Thing 20 – Book Stuff

I choose to explore this topic in an effort to to find new and different ways to promote books and reading in my school. As I explored, I found ideas for enhancing my lessons as well as tools that will help me promote reading in general.

One idea that I really like is creating a reading back channel. I think this will really engage my older readers who are sometimes reluctant to participate in book discussions for fear of others’ opinions. I also like that I’ll be able to look back over the comments after class so I can reflect on the reactions of the students and modify my approach if indicated. I love Nearpod as the vehicle for this and was upset to find that this app is no longer on my iPads or on the approved list. I guess that means I’ll be filling out another app request form. (insert eye roll)

I also believe in meeting the kids where they are, so to speak. And a lot of my kids are on YouTube. I plan to comb this list of YouTube channels of readalouds for links to add to my library page. I know there’s some question of copyright for a lot of these channels, though, so I want to make sure I’m only sharing those that comply with the law. I introduced my students to Epic and they LOVE it. It’s so unfortunate that they can’t access it at home without paying. Storyline and KidLitTV are two promising substitutions. They aren’t as visually appealing as Epic, and the selection of titles is far smaller, but they are free YouTube channels, so I think my kids can be convinced to check them out in between watching other kids playing video games.

The most useful tool I got from this lesson was FictFact. Not only am I bookmarking it, I’m also writing it on a post-it note to stick on my monitor. I’m in love with this resource for listing series in order. At least once a week I get asked about the correct order of a series. There are some kids who insist on reading books in order, even when each book is a stand alone story. I have grand intentions of getting all my series books labeled, but that task never quite makes the top of the priority list.

Finally, I appreciate the collection of hashtags and Twitter book chats. I’ve tried a few Twitter chats live and they just frustrate me. Having these hashtags to refer to means that I can virtually eavesdrop on the conversation after it’s over. There are so many books out there. I appreciate the ability to see which ones people are talking about as I make my purchasing and programming decisions.