Go Wild with Books: Jungle books and crafts from TRC's Community Reading Festival

This year marks The Reading Connection’s 6th Community Reading Festival. The June 4th festival is targeted at families with children aged two to six years old and will be held at the Charles Houston Recreation Center in Alexandria from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Please join us!

Our theme this year is “Go Wild with Books!” and with the help of some balloons, decorations and awesome safari crafts, we'll have everything we need to transform the multipurpose room into the deepest parts of the jungle. 

Similar to a Read-Aloud, the Community Reading Festival will have guest readers, snacks and themed crafts. Although these crafts were created for the Community Reading Festival, they would go great at a jungle Read-Aloud of your own.

         

 

After listening to great books such as Wild About Books by Judy Sierra, In the Wild by David Elliott and Actual Size by Steve Jenkins, kids will be ready to create some jungle crafts of their own.

TRC has these books and materials for the crafts available at the office if you would like to do a jungle Read-Aloud at your site. Contact Stephanie for materials and then follow the instructions below.

First, when setting out on a safari through the jungle, it is important to have some binoculars to see all of the fascinating wildlife.

Safari binoculars

Supplies

• Toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls
• Duct tape
• Hole punch
• String
• Scissors
• Markers/glitter pens
• Label stickers

Instructions

1. Take two toilet paper rolls and stand them next to each other.

2. Wrap duct tape around them to form the binoculars.

3. Use the hole punch to make a hole on each side of the binoculars (the outside of each roll).

4. Cut a piece of string 18 to 20 inches long and knot one strand of string through each hole.

5. Put a label sticker on the duct tape for the child’s name; some kids will probably need help.

6. Decorate using the markers and glitter pens.

Now that the kids can see the animals up close with their binoculars, it is time for the kids to create some animals for themselves. Here are tiger masks, monkeys and paper chain snakes.

Tiger Masks

Supplies

• Paper plates
• Yellow and orange construction paper
• Glue sticks
• Duct tape
• Popsicle sticks

Before this craft: cut the center out of paper plates, cut yellow and orange construction paper into varying 2- to 3-inch strips and cut out orange triangles about 3 inches across for ears.

Instructions

1. Starting with a pre-cut paper plate, have children paste construction paper strips on to their paper plate. This will make the tiger “fur.”

2. Give kids two half triangles each to glue on the top as ears.

3. Take one Popsicle stick and tape it on the back of the mask, using a 1- to 2-inch piece of duct tape. This makes a handle for the mask.


Bendable Monkeys

Supplies

• Pre-made monkey template
• Brown pipe cleaners
• Glue
• Markers, stickers

Before this craft: print templates of the monkeys (see below for template), and cut out monkeys for smaller children who cannot use scissors. (http://www.busybeekidscrafts.com/support-files/bendablemonkey.pdf)

Instructions

1. Give each child a front and back of a monkey and two pipe cleaners.

2. Decorate the front and the back with the markers and stickers.

3. Take the two pipe cleaners and place them in an X formation on one of the monkey templates. Glue the other half of the template on top of the pipe cleaners.

4. Bend the arms and legs of the monkey in shapes.





Paper Chain Snake

Supplies

• Green and red construction paper
• Googly eyes
• Tape
• Markers
• Glue

Before this craft: Cut green, red and yellow construction paper, holding it landscape-oriented, into four strips per page; cut red construction paper into 2-inch by ½-inch strips; and cut a small triangle out of one side of the red strip.

Instructions

1. Have children take 6 strips of colored paper and decorate them on one side.

2. Taking one strip of paper, make one complete circle and tape the ends together.

3. Thread another strip of paper through the first circle, and tape the ends shut. Repeat until there are six chains on the snake.

4. Glue two googly eyes on one end of the snake.

5. Glue one red tongue near the eyes of the snake.


With these crafts in hand, kids are ready to go on their own jungle safari! When we go wild with books, who knows what we will discover!

To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.

Guess who's coming to our Read-Aloud: Having special guests at your Read-Aloud

This post is the second in a series that began with a post on March 8, 2016, called Guess who's coming to our Read-Aloud: Finding special guests. In that blog post, we discussed how to choose, invite, inform your colleagues, etc. In this follow up, we cover planning the Read-Aloud to take advantage of this special event. 

