[CALIBK12] Rewards for reading?

Tue Oct 28 20:22:47 PDT 2008

How do you play "Library Basketball?"

-----Original Message-----
From: calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu on behalf of Paula Dacker
Sent: Tue 10/28/2008 6:01 PM
To: librarykaren at hotmail.com; calibk12 at lists.sjsu.edu; carsonj at mdusd.k12.ca.us
Subject: Re: [CALIBK12] Rewards for reading?

I play "Library Basketball" as a part of my orientation.  When the
winning teams asks what do they get for winning, my response is "joy of
learning!"

Paula Dacker, Teacher Librarian
Charter Oak High School
Covina, CA  91724

>>> Karen Tukua <librarykaren at hotmail.com> 10/28/08 7:53 AM >>>

Dear Jo,
I agree with you totally!! When I have Information Literacy contests in
my library, sometimes some one will ask what they get for winning. My
answer is always a pat on the back from yourself, knowing you did it
correct. My students understand. Karen Tukua, MLIS, LMT Cambridge
Elementary School Concord, CA 94520 librarykaren at hotmail.com "What a
school thinks about its library, is a measure of what it thinks about
education." Harold Howe, former U.S. Commissioner of Education> Date:
Tue, 28 Oct 2008 07:43:59 -0700> From: carsonj at mdusd.k12.ca.us> To:
calibk12 at lists.sjsu.edu> Subject: Re: [CALIBK12] Rewards for reading?> >
> As a parent first, and a teacher and LMT second, I disagree with Mr. >
Trampenau. It is my observation, that we are raising kids who expect >
external rewards for> every little thing they do, and they are not given
the opportunity to > appreciate> the intricinct value...joys...if you
will of many aspects of life, including> reading. When a fully qualified
LMT introduces kids to books with a good book> talk, the kids clamour
for the book. Then want more of the same. AR and other> "programs" are
simply a poor substitute for fully qualified library > teachers. "Penny
wise and pound foolish" if you will.> Jo Carson, LMT> Pleasant Hill
Middle School> Quoting Joe Trampenau <pbjoet at hotmail.com>:> > >> > Mr.
Krashen,> >> > I agree that many schools might not be using Accelerated
Reader > > properly, but I think it's wrong to blame the program. Using
that > > same logic, we'd have to take books away from students because
they > > have sharp corners and make good weapons. It's all about how
you use > > them.> >> > At my children's school (Bagby Elementary -
Cambrian SD) AR has had a > > very positive impact on how much and how
well the kids read. I think > > it's unrealistic to think that most kids
will read a lot on their own > > just because they have access to good
material. You say "reading is > > intrinsically pleasant". I can tell
you that for most kids, riding > > bikes and playing video games is more
pleasant. They need a boost to > > get them to open a book. And
rewarding someone for good behavior > > doesn't send the message that
the behavior is unpleasant, it lets > > them know it's important.> >> >
At our school the amount of books the kids read has gone up > >
tremendously since getting AR and our API scores have gone up as > >
well. Yes, it's very important to have great books available for the > >
students, but as teachers and parents, we need the feedback AR > >
provides to help guide and motivate the kids.> >> > It seems you've had
some bad experiences with AR and I just wanted to > > let you know it
may not be the program so much as people using it > > incorrectly.> >>
>> > Thanks for listening.> >> >> >> >> Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2008 23:14:31
-0700> From: skrashen at yahoo.com> To: > >> calibk12 at lists.sjsu.edu>
Subject: [CALIBK12] Rewards for reading?> > > >> > Rewards for reading?>
Sent to the Los Angeles Times, September 30, > >> 2008> > Regina Powers
("Reading shouldn't be a numbers game," Sept. > >> 30) concludes that
reading programs that use quizzes and award > >> incentive points for
reading are harmful. > > After reviewing all > >> available studies of
the most popular of these programs, Accelerated > >> Reader, I found no
evidence that the quizzes and prizes that > >> Accelerated Reader uses
have any lasting effect on how much or how > >> well children. > > These
programs may actually discourage reading. > >> Reading is intrinsically
pleasant. If we reward children for doing > >> something that is already
pleasant, this can send the message that > >> the activity is unpleasant
and people need to be bribed to do it. > > >> > Powers is right:
Children need to do a great deal of self-selected > >> recreational
