Happy summer greetings everyone! I am sad to tell you that I saw the telltale
sign that our summer is coming to an end…New York State Fair tickets went on
sale at Wegmans this week! Lest I miss out on my fair share of Gianelli, I got
right in line to purchase my tickets. By now I hope your children have had a
chance to relax and spend some time outside on these beautiful days that we
sure earned by enduring this past winter. Please feel free to tell them that
Mrs. Lozier sent a blog reminding them to start their summer reading book! I
know that for some of our children, the summer read can feel like a chore. I
often get calls from parents when the reading list goes home asking “how many”
of the books does their child have to read. My answer is simple: All of them
and then some! We only “require” one book. That’s a shame really, especially in
light of what we know about how the simple act of reading impacts student
achievement. There is simply nothing
more powerful than reading. To be truly effective a daily dose and a wide
variety of genres is best. This steady exposure to vocabulary, ideas and places
can’t be replicated in any other way and has an incredible multiplier effect
over time.
Several years ago our son, Nate, interviewed with a
small start-up company in San Francisco. During the course of the conversation
the founder started talking about the book Cosmos
by Carl Sagan. Nate casually mentioned that it was one of his favorite books
growing up. On his first day of work at that job, the founder mentioned that he
hired him because they shared a similar fondness for that book. (Nate reminded
me that I gave it to him when he was in middle school.) I was reminded of this
story today because Nate is interviewing again! I started thinking about
science and books and remembered that the National Public Radio program Science
Friday (a great thing to listen to in the car-it is on FM
89.9 every Friday from 2:00-4:00 pm) has a summer reading club. I checked it
out and found some titles that would be of high interest for middle level
students:
Letters
To A Young Scientist
by Edward O. Wilson
The Pulitzer Prize winning biologist writes about
his career and science in 21 letters to his students. Each is illustrated and
covers topics ranging from the stars to the depths of the ocean.
Animals
Make Us Human by
Temple Grandin
The Amazon Review says that, “This is essential
reading for anyone who’s ever owned, cared for, or simply cared about an
animal.” Grandin may be well-known to you; there was recently a movie made
about her life as a person with autism.
The
Way To Go (Moving By Sea, Land and Air)
by Kate Ascher
This is the most recent title in a series of books
about “how things work.” The review from Slate.com really caught my eye: "Is it possibly to write a
stunning book about infrastructure? Kate Ascher’s books are bliss... Using
gorgeous graphics and clear, simple, language, Ascher explains the
infrastructure and engineering marvels around us."
I just ordered
all three titles from Amazon…I can’t wait to read them! I hope that one (or
all) will be of interest to your child!
We Celebrate
Learning!
Take care,
Beth
