Books Connect Us: April 24, 2020

Through Words Alive’s response to COVID-19, “Book Connect Us,” we are sharing best practices from our 20+ year history to help children, teens, and families use the love of reading to navigate this turbulent time. Here are a few highlights from the past few days. 

Mark Oshiro and Matt de La Peña Take Over #BooksConnectUs!

Words Alive is very excited to host authors Mark Oshiro and Matt de La Peña on #BooksConnectUs! This week Mark Oshiro desgined an exclusive writing lesson for our QuaranTEENS, check it out here.

Next Wednesday, April 29th, Matt de La Peña will be taking over Story Station on Facebook live with a reading of his book Love! After the reading make sure to check out the Story Station and QuaranTEENS pages for activities tying into the book!

Words Alive Celebrates Volunteer Appreciation Week!

This week is National Volunteer Week and we want to thank our volunteers for all of the passion, hard work, and dedication they bring to Words Alive!

We shared special thank you messages from our staff this week on social media. To hear our thanks, click here!

Read Aloud and Distance Learning!

Did you know more than 110 classrooms of children are virtually participating in our Read Aloud Program while at home? Words Alive wants to extend a very special thank you to one of our volunteers who partnered with Warwick’s in La Jolla and Run For Cover in Ocean Beach to donate books to kids in our program! The books will be sent directly to students’ homes to help build their home libraries and allow them to follow along with our Read Aloud content.

Are you interested in sponsoring our Read Aloud classes and helping children build their home libraries? We’ve got you covered! Email Robyn to get started.

Upcoming (Virtual) Events:

Join us for Story Station every weekday afternoon (2 pm PT on Facebook Live):

4/27: Rubia and the Three Osos by Susan Middleton Elya

4/28: The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates

4/29: Love read by author Matt de La Peña

4/30: Amelia & Elenor Go For A Ride by Pam Munoz Ryan

5/1: ¡Un día una señora se tragó unos libros! por Lucille Colandro

(Recordings are available on our Facebook page after the reading.)

Trending on #QuaranTEENS:

Top stories and activities trending this week on #QuaranTEENS:

1. Turn an Idea Into A Story by author Mark Oshiro

2. Stuck Inside, but Writing Outside the Box

3. DIY Mind Jar with Mindfully Empowered

Books Connect Us: April 17, 2020

Through Words Alive’s response to COVID-19, “Book Connect Us,” we are sharing best practices from our 20+ year history to help children, teens, and families use the love of reading to navigate this turbulent time. Here are a few highlights from the past few days. 

Words Alive Worldwide!

Image of a child holding their hands up to their eyes while watching Words Alive Story Station.

With the jarring arrival of COVID-19, Words Alive knew our decades of experience could help children, teens, and families use the power of reading to cope with the imminent trauma and turbulence, but we didn’t realize just how many people we would reach. 

Since March 26, there have been more than 7,000 unique visitors to our website from every state and 21 countries. (This week we’re averaging 500+ each day!) In addition, we’ve hosted 18 live story times on Facebook that average 720 views each. We can confidently say we’re connecting more children and families to the power of reading than ever before – and we are humbled to do so during such a stressful time.

Want to help spread the word? Become a Words Alive Ambassador and share our resources with the loved ones in your life. Get started here.

Going the Distance!

Image of a student writing with a laptop open in front of them.

Students are “returning” from spring break to find that Words Alive is embedded in their virtual classrooms. We worked with our teacher partners to launch exclusive virtual modules for more than 100 classrooms participating in our Read Aloud and Adolescent Book Group programs. These resources include videos of trained volunteers reading aloud to students, virtual and print books and resources, writing prompts and discussion questions, hosted online discussions, and interactive platforms for sharing work.

To learn how to bring these exclusive resources to your schools or classrooms, or to support this work, let us know you're interested here.

Mindfulness Mondays!

Starting Monday, April 13th, Words Alive launched an 8-week mindfulness series in partnership with Mindfully Empowered! 

Image of a Mindfulness Monday graphic! This one featuring a DIY activity to calm the mind.

