Karen's Book Nook

Reading another one by one of my favorite educators, Esme Raji Codell.  It’s a booklist of sorts with lots of suggestions of children’s literature throughout the ages.

About the book:

Are children reading enough? Not according to most parents and teachers, who know that reading aloud with children fosters a lifelong love of books, ensures better standardized test scores, promotes greater success in school, and helps instill the values we most want to pass on.

Esmé Codell-an inspiring children’s literature specialist and an energetic teacher-has the solution. She’s turned her years of experience with children, parents, librarians, and fellow educators into a great big indispensable volume designed to help parents get their kids excited about reading.

Here are hundreds of easy and inventive ideas, innovative projects, creative activities, and inspiring suggestions that have been shared, tried, and proven with children from birth through eighth grade.

Rereading two books by an inspirational teacher… Rafe Esquith. I read them both a few years ago but pulled them back out again. Good teachers are always learning and it’s important to remember why we wanted to teach in the first place, especially during a trying year…..

While attending a reading professional development session this week, this book, Overcoming Dyslexia: A new and complete science-based program for reading problems at any level, by Sally Shaywitz, MD was suggested. I checked it out today and have started it already. Should be a quick and interesting read.

From Publishers Weekly

Yale neuroscientist Shaywitz demystifies the roots of dyslexia (a neurologically based reading difficulty affecting one in five children) and offers parents and educators hope that children with reading problems can be helped. Shaywitz delves deeply into how dyslexia occurs, explaining that magnetic resonance imaging has helped scientists trace the disability to a weakness in the language system at the phonological level. According to Shaywitz, science now has clear evidence that the brain of the dyslexic reader is activated in a different area than that of the nonimpaired reader.

Since I’m back to school I have little to no time to read “for fun” right now. I’m swamped with getting my year underway and it’s also the beginning of the dreaded Alternate Assessment window which saps all of my time and energy.

I am managing to read little snippets of Educating Esme: Diary of a Teacher’s First Year by Esme Raji Codell when I get a few minutes to spare. Since it’s all diary entries, I can blast through a few at a time. This one is my “purse book” and travels with me.  (Recommended by my teaching partner, Syd )

* I just noticed when I linked to her site that she has written many more books and also has a blog.  I’ll be sure to check everything out!

Visual Supports for People with Autism: A Guide for Parents and Professionals by Marlene J. Cohen and Donna L. Sloan is chock full of examples of graphic organizers and tools for visual learners. People with Autism benefit greatly from picture supports and as a special educator I’m always looking for more ideas.

I’m always interested in reading and learning as much as I can about Autism. Today’s read is Making Autism a Gift: Inspiring Children to Believe in Themselves and Live Happy, Fulfilling Lives by Robert Evert Cimera. I’ve had this one for awhile and it’s my final renew so I’m bumping it up to the front of my list before I have to return it to the library.