Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley

Need to Read 13

2010-08-05T06:26:00.000-07:00

Sunday, December 19, 2004

Here's the book on great gifts
" From kids to adults, great reading is a good present.

With the holiday season upon us, many shoppers are searching for the perfect gift for those on our Christmas list. Books make great gifts any time but especially at the holidays.

While giving books as gifts is always a good idea, it is not always easy to know what to buy. Nursery rhymes are a great choice for young children as well as any book with repetition, such as "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?" by Bill Martin Jr.

For others on your list, before you head out shopping, find out what your recipient likes to read. If your reader likes a particular series, such as the Magic Tree House books or Harry Potter, see whether there is a new book in that series that may have been published recently.

For those on your list who don't do much reading, find out what their interests or hobbies are and buy a book on that subject. Books about sports, dinosaurs or pets may be the perfect choice for these people.

Often we think that only fictional books with a storyline make good presents. However, there are a lot of nonfiction readers out there, and there are definitely a lot of great nonfiction books available. If you still don't know what to give a child on your list, choose something you enjoyed reading.

Giving books to children and reading aloud to them is a wonderful gift. Research has shown that children do better in school when books are available in the home and children are read to often.

So while other gifts may shrink, get eaten or break, books will often have a profound and lasting effect on a child's life. They are an excellent gift for anyone on your holiday list, and the message being sent is loud and clear. Reading is important!

Annelise O'Hara is the school library media specialist at Broadway Elementary School in Elmira. She is a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley.

Just for starters

Stuck on what books will make good gifts. Here are some suggestions from Annelise O'Hara to get you going:

" Young children: Look for these authors: Bill Martin Jr. ("Chicka Chicka Boom Boom," "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?"); Eric Carle ("The Very Hungry Caterpillar," "The Mixed up Chameleon"); Jan Brett ("The Mitten," "Annie and the Wild Animals"); or Tedd Arnold ("Green Wilma," "Parts," "More Parts," the Huggly books.)

" For children moving into chapter books, try Cynthia Rylant's Henry and Mudge books, David Adler's Cam Jansen series or James Marshall's Fox series. The Magic Tree House books by Mary Pope Osborne are a great choice for your second-, third- or fourth-grader.

" For older elementary children, the Dear America Series makes a good choice as well as books by Bruce Coville ("Jennifer Murdley's Toad," "Jeremy Thatcher" and "Dragon Hatcher"), Roald Dahl ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Matilda," "The BFG") or Judy Blume (The Fudge Series.)

" For nonfiction readers, "Guinness Book of World Records" and Ripley's Believe it or Not books make great choices. Books of poetry also make good gifts. Some of the more popular poetry books for kids in grades three through five are by authors Shel Silverstein ("Where the Sidewalk Ends," "Falling Up," "A Light in the Attic") and Jack Prelutsky ("The New Kid on the Block," "A Pizza the Size of the Sun.") The children love the zaniness of the poems.

" Subscriptions to magazines are also a great idea. There are magazines available for just about everything. Some of the more popular magazines for elementary school children are Zoobooks, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Girls' Life, Boys' Life, American Girl and Nickelodeon.

This series

Annelise O'Hara of Broadway Elementary School in Elmira writes today about choosing books as gifts this time of year. This is the fourth in a series of monthly columns written by members of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. The next column will be Sunday, Jan. 23.

On the Net

Hear Annelise O'Hara read her column and learn more about the Star-Gazette's Need to Read program by going online. Go to www.stargazette.com and click on "News to Use." Under the "Help Yourself" heading, find "The Need to Read" heading and click on it.

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Sunday, November 21, 2004

Make a diet of books part of child's daily menu
" Regular reading should be family activity.

For young children, visiting the public library can be as enticing as going to the candy store. The shelves are filled with varieties of every shape, size and flavor. Tasting the samples, however, won't decay their teeth. Instead, it will nourish their minds and take them on a trip through a vast world of knowledge and imagination.

Introducing children to books is one of the most important things parents can do to ensure their child's success in school and life. Having reading materials at home will inspire and motivate children to read on a regular basis. You don't need to own a house full of books, however, when you have a wonderful public library.

A 2001 research study done by the Pennsylvania Library Association emphasized that public libraries play a major role in fostering literacy in our country. The library provides free materials to citizens that are purchased with tax dollars. Quality books, well-reviewed and written by respected authors, are selected by librarians for the library shelves.

There's no need to wait until children are ready to learn to read; libraries are no longer hushed places where young children are considered a disturbance. Visit the library with the whole family, plan to stay for a while and find books that are appropriate for everyone. Babies and toddlers will enjoy board books made with sturdy cardboard pages that are easy on little hands.

Preschoolers will find many picture books about familiar and unfamiliar subjects, both necessary for their expanded knowledge of people and places. Beginning readers will benefit from the wide variety of easy books to encourage their independent reading skills.

Older readers have the freedom to choose and explore areas of interest. At home, parents can stay tuned to children's curiosities and suggest they find out more the next time they visit the library. Whether it's dinosaurs, volcanoes, castles and knights, skateboards, football, faraway countries or just pure fantasy, library books appeal to all. And parents should not forget to select something for themselves.

At home, establish a special shelf or basket to keep the books together and safe.

Share the books daily before bedtime or in the morning. Parents can build a close relationship with their children by reading together. The love of books is contagious and can be demonstrated with excitement and pleasure. If a child begs to borrow the same library book each visit, that's the very book to buy as a gift for birthdays or holidays.

Public libraries exist to foster the love of reading in our communities. They open a door to the whole world available at no cost. Like visiting a candy store, introducing children to the abundant collection of library books will make their mouths water for more.

Visit your local library soon.

Chris Harbison is a librarian and storyteller at the Steele Memorial Library in Elmira. She is part of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley project.

Library tips

" Allow plenty of browsing time and have children choose books for themselves. Choose an ample amount to take home, something for everyone in the family.

" Plan regular trips to the library and make daily reading a family habit.

" Attend the free story times or special events available to children and families.

" Don't hesitate to ask library staff for help. They are trained to assist in finding ageappropriate materials.

" When children are 5 years old, get them a library card of their own. Make it a special event that will be remembered and cherished for a lifetime.

Source: Steele Memorial Library

This series

This is the third in a series of monthly columns written by members of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. The next column will be Sunday, Dec. 19.

On the Net

Hear Chris Harbison read her column and learn more about the Star-Gazette's Need to Read program by going online. Go to www.stargazette.com and click on "News to Use." Under the "Help Yourself" heading, find "The Need to Read" heading and click on it.

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Sunday, October 17, 2004

A Rx for success: Read to your children
" Health care providers say daily sessions will promote development.

Pediatricians are concerned not only about the health of their patients but also about their development. They especially want their patients to develop the skills necessary to achieve their full potential. An important phase of development is learning the literacy skills of reading, writing and communicating clearly.

Research has shown that reading aloud to children starting in infancy is the single-most important factor in raising children to be readers who enjoy reading. Good readers become good writers and good communicators and are off to a good start in fulfilling their potential.

It is of great concern that literacy research has shown the following:

" Nationally only 39 percent of parents read to their children on a regular basis.

" Locally, in Cortland, Ithaca and Elmira, 20 percent to 25 percent of children enter school having little or no experience with books in their home.

" In Elmira, between 2000 and 2002, only 50 percent to 52 percent of fourth-graders met or exceeded New York state reading standards.

During the last six years, pediatricians, family practitioners and nurse practitioners in Chemung County have addressed this problem by participating in the Reach Out and Read Program. This program encourages health care providers to talk with parents at well-child visits about the importance of reading aloud to their children every day.

Bookmarks are given out at the time, and they provide suggestions to parents about how to best read to children of different ages. Also, at each well-child visit from age 6 months to 5 years, an age-appropriate book is given to children to emphasize the importance that health care providers place on reading. More than 40,000 books have been given to children in this community since 1998 when the Reach Out and Read Program began.

Over the last year pediatricians have joined with educators, librarians, authors, literacy advocates and interested people in the community to form the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. The goal of this organization is to promote children's literacy through various programs in many different community locations. This goal will be accomplished by continuing to educate parents and by providing new and used books to all interested families.

It is the hope of pediatricians that the programs of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley will result in all children developing an early and long-lasting love of books and becoming good readers. It is also hoped that the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley will create a community that values and encourages literacy development, and that this, in turn, will help our children achieve their full potential.

Ralph B. Moore is a retired pediatrician. He is part of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley project.

Tips for parents

" Read every day: Even a few minutes at a time to start is OK. Toddlers like the same story again and again.

" Read everything: Find pictures of animals in magazines; infants love to point to familiar objects. Read labels and signs wherever you go.

" Read everywhere: Read to your child at bedtime, at the breakfast table, while waiting for appointments.

" Have fun: Children who love books learn to read.

This series

Retired pediatrician Ralph Moore writes today about the importance of parents helping their children develop by reading to them regularly, even during infancy. This is the second in a series of monthly columns written by members of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. The next column will be Sunday, Nov. 21.

On the Net

Hear Ralph Moore read his column and learn more about the Star-Gazette's Need to Read program by going online. Go to www.stargazette.com and click on "News to Use." Under the "Help Yourself" heading, find "The Need to Read" heading and click on it.

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Sunday, September 19, 2004

Early reading habits will last a lifetime
" Children with adult guidance succeed at reading, schoolwork.

Other than helping our children to grow up healthy and happy, the most important thing that we can do for them is to help them develop their reading skills.

How well children learn to read affects not only how successful they are in school but also how well they do throughout their lives. The community benefits when it has citizens who have strong literacy skills.

Children are more likely to become successful readers when supported by family and community members.

Research reviews by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development conclude that more than 90 percent of all children have the ability to read at grade level by the end of third grade.

Why is this an important goal? Educators know that the emphasis begins to shift from "Learning to Read" to "Reading to Learn" somewhere around third to fourth grade and continues to grow as children progress through the upper elementary grades to middle school and high school.

Children who have not mastered reading by this time find it difficult and frustrating because their textbooks require them to read at grade level. In other words, a fifth-grade science textbook requires fifth-grade reading ability.

Many families in this community struggle with getting the basic essentials for their children, and parents often do not have time or lack the know-how to support their child's reading. As a community, everyone must begin to value this goal for our children.

Whether a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, neighbor, childcare provider, caseworker or friend, we must ask each other the following questions:

" Are the children you know, love and care for on track to be reading at grade level by the end of third grade?

" How do you know that?

" What are you doing to keep them progressing toward this goal?

The Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley is one example of many organizations in our area that are committed to providing books and other resources to families and children.

Future articles will focus on specific ways parents and caregivers can find answers to these questions, learn about early reading skills and help their children to reach this important reading goal.

Ellen Hicks is a retired elementary school principal from the Elmira district. She is part of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley project.

Staying on track

Here are some early signs that can indicate how a child is progressing with reading:

" Beginning kindergarten: Child can identify and produce words that rhyme (man-can, hat-mat).

" Beginning grade one: Can identify by name all 52 letters of the alphabet (small letters and capitals). Knows all letter sounds.

" Beginning grade two: Can read quickly and accurately 100 to 150 high-frequency words.

Need to Read 12

2010-08-05T06:25:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 15, 2005

Book time for summer reading
" At home, away or at the library, make time to read.

With flowers blooming and the assurances that warmer weather is here to stay, families begin planning for summer vacation. Families anxiously await the last day of school, anticipating the leisurely days of summer. Children look forward to days full of swimming, baseball games, cookouts and trips to their favorite ice cream stand.

However, after the first week of vacation, kids can be heard saying, "There's nothing to do. I'm bored!" Before this happens, add "Read! Read! Read!" to the family's summer to-do list. Student reading should not stop because school is out.

Families can incorporate many activities into a summer schedule to help children become better readers. First, becoming a better reader requires increasing the amount of time spent reading. In other words, you get better at reading by reading. One simple way to do this is to set aside a regular, 20-minute period in a quiet atmosphere each day for reading.

Finding interesting reading material is just as important as setting aside time to read. Reading can be a book, the newspaper, a comic book or a magazine.

For younger students who are just emerging as readers, picture books and predictable books work best for their reading time. For older elementary students, to ensure they succeed at reading, try finding materials that reflect their interests and activities.

If your family is taking a trip as part of your vacation plans, wouldn't it be great if your child read all about that destination before going there? Books, of course, offer great information, but even a vacation packet from a travel agent is good reading material with lots of useful information.

If you're looking for interesting things to read, planning a weekly outing to the library is a great trip for a family to take together. The friendly librarian there will help find appropriate books and other materials for your children. Librarians are experts on books for children. To escape the summer heat, relaxing with a book on a hot summer evening at the air-conditioned library is quite refreshing - and free, too.

After the library, stopping for ice cream would be a real treat. While you are eating that ice cream cone, extend the reading experience by talking about the books children have chosen for the coming week. A parent needs to engage children with "book talk" regularly before, during and after kids read. This will enhance the entire experience.

Another great summer reading "to-do" activity is starting a book club. Have your children invite their friends over for a meeting every two weeks or so during the summer to discuss books that all book club members have read.

A library often has multiple copies of books, or a librarian can borrow them from another library for you. Book club selections can be determined around favorite authors, a particular genre of books or a common interest, such as sports, animals or pets.

Kids will like to talk about why they liked (or disliked) the book, their favorite parts and the characters in the story. A good book generates lots of conversation and great book talk!

Lastly, although it may seem old-fashioned, families can read together. Regardless of age, everyone loves to hear someone read a good story to them. You could take turns reading and use voices for the different characters. Or, if you're daring, you could act out the stories. This is not only enjoyable but a great way to model fluent reading for children, and it demonstrates that you think reading is an important part of life. Even being observed by your children reading a good book or a newspaper sends a great message to your children that reading is important, as well as enjoyable.

Incorporating reading time into the summer schedule is a great way for parents and children to relax and enjoy reading every day. I hope that your family leisure time this summer (and all year 'round) will include lots of good reading. With a good book, a child will never be bored. Read! Read! Read!

Lisa G. Kelly, principal of Riverside Elementary School in Elmira, is a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley.

Library hours

Here are the summer hours, from May 23 to Sept. 11, at the public libraries in Chemung County:

" Big Flats: Monday, Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Tuesday, Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

" Horseheads: Monday through Wednesday, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday, Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

" Steele Memorial: Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

" Van Etten: Monday, Wednesday, 1 to 5 p.m.; Friday, 1 to 6 p.m.; Tuesday, Thursday, closed.

" West Elmira: Monday, noon to 8 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This series

Lisa G. Kelly, principal of Riverside Elementary School in Elmira, writes today about how to keep children reading through the summer. This is the ninth in a series of monthly columns written by members of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. The next column will be Sunday, June 19.

Online

Hear Lisa G. Kelly read her column and learn more about the Star-Gazette's Need to Read program by going to www.stargazette.com and clicking on "News to Use." Under the "Help Yourself" heading, find "The Need to Read" heading and click on it.

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Sunday, April 17, 2005

Create fun with words, sounds
" Daily games, talks with children can build reading success.

Our nation has set a goal of ensuring that all children will be competent readers by the end of grade three. How can parents support this goal and help to ensure the success of their children?

Parents have dreams for their children. Children have dreams for themselves. What do we need to do in our children's preschool years so that these dreams can be achieved?

Research has identified the best indicators of future reading success.

They are:

" Oral language skills.

" Phonemic awareness (the ability to orally manipulate the sounds of language).

" Knowledge of the alphabet and the alphabetic principle (understanding that letters represent sounds).

We also know that the best readers are motivated to read, and read a lot of books. The following home activities can support development in these areas.

" Talk with your child. Oral language development is critical to school success. Research has shown that by the age of 3, children who experience lots of conversation and who are read to regularly have heard up to 30 million more words than children who have not had these advantages.

Talk about the sports page in the newspaper, talk about the books that you read together, talk about the natural world, talk about family and community happenings, talk about feelings and hopes and dreams.

Read to your child. Ten minutes of daily reading can develop a love of books and can enhance your child's vocabulary. Point to the words as you are reading. Let your child fill in the rhyming words or the repetitive part of the story. Talk about what happened in the book. Discuss the meanings of words. Read fiction and nonfiction books.

Play with the oral sounds of language. Your child must first be able to hear the sounds of language in order to later learn phonics. Play rhyming games. Recite poems. Clap the syllables in words. Stretch out the individual sounds in words.

Work with the alphabet and with words. Play games with the letters and sounds. Point out words in the environment - street signs, names of stores, names of cars. Make labels for objects in the child's room. Help your child to match letters to the sounds of words.

These simple activities can help to prepare your child for school. Ten to 20 minutes every day can be an investment that lasts a lifetime.

Lynne Weakland is a retired Elmira elementary school teacher. She also is a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley.

Reading help

Here are some games to play to develop reading and literacy skills:

" Rhyme chain: One person says a word, "pan" for example. Each person takes a turn saying a rhyming word until no one can think of any more words.

" I spy: Each person takes a turn "spying" something in the room. The clue is given with this sentence: "I spy something that starts with ___." The others guess.

" Sound substitution: Sing a favorite song while changing the first sound to a selected sound. Example: To practice the sound of the letter "b," sing "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes" as "Bed and Boulders, Bees and Boes."

" For Web sites to develop literacy skills, try:

- www.readwritethink.org/student_mat

- www.mrsjones.org/brooks/phonics.html

" For Web sites to choose books, try:

- www.booknutsreadingclub.com/choosingbooks.html

- www.rif.org/parents/goodbooks/

This series

Lynne Weakland, a retired Elmira elementary school teacher, writes today helping children developing reading and language skills. This is the eighth in a series of monthly columns written by members of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. The next column will be Sunday, May 15.

Online

Hear Lynne Weakland read her column and learn more about the Star-Gazette's Need to Read program by going to www.stargazette.com and clicking on "News to Use." Under the "Help Yourself" heading, find "The Need to Read" heading and click on it.

Need to Read 11

2010-08-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

Sunday, December 25, 2005

Parents can help with reading understanding
Asking children to explain what they read is invaluable.

