It’s that time of year again when we think of friends and family. Stories continue to delight and inform — and most importantly — to connect us. Celebrate this season of sharing with books and reading. This year's list includes multicultural stories, picture book biographies, folktales and fairy tales, graphic novels, a bit of fantasy and poetry, books about artists, science and nature, family, and friends — plus the newest titles from Andrea Beaty and Kate DiCamillo.
Traci is a Cherokee Nation citizen who lives on her tribe's reservation in northeastern Oklahoma. Formerly a federal Indian law attorney and policy advocate, Traci now focuses on writing fiction and nonfiction books for young people. Her award-winning debut nonfiction picture book We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, illustrated by Frané Lessac, celebrates each season and the value of expressing gratitude throughout the year.
In our interview, Traci talks about the history we need to know in We Are Still Here, the importance of centering Native peoples and history in her books, finding authentic books, and much more. Wado (thank you) for sharing with us, Traci!
Author studies help students develop their reading, writing, research, and critical thinking skills as well as establish a stronger community of readers. Author studies can expose kids to different literary voices and styles and are easily integrated across the curriculum. And they’re fun! If you’re thinking about doing an author study unit in your classroom after the holiday break, start planning using our step-by-step guide.
This has been a challenging year for families, and many kids are experiencing big emotions. How can you support your child's social and emotional well-being through the holiday break and into the new year when schools reopen? Here are some simple ideas to try at home. We hope you'll find these tips easy to blend into your daily routines. Tips are available in 16 languages!
Children's author Carmen Agra Deedy (Martina the Beautiful Cockroach) shares how she engages kids during writing workshops. She starts by working through the beginning-middle-end of a story out loud with the kids.
See more Q&As about writing — including tips on organization, using more interesting words, spelling, grammar, and handwriting — in our video series Writing SOS.
Many kids are fascinated by fairy tales, folktales, tall tales, myths, ghost stories, and pourquoi stories from around the world. We've gathered up a great collection of books, activities, apps, podcasts, and websites to explore this genre.
Turn travel time during a family trip into a great bonding and learning adventure with activities that build language for literacy and boost kids’ brain development. Here, you’ll find simple, fun ideas for singing, reading, and sharing family stories together. (In English and Spanish)
Think-pair-share is a collaborative learning strategy where students work together to solve a problem or answer a question about an assigned reading. Visit Cathy Doyle's second grade classroom in Evanston, Illinois to observe her students learning the think-pair-share strategy. Cathy goes over the “rules” and then engages the kids around a classroom read-aloud, An Egg Is Quiet. This is a great strategy for encouraging whole-class participation — and drawing out kids who are often reluctant to talk in front of the whole class.
Reading expert Linda Farrell helps third-grader Michael master the ‘silent e’ pattern to help him become a more accurate and ultimately more fluid reader. She begins with making sure that Michael can distinguish between short and long vowel sounds in spoken words, then teaches him a multi-sensory way to recognize the short vowel and ‘silent e’ long vowel patterns in written words. Ms. Farrell emphasizes the need to practice each skill to the point of mastery.
A third-grade teacher asks, "What does the research say about the lengths of text segments in a guided reading lesson? How many pages should kids read prior to our discussions?"
Literacy expert Tim Shanahan offers this advice: reading stamina is learned and requires intentional effort, like any other endurance task. He advises consistency (kids need to read a lot), increasing demands, harder and shorter sprints — and taking breaks. Get the details in his blog post.
Classroom teacher and literacy coach Margaret Goldberg says, “I embraced every possible reason not to take early literacy data seriously. I resisted objective data, thinking that cold, hard numbers couldn’t possibly help my students. The data were generic and my students were unique.” Read her blog post to find out how she overcame her “data resistance” and came to realize that when we know how to teach reading well, collecting data becomes a time of excitement and celebration, rather than a burden.
Reading Rockets is a national educational service of WETA, the flagship public television and radio station in the nation's capital. The goal of the project is to provide information on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help.
Send your questions, comments, or suggestions to info@readingrockets.org. Our mailing address is WETA/Reading Rockets, 2775 S. Quincy St., Arlington, VA 22206. We look forward to hearing from you!
