The second graders frolic through stories on World Read Aloud Day

Read Aloud. 

Change the World. 

By connecting with other readers, we're helping to demonstrate the importance of reading along with bringing attention to the work of closing the global literacy gap.

These second graders connected and read aloud with Ame Dyckman and Salina Yoon. We have been blessed with some amazing read aloud partners all week. Check out the fun time we had with these two:

Ame Dyckman

Salina Yoon

World Read Aloud Day 

is a global literacy initiative founded by LitWorld. LitWorld empowers young people to author lives of independence, hope, and joy. 

A third grade World Read Aloud Day palooza

Wednesday was World Read Aloud Day, but we're celebrating all week. WRAD is a global literacy initiative founded by LitWorld. LitWorld empowers young people to author lives of independence, hope, and joy. 

Read Aloud. 

Change the World. 

By connecting with other readers, we're helping to demonstrate the importance of reading along with bringing attention to the work of closing the global literacy gap.

This week the third graders connected with Lauren Castillo, Louise Borden, and Claire Nivola along with students in Cathy Potter's class in Maine. We have been blessed with some amazing read aloud partners all week. 

Here's a look at these visits:

Lauren Castillo


Louise Borden


Claire Nivola


Cathy Potter
I couldn't video since we were taking turns reading Going Places by Peter and Paul Reynolds, so here are two pictures:

Read Aloud. 

Change the World. 

Wherein the fourth graders have one incredibly memorable World Read Aloud Day

Wednesday was World Read Aloud Day, a global literacy initiative founded by LitWorld. LitWorld empowers young people to author lives of independence, hope, and joy. 

Read Aloud. 

Change the World. 

By connecting with other readers, we're helping to demonstrate the importance of reading along with bringing attention to the work of closing the global literacy gap.

On Wednesday, my fourth graders read aloud with Sophie Blackall, Dan Santat, and Laura Given, a friend, colleague, and member of the 2016 Caldecott Committee.

Here's a look at these incredible Skype visits and read aloud experiences:

Sophie Blackall

Dan Santat

 

Laura Given

Be the Change.

Raising Our Voices in Story

World Read Aloud Day (WRAD) is a day where people around the globe raise their voices in story to demonstrate the value and importance of global literacy initiatives. WRAD was created by LitWorld, one of the many organizations trying to bring literacy programs to the communities that need them.  Many of us feel so passionate about LitWorld's mission that we participate for an entire week, one day is just not enough.  The week of March 3-7, 2014 was one of making new friends, reading books together, and creating memories.

We reflected on why reading is important: 

  We read from these books:

We virtually visited these places:

Google Earth Tour

We made friends with readers in 18 other states and 2 other countries.

(our map grew as the week went along)

We were inspired by authors Ame Dyckman, Peter H. Reynolds, and Kate DiCamillo.

We participated in the coolest group Skype with National Ambassador For Young People's Literature and Newbery -Medal Winning author, Kate DiCamillo, along with students in Minneapolis, Michigan, Maryland, Georgia, Iowa and Monterrey, Mexico!

In short, we loved raising our voices in story:

World Read Aloud Day is just the beginning. 

We'll be raising our voices in story all year round. 

Stories connect us. 

Stories can change the world.

Celebrate: Stories that connect us

It's time to...

Thing One: Participating in 
World Read Aloud Day (Week)

We have been participating in World Read Aloud Day all week. Connecting with authors Kate DiCamillo, Ame Dyckman, and Peter H. Reynolds was amazing, but equally as amazing was connecting with readers from across the country to raise our voices for global literacy by reading aloud together. Don't underestimate the power of shared reading experiences. Change is in the air. Stories connect us.

Thing Two: Making a story connection 

In this midst of this week of sharing stories, I made a story connection that was both surprising and wonderful. A not-well-known picture book from my childhood, that I had read with my children, popped up on the screen when Ame Dyckman was showing some of her childhood favorites. Stories connect us. 