We will “Make it Lit” by accompanying each post with a reading extension, journal prompt, or other writing activity. During this uncertain time, skills to manage stress and anxiety are more important than ever before. Words Alive and Mindfully Empowered are excited to help teens develop healthy coping skills through reading, writing, and creating together. Check out new activities every Monday here.

Upcoming (Virtual) Events:

Join us for Story Station every weekday afternoon (2 pm PT on Facebook Live):

4/20: Chalk by Bill Thompson

4/21: Hilda Must Be Dancing by Karma Wilson

4/22: Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Elhert

4/23: Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein

4/24: ¿Es tu mama una llama? por Deborah Guarino

(Recordings are available on our Facebook page after the reading.)

Trending on #QuaranTEENS:

Image of our QuaranTEENS logo!

Top stories and activities trending this week on #QuaranTEENS:

1. History Happening Now

2. Stages of Coping with COVID-19

3. Journal Prompt: Hope

Books Connect Us: April 10, 2020

Through Words Alive’s response to COVID-19, “Book Connect Us,” we are sharing best practices from our 20+ year history to help children, teens, and families use the love of reading to navigate this turbulent time. Here are a few highlights from the past few days. 

Reaching Coast to Coast

With the launch of Books Connect Us, Words Alive has seen an outpouring of individuals wanting to help!

We are excited to welcome our newest volunteers from California, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, and Virginia!  More than 50 new "virtual volunteers" have reached out to ask how they can help create content, read and review titles, coordinate virtual book drives, promote Books Connect Us, and more.

We rely on our community's expertise, passion, and commitment to help deliver exceptional programs and resources to families - and for your support we are truly grateful.

We’re hosting weekly virtual volunteer orientations. Click here to learn more.

Help Support our Westreich Scholars

Last week, Words Alive hosted a virtual check-in with our young adult Scholars and Mentors to see how they are coping and what we can do to help.

Given the implications of the pandemic on schools, jobs, housing, and health, the Scholars in our Westreich Scholarship and Mentorship Program are leaning into their resilience to adapt to a "new normal." Many are struggling to access food, shelter, internet, and child care – making a shift to distance learning in their post-secondary program extremely challenging.

We are honored that our volunteer mentors are side-by-side with this year's cohort to help them creatively problem solve and prioritize their pursuit of education during this turbulent time.

You can support our 14 Scholars by investing in our mentorship program, signing up to become a mentor, and/or donations of grocery, meal delivery, or gas gift cards. Click here to find out how.

Story Station en Español & Upcoming (Virtual) Events!

¡Hola! ¿Quieres escuchar una historia? Join us on the Words Alive Facebook page for a special edition of Story Station every Friday at 2 p.m. PT as we feature a different a story in Spanish!

Are you interested in reading stories or creating resources in Spanish or another language?  Click here to get started!

Join us for Story Station every weekday afternoon (2 pm PT on Facebook Live):

4/13: Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae

4/14: Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham

4/15: We Do Not Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins

4/16: I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont

4/17: Gracia, Sr. Panda by Steve Antony

(Recordings are available on our Facebook page after the reading.)

Trending on #QuaranTEENS

Top stories and activities trending this week on #QuaranTEENS:

1.  Write a Letter To Your Future Self

2. All the Feels - Writing Tip from author Elly Swartz

3. TikTok Challenge: Why are books the best stay-at-home activity?

Become a Reading Role Model

By Omar Jawdat, Blog Intern

A graphic that shows one of our volunteers holding up a book while a student points at it. The text says, “Reading Role Models: What are they and how can you become one?”

Reading role models help encourage children not just to read, but to have fun while reading! Kids are influenced by their parents, teachers, and care-givers, all of whom can be considered role models for reading. It is important for these role models to influence their kids by demonstrating enthusiasm while reading, and helping them discover new and diverse forms of literature. It is also important to be aware of a child’s reading. When kids feel that their work is valued, they are also encouraged to continue their choice to read. Reading role models are overall “critical to instilling reading as an integral part of a child’s life.”