Many of us have heard the axiom: Young children "learn to read" while older children "read to learn." Once students reach middle school, they are expected to read, extract meaning and to make inferences using a wide variety of print and electronic sources, including textbooks, journals, CD-ROMs, the Internet and "online databases." Unfortunately middle school students often lack the reading and technology skills necessary to "read to learn."

You should help your children find Web sites or databases that are age-reading-level appropriate. Many children give up because the sites they find are too difficult for them to read.

You also should have your children read out loud to you. This will help you to assess their reading ability. You can ask them to define specific words in the reading and help them to use a dictionary to define new words.

Assist them with assignments by asking them to read titles, graphs, charts and captions to you. You also should ask them to explain the relevance of that information to the written text.

Point out important information in the text and ask your children questions about what you heard them read to check for understanding. Do not assume that your children will comprehend what they read just because they can pronounce the words.

Finally, have reading material around the house, and teach your children that reading is important by modeling reading for them. The use of these strategies should help to show a marked improvement in your children's ability to read to learn.

This series

Jill Eagen, library media specialist at Broadway Middle School in Elmira, writes today about ensuring children understand what they read. This series of monthly columns, begun in September 2004, is written by members of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley.

What can parents do to help? First, don't assume that because your preteen uses the Internet often that they can use the Internet or "online databases" to read for information. Young people spend much of their online time chatting with friends and playing games, yet they spend little time reading and researching.

Online

Hear Jill Eagen read her column and learn more about the Star-Gazette's Need to Read program by going online. Go to www.stargazette.com and click on the Need to Read logo on the home page. Under Literacy Columns find the link to her column and click on it.

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Sunday, November 20, 2005

Nonfiction best answer to 'why?'
Find books geared to the kinds of questions they ask.

Around the age of 3, children look at the world around them and start to wonder about all the things they see and experience. The word "why" becomes a big part of their vocabulary. Their curiosity can be satisfied by the many books available in the children's nonfiction section of your favorite bookstore or library.

Over the past few years, more nonfiction books have been published for children in preschool and early grades. These books introduce children to vocabulary that is specific to the topic. They also include pictures and illustrations on every page to support the child's understanding of the words they see or hear. (A book on caterpillars targeted for this age group will include such words as egg, hatch, molt, chrysalis and butterfly).

Educators know that vocabulary knowledge is an important element for successful reading. Young children need to develop an extensive listening and speaking vocabulary even before they enter school.

More importantly, children will come to value reading not only for enjoyment but for finding out about the world. They see reading as a way of learning.

So the next time your preschoolers ask a question about caterpillars, stars, fire engines, horses, dump trucks, apples etc. make a mental note or write down the topic and select a nonfiction book to satisfy their curiosity.

Explaining why

Here are some suggested nonfiction children's book series and their publishers:

* The Eyewitness Readers Series by DK Publishing.

* Pebble and Pebble Plus Books by Capstone Press.

* Pull Ahead Books by Lerner Publications Co.

* The Magic School Bus Books by Scholastic Inc.
Online

Hear Ellen Hicks read her column and learn more about the Star-Gazette's Need to Read program by clicking on the Need to Read logo on the Star-Gazette's home page. Under Literacy Columns find the link to her column and click on it.

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Sunday, October 16, 2005

Health has language all its own
Patients, providers must make sure they understand each other.

Think back to the last time you were at a health provider's office or pharmacy, and consider how that experience shaped the outcome of your health concern. How well or how quickly your health condition improves may depend on your health literacy.

Although health literacy has been defined in many ways, the definition that is most to the point comes from Helen Osborne, expert on health literacy. She defines it as "a shared responsibility in which patients and providers each must communicate in ways that the other can understand." Her definition conveys the mutuality of communication.

No one can deny that health care is fraught with complicated language, including Latin, medical jargon and acronyms. Also, we accept that the personal and cultural understanding of health issues will shape how patients communicate with providers. Providers and patients need to seek clarity of meaning when communicating about a person's health issues.

First, patients need to be able to read and understand printed instructions for them be useful. Once basic literacy is established, the complicated medical language must be understood. And if the information is not clearly understood, clarification must be sought. This is part of health literacy.

The other part to health literacy is for health professionals to take a critical look at all printed materials and verbal communications for clarity and ease of understanding. If health information or instructions are not delivered in an understandable manner, it does not provide the quality of care that patients and health professionals strive to achieve.

A challenge to health professionals is to "watch your language," and be sure you are using terms that lay persons can understand. And for the consumers of health care, your job is to improve your health literacy but to ask for clarification if you do not understand written or verbal information given to you. Your health may depend on that.

This series

Joyce Hyatt is a registered nurse and grant facilitator with the Chemung Valley Rural Health Network. This series of monthly columns, begun in September 2004, is written by members of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. The next column will be published Nov. 20.

Online

Hear Joyce Hyatt read her column and learn more about the Star-Gazette's Need to Read program by going online. Go to www.stargazette.com and click on the Need to Read logo on the home page. Under Literacy Columns find the link to her column and click on it.

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Sunday, September 18, 2005

Start your children on the right page
Reading habits begin at home with parents setting the tone.

Head Start, a preschool program founded in 1965, has held from its inception the belief that parents are their child's first and best teacher.

Additionally, there is perhaps no greater academic predictor of a child's school success than a strong foundation in literacy. Fortunately for us as parents, helping to build this foundation is within our reach and requires no special materials or training. There are also many good local resources for obtaining books free or at a reduced cost.

Here's how to keep your children interested in reading:

* Books, books, more books: Surround your child with a variety of books, from soft books available for infants, to board books for toddlers, to books that preschoolers can "read" themselves. The more exposure your children have to books the more comfortable they will become with them and the more indispensable books will become for the rest of their lives. Create a special space for books and reading in your home and include a variety of age-appropriate reading materials.

* Read, read, read again: While you may tire of reading the same book over and over again, he or she never tires of listening. Your child is learning important lessons about the connection between written and spoken language, the rhythm and cadences of reading, and the distinctive sounds made by individual letters and their combination in the form of words, not to mention the security of snuggling and sharing a good book.

* Talk, talk, talk some more: Another important aspect of language development and literacy is having the words to use and knowing how and when to use them. Using colorful, descriptive language with your child from their early years and exposing them to increasingly complex vocabulary builds their listening and speaking language banks for later use. Play word games with your child, correcting pronunciation for them without drawing attention to their "mistakes."

This series

Erin Doyle, the education services manager at the Economic Opportunity Program of Chemung County, writes today about establishing reading as a habit with children. This is the 12th in a series of monthly columns written by members of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. The next column will be Sunday, Oct. 16.

Online

Hear Erin Doyle read her column and learn more about the Star-Gazette's Need to Read program by going online. Go to www.stargazette.com and click on "News Extras" on the left of your screen. Then click on "The Need to Read" link. Under Literacy Columns find the link to Doyle's column and click on it.

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Sunday, August 21, 2005

Grow your own reading room
Setting up right environment can cultivate importance of books.

Most families do not have a room in their home designated as the library. However, you can still make your home a place where reading is fun and a priority. You create the comfortable place to read and the right materials and your family will be on the way to reading at home.
The age of your child plays a role in setting up the reading environment. For example:
* Infants: Talking and singing to infants will help them with language development. Provide small, easy-to-handle board books for older infants.

* Toddlers/preschoolers: This group loves books. Make age- appropriate books available on a table or shelf that they can reach. Remember to model and reinforce the way to care for books.

* Young school-age children: Take advantage of school reading assignments. Have your child read to you or even take turns reading, as long as you are not the one doing all the reading because the child needs to practice his or her reading skills.

* Teens: Some teens love to read, while others could take it or leave it. Providing books or magazines that focus on their interests of cars, sports, science, clothing, hair styles, fishing, etc., will increase the chances of them sitting down to read.

Some ways to get books or magazines into your home include:

* Borrow books from your local library.

* Purchase new books.

* Buy used books at yard sales or library book sales.

* Start a share-a-book program at work or in the neighborhood.

* Through the Family Reading Partnership program.

* Ask a doctor's office if it would donate old magazines for kids to read.

* Help your children write their own stories.

You can even make your own book on tape with you or your child reading the story into a tape recorder. This also would be a great gift idea for a relative. Who wouldn't love that?

As a parent, you can set the stage to make reading at home part of your family's daily life.

The Need to Read series

Ruth Krusen, executive director of the Chemung County Child Care Council Inc., writes today about how parents can create healthy reading environments for their children. This is the 12th in a series of monthly columns written by members of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. The next column will be Sunday, Sept. 18.

Online

Hear Ruth Krusen read her column and learn more about the Star-Gazette's Need to Read program by going online. Go to www.stargazette.com and click on "News Extra" on the left of your screen. Then click on "The Need to Read" link. Under Literacy Columns find the link to Krusen's column and click on it.

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Sunday, July 17, 2005

Talk books, share them too with older children
" As kids get older, adults can build bonds through reading.

Preteens and young adolescents require just as much attention as preschool youngsters when it comes to reading and writing skills. In New York state, less than 50 percentof the eighth graders tested this year met proficiency standards. Clearly, the gap between that performance and Information Age literacy needs is unacceptably wide.

As in the workplace, growing older in school means nonfiction becomes more important. Students are expected to reason abstractly about subjects outside of their experience, consider multiple perspectives and weigh evidence. However, more sophisticated requirements don't mean that parents and caregivers can't continue to play an important role.

Encourage your young persons to read by giving them choices and helping them to find stories about people from similar backgrounds or topics in which they have a special interest. Providing a quiet space and stocking your home with newspapers, magazines and books are also helpful, along with a good dictionary. Yes, children at this age are busy, so help them make a schedule that includes time for television, video games, practice for sports or music and daily reading.

Keep talking with older children about what they read. Reading for understanding is about making connections and building vocabulary. Discussions that help them think about situations in new ways or add to their background knowledge can help develop both skills.

Hearing good sentence structure helps them to self-correct and to put information together more easily when they are reading by themselves. Inviting your middle schooler to read to a younger child benefits both of them. In the car, books on tape are a great way to improve skills and understanding as they follow along in the text and talk with you about it later.

Modeling is also important. Let kids catch you reading for pleasure and take them with you to the library or the bookstore. Many preteens still like to be read to, and sharing favorite passages can be a terrific conversation starter. Bringing home the movie version of a book your child is reading and discussing the differences is another way to help students to take text to another level.

Your relationship with your child is a very important part of every stage of their development. Talking about books is a wonderful way to open their minds and to share the values they'll need to cope with the complex world they'll inherit.

Don Keddell is president of the board of directors of the Chemung County Child Care Council, Inc. He is a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley.

Online

Here are some Web sites with helpful book suggestions:

" Reading is Fundamental: www.rif.org

" International Reading Association: www.reading.org

" Literacy Matters Ltd.: www.literacymatters.com

" Books for Parents of Dyslexic Children: www.dyslexia-parent.com

" Multicultural Children's Literature: www.multiculturalchildrenslit.com or

www.lib.msu.edu/corby/ education/multicultural.html

This series

Don Keddell, a retired school administrator, writes today about how parents can encourage their preteen children and adolescents to sustain their interest in reading books. This is the 11th in a series of monthly columns written by members of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. The next column will be Sunday, Nov. 21.

Online

Hear Don Keddell read his column and learn more about the Star-Gazette's Need to Read program by going online. Go to www.stargazette.com and click on "News to Use." Under the "Help Yourself" heading, find "The Need to Read" heading and click on it.

Need to Read 10

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Sunday, July 23, 2006

Passion for reading can grow with PAL
* Partnership with younger students provides needed stability.

A love of reading should begin in childhood, and if children have someone to instill a love of books in them at an early age, it will hopefully carry with them into adulthood.

Stories and friendships that spark the imagination, that open up a world of possibilities of what could be, give a child hope.

PAL ñ Pupil Assistance in Learning ñ is a program that relies on volunteers to mentor children in Chemung County. Our mentors are matched in a one-to-one partnership with a child in need of a positive, attentive adult. Reading together is just one of the many activities enjoyed by PAL participants. Other activities include arts and crafts, outings to the park, or helping with homework. Each PAL match chooses how they spend their time together, incorporating their own interests. Many PAL matches spend much of their time together simply talking and listening.

The PAL Program also holds monthly group activities. These parties are planned so that every child feels included. Halloween, Christmas, swimming, and bowling parties, movie day and board game night are all great fun.

After an application and interview process with PAL staff, PAL mentors commit to a year of consistent ñ weekly ñ contact with their PAL student. The contact can take place during the school day, in the evening or on weekends, as long as it is consistent.

This summer, PAL kids, with the encouragement and support of their PAL mentors, are participating in reading programs through the Star-Gazette and Applebeeís restaurant, and those kids who read at least 10 books will celebrate with our PAL-readers Party, complete with ice cream, cake, books and gummy bookworms.

People often tell me theyíre not sure what they have to offer as a mentor. It does not take any special skills to be a mentor. It takes the time and a desire to share your life and the things you enjoy with a child. Share the gift of reading. Share the excitement of choosing a book from the library. Share the stories and pictures that tap into the limitless imagination of a youngster.

For more information on how you can become a PAL mentor and make a positive difference in the life of a child, call the PAL office at 607/735-3093 or e-mail Adele Ayres, program coordinator, at aayres@elmiracityschools.com.

Adele Ayres is coordinator of the PAL Mentoring Program in Elmira and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

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Sunday, June 18, 2006

Summertime, and the reading is easy
* Book discussion groups can be a warm-weather diversion.

We often think of reading as a solitary experience. We find ourselves quiet, alone with our thoughts as we read the authorís work. However, sharing your thoughts, reactions and responses to a book in a discussion with friends and family can make reading a social event.

As summer approaches, family reunions, picnics, outings and team events are added to the calendar. It is also a great time to consider organizing a book club/discussion. All you have to do is identify the group, pick a book, set a date and time, and make it happen. Here are some tips.

* The group: Anyone interested in reading and discussing a book can be a member; mothers and daughters, best friends, fathers and sons, ìthe cousins,î co-workers, teammates or neighbors can be a starting point. The group should be small. This gives all group members opportunities to share their thoughts. A good rule of thumb is eight to 10 participants, but a good discussion can be had with just two or three.

* The book: The process for choosing a book does not need to be complicated. Titles can be suggested by the group, and winners can be drawn from a hat. Picking a theme or book type (mysteries, science fiction, etc.) is another way. Parents may want to suggest a book they read growing up and have the children pick a favorite for parents to read. Just make sure that the book appeals to everyone and can be easily read if you are including children in the elementary grades.

* The format: Flexible, easy, unstructured are the ways to go. A good starting point would be to have each person share his or her thoughts, reactions, special passages, favorite or not so favorite characters, etc. in a round-robin fashion (with the option to pass). After that, the discussion can take any direction. Reserve about an hour for your group, but donít be surprised if you find you need more time; adjust as you go along.

Remember to keep it fun.

* Place and time: Allow enough time for each person to finish reading the book. Consider the length of the book and the type of fiction or nonfiction you have selected when deciding your time frame. Pick a time and place that is convenient for all, and you are ready.

Participating in a shared reading and book discussion will take you on a path to authors, titles and book choices you might never have considered. The exchange of thoughts and reactions to the book with others will give you a better appreciation for the authorís work and for the people you share it with. This benefit is well worth the time and effort to start or join a group.

For more tips and ideas, contact the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley, 607/735-3593 or go online to www.familyreading.org

Ellen Hicks is a retired principal from the Elmira school district and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

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Sunday, May 21, 2006

Passing on a love for reading

I remember as a child cuddling next to my grandmother while she read book after book to me -- sometimes the same one over and over again. Even before I started school, there were trips to the library that began a lifetime love of reading.

Books were an important part of my home, and when I had children, some of these same books were passed on to them. We made reading before naps and bedtime a daily ritual, and when they learned to read themselves, I listened to them and allowed them to stay up "just a little longer" if they were reading.

Whether it involves your own child, grandchild or that special person, books and magazine subscriptions tailored to the recipient make wonderful gifts. Inscribing a special message and signing and dating it can make it a special keepsake for the future. As children get older, sharing and discussing a book you enjoy with them helps bond you intellectually. Help them to discover different types of literature and realize just like you, they will go through phases and discover different interests and authors.

It is not only those active ways of reading to and supplying books to children that encourage the pleasures of reading. There are also those passive messages we give by making reading an important part of our own lives.

I have always had a bookcase filled with books in our home, and our children always had a bookcase in their rooms. My own reading habits are silently displayed through my nightly bedtime reading or those lazy summer moments spent curled up in the hammock with a good book.

Remember that actions speak louder than words. If you want the next generation to be readers, remember to make reading an active part of your life and pass it on. - TERESA FLETCHER

I remember at night as a child staying up late with Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael and Leonardo. I felt safe in their presence. I was not afraid of the evil foot clan and its colleagues, Bebop and Rocksteady, because they had my back.

And when the Ninja Turtles were out protecting the sewers from the foot clan, Optimus Prime and the Auto Bots would watch me as I slept. Now my heroes at night have evolved.

Coleridge, Milton and Stoker keep me safe at night from vampires, fallen angels and other crude individuals. My reading interests have evolved over the years, and my love of reading is something that I will continue to develop and pass on. - ROBERT SCOGGAN

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Sunday, April 23, 2006

Reading help for adults just a phone call away

Have you ever wanted to help your child with a homework problem but struggled? Or how about trying to read a story to your grandchild and fumbling over the words? Maybe you know someone who wants to get a job but is too embarrassed to fill out an application on-site because he can't read well enough.

Reading is a skill that many of us take for granted, but for those who have difficulty making sense of the written word, everyday reading can be a frustrating experience. Many adults have learned to compensate for a reading disability. Others pretend not to care, or they hide their discomfort. Help is available in our surrounding communities for adults who want to develop their reading skills.

Schuyler-Chemung-Tioga BOCES operates free Adult Learning Centers throughout its seven component school districts. Adults, 18 years of age or older, can enroll to practice and increase individual reading skills. These learning centers can be found in schools, One-Stop Centers, the Economic Opportunity Program and community agencies. The classes are small and individualized. Interested adults participate in an information session and take an assessment of their current reading skill level. From there, they are referred to a convenient location that meets their family and work schedule. Depending on skill level, if someone needed an individual tutor, a referral to Literacy Volunteers of America at EOP may be appropriate.