Thing Three: Meeting Shannon Hale

In an impossibly full week, I squeezed in a visit to a local book shop to meet Shannon Hale.  I was telling Shannon about how Austenland shifts from my daughter's bedside table to mine periodically. I explained that it was a comfort book and that when life is feeling overwhelming, I can pick up the book, read the airport scene and then close the book and drift off to sleep having let go of my worries. She loved hearing this. Stories connect us.

Thing Four: Visiting the BPL 

I helped organize a gathering for school librarians in the Metrowest area of Boston. We went on an outing to the Boston Public Library, where we received a behind-the-scenes tour. It was a fabulous tour, made even more so by this group of book lovers. We all kept stopping to read and share titles, and "ooh" and "aah" over the sheer volume of materials. Stories connect us.

Thing Five: Having both my children home from college, at least for a few nights.

The house is full of youthful energy and how wonderful it feels. Along with that youthful energy comes balancing multiple schedules, organizing meals, and ignoring the mess. Apparently life in college dorms has not broken my children's habit of coming into the house, dispatching with shoes and backpacks, and shedding outer layers in a manner that makes my house look like it has been ransacked. Of course, I can't completely blame them, here's how my week looked in shoes.  Apparently, I walk into my house, out of my shoes and never look back.  

The one thing that I don't mind finding all over the house? Their books. These stories connect us.

A WRAD-i-cal Week: The final day

We've been celebrating World Read Aloud Day all week long. Here is the awesomeness of our final day.

We connected with Peter H. Reynolds, author and illustrator of The Dot, Ish, and Sky Color amongst many others. There could not have been a better way to finish this incredible week of connecting and sharing stories. Peter started off the visit by getting to know the students.

How many people like to draw?

How many people like to draw and to read?

After taking a sip of his creativi-tea (He is a punny guy!), he proceeded to draw a character that was reading a book for World Read Aloud Day. 

Now, sign it.

The students had many questions, two of which were about the ages of Ramon and Marisol (characters from the Creatrilogy), which I think is interesting because it tells me that they are identifying with the characters. We are holding onto our other questions for a later date. It was time to read Sky Color.

After a discussion about the color of apples, Peter then gave some wonderful advice to the students, "Your first answer may be right, but your second answer may be more interesting."  I love this advice, it puts an emphasis on deeper thinking. The students have now been charged with illustrating a word.  When the project is finished we'll come back to Peter with our creations.

Other amazing happenings of the day included:

A class of second grade students connecting with some kindergartners from Connecticut and read aloud from You Read To Me, I'll Read To You by Mary Ann Hoberman.

A class of second graders read 

The Story of Fish & Snail by Deborah Freedman

with some first graders in Wisconsin.

A class of fifth graders connected with students in another town in Massachusetts and read aloud from 

You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fables to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman.

Another fifth grade class connected with students in another town in Massachusetts are read aloud from 

Mirror, Mirror by Marilyn Singer.

A third fifth grade class connected with some third graders in 

Berlin, Germany and read aloud from 

Mirror, Mirror by Marilyn Singer.

This was a great day of sharing stories 

with those both nearby and far away.

We've raised out voices in support of global literacy, have you?

Slice of Life: Stories Connect Us

Kate DiCamillo, the winner of this year's Newbery Medal for Flora and Ulysses, is also the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. As National Ambassador, she carries this message: "Stories Connect Us." 

We connected with Kate DiCamillo today for World Read Aloud Day. It was fabulous. She was fabulous. My students will not soon forget this event.

But that is not my Slice. My slice is about a "stories connect us" moment that occurred two days ago.

My first graders were visiting via Skype with Ame Dyckman, author of Boy + Bot and Tea Party Rules. On this day, we were participating in two literacy initiatives: World Read Aloud Day (week) and Read Across America. The visit was great, but that again is not the subject of my Slice.

