In doing these readings with the boys, not only did they grow in their literary skills, but they turned their convictions into action. Most adults won't even write letters. How awesome to get these young men interested in their community at such a young age. This reading experiment could have changed their lives forever. What a difference the right lesson can make!

This is great that the story brought their attention to issues going on in their own community. This is positive for two reasons-one it got them thinking about it and two it made them feel empowered to go out and do something about it. It can be difficult to motivate young men, but this text not only inspired them to read, but to also get involved in their own community.

From a teacher's perspective-how exciting!! You can see them take the literature apart, dissect it and discuss it. That is real learning! They are understanding it, discussing it and adding their own thoughts.

How exciting that these reluctant readers turned into a group of males enjoying reading and talking about the different parts of literature together! This goes to show that anyone can enjoy reading. They just have to find the right book!

This is the goal of every teacher-to meet students where they are and give them the tools they will need in life. I think it's awesome that this had such an impact on their life to increase their social interaction. You never know what it's going to take to reach some children, but if you take the time to find out, the results can be dynamic.

I like how she noticed that teaching traditional fairy tales was not working for a student, so she switched gears and found something he could relate to. Some teachers expect the student to conform to the lesson plan that is being taught. Not many teachers would change the plan to meet the needs or understanding of the child. I think this is great! She is still teaching the basics of what she wanted to teach, but is now making it more relatable to that student.

This is a great way to teach students about different points of view. As a first person narrative, that person can't see everything that's going on. It is only from their perspective. This gives the reader a chance to understand how that person felt.

It also provides a great discussion. What do you think __ would have done if she had known? Do you think would have made a different decision?

As the article states, it makes the person seem more real. They are not just reading facts, but reading about how the person felt, what decisions they made and why they made those decisions.

This is also a great way to get the students involved by asking them if they were this character, how would they feel? What would they do in this situation?

Books for younger children have a lot of basic facts. For example, when I read books about firefighters to my students. There are basic facts about firefighters in the reading. So fictionalized reading is taking what they already know up to the next step.

The students will learn how to distinguish between fact and fictionalized information. This is an important skill that they will use throughout their education.

Starting out reading fictionalized biographies is a good way to prepare them for reading biographies. Fictionalized biographies tend to be an easier read.

The traditional flat fairy tale is good for younger children. Again right vs wrong with a clear outline. However older children-tweens will get more out of a fairy tale when the character is more developed with emotions, relationships and obstacles from their past. At this age, they can understand those dynamics and even relate it to their own lives. So while the bones of the story may be the same, the story itself is different. There is more to think about than just "was he a good guy or bad guy?" They can dig deeper into the meanings and feelings as to why this character is like this. What made him/her like this? What would you do in this circumstance? It provides a deeper level of the fairy tale for older children to dissect, discuss and understand.

We teach young children right from wrong and they this very clearly in fairy tales. It is good vs evil. It is very clear for them to understand and see the good characters vs the evil characters. We teach them that good always wins, police officers are good people, etc.. Fairy tales provide a clear guide for what young children are taught and it reinforces what they have told.

This will help the reader understand the difference between the historical aspect and the fantasy. It combines both together and will make for interesting discussion. This will also open the student's minds to understand that fantasy is boundless.

I already mentioned this in the above statement, but I think this would make for great discussion. How are the versions different? Which one did you like the best? Why? Which version tells more about the character? Did the character remain true to the original story?

I think they need to evaluate these things in the book. They can compare the original story to the newer version. What has changed? Now knowing the background of this character, do you think the outcome will be the same as in the original story? Why do you think the author changed that character? This would make for great discussions!

This is so true. In so many of the Disney movies it is clear who is the evil villain and who is the "good guy." This clear distinction is perfect for little children since they are still concrete thinkers.

Again I believe that teaching on other cultures is an important part of a child's education. They need to be exposed to other cultures and understand other people's way of life. This will help them to understand others, respect other people's beliefs and build a cultural understanding of our world.

I think this is an important part of keeping students interested-compare it to their own lives. If you show how a concept relates to their life, they will become more engaged in the learning process. Also it won't seem like such a foreign concept to them. They will be familiar with the idea and able to transfer the notion into their own world.

