Literacy Interventions and Strategies for Distance Learning

PROJECT

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS

PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE

MASTER OF ARTS IN READING LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

TITLE: Literacy Interventions and Strategies for Distance Leaming

AUTHOR(S): Leslie Conley

DATE OF SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE: 08/05/2021

THE PROJECT HAS BEEN ACCEPTED BY THE PROJECT COMMITTEE IN

PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS IN READING LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Christiane Wood Aug 5, 2021 COMMITTEE CHAIR SIGNATURE DATE

Erika Daniels Aug 5, 2021 COMMITTEE MEMBER SIGNATURE DATE

COMMITTEE MEMBER SIGNATURE DATE

COMMITTEE MEMBER SIGNATURE DATE

LITERACY INTERVENTIONS AND DISTANCE LEARNING 1

Literacy Interventions and Strategies for Distance Learning

Leslie Conley

A Project Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in Reading, Language, and Literacy

California State University San Marcos

Summer 2021


Abstract

Fifty-three percent of the nation’s fourth-grade students are reading at basic and below basic

levels. The below basic readers require specific interventions to improve their literacy. I provide

intensive reading intervention at a school of only fourth and fifth-grade students in a rural

California town, either in a small group or in a one-to-one setting. In March 2020, profound

changes took place throughout the United States due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the stay-

at-home order was issued, schools across the state closed, and my school district transitioned to

distance learning. My struggling readers moved from the familiarity of sitting across from me at

a small table obtaining support to gazing at a screen, with or without viewing my face, to learn

from a distance. “It’s like a prison visitation window,” said a student. The rapport built with

each student was diminished due to a piece of glass. My search to meet the needs of my

struggling students in the new setting revealed minimal options. Therefore, I was forced to adapt

the synchronous reading interventions that I normally used in the traditional classroom setting to

better meet the learning challenges students face in the distance learning setting. Some teachers

at my school began requesting strategies to work with their students during distance learning. I

created a digital handbook containing evidence-based resources and my newly developed

strategies for teaching struggling readers at my school.


Acknowledgments

I would like to begin by thanking all the professors within the Master of Arts Education in

Literacy program for all of their expertise. I would like to especially thank Dr. Christiane Wood

and Dr. Erika Daniels for their encouragement to complete this project. I would like to extend a

special thanks to my sister, Karen, for all her prayers, encouragement, wisdom, and support

during the writing of this project. Finally, I would like to thank my husband for his patience,

understanding, and for doing my chores.


Table of Contents

Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgments....................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 1: Definition of Problem ............................................................................................... 6

Problem Statement .................................................................................................................. 8 Significance of the Issue ......................................................................................................... 8 Preview Literature ................................................................................................................... 9 Preview Methodology ........................................................................................................... 10 Summary ............................................................................................................................... 10

Chapter 2: Literature Review .................................................................................................... 11 Learning to read .................................................................................................................... 11 Fear ....................................................................................................................................... 16 Teaching Strategies ............................................................................................................... 16

Chapter 3: Methodology ........................................................................................................... 21 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 21 Project Design ....................................................................................................................... 22 Intended Audience and Setting ............................................................................................. 23 Instruments ............................................................................................................................ 24 Procedures and Evaluation Process ...................................................................................... 24 Summary ............................................................................................................................... 26

Chapter 4: Product .................................................................................................................... 27 Forward ................................................................................................................................. 31 Part 1 Science of Reading ..................................................................................................... 33 Part 2 Trauma-Informed Teaching ........................................................................................ 39 Part 3 Strategies .................................................................................................................... 43 Part 4 Other Resources.......................................................................................................... 61 Part 5 Frequently Asked Questions....................................................................................... 67

Chapter 5: Discussion ............................................................................................................... 68 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 68 Lessons learned from the project .......................................................................................... 69 Recommendations for implementation ................................................................................. 70


Limitations ............................................................................................................................ 70 Future Directions .................................................................................................................. 71 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 71

References ................................................................................................................................. 73 Appendix ................................................................................................................................... 82


Literacy Interventions and Strategies for Distance Learning

Chapter 1: Definition of Problem

The 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress reveals that 53% of the nation’s

fourth-grade students are reading at basic and below basic levels. According to the National

Center of Intensive Interventions ([NCII], 2016-2021), the students in the below basic percentile

are readers that are either learning disabled or readers who require intensive intervention because

they did not respond well to Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions. As a reading intervention teacher, I

provide intensive intervention at a school of only fourth and fifth-grade students in a rural town

in the San Joaquin Valley, where 85% of the student population are Hispanic, and all students

receive free meals. Students meet with me in a small group or in a one-to-one setting to receive

evidence-based instruction in writing and some or all five areas of reading: phonemic awareness,

phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension as reported by the National Reading Panel

([NRP], 2000). Each student’s lesson “is a structure or series of activities based on the individual

needs of a student” (Caldwell & Leslie, 2013, p.3). As recommended by NCII, I assess my

students to monitor their progress and change my instruction as needed.

Another role recently assigned to me is to assist the classroom teachers with reading

intervention for Tier 1 and Tier 2 students. By providing suggestions and techniques to the

classroom teachers, more students will receive the remediation they need to become successful

readers.

In March 2020, profound changes took place throughout the United States due to the

COVID-19 pandemic. When the State of California Executive Department issued the stay-at-

home order, schools across the state closed. Since my school district already had one-to-one

electronic devices for each student, the transition to sending all devices home for distance


learning occurred. For my struggling readers who received intervention, the familiarity of sitting

at a small table obtaining support from me abruptly changed to gazing at a screen, with or

without viewing my face, to learn from a distance. “It’s like a prison visitation window,” said a

student. The rapport built with each student while sitting at my table was diminished due to a

piece of glass. The ability to point to a word within the book a student was reading became

obsolete. Ensuring students used correct letter formation when writing was lost. My frantic

search to meet the needs of my struggling students in the new setting revealed minimal

resources.

In June of 2020, guidelines from the California Department of Education provided

suggestions for reopening public schools. The publication also recommended districts be

prepared for future shutdowns. My district’s plan for reopening the 2020-2021 school year

changed many times until the county was informed the schools could not open. At one point, in

my district, teachers were required to report to the traditional classroom and students remained at

home in order for everyone to participate in distance learning. When re-opening of the schools

was allowed, my district opened the school doors for in-person learning with social distance

practices in place for those students who chose to attend. Distance learning was provided for the

students who chose to remain at home, though the students who participated in distance learning

were required to attend in-person meetings at the school about once per week. Reading

intervention continued in the distance setting through a computer screen and through plexiglass

in the traditional classroom. I found it challenging to provide effective reading instruction

through plexiglass and especially through computer screens because particular methods, such as

pointing to words within books, are necessary for effective reading instruction. It was becoming

clear that the traditional brick-and-mortar classroom setting was changing; the classroom setting


would now include an online environment. “No matter the instructional schedule model, please

continue to work to eliminate the barriers to student success that existed before the closure.”

(California Department of Education, 2020, p.12).

Problem Statement

Although distance learning is not new, online synchronous, face-to-face instruction for

remedial reading was not common practice until COVID-19. Resources for providing

asynchronous instruction to students in distance learning were not readily available, and

struggling readers need synchronous “intense and expert instruction” (Allington, 2012, p.169).

Some teachers at my school had been requesting strategies to work with their students during

distance learning. The problem was that minimal resources had been found for researched

effective synchronous distance learning instruction. Existing resources included a few YouTube

videos to demonstrate some online reading strategies and some teacher-created blogs discussing

the methods they used to instruct online. Therefore, it was important to provide a means for

teachers at my school to easily access resources and strategies for reading intervention of readers

scoring at basic and below.

The purpose of this project was to create a digital handbook for teachers at Mark Twain

Elementary to provide resources and strategies to help meet the needs of fourth and fifth-grade

struggling readers, especially during distance learning. The digital handbook includes techniques

and practical applications for effective online instructional strategies, resources for assessing

students, and links to other websites for additional resources.

Significance of the Issue

Post-COVID, teachers face many of the same challenges that existed pre-COVID but

with more complications. The pandemic heightened the difficulties for students dealing with


poverty, socioemotional well-being, and teachers’ preparedness (Garcia & Weiss, 2020). The

climate of education in California is unpredictable and teachers must be prepared, with short

notice, to switch between the face-to-face classroom and the online classroom. The fourth and

fifth-grade teachers at my school need more support to enable them to do so effectively. Even

though I have been teaching for more than 30 years, I gained firsthand experience concerning the

difficulties of teaching fifth-grade students online when I was required to substitute teach for

three and half months at the beginning of the 2020-21 school year. This project became a way for

me to help teachers and struggling readers at the same time.

Most importantly, Mark Twain's teachers may not be familiar with the Science of

Reading and teaching children to read in the 21st century (Petscher et al., 2020). Learning what

the research says about how the brain learns to read and possible reasons why many of our fourth

and fifth-grade readers struggle will help teachers meet students’ needs. With many of our

students reading below grade levels, teachers need more support to meet their students’ needs.

Preview Literature

Many factors may interfere with a student’s ability to be literacy proficient by fourth or

fifth grade. The most obvious is a learning disability. From my perspective, there are three other

common reasons that fourth and fifth-grade students continue to struggle with literacy. The first

reason is a lack of literacy development within the home environment (Honig, 2007; Rose et al.,

2018; Walker‐Dalhouse & Risko, 2008). The second reason is a classroom learning environment

that may not be optimal. This includes teacher beliefs about teaching reading (Kilpatrick, 2020;

Roskos & Neuman, 2011; Reutzel, 2015). The third reason, quite simply put, is fear due to its

profound effects on the brain (Kindsvatter et al., 2019; Sullivan & Lasley, 2010). These factors


complicate the learning process, and it is important that teachers remain mindful of them to

effectively meet their students’ needs.

Remaining mindful of students’ difficulties provides an understanding of teachers' need

to support students throughout the learning process. Three areas stand out from research

to help struggling readers achieve 1) the process of learning to read, 2) fear, and 3) effective

teaching techniques for distance learning, which include monitoring student growth, teacher

collaboration, and strategies.

Preview Methodology

The digital handbook is designed for fourth and fifth-grade teachers at Mark Twain

school to help meet their struggling readers’ needs. Three main areas are addressed. The first

area is the Science of Reading or the process of learning to read. The next area is trauma-

informed teaching. The third area is distance learning teaching techniques, including

synchronous online learning, ways to monitor student progress, and teacher collaboration. A

fourth section of the book contains resources for teachers.

Summary

More than half of the nation’s students are reading below grade level. The COVID-19

pandemic intensified the difficulties of students, causing more students to struggle with literacy.

Schools were forced to resort to the distance learning environment during the pandemic, leaving

teachers and students struggling to adapt. Teachers needed online strategies to help students

succeed. Currently, with the unpredictable climate of education in California, teachers need to be

prepared to meet the needs of struggling readers in both face-to-face instruction and online. A

digital handbook for reading intervention will benefit both teachers and students at Mark Twain

School.


Chapter 2: Literature Review



struggling readers, especially during distance learning. This review of the literature summarizes

two reasons fourth, and fifth-grade students struggle with reading, then it provides some teaching

strategies for distance learning.

Learning to read

Children grow through stages of development before attending fourth and fifth grades.

In a perfect learning environment, each child can be expected to obtain reading proficiency by

then. However, because life is not perfect, there are barriers for the developing reader.

Early Literacy Development

Literacy development begins in the home environment with oral language. In the first

year, children listen to speech sounds (phonemes) of caring adults to begin oral language

development. Kuhl (2011) posits that the social brain is ruling when babies hear adults speak and

their brains organize the information in a specific way. Kuhl’s research showed that when a live

person speaks to babies within the babies' first year, the babies' brains are organized in a

statistical manner, resulting in significant brain growth. Conversely, the babies who watched

videos or listened to the radio experienced no brain growth. Beginning at 12-18 months,

vocabulary expression occurs in spurts (Bloom, 2000; Honig, 2007). Children's language

development increases with socializing that occur in the home between adults (Bloom, 2000;

Honig, 2007; Kuhl, 2004). Between two and three years old, children make rhyming words with

known words, further developing phonemic awareness.


Between three and four years old, writing begins to become more advanced than

scribbling. By this age, children can hold a pencil with the thumb and fingers, make more

controlled strokes, and then use invented spelling while practicing to refine their fine motor skills

(Clay, 1975; Emersen & Hall, 2018; Hayes, 1990; Levin & Bus, 2003). At the same age, while

children notice print during shared reading with adults or other text from their environment, their

brains take statistics of the print (Kessler et al., 2013) to be used later when spelling 'real' words.

Invented spelling and other such early literacy skills are best supported by a strong oral language

foundation in the home (Oulette & Senechal, 2008). Prephonological spellers do not yet match

letter writing to phonemes. Rather, as children reach school age and learn to write their names

legibly, they begin to connect letter writing to letter sounds (Both-deVries & Bus, 2010). “As

children get older, they learn that written words are not just visual patterns but that they

symbolize language” (Treimann, 2018, p.646).

Not all home environments are the same, and various conditions may hinder literacy

development. Oral language may be underdeveloped with the absence of adult conversation, lack

of attention, or an uncaring home. Writing materials may not be available in the home for

children to practice elementary writing and refine the fine motor skills needed for legible work.

The absence of books or other texts in the home may delay literacy development due to lack of

exposure to visual print.

Elementary School

Teaching Knowledge. Teaching knowledge varies among teachers in all grade levels.

Teachers develop their individual beliefs about how students learn within their own social

upbringings (Biejaard & DeVries, 1997; Buchmann, 1987; Lesley, 2011; Turner, 1995).

Whatever methods were used in teachers' early and college education tends to strongly influence


their teaching methods. Teachers prefer to teach what is known and experienced. In particular,

whatever method was used when teachers themselves were learning to read tends to be the

method they employ when teaching others to read (Moats & Foorman, 2003).

In California, to prove teachers have the knowledge to teach reading, all prospective

multiple subject teachers must pass the Reading Instruction Competence Assessment (RICA).

The problem is that many prospective teachers do not have the knowledge and do not pass the

exam the first time. In fact, only 80% of testers passed the overall exam in 2017 compared to the

95% that had passed in 2013 (California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2018).

Furthermore, testing does not predict the teachers’ classroom performance (Moat & Foorman,

2003). Teachers gain more knowledge through the experience of working in classrooms. “Thus,

teachers must be skillful in their instruction and be able to respond flexibly and opportunistically

to students’ needs for instructive feedback as they read” (NRP, 2000, p .4-7).

Teaching knowledge is used when teachers choose an approach to reading instruction,

and there are three commonly known approaches. They are whole-language, a phonics approach,

and balanced literacy (Castles et al., 2018; Pearson, 2004: Pressley & Allington, 2015).

Teaching whole language means focusing on deriving meaning from text, usually

literature. Students reread the same text multiple times and write in journals to help memorize

words. With this method, it is believed that having the students memorize a large number of sight

words will help with guessing unknown words (Eldredge, 2005; Moats, 2000). Phonics is not

taught systematically, which hinders reading complex informational text (Moats, 2009; Pearson.,

2004).

Approaching reading instruction by using a phonics approach means teachers focus on

letter and sound correspondence in a systematic way to decipher the alphabetic code and all its


phonemes (Eldredge, 2005; NRP, 2000). Students read controlled texts, as opposed to literature.

Teachers tend to spend very little time on comprehension of text (NRP, 2000).

Balanced literacy is a mesh of whole language and phonics. It consists of teaching

reading through the use of authentic texts in shared reading, read alouds, guided reading,

independent reading, and word study. (Bingham & Hall-Kenyon, 2013; Pressley et al., 2002).

Spoken vocabulary and comprehension are built during teacher read alouds. Students are taught

to figure out unknown words during guided reading by utilizing the pictures or figuring out a

word that would make sense instead of decoding the unknown word. Writing is done

interactively and independently.

Another approach to reading, although unfamiliar to many educators, is the Science of

Reading. Many teachers do not know about this approach because courses with the scientific

evidence of early reading instruction have not been provided during pre-service training (Brady,

2020; Greenburg et al., 2013; Moats & Foorman, 2003; Moats, 2000; Seidenberg &

Borkenhagen, 2020). This approach involves the use of scientific evidence to best teach reading

to students. It is not a program or curriculum. Many teachers who initially come in contact with

this approach find it difficult because scientists generally do not write in a style easily

understood by teachers (Moats, 2020). In other words, the scientific knowledge is not translated

for teachers to use in the classroom. Moats (2009) stated that teachers feel they need “sufficient

coursework in the structure of the English language, at the phonological, orthographic,

morphological, and syntactic levels to better inform their instruction.” Furthermore, National

Reading Panel (2000) asserts that student achievement outcomes can be improved as a direct

result of teacher development.


Classroom Environment. The classroom environment encompasses everything in the

room, which today also includes the environment within the Zoom room. It is not only the

material on the walls and the arrangement of desks or computer screens, but the classroom

environment also includes the teacher and student interactions, student-to-student interactions,

and the curriculum. In California, the adopted curriculum is based on the Common Core State

Standards (CCSS). When it comes to the reading standards of the CCSS, the kindergarten

through second grade standards are not specific enough for teachers to explicitly instruct their

students (California Department of Education, 2013). When teachers rely on the adopted

curriculum to teach all students, they are

not instructing each individual child (Allington, 2005). When students are not properly instructed

in all the needed areas in the kindergarten through third grade levels, they arrive to fourth and

fifth grade with reading difficulties.

Whether by teachers or by students, attitudes and behaviors brought into classrooms

affect learning outcomes at all grade levels. Teacher biases, which develop from their

upbringing, can change the dynamics of students staying on task. Students can differentiate

between a friendly teacher, an authoritative teacher, or a teacher of tyranny (Buchmann, 1987).

The tasks assigned by a teacher within a classroom can be motivating or not. Turner (1995)

stated that cognitive development is influenced by the reading approaches, student motivation,

and tasks in a classroom. “Perceiving classwork as authentic and experiencing forms of social

support enhance engagement for all students” (Marks, 2000, p. 171). Therefore, it is necessary

that all teachers acquire sufficient training and awareness about the value of an optimal learning

environment within the classroom, whether the classroom is traditional or online.


