Workbooks -Worth the Time or Time Wasting?

Arghhh...technology!

I'd written a -well I thought it was- sound composition on the merits and pitfalls of using reading comprehension workbooks with your child over the summer, but thanks to a slip of the finger and the autosave feature on Blogger I've nothing left of it for you to read. 

Hmmm....maybe this is to your benefit, as it was long and most of us are pressed for time. Being too lazy this fine Saturday afternoon to recollect my thoughts, I present a list of reading comprehension workbooks you may want to use this summer. Each has a picture and a thumbnail review. While I'd rather see your child reading from authentic literature each day, there is a place for reading shorter, controlled, passages and responding to comprehension questions during a period of the year when so little focused reading and thinking often occurs -what with swimming to do, sports, travel, video games to master...

a challenge but above average

Reading Detective: Using Higher Order Thinking to Improve Comprehension by Cheryl Block (Author), Carrie Beckwith (Author), Margaret Hockett (Author), David White (Author), Susan Giacometti (Illustrator)

I've used this workbook on and off over the years and I like it. The book, as the title suggests, shoots to develop higher end thinking. It does have some straight-forward questions too. There are numerous excerpts from well-known authentic books like Island of the Blue Dolphins and The Witch of Blackbird Pond. There are also original pieces, which vary in terms of student interest. It's not perfect, however, as there are no attempts to collect materials under a theme and there's no attempt to incorporate useful graphic organizers. This workbook is also the priciest of the lot, but I would recommend it in tandem with some of the better liked workbooks below.

more of a companion, workbook

Kumon Reading Workbook Grade 6 Reading by Kumon Publishing

The cheapest of the bunch and that so often means it’s synonymous with poor quality. It’s not wholly true here as I liked much of what was in this workbook. Most of the passages are of quality and interest. I’m a fan of theme related articles that have different written forms and the writing was generally good. My knock on this book is that, like many workbooks aimed at parents, it tries to provide everything without developing enough well. Their idea is that certain skills are learned first and lead into the next, more challenging it’s presumed, skills until the reader is a dynamo by the end of the workbook. Well, that’s simply not reality. I can see this appealing to kids and the price (6.95 on Amazon) is solid, but I’m not sure it’s enough on its own.

Steck-Vaughn Core Skills: Reading Comprehension: Grade 6 by author Resnick

take a pass on this one

This was one I thumbed through in a local book store and ended up putting back on the rack. The articles were not terribly appealing and there seemed to be a shotgun method to assembling them. There weren’t examples of fiction and non-fiction articles related by theme, for example. The workbook also tried to hit at least once on every type of skill: main idea, inferring meaning, using context, etc. This gave it a diluted feel and would most likely not be of much benefit to a developing mind. I’d pass on this one.

 

Spectrum Reading: Grade 6 by Spectrum Publishing

easier fare and serviceable

I’ve used this item in class a few times. It’s important to know that it’s targeted for students ages 9-12, which is appropriate considering idea behind it is to help struggling readers. I like the variety of materials in this workbook. There are fiction and non-fiction articles ranging from recipes to science experiments. There are also often 4-6 articles at a time related by theme, bees and finance as examples. The writing is highly-controlled, again good for a student who struggles, but not so good for someone looking for authentic reading. Questions that follow each chapter tend toward the literal which disappoints me. I often had to add another layer of questions myself for deeper meaning. This is decent, but not something to run out and snap up. If you want something you can more or less give to a child to work on independently, then this could suit your needs.   

 

a firm buy, small reservations

Paired Passages: Linking Fact to Fiction Grade 6 by Ruth Foster

In all, I like this workbook.  As the title notes, there are two passages paired together each time. One is fiction and the other is non-fiction. After reading both, there are multiple choice questions hitting on each separately and both taken together as in what does each article share and how do they differ. I mainly appreciate the use of graphic organizers throughout and the fact that any part of the book can be read, it's not sequential. Most articles are interesting too, like the one on why most castles in Ireland have uneven steps. The aim, as the author, notes is to improve standardized test taking, which is one detractor for me. Not that I don't want student scores to improve but this means the collection of articles are not excerpted from authentic sources. There were also no examples of poetry, which is used in many standardized tests. While, by comparison, this book is the priciest option, it’s still a recommended buy.

IF you happen to buy and use these something, possible this very summer, I'd love to know what you think.

 

School Libraries: The Blockbuster of Today?

     To begin, I love libraries and book stores. Well, to be more specific, I love what's in them. When I tell my family that I'm going to stop in at Barnes & Nobles, Borders, or the library in town, they understand that this means several things at once:

• I'll be out of touch for at least two hours. (I don't own a cell phone and even if I did I wouldn't bring it with me.)
• If they want to tag along, they have to decide if they can handle the minimum two hour visit time as well as put up with my many single syllable responses to their queries. 
• I'm going to put a nifty little dent in the family bank account.
• More books will be have to be squeezed into already tightly-packed bookcases.

