Group items tagged

Abstract Readers of fiction tend to have better abilities of empathy and theory of mind (Mar et al., 2006). We present a study designed to replicate this finding, rule out one possible explanation, and extend the assessment of social outcomes. In order to rule out the role of personality, we first identified Openness as the most consistent correlate. This trait was then statistically controlled for, along with two other important individual differences: the tendency to be drawn into stories and gender. Even after accounting for these variables, fiction exposure still predicted performance on an empathy task. Extending these results, we also found that exposure to fiction was positively correlated with social support. Exposure to nonfiction, in contrast, was associated with loneliness, and negatively related to social support.

Data on the benefits of reading fiction.

Throughout the year, the website will be available to everyone, with open access to lists of titles, short previews, and reviews, all of which will help librarians and teachers find and select new content. Here Be Fiction will also feature author biographies, publisher overviews, and editorial content focusing on ways to use ebooks in classrooms and school libraries.

"AMID the squawks and pings of our digital devices, the old-fashioned virtues of reading novels can seem faded, even futile. But new support for the value of fiction is arriving from an unexpected quarter: neuroscience. Brain scans are revealing what happens in our heads when we read a detailed description, an evocative metaphor or an emotional exchange between characters. Stories, this research is showing, stimulate the brain and even change how we act in life."

Excellent annotated list of narrative non-fiction

This webinar gave an overview of the reading, research, and rigor components that librarians can "assist" teachers with. If you wrap your head around these critical shifts, and you will likely become as building leaders as you model solutions for meeting the CCSS. Teachers all over are trying to figure this out and this is a piece of cake for us! Carpe Diem! Wrap your head around Inquiry and Student Centered research projects. (Writing standards 6-10) Help "repackage" research units Help find "rigor" - Rich Text - reading passages, correctly aligned to the CCSS Lexile bands. Understand what it means to "read closely" - with purpose, meaningful, directed, points of view, etc. Understand what a Lexile is and its role in the CCSS Help teachers replace lower level texts (Lexile) with alternatives correctly Lexiled, or Non-fiction Inquiry Units using your non-fiction collection!

A comical blog post about YA fiction

"Get lost in worlds of both fiction and non-fiction by Australian Indigenous Authors."

Thanks for this. By the way, I have bookmarked lots of your shared bookmarks, much appreciated.

St Michael's Grammar School teacher librarian Sally Bray developed a very good fiction blog and has kindly agreed to share her blogging journey with readers of Bright Ideas.

Our What's Next™: Books In Series database helps you search series fiction. A series is two or more books linked by character(s), settings, or other common traits.

The site is designed to help you read fiction book series in order. It is easy to find out which book is next with a custom list based on your favorite series!

Thomas Loud is a passionate dude. He's intelligent, adventuresome and well-intentioned in his quest to save the world. He's also completely fictional. And yet his Twitter account, @ThomasLoud, posts two or three tweets a day - usually about some obscure or seemingly dangerous mission overseas.

This is a group of writers in discussion at the Perth Writers Festival, all of whom have tapped into the vast readership of Young Adult fiction. Video or audio

Educators are increasingly using new media and digital technologies to teach and engage their 21st century students. Reading, writing, gaming, trans-media, immersive worlds, augmented reality, and Web 3.0 are all part of the new digital frontiers. Whether it's science or science fiction, Alice in Wonderland or Angry Birds, the dynamics of this new information ecology are transforming learning experiences in our schools. We can lead this learning revolution by ensuring that our library and the learning ecology we create can harness these new environments. How we do this, will determine our success and the future relevance and importance of our school libraries.