12 Weeks to Better Readers!

For the next twelve weeks I'll be posting excerpts from Judy Freeman's 12 Tried-And-True Ways to Get Your Kiddos Reading (from ReadKIDDORead). This is an EXCELLENT article in teaching methods to get children not only READING, but EXCITED about reading! In the world of technology...IPads, Nooks, Kindles, Playstations, Wiis, Kinects, IPods, Smart Phones...we must find a way to compete...To make READING as enjoyable and rewarding as all of these "gadgets". We have our work cut out for us. The answer? Incorporate reading into technology...find reading apps, iBooks, etc...but...never underestimate the power of a good old-fashioned book. To get started with a good reading routine with your child, try this baker's dozen of easy, tried-and-true ways to ease reluctant readers into good books.

Remember...One method a week will be posted here at The Need 2 Read. Try it for a week...and see what works for YOUR sweetie!

1. Read Aloud Something EVERY Day

If you have time to watch TV or surf the Internet, you can make time to read with your kids. You only have a limited window of read-aloud years, so rearrange your schedule to carve out reading time every day. There's always time for a story, a chapter, or at least a poem, a joke or a tongue twister. And start early - in utero isn't too soon. What new parents soon discover is that reading aloud is just plain fun.


"Always read with expression," my mother told me when I was a child, learning to read with those good-time kids, Dick and Jane. (And I did, even becoming a librarian when I grew up, where I read aloud with expression on a daily basis.) Lucky for kids today, children's books are far more attractive and engaging these days. Kids pattern themselves on you, their reading role models. Listen for the voices in the stories you read aloud. Do you need to read aloud like actors Meryl streep or Lawrence Olivier? Yes, of course you do. Ham it up and have fun. If you read in a monotone, so will your kids. They need to hear the characters; voices in their heads to have true comprehension of the books they read. And there's nothing they love more than to snuggle in close and listen to you read aloud to them.


As your children start to read independently, share the joy and have them read to you, too. Make your own recordings of stories so your child can follow each book and listen to you over and over. Read aloud on car trips, at the doctor's office, and before bed, of course. What's my favorite read-aloud picture book, a tour de force of great voices? "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales" by the great Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith.

Author: Judy Freeman
Written For: www.readkiddoread.com

Nosey is Good!

I am a nosey teacher.

I consider being a nosey teacher to be "a good thing". Why you might ask? I learn more. I know more. And the more I learn about my students...the better I can help them at being nosey students. You see, if I know their favorite methods of technology, if I know their favorite things to read, if I know their most admired celebrities...I can create a love of learning that will enable my students to be nosey about reading and in turn nosey about life-long learning. How do I get more of these books? How do I find more books written by this author? How do I get an app for this Kindle? How do I practice my vocabulary words on the Ipad? The more I know, the more I can teach and the more I can teach, the more they will know...

I have asked my students who their favorite celebrities might be...and now we have personalized autographed pictures to display of these exact celebrities encouraging students to read.

I have asked my students what their favorite subjects are...and now I have more books on those subjects.

I have asked my students what they enjoy doing when they get home...and now I have that same technology here so they can read not only books, but information in magazines, on Kindles, on Ipads, on websites and in newspapers.

I have asked my students who their favorite authors and illustrators are...and we have brought many of them to the school to encourage students to continue to read and write and draw...they may be a famous writer or illustrator one day.

I have asked my students when their birthday is...and they are celebrated in the Birthday Book Club with the honor of checking out a new book and donating it to the library.

I have asked my students what they want to learn in technology...and we have downloaded many of these programs and found websites where they can learn more.

I have asked my students how they think other students would be best helped...and we have created school-wide contests and group efforts to make a difference and donate books around the world through Scholastic's One for Books and various other programs.

I have asked my students who their favorite characters are...and we have transformed students into these characters.


I have asked my students how they are involved in the community...and we have invited their local heroes to be a part of our reading program.

My motto is "Reading Rocks". When a student asks, "Why does reading rock?"...I tell them...come inside and let me show you.

I am proud to be a nosey teacher.
I am proud to teach nosey students.
They're always wanting to know what's going on in the library.
They checked out over 16,000 books last year alone in a school of less than 400. They kept a close eye on the library's blog.
They logged into My Capstone Virtual Library online...thousands of times.

Students at Odenville Intermediate School are nosey. They are knowledgeable. They are learning. How nosey are you?

If you are interested in learning how classroom management software can help you become a nosey teacher and manage students on computers more effectively, check out http://www.netop.com/products/education.htm

President Obama Urges Parents to Read

President Barack Obama urges parents to read to their children. There is no replacement - video games, television, sports...we all enjoy these activities, but it is crucial to set aside time to read with our children...in school and at home.

Barack Obama:
"In the end, there is no program or policy that can substitute for a parent – for a mother or father who will […turn off the TV, put away the video games,] read to their child. I speak to you not just as a President, but as a father, when I say that responsibility for our children’s education must begin at home. That is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. That’s an American issue."

You can find President Obama's full speech to the Joint Session of Congress, Feb. 24, 2009, here.

*The National Children's Reading Foundation suggests reading aloud with your children for 20 minutes daily to build their listening and language skills - no matter what their age!