CSU_TLship

Blog site devoted to celebrating children, books and reading with commentary about reading, great titles and links plus lots more.

Kids Need to Read works to create a culture of reading for children by providing inspiring books to underfunded schools, libraries, and literacy programs across the United States, especially those serving disadvantaged. General books lists by school sector are supplemented with "Peace Packs" ranging from bullying to world peace topics and LGBT titles. Predominantly American but includes other and quite up to date - e.g. Wimpy Kid, Origami Yoda. Unfortunately the lists are not annotated.

Publishers, booksellers and illustrators tell Madelyn Travis about the challenges facing picture books today. the book Trust looks at the publishing side of picture books and issues.

Create story books with super easy tools. Publish your own hardcover or paperback books. Promote them to our worldwide community. Free education options available.

Historically, fiction texts have dominated classroom instruction and school library collections but there is a significant body of research that suggests the early engagement of primary students with quality non-fiction texts has a positive effect on literacy achievement, reading engagement and the ability to use the expository material students encounter in higher education.

Filmed July 2009 at TEDGlobal 2009 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story. Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice - and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

Using comic books in the classroom may seem unconventional to some teachers, however, many educators have found that they provide a variety of benefits in the classroom, including: Easy to track storylines Bright, attention-getting imagery Familiar characters that students want to read about New vocabulary, not otherwise found in children's books If you're not sure how to bring comic books in the classroom, use these tips and lesson ideas.

This resource presents units of work on 12 popular authors whose works cover early childhood through to secondary interests. Each unit includes an author interview, supporting resources and a lesson outline with curriculum links. Authors include: J C Burke, Larissa Behrandt, Peter Fitzsimons, Jacqueline Wilson, Meg Rosoff, William Dalrymple, Andy Griffiths, Alison Lester, Anita Heiss, John Boyne, Tara June and Winch Ros Gittens

So often, people think of presentation slides as just that: a visual aid for delivering a presentation in front of an audience. But these slide apps (like Google Slides and PowerPoint in Office 365) really are powerful tools for delivering interactive user experiences. They can also create visually stimulating products to deliver a message and valuable content. By thinking outside the box with Google Slides, PowerPoint and other similar tools, teachers can create unique learning experiences for students. Or students can create them to share with other students.

There's a TED Talk I've been showing my students for the last couple of years called "The Danger of a Single Story" by Chimamanda Adichie. In this amazing TED Talk, Adichie warns us how stereotypes are formed, prejudices take root, and discriminatory behaviors occur when "one story" is told about a group of people with whom we have limited contact or understanding. Although it is convenient to accept a single narrative as a "universal truth" to be applied to all members of a group, it is very dangerous. So dangerous and powerful, in fact, that entire genocides have been committed using this very tactic.

E-readers and tablets are becoming more popular as such technologies improve, but research suggests that reading on paper still boasts unique advantages

So here they are: 15 formats for structuring a class discussion to make it more engaging, more organized, more equitable, and more academically challenging. If you've struggled to find effective ways to develop students' speaking and listening skills, this is your lucky day.

Colleen Pennell, of the Nerdy Book Club reflects on her teen daughters early disinterest in reading. "My guess is that many girl readers who are reluctant may not have been provided enough choice over what they read and/or have been fed a nonstop diet of leveled books since kindergarten. Moreover, little respect has been afforded to the multiple types of texts, both traditional and nontraditional, that girls consume. In this blog post, I reflect upon the reading lives of girls, especially those who are reluctant, and focus upon three avenues that can help all girls feel like a member of the literacy club."

Publishing a children's book in Russia is not a straightforward matter, as Anna Starobinets found when her detective stories set among woodland animals were deemed to be far too beastly for children

Dust Echoes is a series of twelve beautifully animated dreamtime stories from Central Arnhem Land, telling stories of love, loyalty, duty to country and aboriginal custom and law. Supporting resources available.

The mission of the Skype an Author Network is to provide K-12 teachers and librarians with a way to connect authors, books, and young readers through virtual visits. Wouldn't it be great to invite authors into your classroom or library to video chat with students before, during, and/or after reading their books? We are growing a list of authors who want to make that connection with you via Skype. Visit our Skype Overview page to learn more about Skype. The site also shares some great success stories to inspire and inform you for planning and organising.

Animaps extends the My Maps feature of Google Maps by letting you create maps with markers that move, images and text that pop up on cue, and lines and shapes that change over time. When you send your Animap to friends it appears like a video - they can play, pause, slow and speed up the action!