Reading Workshop

I will be taking a brief hiatus from posting Picturebook reviews until mid-June. I have some writing to complete and some wine to drink :)

Theoretical Shifts From autonomous models of literacy to social models of literacies From Web 1.0 (focus on consumption) to Web 2.0 (focus on production) From websites providing information to social media platforms From voices of authority (ie. Cliff Notes) to dialogic interactions (multiple interpretations) From in-class community of readers to global community of readers From institutionally generated content to user-generated content. Pedagogical Shifts From teacher as transmitter of knowledge to co-learner From response notebooks to reader blogs and social networking sites From in class literature study groups to online chat rooms and discussion boards From putting post-its in novels to digital highlighting and commentary tools From dictionaries on shelves to instant access to online reference materials From close reading of written text to critical, analytical readings of multimodal texts Textual Shifts From print-based to web-based and digital texts From written language (monomo...

Dav Pilkey delivered the keynote address at the IRA conference in New Orleans this morning. He talked about boys and reading, the importance of choice, Mad Magazine, and that struggling readers may love to read too, especially if we let them choose what to read. Great humor. His website is full of fun and information: http://www.pilkey.com

Literate Event or Social Practice Traditional Technologies New Technologies Benefits of New Technologies Challenges with New Technologies Visual Entertainment Go to the Movies Stream videos on phone or tablet Rent a DVD Buy movie online Immediate Access More portable Can do it more often Done in home Not as social Smaller screens = less impact Personal Communication Advertising Products Listening to Music You can see from this chart that there are benefits and challenges associated with every change in technology we are confronted with. Fill it in and see where this takes you. This chart will be featured in my new book from Heinemann in 2015 entitled: The Reading Workshop 2.0: Teaching Reading in the Digital Age

A wonderful review of my new book Reading the Visual on Teachers College Record at: http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=17519

These are some of my older favorite books about teachers and schooling. They are excellent resources for discussing aspects of schools and what teachers do and shouldn't do. I have a long list of these books at: http://www.frankserafini.com/book-lists/books-about-teachers.pdf

For the past forty years, picturebooks have been an important resource in the elementary reading curriculum, especially in primary grade classrooms. However, contemporary picturebooks contain themes, issues, artwork, and quality writing that is appropriate for older readers as well. An important reason for sharing picturebooks with older readers is the vast array of appropriate themes, issues and topics contained in these texts. If you haven’t explored the world of picture books lately you are in for a surprise. Most noticeably is the publication of picturebooks that contain sophisticated writing styles, complex illustrations, contemporary themes, and unique visual designs and formats. Because of the relatively short length of the picture book, these multimodal texts provide information in a readily accessible format. Picturebooks can be used to introduce new content area topics or stimulate in depth discussions in a single class period. In addition, picturebooks are an excellent resou...

Tomorrow is Cinco De Mayo - a day of celebration of Mexican American heritage and pride. The Pura Belpre Award is given each year by the American Library Association. The award is named after Pura Belpré, the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. The Pura Belpré Award, established in 1996, is presented annually to a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. One of my favorite author's Gary Soto won the award a couple of times for his picturebooks feature Chato - the Latino cat with an attitude!! More can be found at: http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/belpremedal

I have been working on my new column for The Reading Teacher from IRA. This column will feature picturebooks that incorporate a book into their storyline or as a character in the book. These examples above all feature postmodern or metafictive elements, in particular self-referentiality, parody, and ambiguity. I love these books! They force the reader to be more active and involved in the story and playfully expose some of the narrative conventions readers take for granted.

Here are some excerpts from the Commencement Address I delivered at Willammette University in Salem, OR a few years ago: My experience over the past 25 years as an educator has helped shape my outlook on life and helped form my vision for the world I want to live in. But as the gray hair becomes more prominent, my years of experience have also caused me to forget what it is like to be 20 something and starting a new career in education. Over the next few weeks, and probably at some party this evening, someone that is as old as I am is going to lean over and offer you some advice for your future. So listen to us, and nod your head respectfully, and consider what we have to say, but be sure the decisions ahead are all yours: There are very few black and white decisions, and No one can live your life for you. You need to get out in the world and find your own path, create your own vision of what you want the world to be. Life is simply what you make of it. So get o...