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How Books and Reading make a Difference in Our Lives

Some people like to read about history, biographies of famous people, science and other non-fiction books or publications. On the other hand, others like to read fiction that takes them to a faraway place and time simply for the pleasure of it. Whether you're reading a book on quantum physics or the latest Paolo Coelho bestseller you bought from the Book of the Month Club, you probably know that reading is food for the soul. It makes our existence rich not only with new information that we gain but more importantly with the emotions that good books elicit in us and the ways that these emotions make us discover ourselves deeper than thought we could. In other words, reading is always a personal experience, whether or not the reasons were personal when we decided to pick up a book and read it.

Of course, this personal encounter we have with books is the first thing we'll yearn for unknowingly when we start reading. But did you know there are more practical uses to the activity? Reading is, in fact, very helpful in our daily lives in ways that we probably never knew before. For example, when we read a lot, our vocabulary naturally increases. When we encounter a word for the first time, we would naturally want to understand what that word is or else, we wouldn't understand completely whatever we're reading. Thus, we look up the meaning of those new words in the dictionary. Each time we do that, we widen our vocabulary.

Another thing we'll always love about reading is the way it improves our spelling. Sometimes, we pronounce words very well without even knowing how they're spelled. When you read a lot, you will see all those commonly misspelled words finally spelled correctly and you're going to learn from that so that next time you have to write those words yourself, you can do it error-free.

When you talk about the benefits of reading, you cannot skip the part where the brain is enhanced by the habit. Yes, reading regularly keeps your brain on its toes and keeps it sharp. In fact, studies show people who read as a routine activity are less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease or any brain-related disease. You can

Lastly, reading is relaxing, therefore, anyone who reads regularly can enjoy rare moments of peace and being one with oneself - a feeling that is possible only when you have a good book that you feel like skipping work over. If you're going to join a book club, you might have a harder time closing that book and getting ready for work each morning. Just the same, you can carry the book around. Just don't let it get in the way of your important tasks.

Author: May Thorne

The Mystery Guild book club and Literary Guild book club are two popular groups where people who love to read come together online, share ideas, and even become friends even if they're situated on opposite sides of the country.

How can I encourage my child to read?

"The majority of reading problems faced by today's adolescents and adults could have been avoided or resolved in the early years of childhood."
--National Research Council (1998)

As a parent of a young child, you are probably more concerned about your child's progress in reading than in any other subject taught in school. To achieve in math, science, English, history, geography, or any other subject, your child must have reading skills that are developed to the point that most of them are automatic. He can't be struggling to recognize words in a school textbook when he is trying to read quickly to grasp the meaning of the text. In other words, children must learn to read before they can read to learn.

Why Should Parents Encourage Children To Read?

Many parents recognize the value and enjoyment of reading to their young children but perhaps are not clear about how they can help their children become better readers. Because reading is so important to children's success in school, parents can and should help their children become interested in reading and encourage growth in their reading skills. "Learning to read is a lengthy and difficult process for many children, and success in learning to read is based in large part on developing language and literacy-related skills very early in life" (Lyon, 1997). Young children develop a more positive attitude toward reading if they experience warm and close contact with their parents while reading.

What Are Some Ways To Encourage Young Readers?
The most important thing to remember is that reading should be an enjoyable experience. The following activities can help you stimulate your child's interest in reading.

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Blend Phonics Presentation


A brief introductory demonstration lesson for Hazel Loring's Reading Made Easy with Blend Phonics in First Grade by Don Potter. Visit www.donpotter.net or www.blendphonics.org to download this free, yet powerful, phonics-first program.

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Reading, Writing, Arithmetic–and Ramps

The Kids That Rip! Skateboarding School in Mesa, Ariz., is using Suzanne Selfors’s novel Smells Like Dog (Little, Brown, May) as the basis for its curriculum throughout the 2010-2011 school year. In addition to camps and skateboarding classes, the school is the first in the U.S. to offer a full-time academic and skateboard training program for a handful of students. The students’ lessons will tie in to chapters in the book (they have made their own compasses, studied Homer’s Odyssey, and visited a goat farm), and Selfors plans to visit the school at the end of the academic year. Here, a group of third-grade students visit with a basset hound from the Arizona Basset Hound Rescue.

more...

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Get reading in Australia promotes reading and books

Australia's largest annual celebration of reading and books entitled Get Reading is on between 25 August and 30 September 2010.

This year’s catchcry is “get lost, get fresh, get hooked, get real and get comfy with a good book.”

Formerly known as Books Alive, the nine-year-old event is an Australian Government initiative promoted through the Australia Council for the Arts that encourages Australians of all ages to spend some time reading.

Read more => http://bit.ly/8ZI0yu

When Kids Lose Interest in Reading, Where Do You Turn?

We all go through stages of our lives that we lose interest in some thing that we once enjoyed. There can be many reasons for the lose of interest. After all, we all go through changes in our lives that may cause this sudden disinterest. For many of us the lose in interest is only temporary. We regain our interest within a rather short period of time.