Fear

Fear is an emotion that originates from a belief that danger is present. According to

Downey (2008), when we experience a frightful event, our brains respond with a fight, flight, or

freeze response. Fear can arise in children from just about anything, such as poverty, drug and

alcohol abuse in the home, yelling, harsh punishments, or any sort of child abuse, all of which

can create trauma. “Trauma occurs when an event is so frightening it causes a prolonged alarm

reaction, where the body is primed and pumped with chemicals and enzymes such as adrenaline

and does not calm down for a long time” (Downey, 2008, p. 34). According to Sullivan and

Lasley (2010), traumatic events can alter gene activity, due to the biochemical changes that

occur. Some children experience fear from different aspects of the classroom

environment or from failing at learning in school. “In the classroom, hyper-vigilance leads to

attention and learning problems. Instead of focusing on the learning task, students who have

experienced trauma constantly scan the environment and are easily distracted by any stimuli.”

(Fecser, 2015, p. 21). Failing at learning to read can cause trauma in some students or interferes

with a student’s ability to be literacy proficient by fourth or fifth grade.

Teaching Strategies

At Mark Twain School, more than half of the students are not proficient in literacy, and

many have likely encountered experiences which have caused some degree of trauma, increasing

their difficulties with learning. Some suggested teaching strategies to assist teachers with their

struggling readers include progress monitoring, collaboration, and implementation of

synchronous online teaching techniques.

Progress Monitoring


Progress monitoring is used with students who score below and far below grade level

standards. Progress monitoring is the collection of data to inform the teacher about a child’s

growth over time. The new information a teacher gains about a student helps to plan

individualized instruction. In order for the teacher to effectively implement individualized

instruction, time and classroom management skills are needed to implement flexible grouping for

students (Roehrig et al, 2008). The types of data collection can include anecdotal notes, running

records, computer adaptive tests, surveys, and pre-made tests.

Collaboration

Collaboration is a generally defined as individuals coming together to pool ideas and

resources in order to create something greater than that which could be created alone. It is not

often applied to the field of classroom education, where individual teachers commonly operate

within their own domains, their individual classrooms (Hobbs & Coiro, 2016). However,

Biejaard & DeVries (1997) emphasize collaborative learning by teachers to help change beliefs

about student learning. Hall (2005) emphasizes the importance of working with other teachers

and attending in-service trainings. National Reading Panel (2000) also concluded that

professional development of teachers showed greater gains in student achievement.

Collaboration is a means to help teachers learn more effective teaching strategies for struggling

readers and may likely prevent them from reverting to less effective strategies.

Techniques

Distance learning provides the benefit of additional “classrooms” and flexible learning

opportunities. It is reported that the main obstacle to distance learning is students maintaining

motivation to learn outside of the structured, traditional classroom (Jeong et al., 2019; Silva et

al., 2021; Tuckman, 2007). Ahmed et al., (2020) report that extra effort is required to keep


learners engaged and on task, while Chu (2014) reports that improperly designed online teaching

approaches may negatively impact students’ learning by increasing their cognitive load. Silva et

al., (2021) noted that student-teacher interaction is a primary coping tool to reduce the negative

psycho‐emotional changes resulting from social isolation from online learning. When teachers

consciously applied strategies to address feelings of isolation, lack of self-direction, lack of self-

management, and lack of motivation, there was a positive impact in students’ learning outcomes.

Therefore, it is important that teachers work with struggling readers synchronously and continue

to interact with students as they learn, as opposed to students working asynchronously, learning

on their own time and at their own pace. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was discovered that

there were scarce resources for synchronous online reading instruction and it was necessary to

adapt some of the traditional teaching methods to the distance learning environment. One

fundamental concept that can be taught in both learning environments is the reciprocity of

reading and writing. Anderson & Briggs (2011) state that when students are explicitly taught the

reciprocity of reading and writing, they accelerate in reading.

Other techniques that address comprehension and fluency insufficiencies and that

improve writing skills were adapted. Comprehension processes can be developed by using an

action plan provided by Clark (2010) with small groups where a change is made in the way we

talk about text. Fluency practice is another way to increase comprehension. Oral repeated

readings with or without corrective feedback increases comprehension (Sukhram & Ellen

Monda-Amaya, 2017). One way to practice fluency with corrective feed is by a student reading a

portion of text, the teacher reads the same portion after the student, then the student reads the

same portion again. This method helps students hear the teacher reading fluently, while the

student follows along in text, then the student can read the same text more fluently than the first


time. Additionally, fluency can be practiced by students asynchronistically through read along

books on YouTube or Epic, an iPad application. Addressing multi-components, such as

vocabulary and comprehension, has also shown to increase reading (Wanzek et al. 2010).

Developing handwriting skills to write fluently improves reading, too (Horowitz, 2018; Wiley &

Rapp, 2021).

Students must be attentive to instruction in order to learn but students who have

experienced trauma tend to be inattentive. Teachers can help address the issue of trauma in

students by creating a safe and secure classroom environment. According to Brunzell et al.

(2015), a safe classroom environment may be established by building strong relationships

between students as well as between student and teacher, teaching about emotional intelligence,

and incorporating play and fun into the classroom in order to help students self-regulate. Fescar

(2015) stated that strong, confident teachers with classroom routines, a sense of humor, involving

students in the lessons, and demonstrating empathy tend to be more effective. Whether online or

in a physical building, classroom environments that are inviting contribute to feelings of safety

for students and tend to increase learning.

Summary

Children begin to learn reading skills within the home environment and continue

throughout their early education. Usually, reading is taught within the traditional classroom, but

recently there has been an exponential expansion in the use of distance education and the

creation of online classrooms with few existing resources to make the transition. The home or

school environment may not provide a supportive enough atmosphere where children may

develop proficient reading skills. A poorly designed distance learning program may cause greater

difficulties for struggling learners. Therefore, it is recommended that teachers have easy access


to information about effective online teaching techniques adapted from traditional reading

intervention methods. This need was the main focus on the development of a digital handbook

containing strategies and resources for teachers of fourth and fifth grade students who are

struggling readers.


Chapter 3: Methodology

Introduction

Fifty-three percent of our nation’s fourth grade students are at basic and below basic

reading levels (NAEP, 2019) and many require reading interventions. These children likely did

not receive the exposure to text and verbal language necessary to develop proficient literacy.

(Booth, 2000; Honig, 2007; Kuhl, 2004) and may also experience levels of fear that complicates their learning (Downey 2008).

When the COVID-19 pandemic caused schools in California to close, teachers and

students were forced into online classrooms. Students who were struggling found it even more

difficult to remain engaged in learning (Fescar, 2015). I was engaged in teaching reading

intervention and found very few resources to help me teach my struggling readers online.

Teachers at my school began to request assistance in helping meet the needs of their struggling

readers online as they also struggled with teaching during distance learning.

I began a search for evidence-based strategies as I tried to adapt to the changing

environment and I discovered that many reading difficulties stem from children’s fears, which

can develop in the home and the school environments. I also discovered the Science of Reading

and how trauma affects learning. I was then able to locate a few strategies, such as progress

monitoring and collaboration, while at the same time modifying several techniques I had been

using during traditional instruction. There are 20 teachers at my school, and, as their reading

specialist, it is my responsibility to be a resource to them (Sen et al., 2009). The purpose of this

project was to create a digital handbook for teachers at Mark Twain Elementary to provide

resources and strategies to help meet the needs of fourth and fifth-grade struggling readers,

especially during distance learning. The digital handbook includes techniques and practical


applications for effective online instructional strategies, resources for assessing students, and

links to other websites for additional resources.

Project Design

Teachers at my school expressed the need for more resources to help their struggling

readers during distance instruction. Many of them expressed difficulties with finding the time to

search for effective methods and how to implement them. I had also struggled to locate resources

for effective online reading interventions and modified some of the techniques I had been using

in the traditional classroom in order to fit the online environment. As the school’s reading

specialist, it was my responsibility to provide classroom teachers with the needed resources, and

I felt the need to share what I had learned. I realized that other teachers could learn what the

research says about how the brain learns to read and possible reasons why many of our fourth

and fifth-grade readers struggle. Mark Twain teachers may not be familiar with the Science of

Reading and teaching children to read in the 21st century (Petscher et al., 2020), and I needed a

way to share all of the needed information without taking up too much of their time.

Originally the idea of a website was conceived. I thought it would be easy for teachers to

access resources on the web site and to conduct online collaboration. I began to research how to

provide instruction more effectively online and discovered that other teachers had already

created various blogs and YouTube tutorials on such topics as connecting video equipment,

different ways of using a whiteboard and using the SeeSaw application for testing. Many

teachers discussed the same difficulties I encountered with providing online instruction, such as

creating an online classroom environment and maintaining student engagement. When

discussing the idea of a website with the teachers at my school, they asked some valid questions

such as, “Who will manage the site?”, “What will happen when you retire?” and “Will the


website be hard to navigate?” I then consulted with our school technology teacher and was

advised to make it easy for the classroom teachers “because most of them don’t have the time

and they’ll forget where to find the information.” I decided a digital handbook would be more

applicable to the needs of my colleagues.

The digital handbook was created using Google Slides. I changed the page orientation to

resemble a book. The handbook was created to allow me to add pages and resources to share

with teachers as I learn more. Links were created within the book so that topics of concern may

be easily accessed. Because Hall (2005) emphasizes the importance of working with other

teachers and attending in-service trainings, I decided to add a link to a Padlet application where

teachers can post questions and answers to learn from each other. A section in the digital

handbook was dedicated to Frequently Asked Questions to add the discussions from Padlet. I

wanted teachers to be able to access the handbook in a way most comfortable to them, so the

digital version can also be easily be printed.

The digital handbook includes techniques and practical applications for effective online

instructional strategies, resources for assessing students, and links to other websites for

additional resources. The book emphasizes the need for synchronous learning in a welcoming

online environment to build rapport with students to address students’ fears and increase student

engagement (Fescar, 2015).

Intended Audience and Setting

This product was designed for fourth and fifth-grade classroom teachers at Mark Twain

Elementary School seeking to increase their knowledge about instructing online reading

interventions. However, the material may be accessed by anyone seeking to increase such

knowledge. Readers may access the digital handbook at their own pace, whenever and wherever


they choose. Interested readers have the option of accessing the Google slide presentation online,

and it can also be printed. The handbook contains a link to the Padlet application, which provides

teachers with a place for learning and support. When teachers post questions and answers in the

Padlet application, the questions and answers will be added to the Frequently Asked Questions

section in the digital handbook.

Instruments

For this product, a few existing instruments were utilized, and others were created. The

existing instruments included a computer and internet capability to access the Slides program in

Google, literature and videos, and my own knowledge as a reading interventionist. The created

tools included knowledge gained through consultation with colleagues and the organized

compilation of knowledge and information to create a new teaching tool. Particular concepts

heavily influenced the creative process. Most importantly, because Mark Twain teachers may not

be familiar with evidence-based methods of teaching children to read (Petscher et al., 2020) and

may rely on what they have learned in their subjective experiences (Kilpatrick, 2020; Roskos &

Neuman, 2011; Reutzel, 2015) with the potential to negatively impact students’ well-being

through poorly designed online instruction (Chu, 2014), the Science of Reading and trauma-

informed teaching practices provided the foundational framework for the structure of the

information.

Procedures and Evaluation Process

I am a reading intervention specialist working with fourth and fifth grade struggling

readers. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, my instruction to students involved sitting at a table

with one student or a small group of students. Building and maintaining rapport was an important

part of the instruction process (Brunzell et al., 2015). The COVID pandemic forced schools to


close, and education moved to the online classroom. I was faced with new challenges about

meeting the students’ needs and began a rather intensive search for resources. At the same time,

teachers from my school began to approach me, requesting similar information.

I began a search online for evidence-based strategies and consulted with colleagues as I

tried to adapt to the changing environment. In my queries, I discovered that many reading

difficulties stem from children’s fears (Fecser, 2015) which can develop in the home and in the

school environments. I also discovered the Science of Reading (Brady, 2020; Greenburg et al.,

2013; Moats & Foorman, 2003; Moats, 2009) and how trauma affects learning (Brunzell et al.,

2015). I was then able to locate a few strategies, such as progress monitoring and collaboration,

while at the same time modifying several techniques I had been using during traditional

instruction. There are 20 teachers at my school and, as their reading specialist, it is my

responsibility to be a resource to them (Sen et al., 2009). It was decided to create this digital

handbook as an easy-to-access resource. The handbook was designed to include techniques and

practical applications for effective online instructional strategies, resources for assessing

students, and links to other websites for additional resources. The handbook was intentionally

designed to remain open to additional material, with the intent that new material will be added as

relevant information becomes evident.

Evaluation of the digital handbook’s efficacy may be obtained in several ways. It is

suggested that teachers answer questions on Padlet before reading the handbook and after

reading the handbook, they can add to the questions using a different color of sticky.. The

surveys could be designed to evaluate both objective and subjective reports of teachers’

increased knowledge and competency of teaching struggling readers, especially online.


Summary

Research shows that 53% of the nation’s fourth grade students struggle with reading

proficiency and they require reading interventions. These interventions were primarily provided

in the traditional classroom setting. When the COVID-19 pandemic mandated schools to close,

teachers and students were forced to have classes in the online environment. Students and

teachers struggled with the challenge of adapting. As a reading specialist, I encountered

difficulties teaching through a glass screen, and my students were not engaged. As I searched for

ways to modify my instructional methods, I discovered scarce resources. In my research I found

some reasons to explain why my students struggle to learn. Of particular interest was the Science

of Reading, which is evidence of how the brain learns to read. I also discovered how trauma can

affect learning. While I was conducting my research and formulating these new ideas, teachers at

my school were approaching me to request my expertise, and I could not help them. I continued

to search for evidence-based strategies and consulted with colleagues, continually synthesizing

my newly learned information to modify my teaching practices. In order to assist overwhelmed

teachers, I decided to create a resource that would be easy to access and a digital handbook

seemed to be the best method. The digital handbook was created by compiling evidence-based

information and my own adaptations of teaching methods. The book was designed to include

techniques and practical applications for effective online instructional strategies, resources for

assessing students, and links to other websites for additional resources. The handbook was

intentionally designed to remain open to additional material, with the intent that new material

will be added as relevant information becomes evident.


Chapter 4: Product



struggling readers, especially during distance learning. The digital handbook includes techniques

and practical applications for effective online instructional strategies, resources for assessing

students, and links to other websites for additional resources.

Part one is about the Science of Reading. It has links to provide an accurate definition for

the Science of Reading. The section also contains bulleted points of information broken into

three different sections. The sections are babies take statistics, facts about early literacy, literacy

learning at school, and sound walls. Two of the sections, Babies Take Statistics and Sound

Walls, also contains links to websites for Mark Twain teachers to gain additional knowledge.

Part two of the handbook provides facts about trauma and strategies for the teachers to

use to reduce fear in their classrooms whether online or in-person. Another part in this section

provides links to websites for teachers to gain more knowledge.

Part three of the handbook, Strategies, is broken up into three topics. The topics are

monitoring student progress, collaboration, and specific techniques. The monitoring student

progress provides the types of assessments and links to access the assessments. The topic of

collaboration provides a purpose, the benefits, a link to Padlet, and bulleted points of two more

online collaboration places. The final topic of specific techniques for helping struggling readers

online provides information for setting up the technology with pictures for demonstration

purposes, a section about building writing skills, comprehension skills development, and links

for handwriting information.


Part four provides extensive resources for teachers. The resources are definitions, Twitter

handles to follow, podcasts to view, and annotated bibliographies of books for students, literary

works, and websites. The podcasts and Twitter handles pages contain links for easy access.

The final section of the digital handbook is the Question and Answer section. As teachers

collaborate, I will add the results of collaboration to this section.

The following link to the digital handbook can be used for easy access:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1T8gKp__FR5zhI9IkvPHoGuAMtb-

UVD68pChNd9MYG0s/edit?usp=sharing

By Leslie Conley

Literacy Interventions with Distance Learning

StrategiesA Handbook for 4th and 5th Grade Teachers


“How we see children, our mindset, and how we approach teaching the most vulnerable in our

society makes or breaks them.”

Lois Letchford


Forward

When schools were shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, I struggled with finding ways to meet the needs of my below grade level readers. In my research for evidence-based strategies to use online, I learned two reasons that strongly suggest why students arrive to fourth and fifth grades reading below grade level. I then learned to adapt my teaching instruction for distance learning.

This book was made to inform teachers of the two reasons fourth and fifth grade students may struggle with reading and provide ways to help those readers.


Table of Contents

Part 1

Science of Reading

Part 2

Trauma-informed Teaching

Part 3

Strategies

Monitoring Student Progress

Collaboration

Specific Techniques

Part 4

Other Resources

Part 5

Frequently Asked Questions


Part 1

Science of Reading

Science of Reading

Babies Take Statistics

Facts about Early Literacy

Literacy Learning at School

Sound walls

https://www.whatisthescienceofreading.org/


Science of Reading

Check out the following website. Be sure to scroll down to see all that is presented.

What is the Science of Reading?

Check out this article about neuroscience and struggling readers

Moats, L. (2004). Relevance of neuroscience to the effective education of students with reading and other learning disabilities.

https://www.whatisthescienceofreading.org/science-of-reading-guide




Literacy development begins in the home environment with oral language. In the first year, children listen to speech sounds (phonemes) of caring adults to begin oral language development. Kuhl (2011) posits that the social brain is ruling when babies hear adults speak and their brains organize the information in a specific way. Kuhl’s research showed that when a live person is speaking to babies within the babies' first year, the babies' brains are organized in a statistical manner, resulting in significant brain growth. Conversely, the babies who watched videos or listened to the radio experienced no brain growth.

Check out this 10 minute TEDTalk: Patricia Kuhl: The linguistic genius of babies

Kuhl, P. K. (2011). Films for the Humanities & Sciences, Infobase, TED Conferences LLC, & Films Media Group. (2011). TEDTalks: Patricia Kuhl - The Linguistic Genius of Babies. Infobase.

https://www.ted.com/talks/patricia_kuhl_the_linguistic_genius_of_babies?language=en



Facts About Early Literacy

• Early literacy begins with oral language in a caring home

• Vocabulary expression occurs in spurts beginning at about 12 months

• Language development increases with socializing

• Between 2 & 3-years old, children make rhyming words with known words

• Between 3 & 4-years, old writing begins to become more advanced than scribbling

• Children take statistics of print in the environment to be used later when spelling words

• Invented spelling and other literacy skills are best supported by strong oral language foundation



• As children learn to write their names, they begin connecting phonemes to graphemes

• Children learn words are not just visual patterns, but have meaning

• Teacher beliefs can hinder children’s abilities to learn to read

• Science of Reading says teaching phonemic awareness and phonics is more effective in K-1 grades

• Relying on adopted curriculum keeps individual children from learning

• Cognitive development is influenced by reading approach, student motivation, and classroom tasks

• English Learners need to develop oral language in English before learning to read


Sound Walls

Sound walls are used to help all students match sounds (phonemes) to spellings (graphemes). A sound wall is arranged by phonemes and graphemes to help students remember how to articulate phonemes. Pictures are available for students to see how the mouth is shaped during sound production.