Taking the first step by making the call to find out about local programs is the hardest. Once adults ask for help, our area is rich in educational resources. Adults can study to improve reading skills and work on math and writing skills in adult learning centers. People without a high school diploma also can prepare for the GED test. If a person is 21 or older, SCT BOCES offers home-study options, such as the External Diploma Program, where adults can earn a local high school diploma.

There are no guarantees, but with hard work and determination, a person can achieve success. That achievement brings satisfaction and an open door to the future. That future can include higher education, training, a job, pride in helping a child with homework, and most of all, self-fulfillment. So take a look around and talk to family and friends. Encourage and support anyone who may want to take advantage of learning to read better. The help is there for the asking. Just call:

‰ SCT BOCES Adult Literacy Programs , 607/739-7684 or 800/724-5756.

‰ Literacy Volunteers of America at the EOP main office in Elmira, 607/734-6174.

Kate Buckley is an adult literacy specialist at the Schuyler-Chemung-Tioga BOCES and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

This series

Kate Buckley, an adult literacy specialist at the Schuyler-Chemung-Tioga Board of Cooperative Educational Services, writes today about helping adults improve their reading skills. This series of monthly columns is written by members of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley.

Online

Hear Kate Buckley read her column and learn more about the Star-Gazette's Need to Read program by going online. Go to www.stargazette.com and click on the Need to Read logo on the home page.

Under Literacy Columns find the link to Buckleyís column and click on it.

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Sunday, March 19, 2006

Literacy: It's a part of human nature
Words, spoken and read, must be an exercise lasting a lifetime.

About a dozen years ago or so, a British research team filmed infants in the presence of conversing adults. After analyzing the results frame by frame, they concluded that the seemingly erratic movements of the babies' arms and legs were actually synchronized with the rhythms of the speech they were hearing.

Apparently, we are born already wired for language, predisposed to learning quickly how to speak and listen. Playing with sounds and words, singing and talking to infants reap rapid and rich rewards in lifelong literacy, the phenomenal and uniquely human power to comprehend and communicate ideas, feelings and information through words.

If this is true, it is doubly sad that many children, by the time they start school, have lost this innate potential for language because it has not been nurtured during the earliest years of their lives. Instinctive though it may be, language facility is not self- sustaining or even self-starting.

Like any other muscle, the language muscle will waste away if it is not exercised. So how do we compensate for language deficiency in a child of 6 or 7, or even more challenging, a child of 11 or 12?

As with anything else we do willingly, there has to be a reward, something in the activity that we value or enjoy. Reading is no different. If a child does not know or believe that he will have such an experience when he reads, he will not do it readily or well, and certainly not frequently.

Even an adult reader will read what interests and stimulates him. He also learns through experience that reading expands exponentially that circle of interest, but a young nonreader won't believe for a minute that this can happen. He most likely won't even care. He will have to be shown and will have to experience for himself that there is discovery and excitement in reading that relates directly to his own identity and interests.

A number of years ago, a high school senior student of mine resisted every effort to get him to work on a research paper that was a graduation requirement. Although he had had difficulty at every step of his educational life, reading and writing were especially low on his list of fun things to do. Weeks went by, but he refused to even begin the project.

Finally, a resource teacher, his guidance counselor and I corralled him and tried to pin him down. "You can pick any topic you want," I said. He seemed surprised, even though that had been part of the game plan all along.

"Can I write about conservation?" he wanted to know. "Of course you can," I replied. "I like the woods and animals and stuff like that," he mused. "That's fine," I said. "Go for it." And off he went to start researching his topic.

He found information in books and magazines, and on the Internet. He needed help all the way through, but he kept at it and completed the assignment, much to his satisfaction and his teachers' great relief.

For older children with language deficiencies, it is not enough to assign whole class reading projects. There must be a strategy and supplementary staff in place to help each child pursue his own initial areas of interest through the reading experience. The priority placed on such support in terms of time and resources must be ranked among the very highest in a child's educational program, for nothing else academic will work well for him without the ability to read.

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Sunday, February 19, 2006

A love affair with reading
Printed words stir emotions and keep our minds lively.

What binds us together? It is people who understand relationships and communication. I am convinced that communication of what goes on in the heart matters. Reading is the tool that binds all ideas and feelings together. It enhances the relationship we have with all things.
I always saw myself not as the head teacher but the head learner, someone who shared a joy of reading and learning. The key to success in reading is motivation. If there is no one to share the ideas, solutions and feeling alive in the printed page, then it is the dead words of the living.
Reading is alive in students, teachers, parents and all who worked at Beecher, Booth and Pine City elementary schools, where I was the principal. It was the element that made the difference in learning. It was the power pack that drove the learning.

Reading, writing, speaking and listening were not just the curriculum elements; they were the ways we connected with each other. They were the tools for being totally human and totally alive. Reading. What a wonderful life it can bring. All we do is drink from its streams of poetry, fiction, biography, nonfiction and so much more.

I have a second-grade student I am mentoring this year who loves to read riddles and jokes. He made me laugh as he read the jokes that touched him. We connected because he could share what was part of his heart, what was important to him.

February is the month of valentines. It is the month of the heart. Reading is one way we share our hearts with each other. Reading from the heart is for all ages. It is about sharing memories, concerns and ideas that make a difference in each other's lives. Won't you be a valentine to a friend and share what you are reading?

My favorite book that I read to students, my children and in sermons is "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch. It is a book to treasure and remember. What book touches your heart? What book will you share?

Fun by the page

Here are some tips to encourage reading with family members:

* Have children read their favorite jokes or riddles to you. Laugh together.

* Read your favorite story of the heart in honor of Valentine's Day last week. "Chicken Soup for the Heart" is a good one.

* Speaking of hearts, poetry brings the heart alive. Share your favorite poem.

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Sunday, January 22, 2006

Keeping track of how children read
Parents can nurture skills with books and involvement

Learning to read involves being able to recognize as well as understand the words that are printed. The building blocks for reading start right in the home through the initial interactions between parents and children.

Begin by sharing the experience of books through reading aloud to your children. Have numerous books available that you read with your child and that your child can see you read as a part of your daily schedule. Children need to receive the message that reading is fun.

As the child matures, make sure you discuss the books, help your child learn some of the words in the book and understand the story presented. He or she should be able to anticipate what will come next in the story and possibly recite some parts.

Guidelines to assist in monitoring where children should be in their reading development can be found in Sally Shaywitz's book, "Overcoming Dyslexia." Here is a summary:

* Early preschool (ages 3-4): Can recite nursery rhymes, repeat and play with sounds, and identify 10 letters of the alphabet (often in his or her name).

* Late preschool (ages 4-5): Can recognize and name a growing number of letters and can count the number of syllables in a spoken word.

Beginning kindergarten (ages 5-5Ï): Can name a word that rhymes with a simple word like cat and can mostly recognize as well as name all upper- and lower-case letters.

* End of kindergarten: Can easily name upper- and lower-case letters, beginning to learn about letter-sound matches, beginning to decode simple words, and is developing a sight word vocabulary.

* First grade (ages 6-7): Reads aloud with accuracy and comprehension (first-grade text), knows sounds of common letter groups or word families, reads simple instructions, and links letters to sounds to decode unknown words.

Parents' working in partnership with the classroom teacher are keys to children moving forward in developing skills in reading.

Online

* Hear Shari Simmons read her column and learn more about the Star-Gazette's Need to Read program by going online. Go to www.stargazette.com and click on the Need to Read logo on the home page. Under Literacy Columns find the link to her column and click on it.

* For tips about helping children develop strong reading habits, go to www.nea.org/parents/readingmattershome.html

Need to Read 9

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Sunday, December 17, 2006

A look at how the brain learns to read
* Adults can start in their childrenís infancy by training them for later success.

Learning to read is an amazing feat, performed by an amazingly complex organ, the brain. As Dr. Sally Shaywitz, author of ìOvercoming Dyslexiaî and co-director of the Yale Center for the Study of Learning and Attention, often states, ìReading is peculiarly human and yet distinctly unnatural.î Reading has been described by neuroscientists as a ìhigh wire balancing act for the brain.î How do children learn to translate a cacophony of symbols on a page into words that have meaning?

Thanks to a new, sophisticated, noninvasive imaging technique, called functional magnetic resonance imaging, neuroscientists can now watch the brain read. This provides exciting new information about the neurological underpinnings of literacy and has significant implications for how we teach children to read.

While reading is a complex process neurologically, functionally it consists of two major skills. They are decoding, or the ability to correctly identify the written word, and comprehension, the ability to understand meaning.

Decoding a word depends upon a childís phonemic awareness, the ability to correctly hear and manipulate the individual phonemes, or fundamental sound elements, that make up a word. For example, cat has three phonemes c-a-t, kuh-aah-tuh. Long before a child learns to read, he must master three fundamental pre-reading skills: be able to hear the separate sounds or phonemes that make up the word; be able to take them apart and put them back together; and be able to understand that written letters stand for these sounds ó the alphabetic principle. That is why a language-rich environment for infants and toddlers is so crucial to later successful reading. Exposure to rhyme, rhythm, songs and word play, as well as exposure to books and oral stories, all train the brain to get ready for reading.

Functional MRI studies show that the brain primarily learns to read phonetically. When children read, they use two main neural pathways, both located in the posterior or back part of the brain. The parietotemporal area, or word-analysis area, is used when the beginning reader is slowly sounding out a new word. Only after a child successfully reads a word phonologically many, many times, is it stored as a total package of pronunciation, spelling and meaning, in the occiptotemporal, or word form, area of the brain. That complete word package can later be activated immediately upon seeing the word. This express pathway shows the highest level of activity in the most rapid, fluent and accurate readers.

This scientific evidence provided the foundation from which the National Reading Panel developed its recommendations for effective, evidence-based, reading instruction, published in 2000 (www.nationalreadingpanel. org). According to these recommendations, reading instruction must include direct, explicit, systematic instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics skills; be structured and sequential with lots of repetition and practice; include explicit instruction in vocabulary and comprehension strategies; and develop fluency by reading aloud. Reading to a child can increase a childís vocabulary, comprehension, overall fund of knowledge and love of language, but alone, it is not a sufficient way to teach a child to read.

In next monthís Need to Read installment, I will focus on the dyslexic brain. That article will look at what brain research teaches us about children who, despite normal intelligence, have great difficulty learning how to read. I will discuss whether it is possible to actually prevent some of these reading problems.

Dr. Ellen M. McHugh is a pediatrician and a member of the Chemung County School Readiness Project. She also is a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

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Sunday, November 19, 2006

Success at school begins at birth
* Chemung County program targets literacy as essential childhood skill.

Our 5-year old granddaughter, Annika, rushed into the room. ìGrandpa, I had such fun in kindergarten today!î

I was not surprised. She was ready to start school. Annika had been attending preschool for the past two years, and she had numerous learning experiences in museums and community center activities during her preschool years. She reads some of her books on her own. Her mother ó our daughter ó had a very similar preschool experience.

But today many students donít have these opportunities. That made me realize the great importance of the Chemung Countyís School Readiness Project. The project is a groundbreaking initiative committed to helping every child in Chemung County start school with a solid foundation for becoming a successful learner.

What exactly is ìschool readinessî? Literacy is one of the most important components, but more broadly it refers to the set of social, physical and cognitive skills children need as a base for successful learning before they enter school. Research shows that constructive experiences from birth to age 5 of a childís life build the foundation for success in school and life. The School Readiness Project will ensure that every preschool child in Chemung County can participate in healthy, early development just like our granddaughter has been able to do. They will do this either at home, in early care and learning settings, or in the broader community.

How will this come about? The project is bringing together all our local child-centered organizations to provide this preschool training. This early intervention also will address a childís developmental or health problems before costly remediation during the school years. Chemung is the first county in New York to back a cohesive system of this magnitude.

In the end, all of the countyís young preschool people will reap the reward. They and their parents will get early access to support services that can help them stay on a good learning track. Ultimately, not only they, but the county, the state and the nation, will benefit. Learn more about School Readiness Project. Get involved.

Don Keck, a retired Corning Inc. scientist, is a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. His comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

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Sunday, October 29, 2006

Reading lessons come from newsstands
* Magazines, newspapers can be text for teaching children to read.

Have you ever thought about using a magazine or newspaper to encourage your child to read? The comic strips are a great place to start with your little one. Itís fun to look at the pictures with them. You donít necessarily need to read the captions but can just talk about what you see in the picture. You could continue the fun by playing with Silly Putty and creating an image from the comic strip on the gooey stuff.

Did you know that by reading the comics, you are actually preparing your child for a high school social studiesí class? Quite often our teachers will assign a political cartoon for our students to read and analyze.

I bet that you fancy a particular newspaper over another. By exposing your child to a variety of newspapers, she learns to make decisions about the newspaper ó say for instance, which newspaper has interesting stories, the most up-to-date sportsí scores, accurate local news coverage, intriguing horoscopes and which is biased on a specific topic. Here at Elmira Free Academy, many of our students have developed a discerning eye for their favorite tabloid.

Now how about magazines? Magazines are a great resource for pictures of famous people, toys, food and various advertisements. Why not spend some time paging through the magazine and asking your child which toy is her favorite or what type of food looks delicious for tonightís dinner.

Take it a step further and cut or tear out the pictures and paste them on a piece of paper. You could even label the sheet ìSome of my Little Angelís Favoritesî and help your child to begin reading words by labeling each picture.

Again, you would be preparing your child for high school class called Independent Living, because not only do our students need photos of items that they would purchase for their first apartment but also they will need to read and compare costs for these items and manage a budget.

So next time you are waiting in the doctorís office or in your favorite restaurant, think about picking up the newspaper or magazine and start reading with your child.

Lynn Pesesky is a school library media specialist at Elmira Free Academy and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

This series

This series

Lynn Pesesky, media specialist on the Elmira Free Academy library staff, writes today about how to use newspapers and magazines to introduce children to reading and sustain their interest in reading. This is one of a series of monthly columns written by members of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley.

Online

Hear Lynn Pesesky read her column and learn more about the Star-Gazette's Need to Read program by going online. Go to www.stargazette.com and click on "News" then "News to Use." Under the "Help Yourself" heading, find "The Need to Read" heading and click on it. The audio clip is under the "Literacy Columns" heading.

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Sunday, September 17, 2006

Once upon a time: The power of a story
* Good, old-fashioned storytelling forms a strong basis for literacy among children and adults.

Whatís your story? Whether youíre aware of it or not, everyone has one. The stories need not consist of formal or lengthy presentations. They need not reach crowds of people or have profound messages. Stories may simply be recollections of events that you share with those you love. Children and families can reap enormous benefits from listening to and telling stories.

Long before children learn to read and write, they develop the ability to communicate verbally. As toddlers, they unite thoughts with words to express their feelings and desires. This early language experience is the building block of literacy. As childrenís language skills improve, they can easily begin to enjoy and even tell stories. Stories provide rich language experiences that will increase attention spans and vocabularies while creating a love for literature. They help to develop the cognitive skills necessary for children to learn to read. Stories for toddlers may be as simple as an event at grandmaís house or a tale about the family pet.

Using stories with toddlers and preschoolers can be rewarding for both children and parents. Parents can begin at home with traditional, familiar stories or rhymes they recall from childhood, such as ìThe Three Little Bears,î ìBilly Goats Gruff,î etc.

To expand upon the experience, parents can even use puppets, simple masks, hats and different voices to portray the characters. They can continue to practice language play by using participatory stories with repetitive phrases, rhymes or cumulative events. If parents feel inadequate about the role of storyteller or reader, thereís no need to worry. They can ask a public librarian for suggestions of simple stories to get started.

If parents lack story experience from childhood, now is the perfect time to discover stories together with the child. Parents can read the book first, then tell the story aloud, and then ask their child to tell the story on his own. Even struggling parent readers can benefit from the activity. All of this leads to increased interest in books and reading. Observing others sharing stories is helpful also. Local public libraries have regular story times with skilled staff members who tell stories and introduce children to literature.

As children grow, storytelling can be just as meaningful and enjoyable. Folk tales teach and help them to understand the world, different cultures, their emotions and their decisions. Stories can be used as exercises in imagination and creativity. The use of oral language patterns builds and expands literacy skills. Children can be encouraged to share a personal story orally then translate it into written words.

The oral tradition has been around since the beginning of time. All cultures are rich in storytelling traditions. In generations past, American families would gather around sitting rooms in the evening and share stories. The story has tremendous power even in our modern world, but the tradition must be kept alive. Families can do that by gathering their stories about ancestors, writing them down and sharing them at reunions or family celebrations. Grandparents love to share stories of their past with grandchildren.

Most all adults can recall some sort of local legend. The mention of the ìhook manî may bring back memories of campfires or sleepovers. Parents can pique the interest of teens by telling these stories to them from memory or by finding some urban legends or scary story collections at the library. These types of stories may be perfect for encouraging reluctant older readers.

No matter what your age or background, everyone has a story to share. Storytelling is a powerful tool for encouraging a love of reading and family literacy.

So whatís your story? Share it today with someone you love.

Chris Corter is the head of youth services at Steele Memorial Library in Chemung County and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

-----------------

Sunday, August 20, 2006

No such thing as being too young to enjoy reading
* Partnershipís Books at Birth project wants parents to start habit with newborns.

You arrive home with your new baby happy, proud, elated but also concerned and tired. You scan the pile of brochures and papers given to you while in the hospital and wonder when you will have time to read it all. You notice the book from someone who recommended you start reading to your baby but were you told to start reading at six months, three, one or did she really recommend reading immediately? No? Thatís too soon, isnít it?

Books at Birth is a literacy program started this spring by the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley, the Comprehensive Interdisciplinary Developmental Services Agency, nurse practitioners from Southern Tier Pediatrics and RSVP. It provides a free book to everyone who gives birth at the Arnot Ogden Medical Center.

