MEET AUTHOR & READING SPECIALIST CATHY PUETT MILLER

As “The Literacy Ambassador®,” author and children’s literacy consultant Cathy Puett Miller promotes early childhood literacy development and family literacy involvement.
Cathy presents at conferences and has written articles for Education World, Babyzone.com, The Reading Tub, PTA websites, and parenting publications. She is also the author of Anytime Reading Readiness: Fun and Easy Family Activities That Prepare Your Child to Read.

Anytime Reading Readiness respects the reading readiness level of your child. Now you can integrate prereading activities throughout your day – without stress, fuss, or pushing your child. Prepare your child to read—any time.



“Cathy Miller is a genius,” says award-winning children’s author and storyteller Carmen Agra Deedy. “What, in the end, she is telling us with this wonderful book is that spending time with your child, and allowing learning to evolve through play, is the surest way to create intellectually curious learners. Hooray!”

Kathy: Welcome to my blog, Cathy.

Cathy P: Thank you, Kathy. I already feel as though we are connected because you live in north Georgia and I was in Cherokee County, GA (45 minutes north of Atlanta) for 7 years when our son was in elementary and middle school.

Kathy: Let’s begin by talking a bit about your role in the world of reading. You are known as the Literacy Ambassador®. What is a Literacy Ambassador®?

Cathy P: It is a trademarked tag line I use to identify what I do – I make friends for reading with educators, families and community organizations across the country. I am one of the few educational consultants who cross those lines. I also work in both the preschool and K-8 environment. I reach across between these often distinct groups because I believe the best results always come when partnerships develop: between families and educators, between preschool and kindergarten teachers. Some of your blog readers may know me from my monthly columns at Educationworld.com and Inspiringteachers.com.


Kathy: So what has the Literacy Ambassador® been up to lately?

Cathy P: I always have lots of projects going on but I have been traveling a lot lately, speaking at conferences in Washington, DC, St. Louis, MO, Minneapolis, MN, Atlanta, GA, Birmingham, AL, New Orleans, LA. Everywhere I go, I meet people from various walks of life hungry to know how to best help children become strong readers.

Kathy: Speaking of children and reading, do you have some books you’d recommend for those visiting my blog (either teachers or parents)?

Cathy P: Sure. I’ll give you a few titles for different age levels here and then people can visit my website for more extended lists. They’ll also find lots of recommendations of great books especially for the young ones in my two new titles from Maupin House but we’ll talk more about those later.

Preschool and Kindergarten:
Baa-Choo by Sarah Weeks
Big Words for Little People by Jamie Lee Curtis
Indestructibles, a wordless book series by Amy Pixton
Let’s Get Ready for Kindergarten by Stacey Kannenberg
Love the Baby by Steven Layne

First and Second Grade: From Head to Toe by Eric Carle
Let’s Make Rabbits by Leo Lionni
Paris in the Spring with Picasso by Joan Yolleck
The Easter Egg by Jan Brett
The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney

Third through Fifth Grade:
A Nest for Celeste by Henry Cole
Evolution: Who We and All Living Things Came to Be by Daniel Loxton
Lawn Boy Returns by Gary Paulsen
Roberto and Me by Dan Gutman
Three Cups of Tea by Gary Mortenson

Kathy: Why did you pick these books?

Cathy P: My criteria for great books to read or share with students is “will they be interested?” “Will it give them an authentic reason to want to read; a positive experience with a book?” They have plenty of “must reads” in their lives but if we do not show children and families the power of books for them, we will not hook them. There are just too many distractions.

Kathy: That brings up an important point. There really are a lot of distractions from reading these days. What advice do you have for parents and teachers?

Cathy: I’m starting a revolution! And I want to invite you and all your bloggers to join in. Just a few minutes ago we were talking about those partnerships that are so meaningful to the success of young children. My two new books, Before They Read (for preschool and kindergarten teachers) and Anytime Reading Readiness (for parents and guardians of 3-6 year olds) are easy guidebooks to get involved. Each focuses on the same three big ideas, but with a slant specific to the needs of those who are reading them (families or educators).

The three big ideas are:

The importance of talking with young children to aid in their growth of their oral language

The delicious, delightful experience of reading a story with a child and exploring a book using a technique I called Engaged Interactive Read Aloud.

Playing with sounds and patterns in the language.

Kathy: And where are these books available?

