Scholastic Books: It’s not just books anymore!

Brightly colored interactive site includes Stories-Celebrities and children share their personal stories about their love of reading. You too can share your story with Scholastic at #shareyourstory Mission Learn about the mission of the Scholastic Company Research-This site contains five great research based tips that illustrate why reading is important and linked to student achievement. Resources-Find great resources like Links, Articles from Reading Experts, Lesson Plans and more…

Sharing Stories Celebrities and children share their personal stories of how reading has impacted their lives.

Scholastic Mission: Reading is discovery, learning, and imagination at play. Scholastics mission is to assist children in finding the right book at the right time to unlock their individual journey to discovery and education. Scholastic believes that when children choose their own books then they empower themselves.

Research indicates that there are five evidence based topics that illustrate a child’s literacy development Reading Volume Reading Self Selected Books for Fun Reading Self Selected Books for Fun Books in the Home The Power of the Read Aloud Reading and Writing Connections

Reading Volume Practice Practice Practice! The more students read the better readers they become. Hear expert Nancie Atwell, recent winner of the Global Teacher Prize share her personal story of how she became a skilled reader through practice. Hear expert Nancie Atwell, recent winner of the Global Teacher Prize share her personal story of how she became a skilled reader through practice. Mary interview insert

Reading Self Selected Books is fun Some of the first research linking choice to reading pleasure dates back to the 1970s in a report titled They Love to Read by Dr. John W. Studebaker. The report showed that among kids who chose their own books through Scholastic Book Clubs, the majority read those books from cover-to-cover. Parents reported that their children were “much more likely” to finish reading books they bought for themselves in contrast to books selected for them.

Books in the home Research suggests that children whose parents have lots of books are nearly 20 percent more likely to finish college. Indeed, as a predictor of college graduation, books in the home trump the education of the parents. Even a child who hails from a home with 25 books will, on average, complete two more years of school than would a child from a home without any books at all.

The Power of the Read Aloud Reading aloud to your child is the gift that keeps on giving. It builds: Vocabulary Comprehension Strategies Story Schema (video link here)

Reading and writing connections Every time we enter a text as a reader, we receive a writing lesson: how to spell, punctuate, use proper grammar, structure a sentence or paragraph, and organize a text. We also learn the many purposes writing serves and the different genres and formats it assumes to serve these varied purposes (Duke et al., 2013; Culham, 2014; 2012).

What are you waiting for? Go on…Get going. The right book is the key. It opens a world of greater understanding, self motivation and joy.

Works Cited: Studebaker, J. (1977). The Love to read: Report on a study of paperback book clubs in classrooms of five cities. New York: Scholastic. Evans, M., Kelley, J., Sikorac, J., & Treimand, D. (2010). “Family scholarly culture and educational success: Books and schooling in 27 nations.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 28, 171–197. Evans, M., Kelley, J., Sikorac, J., & Treimand, D. (2010). “Family scholarly culture and educational success: Books and schooling in 27 nations.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 28, 171–197. Pinnell, G. S. & Fountas, I. (2011). Literacy beginnings: A prekindergarten handbook. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Culham, R. (2014). The writing thief: Using mentor texts to teach the craft of writing. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Culham, R. (2011). “Reading with a writer’s eye.” In T. Rasinski’s Rebuilding the foundation: Effective reading instruction for 21st century literacy.Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. Culham, R. (2011). “Reading with a writer’s eye.” In T. Rasinski’s Rebuilding the foundation: Effective reading instruction for 21st century literacy.Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. Duke, N., Caughian, S., Juzwik, M., & Martin, N. (2013). Reading and writing genre with purpose in K-8 classrooms. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Duke, N., Caughian, S., Juzwik, M., & Martin, N. (2013). Reading and writing genre with purpose in K-8 classrooms. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.