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Finally! I've found a new picture book I can use in opinion writing units of study. Learn more about One Word from Sophia by Averbeck and Ismail in this post. Then, leave a comment on this post for a chance to win a copy of this book.

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I’m thrilled to be back blogging after a stellar three-month summer hiatus. I completed the first draft to my contemporary YA, which is my MFA thesis. I attended a superb writer’s craft conference for the benefit of the non-profit Sierra … Continue reading →

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Jim Averbeck is an author, illustrator and author/illustrator of picture books (including the Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book, In a Blue Room) and novels. His first novel is just out, A Hitch at the Fairmont, and it has been positioned for use with Core Curriculum State Standards.

Ed Porter is a former superintendent of schools in Long Island. Currently, he is an educational consultant who, among other things, coaches schools in understanding and implementing the Common Core Standards.

Jim Averbeck (left) and Ed Porter

Ed and Jim start with explaining that The Common Core is evolving. "Call it Common Core 1.0"

You can check the standards out at corestandards.org

The handout packet is hefty, and its cover is a map of which U.S. states have adopted Common Core (most), which have similar standards (a handful), and which have rejected it (four.)

Ed gives us an overview of the evolution of Common Core so far.

Today, we're asking students to have skills and attributes beyond what the old K-12 standards could offer them. Things like self-regulation, critical thinking and problem-solving, effective oral and written communication and resilience.

And Common Core is one of many responses to this. Another response is "The 4 C's in STEM: Collaboration, Creativity, Communication and Critical Thinking."

Jim and Ed also share a metric called "Webb's Depth of Knowledge" that breaks down knowledge about a book into four levels. Here are examples of text questions at each level:

1st level of knowledge: What are the names of the characters?
2nd level of knowledge: What happened?
3rd level of knowledge: Why did something happen?
4th level of knowledge: What would happen if…?

Common Core aims to have students go deeper, into those 3rd and 4th levels.

Jim aims to have his book and Common Core tie-in

"Easy for teachers to choose, easy for teachers to use."

Jim explains how texts are evaluated to be used in classrooms, based on "text complexity." It's a mix of Quantitative (like Lexile scores determined by computer - Jim's Hitch book was a Lexile 770, recommended for grades 3 and 4), Qualitative (like judging the complexity of the story, an evaluation performed by educators, and based on this analysis by teachers, Hitch moved up to 4th through 6th grades) and Reader & Task measures (individual teachers choosing things for individual classes and students.)

So what might we do to help teachers choose our books to use in the classroom?

There are group exercises through, like one that demonstrate to attendees how contemporary and speculative fiction can tie into the common core, and also tap into those 3rd and 4th levels of knowledge.

Jim shares his advice on what to do before the writing, during the writing, and after the book is published.

Here's one example for each:

Before: connect your fiction to research

During: Include appendices and author notes that surfaces research where appropriate

After: Create a "Common Core Selection Guide" that summaries the text complexity

They walk us through a page from the actual "Common Core Activity Guide" Ed created for Hitch! You can see and download the entire guide at Jim's website here.

And they even share a giant list of where to distribute your supplemental materials.

So much great information!

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It’s hard to have a favorite part of the Newbery/Caldecott Banquet to look forward to, but definitely up there is the red carpet interview portion.  Each year Jim Averbeck whips out the camera and questions and has the luminaries of the field give their thoughts and opinions on a variety of schtoofs.  2011 was no different and he was joined in his efforts this year by fellow co-hosts Kristin Venuti and our own Katie Davis. Here is one of the many videos Jim has placed on the marvelous Kidlit On the Red Carpet blog.  Extra points for interviewing bloggers like Liz of Tea Cozy and Sondra Eklund of Sonderbooks in addition to authors and illustrators like David Diaz, Yuyi Morales, Ellen Hopkins, Jenny Han, John Rocco, Katherine Paterson, Clare Vanderpool, Margi Preus, Alan Katz, Javaka Steptoe, Kirby Larson, Lin Oliver, Duncan Tonatiuh, Kimberly Marcus, Jeanette Larson, and Adrienne Yorinks.  Check out the Facebook page if you’ve half a mind to do so.

Now let us begin today’s trailerfest with a remembrance of notable librarians past.  The great children’s librarian Anne Carroll Moore had no tolerance for children’s books that she considered gimmicky.  Pat the Bunny, for example, was hardly up her alley.  So one wonders what she would make of this children’s book coming out this November from McSweeney’s McMullens.  It’s called Keep Our Secrets by Jordan Crane and I can honestly say I’ve never seen a book for kids do this before . . .

Apparently the ink never fades and works like this every time.  They say that, but when I was a kid we had hypercolor shirts.  So I’ve been burned before, McSweeney’s.  That pain of seeing what happened to my shirt when it went through the wash never really went away.  Oh, the humanity.

Let’s do a more traditional picture book trailer now.  Thought: Can you can something “traditional” if the medium itself has only been in existence a couple of years?  In any case, I rather liked this trailer for David Mackintosh’s Marshall Armstrong is New to Our School.

Thanks to Pamela Paul for the link.

Of course it’s an extra special treat when a trailer includes the author and even gives some background on the creation of the book itself.  And look!  Behold the remarkable Jarrett Krosoczka and his first new picture book in years!