The Shared Reading Experience

I am not a teacher. I do not have a first-hand understanding of the constraints, the
pressures, the escalating expectations that you as classroom teachers experience
every day.  Although I did teach kindergarten at one time (a long time ago) my imagination now falters as I try to envision the classrooms you inhabit, the problems you encounter,
the challenges you face.

I am a librarian – a children’s librarian – and an old-fashioned children’s librarian at that. 
I work with children of all ages helping them find books, designing programs that will bring them to books, sharing books with them in groups and one-on-one.  Notice the key word?  BOOKS.  My job involves computers and spreadsheets, databases and email, websites
and wikis, but the work I love revolves around children and books. 

Today, I would like to invite you and your students back into the world of books – into the world of pleasure reading.  Hopefully, you are already a resident of this world and you are nurturing new recruits every day.  If so – terrific!  If not, let me remind you of what you
are missing.

When I was in the fourth grade at Arnold Elementary School my teacher, Mrs. Hooper, read to us every afternoon after lunch.  I can still hear her voice reading Charlotte’s Web,
Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Johnny Texas, The Helen Keller Story.  I remember title after title. 
That year, Mrs. Hooper shared her joy of reading with us every day – not for just ten minutes and not for just one chapter.  Some days we could persuade her to keep reading well
into the time we should have moved on to social studies or science.  We loved the books
she read. We hated for one to end and couldn’t wait for the next one to get started. 
We loved hearing her read almost as much as we loved playing softball together on the playground.  (Mrs. Hooper was an excellent umpire and called them as she saw them!)

Through that shared reading/listening experience, our class developed a shared set of
reference points.  We spoke to each other using language we had learned in books. 
We had inside jokes, code words, and comforting phrases that the other fourth grade
classes didn’t understand.  They hadn’t shared the same books.  We felt bad for them
and slightly smug. (Thinking back, those other classes may have had their own
shared-book culture, but that possibility did not occur to me at the time.)

In addition to the cohesiveness our shared experience fostered, another wonderful thing developed.  We learned that really great books were available.  Books we could find on our own, read on our own, and tell each other about.  Because we wanted to read, we did read. 
I discovered Laura Ingalls Wilder that year and learned about Robert McCloskey from my best friend Diana.  I found out that I loved biographies and hated mysteries.  I learned you could read a book you liked over and over again.

Today’s children are more likely to know Charlotte from the movie than from the book and more likely to find Little House on the Hallmark Channel than on the library shelves. 
There are, however, new and wonderful books available that speak to contemporary children in just the same ways these older titles spoke to me and my classmates back in 1963. 
I encourage you to go out and find them.  (And to put in a plug for my profession, if you have trouble finding good books, ask a librarian.  I can promise you that school and public librarians are eager to help you find just the right book for you to share as you begin your read-aloud tradition.)  You’ll love reading these books and love sharing them even more.

Of course, Mrs. Hooper wasn’t the first or the last teacher to read aloud to me.  And there really is nothing significant about the fact that she was my fourth grade teacher. 
Any grade will do and any teacher can make the magic of reading happen for a class
of children. All it takes is a love of reading and a strong commitment to sharing the pleasure. 

Word Up with Word Girl

WordGirl airs Fridays on KLRN Ch. 9/10 at 4:00 p.m.

WordGirl is a new animated series that follows the every day life and superhero adventures of “WordGirl” as she fights crime and enriches vocabulary usage, all in a day’s work. Disguised as mild-mannered 5th grader, Becky Botsford, WordGirl arrived on planet Earth when she and her monkey sidekick, Captain Huggy Face, crashed their spaceship. In classic superhero form, WordGirl possesses superhero strength with the added benefit of a colossal vocabulary. WordGirl has a
family and friends who have no idea of her secret identity. As WordGirl, she battles and prevails
over evil (albeit ridiculous and comical) villains. Word Girl lesson plan

Wishbone
Wishbone runs daily on KLRN Ch. 9 /10 at  3:30 p.m.
Teacher Resources for Wishbone

WISHBONE is a live-action television series that brings books to life for kids and their families. In each episode, the star — a friendly Jack Russell terrier with an overactive imagination — leaps into another adventure with human owner Joe Talbot and his friends in their hometown of Oakdale.
Of course, these adventures spark Wishbone's imagination, and he's reminded of a favorite classic story in which he is the hero!

