November 2001 Issue

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A Whale of a Newsletter

Welcome to INNOVA Multimedia's Online Educational Community.

The big 4-0! This issue marks the fortieth month we
here at INNOVA have been bringing you this newsletter.
You will notice some new features in this month's issue
and we look forward to bringing you more in
upcoming issues. Have a say in the direction future
newsletters will go by dropping us a line at
editor@innovamultimedia.com. Offer us suggestions and
comments or share your best practices with other members
of this growing community.

November 2002 Issue #40
Austin Simms, Editor, mailto:editor@innovamultimedia.com
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Welcome to the fortieth issue of "An Online Educational
Community". To read past issues of our newsletter, visit
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/archive.htm or to learn
more about us, check out our website at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com

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Each month we will focus on a different educational theme
and base our feature article and learning tips around that
particular theme.

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IN THIS ISSUE
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=> Feature
=> This Month's Free Lesson Plans
=> More Great Education Web Sites
=> Anchor Island Sea Creature Feature
=> Feature Creature Fast Facts
=> Feedback

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Feature
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Shared Reading

'Read to Succeed'.

'Go-pher a Good Book'.

These are but two of the many slogans and catch phrases
that provide inspiration for turning students on to reading.
Such slogans often adorn classroom walls, school corridors,
the school library, as well as book fairs. Why such a
fascination with reading?

I'm sure that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to discover
that the highest achieving students in our nation's schools
are those who have become very proficient readers. Many
children developed a love of reading from parents
that took the time to read to, and with, them during the
pre-school years. This 'shared reading' formed the basis
for many children to improve their reading skills as they
proceeded up the educational ladder reading for understanding,
knowledge, and pleasure. After all, 'A Child Who Reads
is a Child Who Succeeds".

But what about the children who have weak reading skills in
school? These children most likely would prefer to do
anything but read a book. We, as teachers, now have to do
our best to encourage and assist them in acquiring an
interest in reading. We have to literally begin by picking
each child's brain to discover what areas of interest they
may have (e.g., sports, model cars, camping) and supply
reading material conducive to their interests and reading level.
We have to provide opportunities for the student to feel
confident and competent in reading. A good method for
achieving this success is once again, 'shared reading'.

Shared reading is a reading activity where a weak reader
and a strong reader share the reading of a book(s). Some
schools have higher grade students working with lower grade
students once a week or cycle for a period of approximately
20 minutes for shared reading. These students are paired
off (strong reader - weak reader) and assemble in an area
in the school (e.g., cafeteria) that has plenty of space
without too many distractions.

One method has each child reading his book for 10 minutes
and, following a signal from the teacher, the other child has his
turn. A second method has the two students sharing the same
book taking turns alternately reading pages. A third method
sees the teacher bringing several books to the session and
having the partners quickly select one and share the reading,
changing readers on the teacher's signal (e.g., verbal "switch',
or maybe the teacher rapping her knuckles on a table). This
latter method will ensure that both students follow along as the
book is read so that they are in the correct location on the page
to continue the reading once the signal to change readers is
given. Utilizing all three methods throughout the year would
lend a variety of reading strategies while accomplishing the
goal of reading competence for weak readers.

The advantages of shared reading are:

- the readers provide support for one another

- the weak readers develop confidence and competence
in their reading

- the weak readers experience success under the tutelage
of more capable readers

- the younger children become better acquainted with the
older children and see them in a new way

- the older children feel proud about helping the younger
children with their reading

Some suggestions for the Shared Reading activity:

- be sure to match up the students based on their reading
ability (strong reader - weak reader)

- help students select reading material (i.e., appropriate
for their reading level) to take to the shared reading session

- do not allow students to bring reading material such
as novels that cannot be completed in one or two shared
reading sessions

- instruct the students that whenever a reader misreads a
word or pauses at a word for about five seconds, the listener
should pronounce the word correctly, have the reader pronounce
it correctly, and then resume the reading

- the teachers of each class should meander around the room
listening in on each group as they read. This is where teachers
should heap plenty of praise for a job well done.

Some schools supplement the weekly shared reading activity by
having the students and parents sign a contract to have daily
shared reading at home. The contract stipulates that the child
has read for a minimum of 10-15 minutes each day in the
presence of his parents. It is important that the shared
reading procedure be explained to the parents so that there is
no confusion and that the child benefits from the proper
technique.