Visit: Transitioning from Word Walls to Sound Walls

https://www.readingrockets.org/article/transitioning-word-walls-sound-walls



Part 2 Trauma-Informed Teaching

Facts About Trauma

Strategies to Reduce Fear

More Information on Trauma


Facts About Trauma

• Trauma results from staying frightened for a long period of time

• Trauma can happen from poverty, drug and alcohol use in the home, yelling, harsh punishments or any sort of child abuse

• Failing to learn to read can cause trauma

• Children can differentiate between a friendly teacher, an authoritarian teacher, and a teacher of tyranny

• Traumatic events can alter gene activity from the chemical and enzyme overload within the body

• Trauma victims constantly scan the environment and have a hard time staying on task

• Can feel threatened if mandated to look at the iPad screen



Students

• Practice looking at self on the screen • Should be free to invite a parent or family

member to the first day online to increase comfort level

Teachers

• Build rapport - very important • Use small talk and encouragement • Use a slow your rate of speech and be mindful

of your tone of voice • Project a kind face to students during distance

learning • Be mindful to convey welcoming expressions as

opposed to expressions that may be perceived as threatening or harsh

• Use easy movements of the body-nothing sudden

• Set guidelines for expectations • Offer a quiet space as needed - a breakout room

can be used online

As stated by Karen Schwarzenbach, LMFT



When “Learning is Trauma” Series

Fear in Love

Blog-Lois Letchford

https://www.loisletchford.com/

https://www.loisletchford.com/

https://www.dana.org/article/fear-in-love/

https://www.loisletchford.com/blog-1


Part 3

Strategies


Collaboration

Specific Techniques to Help Struggling

Readers Online



Purpose

Assessments

Assessing Online


Purpose

Progress monitoring is the collection of data to inform the teacher about a child’s growth over time. The new information a teacher gains about a student helps to plan individualized instruction.


Assessments

Phoneme Segmentation – Does the student have phonemic awareness?

Word Reading Fluency - How many sight words can the student automatically read?

Paragraph Reading Fluency - How many words a minute can the student read?

Click here for assessment access:

easyCBM

Note: Choose Lite to get started or Login if you already have an account. On the dashboard, choose Measurements. Use the first grade tab to obtain the Phoneme Segmentation assessments. Choose the 3rd grade tab for Word Reading Fluency assessments. For Paragraph Reading Fluency, choose the grade level you teach.

https://www.easycbm.com/


Assessments (Continued)

Spelling Test - Use Words Their Way Elementary Spelling Inventory to find the student’s stage of spelling

• No need to practice spelling words before the test

• Download the Instructions and the test from Assessments - Words their way

• Students use the SeeSaw activity labeled Spelling test (previously set up) to write words.

https://wordstheirway842.weebly.com/assessments.html



Assessing Online

• Can be done in a Zoom Room • Students should be able to see

teacher’s face • For Spelling, student shares

screen and uses SeeSaw to write Spelling words. Teacher pronounces each word and observes the student’s letter formation - make anecdotal notes as needed (See Slide 25: Setting Up)

• For Word Reading Fluency and Paragraph Reading Fluency, teacher shares screen (See Slide 25: Setting Up)


Collaboration

Purpose

Padlet, Jamboard, Google Classroom


Purpose

• Build expertise • Make better decisions when viewing

data together • Online collaboration can be done

anytime • Everyone learns from each other • Build community • Practice Instructional Strategies • Job satisfaction and self-efficacy (Vangrieken

et al., 2014)

Hobbs, R., & Coiro, J. (2016). Everyone learns from everyone: Collaborative and interdisciplinary professional development in digital literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 59(6), 623–629. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.502. Vangrieken,K., Dochy, F., Raes, E., Kyndt, E. (2015). Teacher collaboration: A systematic review. Elsevier, Ltd. Stable Link to Article (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.04.002).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.04.002




All three places are effective ways to collaborate. They all are ways to post and respond to questions online. Padlet

• Choose your color of note and post a question or respond to someone else’s

• Free • Can sign in using district email address • Sign into Padlet and join:

Qsz74q1d5xzzbbxt Jamboard

• Free • Google extension found in the “waffle” when

logged into Google Google Classroom

• Can Stream questions or make a class assignment for each question

• Every class member receives notifications when someone posts to stream


Specific Techniques to Help Struggling Readers Online

Setting Up

Writing

Comprehension

Handwriting

Videos


Setting Up

• Open SeeSaw to create a new activity titled Spelling. For the activity, add a template for student responses by choosing “drawing” to get a blank page.

• Create another activity titled “Fluency”. For the activity add the Fluency page for your grade level from the School & District folder.

• OR Go to easyCBM website and download Word Reading from 3rd grade and Fluency for your grade level onto your desktop.

• Connect a document camera to your computer

• Log on to your Zoom room with both your computer and iPad. While Zooming with students, use one device for class management and use the other device to work with one or more student/s in a breakout room.


Setting Up (Continued) Figure 1 Teacher Work Station While on Zoom

Figure 2 Student Screensharing While on SeeSaw in a Zoom Breakout Room


Writing

• Writing is the reciprocal of reading. • “When we write, we read; when we

read, we compose meaning.” (Anderson, N.L. & Briggs, C., 2011).

• Common Ground Between Reading and Writing Strategic processing Writer Reader

Searching for meaning Generates ideas with an audience in mind

Uses print to construct meaning

Monitoring for meaning Checks that the message makes sense

Checks that the message makes sense

Searching for structure Anticipates the order of words based on how book language and oral language sound

Groups words together in phrases to represent the intended message

Monitoring for structure Checks the order of words supporting the intended message

Rereads (out loud or holding the message in the mind) to check that the word order communicates the intended message

Searching for graphophonic information

Uses knowledge of how letters, words, and print work to record the message

Seeks out graphophonic input from print to relation to meaning and structure

Monitoring for graphophonic information

Checks and detects any discrepancies between the anticipated message and graphophonic input

Checks and detects that the print represents the message

Self-correcting Detects and corrects Detects and corrects Anderson & Briggs, 2011, p. 547

• For struggling readers, strengthening writing strengthens reading

• It is necessary to explicitly teach writing

Anderson, N.L. & Briggs, C. (2011). Reciprocity between reading and writing: Strategic processing as common ground. The Reading Teacher 64(7), 546-549.


Writing (Continued) • Teaching for Reciprocal Processing in Reading and Writing Strategic process Teaching reading Teaching writing Searching for meaning (Based on genre, title, cover

illustration, etc.), what is this story about? Think about the story. What would make sense?

Encourage genuine conversations. What do you want to say? What will the reader need to know?

Monitoring for meaning

Did that make sense? Reread and check. Is that what you wanted to say?

Searching for structure Reread and try something that would sound right.

You said…What can you write about that?

Monitoring for structure

You said… Can we say it that way? Reread and check is that the way you want it to sound?


What do you know about that word? Think about writing. What would the letters (or word) say if you were writing?

Say the word slowly and think about what would look or sound right


Try that again and make sure it looks right.

Run your finger underneath the word. Say it slowly. Does it look right?

Self-correction You thought about the story and went back to make it look right. I like the way you are thinking

You went back and decided the word wasn’t quite right, and then fixed it. You were really thinking about your message.

Anderson & Briggs, 2011, p. 548

• Students can use SeeSaw to respond to other students

• Students can be scaffolded with sentence frames created by teachers using Google Slides or Google Docs

• Students can write on paper and take a screenshot to upload to SeeSaw


Comprehension

• Talking about text is a powerful way to build comprehension especially, when the classroom environment is online

• Small group peer collaboration can occur in the main Zoom room while teacher is with a small group (or individual) in Zoom breakout rooms. The rest of the students are in individual breakout rooms completing independent work.

• Teacher uses iPad to manage small group in main Zoom room and computer to manage the Zoom breakout rooms. This allows teacher to use the computer for managing breakout room while simultaneously instructing in another breakout room.

• Shift instructional language when students are reading or listening to text. See next page.


Comprehension (Continued)

Shifting talk about text (Clark, K.F. (2010). Shifting talk about text: Developing struggling readers’ comprehension process during talk about text. In J.L. Collins & T.G. Gunning (Eds.). Building struggling students’ higher level literacy: Practical ideas, powerful solutions. (pp.85-101). International Reading Association.)

• Select a challenging text that requires thinking and leads to the use of comprehension strategies

• Before reading text with students, read and identify places for inference, questioning, imaging, or summarizing and mark with sticky notes

• Initially, instructional language should *identify (the comprehension strategy), êxplain (what the comprehension is), and ~model thinking (For example: “ An *inference îs like a thoughtful guess we make from using clues that the author gives us and our own knowledge. ~Let me show you how I do this.”)

• For students with some experience, use less support. May still need to *identify the strategy and support its uses. Ask the comprehension question and help student to use text to answer the question.

• For students with more experience, teacher speaks less and states questions as: What strategy will we use to help us figure out …? What inference did you make about ….? What clues on the page make you think that? What information from your own knowledge did you use? * indicates that text is purple, ^ indicates text is pink, ~ indicates text is blue.


Handwriting

The Unexpected Connection Between Handwriting and Learning to Read

The Effects of Handwriting Experience on Literacy Learning: Handwriting beats Keyboard Hands-Down!

6 Multisensory Techniques for Teaching Handwriting

https://www.understood.org/articles/en/the-unexpected-connection-between-handwriting-and-learning-to-read



https://www.kirschnered.nl/2021/07/09/the-effects-of-handwriting-experience-on-literacy-learning-handwriting-beats-keyboard-hands-down/




https://www.understood.org/articles/en/6-multisensory-techniques-for-teaching-handwriting



Handwriting (Continued)

• Instruction online requires teacher to use a document camera to model on a whiteboard

• Students use a whiteboard and marker to begin practicing letter formation

• Student props iPad for teacher to view whiteboard and hand movements as letters are formed


Part 4

Other Resources

Definitions

Follow on Twitter

Podcasts

Annotated Bibliography of Books to Use

with Students

Annotated Bibliography of Literary Works (Articles and Books for Teachers)

Bibliography of Websites


Definitions

Phoneme - smallest part speech Grapheme - spelling of phonemes Morphology - smallest part of word or letter combinations that has meaning: visit Word Woks (http://www.wordworkskingston.com/WordWorks/Home.html) Graphophonic – relating speech sounds to letters or letter patterns

http://www.wordworkskingston.com/WordWorks/Home.html



Follow on Twitter

@reading_league The Reading League (nonprofit organization)

@nellkduke professor of literacy, language, and culture, University of Michigan

@ReadingShanahan Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Ed, Chicago University

@ILAToday International Literacy Association

@FINRAFoundation American Library Association

@ABRAMSKids Book lists for graphic novels


Podcasts

Huberman Lab Podcast Radio — Lois Letchford Patricia Kuhl: The linguistic genius of babies

https://hubermanlab.libsyn.com/

https://www.loisletchford.com/radio?utm_source=LL+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=2fee7b603c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_09_24_10_26_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f4fdc48544-2fee7b603c-220958740




Annotated Bibliographies of Books Multicultural Books_______________________________________________ Abiade, F. et al. (2013). In Daddy’s Arms I am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers. New York, NY: Lee & Low Books. This collection of poetry has a mix of poems all focused on fathers. They range from silly to serious and are written by African American men and women. I found the poems touching and inspiring. The illustrations are colorful, inviting colleges that unify the poems. Ada, A.F.(2002) I Love Saturdays y domingos. New York City, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks. This book is about a little girl, not yet 7, who spends time with her grandparents on the weekends. As the title shows, on Saturdays, she sees her father’s European-American English speaking parents and on Sundays, she sees her mother’s Mexican-American Spanish speaking parents. Throughout the book the child compares the English grandparents’ household and the activities they do together to the Spanish speaking grandparents’ household and the activities they do together. The child speaks English on Saturdays and speaks Spanish on Sundays. On her 7th birthday, the whole family comes together to celebrate. Barber, B.E. (1998). Allie’s Basketball Dream. New York, NY: Lee & Low Books. This is a story about a girl named Allie who gets a new basketball from her Dad. They go to the courts to play and Allie isn’t making any shots. The boys who are playing basketball there then begin to tease and make fun of her. One boy comes up to Allie and says the volleyball he has will be easier for her to shoot and score because it's softer. He proceeds to make Allie a deal that he will trade her his volleyball and some trinkets for her basketball. Allie reminds herself of her dream to play basketball one day. In the end she perseveres and makes a great shot thus winning the approval and admiration of her friends, the older boys, and best of all, her father. This book could be used to talk about perseverance and the unfortunate reality that girls do have to face in sports but how Allie overcame this. The author Barbara E Barbara gets her ideas from personal experiences, childhood memories, and things taking place in our ever changing world. Beaty, A. (2006). Ida Twist Scientist. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams. This story follows the main character Ida on her inventing and scientific adventures. Ida often gets herself into trouble with the questions she is asking and discouragement from others about her scientific thinking. She stays the course throughout the story and doesn’t give up her passion for experiments, critical thinking, and questioning. Boelts, M. (2016). A Bike Like Sergio’s. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. This has several diverse characters and teaches character education. It’s generically American and culturally neutral and exhibits respect, quality, and purpose.


There are several pages of the Annotated Bibliography of Books. The pages are made

with the ability to continue to add more books to each area. There are several headings for the

different genre of books. The headings are multicultural books, ABC Books/Books to Begin On,

Fairy Tale Variations, Nonfiction Books/Online Links, Elements of Art and Design, Books

Related to One Historical Book, Reluctant Reader Books, Graphic Novels, and Poetry

Collection. The authors’ names are in alphabetical order under each heading. Teachers can

choose books from the list to use with their students.

The next section is an Annotated Bibliography of Literary Works. The list of works is

intended for teachers to locate articles of interest. The bibliography is broken into sections. The

headings for the sections are Oral Language Development, Emergent Reading and Writing,

Understanding Reading and Writing, Digital Literacies and 21st Century Skills, and Creating

Conditions for Engagement and Independence. Other headings such as Science of Reading and

Trauma-Informed Teaching will be added as the articles are annotated.

The final section of Resources is titled Annotated Bibliography of Websites. There are no

headings or websites listed às of yet.


Part 5 Frequently

Asked Questions


The final section of the digital handbook is an ongoing section. I will add the questions

and responses teachers provide during the online collaboration to this section of the digital

handbook. I am hoping that through collaboration, teachers will be able to learn about teaching

struggling readers to help their students succeed.

The whole handbook is considered editable. As more information on effective teaching

strategies for teaching online becomes available, the new information will be added to this

handbook.

Chapter 5: Discussion

Introduction

Education changed when schools were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers

struggled to adapt to the new classroom environment online. As a reading intervention teacher

with more than 30 years in the education field, I felt inadequate because I lacked knowledge of

how to meet my students’ needs. In my frantic search for evidenced-based effective teaching

methods to instruct online, I encountered the problem of minimal resources for effective

synchronous online instruction. I found many asynchronous resources, but my students need

engaging face-to-face instruction. Adding to my frustration were the pleads of the fourth and

fifth-grade teachers at my school who were requesting resources from me in order to help their

students.



struggling readers, especially during distance learning.


Lessons learned from the project

During my intensive search for ways to meet the needs of my struggling readers during

the COVID-19 pandemic online instruction, I discovered new information about teaching

reading called the Science of Reading (Brady, 2020; Greenburg et al., 2013; Moats & Foorman,

2003; Moats, 2009). I was fascinated with the scientific proof available of how the brain learns to

read. As I continued reading articles about the brain and learning, I discovered how fear could

hinder learning and what I can do about it. Silva et al. (2021) noted that student-teacher

interaction is a primary coping tool to reduce the negative psycho‐emotional changes resulting

from social isolation from online learning. I wanted to help reduce the number of students

reading below grade level and felt compelled to share the Science of Reading and trauma-

informed teaching techniques to help make changes in my school district. I realized I needed a

way to collaborate with other teachers (Hobbs & Coiro, 2016). I originally thought to build a

website to connect the five intervention teachers in my school district, but I first needed to

connect with the teachers at my own school during distance learning. The digital handbook is an

effective way to share the information I learned with teachers because the book is easily

accessed.

After many weeks of failing to find the needed resources to help my students, I turned to

use my own resources and expertise. I worked on modifying the traditional methods of

instructing students in the online environment. Through trial and error, I was able to find ways to

provide an online environment in the Zoom room that was safe, effective, and engaging for my

struggling readers. The digital handbook includes the modified strategies I used with my

students.


Recommendations for implementation

This project will be helpful to teachers of any grade level, but especially teachers at my

school. During one of our staff meetings, I will provide a questionnaire on Padlet for teachers

before presenting the digital handbook. Then a link to the digital handbook will be attached to

the teacher newsletter at my school for easy access during a staff meeting. Teachers will be

allowed to access the information at their leisure. The technology teacher will also put the link

for the digital handbook in the shared teacher drive. After teachers have read the information in

the digital handbook, they can return to Padlet to answer the questionnaire with a different color

paper. The pre-reading and post-reading questionnaire answers will serve as an evaluation tool.

I hope that school principals will also find useful information from the digital handbook,

especially about the Science of Reading and trauma-informed teaching, because it is the school

principal's leadership that sets the learning atmosphere within each school. As more principals

become aware of how the brain learns, changes may be made to reduce obstacles children face

when learning. When positive changes are made during reading instruction, the number of

children reading proficiency will increase.

