As working librarians, staying on top of research while also doing your daily job, planning for summer reading or lesson plans, shelving, and weeding the collection can feel impossible.I dream of days of reading entire magazines or trade journals, annotating them, even following up on conference presentations I missed but that sounded interesting, but then the days and weeks past and I’m just staying afloat in my current position. Luckily, as an ALSC member, I have my fingers on the pulse of many small ways to stay on top of the research–the ALSC blog, and the Children and Libraries Journal (CAL), which is published quarterly. Now that CAL is completely virtual, there’s no reason to wait to explore new research.
This fall, I audited a course from the DC Reading Clinic to learn more about the science of reading, something that I didn’t learn much about in library school, but that can definitely inform my practice as an elementary school librarian. As I did the reading for this class, I also looked for ALSC pieces on the topic that could supplement my learning, and these are three articles that I found not only fascinating but that also offered a chance to put things into practice right away.
This article breaks down just what phonological and phonemic awareness are, how pivotal they are in developing readers, and introduces resources for librarians and educators to utilize in reinforcing those skills. Some of the resources include Florida State University’s Flori
Center for Reading Research, Reading Rockets, Mother Goose on the Loose, and some newer read-alouds. I am excited to explore some of these resources and read-alouds and incorporate them into my lessons in the winter.
2. Research Round-Up: Using the Science of Reading (SoR) to Support Beginning Readers (Vol 22, No 3)
This article explores how we can use the existing research on th science of reading to specifically support beginning readers–those who are ready to start reading independently. As a school librarian who makes purchasing decisions every year, I appreciated the recommendations for beginning reader texts that go beyond decodables (which are often not engaging to readers) and the author’s idea to think about making lists or bins of books with alliteration, rhyming books, etc, that can support beginning readers. I think I’m going to work on rhyming book bins for my kindergartners!
3. Through a Librarian’s Eye: Understanding Dysgraphia and Dyslexia (Vol 21, No 3)
This article introduces readers to dysgraphia, dyslexia, their differences and similarities and how to help readers experiencing them through the eyes of a parent-librarian whose son had trouble writing. The author explores some of the research around both diagnoses, and then offers tangible insights that librarians and educators should know about their readers that might experience dysgraphia and dyslexia. As a school librarian who sees a lot of kids struggle with writing, her exploration of how typing can help circumvent some of the issues was eye-opening. My students do mostly handwriting, but having them practice typing skills in the library, even in group settings, might help them get their information across more effectively.
What are your favorite research articles on the science of reading? How are you incorporating what we know about how kids learn to read into making reading a joyful experience?
Aryssa Damron is the co-chair of the Children and Libraries Editorial Advisory Committee and a school librarian in Washington, D.C.