Laughing Out Loud: Using Humor, Role Play & Imagination to Revitalize Reading Workshop

1. Laughing Out Loud: Using Humor, Role Play & Imagination to Revitalize Reading Workshop Valerie Vacchio District Supervisor of English Language Arts Oyster Bay-East Norwich School District

2. “One of the things I am most grateful to him [his father] for is that, contrary to educational principles, he allowed me to read comics. I think that is how I developed my love for English and for reading.”--Archbishop Desmond Tutu

3. How might humorous books be used in the classroom? • Read aloud • Shared reading • Guided reading • Independent reading

4. Why use humorous read alouds? • To motivate and engage all readers • To shed light on the complexities of reading • To help readers improve fluency and expression (Zbracki, 2003; Wigfield, 2000; Guthrie & Anderson, 1999)

5. Planning Your Read Aloud • Read the book yourself first and jot the page #’s where you have a thought and put a blank post-it on the page to hold the spot. • Go back and look at the post-its you already put in & decide where you want to stop & go back. Consider which of these skills need further development by your students. • Write down what you are going to say: • Your ‘think aloud’ should set students up for a future “turn & talk”, “stop & jot” or “turn & act out.” • Plan places for students to try it out themselves by incorporating prompts for dramatic and kinesthetic techniques. • Will there be accountable talk? When will it happen? • During the read aloud • After the read aloud

6. Read Aloud:Piggie Pie! by Margie Palatini

7. Using Humorous Books to Motivate Struggling & Reluctant Readers: The use of humorous books with struggling and reluctant readers can help them activate some essential reading skills.

8. Monitoring for Sense(Checking yourself for understanding of text)

9. Synthesis(Putting parts of the text together) In order to understand the humor, students must synthesize information about: • Characters • Setting • Plot • Prior knowledge

10. Books That Make Us Giggle! Recommendations from Valerie & Tracy

11. Professional Resources • How to Get Your Child to Love Reading by Esme Raji Codell • For Reading Out Loud: Planning and Practice by Bobbi Fisher & Emily Fisher Medvic • Books and Beyond: New Ways to Reach Readers by Michael F. Opitz, Michael P. Ford & Matthew D. Zbaracki • The Fluent Reader by Timothy V. Rasinski • The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease • Learning Under the Influence of Language and Literature • Reading Aloud Across the Curriculum by Lester L. Laminack & Reba M. Wadsworth

12. Helpful Websites http://www.storylineonline.net http://www.timrasinski.com http://www.choiceliteracy.com http://www.ncte.org http://rwproject.tc.columbia.edu/ http://www.TeachingBooks.net http://www.guysread.com

13. Contact Information Valerie Vacchio: vvacchio@obenschools.org I’d love to hear from you!

14. Thank you! What questions and suggestions do you have?

15. Turn and Talk About: • Things you already do… • Things you may want to try… • Things that don’t fit and may need to be adapted…