We’ve been reading How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills (check out Tad’s website) since its release last summer. It is one of my son’s favorite books. He loves dogs and reading, so this book is a great match for him. A few weeks ago he said to my mom, “Mimi, let’s Google Rocket Learned to Read.”
She stopped in her tracks, but complied. When the search came up, Sam said, “Look, Rocket is on You Tube! Click there Mimi, pleasepleasepleaseplease?” (And now imagine the most adorable little boy smile in the world.) Of course, she followed the link. Sam was so thrilled to find Rocket on You Tube that it was the height of our dinner conversation that evening.
At NCTE, Franki Sibberson discussed how kids expect their favorite book characters to be online. Scaredy Squirel is on Facebook. The Pigeon is on Twitter.
And now Rocket has his own iPad app. Courtesy of Random House Children’s books, I was able to review the app. Since I don’t have my own iPad, my friend & colleague Christi Overman helped me out by using her iPad. Here is what she emailed me about the app:
Oh, that was soooo great. I LOVED the whole thing. I have several books for Ian on my NookKids app and even when they’re read to you, they are nothing compared to How Rocket Learned to Read. Great games, too…an added bonus! I loved how I could hear the wind whipping around and birds chirping and see Rocket wagging his tail but it still felt like a book. I think sometimes publishers try so hard to make things “electronic” that they end up animating everything and taking away the true book feel, which isn’t what I want for Ian when I buy ebooks for him. It’s kind of like a pop up book in how things physically move in the story, except you don’t have to do anything but watch. Plus, How Rocket Learned to Read is such a great book anyway, Random House couldn’t go wrong.
Our students are expecting a new layer to their reading experience. They expect to hop online and find their favorite book characters there. How are we going to tap into this expectation as reading and writing teachers?
*Cover image permissions and review copy of How Rocket Learned to Read were given courtesy of Random House Children’s Books.
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Our school does not have a lot of computer access in the classroom yet. I do try to introduce students and parents to authors’ websites during author studies. The teacher writes a letter to the parents explaining the unit of study and then gives the web address for the students to explore at home.
Another link that my teachers have used is storyline (http://www.storylineonline.net/). They use the LCD and show the actor reading the book. This is especially useful for the teacher to model her thinking during the reading.
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I recently wrote a grant for 10 iPads for my classroom geared toward At Risk readers. I think this is a perfect way to engage them. I have to face it that technology is changing the way readers read. I may love the way a book feels in my hand and smells and love to turn the pages, but my students may not. Technology is way of life for them. My youngest could operate my iPhone at 2.
BTW, LOVE We Give Books! We use them all the time at home.
My child’s elementary school uses Raz Kids. She loves it!! So do I…guess I’m coming around from the old school method of reading books LOL!
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Thanks for this post! I recently checked out an ebook of
Rocket Learned to Read from a local library. However after watching
the YouTube video, I realize that the ebook version we read omitted
some illustrations. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of the
actual book to read with my four and six year-old.
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We have similar conversations at our house. My daughter, who is four, asked me and question and when I told her I wasn’t sure, she replied, “Why don’t you Google it?”
Btw, I recently blogged about a website called We Give Books where you get to give a book to a charity everytime you read one online. You can find the post and a link to the We Give Books website here: http://writebrainedteacher.blogspot.com/2011/01/reading-and-giving.html.
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I find it interesting that the impetus for this post was your son. As a parent, I think engaging kids using technology is much easier than it is as a teacher. I have yet to convince my administrators that allowing students who have e-books to carry them to class is going to HELP us, not hurt us. I would love to provide them more access to the latest in reader technology, but I am resigned to sticking to things like book trailers, podcasts, and video author interviews to help engage my 8th grade students. I also teach them how to seek out new books through websites like kidsread and teensread.
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