The Family Reading Partnership purchases books and makes them available to the hospital. Volunteers from RSVP knit and sew attractive pouches into which the books are placed, along with other literacy-related information. Staff from CIDS distribute the books to new mothers at the medical center and encourage them to, yes, start reading to their baby every day. Nurse practitioners from Southern Tier Pediatrics distribute the books to mothers on weekends and holidays.

You settle in, and after several weeks begin to feel confident everything is going well and your baby is perfect. You are delighted at how interested she becomes whenever she hears you talk and how she responds to the changes in the tone of your voice as you speak. Then you remember the book given to you in the hospital, and you open it for the first time. You read a few words out loud. She looks at you. You read some more. She continues to look at you. You see the look in her eyes. Sheís listening. You read a few more words. She is still listening.

After two minutes, she cries and wants to be held. But youíre hooked and later in the day you read to her again. After awhile, it becomes a habit to read for brief periods of time. As your baby gets older and her attention span lengthens, you read for three minutes, then four, five and on and on. You buy her a second book and a third and a fourth. She loves to hear you read from each of them. You begin to see the magic of her learning your language, a gift you can give her during her feeding times.

Teachers, health professionals and others who work with children know that the acquisition of language begins before birth. Babies begin ìhearingî during the seventh month of the pregnancy.

To maximize their speech, reading and language potential, they must hear new words and be taught to read early in childhood because the brain is most receptive to new language skills before 5 years of age. Unfortunately, studies of high school graduates show that only 21 percent of those who took the ACT college assessment test in 2005 met the college readiness benchmarks in English, reading, math and science.

In Elmira, only 50 percent of fourth-graders meet or exceed New York state reading standards, and nationally only 39 percent of parents read to their children on a regular basis. But if read to at an early age, children can meet and exceed literacy expectations in grade school, high school and college.

That is why we started Books at Birth. The message for you is: Read to your child early and often. Your child could be the next Eileen Collins or Brian Williams from Chemung Valley. Congratulations!

Dr. Jacob K. Felix of Horseheads is a retired pediatrician/neonatologist and current president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, New York Chapter 1, District II. He also is a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. His comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

Need to Read 8

2010-08-05T06:20:00.001-07:00

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Join a reading celebration
* Annual Book Fest on March 31 brings out excitement of child literature.

As parents, caregivers and teachers of young children, we cannot underestimate the power of reading to little ones each day. Just 15 minutes a day makes such a difference.

A key to making reading a truly memorable experience for children is to bring the books we read to life.

Bringing books to life is easily accomplished during our daily 15 minutes of reading time. We can use puppets when we read, change our voices for story characters or simply act silly and have fun while reading. Another great way is to attend the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valleyís Annual Book Fest event.

The Book Fest is held each year and is a free, fun-filled family event, centering on bringing parents and children together around the excitement of childrenís books. The event includes art, entertainment and activities all based on books. Community organizations host story-related book stations. Children visit read-aloud environments based on books and story characters. Food and books are available for book Fest goers to purchase.

This yearís theme is ìWild About Books!î The event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 31 at the Center Street Elementary School in Horseheads, across from the Kmart plaza. The event will include the Bookmobile, library card registrations, storytelling sessions all day, activities, book sales, refreshments and a special visit from our local author friend, Tedd Arnold.

There also will be special containers at the Book Fest to collect gently used childrenís books to help support the Bright Red Bookshelf program. With little ones, sort out the books you currently have and bring those that are no longer considered the nightly favorites to donate at the event. The special treat is that everyone who attends the Book Fest receives a free book. We can donate books for others but still receive a special treat to take home.

Making reading fun and allowing families to share in that joy together is what the Book Fest is all about.

Paige Kinnaird is the parent child resource center coordinator at Booth School in Elmira and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. His/her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

---------------------------------------------

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Read any good movies lately?
* Childrenís books made into movies provide great literacy motivator.

In the past few years, we have seen a lot of childrenís books come to life on the big screen. Preview trailers and television ads entice us to see the movie. Children canít wait; they donít want to miss this latest film event. However, what many children may not know is that this story came from a book that was written long before the movie was ever considered.

Parents can take advantage of a book-based movie and use it as a terrific motivator for getting children interested in reading. It provides a perfect occasion for families to share a book before heading out to the theater. Children can be introduced to the story for the first time, while parents may revisit an old childhood favorite. The activity can stimulate discussion and enrich the experience of both reading the book and viewing the film.

Children may ask whether itís necessary. After all, why read the book if you see the movie, but one cannot judge a book by its movie. Movie producers may or may not be true to the original book. Interpretation of books is as individual as readers themselves, and families can benefit significantly from discussions of plots, characters and settings before seeing the movie. Reading a book without any visual stimulants allows children the opportunity to use their imaginations to create their own characters and settings. After seeing the film, families can then engage in dialogue again by exploring these questions:

* Did the characters and settings look like you imagined?

* Did you get to know the characters better in the book or the movie?

* How were the movie and book alike and different?

* Were parts of the movie not true to the book?

* How did you feel when key scenes from the book were left out of the movie?

* How would you film the book if you could direct it?

* Why do you think moviemakers found it necessary to alter the book or ending?

If families have already seen a movie and not read the book, itís not too late to go back and read it. Comparisons can work both ways. Films are known to revitalize classic book interest. Publishers reissue them with new covers for mass appeal, and sales soar when movies are released. Try this the next time your family is planning a trip to the movies.

Chris Corter is head of youth services and storyteller at the Steele Memorial Library. She also is a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

--------------------------

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Early detection of dyslexia pays off
* New diagnosis, remedial techniques can combat problem.
What do night show host Jay Leno, millionaire financier Charles Schwab, baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan, actress Whoopi Goldberg, brain surgeon Fred Epstein and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein all have in common? Give up? They all have ìdyslexic brains.î Despite normal intelligence and superior talents in other areas, they all had extreme difficulty learning to read, and continue to be slow readers today.

Dyslexia, as defined by the National Institutes of Health and the International Dyslexia Association, is ìa specific learning disability that is neurological in origin and characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition, and poor spelling and decoding abilities.î

Dyslexia is not a visual problem. Dyslexics do not ìseeî words backwards. Rather, dyslexic children have trouble developing phonemic awareness, the ability to appreciate that words are composed of separate sounds or phonemes that can be taken apart and put back together. The brain primarily learns to read phonetically, and phonemic awareness is an essential precursor to successfully decoding words. What all dyslexics have in common is a deficit in phonological processing, a circumscribed weakness amid a sea of strengths. Critical thinking, reasoning, problem solving, creativity and imagination are unaffected.

Dyslexia is the most common of all learning differences, with a prevalence of 15 percent to 20 percent, or 10 million children nationwide. It accounts for 80 percent of all the children identified as learning disabled. Dyslexia occurs in children of all races, nationalities and socioeconomic status, and at all levels of general intelligence. Boys only slightly outnumber girls by a 1.5 to 1 ratio.

Exciting new neurological research utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to watch the brain read reveals that when compared with a nondyslexic brain, the dyslexic brain shows a different pattern of activity during reading. There is an underactivation of the neural pathways in the back of the brain and a compensatory overactivation in the frontal areas. Dyslexic brains use neurological systems that are slower and less efficient, explaining why even mature dyslexics, who become accurate readers, never become automatic readers. Dyslexics remain relatively slow, not fluent, readers throughout their lives.

Though vulnerability to reading difficulties has a genetic component, the environment can play a major role. The classic dyslexic is born with a genetically determined ìglitchî in the reading systems of the posterior brain, a different blueprint. Other children develop into poor readers despite normal brain wiring, because of suboptimal environments at home and/or school.

New fMRI evidence suggests that the deficit in phonological processing seen in dyslexic children may occur in children with adequate neural wiring who do not receive the language stimulation early in life necessary for the proper neural connections to form. This highlights the importance of providing a language-rich environment to infants and toddlers, with exposure to rhyme, rhythm, songs, word play and storytelling.

The proper environmental stimulation can increase the functional capacity of the brain. Recent functional MRI studies of dyslexic childrenís brains one year after they received intensive, evidence-based reading instruction, as recommended by the national reading panel (www.nationalreadingpanel. org), have shown that their brain activity during reading now more closely resembled the nondyslexic brains and their reading had significantly improved. Because a childís brain is most plastic when young, early identification and intervention offer real hope that many childrenís reading difficulties can be prevented.

For more information on dyslexia and other learning differences, see ìOvercoming Dyslexiaî by Dr. Sally Shaywitz and go to www.interdys.org and www.schwablearning.org.

Dr. Ellen M. McHugh is a pediatrician and a member of the Chemung County School Readiness Project. She also is a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

Need to Read 7

2010-08-05T06:19:00.001-07:00

Sunday, August 19, 2007

When technology and reading conflict
* Children better off flipping pages than pushing buttons on the remote.

Editorís note: Information in this article was excerpted with permission from ìThe Read Aloud Handbook,î 5th Edition, by Jim Trelease.

Modern technology surrounds us everywhere. No matter where we go there are cell phones, iPods, iPhones, MP3 players, wireless Internet and the list goes on. And it doesnít stop once we enter our homes. The average American home owns two or more televisions plus DVD players, VHS players and video game consoles.

Scientific analyses of television and its impact on children over the last 40 years still leaves many questions unanswered. One we know for a fact: Children who watch the most TV also have the lowest school test scores.

The U.S. Department of Education compared the scores of 13-year-old math students, based upon how much TV they watch. Their results indicated that for a student watching up to two hours of TV a day, their average math scores were 283. But what if they watched three to five hours of TV a day? Their scores fell to 274, and if they watched six or more hours a day, their scores were 260.

Is it the fault of TV viewing or the fault of families that allow children to waste that much time in front of a plastic box? Thatís someone elseís call. All we can do is raise a warning flag: If you allow your child to watch too much TV, youíre asking for academic trouble.

To help combat the effects of TV on reading and learning, families can start by following two simple suggestions: limit daily TV time and remove TVs from childrenís bedrooms. Give them a book instead!

This monthís book suggestions:

* ìAngus and the Ducksî by Marjorie Flack. This book is appropriate for children preschool to kindergarten age. Angus, the Scotch terrier, represents all inquisitive young children exploring and confronting their surroundings.

* ìLittle Tim and the Brave Sea Captainî by Edward Ardizzone. This book is appropriate for children kindergarten to second grade. Between 1936 and 1977, this popular British illustrator created a wonderful series of adventure books around the seaside lives of three children, all of whom are called upon to exhibit bravery, contrition and perseverance as they confront great obstacles in their seaside community.

* ìMick Hartle Was Hereî by Barbara Park. This book is appropriate for children in grades 3-5. Told through the eyes of an angry, grieving, yet plucky and funny 13-year-old sister, itís the story of her younger brotherís death from a bike accident, which would have ended otherwise had he been wearing a helmet. Park fills it with warm and often hysterically funny recollections of this terrific boy, who could unnerve anyone with her creative antics.

Excerpts from Jim Treleaseís book are running this month as part of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley Need to Read series about literacy.

-----------------------

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Plenty of summer left for good reading
* Greater S. Tier BOCES site lists more titles.

Hey, teens, what are you going to read besides the last Harry Potter book? Here are some suggestions with a brief description of each title:

* ìThe Book Thiefî by Marcus Zusak: historical fiction set in Nazi Germany.

* ìPants on Fireî by Meg Cabot: Katie keeps everyone else around her happy but not herself.

* ìAmazing Graceî by Megan Shull: Teen tennis sensation takes a break from fame.

* ìDairy Queenî by Catherine Gilbert Murdock: Sixteen-year-old DJ tries out for her schoolís football team.

* ìEnthusiasmî by Polly Shulman: Two friends fall for the same boy.

* ìHarmlessî by Dana Reinhardt: What are the consequences of telling a lie?

* ìHattie Big Skyî by Kirby Larson: Sixteen-year-old Hattie inherits her uncleís homesteading claim in Montana in 1917.

* ìAn Abundance of Katherinesî by John Green: Colin has been dumped by 19 girls named Katherine.

* ìPeachesî by Jodi Lynn Anderson: Three very different girls spend the summer picking peaches in a Georgia orchard.

* ìChew On This: Everything You Donít Want To Know About Fast Foodî by Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson: The one nonfiction title every teen should read.

If you are looking for more great books to read, check out the GSTeens Read! book blog, sponsored by the School Library System of the Greater Southern Tier Board of Cooperative Educational Services. Students are invited to leave comments on the books they have read and suggest titles for inclusion on the blog. For more information go to http://gstbookblog.blogspot.com/

Gina Beirne, a library media specialist at Southside High School in Elmira, is a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

-------------------------------------------

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Steele Memorial Library forms book discussion group
* Program gives teens a chance to talk about their reading.

My 15-year-old year old son came to me recently and let me know it was time for him to work ... at a job at the mall. Quickly realizing that this job was going to cost me more than heíd make I had to respond with positive wisdom surrounding a negative answer. So I thought and thought, and I realized that every opportunity I or he will ever have can be taken back to our ability to read.

I offered him the opportunity to help somebody else. This was easy, as he loves to read. So I embarked on a self-directed research assignment to understand our communityís resources for helping people read. What a wonderful exercise. From my sonís guidance counselor came some great direction. Those calls led me to where else but the library! There I meet Chris Corter. She spent an hour with me helping me to understand the need and the resources ... the two ends.

What excited Chris so much was being able to talk about the resources and the need in our community. As with many things the devil is in the details. In this case it reduces to a lot of need and a lot of resources but a sometimes thin middle, that chasm between good intentions and sincere outreach for help.

Quickly comprehending the situation and Chrisí enthusiasm, we began to brainstorm. Chris pointed out there was a drop-off in reading at the middle school level. We agreed it would be opportune to have Eli facilitate a book discussion group this summer based on the summer reading assignments for Ernie Davis. The response so far has been encouraging and everyoneís hope is that we are onto something that will help ìmake the two ends meet!î

For information on this book discussion group and others available this summer in the community, contact Chris Corter at the Steele Memorial Library.

Fell Cadwallader of Elmira is a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. His comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

--------------------------

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Recorded books help reading skills
* Literature in CD, cassette or MP3 formats has value for the ages.

Listening to a story read aloud can be a wonderful and enriching activity for people of all ages. When I was a student, I always loved when teachers read aloud from books. There is something magical about hearing the words and language of a well-written story come alive with a human voice. For many years after leaving grade school, I rarely had the opportunity to hear a story read aloud. But in the last few years, there has been an explosion in the publishing world of books being recorded on CD or cassette and even in MP3 format. With the abundance of audio books now in my beloved public libraries, I am in heaven. I listen to stories while I walk the dog, drive the car, cook dinner, and while I clean house (except while the vacuum is running).

My 11-year-old daughter often joins me as I listen to a book while I exercise. (A good story can make exercise almost enjoyable!) As a middle school library media specialist, I will often listen to childrenís literature. At some point, because there is only so much I can exercise, I will go off to shower. My daughter, unable to stop in the middle of a good part (ìNooooo, you canít stop now!î) will continue to listen without me. Long car trips are a breeze. ìHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenixî got us to Maine and back a few summers ago. Shorter trips to Binghamton are made more enjoyable.

I often sense that people do not think listening to audiobooks is as good as reading the words off the printed page. Maybe it is seen as an easy out for those who struggle to read. Or just what you do for young children because they canít read for themselves. But I will argue that the benefits of listening to a book read aloud are too good to dismiss, for people of all ages and reading levels.

For the new or struggling reader, listening to stories introduces new vocabulary in context. When that new word appears in a printed book later, there is a better chance of decoding and understanding it. A well-read audio book demonstrates how important it is to read fluently.

A struggling reader who listens to a story read aloud by a skilled reader hears what it is like to have a lively inner voice while reading. Then, in their own reading they can strive to hear this voice to bring the words to life. By listening to a fluently read story, they can learn to visualize in their heads as well, learning to ìseeî the story without pictures. This is an important part of reading successfully on oneís own. Finally, quality literature can be enjoyed by those who may not be able to pull it from a printed page, but can still appreciate the story and be enriched by it.

For those who are considered good readers already, listening to books continues to sharpen all of those same skills. And in our tightly scheduled lives, listening might allow one to enjoy the latest best-seller before it becomes yesterdayís old paperback. It also provides a wonderful opportunity to share a book with a loved one at exactly the same time. Ask my daughter how many times I have paused our CD player to talk about something happening in a story. She is likely to say I stop it too often. But itís a great way to find out what she thinks, and share my thoughts with her. As she grows older, I see our listening to stories together as a nice opportunity to bridge discussions between events in the books and her own life.

Have I convinced you yet? The next time you face a long car trip, or dreary household chores, either by yourself or with someone you love, consider visiting the library and stocking up on a few audio books. There are many titles that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

Maureen Frei is a library media specialist at Horseheads Middle School and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

Here are some suggested audio books that children would enjoy:

* All of the ìHarry Potterî books by J. K. Rowling read by Jim Dale. (Listening Library.)

* The classic ìCharlotteís Webî by E. B. White, read by the author himself. A beautiful, beautiful story. (Listening Library, 2002.)

* Imagine waking up one morning and finding that you are invisible. ìThings Not Seenî by Andrew Clements follows 15-year-old Bobby in an exciting and believable account of his sudden and unexplained invisibility. (Listening Library, 2003.)

* ìPeter and the Starcatchersî by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, narrated by Jim Dale (Brilliance Audio 2004), is a wonderful adventure, set on a ship named Never Land, of orphan Peter and starcatcher Molly, who must guard a trunk of magical stardust from greedy pirates.

* ìBud, Not Buddyî by Christopher Paul Curtis tells the heartwarming tale of 10-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Mich., during the Great Depression, as he escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of his father. (Listening Library, 2000.)

* ìSarah, Plain and Tallî by Patricia McLaughlin, read by actress Glenn Close, is the classic frontier story of Anna and Caleb, their father, and Sarah, the mail-order bride who comes to live in their prairie home.

Need to Read 6

2010-08-05T06:18:00.000-07:00

Sunday, December 30, 2007
City:
State:
Section: Opinion
Page: 5
From: Other
Source:
Publication: Star-Gazette

Books promote community partnerships

‰ Local students use |literature to connect with senior citizen living centers

‰ Local students use |
literature to connect with
senior citizen living centers.

literature to connect with
senior citizen living centers.