Limitations

There were several limitations with this project. The first limitation was not finding

strategies for synchronous online learning for struggling readers. The most significant limitation

is the overwhelming stress I was coping with while learning to teach in a new environment and

while developing new strategies. Slides is an online presentation program in Google, so it

requires internet. Internet was not always reliable. Portable document format (pdf) files cannot

be added to Slides, so I had to convert the files into low quality images. Putting the strategies in a

written form was difficult. Pictures or videos would have been a better way to show the


strategies I used. Finding a way to collaborate and make it a learning atmosphere was

challenging. Using Padlet may not be an effective way to collaborate. There is a lot more

information about the Science of Reading that I was not able to put into the digital book. Finally,

making the information engaging and simplifying the information for easy reading took a lot of

time.

Future Directions

It is expected that this digital handbook will continue to grow and evolve as more

information about how to teach struggling readers becomes available. It is hoped that teachers

who access the handbook will connect with other educators to support and increase their

competencies. Some questions to consider for future development are: Since research says that

oral language development at home is the foundation of reading, what can be done to educate

parents about the Science of Reading? How effective are the online strategies suggested in the

handbook? Besides the obstacles discussed in the present literature review, what other obstacles

are interrupting children’s learning? How does the online environment affect students’ learning

for an extended length of time?

Conclusion

During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools were closed to traditional instruction and distance

learning became the method of delivery for instruction. As a reading intervention teacher, I

found minimal resources to help me meet the needs of my struggling readers in the online

environment. I resorted to using my expertise and available resources to develop effective

methods to work with my students. With further research, I learned about the Science of

Reading, which is evidence-based information about how the brain learns to read, and I also

learned about how fear can hinder learning. These two concepts helped me to obtain a better


understanding of why children struggle with reading by the time they enter fourth grade. I felt it

important to share the information with other teachers at my school who were asking for my help

to teach their struggling readers online. Therefore, I created a digital handbook containing

existing resources incorporated with my own teaching modifications that I had found helpful for

online use. The handbook was intended to be an easily accessed digital handbook containing

techniques and practical applications for effective online instructional strategies, resources for

assessing students, and links to other websites for additional resources.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, events began to unfold that caused me to

experience significant changes. I found myself doubting my teaching knowledge as I struggled to

transition to the online classroom environment. I thought I was an expert as a reading

intervention teacher, especially since I had been teaching reading in the regular classroom and as

an intervention teacher for over 30 years. I was compelled to search for new ways to help my

students and began seeking researched based strategies. My focus changed in an interesting way

when I stumbled upon the Science of Reading, how the brain learns to read, and I was surprised

to find how little I knew about trauma’s effect on learning. It became more important to me to

find ways to prevent reading failure. Also, even though my sister is a therapist and we have had

many discussions about children learning, I did not realize how profoundly a child’s brain can be

affected by fear. Before the pandemic, I used to doubt that every child could learn to read. Now I

truly believe every child can learn to read if they can be supported within caring environments.


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Appendix

By Leslie Conley

Literacy Interventions with Distance Learning

StrategiesA Handbook for 4th and 5th Grade Teachers

“How we see children, our mindset, and how we approach teaching the most vulnerable in our

society makes or breaks them.”

Lois Letchford

ForwardWhen schools were shut down during the

COVID-19 pandemic, I struggled with finding ways to meet the needs of my below grade level readers. In my research for evidence-based strategies to use online, I learned two reasons that strongly suggest why students arrive to fourth and fifth grades reading below grade level. I then learned to adapt my teaching instruction for distance learning.

This book was made to inform teachers of the two reasons fourth and fifth grade students may struggle with reading and provide ways to help those readers.

Table of Contents

Part 1Science of Reading

Part 2Trauma-informed Teaching

Part 3Strategies

Monitoring Student ProgressCollaborationSpecific Techniques

Part 4Other Resources

Part 5Frequently Asked Questions

Part 1

Science of Reading


Facts about Early Literacy


Sound walls

Science of Reading

https://www.whatisthescienceofreading.org

Science of Reading

Check out the following website. Be sure to scroll down to see all that is presented.

What is the Science of Reading?

Check out this article about neuroscience and struggling readersMoats, L. (2004). Relevance of neuroscience to effective education of students with reading and other learning disabitities.



Literacy development begins in the home environment with oral language. In the first year, children listen to speech sounds (phonemes) of caring adults to begin oral language development. Kuhl (2011) posits that the social brain is ruling when babies hear adults speak and their brains organize the information in a specific way. Kuhl’s research showed that when a live person is speaking to babies within the babies' first year, the babies' brains organized in a statistical manner, resulting in significant brain growth. Conversely, the babies who watched videos or listened to the radio experienced no brain growth.

Check out this 10 minute TEDTalk: Patricia Kuhl: The linguistic genius of babies

Kuhl, P. K. (2011). Films for the Humanities & Sciences, Infobase, TED Conferences LLC, & Films Media Group. (2011). TEDTalks: Patricia Kuhl - The Linguistic Genius of Babies. Infobase.


Facts About Early Literacy

● Early literacy begins with oral language in a caring home

● Vocabulary expression occurs in spurts beginning at about 12 months

● Language development increases with socializing

● Between 2 & 3-years old, children make rhyming words with known words

● Between 3 & 4-years old, writing begins to become more advanced than scribbling

● Children take statistics of print in the environment to be used later when spelling words

● Invented spelling and other literacy skills are best supported by a strong oral language foundation


● As children learn to write their names, they begin connecting phonemes to graphemes

● Children learn words are not just visual patterns, but have meaning

● Teacher beliefs can hinder children’s abilities to learn to read

● Science of Reading says teaching phonemic awareness and phonics is more effective in K-1 grades

● Relying on adopted curriculum keeps individual children from learning

● Cognitive development is influenced by reading approach, student motivation, and classroom tasks

● English Learners need to develop oral language in English before learning to read

Sound Walls

Sound walls are used to help all students match sounds (phonemes) to spellings (graphemes). A sound wall is arranged by phonemes and graphemes to help students remember how to articulate phonemes. Pictures are available for students to see how the mouth is shaped during sound production.

Visit: Transitioning from Word Walls to Sound Walls


Facts About Trauma



Trauma-Informed Teaching

Part 2

Facts About Trauma

● Trauma results from staying frightened for a long period of time

● Trauma can happen from poverty, drug and alcohol use in the home, yelling, harsh punishments or any sort of child abuse

● Failing to learn to read can cause trauma● Children can differentiate between a friendly

teacher, an authoritarian teacher, and a teacher of tyranny

● Traumatic events can alter gene activity from the chemical and enzyme overload within the body

● Trauma victims constantly scan the environment and have a hard time staying on task

● Children can feel threatened if mandated to look at the iPad screen

Strategies to Reduce FearStudents● Practice looking at self on the screen● Should be free to invite a parent or family

member to the first day online to increase comfort level

Teachers● Build rapport - very important● Use small talk and encouragement● Use a slow your rate of speech and be mindful of

your tone of voice● Project a kind face to students during distance

learning● Be mindful to convey welcoming expressions as

opposed to expressions that may be perceived as threatening or harsh

● Use easy movements of the body-nothing sudden

● Set guidelines for expectations● Offer a quiet space as needed - a breakout room

can be used onlineAs stated by Karen Schwarzenbach, LMFT


When “Learning is Trauma” Series

Fear in Love

Blog-Lois Letchford

https://www.loisletchford.com

https://www.dana.org/article/fear-in-love/

https://www.loisletchford.com/blog-1

Part 3

Strategies


Collaboration


Purpose

Assessments

Assessing Online


Purpose

Progress monitoring is the collection ofdata to inform the teacher about a child’sgrowth over time. The new information ateacher gains about a student helps toplan individualized instruction.

Assessments

Phoneme Segmentation - Does the student have phonemic awareness?

Word Reading Fluency - How many sight words can the student automatically read?

Paragraph Reading Fluency - How many words a minute can the student read?

Click here for assessment access:

easyCBMNote: Choose Lite to get started or Login if you already have an account. On the dashboard, choose Measurements. Use the first grade tab to obtain the Phoneme Segmentation assessments. Choose the 3rd grade tab for Word Reading Fluency assessments. For Paragraph Reading Fluency, choose the grade level you teach.

https://www.easycbm.com

Assessments (Continued)

Spelling Test - Use Words Their WayElementary Spelling Inventory to find the student’s stage of spelling

● No need to practice spelling words before the test

● Download the Instructions and the test from Assessments - Words their way

● Students use the SeeSaw activity labeled Spelling test (previously setup) to write words.


Assessing Online

● Can be done in a Zoom Room● Student should be able to see

teacher’s face● For Spelling, student shares screen

and uses SeeSaw to write Spelling words. Teacher pronounces each word and observes student’s letter formation - make anecdotal notes as needed (See Slide 25: Setting Up)

● For Word Reading Fluency and Paragraph Reading Fluency, teacher shares screen (See Slide 25: Setting Up)

Purpose


Collaboration

Purpose

● Build expertise● Make better decisions when viewing data

together● Online collaboration can be done anytime● Everyone learns from each other● Build community● Practice Instructional Strategies● Job satisfaction and self-efficacy (Vangrieken et

al., 2014)

Hobbs, R., & Coiro, J. (2016). Everyone learns from everyone: Collaborativeand interdisciplinary professional development in digital literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 59(6), 623–629. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.502.

Vangrieken,K., Dochy, F., Raes, E., Kyndt, E. (2015). Teacher collaboration:A systematic review. Elsevier, Ltd. Stable Link to Article (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.04.002)



All three places are effective ways to collaborate. They all are ways to post and respond to questions online.

Padlet

● Choose your color of note and post a question or respond to someone else’s

● Free ● Can sign in using district email address● Sign into Padlet and join: Qsz74q1d5xzzbbxt

Jamboard

● Free● Google extension found in the “waffle” when

logged into Google

Google Classroom

● Can Stream questions or make a class assignment for each question

● Every class member receives notifications when someone posts to stream


Setting Up

Writing

Comprehension

Handwriting

Videos

● Open SeeSaw to create a new activity titled Spelling. For the activity, add a template for student responses by choosing “drawing” to get a blank page.

● Create another activity titled “Fluency”. For the activity add the Fluency page for your grade level from the School & District folder.

● OR Go to easyCBM website and download Word Reading from 3rd grade and Fluency for your grade level onto your desktop.

● Connect a document camera to your computer

● Log on to your Zoom room with both your computer and iPad. While Zooming with students, use one device for class management and use the other device to work with one or more student/s in a breakout room.

Setting Up

Setting Up (Continued)

Picture shows the teacher work station while on Zoom.

Picture shows student work on SeeSaw while on Zoom.

Writing

● Writing is the reciprocal of reading● “When we write, we read; when we read,

we compose meaning.” (Anderson, N.L. & Briggs, C., 2011).

Common Ground Between Reading and Writing

● For struggling readers, strengthening writing strengthens reading

● It is necessary to explicitly teach writing

Anderson, N.L. & Briggs, C. (2011). Reciprocity between reading and writing: Strategic processing

as common ground. The Reading Teacher 64(7), 546-549.


Strategic process Teaching reading Teaching writing

Searching for meaning (Based on genre, title, cover illustration, etc.), what is this story about? Think about the story. What would make sense?


Monitoring for meaning Did that make sense? Reread and check. Is that what you wanted to say?



Monitoring for structure You said… Can we say it that way? Reread and check is that the way you want it to sound?









Writing (Continued)

Teaching for Reciprocal Processing in Reading and Writing

● Students can use SeeSaw to respond to other students

● Students can be scaffolded with sentence frames created by teacher using Google Slides or Google Docs

● Students can write on paper and take a screenshot to upload to SeeSaw


Strategic process Teaching reading Teaching writing

Searching for meaning (Based on genre, title, cover illustration, etc.), what is this story about? Think about the story. What would make sense?


Monitoring for meaning Did that make sense? Reread and check. Is that what you wanted to say?



Monitoring for structure You said… Can we say it that way? Reread and check is that the way you want it to sound?









Comprehension● Talking about text is a powerful way to build

comprehension, especially when the classroom environment is online

● Small group peer collaboration can occur in the main Zoom room while teacher is with a small group (or individual) in Zoom breakout rooms. The rest of the students are in individual breakout rooms completing independent work.

● Teacher uses iPad to manage small group in main Zoom room and computer to manage the Zoom breakout rooms. This allows teacher to use the computer for managing breakout room while simultaneously instructing in another breakout room.

● Shift instructional language when students are reading or listening to text. See next page.

Comprehension (Continued)

Shifting talk about text (Clark, K.F. (2010). Shifting talk about text: Developing struggling readers’ comprehension process during talk about text. In J.L. Collins & T.G. Gunning (Eds.). Building struggling students’ higher level literacy: Practical ideas, powerful solutions. (pp.85-101). International Reading Association.)

• Select a challenging text that requires thinking and leads to the use of comprehension strategies

• Before reading text with students, read and identify places for inference, questioning, imaging, or summarizing and mark with sticky notes

• Initially, instructional language should *identify (the comprehension strategy), êxplain (what the comprehension is), and ~model thinking (For example: “ An *inference îs like a thoughtful guess we make from using clues that the author gives us and our own knowledge. ~Let me show you how I do this.”)

• For students with some experience, use less support. May still need to *identify the strategy and support its uses. Ask the comprehension question and help student to use text to answer the question.

• For students with more experience, teacher speaks less and states questions as: What strategy will we use to help us figure out …? What inference did you make about ….? What clues on the page make you think that? What information from your own knowledge did you use?

* indicates that text is purple, ^ indicates text is pink, ~ indicates text is blue.

Handwriting

The Unexpected Connection Between Handwriting and Learning to Read

The Effects of Handwriting Experience on Literacy Learning: Handwriting beats Keyboard Hands-Down!

6 Multisensory Techniques for Teaching Handwriting




Handwriting (Continued)

● Instruction online requires teacher to use a document camera to model on a whiteboard

● Students use a whiteboard and marker to begin practicing letter formation

● Student props iPad for teacher to view whiteboard and hand movements as letters are formed

DefinitionsFollow on Twitter

PodcastsAnnotated Bibliography of Books to Use

with StudentsAnnotated Bibliography of Informational Text


Other Resources

Part 4

Definitions

Phoneme - smallest part speech

Grapheme - spelling of phonemes

Morphology - smallest part of word or letter combinations that has meaning: visit Word Works (http://www.wordworkskingston.com/WordWorks/Home.html)

Graphophonic – relating speech sounds to letters or letter patterns


Follow on Twitter

@reading_league The Reading League (nonprofit organization)

@nellkduke professor of literacy, language, and culture, University of Michigan

@ReadingShanahan Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Ed, Chicago University

@ILAToday International Literacy Association

@FINRAFoundation American Library Association

@ABRAMSKids Book lists for graphic novels

Podcasts

Huberman Lab Podcast

Radio — Lois Letchford

Patricia Kuhl: The linguistic genius of babies

https://hubermanlab.libsyn.com

https://www.loisletchford.com/radio?utm_source=LL+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=2fee7b603c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_09_24_10_26_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f4fdc48544-2fee7b603c-220958740


Annotated Bibliographies of Books

Multicultural Books______________________________________________________

Abiade, F. et al. (2013). In Daddy’s Arms I am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers. NewYork, NY: Lee & Low Books. This collection of poetry has a mix of poems all focused on fathers. Theyrange from silly to serious and are written by African American men and women. I found the poemstouching and inspiring. The illustrations are colorful, inviting colleges that unify the poems.

Ada, A.F.(2002) I Love Saturdays y domingos. New York City, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks.This book is about a little girl, not yet 7, who spends time with her grandparents on the weekends. As thetitle shows, on Saturdays, she sees her father’s European-American English speaking parents and onSundays, she sees her mother’s Mexican-American Spanish speaking parents. Throughou.t the book thechild compares the English grandparents’ household and the activities they do together to the Spanishspeaking grandparents’ household and the activities they do together. The child speaks English onSaturdays and speaks Spanish on Sundays. On her 7th birthday, the whole family comes together tocelebrate.

Barber, B.E. (1998). Allie’s Basketball Dream. New York, NY: Lee & Low Books. This is a storyabout a girl named Allie who gets a new basketball from her Dad. They go to the courts to play and Allieisn’t making any shots. The boys who are playing basketball there then begin to tease and make fun ofher. One boy comes up to Allie and says the volleyball he has will be easier for her to shoot and scorebecause it's softer. He proceeds to make Allie a deal that he will trade her his volleyball and some trinketsfor her basketball. Allie reminds herself of her dream to play basketball one day. In the end sheperseveres and makes a great shot thus winning the approval and admiration of her friends, the olderboys, and best of all, her father. This book could be used to talk about perseverance and the unfortunatereality that girls do have to face in sports but how Allie overcame this. The author Barbara E Barbara getsher ideas from personal experiences, childhood memories, and things taking place in our ever changingworld.

Beaty, A. (2006). Ida Twist Scientist. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams. This story follows the maincharacter Ida on her inventing and scientific adventures. Ida often gets herself into trouble with thequestions she is asking and discouragement from others about her scientific thinking. She stays the coursethroughout the story and doesn’t give up her passion for experiments, critical thinking, and questioning.

Boelts, M. (2016). A Bike Like Sergio’s. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. This has several diversecharacters and teaches character education. It’s generically American and culturally neutral and exhibitsrespect, quality, and purpose.

Annotated Bibliographies of Books (Continued)

Multicultural Books (continued)__________________________________________

Brown, M. (2008). Pele King of Soccer. New York, NY: HarperCollins. This is a bilingual picturebook written in both English and Spanish. It’s a true story based on Pelé whose full name is EdsonArantes do Nascimento who played soccer for Brazil. The book shares how Pelé grew up playing with anewspaper ball in the streets of his town and often on an empty stomach. He was the first man in thehistory of the sport to score a thousand goals and become a legend that so many remember. This bookshows no matter where you come from or what you have you can make your dreams a reality byfollowing them. This is one that many students whose families speak Spanish in my class enjoy bringinghome and reading together along with when we read it aloud in class they enjoy reading the parts that arein Spanish.

Bunting, E. & Diaz, D., Going HomeSimilar to Grandfather’s Journey

Campoy, F. I. and Howell, T. (2016). Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed aNeighborhood. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers. All because of a little girl’s love fordrawing and a muralist who encouraged her to paint, they were able to encourage the town’s people totransform their town into a beautiful mural. The gray and drabbed streets of their town was revived bypeople of all kinds and connected through art. Campoy and Howell exemplified the beauty of acommunity uniting, despite many differences

Choi, Y. (2001). The Name Jar. Decorah, IA: Dragonfly Books. A Korean girl named Unhei moves toAmerica. When she is riding the bus to school the other kids ask her name. None of them can pronounceher name correctly. When she gets to class, she tells the class she doesn’t have a name and she will givethem a name the next week. The class decides to give her a jar and each student writes a name on a slip ofpaper for her to choose as her name. Unhei likes her name and after a letter from her grandmother inKorea she decides to teach her class her name.