Reading time

Having a special guest at your Read-Aloud will likely change the usual session structure. Your guest might converse with the kids longer than is typical. The activity may also take more time than usual, or you might not have time for an activity at all. These changes will affect the amount of time you'll be able to devote to reading.  
 Even if you're unsure of how much time you'll read, be sure to bring books related to the theme. It's important for the kids to see books related to the special guest's theme, because this encourages the kids to explore the subject through books if they are interested. 

If the Read-Aloud is dominated by conversation between the guest and the kids, that's completely appropriate. Building literacy entails expanding background knowledge and vocabulary. By hearing new subject area vocabulary and learning about a new topic, kids are building their background knowledge and vocabulary so they will be better positioned to enjoy reading and learning in the future.

To summarize, prepare as usual by bringing a few books that will work to read to the whole group, as well as some that would work in small groups, but don't be distressed if less reading than usual takes place.

Activity time

Sometimes, simply interacting with the guest will be your activity. Or, a hands-on activity may be the best way to let the kids experience the guest's subject. Think carefully about what kind of activity would work best with your guest. 

Activities should be interactive so they bring the subject to life. For example, when Becky, a zookeeper from the National Zoo, came to Greentree Shelter, she brought bamboo for the kids to touch. Then the kids prepared foods that the animals eat (and they could eat too!). This hands-on activity got kids engaged in thinking about the lives of animals and the work zookeepers do.

Even if your plan for the activity is for the kids to interact with the guest, bring a simple back-up activity. You never know how long a guest will speak or if an unexpected turn of events (like firefighters having to leave because of an emergency call) will cut that interaction short. 

Including your team members

Although one or two volunteers may take the lead in scheduling the guest, planning and orchestrating the Read-Aloud, all of the volunteers can help keep the kids focused and engaged. All team members should be encouraged to help with the following: 

• Look for books related to the theme,
• Brainstorm short additional activities to be used if the special guest and main activity don't use as much time as expected.
• Take photos, if allowed at your site. Send them on to TRC and to the special guest. 

Thanking the special guest

Send a thank you to your guest for coming to the Read-Aloud. In the past, we have had guests come back time and again because they had a such a great experience. Fostering a positive experience for the guest and showing our appreciation can increase the likelihood that he would be willing to come back again or to visit another site. If you were able to snap a picture with the guest and the children, or of the children engaged during the Read-Aloud, send it along with a thank-you letter to the guest. Also, at your next Read-Aloud, ask the kids sign a group thank-you card. (If you do this and wait a month, send a note from you and your fellow volunteers right away.)

Read-Aloud report

When completing your Read-Aloud report, be sure to describe how the guest interacted with the kids, what kind of activity you did, how the kids reacted and which books worked well. This will help other volunteers who might want to do a Read-Aloud on that theme, with or without a guest.

If the guest was a big hit, call or email Stephanie about her! If the guest is interested, TRC may try to coordinate another visit.

Bringing a special guest to your Read-Aloud can open up a whole world of experiences and excitement for the kids you serve. And volunteers often enjoy the visit as much as the kids.


This post was written by Rachel Fishman, TRC's AmeriCorps VISTA. 

To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.

And the winner is...Making sense of children's book awards

Last month the children’s book community held its early morning version of Oscar night. The American Library Association (ALA) announced its annual youth media award winners, with the glittering gold Newbery medal awarded to Last Stop on Market Street, written by Matt de la Peña, and the gilded Caldecott medal to Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear, illustrated by Sophie Blackall. Thanks to these awards, these books will experience a big bump in exposure and find more readers than ever.

When it comes to deciding what books to share with the young readers in your life, there is so much to choose from! The process can be intimidating and confusing, even for folks who are experts in this area. But if you can become familiar with the players in this field, you’ll be able to find great titles and guide your young readers to the very best in children’s books.

So who really knows children's books?

Trust librarians

Newbery Award

Librarians are an excellent resource for finding any book. But they are particularly good at sniffing out the best ones and then spreading the word about them. The librarians of the American Library Association present the best-

Caldecott Award

known and most prestigious awards for children’s books. This includes the Newbery Medal, which is annually awarded to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children, and the Caldecott Medal, which is awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. 

The ALA also annually presents the following important, more focused awards:

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards, honoring outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The author award winner this year was Rita William-Garcia for Gone Crazy in Alabama. The illustrator award went to Bryan Collier for Trombone Shorty.

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The (Pura) Belpré Medal, honoring a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose works best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. The 2016 author award went to Margarita Engle for Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir. The illustrator award went to Rafael López for Drum Dream Girl.