Service learning connects curricu¨
lum and skills to community needs.
Students make decisions and partici¨
pate in projects that have real-life re¨
sults as they apply academic, social
and personal skills to benefit the com¨
munity. Seventeen elementary, mid¨
dle and high schools in our area are
working on projects this year through
a Learn and Serve America grant.
Reading is an important part of suc¨
cessful service learning.

Literature can be a springboard for
discovering how to help others.
Fiction and nonfic¨
tion books, including
picture books, are
valuable resources
for learning about
community needs.
Books may be read
aloud or silently.
They may be used at
any phase of service
learning, but they are
especially valuable
during the time stu¨
dents are doing
preparation to learn
about a topic.

For example, some of our students
are working with adults in Villa
Serene, Flannery Towers,
Woodbrook, Colony Park Apartments
or the Chemung County Nursing
Facility. There are recommended
books about elders for all school lev¨
els.

For elementary students, "The
Hundred Penny Box" by Shannon
Bell Mathis may lead students to
gather oral histories from elders. In
middle school, students could read
"Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbitt
to discover the importance of valuing
each stage of life. In high school, "The
Bonesetterís Daughter" by Amy Tan
may provide a catalyst for discussion
about elders and how important their
stories are to us.

As students interact with their
books, they identify with characters
and events and become that much
more invested in their service learn¨
ing projects. Students may ask them¨
selves questions about problems or
conflicts in the stories and think
about how that may apply to their
own communities.

Well-written books help students
tap into their curiosity and inspire
them to consider important topics.
Reading is clearly the foundation of
learning. Books chosen for a specific
purpose provide knowledge and a
motivation for service in the commu¨
nity.

Maureen Nicolo is the Learn and
Serve Project coordinator and is a
member of the Family Reading
Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her
comments are part of a monthly se¨
ries of articles about literacy.

Fiction and nonfic¨
tion books, including
picture books, are
valuable resources
for learning about
community needs.
Books may be read
aloud or silently.
They may be used at
any phase of service
learning, but they are
especially valuable
during the time stu¨
dents are doing
preparation to learn
about a topic.
For example, some of our students
are working with adults in Villa
Serene, Flannery Towers,
Woodbrook, Colony Park Apartments
or the Chemung County Nursing
Facility. There are recommended
books about elders for all school lev¨
els.

For elementary students, "The
Hundred Penny Box" by Shannon
Bell Mathis may lead students to
gather oral histories from elders. In
middle school, students could read
"Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbitt
to discover the importance of valuing
each stage of life. In high school, "The
Bonesetterís Daughter" by Amy Tan
may provide a catalyst for discussion
about elders and how important their
stories are to us.

As students interact with their
books, they identify with characters
and events and become that much
more invested in their service learn¨
ing projects. Students may ask them¨
selves questions about problems or
conflicts in the stories and think
about how that may apply to their
own communities.

Well-written books help students
tap into their curiosity and inspire
them to consider important topics.
Reading is clearly the foundation of
learning. Books chosen for a specific
purpose provide knowledge and a
motivation for service in the commu¨
nity.

Maureen Nicolo is the Learn and
Serve Project coordinator and is a
member of the Family Reading
Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her
comments are part of a monthly se¨
ries of articles about literacy.

or the Chemung County Nursing
Facility. There are recommended
books about elders for all school lev¨
els.
For elementary students, "The
Hundred Penny Box" by Shannon
Bell Mathis may lead students to
gather oral histories from elders. In
middle school, students could read
"Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbitt
to discover the importance of valuing
each stage of life. In high school, "The
Bonesetterís Daughter" by Amy Tan
may provide a catalyst for discussion
about elders and how important their
stories are to us.

As students interact with their
books, they identify with characters
and events and become that much
more invested in their service learn¨
ing projects. Students may ask them¨
selves questions about problems or
conflicts in the stories and think
about how that may apply to their
own communities.

Well-written books help students
tap into their curiosity and inspire
them to consider important topics.
Reading is clearly the foundation of
learning. Books chosen for a specific
purpose provide knowledge and a
motivation for service in the commu¨
nity.

Maureen Nicolo is the Learn and
Serve Project coordinator and is a
member of the Family Reading
Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her
comments are part of a monthly se¨
ries of articles about literacy.

ing projects. Students may ask them¨
selves questions about problems or
conflicts in the stories and think
about how that may apply to their
own communities.
Well-written books help students
tap into their curiosity and inspire
them to consider important topics.
Reading is clearly the foundation of
learning. Books chosen for a specific
purpose provide knowledge and a
motivation for service in the commu¨
nity.

Maureen Nicolo is the Learn and
Serve Project coordinator and is a
member of the Family Reading
Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her
comments are part of a monthly se¨
ries of articles about literacy.

-------------------------

Copyright 2005 -
Make time for holiday reading
* Donít forget to spend time with the written word.

It is official that the holidays are upon us. With the start of October, we are inundated with information on the upcoming holidays from October through January. Even with all of the extra strains on our time and our energies, there is still enough time in the day to read to our children.

The last time I checked, everyone still gets 24 hours a day ó no more, no less. There is no shortage of time. For three decades, two professors have been doing a study of peopleís daily schedules, using thousands of personal-time diaries. This decade shows Americans have five more free hours a week than we did 10 years ago.

The reason we feel so stressed is because we are all continuously multitasking. Instead of simply driving our children to a soccer game, we are driving and making an appointment on the cell phone.

At the game, we are networking with a neighbor about the refreshments at the preschool picnic, watching the game and taking calls on the ubiquitous cell phone. We are not out of time. We are out of breath.

To easily dispel the time myth, count the number of video stores you pass in one day and then count the number of channels on your television. If Americans were out of time, the video stores would be in bankruptcy, and you would have only 10 channels on your TV and only one TV set in the house.

We have time for what we value. The people who find the time to read to a child and to themselves yesterday had the same 24 hours as the person who has no time to read, but did watch their favorite team on TV and the afternoon soap they taped, did find the time to talk on the phone for 35 minutes, and did find the time to run errands.

Time is the great filtering agent in success. Help your child (or another child you know) become a success in school and in life ó read to them for 15 minutes each day. We all have the time for that.

Here are this monthís book suggestions:

* ìCloudy with a Chance of Meatballsî by Judi Barrett. This book is appropriate for children ages preschool to fifth grade. In the fantasy land of Chewandswallow, the weather changes three times a day, supplying all the residents with food out of the sky. But suddenly the weather takes a turn for the worse. You will have to read the book to find out the rest of the story.

* ìThe Magic Paintbrushî by Robin Miller. This book is appropriate for children in grades one through five. Nib is an illiterate street orphan with an ambition but not the money to become a great artist. When he comes to the aid of an old man being robbed in an alley, he is rewarded with a magic paintbrush that will bring to life whatever he paints.

* ìThe Search for Deliciousî by Natalie Babbitt. This book is appropriate for children in grades three through seven. After a nasty argument among the king, queen, and their court over the correct meaning of the word ìdelicious,î the prime ministerís adopted son is dispatched to poll the kingdom to determine the choice of the people.

Paige Kinnaird is coordinator of the Elmira school districtís Family Resource Center and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy. Information contained in this article was excerpted with permission from The Read Aloud Handbook fifth edition by Jim Trelease.

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Sunday, October 21, 2007

The importance of health literacy
* Patients, providers must ensure clear understanding.

October is Health Literacy Month. The document known as Healthy People 2010 contains our national health goals and strategies. Improving health literacy is an important component in providing and receiving effective health services that promote overall health outcome improvements. Health People 2010 defines health literacy as ìthe degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.î In this statement, the individual holds the central responsibility for understanding health information.

Others have defined health literacy as a responsibility shared by the individual and the health professional. Well-known health literacy advocate and author Helen Osborne has defined health literacy as ìa shared responsibility in which patients and providers each must communicate in ways the other can understand.î Clear communication using words, both printed and spoken, and symbols that are known to both parties can facilitate understanding.

Basic literacy is at the root of comprehending words and symbols that impact health literacy. Determining the reading skill of an individual patient is difficult in many health settings, but that is a vital step in determining what approaches to use to deliver instructions and information.

Individuals who face challenges in understanding printed health information need to openly share with health professionals that they need clarification because of literacy limitations. Conversely, it is the responsibility of health professionals to assess the degree to which patients can read or hear information in such a way as to understand and act on that information. The shared capacity of patients and professionals to communicate openly until all aspects of health care instructions are understood may determine the individualís health outcomes. We all have a stake in promoting basic literacy and health literacy.

Joyce Hyatt, a registered nurse and grant facilitator with the Chemung Valley Rural Health Network, is a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

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Sunday, September 16, 2007

Join the community reading challenge
* Weíre going for a record on Thursday with ëThe Story of Ferdinand.í

ìThe single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children,î writes Jim Trelease, author of ìThe Read-Aloud Handbook.î

Reading aloud to children, of all ages, is truly the best way that we as parents and community members can help build a strong foundation for our future. By reading to a child, we are able to condition the childís brain to associate reading with pleasure, create vital background knowledge, build vocabulary and provide a reading role model.

Reading aloud to children does not stop when they enter school or learn to read for themselves. Whenever an adult reads to a child, three important things are happening simultaneously and painlessly:

* A pleasure-connection is being made between child and book.

* Parent and child are learning something from the book theyíre sharing.

* The adult is pouring sounds and syllables called words into the childís ear. These are advantages for children (and adults) of any age.

We know the power of reading to a child is immeasurable. What about the power of reading to hundreds of children on the same day?

On Thursday, the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley is participating in a communitywide Read for the Record event in conjunction with local school districts, the City of Elmira and the Chemung County Library District. We invite you to read to a child (or group of children) on that day.

What should you read? ìThe Story of Ferdinand.î

Why? To help set a new record for the number of reading aloud events of a single title in one day.

How do you get involved? Register at www.readforthe record.com, request a copy of the book from your favorite local library, or contact the Family Reading Partnership at familyreadingpartnership@ yahoo.com for a free copy. We have 50 copies to distribute in the community.

Report back to our Family Partnership e-mail address and let us know how many children you read to on Thursday.

Paige Kinnaird is the Parent Child Resource Center coordinator at Booth School in Elmira and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Todayís article is a continuation of a series of monthly installments on reading.

Need to Read 5

2010-08-05T06:16:00.001-07:00

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Make a summer reading list
* Look for recommended books at Wisner Park on Thursdays and at other locations.

Whether you have a lot of tasks to accomplish, a number of groceries to buy or a special event to plan, a list helps you to track your progress and meet your goals. Lists like David Lettermanís Top Ten even have the power to bring laughter into our lives. A book list combines the best aspects of both the practical and entertaining lists.

This summer, the Family Reading Partnership of the Chemung Valley will distribute book lists for young, intermediate and teen readers. It will be available at Summer Cohesion and summer school sites as well as at the Bright Red Book Shelf in Wisner Park on Thursdays. The FRP hopes that its list will provide a jump-start not only for family summer reading but also to reading all year long.

The FRP list will have titles appropriate for young, intermediate and teen readers, and they include fiction and nonfiction selections. There will be ideas for discussing the setting, plot and characters in books as well as other activities that might inspire deeper thought about what has been read. Activities such as starting reading journals or arts and crafts projects inspired by a book make the reading experience more dynamic and enable parents to participate in their youngsterís experiences. Books alone will provide hours of enjoyment for the reader, but the involvement of parents and family beyond the pages lead to impressions that last a lifetime.

The FRP list also will provide information about accessing other book lists electronically. There are lots of other book lists out there to choose from. For example, The New York Times best-seller lists support readers as they look for the newest novels, the latest biographies or their favorite authorís newest release. If you have a competitive nature, this list even lets you track the rankings of books. You can choose from hardcover or paperback fiction, nonfiction, advice, business and even childrenís books. Ultimately, these lists endorse really good reads.

There are also a number of book lists out there that already focus on young readers. Professional groups of library/media specialists and educators, school districts, public libraries, reading organizations and childrenís publishing companies have all created book lists for young readers. Even Oprah has a kids reading list. Each list is unique in its organization and the titles it promotes.

If youíre looking for a well-written modern creative work for children, you might check out the Newberry Medal award winners list. It includes classic childrenís literature like ìDear Mr. Henshawî by Beverly Cleary, ìA Wrinkle in Timeî by Madeleine LíEngle, ìSummer of the Swansî by Betsy Byars, and ìBridge to Terabithiaî by Katherine Paterson as well as more modern books like ìHolesî by Louis Sachar. If you want to see magnificent artwork in the pages of a book, you might try the list of Caldecott Medal winners. This yearís winner, ìThe Invention of Hugo Cabretî by Brian Selznick, is no mere bedtime story. At more than 500 pages, it is more like an epic cinematic experience.

If award winners are not your cup of tea or seem slightly inaccessible for the young reader in your life, there are also lists geared to reluctant readers, boys or girls, and specific age groups and grade levels. In fact, Googling ìchildrenís book listî will give you another list of more than 16,000 lists. What all of the lists have in common are great titles that promise hours of enjoyable reading. These lists are also great resources.

If you are a parent or a grandparent who wants to promote reading and literacy for the young people in your life, you might not be sure what to suggest when you hear, ìthereís nothing else to read.î Books lists can help you find a special present that will be cherished long after a special day has passed. You might also consider bringing along a book list on your next trip to the library and have a scavenger hunt through the library stacks. A friendly librarian will be more than eager to be your guide on this treasure hunt. Any book list is full of potential to promote literacy (and some fun) for the whole family.

The FRPís mission is to create a culture of literacy in our community in which all people experience the joy of reading as part of everyday family life. The FRP hopes that its list will help families in our community put reading on the top of their summer to-do list.

Lisa Kelly, a retired administrator from the Elmira school district, is a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

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Sunday, June 22, 2008

Summertime and the reading is easy
* Make sure books are a part of the next few months.

Because it is the summer season, this column is about the fun of reading and the magic of books. I hope that you will join me in recalling some special books and in looking forward to summer reading.

The best books are the first books ó board books. They are durable for clumsy, messy hands and full of illustrations and carefully chosen words. Some of my favorite memories are of the first time a child ìreadî to me. Someone had patiently and lovingly read and reread the same book until the child ìreadî from memory. It is hard to know who is proudest of this awesome accomplishment ó the reader or the listener.

My favorite board books are any of Eric Carleís books and Sandra Boyntonís ìBlue Hat, Green Hat.î

My second favorite type of stories are usually not written in a book. My children called them ìmouth storiesî because they were spoken. They can be made up while driving in the car or after the lights are out at bedtime. Some mouth stories are adventures or fantasies; others are like memoirs. Whatever the story, the best part is that the child is always an important character in the story.

Most pre-schoolers make up stories when they look at picture books alone. If you listen, you will appreciate the childís intelligence and imagination. A great book for stimulating a childís creativity is ìFlotsam,î a book by David Wiesner without any words.

Next, I like Harry Potter books because of the excitement they generate for reading. Who can forget the hysteria, the suspense and all the reading that occurs when a new book hit the shelves at midnight on a hot summer night? My adult children all purchased the book hot off the press and devoured it immediately. They checked in with each other (and their friends) as the reading marathon continued.

I think every family can plan and anticipate a reading event this summer. It is fun to read a great book and then see it on the screen. Some great movie-book connections are ìCharlotteís Web,î ìHootî and ìThe Chronicles of Narnia.î Donít forget to get both the book and the movie. Incidentally, books on tape are great for nonreaders or car rides.

Another fun adventure in reading is to select a book for family members spread across the country to read. A friend told me her family members scattered from coast to coast plan to read Tedd Arnoldís ìRatís Lifeî on the same weekend. Since the book is set along the fictional Chemunga River, it will help them all feel closer to home and connected to each other.

One last suggestion for summerís end: Write down stories of your family and summer fun. Be sure you include drawings or photos. This book may not become a best seller, but it will be a best loved book for years to come.

Happy summer.

Mary Anne Perks of Veteran is an adjunct anatomy and physiology at Elmira College and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

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Sunday, May 11, 2008

Getting children to read by themselves
Start by reading series books aloud before letting children go it alone.

Early reading skills are developed through direct instruction at school and with continued practice at home. Parents of young readers take time to read with their children. This role is critical to early reading success.

However, once children begin to master the basic skills and become more independent in their reading abilities, both teachers and parents are challenged with how to sustain interest and keep them reading.

Reading for pleasure is the best way to hone skills and increase vocabulary. Research tells us that students must read about 20 books a year at their independent reading level to be prepared for the next grade. Reading time in school is focused on learning new skills and content. So the necessary volume of reading must occur at home or during free time.

How do we motivate children to read in their spare time? How do we get them hooked on reading? One way is to introduce them to series books.

We all have our favorite TV series. We become fans because the characters interest us. We share their adventures, successes and problems, and we can't wait to find out what happens next in their lives.

Series books do the same thing. The trick is to introduce the first few books of the series to your child as a read aloud. Then modify this by having your child read parts of the chapter to you. You will find that they will start reading on their own to find out what happens next in the story.

Remember to choose a series that your child can read independently. Librarians and teachers can assist you with choosing books at the right level.

Here are some suggestions for series your children might enjoy:

?Amber Brown by Paula Danziger.

?Fluffy by Kate McMullen.

?Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant.

?Commander Toad by Jan Yolen.

?Chapter Book Collections.

?Horrible Harry by Suzy Kline.

?Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park.

?Marvin Redpost by Louis Sachar.

?Easy Reader Collections.

?Little House Chapter Book by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Ellen Hicks is a retired administrator from the Elmira school district and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

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Sunday, April 27, 2008

Poetry helps children take early literacy steps
* Experimentation with sound and words form solid language foundation.

The early childhood years are a time of dramatic growth and development. The emergence of language is one of the most remarkable aspects of a childís development. From their earliest months, children are playing with sound and experimenting with the impact of their voice on others. Sounds, letters and words are the building blocks of communication. They are also the building blocks of poetry.

I have been writing poetry since 1967 and working as a poet-in- residence in schools around the country since 1990. In 2003, I began introducing the under-5 crowd to the sound and rhythm of poetry.

