Saturday, August 2, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Reading scores
Despite a decade of education reform, tens of thousands of Florida's high school students don't read well enough to survive in the work force.
•This year's Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test results revealed just 38 percent of 10th graders are proficient in reading.•About one fourth of Hillsborough County high school students—12,088—were placed in remedial reading classes in 2007-08.•Nearly 35% of students who entered Florida's community colleges in 2006 were required to take remedial reading.•College entrance exam reading scores are not improving. SAT scores remain basically flat in Florida and ACT reading scores in Florida dropped four points in 2007, nine points below the national average.
Now, after years of focusing on young readers, educators are turning their attention to high school students who need help.
•This year's Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test results revealed just 38 percent of 10th graders are proficient in reading.•About one fourth of Hillsborough County high school students—12,088—were placed in remedial reading classes in 2007-08.•Nearly 35% of students who entered Florida's community colleges in 2006 were required to take remedial reading.•College entrance exam reading scores are not improving. SAT scores remain basically flat in Florida and ACT reading scores in Florida dropped four points in 2007, nine points below the national average.
Now, after years of focusing on young readers, educators are turning their attention to high school students who need help.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Book Review-Zigzag-A Life of Reading & Writing by Tom Romano
Romano speaks to us directly, confronting the problems faced by educators. These problems are opportunites for us to learn. He talks about his experiences from New Hampshire to Ohio and discusses his life as a writer, teacher, and a learner. It is an inspirational book that has heart.
Grades K-College 224 pages Available from Heinemann www.heinemann.com
$19.50 ISBN 978-0-325-01125-7
Grades K-College 224 pages Available from Heinemann www.heinemann.com
$19.50 ISBN 978-0-325-01125-7
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Great Web site for Social Studies
America's Story. The Library of Congress presents this site which includes these topics: Meet Amazing Americans (features biographies), Jump Back in Time, Explore the States, Join America at Play (includes baseball history, as well as American celebrations from parades to county fairs), and See, Hear and Sing
Monday, June 16, 2008
Some New Fictional Books for Middle School Readers
Bound
Sally Gunning
In 1757, young Alice Cole and her family depart England for the colonies, but her mother and brothers perish on the violently stormy crossing. In Boston, her penniless father sells Alice into indentured servitude. Although she flees an abusive master, Alice is left pregnant and troubled in a pre-Revolutionary America where indentured servants suffered cruel indignities.
The Finder
Colin Harrison
Killers hunt for Jin Li, the owner of a Manhattan office cleaning company, who disappeared after stealing corporate secrets that she passed to her brother, a Shanghai speculator. Ray Grant, Li’s ex-lover, is the reluctant “finder,” an ex- New York City firefighter caught in a deadly investment conspiracy in Harrison’s compulsively readable thriller.
The German Bride
Joanna Hershon
Eva, a young Jewish woman, leaves behind her life in mid-19th century Berlin to marry a Jewish American merchant. The brutal journey to frontier Santa Fe is one of many trials Eva faces—her husband lied about his wealth and indulges in vice—but her determination to achieve a better life transforms Eva into the inspirational heroine of an engaging historical novel.
The Resurrectionist
Jack O’Connell
In a dazzlingly inventive fantasy, an Ohio druggist brings his comatose son to the Peck Clinic, where doctors “resurrect” vegetative patients. As he reads aloud from the boy’s Limbo Comics, the father realizes that his son’s recovery will depend on the intervention of the bizarre, freak show characters emerging from the comic book pages to influence medical reality.
Sally Gunning
In 1757, young Alice Cole and her family depart England for the colonies, but her mother and brothers perish on the violently stormy crossing. In Boston, her penniless father sells Alice into indentured servitude. Although she flees an abusive master, Alice is left pregnant and troubled in a pre-Revolutionary America where indentured servants suffered cruel indignities.
The Finder
Colin Harrison
Killers hunt for Jin Li, the owner of a Manhattan office cleaning company, who disappeared after stealing corporate secrets that she passed to her brother, a Shanghai speculator. Ray Grant, Li’s ex-lover, is the reluctant “finder,” an ex- New York City firefighter caught in a deadly investment conspiracy in Harrison’s compulsively readable thriller.
The German Bride
Joanna Hershon
Eva, a young Jewish woman, leaves behind her life in mid-19th century Berlin to marry a Jewish American merchant. The brutal journey to frontier Santa Fe is one of many trials Eva faces—her husband lied about his wealth and indulges in vice—but her determination to achieve a better life transforms Eva into the inspirational heroine of an engaging historical novel.
The Resurrectionist
Jack O’Connell
In a dazzlingly inventive fantasy, an Ohio druggist brings his comatose son to the Peck Clinic, where doctors “resurrect” vegetative patients. As he reads aloud from the boy’s Limbo Comics, the father realizes that his son’s recovery will depend on the intervention of the bizarre, freak show characters emerging from the comic book pages to influence medical reality.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
New NASA site
A new NASA site allows children to follow Disney animated character Buzz Lightyear on a mission into space, allowing students to complete educational math and science games along the way. The games reinforce concepts like gravity, allow practice of metric conversions and review space history and technology
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Reading for Pleasure
Today's kids aged 5 through 17 still enjoy reading for pleasure, although the percentage of those who read for fun declines as they age, with the drop-off starting to manifest itself after age 8 and continuing its decline through the teen years, according to the 2008 Kids and Family Reading Report from Scholastic and research firm TSC. The study also found that Internet use can actually help extend reading. "High frequency Internet users are more likely to read books for fun every day," said Heather Carter, director of corporate research at Scholastic
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