I read because it’s beautiful

One of the sessions I attended at the IRA (International Reading Association) Conference a couple of weeks ago was called “The Art of Teaching Reading”.  It was presented by Tim Rasinksi, a professor of literacy education at Kent State University.  He shared the importance of ensuring our students enjoy reading through song, poetry and more.

One of the poems he shared reminded me that I “read because it’s beautiful”.

Read It Because It’s Beautiful
by Karen Morrow Durica

Somehow a life without poetry seems…
Dismal
Empty
Flat—
Not much.

So each day in my classroom I read…
Sonnets
Haikus
Free verse—
And such.

An observer sat in my room one day…
Noted poem’s title
Evaluated delivery
Recorded “lesson” sequence—
Said dryly: “It seems

There’s no connection curricular-wise…
No anticipatory set
No vocabulary drill
No comprehension query—
Do they know what it means?”

I could have contrived a defense or two, but…
Spirits flowed with peaceful joy
Honesty prevailed
Simple truth explained—
“I read it because it’s beautiful,” I said.

She didn’t quite frown but recalled all the same, “We’ve…
Standards to meet
Timelines to keep
Pages to cover—
Important content to be read.”

I looked from her to my students’ gaze; they…
Had relished the words
Danced with the rhythm
Mused with the meaning—
Were richer in spirit than when we began.

I read it because it was beautiful. And beauty is…
Never superfluous
Never irrelevant
Always needed—
Always in my “lesson” plan.

I would love to hear your responses to this poem.  Why do you read?

The Wizard of Oz is coming!

Don’t forget the Wizard of Oz performances will be taking place this week.

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Wednesday, May 21

Matinee performance 12:30pm

Evening performance 6:30pm

Thursday, May 22

Evening performance 6:30pm

Hope to see you there! Enjoy the show!

IRA Conference 2014

Hello everyone!  I am in New Orleans at the International Reading Conference.  Today I’m learning a lot about meaningfully integrating technology into teaching and learning.  There has also been a lot of information on inquiry as well.

A couple of quotes from the day:

“Collaboration leads to friendly controversy” Amber White

“What brings meaning to reading? How can technology enrich that meaning both online and off?” Larissa Pahamov

Fun new tech tools I want to try:

Vocaroo

Kaizena (Google drive add on)

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Got caught in a rainstorm on the way back from dinner. Very funny!

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Reading Buddies at BPL this summer

Reading Buddies at McGill and Metrotown Libraries this summer!

Would you like your child to have more reading practice this summer? Will your child be in grade 2, 3 or 4 this September?
This summer, Burnaby Public Library will be running two five-week long Reading Buddies programs. For more information, contact the Bob Prittie Metrotown Branch (604-436-5420) or the McGill Branch (604-299-8955). Or visit us online at www.bpl.bc.ca/kids. Registration begins May 30th.

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May is Deaf Awareness Month!

May is Deaf Awareness Month! To kick off the month, Sean Forbes visited our school on April 30th and May 1st. On April 30th Sean gave a presentation to BCSD in the library. He talked about growing up deaf in a family of musicians. Being a musician was the only dream he ever had and so, even though he was told he couldn’t because he was deaf, he worked hard to fulfill his dream. He inspired all of us to never give up on our dreams and not let anything, including being deaf or hard of hearing, get in our way.

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On Thursday he and his band performed for our whole school.  It was loud and lots of fun!

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BCSD has many other great things planned for the month. Stay tuned!

For more information about Sean click here.