I found countless static websites to help students make sense of the classics, identify themes, or gain historical insight, but nothing interactive until I stumbled across Dr. Roger Travis. This Associate Professor in the Modern and Classical Languages department at the University of Connecticut uses online gaming as a course requirement when teaching the classics.

Dr. Travis, who first noticed a connection between modern video games and the classics while teaching Virgil’s Aeneid, suggests that the bards’ audiences were interactive with epic poems in much the same way that today’s video gamers interact with a software-generated adventure tale.

He has gone so far as to turn his course, “Classics in Ancient Mediterranian Studies” into an online class he affectionately refers to as, “gaming Homer.” Students are assigned to read Homer as well as secondary sources about Homer’s improvisational tradition. They then play video games to grasp that myth is not just something from 2,500 years ago.

“Like today’s gamers, the bards’ audiences didn’t know what was going to happen next, so they were immersed in the story and were interactive with it in a very real way,” Travis says. “The popular notion that video games are unique in their interactivity overlooks a tradition well over 2,000 years old.” Video games “bring back to life an essential part of the sort of storytelling to be found in the epic tradition of the Homeric bards.”

Since most of us learn to read as children, while at the same time building countless other skills, researches have found it nearly impossible to isolate brain structure changes related specifically to reading. In the October 14 edition of Nature, researchers describe a study with former guerrillas in Colombia who learn to read for the first time as adults. The study has helped scientists see firsthand how brain structure changes after learning to read as well as pinpoint the key regions of the brain involved in literacy.

These findings have the potential to further research into the causes reading disorders such as dyslexia. Studies of dyslexics have shown reduced grey and white matter in regions that grow after learning to read. The new study suggests that some of the differences seen in dyslexia may be a consequence of reading difficulties rather than a cause.

“Systematic phonics instruction produces significant benefits for students in kindergarten through sixth grade and for children who are having difficulty learning to read.”

A study by New Horizons for Learning identifies these common components of effective reading programs:

1. Phonics Instruction

The July 2009 Johns Hopkins study, Effective Programs for Struggling Readers concludes that an emphasis on phonics greatly improves tutoring outcomes, particularly in a one-on-one setting with a professional teacher. The phonics method of reading instruction breaks language down into its simplest components to help readers understand how letters are linked to sounds (phonemes) and spelling patterns.

2. Listening Comprehension

To help students improve comprehension, tutors and parents can intentionally teach listening skills by showing students how to figure out unknown words and stopping to ask questions about a passage (What do you think will happen next?, Why was that boy so excited?). Like reading comprehension, listening comprehension requires background knowledge on the content being presented.

3. Reading Comprehension

Current research shows that readers often struggle with reading comprehension due to lack of familiarity with the content. For example, a child who has never been to an amusement park may not understand a story about a roller coaster ride. On the other hand, cognitive psychologist Daniel Willingham writes, “If you take kids who score poorly on a reading test and ask them to read on a topic they know something about (baseball, say, or dinosaurs), all of a sudden their comprehension is terrific better than kids who score well on reading tests but who don’t know a lot about baseball or dinosaurs.”

4. Tutoring Opportunities

Every one of the programs studied by New Horizons for at-risk readers places a high value on private tutoring, agreeing that concentrated, individualized attention is critical to an effective reading program.

5. Extending Reading into the Home

According to those interviewed, the final critical component for students to acquire successful reading skills is to read at home every day.

With so much focus on decoding and fluency, background knowledge is often overlooked when evaluating students for reading comprehension. This entertaining video by cognitive psychologist Daniel Willingham demonstrates just how critical background knowledge is to our comprehension.

“Prior knowledge is vital to comprehension because writers omit information. For example, suppose you read He just got a new puppy. His landlord is angry. You easily understand the logical connection between those sentences because you know things about puppies (they aren’t housebroken), carpets (urine stains them) and landlords (they are protective of their property.)”

Fortunately there are strategies teachers and parents can follow to help students build background knowledge. But first, according to Willingham, “We have to recognize that reading is an interaction between the words on the page and the knowledge in the reader’s head. Without background knowledge, you can’t comprehend a text to a level we would call “understanding.”

“America’s middle and high schools are stuck in the 20th century, using outmoded approaches to prepare students for a world that no longer exists.”

As children move into middle school, reading logs become a thing of the past. Teachers no longer demand students read 20-30 minutes a day; instead they give a vague reminders to “keep a book with you at all times.”

Somewhere along the lines, an assumption was made that tweens have been taught to read and have established a habit of reading that will grow with ability. A job well done. But not every child finds reading easy or pleasurable and many put down their books as the distractions of adolescence take over.

Today’s report from Carnegie Corporation of New York pinpoints adolescent literacy as a cornerstone of the current education reform movement. Time To Act [pdf] emphasizes that “good early literacy instruction is only a foundation, not the whole structure.” The report provides concrete recommendations that educators can implement to re-engineer literacy instruction across the curriculum in order to drive student achievement in all subjects.

The study shows achievement in reading for fourth-graders at the highest point in thirty-three years, while over the same period, a marked stagnation in the literacy achievement of adolescents. On a brighter note, the researchers claim middle school literacy deterioration is not inevitable, and present initiatives to promote student improvement even as word, sentence, and conceptual complexity increase.

