Adolescent Literacy

I recently viewed a podcast on adolescent literacy. I was pleased to learn of one school's efforts to help their students reading in the content areas. As a teacher, I see my students struggling everyday with reading and even how to process information in the textbook. This school formulated a professional learning program that allowed teachers to take charge of their students' reading. I do realize now, upon reflection, that schools do in fact stop teaching reading to the students in elementary grades. This is very disturbing. When students matriculate to higher grades, the requirements for reading and comprehension change drastically. Children are initially faced with phonics, pronunciation, and basic comprehension in elementary school, and then when they arrive to the middle grades they are required to understand the layout and advanced content with in textbooks and other books without any assistance in how to approach this vastly different type of literature.
In this podcast the teachers were empowered to teach their students how to approach reading regardless of the content area. This was not a job given only to the english teachers. It was rather refreshing and I hope to assist my students a little more in how to approach their science textbook.

Percy Jackson

A friend of mine recently gave me the book Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The book is about a boy who is dyslexic and has also been diagnosed with ADHD, but he is half god. In his adventures he finds that he has special gifts as the son of the Greek god Poseiden.
I think that this fictional book would be great for many young boys as it is very similar to Harry Potter books. With action and adventure, the series shows young adults that even if there are set backs in their lives they can still do great things.

A Closer Look

Some of my spare time this summer has been spent re-reading the Harry Potter series. One of my most beloved books, I am now realizing its appeal to young people, particularly young boys. I remember when the books were first released. I was just entering high school, and I was very surprised to find that many young boys were reading these lengthy books. This really speaks for the content and writing given that so many young people were willing to stick with reading and completing the series.
Upon reflecting on the readings in Chance, I realize that so many of thes young people were able to escape into a different world unaccesible in reality. Boys in particular have this desire almost ingrained in them. As an individual who is so fond of reading, it is incredibly disappointing for me, especially as a teacher, to know that so many young people miss out on the enjoyment of reading. Harry Potter will, however, always be my go-to series to try to enspire any reluctant reader to read. Thanks J. K. Rowling!

Naked Reading

I recently came across a book titled Naked Reading. The author, Teri Lesesne, writes about different ways to get kids interested in books. The book is available in print or e-book on stenhouse.com.
The author wittingly came up with the title of the book after noticing that her 10 year old grandaughter would spend time air-drying after a shower to continue reading an interesting book.
Within the book she looks at:
Emerging interests of tweens, specific engaging titles to interest reluctant readers, and classroom activities to spark interests.

Improving My Classroom Library

In an attempt to improve my classroom library selection that I offer to my students, I have been in search of ways to find cheap and even free books. though I teach high school science, I am a firm believer that any reading is beneficial to my students. in my online search i have stumbled upon the website www.friedbeef.com/best-places-to-get-free-books-the-ultimate-guide/ . This website offeres numerous places to recieve free books and even book trade-in sites. It also liste several sites with top 10 lists. I found this very useful.