Guiding Reading What? (What Kind of Reader is my Child, Part Deux)

February 4, 2014June 18, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

So, if you read What Kind of Reader is my Child? you will have a understanding of the general terminology about reading development and where your child might be in the process. But what about all those crazy level letters and numbers at the end of each definition? Well, here is some of the basic information and resources that can help you get a handle on that part as well. I am going to toss in an extra one, which I know some local schools are assigning to advanced readers.Which systems you need to pay the most attention to will vary by school. Most schools do use the DRA testing system. However I know that Cheshire, Southington, and Wallingford also use the Fountas & Pinnell Guided Reading Leveling (GRL) system for classroom use. You can use this chart on the Scholastic website to help understand how the levels correspond. You will note that there are even more leveling systems included on the chart, but I am going to focus on the most used systems in our area.

Fountas & Pinnell Guided Reading Leveling system (GRL) starts with level A, being the easiest, and goes up to Z. These levels are based on benchmark assessments or other systematic observations are used to determine the instructional reading level of each student. Our library offers a variety of fiction and non fiction books from level A through G labeled and sorted by level for check out. Feel free to browse the collection or help finding books, but if you would like help, please stop by the children’s desk for assistance.

Developmental Reading Assessment system (DRA) also starts with level A for the easiest books, but switches to numeric levels which run from 1 to 80. A child’s DRA reading level is based on is a standardized reading test. During the test students read a selection (or selections) and then retell what they have read to the examiner. Most of our area schools use this standardized testing system to help gauge reading skills and comprehension, but many combine the information they get from this system with the GRL system.

A Lexile text measure is based on the semantic and syntactic elements of a text. A Lexile reader measure can range from below 200L for emergent readers to above 1600L for advanced readers. This system tends to be the hardest translate from skill level and rating to book recommendations, at least for me. Most of the focus on these numbers come into play after children are fluent readers. For charts that break down which Lexile ratings are average by grade and further details, I highly recommend exploring their website. The site offers a search tool that allows you to find books based on Lexile level and then limit by age and interests so that you can find reading material for just about any fluent reader.

For more information on the stages of reading development and encouraging reading check out: Early Literacy by Joan Brooks McLane, Gillian Dowley McNamee, Straight Talk about Reading: How Parents Can Make a Difference During the Early Years by Susan L. Hall and Louisa C. Moats, Matching Books to Readers: Using Leveled Books in Guided Reading, K-3 by Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell (reference book that cannot leave the library), The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller, Games With Books: 28 of the Best Children’s Books and How to Use Them to Help your Child Learn by Peggy Kaye, Raising a Reader: Make Your Child a Reader for Life by Paul Kropp, and The Between the Lions Book for Parents: Everything you Need to Know to Help your Child Learn to Read by Linda K. Rath and Louise Kennedy.

Sports Romance Books

January 30, 2014September 15, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

Sports romance books are becoming increasingly more and more popular. These athletes are generally at the top of their game, rich, and famous. They are confident, stubborn, dedicated, focused, passionate, and have a soft side – which makes them strong, interesting characters. All of them eventually realize that the love of a woman is what they need to make their life complete. These stories are not overloaded with sports scenes or terminology. There is just enough to give you a realistic insight into the sport and the challenges these athletes and the women in their lives face.

(On a side note: Model Jed Hill seems the most popular choice for the many “naked chest” covers of sport romance books. See his “stats” here and his facebook page here. Enjoy!)

With the cold days and nights ahead, turn up the heat with a Sport Romance! Here’s a sampling of some titles available at the Cheshire Library. Some are series where the first title is listed to get you started, although you don’t need to read them in order.

Tracy Solheim’s Out of Bounds footballseries. Book one – Game On. Book two – Foolish Games. The funny, sexy and heartwarming exploits of the Blaze football stars and the women in their lives.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips has a sports series centering around football called Chicago Stars. The first title is It Had to be You. A sexy, outrageous New York woman inherits a football team.

Let’s Misbehave by Lisa Plumley is a football story centering around Quarterback Cash Connelly and his need to find a nanny.

Another football themed title is Sweet Spot (book two of the Bakery Sisters trilogy)by Susan Mallery. A touching, heartwarming story of a youth football coach and a bakery owner going through hard times.

Rachel Gibson has a hockey series, Chinooks Hockey Team. The first title is Simply Irresistible. Realisticstory about a hockey jock tamed by an irresistible woman.

