Dog-Ears: March 2015
Slackwood' s Literacy Newsletter
Save the Date! Our next Family Literacy Night will be March 20th at 6:30pm! See you there!
What IS Family Literacy Night?
What are Kids Reading these Days Anyway?
We are dedicating this month's issue of Dog-Ears to what's new in children's literature. We hope that the links to some fabulous sites! Here are our pics for go-to resources for finding books that both you and your kids are guaranteed to adore!
We hope that you make the time to come and check out the upcoming Family Literacy Night. We will dig into even more resources and ways to encourage lifelong reading habits!
What Kids are Reading (and LOVING!) The best books for your kids!
Picture Books
Picture books are like tiny traveling art museums. The artwork and beautifully written words stay with children & adults alike, teaching empathy, silliness and creativity in a take along package. Here's a list of the best of 2014:
Fiction Picture Books-
https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-picture-books-2014
Our earliest readers rely heavily on the pictures for many reasons:
-Pictures tell the story as much as the words do
- Looking and wondering about the pictures before reading activates prior knowledge- what your child already knows or connects to in regard to his/ her reading
-Pictures are opportunities for your child to make deeper meaning of character's emotions, to infer meaning about the story's plot, to predict what will happen and to wonder all about the story. They are IMPORTANT!
Early Reading Series
Not all "Early Reading" books are great quality. Although parents and kids are drawn to these books because they tend to include favorite characters and are high interest, they can lack meaning and kids do not always find them as interesting as regular picture books. Finding "Easy Readers" that are also rich in quality can be tricky. Here's a list of great picks!
From Bank Street- Their Best-Of List for children's books ages 2-9-- A great resource!
From Growing Book by Book (a FAVORITE site to check out!)
favorites for kids as voted on BY kids!!
http://growingbookbybook.com/2014/12/22/favorite-picture-books-kids/
Non-Fiction Choices and Books On-Line
What can be more exciting than finding out all about real life animals, mind blowing outer space ideas and far away people and places? If you tap into your child's non-fiction interests you will find a treasure trove of books for them to explore!
Also, here is a recap of favorites FREE online libraries of books kids really want to read (promise!)
Epic Books- now available on pc, tablet & phone!!
We Give Books-
Unite for Literacy- books read in many languages, perfect for developing readers
uniteforliteracy.com
Great Reads:
Mr.Popper's Penguins
Little House in the Big Woods
The Trumpet of the Swans
Charlotte's Web
*Pretty much anything by the wonderful Kate DiCamillo
FEATURED PICTURE BOOK of the MONTH:
Check out the official book trailer here!
Thanks for Checking Out Dog-Ears! Mrs. Wallauer & Mrs. Kapp
Contact info
Email: mwallauer@ltps.org
Location: Slackwood Elementary School, Princeton Pike, Lawrence Township, NJ, United States
Phone: 609-671-5580
Twitter: @Mwallauerteach