Masterpiece Theatre: Miss Austen Regrets
2/3/2008 at 8:00 PM   [KLRN Channel 9 / KLRN-DT 9.1 HD]
2/5/2008 at 12:30 AM   [KLRN Channel 9 / KLRN-DT 9.1 HD]
2/7/2008 at 3:30 AM   [KLRN Channel 9 / KLRN-DT 9.1 HD]

If nothing else, Jane Austen wrote from personal experience. Courtship she knew well; only the last act eluded her. This film biography dramatizes Austen's lost loves: Harris Bigg, whose proposal she accepted and then rejected; Edward Brydges, whom she also refused; the tongue-tied vicar she teased mercilessly; and the young surgeon who arrived on the scene too late to steal her heart.


Masterpiece Classic: Pride and Prejudice
2/10/2008 at 8:00 PM   [KLRN Channel 9 / KLRN-DT 9.1 HD]
2/12/2008 at 12:30 AM   [KLRN Channel 9 / KLRN-DT 9.1 HD]
2/14/2008 at 3:30 AM   [KLRN Channel 9 / KLRN-DT 9.1 HD]

With five daughters, no sons and an entailed estate, the elder Bennets are in dire straits as they
try to arrange advantageous marriages. Wedding bells ring three times, but the path to true love is tortuous indeed. Colin Firth (Bridget Jones) is Mr. Darcy and Jennifer Ehle (The Coast of Utopia)
is Elizabeth Bennet in the definitive adaptation of the most-loved of all Austen novels.

 
College Call-In 2008 scheduled to air February 21
KLRN Ch. 9 /10 at 8:00 – 9:30 p.m.
KLRN and the San Antonio Education Partnership bring you
LIVE! College Call-In 2008 on Thursday, February 21 from
8:00 – 9:30 p.m. Middle and High School teachers, parents and students are invited to call-in and
ask questions of the Financial Aid and Admissions experts who will be staffing a phone bank from
The Robert L.B. Tobin Studio on KLRN

PBS TeacherLine of Texas interview with Miguel Guhlin, SAISD and Bruce Ellis, Dallas ISD
PBS interviewed Bruce Ellis (Dallas ISD) and Miguel Guhlin (San Antonio ISD) regarding the PBS TeacherLine program they've implemented in their district.
Click here to watch interview

PBS TeacherLine courses are approved by the Texas State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) and count towards required CPE hours.

District course licensing and ELL/ESL courses are now available! Contact us for more information: hcustard@klru.org, 512-232-9406.

Special station pricing is available for individual course registrations. Call Malinda McCormick at
210-270-9000, to register for your course at lower rates than nationally advertised!

Visit TeacherLine of Texas at the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA) conference, Feb.  4-8 Booth #1524 at the Austin Convention Center

PBS TeacherLine Courses for Language Arts

RDLA051 Raising Readers
Subjects: Reading/Language Arts
Grades: Preschool-1st
Hours: 12
This course focuses on preparing preschoolers for success by developing their early literacy skills. Using recent early literacy research from Susan B. Neuman and Kathleen Roskos, you'll learn to plan meaningful early literacy-learning experiences that build on preschoolers' prior knowledge, expand their vocabulary, and strengthen oral language development.

RDLA125: Children's Authors on the Web: Online Sites that Motivate Students to Write
Subjects: Reading/Language Arts, Instructional Technology, Instructional Strategies
Grades: Kindergarten-8th
Hours: 30
Discover the power of author studies to motivate students to read and write. This course uses a problem-based approach to teach the techniques of conducting an author study integrating technology and the Internet. Explore author and other Web sites to collect resources that will introduce your students to many genres.

RDLA220: Teaching Writing in the Content Areas
Subjects: Mathematics, Science, Reading/Language Arts
Grades: 6th-12th
Hours: 30
You can bring writing into your classroom in all content areas with a practical plan developed in this course. Covering the research basis for writing across the curriculum, the course will help you teach students effective writing processes, including finding the time to write. You'll learn sound techniques for evaluating writing skills and discover proven ways to promote writing to students.

NEW! Supporting Teachers of English Language Learners!

RDLA366 Supporting ELLs: Assessing Language Development
Subjects: Reading/Language Arts
Grades: Kindergarten-2nd
Hours: 10
Classroom assessment can promote language development and mastery for English
language learners. Explore how to use classroom assessments effectively and strategically...as
tools to diagnose learning issues and as springboards to more effective educational practices, curricula, and strategies that help students learn more successfully.