Deirdre Martin also has a hockey series, Blades with the first title being Body Check. Fun, sexy, withwonderful characters and story line.

Just In Time (Alaskan Night series) by Addison Fox about an injured hockey star returning to Alaska to heal and try to make things right with the girl back home.

Molly O’Keefe – two of her best poignant and deeply sensual books are hockey stories – Crazy Thing Called Love and Can’t Buy Me Love.

Jill Shalvis offers two baseball theme books – Double Play and Slow Heat. Jill’s books are humorous,sexy and fast reads.

Stealing Home is part of Sherryl Woods’ series Sweet Magnolias. It’s about a single mom and her son’s baseball coach.

Staying with baseball, Pitch Perfect (A Cricket Creek Novel) by LuAnn McLane. A hard-swinging baseball team and three hometown heroes try to revitalize the community.

Let Me Be The One by Bella Andre. Part of The Sullivans – focusing on baseball pitcher Ryan Sullivan.

Pamela Britton has an exciting NASCAR series. The first title is Slow Burn. An action packed, sexy read.

Also in the race car theme – Erin McCarthy’s series, Fast Track. Try Slow Ride and Jacked Up. Fast paced, steamy with a touch of humor.

Some miscellaneous sports:

Fast & Loose by Elizabeth Bevarly and The Horsemaster’s Daughter by Susan Wiggs. – Equestrian

Table for Five by Susan Wiggs – Golf

On Thin Ice by Susan Andersen. – Ice Skating

Extreme Bachelor and Wedding Survivor by Julia London – Extreme Sports

Crash Into Me by Jill Sorenson – Professional Surfing

Freefall by Jill Sorenson – Rock Climbing/Kayaking

Match Me If You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips – Sports Agent

Causing Havoc by Lori Foster. Her series, SBC, is based on the Ultimate Championship fighting world of bad boys and the women they love.

Pete Seeger, An American Bard

January 29, 2014January 29, 2014 / Susan O. / Leave a comment

Pete Seeger, the granddaddy of American folk music, passed away peacefully in his sleep January 27, at the age of 94. Pete left a legacy of not only a tremendous contribution to American music, but of political activism and ecology with an emphasis on peace.

If you’ve ever heard The Lettermen sing “Turn, Turn, Turn,” if you’ve ever heard “We Shall Overcome” sung at a protest, if you ever listened to Bruce Springsteen belt out his We Shall Overcome album, you’ve been touched by Pete’s music. If you’ve ever driven along the Hudson River in New York and noticed the lack of garbage floating in it, you’re looking at Pete’s work.

Pete began singing with the Almanac singers back in the 40’s, alongside the bedrock of American folk singers such as Woody Guthrie (who wrote the iconic and ironic song “This Land is Your Land”), Lee Hays, and Cisco Houston, among others. The Almanac singers morphed into The Weavers by 1950, with Lee Hays, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman, and enjoyed great popularity (including a number one hit in “Goodnight Irene”) until 1953, when they were blacklisted by McCarthyites as being suspicious for singing about such things as worker’s rights and political oppression around the world. This did not stop them from playing Carnegie Hall in 1955. By the 1960’s folk music was only increasing in popularity, and Pete had a great influence on such upcoming folk singers such as Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Arlo Guthrie, Woody’s son, with whom he kept a life-long friendship. Seeger – four of his six siblings are also folk singers – continued to influence music through the 80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s by working with mega-musicians such as John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen, who released a well-received folk album after mentoring from Pete.

If Seeger was anything, it was tireless. It was he who introduced Martin Luther King Jr. to the song “We Shall Overcome.” In 1966 he became part of the Clearwater effort to clean up the toxic waste and raw sewage that was destroying the Hudson River in New York, something he never stopped doing. He stood behind Occupy Wallstreet. He played at President Obama’s inauguration, at the age of 89. He was still playing and giving concerts at 93. He was predeceased by Toshi, his wife of 70 years, just last summer. He has been a part of, well, generations of American history, from WPA projects to serving in World War II to facing down the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities to the civil rights movement, ecology, founded music festivals, and more. He is truly an American Icon, one we can all be proud of.

If you want to listen to classical truly American music, if you’re looking for great songs for singing or guitar, if you want your children to listen to some fun and rolicking children’s songs, check out some of Pete’s extensive legacy. Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen walk in his shadow, but there is no one alive who can come close to filling Pete’s giant footprints.

