Posted by Teacher Ria in Teaching Resources, The Library | 0 Comments

News Online, Anytime.

Every once in a while I chance upon an issue of the Wall Street Journal in the school I work for. Being a teacher, I don’t really get into the nitty gritty of business so I don’t really enjoy reading the paper since what it covers are things not that important to me. I prefer to read newspapers that have more lifestyle features and metro news. However, my friends who dabble in stocks and understand the Dow and Forex and those foreign-sounding words to me make it a point to check on what the Wall Street Journal has to say, whether in  print or online. I browsed a little bit about the newspaper and I found out that it has a worldwide circulation of almost a million online subscribers.

I love how most publications like the Wall Street Journal and even local newspapers have gone digital. For one, it’s so much more accessible to me. I also love how, since it is online, my friends and people who know me get to send me links of articles that they think I would be interested in. However, when it comes to magazines, I still prefer a hard copy. I love the smell the glossy pages give out and the feel of it on my hands. I keep telling myself to stop buying issues one at a time and get myself a Magazine Subscription because it comes out much cheaper from the cover price. Whether it be newspapers or magazines, I believe that these are important tools to learning. Be it for fun or for business, these are definitely great resources for anybody.

Posted by Teacher Ria in Multimedia Center, The Library | 2 Comments

Moving Storybooks

Yesterday I watched two movies, both based on books. I finally got to see New Moon with some of my friends in the evening, but late afternoon, to kill time, I decided to check out A Christmas Carol. Being a teacher, I am both glad that storybooks are being made accessible in film, but on the other hand, I tread carefully because lately, I notice less and less kids read books. Most just wait for the film. It seems that books take a back seat more and more as children get older. Many times, it only becomes a bedtime prop for infants and toddlers.  For example, when I was talking to one of the kids I work with, he did not know that A Christmas Carol is a classic tale. Because of that, I tried to find some of my favorite books to share with the class. Further, to encourage reading, instead of the usual kris kringle done on the holidays, I asked the kids to do a book exchange instead.

To be fair, it’s really nice to see how many of my favorite characters in books have taken on a life outside the pages of the storybook. Take for example The Rainbow Fish. There are many activity sets and play sets or games that are inspired by the story. For me, this takes reading to a higher level. Another big favorite is Guess How Much I Love You. I have seen nursery accessories, furniture, and even clothing inspired by the touching tale of the little Nutbrown Hare who asked his father if he knew how much he loved him.

I suppose in the end I can say having stories made into movies and more can be a good thing. If for anything, hopefully it inspires people to take on the printed form of the story too. It definitely did that for me when it came to the Twilight series!

Posted by Teacher Ria in Life Lessons, The Library | 15 Comments

Books to Liven Up Every Library

For PhotoHunt this week, the theme is books. Over the summer, my colleagues and I cleaned up the school library and decided to allot one slot for our “favorite” books. From Guess How Much I Love You to The Rainbow Fish, the shelf is definitely the most overused section of our library.

However, if I were to recommend books to liven up any kids library, it would definitely be those of Eric Carle.  These are but a few of his many fun and colorful books for children. My personal favorite is Brown Bear, Brown Bear because it provides a venue for active involvement with the kids I read it too. After the story, I extend the book to a class activity where I ask the kids to draw what they want to see then we make our own book about it. On a recent trip to FullyBooked bookstore here in the Philippines, I almost fainted at the wonderful Eric Carle selection they had!

Posted by Teacher Ria in The Library | 1 Comment

Lessons from the Rainbow Fish

Authors note: I am still amazed at the statement “reading books and novels are not educational“. To prove that statement wrong, I will be doing a series of book reviews to show how through these supposed non-educational materials, we can learn what is truly essential.

One of my favorite childrens books is Marcus Pfister’s Rainbow Fish. It is a very simple tale of a fish living in the ocean but it’s message runs deep. Often times kids are initially attracted to the beautiful colors and sparkly scales this little fish has on the cover of the book but once the story is read to them, they learn very important lessons ranging from being nice, to sharing, and even to loving once self in spite and despite of things around them.I love using this story whenever I talk about the themes “self” and “friendship” in my preschool classes. Believe it or not, even my toddlers (around two-and-a-half to three years old) remember the lessons rainbow shares very well.

The story revolves around a very beautiful and sparkly fish. Rainbow is undoubtedly the most beautiful fish in the ocean. However, because she is boastful and proud, she belittles and is mean to those who are not as pretty as her. She also refused to share her sparkly scales with a little fish who asks for one. Because of her attitude, she has no friends and is lonely. With the guidance of Mr. Octopus, Rainbow realizes that it doesn’t matter if you are the prettiest one of them all if you have no friends at all.

After I read this story to my kids, I overhear them telling each other things like “remember Rainbow said to share” or “Do you want to be like Rainbow and have no friends?”. Granted the toddlers may not use as well-crafted a sentence or two, the essence is there. For my older kids, the story shows them how beauty is more than just skin-deep and that inner beauty is what really counts.

Another bonus to having storybooks as springboards for lessons in the classroom is that it extends to so many different subject areas. For example, with the story of Rainbow Fish, I am able to teach math. How? As a follow-up, after the story I do an arts and crafts activity where the kids make their own rainbow fishes. They have free-range to place the scales of Rainbow. Then I use this to practice simple math equations like if Rainbow Fish has 10 scales and she gives away 3 to her friends, how many are left?. There are so many more variations to this depending on the characteristics of the scales we use in class. So tell me now that story books are not educational!

This book is definitely a must-have in any school or home library. I personally have 3 copies of it Click on the photo above to be redirected to Amazon.com and add this to your shopping cart!

Stay tuned for updates on my book review series.