     The thing of it is, I'm beginning to wonder how much longer the brick and mortar homes of books can remain as they are. I'm wondering if I need to make those trips by car and foot to my mecca. Just consider the Blockbuster versus Netflix business models and you'll understand what I mean. 

     Netflix has mortally wounded Blockbuster with its mailbox DVDs and online streaming. We want what we want quicker, cheaper, and delivered directly to us. Going to a store or the library simply doesn't hit on all three of those needs. Thus is Netflix able to slay a company many thought would replace the theater business, which is actually being handled by today's home entertainment theaters. These dynamic changes have me musing about school libraries. 

     Our school libraries, if they were a business, are far closer to Blockbuster than Netflix, and this is worrisome. In a business like Blockbuster, movies are bought, delivered, repackaged, cataloged, and shelved for customers take home. You could substitute books for movies and students for customers and still be accurate about the school library model. In both instances, there is a of time and expense woven into the goal of having individuals come, peruse, and leave with products in hand. It's a centralized model, which has Blockbuster scrambling to be more like Netflix and it's push out ways.

     I wonder if the time hasn't come to work more on a push out model for our business...err...libraries. I'm not calling for an end to physical books, or even librarians, but any means. In fact, both remain indispensable to education.  No, what I am suggesting is recognizing the successful models of today, our customer wants, and mimicking them as best as we can. This means divvying library books into classroom sets and adopting eReaders as soon as possible. That's right. Don't put the books into one big room, put the books into all the little rooms where the students are. And, start transitioning to the medium most are using now, electronic delivery of information.

Consider  all of these statements:  

• Every generation, from this point on, carries more computing power in their mobile devices than NASA had when launching the first ships to the moon.
• Electronic books are cheaper than paper books.
• When given the choice between going to the library to check out a book or downloading it to a portable reading device, most will overwhelmingly chose the second option.
• Locating the right read is easier and quicker (even more enjoyable) using Amazon (or our Destiny Quest browser) than working your way through rows and stacks of books. (Okay, I'll admit. I do like the experience of discovering a book by randomly roaming up and down the aisles, but I believe I'm in the minority with this one.)
• The Kindle, Nook, and Sony eReader can hold thousands of electronic books either via purchase or free download from the thousands of books in the public domain. (Wait until Google enters the field!) A lot less physical space is necessary.
• At least one state, Utah, has adopted eReaders as the primary means by which textbooks and pleasure books will be put into student hands. Texas is also heading in the same direction. (The larger sized Kindle displays entire textbooks with perfect clarity and all the usual instant connections to links, videos, updated information, etc.)
• Items stacked next to store registers tend to sell quickly, the so-called impulse purchase. Books, when well displayed (covers showing, not spines) tend to be checked out most frequently. Put 50 books on display in every classroom and they'll start moving. 
• Most eReaders allow users to read the first chapters of new books for free. They also show users books most-like the ones being read or examined. 
• Student connections between subject matter (science, social studies, art, etc.) can be enhanced through the proper pairing of classrooms to teachers and students.

The push out concept is not a silver bullet. There are complications. Tracking books from classroom libraries is much more challenging and potentially onerous for teachers. Librarians must make more trips to classrooms to share books and swap new titles for older titles.  However, this is how major transitions tend to work. It's not without bumps. Netflix began with DVDs to mailboxes only, then limited streaming, and slowly is working toward complete streaming. 

     Librarians, take heed. While I'm confident, as a mere reading teacher, that I misunderstand much of how a library functions, I feel as confident that change is coming and should be embraced. So, for those working the stacks, I welcome any comments you may have.

A Pure Treat this Time of Year -The Graveyard Book

Neil Gaiman's most recent book, The Graveyard Book, is -ehem- a real treat this time of year. Gaiman tells the tale of a young boy whose family is murdered by a mysterious man named Jack. The boy, who comes to be known as Nobody Owens, stumbles into an old graveyard in England where the ghosts that inhabit it  adopt and raise him. The mystery of his family's end is played out in the book's conclusion, leaving room for another Nobody Owens tale, which suits me just fine.

Gaiman's writing has never been better. There is a wonderful playfulness with his words and wording that one cannot miss, and this amidst all the gruesome details of death. This may not seem like a children's read, but it's a matter of perspective. The Brother's Grimm tales don't sound too dandy upon explanation either, but the stories still delight. One of my favorite pieces to this story was Gaiman's explanation for why the ghosts love Nobody so much. He can change still. He has potential to be somebody else, somebody improved. The ghosts are...well dead...and therefore are forever locked into the people they once were. It doesn't hurt that there's a whale of a tale to read here either.

So, forget your age, forget that this is labeled Young Adult literature. Just locate a copy of this book and enjoy the fanciful imaginings of a master storyteller.