Infants and toddlers sit entranced by the sounds and playfulness of nursery rhymes and poems written for the very young. Preschoolersí faces glow as they get silly doing free association.

Children who have more mastery over spoken language begin to explore simple metaphors and similes. These important elements of poetry engage children as they begin to dictate their own poems. As ideas start flowing, some children shout out words, while others may sit quietly taking it all in until their eyes suddenly sparkle and they quietly offer their own word to the emerging poem.

The sky is as blue as the blue bat

I hit a home run with.

The sun is as yellow as the blanket

that keeps me warm when I sleep.

The thunder is as loud as a djembe.

The lightning is as bright as

A camera bulbís flash.

Poetry can play an important and lighthearted role in emerging literacy. And the more comfortable we are with the building blocks of poetry ó sounds, letters, words ó the more comfortable we will all be with the creative process. As you share your delight in playing with language, you are also introducing children to the rich, inventive world of poetry.

Michael Czarnecki of Wheeler, in Steuben County, is a poet and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. His comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

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Sunday, March 16, 2008

Parents can bone up on eating tips by reading
* Books offer sound guidelines on nutrition for kids.

As parents, we have the sometimes overwhelming responsibility of making sure our kids are being properly nourished. We have to handle the everyday responsibility of what, when, where and how to feed our kids. We want our kids to learn good nutrition principles that they will take with them for the rest of their lives. This article will explore some good books out there that can assist parents with feeding their kids properly.

The first book on my list is ìAmerican Dietetic Association Healthy Eating For Kids: How Your Child Can Eat Smart from 5 to 12î by Jodie Shield and Mary Catherine Mullen (Wiley, 2002). This book teaches parents nutrition basics and easy-to-follow nutrition guidelines.

Up next is ìThe Healthy Wayî by Stew Leonard Jr. with Meghan Flynn (Kimberly Press). This storybook for children was written as a tool for parents to start conversations with their children about the importance of healthy eating.

The next book on my list is ìHow to Teach Nutrition to Kidsî by Connie Evers (24 Carrot Press, 2006). Connie Evers is a registered dietitian who specializes in the health of children and adolescents. Her book integrates fun with healthy eating.

The final book is titled ìThe Family Nutrition Book: Everything You Need to Know About Feeding Your Children, from Birth Through Adolescenceî by William Sears and Martha Sears (Little Brown & Co., 1999). You may recognize the Sears name. They are the husband-and-wife, doctor-and-nurse team that has put out 30-plus books on just about every aspect of child care, including nutrition. This informative and thorough book presents nutrition in an interesting and easy-to-read format.

Every parent could use an edge when it comes to good nutrition for our kids. Books on nutrition can help give us that edge.

Anthony Patricelli, registered dietitian, is the director of food and nutrition at St. Josephís Hospital and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. His comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

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Sunday, February 17, 2008

Reading volunteerism deeply fulfilling
* Reach Out and Read is national, international program.

Ten years ago I was recently retired and a new grandmother. I was looking for a way to practice the latter and find a significant volunteer assignment in the community. Through a meeting of the Elmira Junior League, I learned about a new program that was starting in the medical community ó Reach Out and Read ó and decided to try this for awhile. Appropriate training was provided, and I was assigned to the Southern Tier Pediatric office.

What I discovered was that giving of my time to encourage reading in young children and their parent/guardian became an important part of my week and one I hate to miss for any reason. Knowing that the medical personnel were also discussing the importance of early literacy at appointments and providing new books at well-child visits strengthens my resolve to continue with this volunteerism.

There is nothing like the warm feeling of watching a child pick out a book, hand it to an adult to read or bring it to me, climb into the next chair and settle in to listen. Another thrill is the child who asks whether he or she can read the book to me; sometimes a little help is needed with a new word but when the word is recognized the next time, it is a success for both of us.

After 10 years, it no longer is a surprise to most adults or children that a volunteer and the books are available while waiting for a medical visit. The children appreciate it when handed a new book to take home and are proud as they carry it out of the office. Those who are not receiving a new book on that visit have the option of picking out a ìgently usedî book from the Bright Red Bookshelf. Needless to say the program is happy to receive donations of these books.

The support and friendship provided by the staff of the Southern Tier Pediatric office makes the work of the volunteer easier and more comfortable. The ongoing support of the Chemung County Reading Council is also important.

Reach Out and Read is an international program in all 50 states and many other countries. You also will find it in doctorís offices, emergency departments, health departments, hospitals and some medical schools. If you might be interested in joining this important program, you may call (607) 733-1448 for more information. Training is provided as well as mentor sessions if the new volunteer requests. Come and discover how much fun it is to read ìIs Your Mamma A Llama?î about 10 times an hour.

Barbara Hutchinson of Elmira is a Reach Out and Read volunteer and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

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Sunday, January 20, 2008

Local Reach Out And Read turns 10
* Program now involves 20 health care professionals.

In the late 1980s, doctors and nurses at Boston City Hospital brought in gently used books to their waiting rooms so that children could read before their appointments. The books quickly disappeared, and this act of ìthieveryî and interest in books was how the concept for ROR was born. The Reach Out and Read program consists of three key components:

* Developmentally and culturally appropriate childrenís books are given to children by doctors and nurse practitioners during each pediatric well-child visit from 6 months to 5 years of age.

* Guidance for parents about literacy and the importance of reading to your child is discussed during pediatric visits.

* Volunteers read to children and model reading aloud for parents in the waiting room.

Dr. Ralph Moore heard about the Reach Out and Read program and thought it was important to bring ROR to the Southern Tier. He and an eager group of volunteers consisting of Dr. Jon Homuth, Joyce Hyatt, Linda Swarthout, Chris Corter, Colleen Hurd, Teresa Lodico, Julie Brojakowski, Kate Buckley, Annette Corbalan, Linda Lincoln, Isabelle Rohde and Jennifer Saucier established the first local chapter of ROR. They wrote grants, asked for donations, spoke at various local functions, found volunteer readers and did training with area pediatricians and family practitioners.

Our local ROR has been going strong ever since and is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. ROR is now part of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. The ROR program involves close to 20 pediatricians and family practitioners in Chemung County.

It has distributed approximately 70,000 books to children in the area. Thousands of parents have heard the critical message about the importance of reading to their children. Hundreds of children have been read to while waiting to see their doctor.

We thank all of our wonderful volunteers over the past 10 years and continue to seek new volunteers for the future. Our wish is for all children to be read to each day by a caring adult in their lives. The interaction between child, adult and book, along with the bonding that takes place, is priceless.

Denise Glowaski is a special education teacher at Cohen Elementary School in Elmira Heights. She also is president of Reach Out and Read ó RORó and a is member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

Need to Read 4

2010-08-05T06:15:00.000-07:00

Sunday, December 21, 2008

How to encourage reluctant readers

Do you have a ìreluctant readerî living in your house? Does your child drag his feet when asked to find something to read? Does she claim to not like reading, and is sure that she never, ever will? Or maybe your child likes to read, but just never makes time for it. Here are some tips for turning your reluctant reader into a more motivated, confident reader:

(right triangle) Model reading for pleasure. Make sure you have books, magazines and newspapers around the home ó whatever you enjoy reading. Let your child see you reading. Talk about something interesting that you read, and be sure to listen if they do the same.

(right triangle) Read to your children often, even as they grow to teenagers. No one is ever too old to be read aloud to. Let them choose what to read. Let them read aloud to you. Talk about what is read.

(right triangle) Make a comfortable reading spot in your home or your childís room.

(right triangle) Encourage older children to read aloud to younger siblings.

(right triangle) Read some of the same books and magazines as your children so that you can share your reactions and have good conversations. This also will show them that you value their interests.

(right triangle) Donít miss out on everyday literacy opportunities. Read billboards and advertisements. Read labels, ingredient lists and packaging information. Read DVD liners and video game instructions. Street maps, brochures and timetables all need to be read.

(right triangle) Read song lyrics and talk about them.

(right triangle) Listen to an audio book (book on CD, cassette or MP3) as a family on a long car trip or at a regular time each day. Make sure to talk about what happens in the book. Have everyone try to guess what will happen next.

(right triangle) Have your child listen to an audio book as they read along in the book. Audio books model fluent reading and the magic of hearing internal voices to make the story come alive.

(right triangle) Make a family event in the kitchen by trying out a new recipe. Put your child in charge of reading and following the recipe. Let your child browse through cookbooks to pick the next recipe.

(right triangle) Browse together (and the key word is ìtogetherî) at the public library, bookstore or the magazine racks in a store. Talk about what you find and the choices you make.

In the long term, raising a reader has less to do with perfect pronunciation and huge vocabularies, than it does with finding interests and pursuing them through reading. Most importantly, let your childís interests drive the reading opportunities you help find.

Maureen Frei is library media specialist at Horseheads Middle School and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

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Sunday, November 30, 2008

A card that keeps on giving
Library access a precious gift for children, adults

Every year since 2002, The Friends of the Steele Memorial Library's Kinderbook Program have been trying to place a library card in the hands of every kindergartener in our community.

One of the reasons for this effort is that statistics show that the older children get, the less they read for pleasure. Most likely 100 percent of children enter kindergarten wanting to learn to read, but by the time they are in fourth grade, only 45 percent read for pleasure, and only 24 percent of 12th-graders enjoy reading.

Reading for pleasure can start early in life, with children discovering all the exciting books that can be found and enjoyed in our public libraries. In that regard, maybe the pleasure will be long-lasting and children will become better readers. This could lead to more success in school and life, all because of that first library card.

Library cards introduce children to our public libraries, and all they have to offer -- for free.

There are more wonderful books to borrow than a child will ever have time to read.

There are media sets containing a book and a read-along CD to stimulate visual and auditory senses.

There are Discovery Packs of Learning for preschool, primary-grade and intermediate-grade students. These packs, which come with an activity guide, contain a variety of learning tools such as books, games, videos, puzzles, puppets and other various hands-on activities.

There is the children's database called "Searchasaurus" on the Chemung County Library District's Web site that contains, among other things, a dictionary and encyclopedia.

Once children visit libraries to look for books, media sets and Discovery Packs, they will learn about the wide variety of children's programs that libraries provide, such as story hours, authors' visits, holiday events and other programs.

A library card is probably the best kind of plastic card a child will ever own. Unlike plastic credit cards, there is no danger of overuse. In fact, overuse is encouraged. There are no prohibitive interest rates. Library cards promote the best kind of interest -- in books and all they have to teach about people, places and life.

You don't have to be a kindergartener to get a library card. Library cards are free to everyone and would make a Christmas gift that could be used forever.

So the Kinderbook Program will continue with the hope those kindergarteners will always use and treasure their first library cards.

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Sunday, November 2, 2008

Take active role in your health

The month that just ended, October, is Health Literacy Month, and it is a time when everyone should be reminded to take charge of health issues for themselves and others, to be aware of how they may better understand those issues and take the actions needed to improve their health. The World Health Organization defines health as ìa state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.î

To improve health it is important to understand the health instructions provided by physicians, nurses and other health practitioners. You can improve your care and the care of your loved ones by taking an active role. Ask questions of health practitioners. Understand the conditions with which you are dealing. Evaluate your options for care. It is important to remember that medical errors cause tens of thousands of deaths each year. But you can help yourself and your loved ones by asking the right questions ó and keep asking until you understand. Here are some questions that are vital to that understanding:

(right triangle)What is the test or procedure for?

(right triangle)How many times has the health provider done the test or procedure?

(right triangle)When will I get the results?

(right triangle)Why do I need this procedure or surgery?

(right triangle)Are there any alternatives to surgery?

(right triangle)What are the possible complications?

(right triangle)Which hospital is best to meet my needs?

(right triangle)How do you spell the name of that drug?

(right triangle)Are there any side effects?

(right triangle)Will this medicine interact with medicines that Iím already taking?

Health literacy is important in October and all year long. We all should work together to find the right words for better health. Do your part. Seek understanding so you can make wise health decisions.

Joyce Hyatt is grant facilitator with the Chemung Valley Health Network and member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley.

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Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008

Join reading day on Thursday
* National goal is to reach thousands of children.
One Day. One Book. For Children Everywhere.

Thatís the slogan for this yearís Read for the Record event to be held on Thursday. Thatís the day when children across the country will listen to the same book on the same day. This yearís book is the classic story of ìCorduroyî by Don Freeman.

Published in 1968, ìCorduroyî is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Itís a story of a little, overalls-wearing stuffed bear who sits on a shelf in the toy section of a large department store, eagerly waiting the day when someone will buy him. Then one day a little girl comes into the store and falls in love with him. She uses the coins in her piggy bank to buy him and take him home. ìCorduroyî is a comforting story that proves that everyone deserves a loving home of their own.

Children deserve to know this timeless story and to be read to every day which is one reason for this nationwide Read for the Record. The event, sponsored by a national nonprofit organization called Jumpstart, aims to spread awareness about the lack of school readiness for kindergartners.

In many communities, families have little or no age- appropriate books in their homes to share daily. As a result, children arrive at kindergarten developmentally behind. Thereís no doubt the home environment is a strong predictor of academic achievement.

ìFocusing everyoneís attention on one book for a single day is a great way to highlight the critical task of preparing young people for a lifetime of reading and learning,î Jumpstartís President James Cleveland has said. Not only does Jumpstart encourage reading to preschoolers, it puts books into the hands of children who need them the most through its donation program. For more information about Jumpstart and its efforts, visit www.jstart.org.

In 2007, more than 258,000 children were read to on the same day. This year, Jumpstart is attempting to increase that number in an effort to break a world reading record. Thousands of reading events are being organized across the country.

Chemung County will participate in this largest shared reading experience. Plans are under way to have ìCorduroyî read to children in local schools, libraries, day care centers and businesses. The event is being sponsored locally by Family Reading Partnership of the Chemung Valley.

Anyone interested in joining the effort by becoming a volunteer reader or planning an event can send an e-mail to familyreadingpartnership@ yahoo.com or find out more by going to www.readfortherecord.org.

The Family Reading Partnership hopes to gather local statistics from our area to be published after the event.

Chris Corter is president of the Family Reading Partnership and head of youth services for the Steele Memorial Library.

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Sunday, August 17, 2008

Books can help children dig into nature
* Try these three stories about animals and outdoors life.

I love books, so when I was asked to write something on childrenís nature books, I said sure, because I have a lot of nature books under my belt. Each of the three books Iíve chosen is recommended for a different age range, so no matter how old your child is, Iíve got something for him or her.

To find a book for really young children, I asked my kids which nature books they remembered, and all three of them (now 12, 9 and 7) mentioned ìOwl Babiesî by Martin Waddell, illustrated by Patrick Benson. The book is simple with good rhythm without being ìrhyme-yî and is great to read to little ones (infant to pre-kindergarten).

It begins, ìOnce there were three baby owls: Sarah, Percy and Bill. They lived in a hole in the trunk of a tree with their Owl Mother. The hole had twigs and leaves and owl feathers in it. It was their house.î

The story goes on to talk about what happens one night when their mother leaves and seems to be taking a long time returning. The baby owls each have their own reasoning as to why she is gone so long and if she is even going to return at all. It reminds me of my three kids, all so different in their outlooks on life but there to support one another regardless. The book helps kids appreciate owls and is a reminder that worrying is usually for nothing and that Mommy always comes home.

The second book was brought to Tanglewood by one of the volunteers always on the lookout for books for our gift shop. She found one that perfectly fits Tanglewood and also has a good environmental message. ìLife in the Slow Lane: A Desert Tortoise Tale,î by Conrad J. Storad and illustrated by Nathaniel P. Jensen (age range 5-8 years), features Shelly the Tortoise.

Shelly goes to her grandfather to find out more about tortoise life, including where desert tortoises live, what they eat and who they are related to. Grandpa Tortoise also speaks to the human impact on tortoise life: ìOur desert is changing. Itís people, you know! They like to move quickly. They rarely go slow. They build homes and highways, they need lots of room. But tortoises worry, are we facing our doom?î

It ends with a really cute illustration of a bunch of tortoises holding signs telling people to ìSlow Down,î ìEase Upî and ìChill,î which is what Tanglewood has tried to encourage with our new mascot ó Pacer the turtle that reminds people of the importance of the pace of nature, a much slower pace than our modern society takes. This book is also relevant to Tanglewood and the families that visit here because of our own live desert tortoise, Bernice, an African-spurred tortoise that wanders the halls of Tanglewood waiting to greet visitors and hoping for a snack of grass and flowers.

My final book recommendation is for older kids, ages 9-12. ìSwordbird,î by Nancy Yi Fan, is one that several of my kids have read and enjoyed enough to anticipate the next book in the series (ìSword Questî).

ìSwordbirdî is a fantasy focusing on the life of birds, but with an anthropomorphic bent. I read the book because I like to know what interests my kids, but also because I am such a bird lover and thought it would be entertaining and it was. It is about a forest of birds in which a tyrant hawk with one eye rules the forest by enslaving little woodland birds to build him a fortress and do his bidding.

The only hope for freedom for the poor slave songbirds is to enlist a troop of wild blue jays and cardinals (with help of the ìmythicalî Swordbird) to fight the bad hawk and his crow and raven soldiers. This book, written by Fan at age 13, even had me turning the pages quickly to see what was going to happen next, and it definitely spoke to my compassion for wildlife.

These are only three of thousands of worthy nature books for children. Children relate to animals no matter what age they are, so you canít go wrong when you pick up a good nature book for your kids. Happy nature reading!

Elaine Farwell is executive director of Tanglewood Nature Center and Museum in Big Flats.

Need to Read 3

2010-08-05T06:13:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Raise them on reading
Parents a key part of bringing books, kids together

As a pediatrician, I love to talk to families about the importance of reading in a child's life. Reading experiences do not begin in school. They begin in the home and are important from the time your child is an infant.

Reading has always been an important part of my life. My parents read to me often when I was young. From the time I was a preschooler and asked my parents to read the same book to me for months on end, my memories are filled with the pleasures of books. I learned to read during a family camping trip to the Adirondack Mountains the summer I turned 6.