During our visit, Ame held up books that she loved as a child. There was one book that she held up that made me catch my breath, a book that I loved as a child and that my children adored, but that does not have the popularity of other books like Frog and Toad or Where the Wild Things Are. I am not sure any of my students recognized the book. I didn't say anything, but went home, pulled the book from the shelf, snapped a picture, and Tweeted it to Ame. The book is The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr.

 We then traded favorite lines from the book. Her line was my line. 

"...and he drunk all the milk,

and all the orange juice,

and all Daddy's beer,

and all the water in the tap."

I think I came to love this line when reading it aloud to my children, because it is so wonderfully impossible; to think of drinking all the water in the tap is thinking about a tiger who is really thirsty! This one book had now connected me to my parents, connected me to my children, and now connected me to an author/friend.#coolbeans

Here in this moment, all that LitWorld is saying and doing and all that Kate DiCamillo is saying and doing came to fruition. That's right, stories connect us.

Read Aloud Today and Tomorrow and the Day After That and...

Today was World Read Aloud Day!

Along with children and adults in 700 cities in over 65 countries, we raised our voices in support of the right to read and global literacy programs by reading aloud.

A WRAD-i-cal Week: Day Three:

We read aloud with readers in twelve states and one other country.  We also read  with Kate DiCamillo.

Not only is Kate DiCamillo the author of this year's Newbery Medal winning book, Flora and Ulysses, she is the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

Twelve classrooms, grades 2-5 joined gathered for the Skype visit with Kate DiCamillo!

Later in our library, we connected with four more classrooms of readers in four other states.

"Take Action for Global Literacy, 

Celebrate the Power of Words, 

Change the World."

Share your stories.

Be the story.

Read Aloud on March 5th and then
KEEP READING ALOUD.
Join the Litworld Movement.

A WRAD-i-cal week: Day Two

We're working our way toward World Read Aloud Day. Day Two, of our week long celebration, brought four fabulous read aloud experiences with students in Georgia, Texas, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, thanks to Twitter friends: Andy Plemmons, Cynthia Alaniz, Jenny Lussier, and Laura D'Elia.

We read aloud:

The Story of Fish & Snail (twice!) by Deborah Freedman

Let's Go for a Drive! by Mo Willems

You Read to Me, I'll Read to You, Very Short Stories by Maryann Hoberman

A WRAD-i-cal Week: Day One

We're celebrating World Read Aloud Day all week long. Yesterday also happened to be our Read Across America celebration.  Here is the awesomeness of our #WRAD #RAAD day one:

Thing One:

We connected with Peter H. Reynolds, author and illustrator of The Dot and Ish, who read the third book in the creatrilogy, Sky Color to us. Hearing an author read his or her work is always a special experience. We were also connecting with my friend Andy Plemmons' students in Georgia.  These students will be engaging in a Sky Color-related project and reconnecting with Peter at a later date. (Woo Hoo!) 

Peter took time to speak with the children about reading, writing and art. We also got a sneak peak of some new books that haven't yet been published. #coolbeans. 

Talking with students about finding their North Star

Reading from Sky Color.

Sneak Peak of the back cover of a new book.

"Raise both your hands if you love to read and love to write stories"

Thing Two:

We connected with Ame Dyckman, author of Boy + Bot and Tea Party Rules.  

Ame shared some of her favorite books from her childhood as well as some of her favorite new books.  She read Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.  The students loved taking on the role of the terrible beasts! For her second visit, the students wanted to hear Tea Party Rules.  As I said above, hearing an author read his or her work is always a special experience. #luckyducks

Showing her collection of robots:

Talking favorite childhood books:

Reading Tea Party Rules

Who likes reading?

Thing Three:

We read aloud with students in Maine, Massachusetts, Georgia, and Texas, thanks to my wonderful Twitter friends: Shawna Ford, Cathy Potter, Andy Plemmons, Meghan Nels. We read aloud these books: Messing Around on the Monkey Bars by Betsy Franco, The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds,  Let's Go for a Drive! by Mo Willems, and There's a Wocket in My Pocket by Dr. Seuss.

World Read Aloud Day is off to a GREAT start!