My students need Reading Rainbow DVDs to replace our VHS tapes. We also need a set of headphones to use with our iPads to listen to student created book reviews.
Shh, don't tell anyone, but I have the BEST job ever! I've been the Teacher/Librarian at my school for the last five years. I can spend my whole day sharing my love of reading and books with my students. I'm going to use every tool I can to capture their attention.
My school is located in an urban environment with a diverse student population with diverse needs to match.
Many, many children have families who model reading at home, and provide them with access to lots of great books. Other students are not as lucky, and need more of a lure to get "hooked" on books. Whether it's because of time constraints, language, or lifestyle, some kids are not getting the message from home about the importance of reading. If it doesn't happen at home, then it is vitally important that we are successful at school in inspiring them to become readers.
My Project
Reading Rainbow is a time tested magazine/documentary style children's program that has encouraged the love of reading in children since the 80's. The program promotes reading as a way for children to "sample the world around them". This programming includes a section where children of all colors, races and ethnicities talk about their favorite book. It is a powerful message for children to see kids who look like them excited and enthusiastic about books. After viewing several Reading Rainbow episodes, I would like students to work on their own "book talk" about their favorite book. We can record these book talks on our library iPads, and share them with other students using the headphones that we are asking for. Peer to peer book recommendations are a powerful way to encourage students to become readers.
The Reading Rainbow is an excellent resource.
Kids are also so very excited about using the iPads that I have in the library. The combination of the excellent videos on DVD, using the iPads to create our own book talks, and headphones to listen and share our reviews will guarantee that these books are irresistible to our kids. I can't wait to get my students to the point where they are creating and sharing their excitement about books using the iPads.
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