The (Theodor Seuss) Geisel Medal, honoring the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished contribution to the body of American children’s literature known as beginning reader books published in the United States. This year's winner was Don’t Throw It to Mo!, written by David Adler and illustrated by Sam Ricks.

The (Robert F.) Sibert Informational Book Medal, honoring the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published. The award this year went to Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras, written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh.

The Schneider Family Book Awards, honoring an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences. The Schneider award for last year went to A Boy and A Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz, Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin and Girls Like Us by Gail Giles for children's book, middle school and teen book, respectively. The 2016 award has not been given yet.

The current year's Newbery, Caldecott, Belpré, Sibert and Geisel Award and Honor books are included in the ALA’s Notable Children's Books list, which identifies the rest of the best of the best in children's books. The honor books are the "runners up" for the main award, and you'll know them by their silver or black stickers.

All of these award-winners are selected by committees of librarians who have spent an entire year reading as many books as they possibly can.

Trust kids

Librarians aren’t the only ones who can pick out great books. There are lots of book awards made each year by kids! Teachers and librarians often nominate the titles that kids ultimately choose from, but kids do get to voice their choice!

The Children’s Choice Book Awards is the only national book awards program where kids and teens select the winners.

Virginia Reader’s Choice is one of many U.S. Reader's Choice Awards by State that get kids reading, evaluating and voting for favorite books.

Trust your instincts

Take a look at lots of books. Spend some time in the children’s section of the library or bookstore and page through books with and without shiny stickers. Get a feel for what you like, but keep in mind that a book that received a shiny sticker back when you were a child may not have the same appeal to kids today.

And as you come across a great book, share it! What’s on your “Best of” (or even “Worst of) list? Can't you see the headline now “The Best Read-Aloud Books of 2016” by The Reading Connection?

Guest blog post by Belle of the Book, Rachael Walker.

To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.

Book strategies and planning tips for a multi-age Read-Aloud

Our most recent volunteer seminar tackled the often-asked question, “How can I keep everyone engaged when I have kids from a wide range of ages at my Read-Aloud?”

Meeting the needs and interests of all the kids at your Read-Aloud can be tricky, especially when you have a group ranging from tots to tweens. Careful planning, including choosing the right books, is critical to success.  Here are some tips and strategies to try with age-diverse groups.

Pick Read-Aloud topics that have wide age appeal 

Broader themes tend to work better because you have a wider range of books to choose from and because you can find an aspect of the theme that will appeal to young and old. For example, monsters, dinosaurs, music, wordless books or universal experiences (like birthdays or going to school) work well.

Not as good are very specific themes, like Christopher Columbus (or another specific famous person), unless you can find great books for all ages. Teddy bears isn’t as good a theme as bears in general because an older kid is less likely to be interested in teddy bears, but might like grizzly, polar or koala bears. (Yes, I know a koala isn’t actually a bear, but that could be an interesting discussion at your Read-Aloud.)

Don't expect all the kids at any Read-Aloud to want to, or be able to, listen to the same books. You may find one or two that will work well for the whole group, but be prepared with a variety of books that will appeal to different age groups and interests. That being said, there are a few genres of books that have the flexibility to be used with a variety of ages.

Wordless books and interactive books

Wordless books work well with a wide age range because they are highly visual. “Read” the pictures with the kids to create the story. You can add as much “text” as is appropriate for your listeners. Unspoken is a book about a young girl's experience with a mysterious person hiding in her corn crib that can lead to a conversation about secrets, hospitality, courage or the Underground Railroad, depending on the interests and sophistication of the audience.

Interactive books are books that have some feature that engages the kids beyond a regular picture book, either by encouraging movement, touch, verbal or mental interaction, or with their graphic design.  Books with flaps, textures, sounds or pop-ups are interactive books, as are search-and-find books, like Where's Waldo, or books where you get to choose the course of the story, like Choose Your Own Adventure books. Press Here is a simple picture book where the reader seemingly makes the illustrations change by following directions.

Poetry 

Poetry works well with a cross-section of ages because much of it relies on rhyme and meter and it is quick and fun. Some poems are very short, some are silly and some are serious, making it easy to find different poems to suit the various kids at your group. Try song lyrics in a poetry Read-Aloud, too.

Shel Silverstein is a favorite for all ages. His funny poems capture everyday experiences with rhymes to please the little ones, word play for the elementary school-aged set and wit (and sometimes a little edge) for the tweens and teens in your group.