For additional information on shared reading, please check out
the following web sites:

http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/res/literacy/em_lit4.html

http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/curriculum/english/shared_reading.html

http://www.childliteracy.com/paired.html

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This Month's Free Lesson Plans
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Teachers, check out free "A Whale of a Tale" lesson plans on
our website at http://www.innovamultimedia.com/lp_index.htm

Dive into Math 3 - "Measuring Lengths and Weights" at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/math3f.htm teaches students
to approximate the length and weight of objects.

Leap into Language - "Fill the Blank" at
http://www.innovamultimedia.com/lang3f.htm teaches students
to choose the most meaningful word to fill the blank in a sentence.

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More Great Education Web Sites
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Check out these INNOVA recommended resource sites:

Teaching Tips & Strategies: Thanksgiving Activity
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/thanksgiving/map/
This Thanksgiving project teaches geography and history.
The student makes a map of the Pilgrims' voyage and a tiny
replica of the Mayflower. The students then map the Pilgrims'
trip on the Mayflower from Plymouth, England, to what is now
the state of Massachusetts, USA.

Veteran's Day in the United States
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/veterans/
These Veteran's Day crafts projects are for preschool,
kindergarten and elementary school children. Veteran's Day
honors US war veterans. It began as a celebration of the
peace after World War I ended, and was originally called
Armistice Day (the armistice ending WWI was signed on
November 11, 1919). Armistice Day became an official federal
holiday in 1938. The holiday was renamed Veteran's Day in 1954,
and became an official holiday honoring all US war veterans.
Veteran's Day is held on November 11.

Remembrance Day in Canada
http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/youth/sub.cfm?source=teach_resources
This Canadian government site features teacher resources
containing information and activities for Grades K-12 to help
them reflect on the importance of Remembrance Day. Every
November 11th, Canadians across the country pause in a silent
moment of remembrance for the men and women who served our
country during wartime. We honor those who fought for Canada
- in the First World War (1914-1918), the Second World War
(1939-1945) and the Korean War (1950-1953). More than
1,500,000 Canadians served overseas - more than 100,000 died.
They gave their lives and their future so that we may live
in peace.

Monthly Activity Calendar: November 2002
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/activitycalendars/2002/nov.shtml
This site contains a calendar of suggested activities for each
day of the month of November. Simply click on the activity to
go to crafts, printouts, Label Me! quizzes, and other activities.
Calendars are also available for each month of the year.

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Anchor Island Sea Creature Feature
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An in depth look at the residents of Anchor Island - the setting
for INNOVA's "A Whale of a Tale" Series.

This month's featured creature is Miranda the Sea Otter. Visit
the following links that help teach all about sea otters.

1. Learn

http://www.discovery.com/stories/nature/otters/otters.html
Learn all about sea otters through an article about orphaned
otter rescue efforts at the Discovery Channel's discovery.com.

http://www.kidsplanet.org/coolstuff/otters/faq.html
Sea Otter FAQ from Kid's Planet.

http://www.vanaqua.org/Visitor_Information/AquaFacts/Sea_Otters.htm
Vancouver Aquarium's Otter Aqua Facts.

2. Look

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ottercam/gallery.html
National Geographic's online otter video gallery.

http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/efc_fo/fo_ottr_cam.asp
California's Monterey Bay Aquarium live sea otter cam.

http://www.mbayaq.org/lc/kids_place/kidseq_pnd_kelpcolor.asp
Monterey Bay Aquarium's otter coloring pages.

3. Listen

http://www.seaotters.org/Otters/index.cfm?DocID=63
Otter audio samples from The Monterey Bay Aquarium.

http://www.otternet.com/index.htm
Audio samples and a whole lot more!

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Feature Creature Fast Facts
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Did you know that...

... otters are among the few animals that use tools?

... sea otters dine floating on their backs and use
their stomachs as a table?

... otters, weasels and skunks are all close kin?

... sea otters can weigh as much as 30 pounds?

... sea otters live in loose-knit groups called rafts?

... otters can dive as deep as 330 feet and stay
under as long as five minutes?

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Feedback
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Copyright 2002 INNOVA Multimedia Ltd.
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