RDLA373 Supporting ELLs: Vocabulary Development in Grades PreK-3
Subjects: Reading/Language Arts
Grades: Preschool-2nd
Hours: 10
What classroom practices best promote vocabulary development for English language learners?
Why is vocabulary development crucial to the success of English language learners in school?
This course will help you discover the answers to these essential questions in relation to the population of English language learners in your own classroom or school. You will learn about the similarities and differences between strategies for teaching vocabulary development to ELLs and native English speakers. You will also learn about the role that knowledge of the student's primary language has in a student's success in developing a strong English vocabulary. This course is part
of a series of courses on English language learners in Grades PreK-3. For information on other courses in this series, see the PBS TeacherLine course catalog.

PBS TeacherLine Peer Connection

Get Connected!
In the drive to improve teaching practice and student achievement, many schools and districts are turning to instructional coaches to support school-wide improvement and enhance classroom
practice. Coaches need high quality resources and professional development so they can lead the way in reform initiatives and deliver on specific district instructional and student performance goals.
At PBS TeacherLine, we support professional development from the classroom forward. Our new
PBS TeacherLine Peer Connection service will help you build a customized, practical professional development program for your teachers by providing sustained and targeted support for coaches.

KLRNConnect

Click and Engage
Log-in to KLRN Connect and start using these great classroom resources today! (In order to view you must be logged in to KLRN Connect)
Not a subscriber of KLRN Connect? Click here

Animal Alphabet (Grades K-2) (24:40)
Introduce students to the alphabet's 26 letters by engaging their natural curiosity about the animal kingdom. From "ant" to "meerkat" to "zebra," the video features animals familiar and exotic.
Fun, easy-to-read graphics are reinforced with simple alliterative phrases.

Discovering Language Arts: Fiction (Grades 3-5) (47:23)
From defining the characteristics of fiction forms and genres to understanding plot and character development, introduce elementary students to more-advanced skills and strategies for understanding and interpreting literary texts. All content is tied to national standards and benchmarks.

Discovering Language Arts: Fiction (Grades 6-8) (1:16:48)
From recurring themes and common literary devices to making inferences about complex elements
of plot, character, and setting, middle schoolers learn skills and strategies for understanding and interpreting literary texts, including author's purpose, point of view, and word choice. They also explore skills and strategies for interpreting informational texts, including fact versus opinion.

Discovering Language Arts: Nonfiction (Grades 9-12) (29:18)
This comprehensive video collection uses high-quality documentary footage to examine high
school level writing, reading, grammar, listening & speaking skills, and media literacy skills.
From biographies, journals, maps, speeches, encyclopedias, and Internet articles, high school students learn about a variety of informational texts. Explore ways to summarize and paraphrase information, how to critically evaluate a source's credibility, and how to break down a complicated subject into smaller parts.

Thematic Focus

Authors and Great Books II Great books take readers to new heights of imagination and human understanding. Explore how the authors of such books have excited readers and made an impact for the ages.

Discovery Educator Network Webinar Series

Discovery Education hosts hundreds of free webinars every year. Here are a few to try out in February or visit our complete list of upcoming webinars and enroll now!

Lesson Plans and other resources for the classroom

BookTV
BookTV on C-SPAN2 highlights nonfiction books every weekend, and you can find out more about the authors and their books at this companion web site. Check archives for past features, with short descriptions and videos of episodes, which require Real Player. Browse over 800 Booknotes, hour-long interviews with transcripts from the show archives between 1989-2004, on 15 topics ranging from world leaders and public policy to science and technology. In Depth features are three hour videos
of a single author including Barbara Ehrenreich, Edward O. Wilson, and Jimmy Carter.
Resource Type: Recommended Non-PBS Link
Subject: Reading & Language Arts

Children's Literature: Rare Book & Special Collections Reading Room
The Library of Congress Rare Book & Special Collections Reading Room hosts 50 early children's books by authors representing include Randolph Caldecott, L. Frank Baum, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Illustrators include Kate Greenaway, W. W. Denslow, and Maxfield Parrish. Use the
page turner to view page by page, or download large PDF versions.
Resource Type: Recommended Non-PBS Link
Subject: Reading & Language Arts

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