When I was able to progress to more complex books, I discovered the huge world that reading made available to me. Now I could read fantastic stories and find out all kinds of interesting things to stimulate my thoughts and imagination. Even though I could read, I still loved it when my parents read to me. I fondly remember sitting under a tree with my Mom as she read "The Wind In The Willows" to me when I was in third grade.

As a pediatrician, I see the value of reading to children every day in my practice. Children who are read to regularly as babies and young children have a much better vocabulary when they reach school, allowing them to do better than their peers who lack this in their background. Reading to young children helps them to learn to focus their attention and understand rhyming. This helps children with kindergarten readiness skills and helps them to learn to read more easily. Reading helps a child bond with her family, develop new skills, soothe when cranky and cure boredom on a rainy day.

Often as parents we stop reading to our children when they are old enough to read to themselves. Most young elementary school students are capable of enjoying much more complicated books than they are able to read to themselves. This helps the child appreciate more complex stories, and also gives them an incentive to keep working at reading better.

We are lucky to have Reach Out and Read, a community-sponsored program to give books to children at medical appointments, available at our office. A child receives a new age-appropriate book at each well-child visit from six months until 5 years old, along with information about the benefits of reading and tips for families about reading with each age level. This gets books into the hands of all children, not just those who are raised in a literature-rich environment. I also remind families of the wonderful resources available for families at our local libraries.

Reading to a child from a young age does not cure all ills, but it certainly helps reduce a number of common problems in children and families. It also builds a bond that lasts the lifetime of your child. My husband and I are reading "The Fellowship of the Ring" to our children, ages 11 and 9, right now. What are you reading to your child?

Dr. Amy White is a physician at Southern Tier Pediatrics and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley.

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Sunday, April 26, 2009

My mother's book reading style echoes still
When parents read aloud, children learn

I remember my mother's voice. Encircled in her arms as she held "A Child's Garden of Verses" or a Dr. Seuss book, I could listen to her soothing voice any time ? before breakfast, after a nap, before bedtime or any place ? on the green striped davenport, the front stoop, my very own double bed.

Inspired and encouraged by her warm, expressive voice, I was reciting "I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me" and "How do you like to go up in a swing, up in the air so blue?" by the time I was 4. Oh, the patience and enthusiasm she had to read the same stories and poems over and over. She read to me and my brother and sister for years, not just when we were toddlers. My favorite Dr. Seuss, "Horton Hears a Who," was published in 1954 when I was 8, and, even though I could read it myself by then, it's her voice that I hear when I read it today.

My mom had not gone to college, but she knew the best way to prepare us for school: read aloud, read aloud, read aloud. She read nursery rhymes that developed our "phonemic awareness," the ability to hear, distinguish and play with the sounds of our language. Dr. Seuss helped, too, as he tickled us with silly rhymes and nonsense words: "in the Jungle of Nool ... in the cool of the pool" and "When they got to the top ... and he shouted out, 'Yopp!'" Imitating Dr. S in the back-back of our Ford station wagon ? "Donna, wanna, lonna, zonna" and "Mark, park, bark, wark," we were blissfully unaware of our increasing phonemic awareness.

Mom's reading voice was so exceptional that I suggested that she volunteer at local schools when she retired. She never took me up on that. In writing this piece, I've realized that my mother may not have had an exceptional voice. The act of reading aloud made her voice beautiful to me.

Please read aloud to a child in your life. Your voice will be beautiful, remembered and loved for longer than you'd imagine.

Donna Homuth, retired English and Instructional Support Teacher, is a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley.

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Sunday, March 29, 2009

Folk literature entertaining for all ages

When I am invited to a baby shower, I invariably give a beautifully illustrated book of nursery rhymes as a gift. These little ditties, although admittedly dated and often somewhat inane, can form the basis for a lifetime of literacy. They are short enough to hold a young child's interest. They are easy to memorize (a skill that will become useful in school for learning multiplication tables, for example), and they expose children to vocabulary at an early age (which studies have proved to be an important indicator of the potential for academic success).

Nursery rhymes are a subcategory of folk literature. Other subcategories include myths, folk tales, fairy tales, tall tales, fables, hero sagas and epics, ghost stories, and urban legends. These stories originate from the oral traditions of various cultures and have been passed down through generations. They have stood the test of time because they are universal and because of their very nature, they often change with the times.

There is something for everyone and every age level included in this genre, and many versions of the same stories are available from many cultures. Readers often find that comparing the same story as told by different ethnic groups can be entertaining as well as educational. Many assume that the Grimm Brothers wrote fairy tales, for example. They, however, were merely collectors (as were many others) who wrote down the stories that had been told for centuries.

Other versions of Ashenputtle (Cinderella) come from the Native American tradition, the African tradition and the Chinese tradition as well as the traditions of other countries and cultures. What intrigues children as well as adults is the differences between early versions of the stories and the "sanitized" adaptations we know today. Some early tellings were, indeed, grim.

One particular facet of this type of literature that is extremely popular with students has come to be called "Fractured Fairy Tales." Remember those segments on the old "Rocky and Bullwinkle Show?" Weren't they fun? Now children of all ages can enjoy stories in that same tradition. Jon Scieszka's "The True Story of the Three Little Pigs" is a favorite, and Jane Yolen has written several books in this genre as well. See a list of fractured fairy tale books from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee at www.uwm.edu/Libraries/curriculum/Library/fracturedfairytales.pdf.

Best of all, many of these stories are available from your local libraries or can be downloaded for free from Internet sources. Enjoy!

Pat Crane is a teacher/librarian at Ernie Davis Middle School and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

Here are some suggested sources for stories that will interest children:

* National Geographic Presents Grimmís Fairy Tales: From Folklore to Forever: Twelve tales from the 1914 translation. www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/

* The Big Myth: Creation stories from many countries (with video animation and audio).

www.mythicjourneys.org/bigmyth/2_eng_myths.htm

* American Folklore: Stories collected by S. E. Schlosser, including ghost stories, tongue twisters, urban legends, and tall tales. www.americanfolklore.net

* Folklore and Mythology: Electronic Texts, from D. L. Ashliman at the University of Pittsburgh. This site includes variations of Cinderella. www.pitt.edu/~dash/folktexts.html

* Project Gutenberg: A source for downloading books in the public domain. www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

* EZ Takes: Watch videos for free online including "Shelley Duvallís Tall Tales and Legends: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," "Shelley Duvallís Tall Tales and Legends: Johnny Appleseed," "Shelley Duvallís Tall Tales and Legends: John Henry," "Shelley Duvallís Tall Tales and Legends: Pecos Bill," "Shelley Duvallís Tall Tales and Legends: Darliní Clementine," "Shelley Duvallís Tall Tales and Legends: Casey at the Bat," and "Shelley Duvallís Tall Tales and Legends: Davey Crockett." www.eztakes.com/store/categories/Free-Streaming-Movies.jsp

* Dover Publications: Dover offers a large variety of very inexpensive ($1.50 to $3) folk tale and fairy tale books in easy-to-read childrenís editions. store.doverpublications.com/by-subject-children-children-s-thrift-classics.html

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Sunday, January 18, 2009

Winter time to read aloud

The winter months are upon us. Children whose parents put limits on television, computer and video games may not know how to fill their time.

Winter is a wonderful time to engage in reading higher-level books with your children. There are lazy evening hours that promote family time and what better way to stay connected to our children than to share a story.

In choosing novels at elementary and secondary levels, avoid falling into the old book report trap of "thicker is better." Many children believe that if a book is less than 125 pages, it is not worthy of reading. And that's how you kill a reader. There is no connection between thickness and goodness. Remember the Gettysburg Address was only 272 words.

Read-aloud selections do not have to be long-winded renditions. You can choose short stories, newspaper and magazine articles, even some interesting stories from "Uncle John's Great Big Bathroom Reader." (Don't let the title of the book sway you. We own six or seven of these books at our house, and they are true conversation starters.)

Remember that no one is ever too old to enjoy a read-aloud story. On long drives during family vacations and trips to see relatives, my whole family (including my husband) loves to hear a story and believe me it passes the time in the car in a way that portable DVD players can never match. My family remembers these trips where a book was shared aloud.

By reading aloud with our families, we are not only sharing stories, we are creating memories.

Looking for some great titles (voted by teachers from around the country) to share with your family? Try one (or two or three) of these:

"Charlotte's Web," "James and the Giant Peach," "Where the Red Fern Grows," "Polar Express," "Shiloh," "Sideways Stories from Wayside School," "Stone Fox," "Summer of the Monkeys," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "The Indian in the Cupboard."

Need to Read 2

2010-08-05T06:12:00.000-07:00

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Bookmobile meant 'good reads'

On Tuesday, Nov. 3, I voted and then sat on pins and needles waiting for the election results, because the proposed 2010 budget of the Chemung County Library District is on the ballot. What was at stake was whether Chemung County's libraries would be able to meet the public's demand for new books, access to electronic databases and genealogy research materials, programs for kids and much more in all six of our libraries.

This is the time of year when I take stock of what I do and why I do it, and let me share this with you: When I was a kid, growing up on a poor family farm in western Washington State, I spent summers picking fruit, splitting and stacking firewood and mending fences. I wasn't very good at the work. Instead, I would listen to popular music on a small, battery-powered portable radio, daydream about pitching like Don Drysdale or hitting ground strokes like tennis great Ken Rosewall.

And every two weeks the county Bookmobile would arrive, maybe a half mile down the road from our home, and I would choose two or three books, usually biographies written especially for kids, to supplement my subscription to the Weekly Reader that came to our mailbox.

It was on one of those summer afternoons that the Bookmobile librarian suggested I borrow "The Yearling" and ask my mother to read it aloud to me and my sister. She did, and I've been hooked on reading and listening to books read aloud ever since.

I began to grow up in the summertime, just as Jody Baxter did when he rescued the orphaned fawn. And over the next few years I read other books, like "Lost Horizon" and "The Chronicles of Narnia."

If today, I were to pick out a contemporary author for kids to read, I would probably choose Richard Peck. I love his stories, especially "A Long Way From Chicago" and its sequel, "A Year Down Yonder." And while the Lemony Snicket's "Series of Unfortunate Events" ? the first volume is "The Bad Beginning" ? are best read by a more sophisticated teenager than I was, they are tremendously entertaining.

These books have several things in common. They are about kids and their families, about growing up, about using one's knowledge and intelligence and imagination to rescue one from a difficult situation. And these books ? and many more available from your local public library ? are what a librarian would call a good read: a story that begins with a compelling first chapter and refuses to leave the reader until well after the final page is turned.

Now, just how did that budget vote turn out?

Jim Sleeth is director of the Chemung County Library District and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. His comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy. Incidentally, the budget was approved 3,758 to 2,300.

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Saturday, October 31, 2009

Reading by the thousands
Riverside students set, surpass goals

By Mara McKeever

During my inaugural year of the Books and Beyond program at Riverside Elementary school, a remarkable thing happened. I challenged each of my first graders to read 300 books during the year. The hope was to inspire kids to read nightly and to develop habits of lifelong readers. I figured that if every child read 300 books during the year, it would be quite an accomplishment. Together, we would read close to 6,000 books.

In September, I kicked off the reading program at Open House. Parents were informed that for every 100 books their child read, their child would earn a medal. I promised to send home a bag of books nightly with books their child could read. The kids were fired up about reading. By December, the class had already reached its 6,000 book goal.

We continually set and met goal after goal. Reading was contagious. For every 1,000 books we read, we celebrated our hard work. We were delighted to join forces with the Kramer Foundation whose "Pawtner" Reading program delighted the kids with dogs to read to (of course we read dog books to our furry guests.)

By spring break, we had read a staggering 12,000 books. The kids thoughtfully considered a goal of 15,000 books for the end of the year. On the last day of school, as we celebrated our accomplishments and donned our medals, we had read more than 16,600 books. Our top reader, Victoria Stewart, had read 3,000 books and received 30 medals. Every child received at least three medals ? our original goal.

Although this accomplishment was incredible, it was not the most remarkable thing that happened that year. I found that the kids truly loved reading, and the kids learned valuable life lessons. They learned to persevere and remain dedicated to goals they had set. They learned to work as a team to help each other succeed. Daily, I watched the class cheer for each other as they achieved their personal best. They learned to be responsible for their own learning. They learned to be trustworthy and dependable.

Most importantly, they learned how to love reading. These Riverside Readers were honored by The Chemung Valley Family Reading Partnership and the Chemung Valley Rural Health Network. The community rallied together to make their celebration memorable.

As I start a new year of Riverside Readers, I am optimistic about what they too can accomplish. I believe with my whole heart that readers are leaders, and I know these leaders will change the world. Remember, my Riverside Readers: "Read, Read, Read!"

Mara McKeever teaches first grade at Riverside Elementary School in Elmira and is a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

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Sunday, September 27, 2009

Reading through the ages
Books appeal to all kinds of children

What makes a book good for a child? Different age groups have different skill levels and needs. Here is a list of suggestions:

* A baby ? up to 18 months ? is stimulated by rhymes, colors or things familiar. Try "Red, Blue, Yellow Shoe" by Tana Hoban or "Clip, Clop" by Nicola Smee.

* Toddlers are ready for more. Try "Baby Shoes" by Dashka Slater or "Daisy's Hide and Seek" by Jane Simmons. Simple counting or alphabet books are also good choices.

* Pre-schoolers, ages 3-5, enjoy a fuller story and an expansion of concepts, such as "Goodnight Moon 1 2 3," based on the classic by Margaret Wise Brown; "Will Goes to the Post Office" by Olof and Lena Landstrom; or "A Splendid Friend Indeed" by Suzanne Bloom.

* Kindergarteners to second graders still enjoy being read to, although they have been working hard to read independently. This age provides two options: easy readers for solitary reading and picture books to share. Easy readers, such as "Easy as Apple Pie" by Karen Gray Ruelle, provide age-appropriate vocabulary to help sharpen skills. Books, such as "The Raft" by Jim Lamarche, provide a more complex story line for the older child, complete with pictures.

* Third grade to middle schoolers are ready for chapter books, such as the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling or the plethora of series books available. These work right into junior-high level.

Young adult books are usually reserved for ninth graders and up. These include difficult subjects such as sex, drugs or emotional traumas. They provide a bridge between younger-aged books and adult fiction. They may help teens deal with personal difficulties or understand these subjects better.

Do consider this: Reading together can be enjoyed at any age.

Caroline Poppendeck is a librarian in the Children's Services division of Steele Memorial Library.

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Sunday, August 30, 2009

Help for job hunters
Library resources handy during recession

Your Chemung County Library District's Steele Memorial Library has a vast array of resources to assist in finding a job or researching a career. In the electronic realm, all county library card holders have access to the Business and Company Resource Center and the ReferenceUSA Business Directory. These electronic databases provide access to information about companies of all sizes, such as addresses, phone numbers, links to subsidiary companies and, in some cases, even short histories of the company.

The library district's Web site also offers card holders access to the Learning Express Library. This unique resource provides patrons with access to various practice exams and review books for a select number of civil service positions, such as the correctional officer exam, postal worker exam and many more. Learning Express also gives access to math and language review courses, as well as resume writing resources. These electronic resources can be found at http://www.ccld.lib.ny.us/db.htm.

The Steele Memorial Library also has 20 public access computers with Microsoft Word 2007 for creating resumes. MS Word 2007 has a template of resumes where you can just fill in the blanks. Our public access computers provide patrons with broadband access to the Internet to search various job-hunting sites.

Of course, the library has lots of books to help job hunters. The most famous manual for job hunters and career changers is: "What Color is Your Parachute" by Richard Nelson Bolles, and we have three copies of the 2009 edition. We have also purchased "150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs in 2009" and "The AARP Crash Course in Finding the Work You Love: the Essential Guide to Reinventing your Life." Author Samuel Greengard shows readers how to sort out their feelings about their existing career, successfully transition to a new one and work toward a greater sense of balance in their daily lives.

We have more than 75 books on how to write a resume and more than 30 on writing cover letters. One recent book is "Gallery of Best Resumes for People without a Four-Year Degree" by David Nobles. We try to have a resume resource to fit every individual in every situation. Some examples are "Expert Resumes for Health Care Careers," "Same Day Resume: Write an Effective Resume in an Hour," "101 Grade A Resumes for Teachers," "Expert Resume for Managers and Executives" and "7 Minute Cover Letters" by Dana Morgan. For the literary challenged, we have a DVD titled "Dude, I Need to Find a Job."

We also have more than 60 books just on employment interviewing, such as "Tell Me About Yourself" by Katharine Hansen; "Next-Day Job Interview: Prepare Tonight and Get the Job Tomorrow" by J. Michael Farr and a personal favorite, "Ditch the Flip Flops: Ace your Job Interview." Some titles from the interviewee point of view are: "I Can't Believe They asked Me That" and "101 Smart Questions to ask on Your Interview" by Ronald Krannich. We even have some for the employer such as "Who: The A Method for Hiring." We haven't even gotten to the books on negotiating for a salary. We truly do have something for everyone and something for every step of the process.

Which brings us to the way most people actually do get a job ? networking. We have "How to succeed in Business using LinkedIn : making connections and capturing opportunities on the Web's #1 business networking site" by Eric Butow; "Monster Careers: Networking" by Jeff Taylor and "Never Eat Alone" by Keith Ferrazzi.

Come on in and look over our many, many choices and find just the right job for you. The Steele Memorial Library and the other neighborhood libraries of the Chemung County Library District can provide you with access to books, electronic resources, Internet and word processing capable computers throughout the week.

Go to: www.ccld.lib.ny.us/our_libraries.htm to view our summer hours of operation. Our fall hours, starting Sept. 12, will include Saturday hours at libraries in Big Flats, Horseheads, Elmira and West Elmira.

Phyllis Rogan and Owen Frank are reference librarians at the Steele Memorial Library.

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Star-Gazette - Sunday, July 26, 2009

Try taking a 'bookation'
Literature makes a good travel companion this summer

A hot topic of summertime conversation is vacation. I recently listened to my friends from the Family Reading Partnership talk about vacation and, you guessed it, books. One person coined a new word to describe all the experiences and ideas we were sharing. If there are "staycations," why not "bookations"?

