Lake Area Reading Council

2009-10-24T12:35:00.002-05:00

Book Review Blog- Create a searchable site where students can review books they have read and find books to read.

Animoto- Create video projects with images and sound.

PB Works wiki- A free, no ads site where you can create content with your students.

Increasing Reading Performance Through Technology

2009-08-23T08:29:00.004-05:00

Monday October 26, 2009*6-8 pm*Park Campus*400 W. Townline Rd.*Round Lake, IL

Learn how to increase your students’ reading performance using technology. Students today are reading and writing more than ever, mostly because they are online using tools and resources that you can incorporate into your teaching.
This workshop will be interactive. If you have a laptop-bring it. Otherwise, computers will be available for you to use. All the information presented will be available at the LARC website for easy access following the presentation!

Get your students excited to write their own original poetry.

Increase your students’ engagement in vocabulary learning.

Create a site where your students can read and write about the books.

and more....

$10.00 registration fee

food and drinks included

door prizes

Grand prize-paid registration to IRC conference in March 2010!

Click here for a preview-you can set up a wiki where students can work to create a knowledge base of vocabulary and concepts.

Click here for a preview-animoto is free and students can use it to create great looking poetry projects.

ESME!!

2009-04-09T22:02:00.003-05:00

Join us at Park Campus on April 22 from 7-9 pm for an evening with Esme!
Esme's books will be available and there will be a book signing. The cost is $15.00, just register below.

See you there! (no dogs allowed, really)

Esme Raji Codell

2009-01-07T16:59:00.005-06:00

Holiday Wishes

2008-11-29T09:03:00.001-06:00

LARC would like to wish all our members happy holidays and a safe and happy New Year!

Thank You!

2008-11-06T17:54:00.001-06:00

LARC would like to thank everyone attended our event on Wed. November 5th. For more information about presentation materials or questions you can e-mail our presenter, Tracy Tarasiuk, at:

tracyt1@mac.com

Increasing Reading Performance Through Technology Sneak Peak- Part 3

2008-10-13T10:15:00.001-05:00

Poetry, for me, is the most difficult genre to teach. The language is so dense, so much feeling goes into so few words! Atwell has a great book, Naming the World, that I used last year. Each day we began class with a poem. It was a great way to get the kids thinking and looking for meaning. Eventually, I wanted the students to write their own poems. I had 2 kinds of 'poets' in my class: the girls who wrote poems everyday about their friends and boys, and the boys whose favorite poets were Kanye West and Jay-Z. In an attempt to incorporate the strengths of both of these groups we created Poetry Podcasts, which are actually vidcasts (the terminology changes all the time). Regardless of what they are called, this was a great way to get the kids creativeness flowing and incorporate media in their intepretations.

THE LEGEND

MICHAEL JORDA N
BEST OF THEM ALL
NBA’S
GREASTEST PLAYER
CAN’T BE STOPPED.
A LEGEND,
DUNKS
THE CROWD GOES WILD.
BULLS CHAMPIONSHIP.
MAGIC
BLED BUT
LARRY BIRD FLED FROM
HIS SHINY BALD HEAD,
LIGHTIN UP
THE STADIUM.
SOLD OUT SEATS.
HE FLY’S LIKE A BIRD
WHEN HE PLAYS
BUT HE WILL ALWAYS BE
“THE
SUPERMAN OF BASKETBALL.”

To view more poetry podcasts completed this year visit my class's EXTREME POETRY website.

Increasing Reading Performance Through Technology Sneak Peak Part 2

2008-09-29T09:05:00.000-05:00

Reading and Writing go hand in hand. The research tells us that for students to become 'real' readers we need more than vocabulary lessons, spelling tests, basal excerpts, and grammar worksheets. Independent reading not only motivates students through choice, but exposes them to a greater variety of literature. The problem for me has always been assessment. Last year, I used our district's Moodle site to write back and forth to my students. Our letters focused on independent reading only. It was a good way for me to get a picture of what they were reading, and how well. And, it held the students accountable for their independent reading.