Children who are frequent readers tend to have more reading role models. Frequent readers also tend to have greater access to books. Unfortunately, “having access to books, whether in or outside the home, is not a reality for all kids.” An estimated “103 books are present in home libraries of children ages 6-17, yet this varies widely. Most strikingly, frequent readers have an average of 139 books in their homes vs. 74 in infrequent readers’ homes.” 42% of frequent-reading kids claim that they have trouble seeking books that catch their interest. Infrequent readers have a 59% chance of not being able to find books that they are interested in reading. 

Therefore, it’s important for libraries to provide a wide range of diverse books that include different types of stories, characters, and plots. As kids grow older, their interests can change, and their curiosity and eagerness for knowledge grows with them.

Reading Role Models at Words Alive!

All volunteers at Words Alive are reading role models, especially volunteers in the Read Aloud Program and the Adolescent Book Group. These volunteers dedicate their time and read together with students and kids of all ages (from elementary school to high school and college), discussing the stories and talking about how the book impacts them in different ways. For children, it serves to help develop cognitive, language, and social-emotional skills as they grow. Having a reading role model at Words Alive makes students aware of the importance of literacy, and helps explore the values of books, reading them not just as an assignment, but as a hobby and passion.  

Sources: 

• www.scholastic.com/readingreport/access-matters.html

• www.huffpost.com/entry/be-a-reading-role-model_b_5813a56ae4b08301d33e0906

Drop Everything and Read!

By Tait Longhi, Blog Intern

“Children should learn that reading is pleasure, not just something that teachers make you do in school.”- Beverly Cleary

A sketch of Ramona Quibly holding up a book excitedly.

On April 12th, we celebrate “Drop Everything and Read” day (D.E.A.R). A day dedicated and focused on something we hold sacred, the importance of reading. Here at Words Alive, we help students and families see how fun and rewarding reading can be, and fully support the idea of dropping everything you’re doing to pick up a good book!   

Famed author Beverly Cleary, born on April 12th 1916, is a prominent children's book author with renowned titles such as “Beevus and Ramona” a part of the highly popular “Ramona” series. She is a huge advocate for D.E.A.R day, even including a description in her book “Ramona Quibly, Age 8”. She once said, “I don’t think anything will ever replace the pleasure of holding a book and turning its pages”. This perfectly encompasses how we at Words Alive feel and why D.E.A.R day is so important.  

There are several ways you can get involved with D.E.A.R day, first of which is the most obvious, reading a book of your choice! Reading for pleasure regardless of your age is something you can do for you, and you alone. Another way to honor D.E.A.R is starting a journal, or even something as simple as spreading the word.

You can visit http://www.readingrockets.org/calendar/dear#about for more inspiration.  

How Reading Inspires Communities

By Tait Longhi, Blog Intern

An image of a group of students in our Read Aloud Program excitedly holding up their books.

There are countless reasons why two strangers may connect, but one common reason that has connected all ages is the commonality of stories. As a child, when you discover that your classmate loves the same book series as you, an immediate conversation ensues. Being able to talk about characters, what they think will happen next and why they love the book as much as you do creates a bond.

This doesn’t go away with childhood, if anything it intensifies. Reading doesn’t only builds friendships, but entire communities. Words Alive, organizations like the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA), GoodReads or just a classic book club are just a few examples of how the power of reading can bring people together. It may be the fact that every person reading the pages will take a different lesson or viewpoint than the next, and we as humans desire to know and understand one another through these insights.

Books also teach us life lessons that inspire us to do something good for our community. Organizations like the Harry Potter Alliance were founded out of a love for the Harry Potter series and have created a whole community of activists who are using popular stories to change the world. John and Hank Green are brothers (and both authors) who have fostered an online community called Nerdfighteria, a community that celebrates many things but chief among them is a love for books and learning. With the internet, it’s easier than ever to find and form communities around a love of books.

According to the journal, “Using Parent Book Clubs to Build a School-Wide Reading Community”, a high school class partook in reading aloud throughout the year. This allowed students to “engage in meaningful relationships and social interactions tied to reading, and these connections mattered to them. Students took these connections seriously, and they authentically acted in ways to contribute positively to the reading community.” Here, we can see what one could call book club within the classroom.