What makes our children any different than us? Don't they have the right to lose interest in some thing that they once enjoyed? Of course they do! It is the amount of time that they lose interest that can be concerning. We must determine why they have lost interest. This not only pertains to a lose of interest in reading, but many of the other things in life that they once enjoyed to do.

Did they lose interest in reading in the summer time? This is perfectly natural reaction after a long 9 months of school. A short break of one or two weeks at the most is absolutely understandable. If it becomes any longer, then we must regain there interest. The best way to regain their interest is to get them reading again. Make it fun for them by letting them chose their own reading material. A family trip to your local book store not only gives them a multitude of choices, but it is also good for family bonding.

It could also be a case of they are having trouble in school and decided it was just too hard. Even the most attentive parents many not be aware of the difficulties they are having in school until weeks later. If it is available to you, keep in constant contact with their teacher(s). Many teachers will provide you with their email address at the beginning of the school year. Keeping in contact will give you a head start if there is an academic issue. Then you will be able to tackle the problem before it gets out of hand.

Many kids just want to get noticed. They may have the lose of interest just to capture some attention. Children need constant attention and some times negative attention is just as good as positive attention. Praising and complimenting your child can go along way. Even if we think it is not a big deal, it is to them.

Author Scott Constable: I realize that there are thousands upon thousands of children's books to choose from out there. We try our best to offer books that will most aide in a child's development. I am a father of four children.

http://www.childrensbooks2u.com
http://sconst71.wordpress.com

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Study: E-books take longer to read than print

(via Mashable)

-- It takes longer to read books on a Kindle 2 or an iPad versus a printed book, Jakob Nielsen of product development consultancy Nielsen Norman Group discovered in a recent usability survey.

Read more => http://bit.ly/ck08Ob

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Free online reading tools for kids

Reading methods are divided into four. The first is the phonics wherein children are being taught about the alphabet first. From there, kids will learn how to blend letters together.

The second reading method is called the “look and say” method. This is one method wherein children are taught how to recognize the whole word instead of relying on the sounds of the letters that form them. This is also that method where teachers pronounce the word and their pupils repeat after them.

As for the third method which is known as the language experience approach, the student actually learns how to read on his own. Your kids may start drawing some things then you will write the description of the drawing. You can continue to collect all the drawings the child makes then keep on writing descriptions of that drawing.
Lastly, the fourth method is called the context support method. In here, you should encourage the child to choose books or topics they are interested about. Know what your child likes and then start from simple books with pictures of these items.

With all these four reading methods, you will be able to find an available tool online. Examples of free tools are as follows:

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Fiction Activities for Stone soup

Activities for Stone Soup

    Make Your Own Stone Soup

     Stone Soup: A Puppet Show
     Simple props and script for Stone Soup.

     Stone Soup Activities

    Making Stone Soup
     A lesson plan for grade 2 mathematics, English language arts, and computer technology skills.

     Stone Soup
     
     Ideas for teaching Stone Soup.

     Students will create a recipe and a shopping list.

5 tips for improving your reading comprehension

I spent the better part of 17 years in and out of higher education. Eleven of those years were invested in taking classes and pursuing degrees. In the process of having to read a lot of books and articles that I didn't really have time to read, I began asking myself, "Isn't there a more effective way to do this?" Like many of you, I had a life outside of the academic world. I had a family, jobs, responsibilities, and the desire to enjoy some portion of each week. Reading was necessary, but it wasn't something I always enjoyed.

That's the way it is with academic reading... most of the things we have to read are not things we would normally select. We find ourselves falling asleep believing that the words from the book or article will ooze into our brains while our eyes are closed. There has to be a better way to stay alert and actually remember what we read! Try the following ideas:

1. Have a reading place. Create a place that is designated for reading. Don't select a spot too comfortable or you will fall asleep. Don't select a spot that is too uncomfortable or you will spend more time thinking about your discomfort than the reading.

2. Pick your time. If you are a morning person, your best time for reading is early morning; night people do better mid-morning to early afternoon. You have pockets of time when you are more alert, so use those times for reading. If you find yourself at work during those times, use your break times or weekends to maximize your effectiveness.

3. Focus on new information. We learn things best when we can connect new information to something we already know. Rather than simply highlighting information, write down questions such as, "How does this concept related to what I read in other publications?" For many people, highlighting sentences is counter-productive because they spend more time trying to make sure the lines are straight than they do paying attention to what the text actually says.

4. Speed up. Many people read at the speed they talk, yet research tells us that our brains process information much faster than we realize. Get in the habit of moving your eyes faster and see if you catch things you didn't actually verbalize in your mind. You'll be surprised at how much you actually comprehend when you speed up your reading.

5. Take good notes. In business and academics some texts are permanent fixtures. If you take good notes the first time you read a text, you will be better prepared to locate and use that information later. It is a poor use of your time to reread books and articles you have read before. File your notes so that you can locate them later. You might even stick a note inside the book telling you the location of your note.

Reading is an unpleasant part of our academic endeavors, so do all you can to maximize your efficiency. Time is too valuable to waste! Think about it!

Dr. Terry Hadaway is an author, motivational speaker, university professor, and conference leader who is recognized as a leading authority on elearning, decision-making, and adult education. Visit [http://www.rapidfirelearning.com] for more information.