Suzanne Ashley

 American Children watch about 3-4 hours of tv every day  Children who watch excessive amounts of tv per day spend less time on school work, have poorer reading skills, play less with friends, and have fewer hobbies than children who watch less tv. (Center for Media Education)

 Kaiser Family Foundation (2010) Kaiser Family Foundation (2010) ◦ lth/healthy_living/main shtml lth/healthy_living/main shtml

 Leisure Reading and Transition to Adulthood (Wilson, 1978)

 Collaborative learning ◦ Open-ended inquiry ◦ Student-centered discussions  Limited size of groups promotes active participation for every student ◦ Sharing personal ideas ◦ Constructing new interpretations  Promotes effective communication: listening & speaking  Shared responsibility (Daniels, 1994)

 Surveys completed by students prior to first meeting ◦ Multiple intelligence survey ◦ Reading survey  Depends on interests, abilities, and needs of students ◦ Literature interests (genres) ◦ Reading levels  Ability to assess reading levels if necessary ◦ Academic and/or socio-emotional needs  Bibliotherapy opportunities

Sims Bishop (1997)

 Bibliotherapy functions as an intervention in which students read about literary characters who undergo experiences similar to their own. It is through this shared experience that students identify and connect with the characters’ situation and come to the realization that others experience similar concerns. The selected literature can correspond simultaneously with instructional objectives (i.e. SOL’s).  (Vernon, 2004)

 Competence: “Am I successful or worthless?” ◦ 9-12 yrs old ◦ Become more aware of themselves as individuals ◦ Work hard at being responsible  Fidelity: “Who am I and where am I going?” ◦ yrs old ◦ Newly concerned with how they appears to others ◦ Turning point in human development

 Summarize and share general impressions of the book, literary content  Identify broader meanings and implications of literature  Discuss impact of book’s content on self  Empower selves to act on own behalf  Praise own efforts towards success  Identify appropriate coping mechanisms, & consider alternate behaviors

 Small groups of readers: 3-5 students  Weekly meetings to discuss literature ◦ Last about an hour  Book clubs meet for three to four consecutive weeks.  Students select books from relevant book list.  Students read before each meeting and mark interesting parts of the text.  Facilitator guides discussion to foster comprehension.

 Contact Suzanne Ashley ◦