Concrete examples are offered on how to redesign schools and promote excellence in all content areas through a renewed focus on literacy. Specifically, Time To Act recommends the nation:

1. give teachers literacy-focused instructional tools and formative assessments
2. encourage schools and districts to collect and use information about student literacy performance more efficiently
3. call upon state-level leaders to maximize the use of limited resources for literacy efforts in a strategic way.

“Addressing the literacy gap that emerges in middle school is a key element in driving forward national education reform efforts,” stated Andres Henriquez, program officer of CCNY’s Advancing Literacy Initiative. “This requires schools to provide improved literacy instruction in all content areas, particularly to those who struggle, as well as continual assessments of needs and progress.”

The authors are emphatic that literacy goals can be met, and remind educators about the many at-risk schools and students that have already beaten the odds. Time to Act is released with five corresponding reports which delve deeper into how to advance literacy and learning for all students, including such topics as the cost of implementing adolescent literacy programs and reading in the disciplines.

“As schools consider how to re-engineer to meet the demands of the 21st century, they must also establish a culture of literacy,” stated Vartan Gregorian, president of CCNY. “Integrating literacy instruction across the curriculum is critical for students to master the skills required for college and careers.”

MULE TRAIN MAIL, Written and illustrated by Craig Brown, Charlesbridge.

There’s one place left in the United States where the mail is delivered by mule train: from the rim of the Grand Canyon a mile down to Supai, on the Havasupai Indian Reservation…

MOONSHOT, The Flight of Apollo 11, Written and illustrated by Brian Floca, Richard Jackson/Atheneum.

In watercolors, ink and acrylics, Floca lays out colorfully and succinctly how the Apollo 11 mission unfolded. Crew and machinery are equally brought to life…

The downloadable pamphlets include tips on ways to explore and interpret ideas within a story; words, sounds, and parts of speech; differences between fiction and nonfiction; diagrams and charts; and more.

Ed Pubs offers over 6,000 titles for parents, teachers, and students on topics ranging from child development to student loans. All publications are provided at no cost to the general public by the U.S. Department of Education.

To become part of the solution, and earn community service hours, the U.S. Department of Education suggests asking your local librarian about opportunities to read to younger children in your community.

Serve.gov adds that if a young person reads only five books over the summer, the effect is potentially large enough to prevent a decline in reading achievement scores from the spring to the fall. Furthermore, children who are read to at least three times a week, are twice as likely to score in the top 25% on reading tests.

Helping younger children bridge the summer reading gap allows older students to demonstrates compassion, give back to their communities, and learn firsthand that one person can always make a difference. To find a local literacy program, or for more ideas on how young people can serve, visit the United We Serve website.

A few days ago we recommended giving your family a summer of reading. Now all you need are some ideas for finding great books. Check out our new article, 3 Ways to Find Great Books. Then peruse award-winning books featured on various lists in our Ultimate Book List for Children and Young Adults.

You’ll have enough books for several summers!

• find books to match your child’s individual interests
• try a variety of genres from fantasy and mystery to non-fiction and comics
• leave reading materials lying around
• read to your children, even the big ones
• make sure your kids catch you reading often
• visit the library frequently and ask your librarian for help
• invite children read to younger siblings or neighbors
• set aside a regular family reading time each day
• never bully, nag, bribe, or criticize reading skills or materials

Studies show that the more children read, the better readers and writers they become. Visit your local library to take advantage of this completely free activity that helps keep brains active all summer long.

The 2009 Read with Kids Challenge runs April 1 – June 30, 2009. Reading is Fundamental (RIF) and US Airways have teamed up to log 5 million minutes of reading with kids. All participants have a chance to win a vacation to the Walt Disney World Resort as well as flights on US Airways and monthly prize drawings.

Preview,
Question,
and four R’s: Read, Reflect, Recite, Review.

If you are reading a chapter in your biology book, for example, you should start by skimming the whole chapter for an overview. Then create some questions to concentrate on while you study, such as “How does photosynthesis work?” Then read the chapter.

After you’ve finished, reflect–think about how the chapter has answered your questions. Recite the answers back to yourself, explaining the information in your own words. Finally, go back through the book, skimming again for the main points.

Sound like a lot of work? It may take longer than a quick skim, but it’s also a great way to make sure you retain what you are reading, rather than just sitting in front of the book and turning pages.

Check out Encarta for more homework memory tricks.

Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel American Born Chinese won the Printz Award, a newer prize for books in the young adult category.

“Books happen in odd ways,” said poet Jack Prelutsky, creator of the bananaconda, a constrictor with the skin of a fruit.
So it was one sleepless night several years ago that he descended the stairs in his home for a snack, a banana, and settled into an easy chair. He found a TV documentary on the giant snake from the Amazon, noticed the coincidence of syllables, and inspiration struck. His poem begins:

“Oh sleek bananaconda
You longest long long fellow,
How sinuous and sly you are,
How slippery, how yellow.”

Soon, he had invented “broccolions” and “potatoads,” and within weeks had written “Scranimals,” a compilation of logic-defying verse.

You can read the Bible, the Koran, and the Talmud. The Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Magna Carta are here.

Some of the most influential books ever published like Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and Einstein’s Special and General Theory of Relativity are available for download.

Of course there are many, many more titles. Just explore!

A focus on individual needs makes a lot of sense to me. After all, one-on-one instruction is what TeamUP! Tutors provides. But it’s far more challenging to provide that type of attention with a class of 34! Kudos to the teachers.