reading, without quizzes and points, in order to reach > >> high levels
of literacy. The money we spend on incentive programs > >> should be
used to improve our school and public libraries, the only > >> source of
books for many children.> > Stephen Krashen> > > Opinion> > >> Reading
shouldn't be a numbers game> Applying numerical ratings to > >> books
does nothing to help kids read better.> By Regina Powers > >> September
30, 2008> > > School has started. I can tell because > >> frazzled
parents drag their embarrassed children up to the reference > >> desk at
my library to ask, "Where are the fifth-grade books? We need > >> a 5.6
level that's worth at least 7 points."> > I avoid frustrating > >> both
parties with an explanation of how the Dewey decimal system > >> works,
and ask the child, "What do you like to read?" The response > >> from
both adult and child is all too often a blank expression.> > > >>
Although I am elated that many families are visiting my public > >>
library more frequently because schools send them, I am disturbed at >
>> how infrequently parents and teachers are allowing young readers to >
>> choose what to read.> > During the summer, children were excited > >>
about reading because, freed from school requirements, they decided > >>
what to read. Being able to choose their favorite author, genre or > >>
topic seemed to empower them to read more. Now with school back in > >>
session, finding a book again involves navigating through a > >>
labyrinth of point values and reading levels.> > How did it come to > >>
this?> > More than 50 years ago, educators nationwide created > >>
complicated mathematical formulas to identify a text's reading > >>
level. Some of these formulas were originally used to develop > >>
science textbooks that could be more easily understood by young > >>
students. Today, there are more than 200 readability formulas. > >>
Computers make using these formulas convenient for schools to apply > >>
them to literature. But mathematical readability formulas are still > >>
limited to merely counting the number of words and syllables. They > >>
are not advanced enough to measure language complexity or content.> > >>
> In 2001, California started assigning reading levels to every > >>
public school student, grades 2 to 11. The state matches results > >>
from the annual Stanford 9 test to the Lexile Reading Framework and > >>
assigns each child a California Reading List number. Some schools > >>
also purchase optional programs such as Accelerated Reader and > >>
Reading Counts. The idea is to assist parents and students in > >>
selecting books tailored to match the level of each student.> > > >>
However, these programs and their measurements are restrictive and > >>
confusing. For example, the California Reading List book selections, >
>> each given a Lexile number, are mostly older titles that are no > >>
longer in print.> > Another problem is that the programs assign > >>
different numbers to the same book. "The Magician's Nephew" from the >
>> Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, for example, is a 790 Lexile level, a >
>> 5.6 Reading Counts level and a 5.4 Accelerated Reader level. "The >
>> Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," the next book in the series, is >
>> listed as 940 Lexile, 6.1 Reading Counts and 5.7 AR. The guidelines >
>> could prohibit a child who enjoyed the first novel from reading its >
>> sequel because of the conflicting reading levels.> > If this weren't
> >> complicated enough, the optional reading programs award incentive >
>> points for reading and successfully completing a book's > >>
corresponding electronic quiz. And because schools have spent a lot > >>
of money on these programs, teachers often push students to > >>
participate. The most damaging consequence of this practice is when > >>
teachers require all students to earn a certain number of points as > >>
part of their reading grade. This increasingly ubiquitous approach > >>
results in students reading a book based solely on the number of > >>
points its quiz is worth.> > Reading is supposed to be a pleasurable >
>> habit. California's reading scores have remained flat since 1971. >
>> Research verifies that comprehension and reading test scores improve
> >> when students simply read more. So let's encourage reading by > >>
allowing kids to choose what to read, unimpeded by the pressure of > >>
points, levels and quizzes.> > Regina Powers is a teacher and > >>
children's librarian in Orange County.> > > > > >>
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