I sometimes spend so much time searching or thinking about the perfect book that will help the students practice their reading strategies, that I forget about the newspaper. However, having the students look through their local paper, or gathering current articles for them to read, can also have some real benefits. An article can be used or adapted for several different subjects. Having short articles to discuss rather than long pages of dialogue will appeal to those struggling readers. Looking at comic strips and political cartoons requires a certain level of critical thinking. Even examining the pictures that accompany the articles provide the students with a chance to determine what is happening in the picture and create inferences. Finally, it gives students an opportunity to look at a piece of non-fiction that they are almost guaranteed to continue reading in their adult lives. The website Education World has an article that provides more justification for using newspapers in the classroom and gives several ideas for lesson planning.
In other news, I have met the criteria for my book a day challenge so far, and I have put the continuing list here. A quick review of each book can be seen on my summer book challenge page.
July 5th: Kitchen, by Banana Yoshimoto
July 6th: Trailing Clouds of Glory, poems by William Wordsworth
July 7th: The Future of the Earth: An Introduction to Sustainable Development for Young Readers, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
July 8th: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson
July 9th: DK Eyewitness Books: Shakespeare, by Peter Chrisp
July 10th: Earth from Above for Young Readers, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
July 11th: Ever, by Gail Carson Levine
July 12th: Shattered, by Eric Walters
July 13th: White Jade Tiger, by Julie Lawson
July 14th: North by Night, by Katherine Ayres
July 15th: Broken Song, by Kathryn Lasky