“Urban literature for young adults puts human faces to the lives behind the statistics, reminding teen readers — both those who live in the inner city and those who don’t — that people are people above and beyond their zip codes and the constraints by which society attempts to define them.” – Randy Ribay in hbook.com

Let’s face it: the inner city is a place many of us avoid when we can. Poverty, derelict buildings and street violence are all things we would rather not see.

But for many of our students, this is their lives. These are their families. These are their friends. And in many inner city neighborhoods, there is a powerful sense of community. It’s important for urban teens to see themselves in the books they read. And it’s important for non-urban readers to see the faces behind the headlines.

According to the San Antonio Public Library, good urban fiction prides itself on keeping the story real, including both the good and the bad in life.  The stories should feature contemporary urban settings and diverse and realistic characters, with a fast-paced plots intended to pull the reader in from page one. The language should be straightforward and contemporary, meant to reflect how people truly think and speak.

In his article in Horn Book, author/blogger Randy Ribay outlines criteria for Young Adult Urban Fiction, including:

1. The author respects and accurately depicts the world in which the characters exist.

2. The narrative focuses on how the characters develop as a result of facing the problems they encounter in the inner city and doesn’t simply address on the problems themselves. 

3. Readers learn about the world and explore serious questions alongside the characters without a preachy narrator to moralize along the way. 

HIP Urban Novels feature authentic characters in real-life urban situations; in fact, Death on the Sidewalk and Street Scene are based on tragic and true events. They are important for showing urban teens that their lives have relevance – and for showing non-urban readers real people behind the gritty city. Most importantly, these books tell exciting, engaging stories that hook ALL readers from page one.

Check out HIP’s URBAN ISSUES THEME PACK.

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Betts’s classic reading levels research has been the subject of some controversy lately, and, let’s face it, “frustration level” is different for different readers and circumstances. However, it’s generally agreed that reading a book with less than 90% accuracy doesn’t do justice to the reader or the text. (For example, think of the book by your bedside. It probably has at least 200 words on the page. If you were to read that book with 90% accuracy, you would struggle with at least 20 words on every page!)

If you feel that none of your students should get out of Grade 5 without reading Bridge to Terabithia or pass Grade 10 without reading To Kill a Mockingbird, why not read it to the students? Teacher read-alouds can be an excellent model of fluent, expressive reading and we can teach a lot about the reading process through our think-alouds as we read. Then we can pause strategically and guide students to discuss the content and craft of the book, as well as their own reading processes and opinions.

As with everything in education, balance is key! Students still need plenty of opportunities to apply those reading strategies while navigating the print themselves. That’s where Literature Circles (aka Book Clubs, Literate Talk, etc.) come in. Literature circles offer an element of choice; students are invited to choose their reading from a set of options provided by the teacher. Teachers can form groups that support students reading texts that are accessible to them. Best of all, students are empowered and encouraged to discuss things that matter to them from the readings.

When we use structures like teacher read-alouds and shared reading to model and practice comprehension strategies and hold guided discussions that demonstrate higher level thinking and respect for others, we establish routines that empower students to direct their own conversations about reading.

Read more about Lively Literature Circles and Better Book Clubs.

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Summer reading loss refers to the backslide in reading development that occurs during summer vacation time. While middle-class kids tend to make modest growth over the summer, kids from high poverty homes typically slide 2-3 months backward.

The best way to mitigate this problem is to ensure that kids have access to books they can and will read over the summer. In fact, when kids have access to books over the vacation, they not only avoid the summer slide, they actually make growth in reading. Read about a 2015 study that reversed summer reading loss by giving kids books to take home over the summer.

Read 7 TIPS TO STOP THE SUMMER SLIDE.

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Shared Reading is an instructional routine in which the teacher guides a group of students in reading a common text. Usually, the teacher reads the text aloud to the students first, then they join in on subsequent readings. Ideally, students are following along as the teacher reads; unfortunately, this is rarely the case! Some students just like to listen to the text; others simply can’t keep up with a proficient reader, especially if difficult words or concepts are present. That’s why it’s important to read the text a few times in order to make it accessible to all. 

Because Shared Reading exposes students to texts that are slightly beyond what they can read on their own, it supports building comprehension, vocabulary and fluency. An essential component of Shared Reading is repetition. The text should be read two or three times, for different purposes.  A possible routine is: teacher reads aloud – students reread in unison – students reread independently.

SUGGESTED STEPS FOR SHARED READING

1.  Choose a short text that will engage students and lend itself to higher level thinking and rereading for different purposes. Poems are often good choices for shared reading, as they generally contain literary language, require inference, and can be read in one sitting. But any text may be used.

2.   Practise reading the text out loud so you can model effective fluency and expression. Decide where you might pause during the reading to invite students to construct meaning.

3.  Read the text aloud as students follow along, using your pre-selected pause points for student discussion.

4.  If the text is short, you might choose to have students read the text together after the first reading. Choral reading is a good way to build fluency.

