More Kindles on the way? Rumors abound.

Posted on by Mark Isero
13 Kindles, all ready to go.

favicon A few posts ago, I announced the arrival of Kindle #14. This was great news, especially because I plan on unveiling the fleet of Kindles next Monday to ninth graders in Oakland.

Since that announcement, the pace has quickened. Here are some highlights:

1. There was a casualty. I had to retire an original Kindle after a productive summer’s work. Its screen was broken, and I’m not thinking that Amazon will replace it.

2. The Kindles are ready for deployment. This meant checking to see that the 13 remaining Kindles held the same 126 titles, all organized well into collections. I also weeded a few books that weren’t as engaging as the others.

3. There are rumors of more Kindles to come. This is where things get particularly exciting.

  • An anonymous source hinted that another Kindle would arrive in the mail tomorrow.
  • A loyal Iserotope reader and friend put out a request on Facebook that may yield two additional Kindles.
  • The donor of the most-recent Kindle emailed to say she has another one coming soon.

If all of those rumors come true, that would mean Kindles #14, #15, #16, and #17 — just eight Kindles away from my ultimate goal of a class set of 25.

I’m very appreciative of everyone’s support on this project, and I’m hopeful that the momentum continues. If you’re interested in helping out to find more Kindles, leave a comment or email me at mark at iserotope dot com. Or you can contribute money (on the sidebar) to buy new ebooks to bolster the collection.

For more info, check out all my posts on The Kindle Classroom Project. Thank you again! favicon

reading/teaching

On the Common Core and its “informational texts”

Posted on by Mark Isero

favicon The Common Core standards call for a major shift in reading in schools, from mostly fiction to mostly nonfiction.

Many English teachers are up in arms. What about literature? they ask. What’s going to happen to the power of stories?

David Coleman, the architect of the English Language Arts standards, emphasizes that English teachers do not need to bear the brunt of the change. If non-English teachers assign more reading, then everything will work out.

When I first heard Mr. Coleman make this assertion, I felt comforted (even though I find him smug). After all, I like nonfiction, too. I do Kelly Gallagher‘s Article of the Week. I like to supplement an anchor novel with various nonfiction texts to build background knowledge and to enhance student interest.

So do many other teachers. In fact, The New York Times just launched an effort that uses newspaper articles to drive instruction toward the Common Core standards. As a huge fan of the paper, I’d love to get on board.

But then I came across a problem. What the Common Core calls “informational texts” is not the same as what I call “nonfiction.”

If you take a look at the the Common Core’s text exemplars — in other words, suggested texts —  you’ll notice that American historical texts are highly prized. There is nothing wrong with these documents. No one would take offense to the “Gettysburg Address” or “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” especially in a study of rhetoric.

But I’m worried that English teachers will feel compelled to teach Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King rather than Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

And if “informational texts” have to be old, what happens to all the excellent articles found in Time and The Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker and The New York Times? What happens to Malcolm Gladwell and Ta-Nehisi Coates and Nancy Gibbs? Do they belong in independent reading, read only by a minuscule percentage of students?

It’s clear that Common Core is going to shake up the place of reading in schools. And that’s great. I welcome the debate. But I hope that educators will be able to have an honest conversation about how to promote different kinds of reading across the curriculum. And I hope that we can take this opportunity to re-think the role of reading in our students’ lives. If we do things right, maybe we can bring back reading’s joy. favicon

technology

Still waiting for the perfect classroom device for students

Posted on by Mark Isero

favicon Schools that have money are spending a lot of it on technology right now.

And for the most part, that’s a good thing. It makes sense to offer young people safe and educational opportunities to use technology in their learning.

But we’re still not quite there. There’s just not yet a perfect device that combines quality with cost efficiency. Here’s a summary:

Laptop. Too big, too heavy, too expensive.

Netbook. Nice and cheap, but keyboard and trackpad too small and cramped.

Chromebook. Enticing, but Google’s $20 a month per unit is too expensive.

iPad. Too expensive, and you can’t type on it.

Nexus 7. Perfect size. Sleek. But you can’t type on it.

Phone. Too small, can’t type on it.

Have I missed anything? Would you agree with me?

So where does that leave us? Well, I suppose we can wait. Maybe the Microsoft Surface, with its cover-turned-keyboard, will save the day. I’m hoping it’ll be less than $500, but somehow that seems impossible.

One thing is for certain, though: Every student should have an e-reader and carry it at all times. It should be a school rule.

I’m partial to the Kindle, of course, but Barnes and Noble makes a good product, too. Now that the Kindle is just $69, more and more families can afford to buy one.

While I’m waiting for the perfect device for students, I’ll be encouraging them to read. favicon

Say hello to Kindle #14!

Posted on by Mark Isero
Hi! I’m Kindle #14.

favicon It’s another great day at The Kindle Classroom Project. An Iserotope reader from Texas has contributed Kindle #14! There it is over to the right.

I am always surprised and amazed when I get an email from someone I haven’t met who wants to make a substantial contribution to the reading lives of young people.

It gives me a lot of hope.

Kindle #14 is an original Kindle and comes complete with a reading light and a handsome case.

I’m looking forward to unveiling the classroom set of Kindles next week as we launch this year’s version of The Kindle Classroom Project to ninth graders.

I’m very appreciative.

As always, if you know of someone who would like to donate their old Kindle to urban students ready to love reading, please let me know at mark at iserotope dot com.

Thank you again! favicon

reading

Two kinds of reading rarely taught in schools

Posted on by Mark Isero

favicon If you’re a typical student in a typical urban public high school, here’s what you’re reading:

1. Teacher-assigned fiction. Usually in novel form, most likely in your English class.

2. Short teacher-assigned nonfiction. Usually handouts on paper, most likely in your other classes.

Here are two kinds of reading you’ll mostly never encounter:

1. News. Unless something huge happens in the world, you won’t read about current events. Teachers may use articles to enhance subject matter, but you won’t get your hands on a real-life newspaper or magazine, whether in print or digital form. Maybe you catch the news on TV?

2. Books You Choose. Even in schools that hold Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) or Drop Everything and Read (DEAR), you likely won’t read any books because (1) your school no longer has a library, (2) your teacher hasn’t built a classroom library with her own money, (3) you haven’t gone to your neighborhood public library in years because you’re scared the librarian will force you to pay your overdue fines, (4) adults in your life don’t much care if you read, (5) your friends think it’s uncool to read, and (6) it’s easier to fake-read than find a book you like. So fake read you do.

The problem with this model is not just that there isn’t enough reading happening in schools. It’s also that two really important kinds of reading aren’t happening in schools.

Current events teach young people about their world, and reading the news builds students’ background knowledge and expands their sphere of experience. And independent reading is the only way to consume enough words to build vocabulary, fluency, and analysis.

That’s why, the next time I teach, I’m going to (somehow) find a way to include current events and independent reading in my class curriculum. This will be even harder now that Common Core is pushing for more informational texts.

Then again, I can build from my past success with Article of the Week and The 1,000,000 Word Challenge. It’s just that my efforts need to be tighter and more robust. favicon