I think we should teach about other cultures. It helps us to gain an understanding of other people, see things from different perspectives, understand and respect other people's beliefs and broadens our own understanding of life. I think it is true that more people understand the American way of life than we do other people's cultures.

Critical thinking is an important skill for children to learn. It helps them in all aspects of learning.

This is very true for the age group I teach (4-5). They are concrete thinkers and are comfortable with black and white thinking.

This is a simple yet accurate definition of critical thinking. The harder part is getting children to think outside of their own thoughts/ideas.

I agree that reading contributes to a lifelong learning. I encourage all my parents to read to their child everyday. Not only doe sit benefit the child academically-seeing that letters make words, letters are important, words tell the story, vocabulary and so much more, but it also creates a special moment for families to connect. Children will remember sitting on their parents lap (lying in bed or wherever they are at) and sharing a special moment with that person. It also teaches children to love reading because the person they love values reading. It creates warm memories and starts them on a lifelong love of reading.

I use picture books all the time to teach different concepts. As a matter of fact we are talking about weather this week and using a Vicki Cobb book about wind. These books still teach the concept but break it down for a younger child to understand.

I agree with this! Picture books offer so much more than a cute story. They are treasures that can be used by people all ages. I think the younger children will enjoy the story for it just being a story. They may understand the meaning behind it or the moral of the story, but will not understand it in detail. Older children can understand the deeper meaning of the story, the irony, humor and the basic parts that build a story.

Again this is another great use of a picture book for older children.

This is very true. Not only do I use them in my prek classroom, but a good friend of mine teaches 5th grade and she uses picture books all the time for projects. At this age the children can read the book on their own and dig deeper into the meaning of the book, make up a different ending and dissect the different parts of the book in detail (characters, setting, etc...).

I think this was a great way to have the students empowered to make the changes. It shows them that their voice matters and allows them to be a part of the decision process.

I really like this and agree with it. We are models and the children learn as much from watching as they do from what we say. Who knows, maybe they learn more from watching us.

I like how she asked these specific questions instead of "What do you think?"

I like how she gives a technique to help the students dig deeper into the text. This is a great strategy to help them dig deeper not only into poetry but in all types of reading genres.

I think that having the confidence that you can do it shows to your students. They can tell if you are teaching something you really like and are comfortable with. They will pick up on your vibes on the topic.

I agree with this statement. By putting the words/sounds you are concentrating in bold, it makes it stand out. In addition it would be great to be able to share the stories on a class website. The children can read stories written by others in the class. Plus, the parents would have access to it and this can promote reading at home.

By allowing a child to be able to create these different parts of a story, this tool can be used to teach a variety of things, such as the main components of a story in addition to the basics of reading. Very versatile!

I think this is a great tool to use to connect to teaching. This makes the learning come alive and is exciting! I think this app will increase their interest in learning, make the learning more meaningful and help them to understand the importance of words in a story (younger children). This tool will definitely be an asset to a teaching lesson. In addition it gives the child the power to create their own story using the lesson (learning objective) the teacher has taught.

I really like how she gives them a picture to try and remember the sound.

I like how the teacher not only talks or teaches for the auditory learner but also puts it on the board for the visual learner.

I really like how the author broke down this concept. I agree with how they give the example of how to teach the short /a/ sound. I think by teaching it this way the children will begin to understand how to break down the sounds.

I agree with the author's comment here. We cannot dismiss phonic instruction. This is the key that children will need going forward to decode words. By teaching phonic skills to children we provide them with a toolbox of resources that they will use throughout their lives. I know as an adult when I see a word I don't know, I try to decode the sounds.

The article talks about spending less time completing work sheets. I think this is very important. It seems that work sheets have become a type of babysitter in the classroom.

In addition, children learn different ways. If you only offer one type of way, you will miss out on reaching other children who would benefit from hands on learning.

The text talks about how students should be able to take ownership of their time. I agree with this. I think if students feel they have a choice. they will engage in the activity because they feel they have the power to choose. In addition this is teaching them to take responsibility for their own learning.

The text states that the children were captivated by the book Sisters on the Homefront. This is because it was something they could relate to. Teenage pregnancy was one that existed in their community.

It is important when choosing books for your classroom that it reflects the student's interests. This way they want to read the book vs. being forced into reading it.

Here are some questions you can ask kids:

• Who is in this story?