California Educator

December 2011

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MAKING A DIFFERENCE READ ACROSS AMERICA TEACHERS OF THE YEAR 22 23 EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO PLAN A READ ACROSS AMERICA EVENT IS ONLINE AT WWW.CTA.ORG/RAA. GET READY FOR READ ACROSS AMERICA NO MATTER WHAT your taste, get ready to "Sink Your Teeth Into a Good Book" for Read Across America 2012! This year we'll be featuring two books to tantalize your reading interests. Gabby and Gator, written and illustrated by James Burks, is a graphic novel about two friends, a shy outcast and a tambourine- playing alligator, who overcome fears and find acceptance. Boris Ate a Thesaurus, written by Neil Klayman and illustrated by Barry Chung, is a picture book about a boy who eats a thesaurus and starts speaking in synonyms. When he finally runs out of words to say, he dis- covers the true value of books. Read Across America was established by NEA in 1997 How to plan one heckuva fun reading event Remind your principal about the event and refer them to www.cta.org/raa or www.nea.org/readacross for additional information and ideas. If March 2 conflicts with your school calendar, arrange your celebration for another day that week or even the week before or after. Consult your school librarian, who may have event ideas and resources to offer. Invite "guest readers" to visit your school and read to students. Visits from police offi- cers, firefighters, radio and television personalities, athletes, political figures, and other community members can make a big impression on young people. Ask your guest to tell your students why reading is important in their lives and what their favorite books were when they were children. Share your plans with your colleagues. Pledge to participate on the NEA website, and keep your local association office informed of what you're doing at your school. Let your local media outlets and education reporters know about your event. 22 California Educator / December 2011 • January 2012 MORE INFO Activity sheets for each of the books, along with the RAA art and materials, can be accessed at www.cta.org/raa. In addition to the books, stickers, pencils and T-shirts will be available for purchase at upcoming CTA conferences. to celebrate reading, to mark how important it is to motivate children to become readers in order to master basic skills, and to encourage students to have a lifelong love for books. It's celebrated each year on or near March 2, the birthday of children's author Dr. Seuss. This year's honorary California chairs will be the authors and illustrators of our featured books, James Burks, Neil Klayman and Bar r y Chung, and Lou Paulson, president of California Pro- fessional Firefighters. The illustrators have collaborated Illustrations © 2011 by James Burks and Barry Chung on artwork to create a great new look for the event, and have made activity sheets for each of their books. CTA welcomes Chivas USA, the Major League Soccer team from Southern Cali- fornia, to our family of partners, along with our returning partners, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), Barnes & Noble, the California Library Association, California Professional Firefighters, the California School Library Association, the Dodgers Dream Founda- tion, First Financial Credit Union, the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Scholas- tic, and See's Candies. By Sheri Miyamoto

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