Responsible Citizens: Considering the Power of Words

By Karen Matis with Charlene Klassen Endrizzi

“I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race.”
from The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, 2012

Death, an unconventional narrator, contemplates this final thought in Marcus Zusak’s historical fiction novel The Book Thief. In the context of World War II, these words offer a blunt description of a citizen who stands up for what is right and the possible unfortunate consequences of becoming an advocate for others. This week we continue our investigation of Responsible Citizens alongside a different seventh grade class studying The Book Thief. I offered this rhetorical question to help students contemplate Zusak’s thoughts related to their lives: “With which group do you want to be associated? the overestimated, popular opinion, or the underestimated, who labor against the grain to enact positive change?” Continue reading →

Responsible Citizens and Workers: Tackling Informational Texts

By Karen Matis with Charlene Klassen Endrizzi

One fascinating aspect of the seventh graders’ questions during our conversation after the author Skype was their curiosity regarding specific vocabulary (such as “cesspool” or “costermonger”) used by Hopkinson. I think Dr. Matis’ Word Wall was a great tool for students, allowing them to discuss and learn new words.

Ben Gaul, history preservice teacher

This week we continue our exploration of what it means to be responsible citizens using The Great Trouble, Stolen Dreams, and companion web resources. My two seventh grade classes started our exploration of The Great Trouble with a Word Wall. Like Ben noted, I also see students’ engagement with texts increase if we collectively analyze unfamiliar words. The first word selected to place on our wall was “mudlark,” a term introduced and defined on page one. Readers eagerly contributed to the wall when they came across new vocabulary. To help students connect to words of low practical use but an integral part of understanding The Great Trouble, we acted out new terms or mimicked facial expressions to physically demonstrate a word’s meaning. Continue reading →

Responsible Citizens and Workers: Nurturing Ethical Viewpoints in Seventh Grade

By Charlene Klassen Endrizzi with Karen Matis

“Instead of looking with my eyes, I decided to see with my heart.”
(Eel, mudlark in The Great Trouble by Deborah Hopkinson, 2013)

Eel, an adolescent protagonist, along with larger than life teens like Iqbal Masih and Malala Yousafsai from Pakistan, became central figures in a four week exploration of Responsible Citizens and Workers. Overarching questions like “What makes a responsible citizen?” and “What makes a responsible worker?” initiated a collaborative inquiry between Karen’s 45 seventh graders and 12 secondary education minors enrolled in my literacy course. Previous interactions with Deborah Hopkinson led us to contemplate various social justice themes in her books. We set out to create opportunities for middle school readers to explore their place in the world and consider avenues for making meaningful contributions. Eel’s ethical outlook of “see[ing] with my heart” invited adolescents and preservice teachers to examine civic responsibility in their present day lives. Continue reading →

Notes from a Small Island: Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse

By T. Gail Pritchard, Ph.D., University of Arizona

This week’s blog focuses on the 2013 Costa Children’s Book Award winner, Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse, written and illustrated by the U.K.’s Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell. The Costa Book Awards honor authors in the U.K. and Ireland in five categories: First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry, and Children’s Book. One unique aspect of the Costa is that it “places children’s books alongside adult books.” The 2015 Children’s Book Award winner, The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge (reviewed by Melissa in this month’s blog) was also the 2015 Costa Book of the Year. Continue reading →

Community Outreach Literacy Practices After the March 2011 Earthquake

By Yoo Kyung Sung, University of New Mexico,
and Junko Sakoi, Tucson Unified School District

Last week we explored a range of Japanese picture books describing natural disasters. The books became significantly meaningful to children in Japan when the earthquake of 2011 occurred. Allowing time for thinking and talking about the earthquake through picture books developed even more meaning outside of school. Social outreach programs thru mobile libraries were essential for young readers as they, in part, ameliorated the effects of the earthquake for children who lost their schools and access to books. We’d like to explore the traveling library as a type of Japanese cultural artifact that will continue to be important in its future. Continue reading →

Japanese National Trauma: Changing Trends in Japanese Picture Books Since the Tohoku Earthquake

by Yoo Kyung Sung, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM & Junko Sakoi, Tucson Unified School District, Tucson AZ

“March 11th, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake takes place in Tohoku area including Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi, 231 miles northeast of Tokyo at a depth of 15.2 miles. The earthquake causes a tsunami with 30-foot waves that damage several nuclear reactors in Fukushima. It is the fourth-largest earthquake on record (since 1900) and the largest to hit Japan… The confirmed death toll is 15,893 as of October 9 2015” (CNN Library, 2015).

The Japan Tohoku earthquake resulted in global environmental concerns despite the fact that earthquake originally appeared to be a limited “Japanese” event. Continue reading →

Natural Disasters: What Should Children Learn?

by Yoo Kyung Sung, University of New Mexico & Junko Sakoi, Tucson Unified School District

This month we will discuss social meanings inherent in children’s literature, specifically addressing some recent global and national natural disasters that resulted in the heavy loss of human life as well as the destruction of homes.

Continue reading →

Books for Read Alouds

By Dr. Megan McCaffrey and Dr. Katy E. Hisrich, Governors State University

I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book.
-J.K. Rowling

While it is important to know how to read aloud, it is also important to know what to read aloud. There is a vast number of books for children. Ipso facto it may prove daunting and even difficult to make selections for a read aloud. Continue reading →

Characteristics of Read Alouds

By Dr. Megan McCaffrey and Dr. Katy E. Hisrich, Governors State University

Last week, we discussed the importance and benefits of read alouds. We know that read alouds offer numerous benefits and have significant impact on a child’s literacy skills and language development. Now the question remains, “what are the best practices for a read aloud?” This week, we will focus on the characteristics of read alouds. This is includes the factors that one should consider when conducting a read-aloud. I think about this using a simple acronym: P-E-T. Purpose-Environment-Technique.

Little Roja Riding Hood by Susan Middleton Elya, illustrated by Susan Guevara

Continue reading →

Learning to Listen through Enrique and Jacqueline

by Melissa Summer Wells, Gina Crosby-Quinatoa, and Julia López-Robertson, University of South Carolina

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Even the silence
has a story to tell you.
Just listen. Listen.
(Brown Girl Dreaming, How to Listen #7, p. 278)

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We have enjoyed inviting you into the journeys of Enrique and Jaqueline as they made difficult choices, Continue reading →

Worlds of Words

International Collection of Children’s and Adolescent Literature

Student Connections