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NBC News will convene the largest gathering of teachers from across the country for the second-annual nationally televised “Teacher Town Hall.” This special event will be held on Sunday, September 25th, and broadcast live on MSNBC at Noon/ET. Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of “NBC Nightly News,” will moderate the discussion with help from MSNBC’s Tamron Hall, who will facilitate questions from the audience. NBC News’ Chief Education Correspondent Rehema Ellis will be moderating and reporting an online conversation with teachers across the country during the two-hour live event. The program-for and about teachers- will focus on the most important challenges and opportunities facingRead More →

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Scholastic and Fiskars have teamed up to provide a $1000 gift card to one lucky teacher! Along with the super simple sweepstakes entry form (Upload your school supply list and you are entered), they have made fun lesson plans available online. From their website: “Want to hook every student in the class? Break out the old-fashioned scissors and glue. While improving their fine motor skills, students who engage in tactile, hands-on crafts activate their brains in powerful ways–increasing memory and knowledge. Try these colorful activities to meet the standards in math, science, and more, and watch kids’ confidence take off!” Read More Here The sweepstakesRead More →

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From Shaping Youth – Aug. 27, 2011:   Last week the NYTimes Arts Beat ran a solid session on reluctant readers with an extra oomph of focus on boys, GuysRead.comstyle tips about literacy lag and an interesting video of uber-authors James Patterson (Read, Kiddo, Read project; the Maximum Ride series) and Rick Riordan (the Percy Jackson series). Aside from the NYTimes’ sensationalized “Boys and Reading: Is There Any Hope?” headline which seemed to be a self-defeating hook to glean more eyeballs, it DID make me think a lot about the messages pummeling kids about reading as if it were a Mary Poppins tune “Just a SpoonRead More →

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From Education World: Independent silent reading has been viewed as a time-honored educational tool. Yet today, many teachers sacrifice it for direct instruction, arguing that there are more effective ways to spend the time. What do the experts say? Read the rest of Cathy Puett Miller’s  Education World article Here For more on Silent Sustained Reading, read “Sustained Silent Reading” Helps Develop Independent Readers (and Writers) What strategies have worked for you in encouraging SSR in your classroom? What improvements and changes have you seen?  Please share with us and our blog readers!Read More →

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Penguin Young Readers Group has a sweepstakes for Skippyjon Jones Fans! Get the Skippy Scoop monthly e-newsletter that features MUCHO fun Skippito stuff like info about the newest Skippyjon Jones books, fantastic lesson plan ideas, downloadable activity sheets, and other goodies for your students. Sign up for the Skippy Scoop and be automatically entered for a chance to win the grand prize—a visit from Judy Schachner and a Skippy costume! To sign up, just send an email to schoolandlibrary@us.penguingroup.com with the subject line “Skippy Scoop Sign Up Sweepstakes,” The e-newsletter is free and sweepstakes entry is open to eligible teachers, school librarians, or educations of preschoolRead More →

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September 15th:Join Jon Scieszka, bestselling children’s author and founder of Guys Read, as he leads our free webcast on Books for Boys. Find out about the upcoming titles from Simon & Schuster, Random House BOT and Candlewick Press that just might coax those reluctant readers to pick up a book and dive in! SPONSORED BY:Simon & Schuster, Random House BOT, Candlewick Press with School Library Journal EVENT DATE: Thursday, September 15, 2011– 3:00 PM EDT – 60 minutes Non-readers, despite their gender, get left behind in life. Low literacy contributes to drop out rates, crime rates, and increased chances for incarceration. This is especially trueRead More →

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From Language Magazine (August 2011): ROR (or more properly, RORA, for Reach Out and Read Aloud) has been shown to increase the frequency of reading aloud in low-income families and results in substantial gains in vocabulary, especially in receptive vocabulary. It requires only a modest investment in time and material (books), but results so far indicate that it can substantially help close the equity gap in literacy, the difference in literacy competence between children from high and low-income families. This is a contrast to the much more expensive and elaborate solutions currently under consideration, thus far lacking in clear empirical support (e.g. The LEARN Act,Read More →