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New York City School Library System
Office of Library ServicesNYC Department of Education
Sponsored by Macy’s Department Stores
January 20th and 28th , 2011Thank you Scholastic for hosting!
Why do people read?
There areEight Million
Reasons!
8,000,000…
Why focus on nonfiction?
• Our students live in a world of information
• Our students have a natural curiosity
• Research shows that boys in particular are attracted to nonfiction text
Why focus on nonfiction?
• Reading nonfiction exposes students to language of different disciplines
• Improves fluency and comprehension
Why focus on nonfiction?
• In fourth grade, state tests are about 50% narrative and 50% expository
• By eighth grade, approximately 73% of each test requires reading for information or the performance of a task
Why focus on nonfiction?
Our students have more exposure than ever before to expository text through the internet, but they are not being taught the skills to evaluate, use it or even read it.
Moss, Barbara. “Making a case and a place for effective content area literacy instruction in the elementary grades.” The Reading Teacher, Vo 59, No. 1, Sept. 2005, pp.46-55.
Why book clubs?
“…combine two powerful educational ideas: collaborative learning and independent reading.”
Daniels, Harvey and Steven Zemelman. Subjects Matter; every teacher's guide to content-area reading. Heinemann, Portsmouth, NH, 2004
New Yorkers Read Wikihttp://newyorkersread.wikispaces.com
The New Yorkers Read Campaign
• Postcards• Reading ambassadors• Career connection• Banner • Publicity• Assessment
Postcards– 2-3 per student– Collect “I read because” statements
• From family• From community members
– Display prominently in school
I read_______________because_____________
Reading Ambassadors– Students who
complete a passport to reading.
– Write one book hook each for two titles.
– Special recognition at Family Literacy Ceremony or school assembly
Career connections– Help students see
the connections of the books to the real world
Banner and New Yorkers Read Logo– Display prominently in school– Display on Web site– Other uses?
Textual Lineage
What five books were formative in your life?
Audio Excerpt Provided by TeachingBooks.net
Break Into Book
Discussion Groups
Lunch
Starting Book Clubs
Grades 3-5
What are the characteristics of all book clubs, fiction or nonfiction?
How are nonfiction book clubs different than those based on fiction?
• Would using nonfiction change the dynamics of a book club?
• How does the genre/material impact the direction of the discussion?
How are nonfiction book clubs different?
• Focus on the topic more than the book
• May want to bring in additional related titles to compare and complement information– Kids like to become experts
on a topic
How are nonfiction book clubs different?
• May need to invoke prior knowledge
• Maybe bring in a short article on the subject to get students interested and started (text to world connection)
How are nonfiction book clubs different?
• Encourage “text to text” connections
• Perhaps students have found other information on this subject that they can share– Museum visits– Newspaper and magazine
articles
Inviting Book Club Participants• Focus on targeted
population for your school– Gender, ELL, low scores,
disengaged learners, absentees
– Look at ARIS data– Look at Inquiry Team focus– Read Quality Review report– Look at school statistics on
DOE school Web portal
Learn what students need for successful participation:– Students do not automatically
know how to discuss– Students do not know how to
ask questions– Students do not always
understand how to be respectful of each other and of other opinions
Preparing Students:
• Show students how to discuss and not just talk (or not talk)
• Try ice-breaking activities• Students should back up
comments with specific references to book (or another source)
Facilitator’s Role:
• Carefully plan first meeting• Provide FOOD – it always
helps• Be prepared with backup
questions and ones to get ball rolling
• Help students structure the group rules
Facilitator’s Role:
• Encourage logical reasoning and well-supported arguments
• Read out loud if struggling readers
• Help explore author background– Use www.TeachingBooks.net
Facilitator’s Role:
• “Listen more than speak”• Manage, but don’t control,
the flow of ideas• Try to balance discussion
among gender, personality types, ethnicity
• Allow discussion and disagreement, but not arguments
Facilitator’s role:• Set up Web 2.0 applications in
which students can share thoughts on and reviews of books
• If do not have access to technology to support that format, think of less technical ways of sharing thoughts on books (Olga Nesi’s presentations at Spring Conferences presented some ideas.)
How are nonfiction book clubs different?
• May need to review nonfiction evaluation elements– Qualifications of author– Currency of information– Fact vs. opinion– Stereotypes– Balanced treatment of subject
• It is OK to “question the author”
How are nonfiction book clubs different?
• May need to point out common expository text structures:– Description– Sequence– Comparison and contrast– Cause and effect– Problem solving
How are nonfiction book clubs different?
• Might ask student to “retell” a part of the book to check for comprehension– Not a plot summary– Student should be able to put in
own words what author is talking about, what he/she learned
– Student should be able to relate the book to own experiences (even if is contrasting it to own experiences)
Web 2.0 Tools• Guys Read http://www.guysread.com
• TeachingBooks.net http://www.teachingbooks.net
• Teacher Tube Book Trailers http://www.teachertube.com/
• James Patterson’s Read Kiddo Read http://www.readkiddoread.com
Program Assessment:
• Circulation statistics of the titles provided by grant– If in Destiny, follow the printed
instructions– If not automated, try to keep
track when the books go out
• Statistics on book club participation– How many students– How many meetings
Program Assessment:
• Anecdotal accounts of effect of books and club on students
• Student book hooks or reviews
• Pre and post survey on reading attitudes of book club participants and of non-participants
Thank You