I had done dialog journals in the past using composition books. The internet made this activity much more manageable. Using 'copy' and 'paste' made me a quicker replier, and I could download documents to the site that I needed the students to refer to. Below are a few of my favorite excerpts written by my students from last year.

Ever since I have been reading "Chronicles of Ancient Darkness" bk.1, I enjoyed one of the parts almost at the end.But when I read about what happen to Torak and his father,I felt kind of sorry for them.I'm suggesting that Torak is kind of a
bit...I don't know...a bit down to earth.Even sensitive. (6th grade)

2 be honest i dont really like the harry potter books. i only like watching the movies. i no you r going 2 say the books r better than the movie, but sometimes i disagree. my fave book is the fourth grade nothin. i can read it over and over. enough of me, what book r u reading- b/c all the time i see a book on your desk with that stand of yours. and y do we have 2 read 5 books -that is a lot. i need some advice- i need help finding a new book. TTYL.a.k.a s talk 2 u later. (6th grade)

I really do like my book it is called Blood Is Thicker[it's the series Bluford High]. The main character is Hakeem Randall. What i like about my character is that Hakeem is a very nice guy he takes care of his family the way a man should treat his family. Me and Hakeem have something in common which is that in this story Hakeem moves to Detroit with his uncle like how i had to move here to Round Lake from Chicago. Well, Hakeem has a lot of potential in his life, the thing that i like about my character is that we both have things to connect to in life story that we both miss our hometowns but then were starting to like it. If I new Hakeem I would become really good friends with him he is a really cool guy that i see from the story! So Miss T how do you like your new book? What's your main characters? How do you relate to them? (7th grade)

Yes Ms.T I actually have dealed with the same situation where someone was made fun of. It was in my old school and i was 10 years old. There was this kid that had a problem with reading and writting and everytime the teacher would call on him to read, but he would have problems saying the words in the paragraph. so of course everyone made fun of him and (im not going to lie) i made fun of too. I felt really bad because then he would turn all red and sometimes start to cry. so what i did was that i told every kid that he wasn't the only one that had problems with reading everyone had hard times saying or reading words. After i said that he came up to me and said,'' thank you.'' I felt really good that day. (8th grade)

Increasing Reading Performance Through Technology Sneak Peak- Part 1

2008-09-14T15:57:00.000-05:00

A blog (like this one) can be a great tool in the classroom. Instead of having kids write book reports that no one reads but you, begin a book review blog for your classroom. You will need to set up the blog because it requires an e-mail account. Your students can add reviews and comment on others. Some book review sites I have come across that are good models are listed below:
Booktopia
The Hip Librarian's Book Blog
Welcome to my Tweendom
A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy

I haven't done this with my students yet, but part of their requirements for my class this year will be to submit a review at our blog. I did a few examples myself to use as models. The site for my class is:
Ms. T's Video Book Blog

This blog includes videos, Digital Book Talks, that the kids develop and produce. I'll show you how to help kids organize their Digital Book Talks on November 5. Check back soon, I'll post some videos here at the site...

Your Vote Counts!

2008-09-01T15:17:00.003-05:00

Thank you to everyone who participated on our polls at this site. As we plan events it is important for us to have feedback from as many members as possible. The results of our polls showed that Reading Strategies is a hot topic (53%). Choices for event locations were pretty evenly distributed among Frederick School (33%), Park Campus (25%), Crystal Lake (25%) and Barrington (17%). And, now we know not to hold events on Saturdays (0%).

Though these polls have closed, we will continue to post polls at this site in order to make the Lake Area Reading Council stronger and better. In the meantime, please feel free to send any comments regarding events by clicking on the comments link below. If you weren't able to vote but want to voice your opinion, we want to hear it! Any information gathered by participation at this site is recorded and shared at our board meetings.

Thanks again for your participation. Our first event this year will be "Increasing Reading Performance Through Technology." Information regarding this event can be viewed at the post below. Come back and visit this site for more sneak previews of the information that will be shared at this event.

