January 2009 Reading A-Z Newsletter

Hello,

Happy New Year! Time really does fly. It seems just like yesterday that I was celebrating the arrival of 2008, and suddenly 2009 is here.

I’ve made only one New Year’s Resolution -- to manage my time better. There are so many distractions these days--email, text messages, cells phone calls, etc.-- it is difficult to get anything done. I’ve read that once you are interrupted from a task, it takes about twenty minutes to get focused again.

So when I have something important to do, such as writing this newsletter, I will not check new emails. I'll turn off my cell phone, close my office door, and focus. As I know your time is important, I promise to do everything I can to make these newsletters, interesting, informative, and useful to you.

INAUGURATION
In 2008, one of the biggest news stories was the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States. Barack will be sworn in as president on Tuesday, January 20, 2009.

To mark the occasion, Reading A-Z has created an Inauguration Theme Pack, which covers the U.S. Presidency from election to inauguration. You must check out this package, I really think that it is among the many great, creative products that our editorial team has produced.

FREE Inauguration Poster
As a special bonus, we are offering one theme pack component free of charge to all Reading A-Z newsletter subscribers. If you have a 11” x 17” printer, use the single-page format.
Get the Inauguration Facts Quick Chart:
Single 11” x 17” page (PDF)
Two 8.5” x 11” pages (PDF)

WHAT’S NEW THIS MONTH
New Books
1. This multilevel biography of Barack Obama (at Level K, O, and S) follows the 44th U.S. president from birth to election.
2. Explore humans' fascination with air travel in Fantastic Flying Machines at three reading levels (I, L, and P).
3. Rescue crabs at Gram's beach house in multilevel Horseshoes Aren't Just for Good Luck (at Level N, Q, and T).
4. Introduce Big Ideas with Vocabulary Concept Books on Transportation and more.

Projectable Books
I don’t know if you’ve tried the English-language projectable versions of Reading A-Z books; they are extremely popular. We’ve now got Spanish, French, and UK versions, too. Just select your book title from the All Books tab, and look on the right side of the book’s home page to see your projectable options.

Trade Book Lesson Plans
We’ve added lesson plans for ten more popular trade books, including favorites Junie B. Jones, Henry and his dog Mudge, and the classic tale The Trumpet of the Swan.

See all the new resources we’ve added for January.

DECEMBER RESOURCES
With so much going on last month during the holidays, you may have missed the new December resources. Among them are:

1. Celebrate - Celebrations and holidays around the world, from April Fools Day to Zanzibar Revolution Day, fill this alphabet concept book (available at approximately: grade 2 PDF, grade 4 PDF, and grade 6 PDF).
2. Let’s Make Snowflakes -- Directions for cutting the perfect flake.
3. Penguins -- Lots of interesting information about these intelligent and fascinating animals.
4. Winter Snapshot -- the seven picture cards include information about how people experience winter around the world.
5. Robin Hood’s adventures expand into multilevel books with: Robin Hood Wins the Sheriff’s Golden Arrow (Level R, U, and Y)and How Little John Joined Robin Hood (Level S, V, and Y).

Next month, we will introduce Animal Trading Cards and your first eight cards will be included in the February Newsletter.

BOB’S BLOG
Here are two of my new blog posts. I think you’ll find them interesting:

· Kids Making a Difference
A young girl’s concern about an injured manatee led to the formation of a nonprofit organization run by kids, for kids.

· The Book Santa
He’s not really Santa Claus, and he gives away books all year long, but dedication to children and joy in sharing the love of reading is something you’d expect of Santa.

Read them at Bob’s Blog.

SCIENCE TIDBIT
Science Tidbit: Catch the Wind
Children the world over use the wind to fly their kites, but can high-flying windmills really harness the energy in high-altitude winds? Could we one day look up to see flying electric generators sending power down to the ground via cables? Read more about flying windmills in this month’s Science in the News from Science A–Z.com.

CLASSROOM TIPS FOR TEACHERS
"I use Reading A-Z for my ELL students. I find the wordless books to be
a valuable resource. Students rewrite the story, recalling details and
use the vocabulary and grammar lessons to demonstrate their
comprehension. My students take great pride in sharing their stories
with each other and their parents. I sometimes give pairs of students
pictures from a page of a book. They then collaborate to come up with a
story sequence."
Jeanne Akers

FAVORITE SITES FOR TEACHERS
Current Events, Telling Time, and Reading Comprehension

Social Studies for Kids
Sections on Current Events, U.S. Government, and Presidents.

English Banana
Free quizzes on telling time, days of the week, and grammar.

RHL School
Reading comprehension, English basics, and math problem-solving worksheets.

To find these sites and other teaching resources, visit Sites for Teachers.

That’s all for now, except to tell you that I, and the rest of the team at Reading A-Z, wish you a healthy, happy and productive New Year.

Bob Holl
Vice President of Publishing

P.S. Here again are the links for the free Inaugural facts poster—I know you’ll like it:
Single 11” x 17” page (PDF)
Two 8.5” x 11” pages (PDF)

THANK YOU
Thank you for taking an interest in Reading A-Z. When you signed up, you indicated that you’d like to receive monthly Reading A-Z newsletters and occasional updates about Learning A-Z websites. If you’ve changed your mind, you may unsubscribe anytime..

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK
Please contact us at support@learninga-z.com if you have comments or questions. (Replies to this newsletter are not monitored.)