More photos from IRA! Here are The Apron Ladies, Terri Heidger (left) and Beth Stevens (right), at the Maupin House booth and with literacy education professor/author Tim Rasinski.
The annual IRA conference isn't over just yet, but Carol Baldwin, Maupin House author and "conference correspondent," has been kind enough to share some photos from her time in Atlanta.
From left to right, are Maupin House marketing coordinator Laura Lok, advertising coordinator Rita Beck, author Margriet Ruurs, publisher Julie Graddy, and author Carol Baldwin.
Wikibooks is a Wikimedia community for creating a free library of educational textbooks that anyone can edit. Wikibooks began on July 10, 2003; since then Wikibooks has grown to include over 29,136 pages in a multitude of textbooks created by volunteers like you!So go ahead and contribute to an online textbook...or just take advantage of some free content!
The International Reading Association's (IRA) annual conference is May 4-8 in Atlanta, Georgia. Maupin House will be driving up, books in tow, so stop by our booth (#845) to buy our books and meet our wonderful authors. Here is a schedule of presentation times and signing times (at the Maupin House booth) for all of our authors at IRA. Click here to search the convention program for specific session titles and more information. It's going to be a great conference!
Today is El Día de los Niños/El Día de los Libros (Children's Day/Book Day)! The Publishing Latino Voices for America Task Force (PLVA) and the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), have partnered to create a recommended reading list of children’s books in both English and Spanish. The list is aimed at readers from infancy to 14 years of age and is available online at www.getcaughtreading.org.
And what better way to "get caught reading" than to read a Caught'ya! A Caught'ya, created by veteran teacher Jane Bell Kiester, is a sentence or two of an ongoing, funny story that teachers put on the blackboard or overhead four or five times a week. Each sentence contains a vocabulary word and is laced with grammatical and mechanical errors. Students write the Caught'ya as correctly as they can while the teacher walks around the room, giving individual, positive feedback to as many children as possible. Then the teacher and students check the Caught'ya sentences together, using proofreading symbols to mark errors as they review reasons for the changes. You can email Maupin House (caughtya@maupinhouse.com) for free student sentences from Caught'ya, Caught'ya Again, Giggles in the Middle, and The Chortling Bard.
The Association of American Publishers (AAP) has designated May 2008 as the fifth annual “Latino Books Month.” During the month-long celebration, booksellers, librarians, and others in the book industry will encourage people in their communities to read books by and for Latinos, in both English and Spanish.
If you are looking for some professional resources that work especially well for English language learners or just want to celebrate Latino Books Month by integrating some Spanish into your class, check out Flip for Comprehension, winner of the Learning Magazine 2008 Teachers’ Choice Award for the Classroom, and its Spanish translation, Dar la Vuelta a la Comprensión, both by Emily Cayuso. You can also view our list of other ELL-friendly titles by clicking here.
National Poetry Month was started by the Academy of American Poets. According to Whitney Hallberg, Managing Editor of ForeWord Magazine:
This year, special attention is being given to Poem in your Pocket Day.
"There is a simple premise to Poem In Your Pocket Day," National Poetry Month coordinator Elaine Bleakney told FTW. "Select a poem you love and carry it with you in your pocket to share with friends, family, and co-workers on April 17. The project puts in action the power of the poem to both transport a reader and be transported by one. "
Pocket-sized poems are available for download online. Poets.org also has poems specially formatted to fit the screens of handheld devices.
Writing poetry, a great way to celebrate National Poetry Month, has been found to be therapeutic and a great outlet for creativity. But even those who aren't poetically inclined can write a poem with help from family and friends. Ask each person to contribute words that can be compiled into a poem. Poets.org offers a formula. The staffers at ForeWord magazine created this instant classic:
A corny eunuch percolates velveteen blossoms of splodgy, tropical discoveries embarrassing the flamboyant nightingales who saunter past.
"Punt" says the egg, who is really a fulcrum and one that cross dresses in his esoteric and fragmented sleeps.
Paul Engle once said, "Poetry is ordinary language raised to the Nth power. Poetry is boned with ideas, nerved and blooded with emotions, all held together by the delicate, tough skin of words."
Celebrate this ages-old art form with book displays, readings, workshops, or any of the thirty ideas at Poets.org.