The importance in these communities may seem obvious, but there is more than just reading aloud and discussing books. Organizations like Words Alive understand that communities that value reading help build thriving and intellectual individuals and relationships among one another.  

Reading, literacy and all it brings is a powerful thing, which is why we at Words Alive are here. Through the passion of reading we have come together to show the importance and positive impact it can make on others. While reading is often done in solidarity, it has the unique ability to bring a huge group together, to understand and bond with one another.  

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Life Lessons Learned From Popular Children's Books

By Jennifer Van Pelt

An image from The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. The Lorax is standing on a tree stump and text on the images says, “‘Mister!’ he said with a sawdusty sneeze, ‘I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees.’”

If you think back on some of your favorite books as a child, or the books you read to your own family members and loved ones, there’s likely some stories or motifs that stick out in your memory. Examples of popular themes in children’s books include not getting to bed on time and all of the chaos it can create, what eating too much food can cause, or why being nice to siblings can bring positive experiences. These subtle themes introduce new ideas to children as well as humanize lessons for them.

Some books take these lessons even further by relating them to some of the “Golden Rules” or basic social skills that children should learn when they are young. Aesop’s Fables is perhaps one of the most famous for popularizing these ideas for children, but it’s a common practice among popular contemporary children’s literature. Take a look at some of the examples below that you may have not realized subtly suggest a larger life lesson to children.

“The Rainbow Fish” by Marcus Pfister follows the story of a beautiful rainbow fish who keeps his beautiful scales to himself instead of sharing them with the other fish, leaving him with no friends. By the end of the book, the fish learns that giving the other fish some of his scales made him friends, thus embodying the “sharing is caring” motto we often teach children.

“Corduroy” by Don Freeman depicts the story of a teddy bear who goes on a hunt for his missing button that he believes he needs for any child to love him enough to buy him. After an adventure-filled and fruitless excursion for another button, a little girl buys him and loves him for his flaws. This book touches on the lesson that no one is perfect and everyone has flaws; it’s just about learning to love yourself as you are.

No children’s book list would be complete without a book from Dr. Seuss. “The Lorax”, perhaps one of his more popular and pertinent books, is a cautionary tale about treating the Earth with respect. It follows a child and his discovery to how his previously breathtaking town came to become such a desolate and destructed area. This book not only teaches children about the importance of sustainability and moderation, there’s also an overarching theme about the importance of learning from the past.

Words Alive knows that there are countless more benefits to reading aloud to children. In addition to introducing life lessons to them, reading aloud can also support their overall knowledge of books in general, cadence of reading a book, and vocabulary. If you would like to support our journey in ensuring more children are able to participate in the experience of reading aloud, you can visit our Read Aloud Program homepage here to learn more.

Why Diversity in Books is So Important

By Jennifer Van Pelt

Image of young adult author Nicola Yoon and her husband holding up a sign that says, “We need diverse books because of everything in this circle.” There is a circle cut out of the sign and their daughter is standing so her face is in the circle. Photo credit: Nicola Yoon

In a recent blog post, we previewed a few books included in our curriculum for the 2018-2019 school year. Among the books included are short stories and novels that feature characters and are written by people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, authors who deal with mental health issues, and have other diverse experiences.

ADL is a nonprofit whose mission is to secure justice and fair treatment to all, including those of varying religions, races, genders, and identities. ADL posted an article outlining anti-biased education and how diversity in books was related. The article explains the difference between “mirror books” and “window books” when referring to diversity in children’s literature. A “mirror book” contains a reflection of oneself: your culture, gender, race, religion, etc. and enables the reader to potentially see themselves in a different light. On the other hand, a “window book” gives the reader a glance into another life that features different people, events, and places that they may not be familiar with. Exposing students to different environments through these “window books” is a unique opportunity to learn empathy and perspective, while allowing children to reflect on their experiences through “mirror” books helps them relate in new ways and learn more about themselves in the process.