LARC Presents...Increasing Reading Performance Through Technology

2008-08-20T17:26:00.009-05:00

On November 5, from 6-8 pm at Park Campus (400 W. Townline Rd. Round Lake),Tracy Tarasiuk will show you how to meaningfully make use of the technology in your school. Increase your students' reading and writing PARTICIPATION, MOTIVATION, and PERFORMANCE. Exciting and practical strategies for teachers in grades 3-12 will be shared.

Digital Book Talk

You'll leave this workshop inspired by great ideas and the tools to put them into action! The registration fee for this workshop is $15.00, which includes food and beverages.
LARC is running a registration drive at this event! All new members and renewals are $30.00. That's $10.00 off the normal membership fee!

Visit this site for more previews of the information that will be shared at this event.

If you did not receive a mailing, or you are not on our list, and you would like to join us-Contact Ray Porten at porten.ray@d46.org or any other board members. Our e-mails are listed at the bottom of this site.

Starved Rock

2008-07-18T09:18:00.006-05:00

Every June, the Illinois Reading Council invites board members from reading councils across the state of Illinois to the Grand Bear Lodge in Starved Rock. Not only do we get to stay in a comfy lodge with a kitchen and plenty of beds and bathrooms, but IRC treats us to meals during the three days. This year we heard a riveting speech about leadership given by past IRC president Steven Layne. Peggy Sherman gave a book talk over lunch, showing us her favorite new titles in reading education. We had time to plan and discuss events as a board, as well as informally meet with board members from other councils over lunch and dinner and share ideas. Time is slotted into these busy days to learn about the roles of the various board positions and to hike through the stunning Starved Rock state park.

Overall, we have a great time during this trip each year. We are always looking for members who would like to join us. If you are interested in becoming a board member, we'll get you started. You can join us at our board meetings to see what its all about! If you are interested in becoming an active board member, you can send us a message by clicking on the comment link below this post, or send one of us an email!

Join us for an Event Planning Meeting

2008-06-30T09:35:00.004-05:00

Join us on July 17, 12:30, at Frederick School (map below) to help us plan our Fall event. We will be working out the details of our Fall event and discussing the details of a possible mini-conference for Summer 2009. Let us know you will be joining us (and we'll order lunch) by emailing President Laura Kazmer (jkazmer4748@sbcglobal.net) or by leaving a comment below. Please take our polls at the left to help us plan events and any comments you leave below concerning our events will be discussed at the July 17 meeting.

Get LARC News sent to your Inbox

2008-06-13T12:31:00.010-05:00

You can get new LARC posts sent directly to your email inbox by using RSS (Real Simple Syndication). We've made it easy for you! On the left hand side of the page look for "Subscribe to LARC." You can get new posts and/or all page comments sent to your email in box. If you do not see your e-mail provider, choose the last link "atom" and this will let you choose where information should be sent.

This saves you the time of having to navigate around the web for information. Anything posted at our site, including news of upcoming events, board meeting updates, and general membership information will be sent directly to you!

Welcome

2008-06-11T11:06:00.001-05:00

This is the blog for the Lake Area Reading Council. Our purpose for starting this blog is to encourage ALL our members to become more involved in the council. Our group is only as strong as its members. It has been tradition that only a few members determine events and professional development for the entire membership (LARC is 200 members strong). A blog, vs. a website and paper-based newsletter, allows us to invite your participation by providing access to council information on a regular basis. Unlike a website, we want our members to be able to easily comment on and add ideas to the general knowledge of the council. Unlike a paper-based newsletter, using a blog can get information to our members immediately and without the cost of stamps and killing of trees. We will continue to send paper-based newsletters regulary, but encourage all our members and friends to visit this blog often (add it to your bookmarks) for up to the minute council information.

A blog is collaborative, and we invite all our members (and visitors) to share comments. We need to know the events you would like LARC to develop for your educational needs (take our poll on the left). We invite you to comment today! Send us websites or other information we can add to this site, or just say hi! We love to hear from our members!

In the future, we hope to invite speakers from our professional development presentations to write for our blog and answer questions, because professional development never ends. We will also provide links to other professional educational sites and blogs that our members will find helpful. The possibilities are endless and we encourage you to share any ideas you have that will make our space on the web a place where you, LARC members and friends, can find information, share ideas, and participate.