IRA-2008- Part 2

In her "Ode to David Letterman" Linda Gambrell (president of IRA) presented these as her top 10 reasons for pleasure reading in her keynote address:

10. Reading exercises the brain.

9. Reading helps you become fluent in a second language- text language.

8. The more you read the smarter you get. (Anne Cunningham and Keith Stanovich)

7. Reading takes you places when you have to stay where you are.

6. The reading practice you get from pleasure reading may not make you a perfect reader, but it will surely make you a better reader.

5. People who read are people who achieve. (Benjamin Carson, MD, Pediatric Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University)

4. Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. (Grocho Marx)

3. It is not true that we have only one life to live; if we can read we can live more lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish. (S.I. Hayakawa, educator and politician)

2. The more that you read the more things you will know; the more that you learn the more places you'll go. (Dr. Seuss)

And last, but not least:

1. If you're going to binge, literature is definitely the way to do it. (Oprah Winfrey)
   

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IRA, 2008- Part One

Even for a writer, it is hard to describe the energy and enthusiasm of 20,000 reading teachers, principals, and literacy coaches who came together to learn the latest methods to teach reading and writing. The World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga. was packed this week with educators to whom "Reading Matters"- as the pin, which I acquired from a vendor selling Teaching the Story proudly, proclaimed. As Linda Gambrell, outgoing IRA president said at the Keynote on Monday morning, "We want our students to be readers, writers, and critical thinkers. Through reading, we become better at understanding ourselves and the world around us." Highlights from this conference were:

• Close to 100 people at my session…and every single educator enthusiastically involved in creating an original character. Together we looked at three mentor texts: Peter Pan in Scarlet, Blue, and Brian's Return
  and how the authors showed their memorable characters FAST- through their feelings, actions, speech, and thoughts.
  
• Selling my book to a woman from the Philippines who started her own K-6 school. To my knowledge, that is the furthest away that Teaching the Story has travelled. (Imagine the stories that those students will write!)
  
• Sharing a room with Margriet Ruurs, author of over 10 picture books as well as several Maupin House books on writing poetry. Sitting on her bed, Julie Graddy (Maupin House's publisher) and I had the privilege of previewing Margriet's presentation on My Librarian is a Camel
  and hearing some of the amazing stories behind the book. Winner of the Silver IRA award for Global awareness, I would recommend this book for children as a window into seeing how children in other countries value books and some very unique "book mobiles" around the world. By the way, Margriet is also the editor for Kids Write—an online magazine where students can publish their stories- a resource which I recommend in my book!
  
• And as pictured here, having dinner with Margriet and part of the Maupin House team: Julie Graddy, Rita Beck, and Laura Lok.
  

  
  

  Stay tuned. More on the conference in my next blog.
  

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Blogging Benefits Teen Writers

A recent report featured in E-School News, indicated that teens who blog write more frequently both online and offline, according to a study by Pew Internet and American Life Project with support from the College Board and its National Commission on Writing.

In fact, "Forty-seven percent of teen bloggers write outside of school for personal reasons several times a week or more, compared with 33 percent of teens without blogs. Sixty-five percent of teen bloggers believe that writing is essential to later success in life; 53 percent of non-bloggers say the same thing."

The report goes on to quote Bradley A. Hammer, who teaches in Duke University's writing program. "In real ways, blogging and other forms of virtual debate actually foster the very types of intellectual exchange, analysis, and argumentative writing that universities value," he wrote in an op-ed piece last August." Be sure to read his full article in which he defends the use of blogs and other alternative forms of written expression in his university classroom.

I know as an avid blogger myself, that I feel a responsibility to organize my thoughts in a well-written format before hitting the "publish" button. One has to take the responsibility of writing to an audience very seriously. Similarly, blogging is not only a way for teens and young adults to use their writing skills for a specific task for a specific audience, but appears to be a promising new tool for language arts teachers as well.

I am writing this from Atlanta, where tomorrow I will be presenting a session at the IRA on, "Learn from the Masters: How Creating a Fictional Character Enhances Reading Instruction." Hopefully, afterwards I'll have the opportunity to talk to lots of teachers about the benefits of writing short fiction as well as the benefits of blogging!

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Who reads for pleasure anymore?

According to International Reading Association president Linda Gambrell in a her recent column in Reading Today, the number of teens and young adults who are reading just for fun is decreasing. Citing data from a National Endowment for the Arts report released in November 2007, Gambrell recounted these unsettling statistics:

• Nearly half of all Americans ages 18-24 read no books for pleasure.
  