Let me share my friend's examples of memorable bookations and some of my ideas for book-staycations...

Lisa recalled a wonderful childhood vacation to Chincoteague Island in Virginia where she saw the miniature horses described in "Misty of Chincoteague."

Faith recalled a recent trip to Prince Edward Island inspired by "Anne of Green Gables."

Carol shared that her family read the "Seneca Falls Mysteries" by Rochester author Miriam Monfredo and then traveled to Seneca Falls. The books and the walks along the streets of Seneca Falls brought the women's rights movement to life for the entire family.

Donna remarked about the truth in the famous lines by Emily Dickinson "There is no frigate like a book to carry you lands away." Books have transported her across barriers of time and distance over and over again.

For students, the entire summer is vacation, so there are still many opportunities to enjoy books and to escape the daily routine before Labor Day. Make time to reconnect with nature and spend more time outdoors. With all of the stresses in our modern world, we all need to get away even if we cannot travel.

Families need to admire and appreciate living things and understand the balances of nature firsthand. For inspiration to spend time outdoors, read "Last Child in the Woods" by Richard Luov and "Summer World" by Brad Heinrich. Both authors have awe for nature and point out the benefits we receive when we enjoy the natural world and increase our efforts to protect the environment.

Books will help you learn more about our environment. Be sure there are piles of books about animals available to pick up and read ? storybooks with animals as characters, natural history books and wonderful adventure stories. Outdoor activities will lead to a greater appreciation for the natural beauty of Upstate New York and Northern Pennsylvania. Day trips can take you to the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, the sandy beaches of Lake Ontario or countless state parks.

As you increase your knowledge about plants and animals use all your senses as you slow down and cherish the time spent away from the daily stresses. Watch a mother duck rear her family and read "Make Room for Ducklings" or "The Ugly Ducking." Listen to the sounds of water, the songs of birds and the quiet of a forest floor and read "Wind in the Willows." Touch the scales of a fish, the slime of a frog and the texture of a tree trunk.

Look for "Green Wilma" at Miller Pond. Go pick blueberries and read "Blueberries for Sal." Catch a glimpse of an eagle soaring overhead or a twig floating down the Chemung River and imagine floating peacefully or soaring powerfully. Read "Brother Eagle, Sister Sky."

Hike along the river or at Tanglewood and think about tiny birds that travel from the tip of South America each summer ? their long journey, their fragile habitats, global warming and marvel at their survival. Read about endangered species like penguins and polar bears.

Commemorate the 40th anniversary of man's first steps on the moon and the explorations of space. Read any book with moon or space in the title ? "Good Night Moon," "Owl Moon" or "Green Wilma Goes to Space." Teens and adults might enjoy "New Moon" from the best-selling vampire romance series by Stephanie Meyer. Read "3-D Moon" by Ithaca's Ken Bell to learn about the moon.

Keep track of the moon each day and look at photos of Earth from the moon or a satellite. Have a midnight picnic on a moonlit night with glow sticks, flashlights, binoculars, stories from grandparents about the last 40 years of space exploration. Eat half-moon cookies and drink Tang or other astronaut food. And before you nod off to sleep, imagine the places you can go and the experiences you can enjoy with books as your launch pad.

And above all, remember, there is no place like home: our precious planet Earth.

Mary Anne Perks is a teacher at Elmira College and a member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley.

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Sunday, June 14, 2009

Familyreadingpartnership.org offers new link to literacy

One of the most significant influences on my early exposure to reading was ìClassics Illustrated.î It was a series that placed famous literature into a comic book format. Traversing the tales of Melville, Dumas and Twain with illustrations was fun and, hey, I was learning. Connecting reading with being entertained was a revelation and propelled me into the challenge and deeper magic of real books.
Today our youth are engrossed in a multitude of media influences that are far more sophisticated than any animated classics. Competing with the printed page is Facebook, Twitter, Xbox, Wii, Guitar Hero, MP3, iPod, cell phones and, of course, the old standby, TV ó now containing endless video options. (By comparison, my virtual youth was spent Sunday nights with ìLassieî and ìThe Ed Sullivan Show.î) There is no doubt that our childrenís leisure time contains less and less reading time.
We know from strong evidence what this means: The presence of books and reading in the home and in the lives of parents and children facilitates a childís ability to comprehend, communicate and learn. As reading becomes a less popular form of youth activity, our community challenge is clear: How do we make books and reading a more vital experience during our childrenís developing years?
Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley, now in its fifth year of promoting books and literacy, proudly announces the addition of our new Web site: familyreadingpartnership.org. This new resource will provide not only instant information about our programs and events but will also create opportunities for interaction among parents, teachers, students and other community partners to share creative ideas about books and literacy.
Family Reading Partnership is committed to the mission of creating a culture of literacy in our community in which all people experience the joy of reading as a part of everyday life. We know that our new Web site will provide greater opportunities to fulfill this goal. It is an exciting step for the Family Reading Partnership and our community.
We look forward to your clicks, comments and contributions to help further the cause of joining books with children and families.
Caparulo is a board member of Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley.This series
Joe Caparulo, owner of Cappyís store in Elmira, writes today about the launch of a new Web site promoting literacy and reading, especially involving children. This is one of a series of monthly columns written by members of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley.

Need to Read

2010-08-05T06:10:00.000-07:00

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Students become literacy partners

As a couple and as teachers, we have always had a partnership in discussing education, sharing the love of learning, teaching, and watching children grow through feeling the excitement of their own success. In our shared discussions, we always come back to the importance of building a great foundation for children to have a love for literacy. Reading is not only a much-needed life-long skill, but also a wonderful daily experience.

The love of reading begins long before a child enters school. Sitting on a parent's lap, snuggled up with a good book is how children relate stories with positive feelings. Looking at pictures helps them to visualize the story, make them laugh, and can relate emotions in a text to the illustrations in the book. As children begin to understand that words have meaning, they long to pick up a book and read it themselves. Before long, they become eager to create their own stories, illustrations, and to share their work of creativity with a family member to watch for reactions. As teachers and parents as well, we watch this process take place daily year after year.

Recently we decided to bring our two classes together to do a service learning project for reading and writing, and to foster the power of collaborative learning. Michael's sixth-grade class from the Horseheads Intermediate School visited Elisabeth's second grade at Gardner Road Elementary School in Horseheads. Prior to the visit, the sixth-grade students wrote original short stories in a storybook format leaving space for the second graders to illustrate. Using the storybooks, the sixth grade students also created a literacy lesson such as plot sequence, figurative language, vocabulary or comprehension skills.

The sixth-grade students played the role as the teacher to the second-grade students. When it came to illustrating the books, the sixth- and second-grade students collaborated. The books will be published so that students have a copy of their original work.

In the classroom, we heard wonderful conversations taking place between partners, and both groups of students were highly engaged. By the end of the activity, both groups learned lessons in literacy, cooperation and the feeling of giving and receiving. We plan on bringing our groups back together before the school year ends for another service-learning activity.

Students need to move beyond being the student in the classroom. When they are able to step into the role of teacher to another student, their learning is enriched, and often the younger students look up to their peers and are incredibly engaged.

We see the importance of learning in this manner even in a family. Families at home who work together are able to achieve more.

Participation in sharing literacy in a family is a great form of entertainment, and any number of activities can be done within the schools or at home as well. The next time you hear children complaining they are bored, perhaps with a couple of story prompts they too will be enticed to create their own work of art.

Elisabeth and Michael Bostwick are teachers in the Horseheads school district. They are members of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Their comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

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Saturday, February 20, 2010

Boys need books, too
But literary interest can be delayed response

With the increased interest in technology and electronic devices, reading is becoming less of a habit with young people, especially boys. If given a choice, most boys would choose video games over books. While most boys enjoy hands-on, interactive activity, reading allows a different set of brain cells to be stimulated. When boys are younger, they enjoy going to Story Hour at the library or hearing a bedtime story every night.

And then something happens: They start middle school. The hormones begin to kick in, the body starts changing and there is so much energy generated that it is hard to sit still for any period of time. Read a book? That is not usually their first choice of ways to fill an hour or two. Physical activity becomes a priority. Boys crave movement, sports games, a football, a basketball or even a tennis ball to throw around, chase and tackle.

However, all is not lost. There is still a good possibility that the middle school boy in your household will be a reader and enjoy books. In an interview with two male college seniors, Chris and Shane, the responses to a few questions were enlightening and encouraging. When asked "What prevents most boys from enjoying reading?" They responded that physical activity, playing sports and video games are more fun, and that finding a good book for teen-age boys is difficult.

When asked, "What types of books might appeal more to boys?" They responded non-fiction, biographies of powerful role models (male and female) and reading about other cultures (Japanese anime art, for example).

Chris and Shane also shared that in middle school, most boys don't value reading. They are just beginning to discover who they are and form opinions. They don't feel they are ready to share their voice at that age. They are often told by adults that they are too young and don't know what they are talking about. However, fast-forward a few years to high school. In high school and college, it is more important to have a conversation with (gasp!) girls or keep up with current events to appear knowledgeable in class. So then they'll pick up reading material and find time for sports. Boys who are shy begin to feel more comfortable with a book in their hands. They realize that some girls are looking for studious, book-reading males in high school.

Beyond high school it gets even better. Those same boys who were too busy in middle school eventually realize that reading can be appealing. They understand that selecting a book at Barnes & Noble or Borders can be enjoyable. Sure, there will be times when they are required to read for a job or higher education course, but most of the time it involves getting the book they want off the best-seller list and reading it from cover to cover. Now that they're men, they simply enjoy reading.

Holly Williams Strickland is an assistant principal at Ernie Davis Middle School in the Elmira school district. She is a member of the Chemung Valley Family Literacy Partnership.

This series

* Holly Williams Strickland writes today about getting boys interested in books. This is one of a series of monthly columns written by members of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley.

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- Thursday, January 28, 2010

Get caught reading

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Like father, like son.

Or, in this case, like mother, like daughter.

Years ago, my sister-in-law Kathy and I sat on her front stoop, just talking. Along came 4-year-old Becky, who sat beside us, promptly picked up an old cigarette butt from the walk, put it to her lips and feigned smoking. In that split second, Kathy vowed to quit smoking. She never got caught smoking again. More to the point, neither did my niece, now a marathon-running mother of two.

Kids are great imitators, especially of the adults in their lives. Have you seen toy cell phones? Before they can even talk, toddlers will babble on pretend cells, emulating their moms, dads, and older siblings. We have to watch what we say in front of children because they'll repeat what they hear. My cousin Linda, also at age four, was overheard remarking about a neighbor, "I can remember when he didn't have two nickels to rub together." She had no idea what that meant, but you can bet that my aunt and uncle never again got caught gossiping in front of their precocious daughter.

For new year's resolutions, some of us may decide to quit smoking. Some of us may decide to quit gossiping. Some of us may have already broken our resolution to quit swearing, eating ice cream in secret, or having that extra beer.

Here's a sweet resolution for you: Don't quit anything. Just do more of something that you like doing anyway. Get caught reading! The more you read in front of children, the more they'll want to read themselves, the more they'll want you to read to them.

So, kick back in your recliner and read, read, read. When the little one jumps aboard with her copy of "Green Wilma," keep reading, and say, "Wait 'til I finish this chapter." Then, by all means, indulge her with Tedd Arnold's sprightly story in rhyme.

Or, at the breakfast table, when the 3-year-old asks for another piece of whole-wheat cinnamon toast, keep your nose in that newspaper and say, "As soon as I finish this article." Then, by all means, pop the bread in the toaster, pick up that toddler and read him the comics while you wait for his crispy crust.

Bring books ? one for you, one for your little buddy ? when you go somewhere that involves waiting time, maybe the doctor's office or the car repair garage. Sit on that vinyl lounge and open your latest mystery while your young companion opens "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats, borrowed from the library. Read together or read separately. Instead of getting caught watching the clock, you'll get caught reading.

Get caught reading labels in the food store, magazines in the barbershop, novels in the bedroom, newspapers in the kitchen, e-mails in the den.

And when you catch kids reading, remember that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and that reading is the surest way to school readiness and success.

Donna Homuth is a retired English and instructional support teacher in the Elmira school district. She also is a board member of the Family Reading Partnership of Chemung Valley. Her comments are part of a monthly series of articles about literacy.

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What to Read for Children at Each Age Level

2010-05-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

by Caroline Poppendeck

What makes a book good for a child?

Different age groups have different skill levels and needs. Here is a list of suggestions:

A baby (up to 18 months) is stimulated by rhymes, colors, or things familiar. Try Red, Blue, Yellow Shoe, by Tana Hoban; or Clip, Clop by Nicola Smee.

Toddlers are ready for more. Try Baby Shoes, by Dashka Slater; or Daisy’s Hide and Seek, by Jane Simmons. Simple counting or alphabet books are also good choices.

Pre-schoolers, ages 3-5, enjoy a fuller story and an expansion of concepts, such as Goodnight Moon 1 2 3, based on the classic by Margaret Wise Brown; Will Goes to the Post Office, by Olof and Lena Landstrom; or A Splendid Friend Indeed, by Suzanne Bloom.

Kindergarteners to Second graders still enjoy being read to, although they have been working hard to read independently. This age provides two options: easy readers for solitary reading, and picture books to share. Easy Readers such as Easy as Apple Pie, by Karen Gray Ruelle provides age-appropriate vocabulary to help sharpen skills. Books such as The Raft, by Jim Lamarche, provide a more complex storyline for the older child, complete with pictures.

Third grade to Middle schoolers are ready for chapter books: the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, or the plethora of series books available. These work right into Junior High level.

Young adult books are usually reserved for ninth graders and up. These include difficult subjects such as sex, drugs, or emotional traumas. They provide a bridge between younger-aged books and adult fiction. They may help teens deal with personal difficulties, or understand these subjects better.

Do consider this: Reading together can be enjoyed at any age!

I remember my mother's voice........

2010-05-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

I remember my mother’s voice.

Encircled in her arms as she held A Child’s Garden of Verses or a Dr. Seuss book, I could listen to her soothing voice any time – before breakfast, after nap, before bedtime or any place – on the green striped davenport, the front stoop, my very own double bed. Inspired and encouraged by her warm, expressive voice, I was reciting “I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me” and “How do you like to go up in a swing, up in the air so blue?” by the time I was four. Oh, the patience and enthusiasm she had to read the same stories and poems over and over. She read to me and my brother and sister for years, not just when we were toddlers. My favorite Dr. Seuss, Horton Hears a Who, was published in 1954 when I was eight, and, even though I could read it myself by then, it’s her voice that I hear when I read it today.

My mom had not gone to college, but she knew the best way to prepare us for school: read aloud, read aloud, read aloud. She read nursery rhymes that developed our “phonemic awareness,” the ability to hear, distinguish, and play with the sounds of our language. Dr. Seuss helped, too, as he tickled us with silly rhymes and nonsense words: “in the Jungle of Nool… in the cool of the pool” and “When they got to the top… and he shouted out, ‘Yopp!’” Imitating Dr. S in the back-back of our Ford station wagon -- “Donna, wanna, lonna, zonna” and “Mark, park, bark, wark,” we were blissfully unaware of our increasing phonemic awareness.

Mom’s reading voice was so exceptional that I suggested she volunteer at local schools when she retired. She never took me up on that. In writing this piece, I’ve realized that my mother may not have had an exceptional voice. The act of reading aloud made her voice beautiful to me.

Please read aloud to a child in your life. Your voice will be beautiful, remembered and loved for longer than you’d imagine.

New Year’s Resolution: Get Caught Reading!

2010-05-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

Donna Homuth, retired English and Instructional Support Teacher, serves on the Board of the Family Reading Partnership of the Chemung Valley.

New Year’s Resolution: Get Caught Reading!

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Like father, like son.

Or, in this case, like mother, like daughter.

Years ago, my sister-in-law Kathy and I sat on her front stoop, just talking. Along came four-year-old Becky, who sat beside us, promptly picked up an old cigarette butt from the walk, put it to her lips, and feigned smoking. In that split second, Kathy vowed to quit smoking. She never got caught smoking again. More to the point, neither did my niece, now a marathon-running mother of two.

Kids are great imitators, especially of the adults in their lives. Have you seen toy cell phones? Before they can even talk, toddlers will babble on pretend cells, emulating their moms, dads, and older siblings. We have to watch what we say in front of children because they’ll repeat what they hear. My cousin Linda, also at age four, was overheard remarking about a neighbor, “I can remember when he didn’t have two nickels to rub together.” She had no idea what that meant, but you can bet that my aunt and uncle never again got caught gossiping in front of their precocious daughter.

It’s New Year’s Resolution time. Some of us may decide to quit smoking. Some of us may decide to quit gossiping. Some of us may have already broken our resolution to quit swearing, eating ice cream in secret, or having that extra beer.

Here’s a sweet resolution for you: don’t quit anything. Just do more of something that you like doing anyway. Get caught reading! The more you read in front of children, the more they’ll want to read themselves, the more they’ll want you to read to them.

So, kick back in your recliner and read, read, read. When the little one jumps aboard with her copy of Green Wilma, keep reading, and say, “Wait ‘til I finish this chapter.” Then, by all means, indulge her with Tedd Arnold’s sprightly story in rhyme.

Or, at the breakfast table, when the three-year-old asks for another piece of whole-wheat cinnamon toast, keep your nose in that newspaper, and say, “As soon as I finish this article.” Then, by all means, pop the bread in the toaster, pick up that toddler, and read him the comics while you wait for his crispy crust.

Bring books – one for you, one for your little buddy – whenever you go somewhere that involves waiting time, maybe the doctor’s office or the car repair garage. Sit on that vinyl lounge and open your latest mystery while your young companion opens The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, borrowed from the library. Read together or read separately. The time will fly and you’ll both be surprised (and a little miffed) when you’re interrupted and told that the doctor is ready or your car is fixed. Instead of getting caught watching the clock, you’ll get caught reading.

New Year’s Resolution: get caught reading labels in the grocery store, magazines in the barbershop, novels in the bedroom, newspapers in the kitchen, emails in the den. And when you catch kids reading, remember that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and that reading is the surest way to school readiness and success.