Coerr, E. (1994). Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. London, UK: Puffin Books.This is a story about a girl named Sadako who was born in Hiroshima and who is athletic and has a zestfor life. Sadako becomes ill with leukemia, an aftereffect of the Hiroshima bomb when she was only twoyears old. She approaches Leukemia with a vibrant spirit. One of Sadako’s friends reminds her of theancient Japanese began of a paper crane that is supposed to live for a thousand years. If a person folds1,000 paper cranes, the gods will grant her wish and for Sadako that could mean making her healthyagain. After Sadako’s death, her classmates began to fold paper cranes to continue what she started. Theyalso raise money and create a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane in outstretched arms in HiroshimaPeace Park. Engraved on the base of the statue is their wish “This is our cry, this is our prayer; peace inthe world.” Although this book is very sad and can be a bit intense the message of courage, unity, andhope for generations to come are powerful.


Cooke, T. (2008). Full, Full, Full of Love. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. Every Sunday, Jay Jay and his family,uncles and aunties, cousins and friends all come for Sunday dinner at Grannie's. This book has a focus on thespecial bond between Jay Jay and his grannie.

Dayrell, E. (1990). Why The Sun And The Moon Live In The Sky. Boston, MA: HMH Books for YoungReaders. I judged this book for its purpose and it’s respect. Although this is a retelling of an African folklore, theauthor and illustrator use language and artwork that is both culturally relevant and it adds to the beauty of thehistory of African storytelling. I also measured the aspect of purpose. The culture adds to the story. It does notdistract from the story. The art work is appropriate and used in a respectful manner.

de la Peña, M. (2015). Last Stop on Market Street. NewYork, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for YoungReaders.Every Sunday after church, CJ and his grandma ride the bus across town. But today, CJ wonders why theydon't own a car like his friend. How come they always have to get off in the dirty part of town? Each question ismet with an encouraging answer from his grandma, who helps him see the beauty and fun in their routine and theworld around them.

Diaz, J. (2018). Island Born. New York, NY: Dial Books. Island Born follows a girl named Lola who needs todraw a picture about the country she is originally from for a school project but she does not remember much aboutwhere she was from since she left as a baby. She proceeds to interview different people in her family andcommunity so she can learn more about where she is from and why her family chose to leave.

Dorros, A. (1997). Abuela. London, UK: Puffin Books. Although not written by someone who is part of theHispanic culture, this story shows the relationship between a girl and her grandmother. A day in New York turnsmagical as they fly over the city, highlighting experiences like when her grandmother first came to the countrythrough Ellis Island. This book also features some Spanish text, so it’s a nice representation of what it’s like to be abilingual child.

Dungy, T. (2008). You Can Do It! New York, NY: Little Simon Inspirations. Linden, is a third grader who ishaving a bad day at school. Linden is the youngest of the Dungy family and the least motivated because he hasn'tfound "it." In a family where everyone seems to have found their special talent, all Linden knows is that he wants tomake people happy. With encouragement from his parents, and a helping hand from his older brother, Lindenlearns that if he dreams big and has faith, he can do anything!

Finch, M. and Finch, P. (2018). Phoenix Goes to School: A Story to Support Transgender and Gender DiverseChildren. Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. This is a picture book written by and about a seven yearold transgender child entering school and working through the anxiety, worries and conflicts associated with genderidentity differences in modern society. The tone and perspective allow the reader to empathise and feel some of theturmoil and discomfort surrounding the protagonist of the story, as she navigates public school. This books giveslanguage for children and parents to use in different situations, with a positive empowering attitude about being nongender conforming.



Flett, J. (2013). Wild Berries. Vancouver, BC: Simply Read Books. Wild Berries tells the story of aCree boy named Clarence who goes blueberry picking with his grandma. Children interested in animalsand nature will likely enjoy this story, as Clarence observes a spider, a fox, and birds. Beautifullyillustrated, Wild Berries includes Cree words in the body of the story as well as a pronunciation guide atthe back of the book. Finally, Flett gives a recipe for wild blueberry jam!

Fox, M. (2006). Whoever You Are. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers. Every day all overthe world, children are laughing and crying, playing and learning, eating and sleeping. They may not lookthe same. They may not speak the same language. Their lives may be quite different. But inside, they areall alike.

Fox, M. (2018). I’m an Immigrant Too. San Diego, CA: Beach Lane Books. This book has aninteresting perspective of immigrants in other parts of the world. It provides insight as to why they movedto Australia and fled their various countries.

Gerlach, E. (2018). Ben's Adventures: Day at the Beach. Philadelphia, PA: CharleyHouse Press.This is a picture book based on a boy named Ben who loves being outdoors, spending time with hisfamily and uses a wheelchair for mobility. I especially love this book because it shows a child with adisability who is a child first. The focus of the story is that Ben loves the beach, the sun, being outdoorsand finding sea creatures instead of being about how he navigates the world in a wheelchair.

Greenfield, R. (2015). Round is a Tortilla. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.Thong is an exampleof a multicultural picture book in Bishop’s (1992) distinctive experiences within a cultural groupclassification because the book has beautiful illustrations and Spanish words translated into English,while incorporating geometry concepts of shapes including circles, triangles, squares and ovals within thecontext some Mexican-American lives. This picture book is unique because it incorporates mathematicaland geometric concepts into the story of social activities.

Haack, D. (2018). Prince & Knight. New York, NY: Little Bee Books. This book challenges thetraditional fairytale love story of a prince finding his bride. Instead, when a dragon threatens the princeand his royal kingdom, a brave knight arrives to slay the evil beast. As it turns out, the knight also slayssome major stereotypes, and by winning over the prince’s heart, shows that sometimes princes like to findtheir knight in shining armor too. Recommended for: Elementary School.



Havill, J. (1990). Jamaica Tag. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers. This story is about ayoung African-American girl who wants to go with her brother to the park after he makes plans with hisfriends. He proceeds to tell her no because she is bothersome, as is the case with all siblings, but shesneaks out to her bike and goes to the park anyway. While she is there, she plays in the sandbox andbecomes "annoyed" by another child that is wanting to play with her. As the story progresses she realizesshe is behaving in the same way as her brother and decides to include the young child in her play. I findthis book to fit the multicultural category based on what I read in the article, "Black Kids Don't Want toRead About Harriet Tubman All the Time." The writer pointed out that more books need to includecharacters that are non-white, but still share in the same experiences that many kids have; in this case:having a sibling that is bothersome and wanting to exclude them from their activities.

Hoffman, M. (1991). Amazing Grace. New York, NY: Dial Books. An African American girl lovesstories. She pretends to be all the characters she hears about. Her school is putting on a play Peter Pan.She wants to be Peter but she’s a girl and she’s black, as her friends tell her, so she can’t. Her Ma andNana tell her she can be anything she put her mind to.

Hoffman, S. (2014). Jacob’s New Dress. Park Ridge, IL: Albert Whitman & Company.This is a children’s picture book about a boy named Jacob who loved to play dress-up with his friend at school.Jacob decides he wants to wear a dress to school, but the other kids tease him for wearing “girl clothes.” In the endJacob feels empowered and uses his voice to stand up for himself. I feel this book is an important one because it notonly breaks traditional gender roles, but it sends a message and sparks discussions for children about celebratingand respecting individuality.

Hopkins, D. (2002). A Band of Angels. New York, NY: Aladdin. This piece of historical fiction is based on thelife of Ella Sheppard, a talented pianist and singer, who was born a slave. Her father was able to purchase herfreedom when she was a girl. Then at 15, she went to Fisk School for former slaves. She was part of the JubileeSingers who traveled into the North to raise money to keep the school from closing. The Jubilee Singers from FiskUniversity carry on this tradition of bringing their music to audiences throughout the country. Winner of the GoldenKite Award.

Hopkinson, D. (2019). Carter Reads the Newspaper. New York, NY: Peachtree Publishing Company. CarterReads the Newspaper is about Carter G. Woodson, an African American, who is not well known. The picture bookis a sequential biography of Carter’s life from growing up with very little money to obtaining a doctorate in History.He ended up being the 2ndAfrican American to receive a doctorate from Harvard, started Black History Week, andwrote about black history.



Howard, E. F. (1991). Aunt Flossie’s Hats (and Crab Cakes). Boston, MA, New York, NY: ClarionBooks. This multicultural book is written by an African-American author who portrays the strongintergenerational relationships in families. Two girls, Sarah and Susan have a special afternoon ritual ofvisiting their Great-great- aunt Flossie. As the girls try on her hats, she has a story for each one. The girlseven join in telling the very last best Sunday hat story.

Jordan, D. (2003). Salt in his Shoes (picture book). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books forYoung Readers. Written by Michael Jordan's mother, Deloris Jordan describes her son's dreams as hegrew up and his eventual successful basketball career. This book would typically appeal to young boysdue to its main subject, but all children can benefit from this depiction of one of the best knownbasketball players as he focuses on growing up (literally; I tried to make a pun about him growing taller.I'm sorry) and the role his parents played. The message is universal as it preaches family values and theimportance of hard work in this African American household.

Khan, R. (2010). Red Lollipop. Westminster, London, England: Viking Books for Young Readers.This story is about a family who immigrated to Canada from Pakistan. This story is told from Rubina’spoint of view and she gets invited to a birthday party. Her Mom doesn’t know what a birthday party is butshe says Rubina can go as long as she brings her little sister Sana. Rubina is upset about this because shetried to tell her Mom they don’t do that here. During the party Sana demands to win every game leavingRubina embarrassed. This story depicts sibling rivalry, cultural differences, and encourages discussionsof different birthday traditions. The author Rukhsana Khan is a Pakistani Canadian children’s writer andstoryteller, her books have opened the doors for children of all cultures to connect with cultures of Easterorigins.

Kamkwamba, W. and Mealer, B. (2012). The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. New York, NY: DialBooks. This is a great multicultural book to share with children of all ages. William Kamkwamba tells hisstory of living in Malawi with his family and the hardships they faced during the drought, not havingenough money for food and having to dropout of school. William studies science books from the libraryand uses scraps from the junkyard to build a windmill and bring electricity and water to his home. Thedepiction of characters and their relationships are believable. The setting is natural in relation to thecontent and vividly describes what it was like living through a drought and not having enough food to eat,let alone money to buy shoes or pay to go to school. The theme is universal in showing perseverance andfinding creative solutions can help us overcome even extreme hardships.



Le. M. (2018). Drawn Together. White Plains, NY: Disney-Hyperion. Many readers will connect toDrawn Togetherespecially if they have any relatives that they are unable to communicate because of alanguage barrier. The main characters are forced to spend the day together in silence since they do notspeak the same language that is until they discover they have a passion for drawing and begin tocommunicate through their drawings.

Ledyard, S. (2019). Home is a Window. New York, NY: Neal Porter Books. A family learns whathome really means, as they leave one beloved residence and make a new home in another.

Lofthouse, L. (2007). Zibz Came on a Boat. San Diego, CA: Kane/Miller Book Pub. Based on trueevents and explains what it’s like to leave a place your from to a new place you’ve never been to. It’sculturally specific and exhibits accuracy, respect, purpose, and quality.

Look, L. (2006). Uncle Peter’s Amazing Chinese Wedding. New York, NY: Atheneum Books forYoung Readers. Narrated by the protagonist, Jenny, Uncle Peter’s Amazing Chinese Wedding is a livelystory about a girl who is struggling with feelings of sadness and jealousy during her favorite uncle’swedding. The story moves at a quick pace, Jenny’s voice is unique and engaging, the characters aremulti-dimensional, and readers are given insight into Chinese cultural traditions practiced by Jenny’sfamily, including how some of these traditions have changed over time.

Lyons, K. S. (2017). Jada Jones Class Act. Westminster, London, England: Penguin Workshop.Jada Jones Class Actis the second book written by Kelly Starling Jones. It’s an easy read chapter bookabout a 4thgrade African American girl, Jada Jones, who was afraid to run for student council classrepresentative mainly because of past failures. Jada is challenged for the position by one of herclassmates, Miles. There were clashes with Jada’s friends and Mile’s friends, especially RJ. With the helpof her friends, practice, and positive thinking, Jada ended up giving a wonderful speech. She won thecontest.

Nolen, J. (2007). Thunder Rose. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers. An American folk talefeaturing the incredible strength and courage of Thunder Rose. Thunder Rose is a resourceful child thatspeaks for birth, has the power to control thunder and lightning, and the strength to bend steel. This is agood example of a multicultural book because it has a female hero of African American decent whenmany American folk tales feature white males. Thunder Rose is not a damsel in distress and easilysubdued bulls, outlaws, and tornadoes.

Martinez-Neal, J. (2018). Alma and How She Got Her Name. Somerville, Ma: Candlewick. This bookdives in the traditional names that many latin American Children have. It goes through each name thatAlma was given and which family members that her parents respected enough to give her their names.



McKissack, P. (1986). Flossie & the Fox. New York, NY: Dial Books. This has an accurate representation of thetime period. The main character outwits a sly fox and baits him from their first meeting. This story has been handeddown for generations in the author’s family, making her an expert.

Mendez, S. (2014). Separate is Never Equal (picture book). New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams. Post- Brown v.Board of Education, this autobiographical picture book follows Mendez's fight to join a segregated school inCalifornia. Not only is this a true story that teaches students about a time in American where segregation was highlyprevalent, I think it's important to show that this applied to all peoples of color. Although the previously stated courtcase is often discussed in conversations about the Civil Rights movement and attributed to African Americans, thisplaces a spotlight on how Puerto Rican and Mexican people were also affected by segregationist laws. However, italso brings forth the theme of perseverance and fighting for equality and justice, a great message to incorporate intomulticultural literature.

Mochizuki, K. (2010). The Passage to Freedom. Washington, D.C.:National Geographic School. The Passageto Freedom is written from the point of view of the son of a Japanese diplomat in Lithuania during WWII. The storyaccounts how Hiroki Sugihara wrote hundreds of visas for Jewish Lithuanians despite orders from the Japanesegovernment. This is an example of a good multicultural book because it is written by a Japanese author with theguidance of Hiroki Sugihara himself , ensuring its accuracy(he even contributes the afterword). It also portraysJapanese individuals in a positive light when many stories set in the same time do not.

Mora, P. (2000). Tomás and the Library Lady. Decorah, IA: Dragonfly Books. This book is about a young boyand his family who are migrant workers. While working in Iowa, Tomás is given permission to visit the library sothat he can satisfy his hunger for new stories. The library lady befriends him and supplies him with wonderfulbooks that peak his imagination and grow his love for reading. In turn, Tomás teaches her Spanish. Winner of theTomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award. This book particularly interested me because Mr. Riverawas the Chancellor at UC Riverside when I was a student there.

Morales, Y. (2015). Nino Wrestles the World. New York, NY: Square Fish. This book could be relatable tomany of the Latin American monsters. Such as La llorona and the momias de guanajuato to name a few. This bookis ideal for younger readers to be able to connect with the stories their families share with them.

Morales, Y. (2018). Dreamers. Milanville, PA: Neal Porter Books. In this beautifully illustrated book, the author,Yuyi Morales, tells her own immigration story when she left her home in Mexico and came to the US with her son.She shares her experiences of moving to a new country, not knowing any English and missing her family andfriends back at home. However, soon after she steps into a public library for the first time, she is mesmerized by allthe books that are available to her and soon finds her “place” in a foreign land. The major themes of this book arehope, courage, and change. Students who have immigrated to this country or have experienced the challenges ofmaking a home in a new place will most likely be able to relate to this story.



Move, O. (2018). Thank You, Omu! New York, Ny: Little, Brown and Company. The author was inspired inlife by strong female role models like her Grandma who she called Omu. Omu means "queen" in the Nigerianlanguage of her parents. In this story, Omu makes a delicious, thick red stew that brings visitor after visitor to herdoor. Omu shares all of her stew throughout the day till she is left with none for herself. Yet, her generosity with hercommunity brings her happiness and love in the end.

O’Brien, S. (2018). I’m New Here. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge. This story introduces Jin, Fatimah, andMaria, all students who have just immigrated to the United States and are beginning school. The narrator is no onein particular, but all three newcomers at the same time. They go through the story talking about the struggles theyare having adjusting to a new language that includes reading, writing, and speaking. The characters shift from beingscared to becoming more comfortable in their new setting over time with the help and encouragement of theirteacher and classmates. The story also shows that as students are struggling to fit in with one another, they alsofigure out that they can learn from one another.

Penfold, A. (2018). All Are Welcome. New York, NY: Knopf Books for Young Readers. This book hasinclusivity and diversity of this book. It illustrates many kinds of children, from different backgrounds from all overthe world. I think this is a great book for many young children who can use this book as a mirror. Penfold takesgrand concepts and does a good job at simplifying her message.

Pitman, G.E. (2017). When You Look Out the Window: How Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin Build a Community.Washington, DC: Magination Press. This book celebrates the contributions and activism of one of SanFrancisco’s most prominent lesbian couples, Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin. The book also provides valuableLGBTQ historical context and explains the importance of teaching the history of this culture.

Pollaco, P. (1992). Rechenka's Eggs. London, UK: Puffin Books. This is an example of Bishop’s (1992)culturally specific classification picture book because the story includes details about traditional Russian arts andculture. This fictional picture book provides Russian vocabulary words within the context of the story, along withbeautiful illustrations of painted eggshells. A sweet friendship is forged between an elderly woman and a goose thatprovides eggs for her to paint.

Polacco, P. (1994). Mrs. Katz and Tush. Decorah, IA: Dragonfly Books. This is a heartwarming story of afriendship that develops between an elderly Polish immigrant woman and a young African-American boy. Noticingthat Mrs. Katz is lonely after her husband has died, her neighbor, Larnel, asks her to adopt one of the kittens that hefound in the basement of his building. She agrees with the condition that Larnel will help her take care of thekitten. He spends more and more time with Mrs. Katz and finds that he enjoys listening to her stories about comingto America from Poland and all the good times that she shared with her husband. Over time, Larnel grows to loveMrs. Katz and shares a special connection with her. This story is written by an author whose parents are ofUkranian and Russian descent on one side and of Irish descent on the other. The story has universal themes offriendship, compassion, and acceptance. It also incorporates various Yiddish vocabulary, and the characters arebelievable and show depth” as stated as a score of 3 in the multicultural literature rubric, referenced in the article byLori G. Wilfong.



