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[CCBC-Net] Books for Struggling Readers
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From: Jim Blasingame <James.Blasingame>
Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2006 16:15:02 -0700
I am going to unabashedly push all thirteen books from the Bluford Series because I have heard so many testimonies to their success with kids, both struggling readers and those who read at or above grade level. Among the high interest/low reading level offerings available right now, these books are getting rave reviews from teachers and young readers around the greater Phoenix area and around the country, as well. I did a Flesch-Kincaid of a typical passage from The Bully (fifth in the series) and it yielded a fifth grade reading level, but teachers have said that they, themselves, find the books to be interesting reads because the stories are so good. Each book revolves around events that take place at fictitious Bluford High School, somewhere in California. The setting is urban, and the kids face urban sorts of issues, as well as the issues that all teens seem to face at some point, regardless of where they live.
We have published reviews of almost every book in the thirteen book series in the Books for Adolescents section of IRA's Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, including father/daughter paired reviews done by Arizona State University Professor of African American Literature, Dr. Neal Lester, and his daughter, Jasmine, a student at Desert Vista High School, here in Phoenix. We are currently about to begin Brothers in Arms (ninth in the series) in a partnership between the Arizona State University English Department and nearby Coronado High School. In this partnership ASU students use popular paperbacks to design and lead small group activities for ninth graders in a reading class. Since one of the benefits of series books is that struggling readers can move into the next book without having to relearn the whole exposition, we will probably go to The Fallen next, the sequel to Brothers in Arms. These particular ninth graders have just finished Hole in My Life (Jack Gantos), which also met with great success.
Jim Blasingame Department of English Arizona State University
-----Original Message----- From: ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
[mailto:ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu] On Behalf Of James Elliott Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2006 3:46 PM To: Deborah.Hopkinson at oregonstate.edu; horning at education.wisc.edu; ccbc-net at lists.education.wisc.edu Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] Books for Struggling Readers
I'd like to echo Deborah's suggestion of audio books (unabridged, please!) for struggling readers. My son was a struggling reader. His tutor suggested we get the unabridged audio version of Harry Potter and have him listen to it while reading along in the book. It worked wonders!
I have since suggested the same method to patrons at the library, with happy results. We have a large selection of "J" audio books in the Children's
section, so it's easy to suggest. The only problem occurs when the print version is checked out!
Jim Elliott
>From: "Hopkinson, Deborah" <Deborah.Hopkinson at oregonstate.edu>
>To: "James Elliott"
><j_c_elliott at msn.com>,<horning at education.wisc.edu>,<ccbc-net at lists.educ
ation.wisc.edu>
>Subject: RE: [CCBC-Net] Books for Struggling Readers
>Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2006 12:18:42 -0800
>
>While I have some specific books to suggest, I also have some thoughts
>on this not as a reading expert or librarian, but as a parent.
>
>My son was adopted at age six from Russia, and had an early speech
>disability. Reading and the desire to read have always been issues. We
>pursued several strategies over the years, in addition to the help he
>got in school. One of the most important was to keep reading aloud to
>and with him -- all the way through high school -- stopping often to
>discuss (because then you see where there are sometimes surprising gaps
>in concepts or understanding). For books to meet outside reading
>requirements we looked for obvious things: short chapters, high
>interest, humorous, action (Holes, Lost on a Mountain in Maine, Because
>of Winn Dixie all were favorites).
>
>But as a struggling reader Dimitri also missed out on the sheer
pleasure
>of reading -- the underlying rhythms and sounds and pleasures of good,
>sophisticated literature and storytelling. So we also pursued
>audiotapes in the car selecting books with rich language (Richard
Peck's
>A Long Way from Chicago, The Moorchild). I can imagine Al Capone Does
>My Shirts or The Sea of Trolls would be great.
>
>Whenever I talk to parents I make a huge point about encouraging them
to
>keep up with and read children's literature themselves, and develop
sort
>of lifelong book clubs with their kids. I think this is even more
>important with cuts in school libraries. Sadly, after elementary
school
>neither of my kids ever had a public school teacher who recommended
>books or even seemed to have heard of the award-winning books my kids
>were doing reports on for outside reading.
