Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Boys2Read

Just back from a trip to Regina where I did a presentation to 150 teachers about how to get boys to read. A hot topic these days it seems--it has been for awhile! I was glad to share whatever tidbits I've picked up. The audience was great, surprisingly chipper since it was their first day back at work (ugh!). They even survived me playing a bit of Iron Maiden's Rime of the Ancient Mariner as an example of how heavy metal helped influence me to become a reader. No one asked the hear the whole song, though!

One of my suggestions was to get the students into podcasting. Perhaps doing short book reviews that would be released worldwide on the net. My hope would be that boys would be that boys who are into tech stuff would take the time to read a book, just so they could be involved. A good example of this is Casey Tolan, a young reader who does his own podcast book reviews.

A similar idea is to do projects that could be posted to Myspace that somehow involve a book, short story, or comic book. There are, of course, all sorts of costs to putting these things together. But hey, I'm just the idea man.

Art

For those interested in this sort of thing, here's the outline.

Boys2Read
1) How I became a reader
2) Getting boys to read
a) Writers on the Wall
b) Guys Write for Guys Read/guysread.com
Discussion of classroom techniques (10-20 minutes)
Break (20 minutes)
3) How boys think
a) Excerpt from John Wilson’s article
b) Fan mail
c) Using examples from literature
Discussion of 6 prose pieces (10-15 minutes)
4) Art’s tips to get boys reading
a) SIBYLs: songs inspired by literature
b) Books based on video games
c) iPods/podcasts
d) YouTube
Discussion of classroom techniques II/Action plan
5) Conclusion

Links for reading
http://www.arthurslade.com -- my website
http://www.guysread.com -- getting guys reading website
http://talestoldtall.com/boybookblog.html --Blog about boys reading
http://bcwriters.com/wordworks/2004/fall/wilson.php John Wilson on boys reading
http://artistsforliteracy.org/display/famous.php Songs inspired by literature
http://web.mac.com/caseytolan/iWeb/Caseytolan/Casey%20Tolan.html Podcaster
http://shaker.us.edu/english8 Podcasts used in classroom
http://www.myspace.com/comicbookliteracy  Comic books and literacy

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Don't be afraid to give up and start over! Or to change your direction! Podcast #13

Yep, podcast #13 (lucky 13) is out and it's full of tips on how to give up and start over on your current work! What's that old saying, kill your darlings!? Sounds kind of violent, actually. How about just give your darlings a makeover. Or an offer they can't refuse. Hear about it now in podcast # 13 (so lucky!). It's available here on my website. It's the one titled #13. Oh, you probably alread figured that out. It's also on iTunes under podcasts.

Carpe diem to the max!

Art

Friday, August 11, 2006

Rockin' and Readin' literature

So I'm putting together a talk about how to get boys to read. It's a very common question and something I've been thinking a lot about lately (I better be thinking about it, since the presentation is at the end of this month to around 150 teachers and they'll won't be entertained if I just stand up there and tap dance...well, maybe for a few seconds...but then they'll want some actual info). Anyway, I've been reliving my youth and trying to figure out why I became a reader. One of the things I remember being inspired or excited by was whenever I found a literary reference in one of my favorite songs. I was a big Metal fan (still am, "Up the Irons! No Sleep 'til Hammersmith!"). There is something about metal bands that lead to long gruff songs about epic events. When Iron Maiden sang "To Tame a Land" on their Piece of Mind album (the song was based on Frank Herbert's "DUNE") my head nearly exploded. Wow! The guys in Maiden had read the same book as me. And they seemed to know how to say Kwizatch Haderach! I must have listened to the song a thousand times those first few weeks. Their next album had a 13 minute epic The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, which was based on Coleridge's poem. So I immediately went out and bought a copy of the poem and read it. Wow! What a poem! There were other bands, too (Rush's "Xanadu" comes to mind (Coleridge again), Starship Trooper from Yes (Heinlein)). Bands that rocked out to literature. Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone out there has any favorite songs inspired by literature? And if you want to check out a few go to Artists for Literacy. Heck they even have two whole CD's of songs inspired by literature. They're called SIBL's btw (Songs Inspired By Literature).

Rock and Read on,

Art

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

iPod/Mr. Monday

I just finished listening to Garth Nix's Mr. Monday on my iPod shuffle. I was enthralled by the first book in the series, not just the storytelling, but also by the storytelling ability of the voice talent on the Audiobook. It really brought the story to life. I highly recommend the book. It's a good one for the middle years audience.

I do find my iPod to be a really usefull tool for helping my writing. I, of course, believe the more you read the better you will write. And now that I can listen to audiobooks when I'm out shopping for groceries or doing the dishes, I am getting through a lot more books. Plus I listen while I jog and I find that if it's a good book I'm much more likely to get up in the morning and go for a jog, than if I don't have a good audiobook in my iPod. And, apparently, there's a connection between a healthy body and a healthy mind. Though I'm not sure if that's been proven yet.

Anyone else have any favorite Audiobooks? I also loved The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time.

Art

P.S. Also finished STONES in book form by William Bell. A good horror novel for teens with well developed characters. Don't always get that in horror novels.