How can this help the reluctant readers? Book Leads is a wiki set up with a glog bulletin board with several options related to reading. Links to young adult authors’ blogs, book review blogs, book trailers, online book clubs, and book related podcasts should provide even the most reluctant reader with an option that looks appealing. There is even a link to a website that helps arrange Skype chats with authors. This site could be used by students or teachers to help reluctant readers find interesting topics or resources.
Showing posts with label book suggestions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book suggestions. Show all posts
What’s Your Genre?
How can we increase motivation in the students who “don’t like to read”? That is the million dollar question for teachers everywhere! My suggestion is to introduce them to as many genres as possible, so that one will eventually peak their interest. Reading in Action has recently posted a few articles about some genres that may interest the reluctant readers.
Horror (link): This article suggests that the horror genre appeals to students because of the fright f
actor. The article links to J.L. Benet’s page, which provides several options for teaching the horror genre, including genre related lesson and unit plans, lesson plans for specific texts, web quest links, articles about the genre, and reading lists of horror books. There is also a link to The Moonlit Road, a website filled with audio files of ghost stories. Even the most reluctant reader can listen to scary stories! And of course, you can’t mention the horror genre without mentioning Edgar Allen Poe (one of my personal favorites)! This article links to the Edgar Allen Poe Museum which could provide more information to students who are interested.
Steampunk (link): Steampunk is the hot new thing in many areanas! As 
this article explains, steampunk is a style of books, clothes, movies, etc. that are inspired by the original science fiction genre and the era in which steam power was the primary form of technology. This article provides an explanation of the new genre and has several suggestions about how to integrate it into a classroom (or at least introduce it to kids!). One of the best resources is a link to a book list for this genre. The book list is divided by grade level, but has books for students ranging in age from kindergarten through high school.
this article explains, steampunk is a style of books, clothes, movies, etc. that are inspired by the original science fiction genre and the era in which steam power was the primary form of technology. This article provides an explanation of the new genre and has several suggestions about how to integrate it into a classroom (or at least introduce it to kids!). One of the best resources is a link to a book list for this genre. The book list is divided by grade level, but has books for students ranging in age from kindergarten through high school.Horror (link): This article suggests that the horror genre appeals to students because of the fright f
actor. The article links to J.L. Benet’s page, which provides several options for teaching the horror genre, including genre related lesson and unit plans, lesson plans for specific texts, web quest links, articles about the genre, and reading lists of horror books. There is also a link to The Moonlit Road, a website filled with audio files of ghost stories. Even the most reluctant reader can listen to scary stories! And of course, you can’t mention the horror genre without mentioning Edgar Allen Poe (one of my personal favorites)! This article links to the Edgar Allen Poe Museum which could provide more information to students who are interested. Bookcasts!
What is a bookcast? Exploring the Reading in Action website may help you find out!Reading in Action is an interesting site with a lot of possibilities. One of the most appealing aspects of the site is that there are separate sections to provide activities for children, “tweens,” and teens. While many of the types of activities are similar, the specification for age and ability really help when trying to find appropriate activities for your specific students.
I was initially drawn to the site by the Bookcasts, which are essentially podcasts of book reviews. These Bookcasts are again divided into separate sections for children, tweens, and teens, but there is also a section here for award winning books. Many of the Children’s Bookcasts have videos to accompany the description of the story, and these videos range from music with pictures, to a narration from the main character, to an explanation from the author about how he or she wrote the book. If there isn’t a video, there is still an audio clip with similar information.
The Tween Bookcasts are primarily audio clips, but there are some video clips in this section as well. The video clips range, again, from book trailer videos to author commentaries.
The Teen Bookcasts contain a combination of audio and video clips, but one thing that stood out to me here was the presence of book talks in the video clips. This could be used to demonstrate good book talks before having students actually do their own!
TeenReads.com & KidsReads.com
Sunday, November 7, 2010
These sites are probably the most comprehensive websites I’ve found in terms of book related topics. While there are several similarities between the two, there are also noted differences because of their focus on different ages. Either site could be used by teachers, parents, or students to involve students in reading. The sites are easy to navigate, and could be interesting even for disinterested readers.
TeenReads.com
TeenReads.com focuses on books written for teen audiences. There are sections for reviews, author interviews and information, special features, book series, books that are coming soon, book clubs, books that have been/will be turned into movies, and even an Ultimate Reading List of over 300 books that go beyond the typical school and summer reading lists.
The About Us page is helpful in explaining the purpose of this website. It says, “We at Teenreads.com bring teens info and features about their favorite authors, books, series and characters. We are a part of The Book Report Network, a group of websites founded in 1996 that share thoughtful book reviews, compelling features, in-depth author profiles and interviews, excerpts of the hottest new releases, literary games and contests, and more with readers every week. Teenreads.com is THE place online for teens to talk about their fave books --- and find the hippest new titles!”
Perhaps my favorite feature of this site is the Ultimate Reading List. The site explains that one of their goals is to inspire teens to read. They have compiles this list of more than 300 titles that they, “think are perfect choices for reading and discussing.” The best part about the list is that the entries were compiled from the suggestions of teen readers – not just teachers or librarians. The titles on the list range in genre, difficulty, and topic, so there should be something for everyone. Each entry shows a picture of the book’s cover and gives the title, author, genre, ISBN number (International Standard Book Number - for easier book identification), a link to Amazon.com, a link to a review, and a short description of the book.
KidsReads.com
This website is very similar to the TeenReads.com site described above, but with a focus on books for younger (middle grade) readers. The site has many of the same features as TeenReads.com (reviews, author information/interviews, “books into movies,” features, and a “cool and new” section), and is run by the same company. However, since this site is geared toward younger children, there are a few other activities and links that are more kid (than teen) appropriate. These features include trivia games and word scrambles all related to quality children’s literature.
TeenReads.com
TeenReads.com focuses on books written for teen audiences. There are sections for reviews, author interviews and information, special features, book series, books that are coming soon, book clubs, books that have been/will be turned into movies, and even an Ultimate Reading List of over 300 books that go beyond the typical school and summer reading lists.
The About Us page is helpful in explaining the purpose of this website. It says, “We at Teenreads.com bring teens info and features about their favorite authors, books, series and characters. We are a part of The Book Report Network, a group of websites founded in 1996 that share thoughtful book reviews, compelling features, in-depth author profiles and interviews, excerpts of the hottest new releases, literary games and contests, and more with readers every week. Teenreads.com is THE place online for teens to talk about their fave books --- and find the hippest new titles!”
Perhaps my favorite feature of this site is the Ultimate Reading List. The site explains that one of their goals is to inspire teens to read. They have compiles this list of more than 300 titles that they, “think are perfect choices for reading and discussing.” The best part about the list is that the entries were compiled from the suggestions of teen readers – not just teachers or librarians. The titles on the list range in genre, difficulty, and topic, so there should be something for everyone. Each entry shows a picture of the book’s cover and gives the title, author, genre, ISBN number (International Standard Book Number - for easier book identification), a link to Amazon.com, a link to a review, and a short description of the book.
KidsReads.com
This website is very similar to the TeenReads.com site described above, but with a focus on books for younger (middle grade) readers. The site has many of the same features as TeenReads.com (reviews, author information/interviews, “books into movies,” features, and a “cool and new” section), and is run by the same company. However, since this site is geared toward younger children, there are a few other activities and links that are more kid (than teen) appropriate. These features include trivia games and word scrambles all related to quality children’s literature.
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