again, these are not thorough descriptions but i just wanted to give you all an idea of what is out there. And not all of these will work for everyone. Comment and let us know below what apps you like for comprehension and  how you use them. Have a great blog post or have you seen a great youtube video for an app? Let us know! Thanks so much!




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