Polacco, P. (2001). Thank You, Mr. Falker. New York, NY: Philomel. This story describes thestruggles she experienced firsthand as a result of her dyslexia. The story details her frustrations withreading as well as her resourceful ways of compensating for her disability. Unfortunately, her challengeswith dyslexia also brought on bullying from a classmate, who constantly belittled Trisha (PatriciaPolacco) for learning differently.

Polacco, P. (2001). The Keeping Quilt. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books.This shares Russian Jewish traditions and portrays characters that are proud of their heritage. It’sculturally specific and exhibits, accuracy, respect, purpose, and quality. Hula Hooping Queen by ThelmaGodin. This story follows a girl living in inner city New York as she interacts with her communitythrough Hula Hooping. She is in competition with the neighborhood girls and places this before takingcare of chores related to a party for an older neighbor. Once at the party multiple generations findcommon ground through hula hooping. This is a close read that I do toward the end of the school year.

Queen Rania of Jordan Al Abdullah. (2010). The Sandwich Swap. White Plains, NY: Disney-Hyperion. This compares and contrasts characters that are best friends. It’s culturally specific andexhibits accuracy, author’s expertise, respect, purpose, and quality.

Quintero, I. (2019). My Papi Has a Motorcycle. New York, NY: Kokila. The story is based on theauthor’s childhood memory of her daily ritual of riding on the back of her father’s motorcycle. Sherecalls all of the smells, sounds and sights of her immigrant neighborhood in Corona, California as theyzoom by the Tortilleria la Estrella, her abuelita’s church, Joy’s Market, the disappearing lemon trees thatonce grew in abundance in her town and the people of her community, like Mr.Garcia, the librarian, andher classmate, Mercedes Lopez. She realizes that as her neighborhood is slowly changing, her love forher father will always remain the same. The major themes of this book are a girl’s love for her father andher neighborhood, family, and change. This is a great mentor text for descriptive writing as it includessome figurative language such as onomatopoeia, personification, metaphors and some great “spicy”verbs. The illustrations remind me of those you might find in a comic book with speech bubbles pepperedthroughout the pages. I believe this book is culturally relevant to many of my Spanish speaking studentsas there are many Spanish phrases in the book, the book is written by an author from the culture beingdepicted, the setting is realistic and natural, and the themes portrayed in the book are universal.

Rawles, C. (2010) Same Difference. Los Angeles, CA: Artist Calida. Two cousins named Lida andLisa love to play with each other. They wear the same pink dress and everyone says they look like twins.When they look in the mirror, they notice that they don’t have the same skin color or hair. They ask theirgrandmother about the differences and she explains that everyone has different skin, but no one is betteror worse.




Ringgold, F. (1996). Tar Beach. Decorah, IA: Dragonfly Books. This rich book is a magical story that tells of agirl from Harlem who goes to the rooftop of her building, Tar Beach, with her family to eat and enjoy the summerevenings. While there, Cassie takes flight over the city and claims the bridge and neighboring buildings for herself.She says that her flight makes her, “free to go wherever I want for the rest of my life.” This book is a CaldecottHonor book.

Robinson, C. 2019). Another. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.This picture book displays children of color and children with disabilities. It also allows for different interpretationsof reality, and each student can view it through different lenses.

Saeed, A. (2019). Bilal Cooks Daal. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. This storywritten by a Pakistani-American author is about a six year old boy from a South Asian (most likely Pakistani)family who introduces his friends to his favorite dish called “daal.” His friends have never tried it and it takes avery long time to make. As the day moves on, more and more of his friends are waiting to try this new dish. Bilal isexcited but he is also worried that his friends may not like the dish. The themes of this book include the value oftrying something new, sharing, community and teamwork. I think many students and not only those who may comefrom a South Asian country will relate to this story as I’m sure many of them have experienced sharing a part oftheir culture and traditions with others. I, for one, who grew up in Japan, loved to introduce the traditional Japanesedelicacies to my American friends, but also remembered feeling a little nervous and hesitant about doing so as I wasoften worried that they might not like it or think that it was “gross.”

Say, A. (2008). Grandfather’s Journey. San Anselmo, CA: Sandpiper Grandfather’s Journey is written from agrandson’s point of view describing the adventures of his grandfather when he left Japan. This is an example ofgood multicultural book because it is written by a Japanese author, Allen Say, who is writing about his actualgrandfather. His grandfather has traveled the world and met interesting people, but loves both Japan and California.

Shetterly, M. L. (2018). Hidden Figures (picture book). New York, NY: HarperCollins. While also a completenovel and film, there is a picture book version that appeals to a younger audience, lower level readers, and secondlanguage learners. The story follows 4 African American women and their journey as "computers" for NASA in the1960s. This book doubles as both multicultural literature and a true story that promotes gender equality and the fightto overcome adversity. It depicts the struggles that African American women fought through prior and during theCivil Rights movement but also gives hope to those with the grit to push forward and succeed no matter your raceor gender.

Soto, G. (1993). Too Many Tamales London, UK: Puffin Books. Maria and her family are making tamales.Maria put on her mother’s ring while making tamales and the ring is lost. She and her cousins eat all the tamales tofind the ring, with no luck. She goes to talk to her mom and her mom is wearing the ring. The family has to makemore tamales.

Soto, G. (1998). Big Bushy Mustache. New York, NY: Knopf Books for Young Readers.Big Bushy Mustacheis about a young boy, Ricky, who didn’t like the way neighborhood adults made commentsabout him looking like his mother. When his teacher showed the props they were using in the Cinco de Mayo play,Ricky chose the mustache to look more like his father. Instead of leaving the mustache, Ricky took it home to showhis parents. Ricky lost the mustache on the way home and tried to solve his problem by making another one. In theend, Ricky’s father looked like him, since he shaved his mustache for Ricky to take to his teacher.



Smith, M. G. (2017). You Hold Me Up. British Columbia, Canada: Orca Book Publishers Dedicated to thechildren, families, and staff of Aboriginal Head Start programs, You Hold Me Up is a concise, warm picture bookthat gives examples of ways children and their adult caretakers can support one another. The book is written andillustrated by women of Native Canadian heritage, features Native characters, and could be used to help buildcommunity in classrooms. In an author’s note, Smith provides brief historical context for her book and her goals inwriting it.

Steptoe, J. (2016). Radiant Child: The Story of Young Artist Jean- Micheal Basquiat. New York, NY: Little,Brown Books for Young Readers. "This award-winning picture book biography for the elementary grades is aremarkable introduction to the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and the concept of self-expression in art." This book isabout the childhood and life of Puerto Rican-Haitian American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Written for youngchildren, it celebrates Basquiat's art and traces the early steps of his artistic formation, as he makes his way to beinga famous artist.

Tarpley, N.A. (2001). I Love My Hair! New York, Ny: Little, Brown and Company. This is an example ofBishop’s (1992) distinctive experiences of being within a cultural group classification because the narrative hi-lightsa young African-American girl’s experiences with her daily hair care regime. The narrative story describes anddepicts her experiences with brushing, combing, braiding and styling her hair, which is often arduous and painfulfor the girl. The overall tone is acceptance and celebration of African-American hair and conveys authentic culturalexperiences with a positive attitude. This picture book values the experience of what girls with naturally curly hairexperience and create an uplifting story.

Winter, J. (2008). Wangari’s Trees of Peace. San Diego, California: Harcourt Children's Books. This is a truestory about a young girl from a village in Kenya who becomes concerned about the growing deforestation of herhomeland. She sees the negative effects of this and decides to start planting seedlings, first in her backyard, and thenlater enlists local women to help her plant more trees in her village. The first woman to earn a Ph.D. in East Africa,she also started the Green Belt Movement Kenya in 1977 where she helped to plant thirty million trees by the year2004. A Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Wangari Maathai, is an inspiration and a role model for all those younggirls out there . She instills the value of perseverance, strength, and the belief that one small act can bring aboutgreat change.

Woodson, J. (2018). The Day You Begin. New York, NY: Nancy Paulsen Books. This is such a beautiful bookto read aloud at the beginning of the school year. This book eloquently illustrates the worries of being different andfinding the courage to connect, despite the fear you feel from within. I love how Woodson does not focus from oneculture’s point of view. There was a boy named Rigoberto from Venezuela who feared the way his words curl fromhis mouth. A little girl who worries about her strange lunch that she loves. A little girl who could not relate to herpeers who traveled in the summer. In the end, she connected these characters as they connect with something sosimple.

Woodson, J. (2001). The Other Side. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers. In a ruralsmall town there is a fence that segregates the African-American side of town where Clover lives from the whiteside of town where Anna lives. The girls become friends, sitting on top of the fence together despite their parentswarnings that the other side is not safe. Woodson states that she wrote this book because she wanted to show how

f l kid b



Varadarajan, G and Weeks, S. (2016). Save Me a Seat. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.This is an excellent example of a multicultural book. I have shared it with fourth and fifth graders in book clubs,and it always results in engaging discussions. Save Me a Seat is a story told from the point of view of two verydifferent characters, Ravi (who has just moved from India) and Joe (who has lived in the same town his whole life)Just like the main characters, the authors also have different backgrounds. Varadarajan has only recently moved tothe United States from India, and Weeks has lived her entire life here. In reading this book, students (and teachers)learn about the Indian culture and the many challenges children from other countries face in today's world whencoming to the U.S. Ravi and Joe come together in the end to fight their common enemy.

Verde, S. (2018). I am Human. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams.This book shows that it’s okay to make mistakes while also emphasizing the power of good choices by offering akind word or smile or by saying “I’m sorry.”

ABC Books/Books to Begin On____________________________________________

Bass, J.V. (2015). Edible Numbers. New York, NY: Roaring Book Press. Photographs to depict the number oneach page. The number one is used on each left hand page with a new picture to show one of that fruit or vegetable.Each right hand page shows pictures of the same kind of fruit or vegetable but in the next number succession.Example: One apple on the left hand page and 3 different apples, of different varieties, on the right hand page, or 1pear on the right hand page and 6 – one of each variety of pears on the right hand page. Twelve is the largestnumber.

Bridwell, N. (1984). Clifford’s ABC. New York, NY: Cartwheel. I think the book is good because ithas a page dedicated to each letter (except a few) with multiple items on the page that begin with theletter. The words are next to the pictures. This would be a better text for children who have already beenintroduced to the alphabet because there are multiple items on the page, not just one or two, whichrepresent the letter. I like how a few pictures for the letter Kk are with the silent k spelling to give thekids that introduction. Teachers can have this book as a writing resource for students.

Carle, E. (1999). Eric Carle’s ABC. NewYork, NY: Grosset & Dunlap. I like this book for toddlers.There are capital and lowercase letters on one side of the page and pictures with a word to match on theother side. This is great for those beginning readers and writers. Kids would be able to use the book towrite common words in stories like monkey and lion.


ABC Books/Books to Begin On (Continued)__________________________________Carle, E. (1969). The Very Hungry Caterpillar. London, UK: Puffin Books. The illustrations are excellent. Thereis repetitive text. I love how the page gets bigger as he eats more and more food. Kids like how the caterpillar eats'normal' people food. Most of Eric Carle's books are beautifully illustrated, have information or a message, and aregreat for early readers.Ginsburg, M. (1972). The Chick and the Duckling. New York, NY: Aladdin Paperbacks. by Mirra Ginsburg :-)This book has clear pictures. There are just a few words on each page. There is repetition of some words throughoutthe book. There are two pages side by side with no words where children can say their own words. My own kidsloved this book when they were young.

Litwin, E. (2010). Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes. New York, NY: HarperCollins. This book is repetitivefor beginning readers. The illustrations are great. The song is catchy. My students sing the song even when notreading the book. All the Pete the cat books I have read are great for early readers because they teach a message andhave the songs.

Martin, B. and Archambault, J. (1989). Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. San Diego, CA: Beach Lane Books. Ilike this book because it can be read in a singing voice and it is repetitive. I like the illustrations. This book is astory not just a picture book with letters and pictures. This is better read as a read aloud. However, kids can havefun looking at the pictures and pointing to the letters.

Mayer, M. (1995). Little Critter ABC. New York, NY: Random House Books for Young Readers. I think thisbook is good for the younger audience. There are a letter, word, and picture on each page. The illustrations arehelpful to find the image to match the word.

Powell, S. (2013). ABC. New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press. It has cute little fingerprint animals. Each animal isclearly pictured on one page. After the introduction of the animal, there are short sentences under each picture todescribe the animal or describe what it does. Suitable for ages 0+

Sobel, J. (2003). B is for Bulldozer. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company. This alphabet book is notrecommended for a very young child because there is more to the pictures. Objects on the page can be identified,but harder for very young. There are words that rhyme on each page. The author shows the construction of anamusement park. It kind of tells a story. The alphabet letter featured on each page is in color compared to the rest ofthe letters in black print.

Seuss, Dr. (1963). Dr. Seuss's ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book!. New York, NY: Random House Books forYoung Readers. I think this book is good because it has a page or two dedicated to each letter. The pictures go inorder with the words and are not next to the picture it represents. This is better for children who are already readingand sounding out words.

Willem, M. (2009). Pigs Make Me Sneeze. New York, NY: Disney Book Group. This is just one of many booksby Mo Willem. There are speech bubbles to help kids understand the talking in the book. The pictures are verysimple. There is a layout where there are no words, so emergent readers can add their own words. It’s aboutfriendship, too.

Willem, M. (2007). My Friend is Sad. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children. This book teaches weread as we speak. We can use different voices to make the characters come alive. Plus this book shows feelings andhow to cheer up a friend. I like the Piggy and Elephant books by Mo Willems.


Fairy Tale Variations__________________________________________________

Cinderella

Coburn, J.R. (2000). Domitila. Auburn, CA. Shen’s Books. This story also has beautiful pictures.These pictures depict Mexico and the culture. The story is young girl who cooks in the governor’smansion. Timoteo, the governor’s son who was selfish and arrogant fell in love with Domitila. Domitilaleft the mansion when her mother got sick. She ends up living with her new stepmother and stepsister.Timoteo searched for her without knowing how to find her. He only had a piece of leather from her shoethat she had made. He learned about himself on the journey. By the time he found Domitila, he hadbecome a kind man. They got married and lived in the mansion.

Climo, S. (1996). The Korean Cinderella. New York: Harper Collins. In The Korean Cinderella, ourmain character is named Pear Blossom. The paintings of Korean culture will help children who are notfamiliar with Korea to learn about the culture and visualize the details of the story. When Pear Blossom’sstepmother doles out impossible tasks, Pear Blossom cries out, “Will none in this world help me?” Inresponse, a tokgabi appears to aide her. A tokgabi is a goblin that sends a frog, sparrows, and a black oxto help Pear Blossom. On her way to the village’s festival, Pear Blossom is spied by the magistrate who istaken by her beauty and retrieves the sandal she leaves as she flees the roadside.

Cole, B. (1987). Prince Cinders. New York: Putnam Group This version reverses all the gender roles.It’s a humorous version that would appeal to primary elementary school students. Prince Cinders is theone who needs to defeat his 3 hairy brothers, instead of Cinderella wishing for being saved from her 2mean stepsisters. Prince Cinders is trying to win the heart of a princess, instead of Cinderella wishing towin the heart of a prince. In place of a glass slipper, there are a pair of trousers that the princess uses tofind the man who fits them.

Grimm, J., Grimm, W. (1945). Grimms’ Fairy Tales. (Lucas, E.V., Crane, L., &Edwardes, M., Trans.). New York, NY: Grosset & Dunlap. (Original work published 1812).Cinderella. This is the first Cinderella story I read and/or heard read to me. There are no illustrations. Inthis 1945 translation, a bird that lives in the tree planted at her mother’s grave grants Cinderells’s wishes.For each day of the festival, she was given a beautiful robe and shoes (not glass, but gold for the 3rd day).When the first stepsister tried on the shoe, she cut off her toe to make it fit. The second stepsister cut offher heel. It ends with birds picking the eyes out of the stepsisters. I think it’s gory for kids.


Fairy Tale Variations( Continued)_________________________________________

The Three Little Pigs (continued)

Lowell, S. (1992). The Three Little Javelinas. Flagstaff, AZ: Rising Moon Books. The setting for thisversion is in the desert. The javelinas made their houses out of tumbleweed, cactus sticks, and adobebricks. The Big Bad Wolf is a coyote. The coyote went down the stove and burnt his tail and was neverheard from again.

Matsuoka, M. (2012). The Three Little Pigs. Bath, England, UK: Parragon. This version has pull-outpages and flip ups. In this story, the pigs build their house of straw, sticks, and bricks. After the wolf triedto blow down the brick house, he gave up, and the three pigs lived happily ever after.

Schwartz, C.R. (2012). The Three Ninja Pigs. NewYork, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for YoungReaders. A shift on the classic fairy tale and has boy versus a girl pig characters as well as martial artsaction. The book is written in a rhyming prose and introduces each pig as practicing a specific type ofmartial arts. The first boy pig learns aikido, the second learns jiu jitsu and the third pig, who is female,practices karate. The story details the first and second pig not committing to practicing their martial arts,and not achieving mastery. Meanwhile, the third pig, who is their sister, practices for months andbecomes a master of karate. When the big bad wolf comes, the first and second pig’s homes are destroyedand they run to their sister’s house. She defends all of them against the wolf by scaring him away withher powerful karate forms. The three pigs decide that Ninja’s rule and open a karate dojo together. Theclothing of the characters in this variation are quite different than the classic, as they are all wearingmartial arts uniforms. The author is relaying messages about working hard, exercising discipline, thepower of girls to defend themselves and others, as well as family standing together in hard times.Goodness is equated to working hard and staying focused. This is a fun adaptation of the classic fairytale.

Scieszka, J. (1989). The TRUE story of the 3 little pigs by A.Wolf. London, UK: Puffin Books. In thisversion, the Big Bad Wolf is showing his side of the story. It has humor that might go over the youngerchildren’s head. In this story, the wolf had a cold and the sneezes. He just wanted to borrow a cup ofsugar for a cake he was making, but every time he sneezed another house would fall and land on the piginside. It is a shame to waste freshly squashed pig, so the wolf had no choice but to eat them.