Fairy and folk tales

Fairy and folk tales work well with different ages because they come from an oral tradition. Their basic familiar structure, often including repetition, naturally allows you to tell the story in a simple way or a more elaborate way, depending on the sophistication of the listener. For generations, storytellers have embellished or streamlined the same stories to fit the occasion and their listening audience. Thankfully, many picture book authors and illustrators have done the same thing, creating many versions of the same basic story.

Many kids are familiar with some fairy or folk tales, so the stories engage their background knowledge and allow them to make up their own versions or retellings. Fractured fairy tales -- unusual twists on the original story -- are great fun with older kids who appreciate how they differ from the original. Many cultures have versions of the some basic tales adapted for their traditions, allowing for a multicultural angle.

A word of caution: Be sure to read all the versions you choose all the way through BEFORE you take them to the Read-Aloud. They may contain twists or content that you don’t want to bring up.

For more information, here are some links to related blog posts and Reading Road Maps:

Rhyme time! 3/31/2014

· This ain’t your ninth-grade English class: How to do poetry with kids 3/24/2015

· Writing and reading: Two halves of the same coin 7/30/2012

    More ways to share poetry 4/23/2014 (haiku)

Wordless books


By choosing Read-Aloud themes and books that are well suited to multi-age groups, you'll be well on your way to a fun and story-filled experience for everyone. Our next blog post will explore activities that include movement or encourage creativity that work especially well with a variety of ages.


To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.

Read-Aloud planning tools

Planning a great Read-Aloud is the secret to having a great time with the kids, but we know that it can be a challenge.  We last focused on this process, in-depth, in posts from 2012. We’re revisiting those posts with some added resources to make your Read-Aloud planning a snap.

Visit TRC’s office

TRC has more than 1,000 books, activity and craft supplies, and outlines for dozens of Read-Alouds at our office.  

You can search our catalog online using LibraryThing to see if we have books you’d like to borrow for your Read-Aloud. Books are listed by title, but you can also search by key word. 

We also have premade Read-Aloud Kits from last summer’s We Are Readers program on 
• Dinosaurs
• Nocturnal animals
• The beach
• Camping
• Building
• Flight


And we have materials to support Read-Alouds on math and zookeepers.















You are welcome to come any time to use these supplies and ask TRC staff for help planning, but we’ve scheduled a Read-Aloud Planning Open House for January 20, 2016, from 5 to 8 p.m. at our new office (1501 Lee Highway, Suite 170, Arlington, VA  22209). 

Recycle your Read-Aloud themes?

Yes, please do! Please use the TRC Read-Aloud Idea Database on Volunteer Central (see below) for great theme ideas from fellow volunteers. Use themes from other sites or reuse popular themes from your own site if all your kids are new. Using Volunteer Central to see what other teams at your site have done recently can help prevent duplication.

• To update or refresh your theme, start with your book list. Check the library for any new or favorite titles on the theme that you may not have used before. Choose an activity that is different from the one you chose before.

• Expand on or narrow the theme. If you did fairy tales before, this time you could do fractured or modern versions of fairy tales. If you did frogs, you could do amphibians.  

Volunteer Central

TRC’s volunteer database contains a bank of themes collected from your Read-Alouds and Reading Road Maps compiled over the past several years. 

To search for a theme for your next Read-Aloud,

• Log in to Volunteer Central.
• Click the "Find Ideas for an Upcoming Read-Aloud" button, or select “Read-Aloud Themes List” from the Read-Alouds menu. Themes that have a Reading Road Map are indicated on the second column.
• Click on that theme. You'll find a description of the Read-Aloud and where it was conducted and a purple Reading Road Map link that will take you to a printable PDF of the information.

You can also search recent Read-Alouds that have been held at your site or at other sites by 

• Selecting "Recent Read-Alouds" in the Read-Aloud menu. The system will default to show only your site, but you can select all sites to see themes from other sites. 
• Selecting the date, which will bring you to the report summary of that Read-Aloud.
• Selecting the theme, which will take you to a compilation of books and activities used with that theme.

TRC’s blog

Sometimes TRC posts about homelessness, poverty or upcoming events, but most of our blog posts have to do with Read-Aloud planning or management. We feature stand-out Read-Alouds created by our volunteers; feature authors, genres and popular themes; and offer craft, activity and snack ideas.  We usually post every other week, so there’s always something new, and the blog has a search feature to help you find specific information.