• From 1984-2004 the percentage of 13-year-olds who reported that they read for fun declined from 35% to 30%.
  
• For 17-year-olds the decline was from 31% to 22%.
  

I know there are a lot more media options competing for a young adult's attention than when I was in high school and college, but as a lifetime reader, I find these results disturbing. A student who doesn't escape into a world of science fiction, fantasy, or history; or doesn't seize the opportunity to read poetry, plays, or biographies; or never ventures into Aztec ruins, Scottish castles, a coral reef, or the internal mechanisms of a modern machine-- is missing out on a galaxy of worlds found in the pages of books.

But not only that, students who don't take the time to read "just for fun" will most likely perform lower in school and on the job.

Consider Gabrell's insightful observations: "Individuals who engage in reading for pleasure are better readers and writers than nonreaders. Children and teenagers who read for pleasure on a daily or weekly basis score better on reading tests than infrequent readers. Frequent readers also score better on writing tests than infrequent readers."

And as I've mentioned on this blog previously, Gabrell points out that poor reading skills are surfacing in the marketplace also. "Employers now rank reading and writing as top deficiencies in new hires. One in five U.S. workers reads at a lower skill level than his or her job requires."

Although I may be preaching to the choir on this one, consider the impact we'd have if we each recommended a book a day to a child, adolescent, or young adult. It doesn't have to be something fancy or heavy duty—just a book that would pique their interest. I suspect we'd all enjoy the effects which would boomerang back to us in the classroom and work place.

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Things that make a writer excited- part 2

This has been a fantastic day! I just received word that my proposal, "Learn from the Masters: How Creating a Fictional Character Enhances Reading Instruction" was accepted for the 2008 IRA convention in Atlanta, next May. This is quite an honor, particularly for a new author like me. On top of that, my article "Show, Don't Tell: Classroom Activities for Image Driven Writing" was accepted for a forthcoming issues of Middle Ground. As if that wasn't enough, my editor told me that my blog (the one you guys are helping to make popular) was rated 42 out of 150 useful, educational, and inspirational blogs for writers.

I'd include a video of myself jumping up and down in celebration (a la' my first attempt at Zumba yesterday) but I'll spare you that unnecessary visual litter!

Learning from Literature

As I'm writing my second IRA proposal on "Show Don't Tell: How Creating a Genre Setting Enhances Reading Instruction" I am once again thinking about how I have learned to be a writer because I am a life-long reader. Lots of time writers give the same advice as I do, "If you want to write, read." But what should an adult or young adult be looking for when she reads? How do novels or short stories become writing textbooks?

When I read (or listen to an audio book) I look for the following:

1. How has the author created realistic dialogue? How do the characters' voices stay consistent through the story?
   
2. For that matter, how does the character himself stay consistent through the story through his reactions, emotions, and thought patterns?
   
3. How does the author use similes or metaphors to help me picture the character or setting? Is the text heavy with figurative language or is there enough of this spice thrown into the mix to enhance the story?
   

For young adults, two examples of consistent characters and settings in imaginative, well-written fantasy books are Cornelia Funke's books Inkheart and Inkspell.

These principles can be applied to creative nonfiction as well as to fiction. My first "official" creative nonfiction book that I read was Susan Orlean's book, "The Bullfighter Checks her Makeup." (For homeschooling parents: You might want to read this first before recommending it to your children.) Orlean has a magnificent grasp of language and tells stories through her nonfiction essays.

Does Fiction Writing Help Students Write Nonfiction?

I think it does!

I've been thinking about this topic as I've prepared a proposal for the IRA (International Reading Association) 2008 conference. My main idea is that there are many crossover skills between fiction and nonfiction such as focus, organization, including appropriate details, and practicing writing mechanics. On top of that, writing a short story that the student has brainstormed herself is more fun (and actually more work, but don't tell anyone!) than writing the traditional 5-paragraph essay. I also think that students who have practiced using figurative language, imagery, and literary techniques when writing a story will be more likely to use these devices when writing nonfiction. With the addition of the written portion of the SAT, it seems that fiction writing can be one way to help students become more well-rounded writers comfortable using a variety of literary devices.

If you have had experience teaching fiction to intermediate or middle school students and have seen crossover of these writing skills to essays or research writing, please e-mail me at cbaldwin6@carolina.rr.com.