5.  Have students reread the text on their own in order to answer questions, write a written response, complete a graphic organizer or engage in another response task.

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National Humor Month was created in April 1976 to bring public awareness to the therapeutic value of humor. Scientific research shows that when we laugh, we reduce stress and pain, build up our immune systems and recharge our bodies. From a literacy perspective, reading humor helps to build strategic comprehension! Humor requires inference: combining what we read or see with what we already know.

Read more about National Humor Month here.

10 WAYS TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL HUMOR MONTH IN THE CLASSROOM

1.  Read funny books. Start with HIP’s ONE CRAZY NIGHT and WINNER – both stories with ensemble casts of kooky characters, like a sitcom! And don’t forget the BATS MYSTERY SERIES, 6 novels that put funny characters in exciting situations.

2.   Read funny poems. April is also National Poetry Month, so dust off your Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky, Dennis Lee collections for some funny poems. And discover some new poets for kids, such as Amy Ludwig VanDerwater and Ken Nesbitt.

3. Start every day with a word play riddle for the students to figure out. (What do you call a can opener that doesn’t work? A can’t opener!)

4.  Have students rehearse and tell a (teacher-approved) joke. This is a great fluency-building activity.

5. Brainstorm words that mean the same as laugh or funny. Here’s a start: chortle, guffaw, snort, giggle, roar.

6.  Encourage students to use some of these words in a personal narrative piece on “I laughed my head off when…”.

7.  Sing some silly songs. (Remember “The Name Game“?…Shirley, Shirley, Bo Birley…)

8.  Collect some funny memes about current events.

9. Practice drawing inferences from cartoons. (Take time to talk about what background knowledge is needed to understand and appreciate various cartoons.)

10.  Provide students with a comic strip with the last frame removed for them to write and illustrate a humourous ending.

The post Celebrating National Humor Month! appeared first on HIP Books.

It’s been said that the Sports Section has the highest readability of any section of the Newspaper!

I can believe it, for two reasons: People and Jargon. People’s names are notoriously difficult to read as they are rarely decodable. Sports terminology might be easy to decode but is often hard to understand. Here’s the thing, however. Most people who choose to read the sports section already have the background knowledge to pronounce Novak Djokovic or to understand what a hat trick is.

One classic study by Donna Recht and Lauren Leslie used a passage about baseball to examine the effects of prior knowledge on reading comprehension. They found that overall reading ability had less impact than background knowledge. The “struggling readers” who knew a lot about baseball could understand and replicate the test passage better than the “good readers” who had little background knowledge about the sport.

Prior knowledge about a topic is the strongest predictor of whether a reader will understand reading related to that topic. However, the surprising thing is the extent to which background knowledge influences other reading behaviours, such as problem-solving when meaning breaks down. In fact, we at HIP call it “The Glue that Makes Learning Stick.”

Taking time to build background knowledge is one way that teachers can support students in comprehending text. That’s why all HIP TEACHER’S GUIDES include a short one-page article on a complementary topic to activate background knowledge and build engagement. And let students read the Sports Section now and then. It might be just what they need!

Your sports fans will enjoy reading FOUL SHOT and CATCHING AIR, two novels that are more than just sports stories.

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Does it look like I’ll be able to read it? Does it look like it will be interesting? Does it look like the books all the other kids are reading?

Unfortunately, an unappealing cover can cause readers to overlook a really great story.  In One Last Scar, the creepy-looking character on the cover, combined with the odd, lower-case Comic font in the title, might turn a some readers off. Yet it’s a really good story about a troubled teen who lives by a set of rules that lead to a moral dilemma at the end.

By contrast, the cover of One Crazy Night grabs our attention right away.  The focus is clearly on the title, with bright colours and an uneven font, suggesting that this will be a fun – and maybe funny – read. This story is about a cast of characters stuck in a gas station convenience store during a thunderstorm. An image of lightning stretches down the page to the subtle silhouette of a service station at the bottom.

Blogger Gwyn Flowers identifies five elements to consider in designing a great cover:

1. FIRST IMPRESSION matters.  Covers should catch readers’ eyes and entice them to pick up the book and read it.
2. LAYOUT should have a visual focus that conveys what the book is about, either focusing on the image or the title, as long as it doesn’t overwhelm the reader with too many design elements.
3. IMAGES should be compelling and memorable, capturing the book’s essence at a glance.
4. TYPEFACES can generate feelings, so the size, colour and design of the titles should support the theme of the book and genre.
5. COLOR sets the mood of the text and directs the eye to the most important part of the cover.

Have your students analyze the covers of the books they are reading, using these five criteria.  Better yet, have them create new covers that better reflect the content and genre of the book, as well as the design elements described above.

Send your students’ creations to us at info@hip-books.com and we might just feature them in an upcoming HIP TIP.