Cathy P: You can get them through my publisher, Maupin House, by visiting my website www.readingisforeveryone.org. If your visitors have a favorite online book store like Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Books A Million, etc., they can also purchase them there. And the Before They Read title is a great Teacher Appreciation Week gift. Mother’s and Father’s Day will be here before we know it and the Anytime Reading Readiness book is a perfect choice for those special days.

Kathy: What about kids beyond this getting ready and beginning to read stage?

Cathy P: The same foundations are important; we simply build upon them. My technique, Engaged Interactive Read Aloud, for instance works all the way up through high school. Anyone can visit my website and look for my 1/27 interview with Stacey Kannenberg on her Born to Learn Mom show to hear just how to do it. Just visit www.readingisforeveryone.org and scroll down to the second item on the audio player.

Certainly it is important to continue to support readers even after they are reading on their own. But, once the snuggle and cuddle stage is gone, that may take a different approach.

Kathy: We’re at the end of our time together but are there some additional resources you can share?

Cathy P: I invite everyone to visit and follow my blogs

for parents http://parentsandkidsreadingtogether.blogspot.com
for educators K-12 http://lightthesparkofliteracy.blogspot.com
for preschool teachers: http://passionatepreschoolteachers.blogspot.com.

Kathy: Thank you for youe time, information and the wonderful work you do.

Cathy: Your welcome. I enjoyed my visit.

Kathy Stemke's websites:
Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html
http://kathystemke.weebly.com
Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/kathystemke
Follow me on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=6147172660&topic=4910#!/kathymarescomatthews.stemke?ref=profile

Education World ® Lesson Planning: Heroes in History ABC Book

Education World ® Lesson Planning: Heroes in History ABC Book

More info on lessons for ABC books from Education World!

AN ABC OF ENDANGERED SPECIES
Teacher Laura Toffenetti challenged each of her fourth graders at the Dorothy C. Goodwin School in Storrs, Connecticut, to create an ABC book of endangered animals. The task was easier than might be expected because, the students were amazed to learn, the world has more than 6,000 species that are "endangered" due to loss of habitat, poaching, and pollution!
"Students used a variety of resources to research the animals," says Toffenetti. "Each page had to include at least four facts about the animal, a map showing where the animal lives, and a picture."
"We spent some time learning how to lay out a page in an effective way," adds Toffenetti. "We also had some mini drawing lessons to help them capture the animals' likenesses."