Fairy Tale Variations( Continued)_________________________________________

The Three Little Pigs (continued)

Teague, M. (2013). The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf. Londan, UK: Orchard Books.This is a fun and silly variation on the classic fairy tale because the wolf is depicted as a sympatheticcharacter. The three pigs are portrayed as selfish, buying their housing materials, potato chips and sody(soda) pop. The wolf’s illustration makes him appear benign as he comes to town looking for dinner. Heinnocently tries the donut shop, hot dog stand, and pizza parlor, only to be rudely turned away by all threerestaurants. The wolf was left with little choice but to try to eat the three pigs. After he blew down thefirst and second pig’s houses, the pigs scooter and bike to the third pig’s house. The somewhat bad, butnot all that bad, wolf is even hungrier and exhausts himself trying to blow down the brick house. The pigsshow empathy toward the wolf and offer him potato chips. The wolf decides to stay for dinner and aswim. There are no clear cut good or bad characters in this version. Instead, goodness shifts based oneach character’s actions. The smartest pig in this tale is a girl pig, while the first and second greedier pigsare boy pigs. The setting of the brick house looks like a vacation home and the ending is happy for thepigs and the wolf showing kindness towards each other.

Trivizas, E. and Oxnbury, H. (1993). The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. New York, NY:Margaret K. McElderry Books. This version is the reverse story of the Three Little Pigs where the Pigin this story is the bad guy. This story is a little longer than the others, but it gives another view of thestory. The wolves lived together in a brick house, concrete house, and finally a home with barbed wire,iron bars, armored plates, and padlocks. The pig broke into every one of those houses. So the wolves builta house of sweet smelling flowers. As the pig huffed and puffed, he also smelled the flower and decidedto be a good pig. The wolves and the pig became friends and played together.


Nonfiction Books/Online Links________________________________________

Baid, A. (2019). How to Draw: Easy Techniques and Step-by-Step Drawings for Kids. RockridgePress: Rockridge Press. This book is an example of a good sequence-based informational text. The bookteaches readers how to draw a variety of objects and concepts using specific and easy to follow step-by-step written directions. Readers are further supported by guided illustrations. In addition, the bookintroduces field related vocabulary such as mass, shape, and detail, while defining the terms in relation todrawing. The book also utilizes a wide range of examples to support readers in grasping and applying theskill that is being taught. In this book, the illustrations may even become the primary source ofinformation for many readers, making this book a unique and very meaningful example of what aneffective expository text can be.

Berger, M. Life in the Rain Forest. (A Ranger Rick Spectacular Book). Massachusetts: NewbridgeEducational Publishing. Berger researched for the information in this book. Berger gives a briefdescription of tropical rainforests. This children’s book is full of photographs depicting some animals,insects, and plants of tropical rainforests. There are inset pictures with either a red or yellow border. Theinset pictures give a name or a few facts about the animal/s featured on the page. There is an index at theend with a world map at the top showing the locations of tropical rainforests.

Bryant, J. (2016). Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille. New York, NY: Knopf Books for YoungReaders. This is a wonderful example of a literary nonfiction book. It is a picture book biographytaking us through the fascinating and inspiring life of Louis Braille, a blind French boy who created asystem of reading and writing for the visually impaired. This book is written in a narrative format, andthe illustrations help tell the story and engage the reader. The author includes facts about Braille as wellas expressing his thoughts and feelings in a way that will keep readers interested. This book has anexcellent message about overcoming obstacles, and also the power of determination and perseverance.

Chin, J. (2017). Grand canyon. New York, New York: Roaring Brook Press. This informational textdescribes the plant and animal life that lived past and present in the Grand Canyon. As a father anddaughter journey from the bottom of the canyon to the top, the author describes the ecologicalcommunities at each elevation and how the layers of rock were formed. Chin acknowledges the expertsthat he interviewed in researching for the book. The organization of this book supports children inunderstanding big concepts about how the canyon was created over billions of years. The illustrationsdraw the reader in and complement the text. The diagrams are visible representations of the geology ofthe canyon. This book is designed for elementary children who would like to learn about the GrandCanyon. It was a 2018 winner of the Orbis Pictus Award.

https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-Techniques-Step-Step/dp/1641521813/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=how+to+draw&qid=1563081408&s=books&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1


Nonfiction Books/Online Links (Continued)_________________________________

Ehlert, L. (2014). The Scraps Book: Notes from a Colorful Life. San Diego, CA: Beach Lane Books.An autobiography of children’s book author and illustrator Lois Ehlert. She describes her childhood loveof art and books. The book details her path to becoming the author and illustrator she is today andincludes her process for creating children’s books: from gathering ideas, writing the text, to illustrating.She tells the reader about collage-making and how she creates the illustrations with this technique. Weare treated to photographs and Ms. Ehlert’s art throughout the book. This book is well organized andincludes a narrative that runs throughout the book along with labels that provide additional informationassociated with each of the photos/collages. The style is bright and inviting and the text and illustrationscomplement one another. This is an Orbis Pictus recommended book.

Gibbons, G. Weather Forecasting. New York: Aladdin. Gibbons researched and obtained informationfrom the National Weather Service to write this book. This children’s book structure is a sequential cycle- seasons of the year. Much of the vocabulary is in a sentence as a caption supported by a drawing/s. Themain text describes the weather and the jobs of weather forecasters.

Jenkins, S. (1997). Biggest, Strongest, Fastest. Boston, MA: HMH Books for Young Readers. A bookabout world record holding animals. It is a picture book with simple text and striking illustrations createdwith layered, textured paper. The clever layout encourages turning of the page by extending the biggestand longest animals beyond the two-page spread to a third page. In addition to the text that indicateswhich record the animal holds, there is a smaller more detailed description of the animal in the cornerwith a small illustration that offers a comparison to help the reader grasp the size, weight, speed, etc. Thisbook is sure to delight young children. The back of the book contains a table that summarizes eachanimal, the record it holds and basic information about the animal. The book’s attractive style, clearorganization, and fascinating facts make it an appealing book.

Gray,K. (2016). Nadia: The Girl Who Couldn't Sit Still. Boston, MA: HMH Books for YoungReaders. This is an informational text about the gymnast Nadia Comaneci. She grew up in a small townin Romania and often had a difficult time with self control. She was enrolled in gymnastics and that wasan outlet for her movement. She competed in the 1976 olympics.

Kalman, B. (2007). Wetland Food Chains. New York, NY: Crabtree Publishing Company. Theauthor describes the plants and animals that live in the marsh and make up the different levels of the foodchain. Towards the end it also explains problems that are threatening life in the marsh and how readerscan help protect them. The organization is from general to specific. First, describing the wetland habitatand food chains and then focusing on the freshwater marsh and the plants and animals in that food chain.This text also highlights many text features like table of contents, headings, subheadings, diagrams,glossary and index. There is a combination of photographs and drawings that are engaging andcomplement the text.



Kelly, S. (2017). My Journey to the Stars. New York, NY Crown Books for Young Reader. Anamazing autobiography of his early life and work as an astronaut. The book includes colorful illustrationsas well as real photographs. The language and style is interesting and captured my attention immediately.This is a very good informational book and would be a strong contender for the Orbis Pictus award forit’s authentic first-person voice, creative style of using illustrations and photographs, historical andscientific content.

Markle, S. Can You Believe? Hurricanes. New York: Scholastic Inc. Markle researched and obtainedinformation from meteorologists and other specialists. She describes hurricanes and things about them forchildren. There are photographs and pictures to support the text. There are “Try it Yourself” experimentsfor kids to do. The text is written in different fonts, colors, and sizes. Some pages have a border. Somepages have an inset multiple choice quiz. The answer to the quiz is the topic of the next page. There arealso “Did You Know” insets of facts. There is a glossary mixed with the index at the back.

Markle, S. (2012). The Vanishing Golden Frogs A Scientific Mystery. Minneapolis, MN: MillbrookPress. This informational text is a scientific mystery. It presents the mystery of the vanishing Goldenfrogs in Panama. It then takes the reader through the process of eliminating possible causes that might bekilling the frogs. Next, it describes the preservation work and research that is being done to solve theproblem and protect the frogs. The author acknowledged interviewing scientists that did the research andthe photographs are from National Geographic and not only complement the text, but also document theprocess. Another great feature of this book is a glossary and lists of books and websites at the back of thebook that readers might use to continue reading about the topic.

Marsh, L. (2012). Caterpillar to Butterfly. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.Laura Marsh has written over 30 non-fiction books for National Geographic’s Readers Series. One of herbooks, Tigers is featured in Lucy Calkins’ Unit of Study, which is a reading and writing program. Thebook has beautiful pictures of caterpillars, butterflies, and all the parts in between. The text is accurateand matches the picture shown.

Selsam, M.E. (1982) Cotton. New York: William Morrow & Co. The author has authority with abachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in botany. The book was checked for accuracy by theUnited States Department of Agriculture research botanist. Selsam begins by giving some history aboutcotton. Photographs support the author’s text. Then the author tells about the developing cotton plantfrom seedling to harvesting to the factory. Photographs support the different stages of growth, picking,ginning, and the textile factory. The text structure is a sequential pattern with easy to read sentences forabout 4th/5th grade students. Students that live in the Central San Joaquin Valley of California see a lot ofcotton fields.



Silverstein, A., Silverstein, V., & Silverstein Nunn, L. Allergies. New York: Franklin Watts. Themain author has authority with his title and job as a biology professor in New York. This children’s bookhas who, what, when, and how type questions the authors answer. The text is written in different fontsand color for new vocabulary, captions, and inserted notes. There is a glossary, index, and a listing ofonline sites and books to learn more. Photographs and drawings support the text.

Spilsbury, L. (2010). Jellyfish (A Day in the Life: Sea Animals). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. This isan informational text about plants and jellyfish It has all the elements of an informational book. It teachesall the basic components of informational texts such as table of contents, glossary, diagrams, maps, andlabels.

Thompson, L.(2015). Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah. New York,NY: Schwartz & Wade. This is a biographical story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah. He was born with adisability with one of his legs. He was determined to support his family and attend school despite thedifficulties his disability caused him. He persevered in his studies and helping his family. He then becamea cyclist and cycled across Ghana to bring awareness and support for those with disabilities.

Twist, C. Rains to Dams. This is a “Hands on Science” book with projects to do with water. Mr. Twistresearched for the information in this book. He tells about water from raindrops to properties of water todensity and surface tension to the water stored by dams. It has pictures and drawings to support the textdescriptions and directions. The headings and subheadings each have a background color for textorganization. The main headings have a teal background, subheadings in a light blue background,experiment headings have a yellow background, and the quiz headings are red. There is a glossary at theend


Elements of Art and Design_________________________________

Bang, M. (2018). When Sophie Thinks She Can’t… New York: Blue Sky Press The illustrations in thisstory are dominated by color and line. The gouache art style of bright colors enhances the tone of thestory. The color blue is used for math shapes. The people in the illustrations are outlined with curvedlines of color depending on the tone depicted by the text. At the beginning Sophie has a solid red outlineto show she’s having problems in her inability to make a square with the blue tangram pieces. The redand yellow surrounding the words “I can’t” and the red line of small waves over her bent back show herfrustration and crying. When she goes to school, she has a green outline like all the other students to showshe’s open to learning. The teacher has a yellow outline to show her brilliance. The teacher has thestudents do some work, so the illustrations show all the students with an orange outline. The teacher drewblue shapes on the board for a math problem. Sophie is outlined in blue to show her feelings of sadness,lack of confidence with doing Math. When Sophie is with her math partners, they are all outlined in redto show the frustration they have. As they work through the problem they are outlined in orange. Then allthe students in the class are outlined in orange to show they worked it out and learned something new.Sophie has a yellow outline when she walks home from school to show her happiness. In the end, her dadis outlined in yellow with Sophie to show the happiness in being able to solve problems. The endnotes atthe beginning show separate blue tangram pieces and a blue tangram square. The endnotes at the backshow a blue tangram square and other blue tangram shapes that look like different animals using thetangram pieces.

Dealey, E. (2002). Goldie Locks Has Chicken Pox. New York: Aladdin. The illustrations in this storyhelp support the text as well as tell the story. The text is imperfect regular with illustrations done in oilpaint. The retro artistic style was done using primary colors with a white background throughout themajority of the book. Straight lines as stripes and/or dots are used on every page of the book including theend pages. Dots on clothing and decorations emphasize the chicken pox in the house. The color red isdominantly used to draw attention to the red chicken pox. Intense red and white tile with a broken redchair is used in the Three Bear’s kitchen. Less intense red is used for Little Bo Peep when she’s lookingfor her sheep in the bedroom. Little Red Riding Hood has her intense read hood when she stopped by.The illustrator contrasted intense primary colors with less intense primary colors to keep the reader’sattention.


Elements of Art and Design (Continued)_________________________________

Fleischman, P. (1999). Weslandia. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. The art and design of this book make thestory come alive. The type set of Tempus San ITC suggests fun and imagination. The acrylic colors and shapes areused for underlying meaning. At the beginning of the story, school just got out. The vibrant color used for Wesley’sclothes depict his brilliant mind in contrast to the neighborhood kids who wear darker shades of blue and red andlive in one of two styles of white houses. The neighborhood kids pick on Wesley, but his confidence is shown byhis brilliance. After Wesley’s mother said, “He sticks out.” His father said, “Like a nose.” The picture on the pageshows the long oblong shape of his father’s nose. Wesley grew a “garden” of very tall plants with very differentbright red flowers and fruit. As Wesley became more comfortable in “his” land, he began wearing neutral coloredclothing. In Contrast, the neighborhood kids are now depicted in bright clothing to show their curiosity of Wesley’sgarden. The neighborhood kids visit Wesley a lot and played his games with him in Weslandia. The colorfulWeslandia contrasts with the neighborhood of white houses with grey roofs. A contrast is made with theneighborhood kids becoming “civilized” in the new civilization of Weslandia compared to the beginning when theywere tormentors. In the end as they go back to school, Wesley has a lot of friends depicted by everyone wearing theneutral clothing they had made in Weslandia. The endnotes show shapes for symbols of a “new” alphabet. Theillustrator gave a clue in the endnotes by showing a shape of a triangle with stick-like arms and a head like a crownon one side of the endnote page. The other side of the endnote page shows the same picture, but it has a circlearound it. The king of Weslandia went from being alone to being whole with all his friends.

Foster, J. & Paul, K. (1995). Monster Poems. England: Oxford University Press. The cartoon style illustrationsin this book support the poetry with humor and a underlying story is shown. The story starts on the title page byshowing a scaly green monster with spikes on its back and head. The artist and illustrator are in the monster’smouth trying to hold it open, so they don’t get eaten. The next two pages are the copyright page and the table ofcontents. The same monster is shown much larger and its mouth wide open (A whole page is used for the head andmouth.) with the author and illustrator’s hands sticking up out of its red throat. Yellow words of the table ofcontents are on the black background of the monster’s mouth. The big white uneven teeth border the table ofcontents. The monster has a watch on its wrist as do at least one monster for each poem. The watch symbolizes theillustrator’s humor of not having enough time or keeping the time as he draws. The last page shows a small drawingof the illustrator at the top wearing a watch and holding the quill pen he uses to make his lines. He’s tired and wornout from so many monsters as shown by the texture of his face with overgrown whiskers and his round eyes withsweat dripping down. He’s looking down at the last monster of the book.

The illustrator shows different texture made with different line designs throughout the book. Curved lines makescales on monsters. A lot of small squiggly lines make a hairy monster. Long lines together and strayed give hair itswild texture on monsters and people. The soft texture of the bunched up blanket on the bed is showed with manylong curved lines. The texture on a bathroom wall is showed with the horizontal lines of squares and rectangles. Themany circular lines show the chaotic texture of the monsters of junk. Small curved lines are used to show feathersgrowing on a person’s face. Each page has a white border. The monsters are emphasized on the pages. Some pagesare symmetrical, but most are asymmetrical. Panels are used on some pages to help move the reader through thepages. To add some scariness, white typeset on a black background is used.



Hemingway, E. (2012). Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship. New York, NY: Puffin Books.Art Elements: Oil and Canvas. This tale is about an apple named Mac whose best friend is a bookworm namesWill who lives inside of him. Will teaches Mac new things and finishes his sentences. Other apples say Mac isrotten because of Will, so Will leaves. But Mac just doesn’t feel right without his best friend Will. Mac knows hewould rather be a “Bad Apple” with will than a sad apple without him.

Jeffers, O. (3013). The Day the Crayons Quit. New York, NY: Philomel Books. The book is mainly epistolary innature in which the reader reads a letter from each different color crayon explaining why they quit. The letters arewritten in the handwriting typically seen from a child and is written in that specific color. Accompanying the letteris a picture that features that particular colored crayon such as a red fire truck with Santa Claus, or a purple wizardwith a purple dragon. The lines are coarse and jagged, scribbled to emulate the same coloring style of a young child.Additionally, the complaint of each crayon can be seen in each picture such as the red crayon complaining aboutbeing used too much (the picture is scoured with red) or the purple crayon not staying inside the lines. The writtenletter complaints are complemented by the pictures shown, so the reader is able to both read and visualize thethoughts of each crayon.

Keller, H. (2007). Help! A Story of Friendship. New York, NY: Harper Collins Children’s Books. ArtElements: Collograph and watercolor. This story follows Mouse, who heard from a friend of a friend that Snakeisn’t really Mouse’s friend. Mouse is so busy fearing Snake that he falls into a hole. All Mouse’s other friends aretoo big to get Mouse out. But not Snake. Snake helps Mouse, and then Mouse feels silly for listening to the gossip.

Miller, P. (2018). Be Kind. New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press. Art Elements: Watercolor. This story is aboutwhat being kind means. In the beginning, Tanisha spills purple juice on herself. All the other children laughed butone. That one doesn’t know what to do, just that her mom told her to be kind. So she says, “Purple is my favoritecolor,” which didn’t help. The girl thinks about what she could have done to help Tanisha. She thinks of what itmeans to be kind. Is it making cookies? Is it letting others have shoes that are too small for her? Is it helping,cleaning, or paying attention? Maybe it’s listening? Or making a picture for someone who is sad? Maybe it's thesmall things that add up to something bigger.

