Turn Up Your Reading Volume!

Principal ponderings...

Did you know that this Friday, February 1st, is World Read Aloud Day?!  It's the 10th annual World Read Aloud Day to help promote the idea that everyone in the world should be able to read and write.  And it's a good time for us to talk about and think about how important read alouds are for all of our students.

Here's what is posted about why we celebrate World Read Aloud Day:

Every year, on World Read Aloud Day, people all around the globe read

aloud together and share stories to advocate for literacy as a human right

that belongs to all people.

There are lots of ideas on the LitWorld website of how you can celebrate this day. I encourage you to think about connecting with another classroom in another school through a format like Google hangout. Or maybe try to set up a session with an author. If you use social media, share how you celebrate using the hashtag #WorldReadAloudDay. Check out this link for more ideas and resources: http://www.litworld.org/wrad/

Since this special day is this week, let's talk about how important read alouds are in our classrooms (and at home, too!).  Read alouds need to be a part of students' lives everyday.  Hopefully students are being read to be teachers and parents on a daily basis.  

Yes we are helping kids develop a love of reading when we read aloud to them.  But there are so many other benefits as well.  There are actually many answers to the question of why should we read aloud to children.  Here are a few: vocabulary development, comprehension skills, phonics development, fluency, storytelling, understanding the concepts of print, language development, brain development, connecting with students, listening skills, attending, imagination, developing empathy... I could go on and on.  The point is reading aloud is important, and we need to make sure we are making time for it on a daily basis.  For younger students, listening to picture books or poems does not take more than 15 minutes during the day.  For our older students, reading a chapter from a book is a great activity to start the day, transition from a special or recess, or end the day.  And don't forget that our older students love to listen to picture books and poems, too!

Here are some facts that might persuade you to not only focus on read alouds more, but also share their importance with parents.  

• Did you know that a child not reading at grade level by the end of 1st grade has an 88% chance of not reading at grade level by the end of 4th grade?
• Did you know that kids not reading proficiently by 3rd grade are 4 times more likely to drop out of school?
• Did you know that only 48% of young children in this country are read to every day?
• Did you know that more than half the children in this country, 13 million children, will not hear a bedtime story tonight?
• Did you know that reading aloud for 15 minutes every day for 5 years = 27,375 minutes or 456.25 hours of exposure to books?!

If you don't want to take my word for it about read alouds, check out this article about why every class needs read alouds.

Or this article about the benefits of reading aloud to older children.

Motivated to focus even more on your read alouds this week?  Check out this post about how to pick a good read aloud text. 

And if you are looking for some ideas, here's Scholastic's list of 100 best read alouds.

Not sure how to connect with authors virtually?  Check out this link or this list that Kate Messner has generated.

Check out this possible literacy opportunity this week that I discovered on Twitter:

In honor of what would’ve been Jackie Robinson’s 100th birthday this Thurs 1/31, I’m giving away a free Skype visit. Gr 2-5 #teachers, if your class is free at 1:30/2pm EST, message me by 7pm on 1/28 and tell me why this opportunity would be meaningful for your Ss. Good luck! 🍀 pic.twitter.com/sUjdQGiXXz

— April Jones Prince (@AprilEdit) January 27, 2019

And here's something else I found on Twitter...tune into Scholastic on Friday to hear authors reading aloud!

Celebrate #WorldReadAloudDay with us on 2/1 by tuning into our LIVE read-aloud event featuring authors @StudioJJK, @Sayantani16, @peterhreynolds, Ross Burach, and Carmen Agra Deedy! RSVP here: https://t.co/gKyh21GSN4 pic.twitter.com/Qskpzyqgry

— Scholastic (@Scholastic) January 27, 2019

I could not agree more...being read to is such a good feeling!  And reading out loud to kids is certainly one of favorite activities.  (If anyone wants me to come read to a classroom over the next few weeks...let me know!) Reading out loud to my daughter at night is also one of my favorite activities...even if I feel like we have read the Pete the Cat book about a thousand times.

What read alouds will you enjoy with your students this week?  With your families?  With each other?  Let's turn up the reading volume and get loud about reading aloud! 

Currently reading:
I might have visited a bookstore recently, and I might have bought some new books.  :)
I got a few new picture books including this one called Just Add Glitter.  It's a fun, rhyming book where a little girl learns if there is such a thing as too much bling. 

I had hard some great reviews about a book that might be one for 5th graders.  The book is called Dry.  I started reading it as soon as I brought it home.  It's the story of what it would be like if the California drought went to extreme.  What would you do if there was no more water?  I definitely read this book with a big glass of water next to me!

I am also reading a book called She Dared: Malala Yousafzai.  I have read about her before both in a picture book format and in another chapter book.  I am thinking this version will be good for 3rd or 4th graders; I will let you know when I finish it.

Events this week:
Monday - Report cards will be made available to parents through PowerSchool, School Council Meeting @ 4:00 in the conference room
Tuesday - Mr. Wilde's Fit Club @ 8am, CST meeting at 8:30 and 9:00, K-2 ELL Science Club @ 3:25
Wednesday - 3-5 ELL Science Club @ 3:25
Thursday - Mr. Wilde's Fit Club @ 8am, Half day dismissal @ 12:15 - PD in the afternoon, PTA 99 Restaurant Fundraiser 4:00-9:00
Friday - World Read Aloud Day!
Saturday - I will be helping to lead an EdCamp in Franklin.  Never been to an EdCamp?  Come check it out if you are free...and by the way it's free! Learn more about it here: https://www.smore.com/ekv1b-edcamp-maleads-is-coming

Great things I noticed last week:

• I happened to time it just right to pop into 4V for a rock party.  I was thinking along the lines of rock and roll music, but it was actually more along the lines of rocks and minerals.  A parent came in to share her knowledge and some hands on examples. 
  
  
• Wonder if these houses built during Science Club with Mrs. Hilton will withstand a windstorm?! 
  
• During a visit to 1R, I saw students sharing different performance tips as they prepared to start doing some reader's theater. 
  
• Principal Jenna did a great job being the Principal for the Day on Friday.  She logged almost 10,000 steps on her fitbit and made it into every classroom at some point in the day, plus some cafeteria visits, recess time, and a meeting with the assistant superintendent! 
  
• Thank you to everyone who helped make Friday's library committee appreciation dinner a success.  The ladies enjoyed the food and loved the poems and cards.  And they were still busy planning and brainstorming for the library, even while enjoying their meal! 
  

Check it out:
Take three minutes and listen to Kate DiCamillo describe how important reading aloud is to people of all ages.  I seriously don't know if it's possible to love her anymore, but this video clip definitely made my heart grow even more for her! https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/kate-dicamillo-on-the-magic-of-reading-aloud
Check out this quick video clip that talks about how old is too old to read aloud (spoiler alert...you are never too old!) https://blog.heinemann.com/read-aloud-to-your-students