One of the most frequent questions that I get asked as an educator by parents is how they can get their kids to read more. It seems that in this fast-paced, technologically advanced world that we currently live in, taking the time out to read a book has become something of an anomaly. Unfortunately, it is something that I witness regularly with my own students as it is a daily struggle to get them to read. Many parents blame themselves for this but, the reality is that the Internet and the easy access that we now have to all kinds of information has decreased our attention span for reading to a certain extent. When I let my students go on the computers in my classroom they immediately become engaged but I rarely see the same enthusiasm when I put books in front of them. As a parent, I also worry about whether my children are spending enough time reading. There are many reasons why reading is such an important part of a child's academic and social development. Reading … [Read more...]
Meet Jeff Kinney, Author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days in Theaters Aug. 3rd! #WimpyKidDogDays
This past Monday, we had the opportunity to attend an exclusive screening of the new 20th Century Fox film, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days which will be opening in theaters across the country on Friday, August 3rd. The movie was a big hit with all the kids and adults alike but, you'll have to see for yourself this Friday! Nobody could have possibly anticipated the widespread success of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series of books which have catapulted their author, Jeff Kinney into being named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2009. This was no surprise considering that, in the four years since the publication of his first book in this series, there are 52 million copies in print and has been translated in over 37 languages. photo credit: Matt Hoyle As a Literacy Teacher, I have had quite a bit of experience with this series in my own classroom. Although I teach English Language Arts to seventh and eighth … [Read more...]