Silverstein, S. (1964). The Giving Tree. New York, NY: Harper & Row. This book is drawn with simple,colorless pen drawing and black and white text on each page. As the book goes on, the little boy is drawn older andolder until he is an old man sitting on the stump. The tree, too, changes throughout the book, giving away herapples, branches, and trunk to the boy. The pictures relate to the text on each page, demonstrating the boy's needsand the tree's giving nature as time moves on. The black and white design scheme match the simplicity of the storyand is likely done to not draw away from the book's message. The text is spaced out and limited on each page,ranging from a few phrases of dialogue to a single phrase, often the latter proceeding the first to demonstrate timepassing and the tree slowly digressing into a deep, longing sadness.

Timbaland. and Myers, C. (2019). Nighttime Symphony. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.The pictures in this book begin with dark blues and blacks to match the stormy atmosphere. This is heavilycontrasted by the lighter colors (especially yellows) that are detailed either inside the home or outside via the brightstreet lamps. This is likely to match the narrative where the father tells his son that he is safe from the wild storm.The brightness from various objects provides a sense of safety and suggests a "light at the end of the tunnel" idea.This is especially apparent when the boy imagines angels in the sky in bright white and yellows and blues makingmusic. There are few words on each page as if the storm was swallowing up the text. The book has endpapers witha robin-blue sky versus the dark night in the beginning.



Timbaland. and Myers, C. (2019). Nighttime Symphony. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for YoungReaders. The pictures in this book begin with dark blues and blacks to match the stormy atmosphere.This is heavily contrasted by the lighter colors (especially yellows) that are detailed either inside thehome or outside via the bright street lamps. This is likely to match the narrative where the father tells hisson that he is safe from the wild storm. The brightness from various objects provides a sense of safety andsuggests a "light at the end of the tunnel" idea. This is especially apparent when the boy imagines angelsin the sky in bright white and yellows and blues making music. There are few words on each page as ifthe storm was swallowing up the text. The book has endpapers with a robin-blue sky versus the dark nightin the beginning.

Tang, G. (2003). Math-terpieces: The Art of Problem Solving. New York, NY. Scholastic Press. Theillustrations in this book support the math challenge written as a rhyming poem. Balance and proportionare shown on every page. Each left hand page has a photo of a famous painting bordered in white on thetop half of the page. The bottom portion of the left hand page has a large illustrator’s created display typeset heading for the poem. The same display type set, but smaller font, is also used for two key words inthe poem. The right hand page is balanced by the arrangement of the groups of objects and space betweenthem. The objects are related to something in the famous painting on the left hand page. For example,Claude Monet’s painting of White Water Lilies is shown on the left hand page. The right hand page showsdifferent sized groups of water lilies. Some lilies are smaller and some are larger to keep balance on thepage.Different art styles are shown in the book – impressionism, post-impressionism, pointillism, fauvism,cubism, surrealism, abstract expressionism, and pop art.

Uchida, Y. (1993). The Bracelet. London: Puffin Books. The watercolor illustrations in this storyenhance the text by creating mood. The contrast of straight lines behind Emi and the curved lines onEmi’s face soften her and make her more life-like. The straight vertical lines on Emi’s dress and in herhome at the beginning of the story, and on the bridge in the middle of the story show stability. Thebuildings and chain-link fencing where Emi and her mother are forced to live show no stability with thehorizontal lines. The blue color of Emi’s coat, shown on the front cover and in the middle of the story,produce a somber mood in the reader. The yellow backgrounds used near the beginning of the story whenEmi’s friend gives her a bracelet and near the end when she realizes she doesn’t need the bracelet buildthe happy moments. The complimentary colors of the red and green clothes on Emi with a yellowbackground on the last page suggest with serene warmth that she still has her memories of her loved onesto make her happy in the camp.

Wright-Frierson, V. (1999). A North American Rain Forest Scrapbook. New York, NY: Walker andCompany. This book is about Virginia, the author, who takes a trip to visit a rainforest in Washington.She uses watercolor in the illustrations to show her point of view of the forest trees, plants, and creatures.


Books Related to One Historical Book_________________________________

Civil Rights

Coles, R. (2010). The Story Of Ruby Bridges. New York, NY: Scholastic. Young Ruby Bridgesmoves to New Orleans and is forced to go to an all white school. Parents don’t want their kid to go to thatschool anymore because of her. This is the story of what she went through.

Levinson, C. (2017). The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young CivilRights Activist. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Audrey Faye Hendricks was theyoungest child arrested during a civil rights protest in Birmingham Alabama in 1963. She grew up andtold her story.

Meltzer, B. (2014). I Am Rosa Parks. New York, NY: Dial Books. The story of Rosa Parks’s life in achild’s perspective. Rosa Parks was a strong willed African American. She fought for what she wantedand for what is fair. She started the bus boycotts in 1955.

Meltzer, B. (2014). I Am Martin Luther King Jr. New York, NY: Dial Books. The story of Dr. MartinLuther King Jr. in a child’s perspective. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader during the civil rightsmovement. He lead peaceful marches and had many speeches, including “I Have a Dream”

Parks, R and Haskins, J. (1999). Rosa Parks : My Story. London, UK: Puffin Books. Another RoseParks book written by Rosa Parks herself. This tells the story of her life in her own words.


Books Related to One Historical Book_________________________________

Civil Rights

Coles, R. (2010). The Story Of Ruby Bridges. New York, NY: Scholastic. Young Ruby Bridges moves to NewOrleans and is forced to go to an all white school. Parents don’t want their kid to go to that school anymore becauseof her. This is the story of what she went through.

Levinson, C. (2017). The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, a Young Civil RightsActivist. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Audrey Faye Hendricks was the youngest childarrested during a civil rights protest in Birmingham Alabama in 1963. She grew up and told her story.

Meltzer, B. (2014). I Am Rosa Parks. New York, NY: Dial Books. The story of Rosa Parks’s life in a child’sperspective. Rosa Parks was a strong willed African American. She fought for what she wanted and for what is fair.She started the bus boycotts in 1955.

Meltzer, B. (2014). I Am Martin Luther King Jr. New York, NY: Dial Books. The story of Dr. Martin LutherKing Jr. in a child’s perspective. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader during the civil rights movement. He leadpeaceful marches and had many speeches, including “I Have a Dream”

Parks, R and Haskins, J. (1999). Rosa Parks : My Story. London, UK: Puffin Books. Another Rose Parks bookwritten by Rosa Parks herself. This tells the story of her life in her own words.

Reluctant Reader Books______________________________________________

Arnold, T. (2005). Hi! Fly Guy. New York, NY: Scholastic.Arnold, T. (2006).Shoo Fly Guy. New York, NY: Scholastic.Arnold, T. (2009). Super Fly Guy. New York, NY: Scholastic.Arnold, T. (2016). Fly Guy Presents: Snakes. New York, NY: Scholastic.Fly Guy books are popular among the boys. The books are about a boy and his pet fly.Colandro, L. (2008). There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell!. New York: Cartwheel Books.Colandro, L. (2012). There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Rose!. New York: Scholastic Inc.Colandro, L. (2014). There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Frog!. New York: Cartwheel Books.Colandro, L. (2019). There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Birthday Cake!. New York: Cartwheel Books.These books and many others rhyme and are humorous. Each of these is about an old lady that eats. Kids gethooked!

Shannon, D. (1998). No David!. New York, NY: Blue Sky Press.Shannon, D. (1999). David Goes to School. New York, NY: Blue Sky Press.Shannon, D. (2002). David Gets in Trouble. New York, NY: Blue Sky Press.Shannon, D. (2005). Oh David. New York, NY: Blue Sky Press.Shannon, D. (2005). David Smells. New York, NY: Blue Sky Press.Each story talks about a little boy named David who is usually making a bad choice. No matter the bad choices hemakes, his mom still loves him.


Graphic Novels___________________________________________________________

Bliss, H. (2009). Luke on the Loose. New York: Raw Junior, LLC. This book is about a young boy chasing pigeons in New York’s Central Park.

Gownley, J. (2008). Amelia Rules! The Whole World’s Crazy. Harrisburg, PA: Renaissance Press.This book is about a nine year old girl named Amelia who moved from New York. She’s living with her Rock Star aunt and her mom, because her parents divoreces. In this book, she’s dealing with life as the new kid in town.

Gownley, J. (2010). Amelia Rules! Superheroes. Harrisburg, PA: Renaissance Press. This is the fourth book about Amelia where she found a box of photos and learns from them.

Gownley, J. (2008). Amelia Rules! When the Past is a Present. Harrisburg, PA: Renaissance Press.This is the fourth book about Amelia where she found a box of photos and learns from them.

Lewis, J. (2013). March Book One. Georgia: Top Shelf Productions. This book is a historical fiction about John Lewis growing up and getting involved with the Civil Rights movement.

Poetry Collections___________________________________________________

Multiple Authors

Kennedy, X.J., Kennedy, D.M. (1982). Knock at a Star: A Children’s Introduction to Poetry. Boston, MA. Little, Brown & Co. This poetry book is a collection of short poems by various artists as well as anonymous ones. The book was specifically made to use with children.

Bruchac, J. & London, J. (1992). Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back: A Native American Year of Moons. New York, NY. Philomel Books. A picuture book of poetry form of Native American legends. It’s illustrated by Thomas Locker.

Single Author

Dahl, R. (2003). Revolting Rhymes. London, UK: Puffin Books. The poems in this book have to do with various fairy tales. Each one tells what happened after the happily ever after.

Prelutsky, J. (1984). The New Kid on the Block. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books. There are over 100 poems in this book about random things, such as having an alligator as a pet, eating a dinosaur, a bouncing mouse and more.

Annotated Bibliographies of Literary Works

Oral Language Development_____________________________________________________

Honig, A.S. (2007). Oral language development. Early Child Development and Care,177(6&7), 581-613.

Honig specifically breaks down oral language into five domains: phonemes, syntax, semantics, morphemes, and pragmatics. She mentions the importance of socializing as an infant, beginning from the listening to speech sounds of caring adults. Vocabulary occurs in spurts in the young child. Receptive vocabulary occurs before expressive vocabulary. Rhymes are important at a young age for reading success later.

Kuhl, P.K. (2004). Early language acquisition: Cracking the speech code. Neuroscience, 5, 831-843.This article mentions the use of technology to observe brain images Kuhl mentions social interaction between adult and child is necessary. She mentions that it is important during the 0-8 month age for babies to hear the speech sounds of language. Children can develop a second language at this time, too.

Emergent Reading and Writing__________________________________________________

Ouellette, G., & Senechal, M. (2008). A window into early literacy: Exploring the cognitiveand linguistic underpinnings of invented spelling. Scientific Studies of Reading, 12(2), 195-219.

This study was done to show how other parts of language development along with invented spelling can help understand the progression children make with early literacy skills. The authors explained there are components involved with invented spelling, not just letter-sound knowledge. They described each of the following components: phoneme awareness, phonological working memory, awareness of orthographic rules, and vocabulary and knowledge of morphology. They used 115 English speaking children in Canada and used several different kinds of tests and measures, including questioning educational level of parents, before giving a list of words to spell. The components of phoneme awareness and letter-sound knowledge were found to be the most related to invented spelling, but phonology and morphology also play a role.

Reutzel, D.R. (2015). Early literacy research: Findings primary grades teachers will want to know. The Reading Teacher, 69(1), 14-24.

The author made points about teaching specific topics and supported those points with research. The topics inthe discussion are handwriting, rhyme and reason, alphabet letter names, concept about print (CAP), writingworkshop, and text structure. Handwriting instruction helps kids develop legible writing and speed, so they canfocus on higher cognitive learning and write about what they learned. Blending, segmenting, and manipulatingphonemes with students develop phonemic awareness, better than using rhyme and alliteration. Before teachingthe alphabet, it’s better to teach the “drawing” of straight lines, curved lines, diagonal lines, intersection of lines,and when/where to stop a line. Twelve minutes a day is all that is needed to teach a new alphabet

Annotated Bibliographies of Literary Works

Understanding Reading and Writing________________________________________

Minnery, A., & Smith, A. (2018). Close sentence reading to foster decoding & comprehension.The Reading Teacher, 71(6), 743-748.

The article suggests using close sentence reading (CSR) to help students decode and comprehendcomplex text. It suggests taking up to 5 sentences of a complex text and rereading them several timesfor a desired purpose. To help CSR take only 5-10 minutes, the article suggests using the Decode,Reread, Ask questions, What do you know? (DRAW) procedure. In the Decode step the teacher writesthe excerpt from the complex text onto a chart paper. As she writes, she reads giving direct instructionfor decoding as necessary. The Rereading step is just that. The teacher uses her finger under the wordsas everyone reads. Asking questions is the 3rd step. The teacher uses 2 different colored markers tomark words, one color for hard words to decode and the other for hard words to understand.

Lin, S., Monroe, B., & Troia, G. (2007). Development of writing instruction in grades 2-8: Acomparison of typically developing writers and their struggling peers. ReadingResearch Quarterly, 23, 207-230.

This article discusses the study done showing the differences in Typical Writers and StrugglingWriters in 2-8 grade students. Middle school Typical Writers have the cognitive growth compared to2nd grade Typical Writers. The gap between Typical Writers and Struggling Writers gets larger asstudents get older. There is a definite pattern of growth from self to global.

Williams, C. (2017). Learning to write with interactive writing instruction. The ReadingTeacher, 71(5), 523-532.

Williams discusses the observations of a teacher’s use of interactive writing in one classroom. Theobservations and data collected support previous research – interactive writing can be a balanced wayto teach young writers encoding and writing process. Williams went into detail about 6 themes thatoccur during interactive writing – resources for writing topics, characteristics of genre, monitoringmeaning and sustaining composing, understanding orthography, word solving, linking instruction toindependent writing

Regan, K. and Berkeley, S. (2012). Effective reading and writing instruction: a focusOn modeling. Intervention in School & Clinic. 47(5), p.276-282.

This article focuses on giving explicit modeling for effective reading and writing instruction tolearning disabled or at-risk students. It mentions that cognitive strategies can be modeled asprocedural knowledge, conditional knowledge, or declarative knowledge to help studentsunderstand the why, how, and what strategy to use. Strategies to model mentioned in the articleare think-alouds, summarizing after reading, using the Self-Regulated Strategy DevelopmentModel (SRSD) when writing. The authors made a point that teachers should reflect after amodeling using the following questions: Did I specifically model when to use the strategy andwhy? Did I explicitly model how to use the all the strategy steps? Did I model how to beflexible with strategy selection and application? Fictional vignettes were given to help teachersunderstand different situations when modeling.

Duke, N., Purcell-Gates, V., Hall, L., & Tower, C. (2006). Authentic literacy activities. TheReading Teacher, 60(4), 344-355.

This article was about a 2-year study with 2nd and 3rd grade students using authentic reading andwriting to help develop literacy. An authenticity rubric was made to grading the purpose of an activityand the texts used for the teaching science and procedures. Examples of different types of activitieswere given with rubric scores to show the differences in authenticity.

Kuhn, M., & Stahl, S. (2013). Fluency: Developmental & Remedial Practices—Revisited. InAlvermann, D., Unrau, N., & Ruddell, R. (Eds.). Theoretical Models and Processes ofReading, 6th edition (pp. 385-411). Baltimore, MD: International Reading Association.

The article was somewhat interesting and almost confusing. (The part about infants using prosodiclanguage was new for me.) The authors reviewed a lot of research to find that reading fluency can beimproved for students at the end of 1st-3rdgrade fluency stage for increased comprehension by readingwith assistance (model reader). Reading instructional level texts or frustration level with assistancewith practice and support works best. Slow but accurate readers improve with segmented text,segmented by phrases.

Martell, C., & Watson, P. (2016). Project-based learning: Investigating resilience as theconnection between history, community, and self. Voices From The Middle, 23(3),10-16.

This article of project-based learning helped me to view someone else’s way. Martelli and Watsonwere very thorough on explaining the process. They suggested school support and collaboration withteachers as ways to make problem-based learning successful. They also said it takes time, so thoseimplementing should start small. In order to make it an authentic experience, teachers need to use real-life problems to motivate the students. The authentic experience will promote deep thinking as theyare challenged, too.

Digital Literacies and 21st Century Skills__________________________________

Bergeson, K., & Rosheim, K. (2018). Literacy, equity, and the employment of iPads in theclassroom: A comparison of secure and development readers. International Journal ofEducation in Mathematics, Science, & Technology, 62(2), 173-181.

This study compared six 6th grade readers and insecure readers in using iPads to read adopted sciencecontent materials. The data collected came from meeting with individual students in a quiet room for30 minutes on 3 separate days, and 2 hours of classroom observations. The students responded to“What are you thinking about your reading?” verbally at anytime during their reading. The securereading provided 38 responses during reading compared to the insecure reading of providing 3responses. The secure readers also provided 19 responses after reading while insecure readers onlyprovided 11. The authors give suggestions for teachers to support the struggling readers by usingdifferentiated texts on the iPad, bundling texts (text sets?) to spend more time in a content area andincrease knowledge across texts, teach the use of hyperlinks, and using the highlighting and notetaking tools on the iPad. Teachers need to plan to scaffold these students.

Annotated Bibliographies of Literary Works(Continued)

Beschorner, B., & Hall, A. (2017). Taking a closer look at yourinformation writing instruction. The Reading Teacher, 71(5), 597-600.

This article begins with a kindergarten teacher teaching informational writing. It suggests looking atwhat approaches and tools we use to teach. The author gives suggestions of enhancing a classroomenvironment. Some suggestions are a providing a variety of texts, reading aloud, teaching textstructures, and helping students to write in other content areas. The final area of discussion is usingdigital tools when writing. The authors provide a table of Digital Tools for informational Writing. Thevarious tools listed can be used during the different stages of the writing process. Sharing writing in anauthentic way can be done digitally, too.

Creating Conditions for Engagement and Independence________

Baskin, N. (2017). Helen Keller, Annie Sullivan, Mr. Thomsen, andMe, Nora Raleigh. Voices From the Middle, 24(4), 28-29.

This article is Nora Raleigh Baskin’s short story about how she came to love reading and writing. Sheis the author of What Every Girl (except me) Knows. When Nora was in middle school, she found thebook The Story of My Life by Helen Keller in her school’s library and read it. She became connectedto Helen and motivated. She then began collecting more books, stolen from the school library, to addto her home collection.

Annotated Bibliographies of Literary Works(Continued)


Frequently Asked

Questions

Part 5

Frequently Asked Questions