Reading Road Maps

These outlines for Read-Alouds are designed to cover all the bases: books for different ages, activities, conversation points and movement ideas all related to a theme. They come to your email inbox every other month and are banked in Volunteer Central for your reference.

Other resources

Your local library and children's librarians can offer many ideas for Read-Alouds, but if you'd like more specific book lists, check out WorldCat, an online catalog of books available in libraries all around the world. TRC has its own book lists, and you can also search for specific titles at all the libraries near you.

If you'd like complete theme ideas, take a look at Start With a Book.  Start With a Book provides book lists and activities on themes for kids from pre-k through third grade.

TRC wants Read-Alouds to be fun...

for the kids and for our volunteers. So please, don't feel like you have do it all on your own. Take advantage of our Read-Aloud planning resources.

Happy Reading!

To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.

Get out the vote! Election Read-Alouds

It's election time again. The news is full of election antics from candidates running for dog catcher to president. We're reposting a piece from October 2012 that describes an excellent election-themed Read-Aloud at Woodbury Park. Here's a short video of a bit of the Read-Aloud:

One of the things that makes this an especially good Read-Aloud is that the volunteers created an activity allowing the kids to experience the ins and outs of voting firsthand, and they made the activity meaningful by using the results of their elections to determine future Read-Aloud snacks and themes.

Doing a Read-Aloud on elections is a great way to connect what the kids are hearing about in the real world with books, reading and fun activities. 

Here's the 2012 post: 

In anticipation of Election Day, we organized a theme around elections, voting and democracy. We began the session by discussing ways in which the children already get to vote, whether for their favorite food at home, for a class representative at school or about what to do with their friends. 

We first read Duck for President by Doreen Cronin, in which Duck is tired of doing his farm chores so he holds elections to take over the farm from Farmer Brown. In an entertaining story, Duck continues to run for higher and higher office to redress certain grievances.  

We also read Max for President by Jarrett Krosoczka. Max and Kelly decide they both want to be class president in a tale about election processes and compromise.  

And finally, we read Otto Runs for President by Rosemary Wells.  It presents a similar theme of class elections, but shows what happens in a “race to the bottom” filled with unrealistic campaign promises. 

Other election books we brought to the Read-Aloud included: 

Vote! by Eileen Christelow

If I Ran for President by Catherine Stier

Larue for Mayor by Mark Teague

I Could Do That! by Esther Morris

Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio

Woodrow, the White House Mouse by Peter and Cheryl Barnes

Clifford for President by Acton Figueroa

My Teacher for President by Kay Winters

D is for Democracy by Elissa Grodin

Why Are Elections Important? by Jacqueline Laks Gorman

Voting in an Election by John Hamilton

Activities

We then demonstrated democracy in action by voting at multiple polling stations. To prepare for the voting, every child made a Voter Identification card and every volunteer an Election Official card. The children wrote their names on preprinted identification cards, then hole-punched them and tied a yarn “lanyard” through them. At the same time, the Central Election Official also set up three separate tables for polling places. 

When everyone had their IDs, we divided the kids into three groups and assigned the voters and election monitors to their first polling place. To be successful, following directions was important, much like in real-life voting. The volunteers helped the children understand the question they were voting on and the procedure for voting at each station. 

• Favorite Color/Favorite Sport — Ballot Box
• Choice of Snack — Cast Lots
• Future Read-Aloud Topics — Computer Tabulation (requires a laptop)

At each station, the election monitors checked the voter IDs, verified that each child had not already voted, explained the voting question and helped the children cast their vote.  

At the first polling place, the children marked a paper ballot and deposited it in a box. At the second, a marble was added to the jar representing their vote and at the third, the voters selected from multiple options on a computer. The team used this last vote as a way of determining the interest level in certain topics we were considering for future Read-Alouds. 

About every 5 minutes, once everyone had voted at their polling place, the Central Election Official called time and each group moved to the next polling place. After everyone had voted at all of polling places, the volunteers and one or two Deputy Monitors tallied the vote, and then the deputies delivered the official results to the Central Election Official. 

We then discussed the differences among the voting methods, revealed the overall results to all the children on a white board, and informed them that they (unknowingly) had voted for a treat at a future Read-Aloud (the snack choice vote). 

Everyone really enjoyed the voting. It was entertaining to see the children and volunteers take their roles seriously and to watch the children try to influence each other.  

Guest blog post written by Jason Dutil, volunteer at Woodbury Park.



To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.