A graphic titled “Proportion of children’s books by people of color published in the US (2017).” The graphic shows the following statistics: 3,150 white, 274 Asian Pacific/Pacific Americans, 122 African/African Americans, 116 Latinos, 38 American Indians/First Nations. Source

What Portion of Books are Considered Diverse Today?

The Cooperative Children’s Book Center does a yearly study on how many books are published from non-white authors. Though there has been an increase in recent years for books published from multicultural authors, there are still just over 10% of books published in the last 24 years that were written by and about people of color. This is compared to the 2017 census data that reported 40% of Americans as people of color.

Examining the books in the Young Adult LGBTQ category, where the characters or plot line focuses on LGBTQ issues, the percentage has doubled in the last decade. Malindo Lo, an author who writes about such issues, conducted her own study in 2017. Malindo counted books published each year by mainstream authors, reaching nearly 80 books in 2018, up from 55 in 2015. Comparing this to the 4.5% reported American LGBT population in 2017, there is a large variance between the population and the representation within publications and what students are exposed to. This under-representation is what a lot of advocacy groups and movements aim to address today.

Is Diversity in Books an Important Topic Today?

Yes! We Need Diverse Books aims to “produce and promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people.” An 11 year old African-American girl, Marley Dias, launched the #1000BlackGirlBooks to bring awareness to the lack of diversity in contemporary books.

Words Alive understands the importance of diversity as well and works hard to bring “window books” and “mirror books” into the classrooms to teach students self-reflection and empathy. Most of our participants are non-white students, a group that is severely underrepresented in American publications. By exposing students to different cultures and reliving how main characters have endured experiences that the reader may have gone through personally, we are able to bring more representation, tolerance, and understanding into the classroom.

Sources:

https://www.adl.org/education/resources/tools-and-strategies/table-talk/why-we-need-diverse-books

https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/literature-resources/ccbc-diversity-statistics/

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045217

https://www.malindalo.com/blog/2017/10/12/lgbtq-ya-by-the-numbers-2015-16

https://news.gallup.com/poll/234863/estimate-lgbt-population-rises.aspx

https://diversebooks.org/about-wndb/

Dyslexia Awareness Month!

An image of blocks of letters all mixed up. People with dyslexia experience difficulty with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and poor spelling and decoding abilities.

What is Dyslexia?

October is Dyslexia Awareness Month, a time to bring more attention to what dyslexia is and how best to work with those who are dyslexic. The International Dyslexia Association characterizes the learning disability as difficulty with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and poor spelling and decoding abilities. Consequences from dyslexia can include problems with reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. Unrelated to a person’s cognitive abilities, dyslexia has many positive consequences, including helping individuals become highly resilient and adaptable, articulate and expressive of thoughts and feelings, empathetic, and having the ability to think outside of the box and see the bigger picture.

Who Is Impacted By Dyslexia and What Is Being Done About It?

The Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity states that dyslexia effects 20% of the population and represents 80-90% of those with a learning disability. Due to the prevalence of dyslexia, thirty-nine of the fifty states have introduced dyslexia related legislation, which are outlined on . The National Center on Improving Literacy website in detail. California, as one of these states, has a bill that requires guidelines to be prepared to assist teachers and parents in identifying dyslexia as well as provide improved educational services to these students. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) also provides the accommodation for students with dyslexia to have additional time to take exams, believed to be one of the most critical accommodations that allows students to succeed alongside students without the learning disability.

How Best to Teach Those With Dyslexia?

Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) is a method that is frequently used to teach individuals with dyslexia. Also termed Scientific Word Investigation, WordWorksKingston.com describes one of the guiding principles behind the method to be: the conventions by which English spelling represents meaning are so well-ordered and reliable that spelling can be investigated and understood through scientific inquiry. The Nueva school, a California-based school, summarizes the method into a few simple steps: The method starts with students brainstorming a way to define the word, using knowledge they already have. From there, they look at the structure of the word before diving into the etymology of the word as well as what the prefix, suffix, or base word is. Then, the students explore if there are any related words, before visually representing them in what has been termed a “Word Sum”. Lastly, the students debrief about what they learned about that particular word family. By going through this inquiry process, students learn more about the background of the word and are given the tools to learn new words on their own.