ABC OF POSSIBILITIES
For the letter A, you might create a book called The Ancient Civilization Alphabet Book. The opening pages of that book -- the pages for the letters A to E -- might include illustrations and text related to
· A -- Alexander the Great, the Aztecs, Athens, the Aeneid, or Aristotle;
· B -- Buddha, Babylon, or the Byzantine Empire;
· C -- Confucius, Code of Hamurabi, Cheops' Great Pyramid, clay tablets, Crete, Caesar, or Cleopatra;
· D -- democracy;
· E -- Egypt, Elba, Euphrates, Etruscans, or Euripedes ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter A: aviation, agriculture, Africa, art history and artists, American authors, architecture, astronomy, automobiles, or Australia.
B AND BEYOND ...
For the letter B, you might create The Biology Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· amoeba, arachnids, or algae;
· bacteria or biomes;
· cells or crustacean;
· Darwin;
· ecology or evolution ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter B: baseball, biographies, the human body, birds, Brazil, or famous buildings.
For the letter C, you might create The Citizenship Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
A good citizen
· acts responsibly;
· doesn't bully;
· cares for people and other living things;
· takes part in community debates;
· votes in elections ...
For the letter E, you might create The Economics Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· automated teller machine (ATM);
· banks, bull market, or budget;
· credit cards, child labor, or consumerism;
· depression or dollar;
· European Community ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter E: Earth, ecology and the environment, Thomas Edison, Eskimos, education, Egypt, elections, Europe, electricity, endangered species, science experiments, exploration, energy, or England.
For the letter F, you might create The Food Around the World Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· artsoppa (Scandanavia) or anitpasto (Italy);
· babka (Poland), blini (Russia), bubble and squeak (England), or baklava (Armenia, Greece);
· challah (Israel), curry (India), crumpets (England), or chow mein (China);
· Danish pastries (called wienerbrot, or "Vienna bread," in Denmark) or dumplings (Germany);
· edible seaweed (Japan) ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter F: family, farms and farming, fish, flags, forests, or flowers.
For the letter G, you might create The Geography Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· Arctic, altitude, archipelago, atoll, axis, or Atlantic Ocean;
· bay or butte;
· cities, cape, canyon, continental shelf, or climate;
· delta, (continental) divide, or dune;
· elevation, erg, estuary, or equator ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter G: games, gardens, Greece, or geology.
For the letter H, you might create The Holidays Around the World Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· Arbor Day and Abraham Lincoln's Birthday (U.S.), Australia Day (Australia), or April Fools' Day (many countries);
· Bolivar's Birthday (South America) or Bastille Day (France);
· Christmas (many countries), Confucius' Birthday (China), Columbus Day (U.S.), Constitution Day (Japan), Candlemas Day (Scotland), or Canada Day (Canada);
· Day of the Race (Latin America) or Dragon Boat Festival (China);
· Empire Day (also called Commonwealth Day, Great Britain) or Easter (many countries) ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter H: Hawaii, the home, healthful habits, the Holocaust, herbs, Hispanic Americans, and hobbies.
For the letter I, you might create The Important People in American History Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· Susan B. Anthony or John Quincy Adams;
· Aaron Burr, Clara Barton, Daniel Boone, or Buffalo Bill;
· George Washington Carver, Henry Clay, Andrew Carnegie, or Calvin Coolidge;
· Frederick Douglass;
· Dwight D. Eisenhower ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter I: India, the Ice Age, inventions, immigration, Illinois, ice-skating, American Indians, the Industrial Revolution, or insects.
For the letter J, you might create The Jobs Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· anthropologist, animator, airplane pilot, auto repairperson, or architect;
· baker, butcher, ballet dancer, basketball player, bulldozer operator, bus driver, or businesswoman;
· chemist, cook, cable TV installer, chaplain, carpenter, cashier, or computer technician;
· divorce lawyer, dentist, doctor, director, disc jockey, dietition, or dress designer;
· editor, economist, engineer, electrician, EMT, or eye doctor ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter J: jungles, Jamestown, jazz, or Japan.
For the letter K, you might create The Martin Luther King Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· Atlanta (King's birthplace);
· Birmingham or bus boycott (Montgomery) ;
· Coretta Scott King or Civil Rights Act of 1964;
· Dexter Avenue Baptist Church or "I have a dream ..." speech;
· Ebeneezer Baptist Church or equality ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter K: the Korean War, knights and knighthood, or Kansas.
For the letter L, you might create The Language Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· alphabet, apostrophe, adjective, abbreviation, or address;
· books and book titles;
· colon, compound words, compositions, comma, or cliche;
· debates, diaries, or dialogue;
· editing, e.g., or exclamation ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter L: Abraham Lincoln, the Labor Movement, London, Los Angeles, great literature, or lumber and lumbering.
For the letter M, you might create The Mathematics Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· algebra, arithmetic, or abacus;
· budgets or Bernoulli;
· calendar, complex fractions, or computers;
· decimals or Descartes;
· Einstein or equivalencies ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter M: mammals, Mexico, the Middle Ages, Mars, minerals, the Middle East, mountains and mountain climbing, multiculturalism, music, mythology.
For the letter N, you might create The National Parks Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· Acadia National Park, Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities, Arches National Park, or Appalachian National Scenic Trail;
· Badlands National Park, Big Bend National Park, Biscayne National Park, or Bryce Canyon National Park;
· Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Channel Islands National Park, Crater Lake National Park, or Carlsbad Caverns National Park;
· Death Valley National Park, Denali National Park, Department of the Interior, or Dry Tortugas National Park;
· Everglades National Park ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter N: people's names, North America, nature, nursery rhymes, nutrition, newspapers, or New York City.
For the letter O, you might create The Olympic Games Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· Athens, archery, or alpine skiing;
· Baron Pierre de Coubertin, boxing, basketball, bobsledding, Bonnie Blair, biathlon, or bronze medal;
· cross-country skiing, Nadia Comaneci, or cycling;
· discus throw or Babe Didrikson;
· equestrian events ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter O: oceans, Oklahoma, or the orchestra.
For the letter P, you might create The Let's Get Physical Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· archery;
· badminton, bodybuilding, or bicycling;
· canoeing, curling, or cheerleading;
· darts or diving;
· equestrian events ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter P: the Pacific Ocean, famous painters and paintings, prehistoric animals, presidents and the presidency, Puerto Rico, phobias, pets and pet care, pioneer life, plants, or Pennsylvania.
For the letter Q, you might create The Famous Quotations Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include:
· Aesop: "Do not count your chickens before they are hatched."
· P. T. Barnum: "There's a sucker born every minute."
· Confucius: "Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors."
· Leo Durocher: "Nice guys finish last."
· Thomas Edison: "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter Q: queen bees and other insects, science questions, Quebec, or quizzes.
For the letter R, you might create The Railroad Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· Amtrak, articulated locomotive, angle bars, or Horatio Allen;
· boxcar, Baltimore & Ohio, "Big Boys," ballast, baggage car, Matthias Baldwin, or Blucher;
· catenary, cog railroad, crossties, coach, covered hopper, caboose, classification yard, Peter Cooper, or Conrail;
· diesel locomotive, driving wheels, or dining car;
· Eurostar or electric locomotive ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter R: racism, the rain forest, Reconstruction, religions of the world, reptiles, the Revolutionary War, rivers, recreation, the Renaissance, rocks, ancient Rome, or Russia.
For the letter S, you might create The Space Exploration Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· Neil Armstrong or astronomy;
· black holes or Tycho Brahe;
· comets, constellations, or Copernicus;
· space shuttle;
· eclipse ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter S: safety rules, San Francisco, Scandanavia, South America, the four seasons, stars in the sky, the sun, sharks and other sea animals, slavery, the Supreme Court, snakes, the solar system, or superstitions.
For the letter T, you might create The Technology Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· aerodynamics or automation;
· Alexander Graham Bell;
· computers;
· Sir Humphrey Davy;
· electron microscope ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter T: transportation, television, Texas, Thanksgiving, trees, the thirteen colonies, the tundra, or theater.
For the letter U, you might create The United States Government Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· act of Congress, authorization bills, appellate court, associate justice, or appropriations bills;
· Bill of Rights or bills;
· the president's Cabinet, Congress, the U.S. Capitol, the CIA, the Constitution, checks and balances, chief justice, commander in chief, Congressional Budget Office, or the Supreme Court;
· democracy, division of powers, district court, diplomats, or the Declaration of Independence;
· elections, executive branch, or the Electoral College ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter U: U.S. history, undersea exploration, U.S. landmarks and attractions, or the universe.
For the letter V, you might create The Vegetables and Fruits Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· artichoke, asparagus, or apple;
· beet, broccoli, berries, or banana;
· cabbage, celery, carrot, cauliflower, corn, or cucumber;
· date;
· eggplant ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter V: the Vikings, Venezuela, the vice presidency, or the Vietnam War.
For the letter W, you might create The World War II Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· Axis Powers, Allied Forces, Afrika Korps, Anti-Comintern Pact, American Flying Fortress, Anschluss, Anzio, or Antwerp;
· blitz, Battle of Britain, Plan Barbarossa, Bismarck, Battle of the Bulge, Bataan, or B-29;
· Georges Clemenseau, Covenant of the League of Nations, Cherbourg, Casablanca Conference, or Winston Churchill;
· Dunkirk, Deutcshland, Colonel James H. Doolittle, or D-Day;
· Enterprise, Emperor Hirohito, Essex, ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter W: wetlands, Washington (D.C.), weather, the Westward movement, whales and whaling, George Washington, water, the White House, the women's rights movement, World War I, or American writers.
For the letter X, you might create The X-Rays and Other Medical Terms Alphabet Book. Another possible topic for an alphabet book that begins with the letter X: Xmas around the world.
For the letter Y, you might create The Yukon Territory (Canada) Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· Arctic Ocean, Aishihik, or Alaska Highway;
· Beaufort Sea, British Mountains, bear, John Bell, or Bonanza Creek;
· caribou, common raven, George Washington Carmack, Cyprus-Anvil mine, coat of arms, or Robert Campbell;
· Dawson City or Dempster Highway;
· Eskimo or Elsa-Mayo ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter Y: Yellowstone National Park or Yugoslavia.
For the letter Z, you might create The Zoo Animals Alphabet Book. The opening pages of the book might include
· armadillo or American bison;
· brown bear, beaver, bobcat, black rhinoceros, or baboon;
· caribou, cheetah, cougar, crocodile, camel, chimpanzee, or coyote;
· deer;
· elephant (African), elephant (Asian), or elk ...
Other possible topics for alphabet books that begin with the letter Z: Zaire, zeppelins and other aircraft, Zambia, or zoos and zoology.


Kathy Stemke's websites:
Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html
http://kathystemke.weebly.com