I guess the idea of a one-sentence journal isn’t new. But I’d never heard of it before I read about it on Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness Project blog. She started a one-sentence journal because she wanted to jot down happy memories but knows she could never sustain keeping a normal journal […]
Tips
Literacy Lava newsletter has great tips
The new edition of Literacy Lava, a free e-zine for parents with great literacy articles and ideas, is now available. You can download the .pdf from The Book Chook, here. I’ve got an article in it, and there are lots of other great articles including: * Writing tips for kids; […]
No time for literacy activities? Harness the power of two
If you aren’t able to find time to read to your child or offer him literacy activities—use the power of two—you and another parent. You know that kids who are read to every day are more likely to develop a love of reading. But that’s 15 minutes that tends to […]
Happy Family Literacy Day, Canada!
Today is Family Literacy Day. It’s a great day to… click on “15-minute ideas” or “Games” or “Crafts” in our tags and find a wonderful activity you can do with your kids that will help to get them reading. At our school, a parent contacted the local library, which is […]
Teaching Kids the News
We’ve just launched an exciting new website that offers kid-friendly news articles.
Teaching Kids the News provides daily news articles, appropriate for kids (approximately grades 1-6).
Some articles also have ESL (English as a Second Language) versions.
The site can be used by parents; by teachers in the classroom; by homeschoolers and by kids themselves.
Writing a review
Is your older child writing a book or movie review? Here’s a five-minute clip of two of the best movie critics, Siskel and Ebert, talking about what makes a good film review–the discussion also holds for book reviews, restaurant reviews, or any other piece of writing you’re doing in which you must be critical.
The “New” Getting Kids Reading
As you can see, we’re in the process of upgrading Getting Kids Reading.
All of the posts from the “old” site are here, but we’re still working on the look of the site.
So please continue to use GKR as normal… and in the meantime, if you have any ideas or suggestions for the new site, please let us know. Thanks for hanging in there while we reconfigure!
-Joyce
Reading keeps those characters alive
Beautiful PSA about reading. This brilliant and moving public-service ad expresses perfectly how I feel about kids and reading. It really touched me and I want everyone to see it, so please do share it. It was created for a second-year Media Arts class at Sheridan College, Ontario. Mike Rilstone, […]
Getting your kid reading: What doesn’t work
What doesn’t work.
Nagging. Avoid lecturing about the value of reading and hounding a child who is not reading. Your child will only resent it.
Bribing. While there’s nothing wrong with rewarding your child’s reading efforts, you don’t want your youngster to expect a prize after finishing every book. Whenever possible, offer another book or magazine (your child’s choice) along with words of praise. You can give other meaningful rewards on occasion, but offer them less and less frequently. In time, your child will experience reading as its own reward.
Judging your child’s performance. Separate school performance from reading for pleasure. Helping your child enjoy reading is a worthwhile goal in itself.
Access to printed materials does help
What impact, if any, does access to print materials have on our children’s reading? A lot, according to extensive research by RIF, Reading Is Fundamental, a non-profit children’s literacy organization based in Washington, DC. Owning and borrowing books from the library causes, “positive behavioural, educational and psychological outcomes.” In other […]
