Children’s Literacy and Reading News Roundup – Early March Edition

The Read Across America Day edition of the children’s literacy and reading news round-up, brought to you by Jen Robinson’s Book Page, Scrub-a-Dub-Tub, and Rasco from RIF is now available at Jen Robinson’s Book Page. Over the past couple of weeks Jen Robinson, Carol Rasco, and I have collected plenty of content for you about literacy & reading-related events; literacy and reading programs and research; and suggestions for growing bookworms.

Yes, we just posted Carol’s writeup, but there is so much really cool stuff going on … and the timing with World Book Day, Read Across America Day, and World Read Aloud Day made today the perfect day to post!

Sunshine, spring breezes and the garden have been calling to me lately, so Jen gets all the credit for finding such wonderful stories.

I particularly loved the piece about using social media in the classroom to help introverted kids. Teacher Royan Lee’s observations about how social media can level the playing field, so to speak. This passage grabbed me:

Social media allows shy/quiet kids to express themselves more clearly without having to transform into a bombastic or extroverted individual. Everyone becomes more diverse in the way they communicate and connect with one another. Labels then start disappearing in your class. It allows students to communicate with classmates they do not normally communicate with.

As you’ll see from Jen’s incredible list of events, there are plenty of opportunities to get in the spirit of reading not only with your kids, but as part of a community effort. From Jen:

you might as well just plan to read aloud with a child every day in March. Then you’ll be sure not to miss any of these celebrations! And once you get in the habit of reading with a child every day, you’ll be all set for D.E.A.R. Day in April, and all the months ahead.

Speaking of events … next Monday is the first day of Share a Story-Shape a Future 2011. We’ll be unwrapping the gift of literacy all week long. At last count, there were 35 bloggers on board to share their personal stories, book recommendations, and enthusiasm. We hope you’ll not just follow along, but join in, too. Additional posts on the topic of the day are always welcome and our Writing @ Reading prompt might just inspire you … there are giveaways involved.

As always, thanks for joining us for the roundups and all the support you give us with retweets!