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Monday, April 12th, 1999
Books GIF

Education World® Celebrates National Library Week, April 11-17, 1999


This week, Education World is pleased to focus its issue on Books! Books! Books! Among the stories you'll find in this week's issue is a story that presents 25 fresh ideas for spicing up classroom book reports. (In addition, we invite you to share your ideas that work!) Another story highlights a special Literature Day/Literacy Night program created by teachers at Westwood Elementary School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. This special program -- which involved students and their families in a celebration of reading and literature -- might give you some ideas for a similar activity in your own school!



Following are some highlights of the stories you'll find on Ed World this week.

And don't miss this week's other LESSON PLANNING story, Crisis in Kosovo: Web Resources for Classroom Lessons, which highlights some simple activities and the best online resources for helping students comprehend the conflict in Kosovo.
  • Better Book Reports -- 25 Ideas! Tired of the same old book report formats? Or worse, do your students grumble every time you mention "book reports"? Spice up those old book reports with some new ideas. Education World presents 25 ideas for you to use or adapt. In addition: Ideas for cyber book reports!

  • Organize a "Literature Day" (and Night!) at Your School Teachers at Westwood Elementary School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, found the perfect reward for their students, who read 4,500 books last October! They organized a Literature Day. Then they did the whole thing over again at night -- so they could include families! Included: Activity ideas and tips for organizing your own literature event.

  • LitTips: 12 Practical Tips to Improve Literacy! Literacy is Lorie Schaefer's number-one goal. To that end, Schaefer -- a reading specialist and confessed "idea hamster" -- is constantly looking for ways to put ideas in front of the teachers she works with. Among the tools she uses is a weekly literacy tip, published in her principal's school bulletin. Included: 12 of Schaefer's "LitTips" -- and an invitation for you to share a favorite of your own!

  • The Reading Team: A Handbook for Volunteer Tutors K-3 In response to President Clinton's "America Reads Challenge," many community members are becoming more involved in their schools. The International Reading Association has taken a leadership role in the effort to train community members as reading tutors. This new handbook, a step-by-step guide from the IRA, is an invaluable training tool for tutors and tutor trainers.

  • Teaching Phonics Today: A Primer for Educators Phonics has not been abandoned, it just looks different today! Few topics in early education today generate as much heat as the phonics vs. whole language debate does. A new book, however, may go a long way toward damping the flames.