>
>
>Deborah Hopkinson
>Director of Foundation Relations
>Oregon State University Foundation
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
_______________________________________________ CCBC-Net mailing list CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe... http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
Received on Thu 02 Nov 2006 05:15:02 PM CST
Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2006 16:15:02 -0700
I am going to unabashedly push all thirteen books from the Bluford Series because I have heard so many testimonies to their success with kids, both struggling readers and those who read at or above grade level. Among the high interest/low reading level offerings available right now, these books are getting rave reviews from teachers and young readers around the greater Phoenix area and around the country, as well. I did a Flesch-Kincaid of a typical passage from The Bully (fifth in the series) and it yielded a fifth grade reading level, but teachers have said that they, themselves, find the books to be interesting reads because the stories are so good. Each book revolves around events that take place at fictitious Bluford High School, somewhere in California. The setting is urban, and the kids face urban sorts of issues, as well as the issues that all teens seem to face at some point, regardless of where they live.
We have published reviews of almost every book in the thirteen book series in the Books for Adolescents section of IRA's Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, including father/daughter paired reviews done by Arizona State University Professor of African American Literature, Dr. Neal Lester, and his daughter, Jasmine, a student at Desert Vista High School, here in Phoenix. We are currently about to begin Brothers in Arms (ninth in the series) in a partnership between the Arizona State University English Department and nearby Coronado High School. In this partnership ASU students use popular paperbacks to design and lead small group activities for ninth graders in a reading class. Since one of the benefits of series books is that struggling readers can move into the next book without having to relearn the whole exposition, we will probably go to The Fallen next, the sequel to Brothers in Arms. These particular ninth graders have just finished Hole in My Life (Jack Gantos), which also met with great success.
Jim Blasingame Department of English Arizona State University
-----Original Message----- From: ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu
[mailto:ccbc-net-bounces at ccbc.education.wisc.edu] On Behalf Of James Elliott Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2006 3:46 PM To: Deborah.Hopkinson at oregonstate.edu; horning at education.wisc.edu; ccbc-net at lists.education.wisc.edu Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] Books for Struggling Readers
I'd like to echo Deborah's suggestion of audio books (unabridged, please!) for struggling readers. My son was a struggling reader. His tutor suggested we get the unabridged audio version of Harry Potter and have him listen to it while reading along in the book. It worked wonders!
I have since suggested the same method to patrons at the library, with happy results. We have a large selection of "J" audio books in the Children's
section, so it's easy to suggest. The only problem occurs when the print version is checked out!
Jim Elliott
>From: "Hopkinson, Deborah" <Deborah.Hopkinson at oregonstate.edu>
>To: "James Elliott"
><j_c_elliott at msn.com>,<horning at education.wisc.edu>,<ccbc-net at lists.educ
ation.wisc.edu>
>Subject: RE: [CCBC-Net] Books for Struggling Readers
>Date: Thu, 2 Nov 2006 12:18:42 -0800
>
>While I have some specific books to suggest, I also have some thoughts
>on this not as a reading expert or librarian, but as a parent.
>
>My son was adopted at age six from Russia, and had an early speech
>disability. Reading and the desire to read have always been issues. We
>pursued several strategies over the years, in addition to the help he
>got in school. One of the most important was to keep reading aloud to
>and with him -- all the way through high school -- stopping often to
>discuss (because then you see where there are sometimes surprising gaps
>in concepts or understanding). For books to meet outside reading
>requirements we looked for obvious things: short chapters, high
>interest, humorous, action (Holes, Lost on a Mountain in Maine, Because
>of Winn Dixie all were favorites).
>
>But as a struggling reader Dimitri also missed out on the sheer
pleasure
>of reading -- the underlying rhythms and sounds and pleasures of good,
>sophisticated literature and storytelling. So we also pursued
>audiotapes in the car selecting books with rich language (Richard
Peck's
>A Long Way from Chicago, The Moorchild). I can imagine Al Capone Does
>My Shirts or The Sea of Trolls would be great.
>
>Whenever I talk to parents I make a huge point about encouraging them
to
>keep up with and read children's literature themselves, and develop
sort
>of lifelong book clubs with their kids. I think this is even more
>important with cuts in school libraries. Sadly, after elementary
school
>neither of my kids ever had a public school teacher who recommended
>books or even seemed to have heard of the award-winning books my kids
>were doing reports on for outside reading.
>
>
>Deborah Hopkinson
>Director of Foundation Relations
>Oregon State University Foundation
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
_______________________________________________ CCBC-Net mailing list CCBC-Net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Visit this link to read archives or to unsubscribe... http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/mailman/listinfo/ccbc-net
Received on Thu 02 Nov 2006 05:15:02 PM CST
