Kelly's Curriculum Corner

We did an exciting program this summer in looking at the nexus of boys, reading pedagogy and the role of technology. The basic premise is if some students prefer more action based literacy activities, could technology fill that role? We came up with technology tools that could be used as Before, During and After reading strategies. All participants read the book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinney as the back drop of looking at how reading pedagogy could be enhanced by technology tools. Before During After (focus retelling) Multi media text sets Blog Digital story telling   Wallwisher Movie Maker   Voicethread     Wordle     Glogster     Flip Note Studio   Teachers then embedded these technology to...

  The graph above shows an amazingly consistent pattern regarding the reading achievement of girls (top line) and boys (bottom line). While this graph highlights the longitudinal data of 13 year olds, the picture for 9 and 17 year olds looks remarkably the same. Basically girls out score boys and have for 30 years across all age groups according to the National Test of Educational Progress (NAEP.) Michael W. Smith & Jeff Wilhelm summarize the findings on boys and literacy in their book Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys (2002) pages 10&11 :   Achievement: Boys take longer to read than girls. Boys read less than girls. Girls tend to comprehend text significantly better than boys. Boys tend to do better with information retrieval & work-related literacy tasks than girls. Attitude: Boys generally provide a lower estimate of their reading abilities than girls do. Boys value reading as an activity less than girls do. Bo...

Scott McLeod at Dangerously Irrelevant posted 10 Questions About Books, Libraries, Librarians, and Schools . He asks some hard questions about how technology is changing the way information is shared and stored. I am avid bibliophile, yet most of my reading is an electronic format at this point, I am annoyed when I cannot purchase a book on my Kindle. I love libraries and book stores, but love information at my fingertips more. What does all this mean for the structure of current school libraries, information literacy and the jobs of librarians? It is easy to discount Mr. McLeod’s questions , to push them aside or maybe even be a little angry at some of his more provocative questions. However,its been my experience we shape the future or the future shapes us. Rather than be in denial or get angry, let’s take on his questions. We want 21st century learners, let’s not be afraid to talk about shaping 21st century schools. What a great strategic planning discussion! Check out his qu...