Posted by Teacher Ria in Teacher's Corner | 0 Comments

Read to Help Others Read

A few years back I joined in on the call to say no to the Philippine Book Blockade because I believed very much in the value of reading, whether this be in the classroom setting or in the comforts of our own rooms, curled up with a good book on cold rainy days. It’s sad, however, that books so often are not accessible to many of our fellow countrymen, especially those who cannot afford it. It isn’t surprising that majority of public schools (and students) do not meet a 1:1 ratio of students to books.

Recently I came across this book sale/fund raiser via Facebook for the benefit of the AGAPP Foundation. Proceeds of the sale will be used to purchase new children’s books to be placed in the different schools that AGAPP has built all over the Philippines.

Check out their Facebook Page to see how you can help

Posted by Teacher Ria in Advocacies, Teacher's Corner, Teaching Resources, The Library | 0 Comments

When Little Readers Grow

One of my major advocacies as a preschool teacher, despite the fact I don’t read as much as I used to anymore, is to foster a love for reading in my kids. I feel a little guilty, actually, that lately I am not as able to integrate stories to my lessons as much as I used to, or want to for that matter. Before I would have a story EVERY single day. However now, I tend to have about 2-3 a week. Sigh.

What I try to do, however, is set aside book time everyday for the kids to explore the different books in class. I allow them to have free reign of the books they would like to check out and read during this period. I go around and sit with them and together we go through the book. Often times the books that are in our booktime shelf are those that we had read already, so they are often familiar with the story line. However today, as I sat beside one of my little girls, I couldn’t help but be amazed at how far her reading skills have come

isn’t she so cute! hehe. yes, those are real prescription eyeglasses.

Although the book in the picture, I think, is being read from memory, she can now read longer words and has a better grasp over sight words. At times, however, she still relies too much on this, but that’s normal Her phonetic mastery is also something she is able to rely on in our spelling games. Scenes like these are definitely going to be among those I will miss a lot pretty soon

If you found this post interesting, informative and educational, feel free to take home my notes by subscribing here.

Posted by Teacher Ria in Advocacies, Teacher's Corner | 6 Comments

We NEED a Country of Readers: NO TO THE PHILIPPINE BOOK BLOCKADE!

‘...novels and reading books are “not educational”.‘(1)

Add this to a long line of baffling statements people in our government has said.

I strongly reject the notion that a reading book or a novel serves no educational purpose. Just because we are entertained by a story, a book, or whatever reading material, this does not discount the fact that these are avenues for learning and growth. In a country that sorely needs education, they are making achieving this even more difficult. How can we, as a country, progress if we keep the people from accessing information?

While  Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Saga and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series are not textbooks filled with facts and figures to inform us about historical events and similar data, these books encourage us to THINK and IMAGINE. These are crucial components of problem solving and logic reasoning. We don’t learn how to share and be self-aware with an almanac do we? But with books like Rainbow Fish, The Giving Tree and The Missing Piece we learn what it means to be human.

Posted by Teacher Ria in Featured, Teacher's Corner | 42 Comments

Raising a Bookworm

One of my most favorite teaching tools are storybooks. I’m not talking about teaching my preschoolers only here, but I have used many a storybook in my undergraduate classes, much to the chagrin of my students. However, as I’d go through the stories, I’d catch them with the same dreamy and awed expressions my toddlers have when they listen to stories. At the end of the story, the once complex topic, such as neuroanatomy, becomes as simple as a kid’s story.

Why do I use storybooks?

Simply because they’re a fun way to learn. Imagine sitting through a lecture about brain functions and its role in human behavior. No matter how into the topic you are, you’d find yourself fidgeting in a few minutes, right? What more for a little child! Of all the things kids have to learn, reading and writing are perhaps the most challenging to teach. While some kids pick it up fairly easily, some encounter difficulties along the way. With storybooks, teachers and parents help make the learning more fun.

Other than making learning fun, here are some benefits I see in reading stories to children (and adults alike):

1. Storybooks foster cognitive development. In fact, this is strongly recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) because it helps stimulate brain and language development. Some have even suggested that reading to an infant, whether this be a storybook or the newspaper increase activity in the brain.

2. It teaches basic reading and writing skills. Although they may not be doing the reading on their own per se, storybooks show children that text is written from left to right, that letters make sounds that when put together make words that mean something. The pictures in these books make abstract ideas real and concrete to them.

3. Reading helps build vocabulary and gives the reader a bigger worldview. In essence, storybooks take us to places we cannot be or have not been in. Books allow us to explore cultures and ideas while in the comfort of our own homes. We also learn how words are used and what they mean. I remember in one of my toddlers classes, one of the kids would not stop talking about a platypus, an animal which is not well-known in the Philippines. But because of our story, she learned all about it.

4. Books teach children the fine art of loving reading. When I first started teaching, my mentor said it was not as important for me to teach phonetic learning over helping a child become really literate. She said what would the kids do with knowing how to read complicated words when these words meant nothing at all to them. For me, giving children storybooks makes them learn how to really read, and not just decode words. Albeit the phonetic approach to teaching reading is a basic, fundamental skill to be mastered, it seems to me that one of the most effective ways to teach a child to read is through reading to him or her regularly.

5. Reading to children help build bonds between the parent and child. Some experts would even suggest that reading out loud to children help soothe and relax them. It also gives them a feeling of safety and security, which can later translate to more healthy emotional growth.

6. Books are character building. Yes, we can talk till we are blue in the face why it is important to share or be honest, but these don’t mean much to kids until these are made real to them.

To make teaching kids how to read even easier, The Accidental Teacher is hosting it’s first online contest! By simply sharing the title of your favorite story and what lessons can be learned from it, you can win a Php 300.00 Fullybooked Gift Certificate!

Contest Mechanics/Guidelines:

1. Post your answer in the comment box on or before midnight of April 30, 2009.

2.The contest is open to Philippine residents only. All book lovers and readers  are welcome to send comments but are limited to one per person only.  Only the first comment shall be considered for contestants with multiple comment entries. Unique contestants shall be identified through their IP address.

2. A winner will be randomly selected and will be notified by May 1, 2009.  Eligible comments is equivalent to one raffle entry.

3. You may earn extra entries by any of the following:  write a blog post about this contest with a link back to this post (equivalent to 2 entries) or plurkabout this contest (1 entry) and post in the comments section the blog entry/plurk url.

4. The winner will be contacted through the email address supplied in the comment form. The winners address will then be requested in order to make arrangements for claiming the prize. The winner will be given 3 days to respond to notification or he/she will forfeit the prize and a new winner will be selected.

5. For questions and inquiries about this contest please send email yapatoots@gmail.com