What Kind of Reader is My Child? (Part 1)

January 28, 2014June 18, 2014 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

The language dedicated to explaining reading development and skills can quickly become confusing. Part of the trouble is that there are a number of different systems available to measure reading skills, and they rarely translate to other systems very easily. I am going to do my best to explain some of the terms you are most likely to come across, and offer some resources to help you help your child master and enjoy reading. Lets start with some of the basic terms that are almost universal about the developmental stages of reading. I will tackle the different systems for measuring the skills in a later post.Aspiring readers, “Pseudo Readers”, or Pre-readers are just beginning to understand the basic ideas of book, print, and the joy of sharing of a book. They are gaining a command of the alphabet along with the ability to recognize and name letters. They are also developing many phonological awareness skills, such as recognizing phonemes, syllables, and rhyme. They will often pretend reading and telling the story via the pictures on the pages. Reading picture books and board books to your child is a great way to help children in this stage develop their skills and learn to love books.

Early Emergent Readers are beginning to learn sound/symbol relationships,starting with consonants and short vowels,and are able to read consonant-vowel-consonant words, and a number of high-frequency words. Readers in this stage typically are in Preschool through Grade 1 and test to Guided Reading Levels (GRL) A-C, DRA Levels A-3. Picture books and some easy reader books are good choices to help continue your child’s reading development. Read to them and with them as often as you can.

Emergent Readers are developing a much better grasp of comprehension strategies and word-attack skills. They can recognize the difference between fiction and nonfiction, and recognize that reading has a variety of purposes. Readers in this stage have developed an understanding of the alphabet, phonological awareness, and early phonics. They have command of a significant number of high-frequency words. Readers in this stage typically are in Kindergarten through Grade 1 and test to GRLs D-G, DRA Levels 4-12. It is time to really encourage your child to read to you and themselves, while continuing to read to them to help increase their vocabulary and comprehension.

For Early Fluent Readers or Transitional readers reading is more automatic, with more energy devoted to comprehension than word attack. Readers are approaching independence in comprehending text. These readers are experiencing a greater variety of text and are able to recognize different styles and genres. Independence often varies with the type of text being read. Readers in this stage typically are in Grade 1-2 and test to GRLs H-M, DRA Levels 14-28. Your child can read to you and themselves more and more now. Encourage reading independence, but do not be afraid to keep reading to them.

Fluent Readers have successfully moved from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” Their reading is more automatic and includes expression and proper pauses. These readers read a wide range of text types and do so independently. For the most part, they are capable of improving their reading skills and selection of materials independently through increased practice. Readers in this stage typically are in Grade 3-4 and test to GRLs N-Z, DRA Levels 30 and higher. Keep encouraging them to read and let them explore a variety of books so that they can find the ones they enjoy in order to keep them interested in reading.

For more information about reading development and helping your child both enjoy and excel in reading check out some of these books: Silly Books to Read Aloud by Rob Reid, The New York Times Parent’s Guide to the Best Books for Children by Eden Ross Lipson, Read With Me: Best Books for Preschoolers by Stephanie Zvirin, How to Get Your Child to Love Reading by Esmé Raji Codell, Connecticut’s Blueprint for Reading Achievement: The Report of the Early Reading Success Panel by the State of Connecticut State Board of Education, Raising Confident Readers: How to Teach your Child to Read and Write by J. Richard Gentry, and Growing a Reader from Birth: Your Child’s Path from Language to Literacy by Diane McGuinness.

Today Show Book Club Picks Its Third Book – Under The Wide And Starry Sky by Nancy Horan

January 24, 2014September 15, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

On January 23rd, the Today Show announced its third book title for their book club, Under The Wide And Starry Skyby Nancy Horan, best selling author who wrote Loving Frank.

Get ready for a little romance in this historical fiction book centered around the famed Treasure Island author’s life with his wife and muse Fanny Van de Grift. The old adage, behind every great man, there’s a great woman is the basis for this story of a complex and unconventional love affair between Van de Grift and Robert Louis Stevenson.

The “Today” selections, chosen every four to five weeks, will have stickers on their covers indicating their inclusion in the club. The books, chosen by a team of producers and the show’s co-hosts, will include both fiction and nonfiction, newly released titles and classics. Discussion groups and excerpts will be featured online.