ARCHIVES OF THE SUPPORT FOR STRUGGLING READERS BLOG

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Competence builds confidence.  And we all are more likely to enjoy things we’re good at.  So how can we help our students get better at writing?  Here are some tips from Marvelous Mininlessons for Teaching Intermediate Writing:

1.  Teach with a Capital T! 10 minutes isn’t very long for a lesson, so explicitly focus on one specific strategy or element of craft at a time:  using vivid verbs, revising by inserting details, using quotation marks in dialogue, when to start a new paragraph, etc. Break up a big task, such as writing an argument, into smaller chunks, like “AIM for a great Beginning (Attention grabber – Background Information – Main point)” or  “Other people might say…” (anticipating the argument). For dozens more minilesson ideas, see Marvelous Minilessons for Teaching Intermediate Writing.

2. Don’t forget the WE DO!  Guided practice may well be the most important component of the gradual release of responsibility, yet too often we leap from explicit instruction to independent application without giving students an opportunity to try out the strategy in a safe and supported setting. (Each of the lessons in Marvelous Minilessons for Teaching Intermediate Writing is organized around I DO, WE DO, YOU DO.)

3. Shorter is better!  For some reason, many students – and adults – have this idea that longer is better. And, in truth, it usually isn’t, especially in student writing.  There will be situations in which senior high students might be asked to write lengthy pieces, but in writing workshop, I encourage 1-2 page papers. Remember that writing workshop is not as much about the product as the process and the growth of the writer. Students are more inclined to revise and edit a shorter piece.

4. Draft 3, Publish one! For every writing unit, I expect students to create three (short) pieces and take one to publication. In this way, they always have writing in their folders to revisit in order to try out a new strategy or technique that’s been taught. Also, it’s a little more manageable for me to keep track when students only have three pieces of writing on the go at any one time. I find I only have time to confer with students on the pieces they are taking to publication, although I might “dip into” other pieces of writing to look for specific strategies or elements of craft that have been taught.

5.  Try to provide opportunities for Word Processing:  This is particularly important for students whose handwriting or spelling ability interferes with writing fluency. But research has shown that most students write more and are more willing to revise their writing when it is word-processed, right from the first draft to the published piece.

6.  Put Conventions in their place!  Many a writer has been discouraged by poor spelling or grammar. But writing is a lot more than conventional capitalization!  In fact, conventions exist as a courtesy to a reader, to make the writing easier to read. So editing for conventions should take place after the writing is done and before it is shared with an audience. That’s not to say that drafting should be a spelling free-for-all!  Students should always be encouraged to spell as well as they can, but leave the dictionaries alone until the ideas are in place.

5. Use Rubrics!  We might grumble about one more educational fad that wanes and waxes, but there’s a reason rubrics are very helpful to both students and teachers. Rubrics give teachers language to talk about writing and simplify grading. Most importantly, they let students know exactly what is expected of them.

School shouldn’t be a place where adults do the work for kids!  Establishing independent routines for writing workshop frees the teachers up to do what they are trained to do:  teach! Not sure where to start?

Check out “Launching the Writing Workshop:  The First Five Days.”

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As warm weather beckons, how can we keep kids engaged in authentic learning till summer break?  My favorite year-end task is the Multigenre Research Project – an independent learning experience that enables students to focus on their own interests and buy in at a their own levels. Because my year’s writing curriculum revolves around key genres and text forms, the Multigenre project is an ideal culminating activity for my students to apply what they’ve learned about different forms, purposes and processes of writing.

A Multigenre Project is a collection of writing pieces in different text forms, all focusing on a single theme, but each presenting a different perspective on that theme. I usually require a couple of key pieces, such as a research report and an opinion piece, along with 2-3 additional pieces at the individual student’s choice.  The image on the right depicts one middle-school student’s plan for a Multigenre Project on Bees.

Read more about planning, implementing and evaluating a Multigenre project here.  

You can find a detailed chapter on Multigenre Projects, along with examples from different levels, in our book The Write Genre: Classroom Activities and Minilessons that Promote Writing with Clarity, Style and Flashes of Brilliance, available from Stenhouse in the US and Pembroke in Canada.

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Is this the year I change my writing workshop so that my students do the work instead of me? Or get my independent reading program working to actually make a difference in my students’ reading? Or find the just right book to finally hook that that struggling reader? (It’s not too late, even in high school!)

As we take advantage of the turning of the calendar this January, it’s worth recalling Dick Allington’s recommendations that, every day, every student should have the opportunity to:

– read something they have chosen themselves;

– work with texts they are able to read with accuracy and comprehension;

– write something meaningful to them;

– talk to someone else about their reading and writing;

– listen to a fluent, expressive reader read aloud.

– receive explicit teaching targeted to their needs

We at HIP are here to help!  You’ll find plenty of teaching ideas on the Teacher Page at hip-books.com and the HIP TIPs archives as you plan for an exciting return to school.  

Happy mid-year!

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