If you believe your child or student has dyslexia, but aren’t sure where to start, many of the websites listed below have additional resources. Another resource that is frequently cited by national and international dyslexia organizations is Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz.

Events such as Dyslexia Awareness Month helps to bring attention to the 20% of our population who have dyslexia. Through this additional time and recognition, students are given the opportunity to learn to read and succeed alongside their peers.

Sources:

https://dyslexiaida.org/definition-of-dyslexia/

http://dyslexia.yale.edu/dyslexia/what-is-dyslexia/

https://improvingliteracy.org/state-of-dyslexia/california

http://wordworkskingston.com/WordWorks/Structured_Word_Inquiry.html

https://www.nuevaschool.org/student-experience/lower-school/structured-word-inquiry

Learn a New Word Today!

By Jennifer Van Pelt

An image of one of our Adolescent Book Group students working on a blackout poetry exercise, which requires them to select certain words and phrases from a page of text to construct a poem.

October 16th is National Dictionary Day, which celebrates the English language on the day that Noah Webster was born. Webster is known for his publication An American Dictionary of the English Language, which included 70,000 words and involved learning 27 languages in order to determine the etymology of the words. This publication from Noah Webster is a predecessor to the now widely recognized Merriam-Webster dictionary that has helped millions of people understand new words.

Learning new vocabulary is an integral part of a child’s development and continues to be important into our adult lives. In an article on TalkingKids.org, it’s estimated that 3 year old children typically have between 500-1,100 words in their vocabulary. These are words  that they can both verbalize and understand. A few years later, between the ages of 5-7, children typically have the knowledge to use between 3,000 to 5,000 words in their conversations. At this point in their life, their brains are “sponges”, absorbing their surrounding environment at a rapid rate.

An article on Scholastic.com outlines three reasons why vocabulary is such a large focus for children. First and foremost, vocabulary itself makes up communication -- how we speak, read, listen, and write. Secondly, the goal of reading is to understand and grow from the material. Understanding and overall comprehension of the text improves when we know the vocabulary included in it. Lastly, when children and adolescents improve their vocabulary, their academic and social confidence and competence improves as well, allowing them to succeed in diverse environments.

Reading is one of the best ways to gain exposure to words that may not be in used often everyday conversation but have significant meaning and can be added to your “word bank” for future use. On the U.S Department of Education website, a presentation about vocabulary development outlines the correlation between time spent reading and the number of words we are exposed to each year. With less than one minute of reading each day, we are exposed to 8,000 words per year. With 4.6 minutes of reading each day, we are exposed to 282,000 words per year. And with 20 minutes of reading each day (the recommended amount for beginning readers), we are exposed to 1,800,000 words per year! Learning and comprehending new words by using context clues or looking them up in the dictionary is an important step in becoming a more advanced reader.

An image of four dice spelling out the word “risk.” The word “hazard” originated from an Arabic word for a dice game that involved high risk!

National Dictionary Day also celebrates the etymology of words: where they originated from and how they came to be a part of the English language. Oxford Royale Academy lists some common words with some very interesting backgrounds. Take “hazard” for example: a word dating back to 13th-century Arabic of which “al-zahr” referred to dice used in gambling games, which had a high amount of risk involved for participants. “Al-zahr” subsequently became associated with danger and was believed to be brought to Britain when the Crusaders learned these dice games while in the Holy Land.

Looking for a fun way to celebrate this day? Try looking up etymologies of new words you learn -- or everyday ones such as sandwich or genuine! To celebrate dictionary day year round, there are multiple “word-a-day” apps and emails you can receive, including Merriam-Webster and Oxford English.

Sources:

https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-dictionary-day-october-16/

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/understanding-vocabulary/

http://www.talkingkids.org/2011/07/how-many-words-should-my-child-be.html

https://www2.ed.gov/programs/readingfirst/2008conferences/language.pdf

https://www.oxford-royale.co.uk/articles/14-fascinating-word-origins-english-language.html