Moms Inspire Learning

Share a Story: Old Faves and New Classics

Button created by Susan Stephenson, the Book Chook, using ToonDoo.com.

Good morning!

I hope you're enjoying the Share a Story - Shape a Future Blog Literacy Tour so far. The theme for day 4 is Reading Through the Ages: Old Faves & New Classics, and it's being hosted at The Book Whisperer  today. I'll hope you'll go take a look at the posts, especially if you're a teacher!

Tomorrow is the last day of this year's tour. The theme will be Reading for the Next Generation, and it will be hosted at Jen Robinson's Book Page. If you're looking for some great YA book reviews, you might want to take a look through this blog in advance!

Due to the time differences across the world, I will be posting my contribution, Am I a failure if I don't read with my kids, by this evening. See you later!

Share a Nonfiction Book Today!

Share a Story, Shape a Future Literacy Blog Tour is being hosted at The Reading Zone today. Please be sure to stop by to find some great posts relating to nonfiction!

Have a wonderful day.

Circles of Literacy, Part 1

©iStockphoto/forestus

Do you remember, in the movie The Lion King, when Simba saw his reflection in the water? At first, he sees his own reflection; but when Rafiki asks him to look harder, it is the face of Mufasa (his father) he sees.

Welcome to Share a Story Blog Literacy Tour!

Are you ready for the big event?

To kick off the week, the theme for today is The Many Faces of Reading. You will find links to so many wonderful posts by the many faces of bloggers at The Reading Tub's Scrub-a-Dub-Tub blog.

You'll also want to check out the daily writing prompts at the Share a Story site. Today's three Writing about Reading questions are:

• What is the book from your childhood you can't wait to share with a child and why?  
• Who is the person who influenced you most as a reader?  
• Do you have any special reading-time rituals for reading aloud with kids?

You can find out how to join the conversation at the post Writing About Reading: Questions for Day 1. Please do!

I'll have more information for you about the Share a Story Shape a Future Blog Tour each day this week, including posts of my own tomorrow and Friday.

Have a fantastic week!

Read-Alouds in Middle School?

A common misconception among parents, and even some teachers, is that once children start reading independently, they no longer have the need or the desire to be read-aloud to. Well, having observed and worked in a few different 4th and 5th grade classroom settings (within low and high socioeconomic status neighborhoods), I can tell you that tweens LOVE to hear read-alouds!

Whether tweens are avid readers, or very reluctant readers, they love to hear really great stories. When you think about it, who doesn't?

Teachable Moments for World Maths Day!

Welcome to World Maths Day! Right now, children around the world are playing mental math games online.

So, I thought I'd just write a very quick post about how to extend the learning by finding the teachable moments that surround you every single day. Here are just a few off the top of my head:

Share a Story Event is Coming Next Week!

Badges created by Susan Stephenson (The Book Chook), using ToonDoo.

It Takes a Village to Raise a Reader.

That's the theme for this year's Share a Story week, which will take place all across the blogosphere between March 8th and 14th. It's the one time when librarians, teachers, parents, illustrators, and authors come together to blog about literacy and children's literature. So, please be sure to mark you calendar!

Literacy Lava 4 is Available Now!

The 4th edition of Literacy Lava is ready! Here is a list of the titles of the articles included in this issue:

• Nurture Creative Thinking

• Let's Give Magazines a Little More Love

• Book Loving Boys

• What do I do? My child hates to write!

• The Love of Reading

• Discovering Baskets of Hands-On Learning

• Simple Story Extensions

• The Multimedia Generation

I did not make a contribution to this current issue, but you'll find some repeating contributors, as well as some new ones, in this edition. So, grab a nice warm beverage and relax for a few moments of quiet reflection...

You can access this current issue of Literacy Lava, as well as volumes 1 through 3, here. Enjoy!

This Reading Research is Timeless

Just in case you haven't gotten your hands on The Read-Aloud Handbook, by Jim Trelease yet, Jen Robinson just wrote a complete review of the sixth edition this week. Even though it was published in 2006, it's full of research that remains so relevant today. You can find her review at Jen Robinson's Book Page.

You might also be interested in reading one of my prior posts, which has two great book recommendations for teachers:

• Why Children Are Not Reading, and What We Can Do About It 

I'd like to thank those of you who supported the National "Read to Kids" Campaign proposal! We'll see what happens during the final round of voting next week.

Have a great weekend!

Your Vote is Your Voice

Do you remember all of those anti-smoking commercials? I don't know if they're still on anymore, but boy did they leave a lasting impression.

What about all those "It's 10 pm. Do you know where your children are" commercials? Those were unforgettable too, weren't they?