Early May #LiteracyTips Newsletter

May 10, 2019

Earlier this week I sent out the Early May edition of #LiteracyTips, our bi-weekly newsletter. This is an abbreviated version of that 8-minute read.

To get the full-edition in your inbox, just check “Literacy Tips and News” in the I am Interested In … list. We’ll take care of the rest.

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literacy debateReading Logs & Book Challenges

There is renewed discussion around the Interwebs about using logs and book challenges to “encourage” reading. Unfortunately, there are unintended consequences for these activities, and it seems that more often than not kids end up hating reading or worse, seeing it as a punishment.

There are lots of very good discussions out there, but I am going to point you to the two written by parents who work in the literacy field (educator, librarian)  because both Rich and Karen make it easy for parents to understand the concepts and then make decisions based on their family’s needs. [All without shaming those who choose to use challenges and logs.]

  • Reading Logs by Rich Czyz @ 4 O’Clock Faculty. Rich draws on his experience as a dad and educator to share some alternatives to reading logs. Bet you’ll love that he gives credit for reading cereal boxes! [via my blog reader]
  • How Misuse of the 40 Book Challenge Made My Kid Hate Reading and Why (& How) I Pushed Back by Karen Jensen @ School Library Journal. Karen not only explains how her school’s reading program backfired for her daughter but shares the ways she got her daughter interested in reading again AND respectfully established boundaries with her daughter’s school. [via Jen Robinson’s Book Page]

Hooray for Book Lists

Book lists make it really easy to find books that your kids will love.

Whether your second grader is obsessed with baseball, or your teen wants more books like Percy Jackson or The Hate You Give … there’s a book list for that!

If your reader has an interest, we have a list. We have more than 250 … and we add more every day! Bookmark this page to have ready access to ALL the book lists we keep on the Reading Tub. We are always updating! To give you an example of what we look for, these are five of the book lists we’ve added in the last week:

#LitTip subscribers also received Beyond Books, a section of the newsletter with literacy-based activities that don’t involve sitting with or listening to a book. The Early May edition included three ways to create memories and pack some literacy fun into summer activities – at no additional cost to your family.

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