Trends in K12 Literature, LIBMEDIA 715, Summer 2010 - Instructor: Sherry Freiberg, UW-O
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Jenn McMahon as "Ivana Readalot" during Tullar's Reading Week


Competencies/Objectives

Competencies/Objectives

Readings

Ash by Malinda Lo
What Happened to Cass McBride? by Gail Giles
Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman
Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
The Dunderheads by Paul Fleishman
The Frog Scientist by Pamela Turner
The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel in Words and Pictures by Brian Selznick
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Liar by Justine Larbalestier
Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians by Jarrett J. Krosoczko
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnel
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Projects

Accelerated Reader Research Paper




Bibliographic Essay





Reader Response Journals


























Trends in K12 Literature Paper


Book Talk


Student-Created Glogs

Reading Week


Reflection

The role of the school librarian has changed immensely since I was a child; however, despite the new emphasis on technology integration and teaching the ethical use of information and technology, one role of the media specialist still holds true -- the importance of instilling a love of reading to students and working with classroom teachers toward that end.

Reading a wide-variety of children's and YA literature is vital to being able to promote various books to students. Included are several reflections of readings -- of various genres. However, simply reading and talking about great books isn't always enough. Today's students often need a "hook" -- something to get them sparked into action.

I've worked on inspiring a love of reading through Reading Week activities. I dressed up as the starlet "Ivan Readalot," students at my elementary school are encouraged to read, read, read for prizes and other fun activities during one week in March. Each year, our theme changes; however, the goal is always the same -- to get kids inspired to read. This week-long activity is done in collaboration with the reading specialist and all the of the classroom teachers.

I also have a summer library reading program, where each week during summer library, student can learn about different topics and win prizes for reading. This year, students learned about ancient Egypt, mummification, gardening and root vegetables, pirates (complete with a pirate treasure hunt using QR codes) and more. All activities, this year, centered around the theme "Dig into Reading." Students who participate in the summer library reading program are students who need extra reinforcement in reading and math during the summer months.

I've also worked with classroom teachers to encourage students to share THEIR love of reading. By using Glogster, an online poster program, students in third grade and above create electronic posters of their favorite books. These posters are posted on the library website for all students, parents, and community members to see.