- State College Area School District
- State College Area School District
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Patrick Trimble’s talk certainly was a departure from the usual.
Trimble, a retired Penn State professor, discussed the tie between pop cultures, such as comics and movies, and literacy. He started by surveying the group of third- to fifth-graders about what they like to read. Comics, graphic novels, novels, chapter stories, series books: Hands rose as the list went on.
“I’m impressed,” Trimble said after someone offered “The Hunger Games” books. “You’re a very young crowd to be reading stuff like that.”
He then solicited reasons why we read — to amuse ourselves, to expand horizons, to strengthen language, to learn about the world — and discussed the importance of literacy.
“Suppose, for instance, you don’t know something and want to find out about it. Reading is the skill that will help you find it and analyze it,” he said, later noting that literacy means students “will always be expanding on that ability to learn,” independent of teachers and classrooms.
“You’ll be the one doing the learning, and you’ll be the one always in control of determining what is important to know.”
Turning to comics, he said we read them not only to be entertained, but also to develop “a visual literacy,” seeing how the artist views the world and learning about cultural values. Comics, he said, are a great way to begin exploring storytelling.
As examples, he showed vintage images of Little Orphan Annie and The Katzenjammer Kids, discussing what they represented for readers of their era. Annie was popular in part because she represented thrift and pluck — virtues that Depression families desired.
“You’re not simply shutting your mind off,” Trimble said of comics. “Of course not. You’re mind is engaging. Now you’re reading on two levels.”
There wasn’t much complexity to Karla Schmit’s story — just some animal sounds and a lot of laughs.
Schmit, a Penn State education and behavioral sciences librarian and the assistant director for the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, spun a tale of George the puppy and his concerned mother.
George won’t bark like other puppies, instead mimicking other animals, so she takes him to the vet. Using a puppet, Schmit showed how the vet discovered George’s problem — several, actually — pulling out various stuffed animals.
When it came to the surprise ending, a girl blurted it out ahead of Schmit.
“Oh, you know the story,” Schmit said before urging her audience to check out the book in their library.
At her session, school board director Dorothea Stahl, who read “Green Eggs and Ham,” asked students for their favorite Dr. Seuss stories.
“You guys were such a good audience,” she said. “I just want to applaud for you.”
At a concluding school assembly in the gym, Deidre Bauer, the district’s K-6 curriculum director, urged a round of applause for Brackbill for organizing the festival. Before calling out a list of popular series books, asking for hands from fans but getting cheers instead, she made a plug for reading and writing in general.
“Hopefully after today,” she said, “each of you have made some connections to help you take your next step in literacy.”
Chris Rosenblum can be contacted with SCASD story ideas at 272-8699 and jcr19@scasd.org. Follow him on Twitter @CRosenblumNews.
Mount Nittany Elementary turns new page with first literacy festival
By Chris Rosenblum | SCASD Communications Director
Jim Leous finished his story, Dr. Seuss’ “Hop on Pop,” and couldn’t resist tacking on a moral.
“That was a good one,” Leous, the State College Area School District Board of School Directors vice president, told the Mount Nittany Elementary School students gathered at his feet.
“But don’t hop on pop. Take it from a pop.”
“Why?” a girl said in her best Cindy Lou Who voice.
“Because it hurts.”
Jokes aside, Leous visited Mount Nittany on March 2 for a serious purpose: to help the school’s first Literacy Festival to a rousing success. He was one of several guests, including fellow board member Dorothea Stahl, who participated in various workshops aimed at encouraging a love for reading, writing and storytelling.
A weather delay iced the festival’s two morning workshop sessions, but it couldn’t wipe out the festival completely. School librarian and festival organizer Dustin Brackbill squeezed the afternoon session block into the truncated day, saving months of planning from going for naught.
Replacements also stepped in for last-minute cancellations.
“It all worked out,” Brackbill said. “I knew no matter what, the kids would hear from someone who had important literacy lessons to share.”
For a couple of years, the idea of a festival had been building in his mind. He wanted to go beyond just having a visiting author give a presentation to promote storytelling. Attending an annual spring librarians’ conference proved to be the catalyst.
He found inspiration from the typical conference format: a medley of sessions from which participants pick what interests them.
“I thought, ‘Well, kids deserve that choice, too,’ ” Brackbill said. “Kids deserve the chance to see literacy, reading and writing (lessons) beyond their normal classroom setting.”
“That was a good one,” Leous, the State College Area School District Board of School Directors vice president, told the Mount Nittany Elementary School students gathered at his feet.
“But don’t hop on pop. Take it from a pop.”
“Why?” a girl said in her best Cindy Lou Who voice.
“Because it hurts.”
Jokes aside, Leous visited Mount Nittany on March 2 for a serious purpose: to help the school’s first Literacy Festival to a rousing success. He was one of several guests, including fellow board member Dorothea Stahl, who participated in various workshops aimed at encouraging a love for reading, writing and storytelling.
A weather delay iced the festival’s two morning workshop sessions, but it couldn’t wipe out the festival completely. School librarian and festival organizer Dustin Brackbill squeezed the afternoon session block into the truncated day, saving months of planning from going for naught.
Replacements also stepped in for last-minute cancellations.
“It all worked out,” Brackbill said. “I knew no matter what, the kids would hear from someone who had important literacy lessons to share.”
For a couple of years, the idea of a festival had been building in his mind. He wanted to go beyond just having a visiting author give a presentation to promote storytelling. Attending an annual spring librarians’ conference proved to be the catalyst.
He found inspiration from the typical conference format: a medley of sessions from which participants pick what interests them.
“I thought, ‘Well, kids deserve that choice, too,’ ” Brackbill said. “Kids deserve the chance to see literacy, reading and writing (lessons) beyond their normal classroom setting.”
Patrick Trimble’s talk certainly was a departure from the usual.
Trimble, a retired Penn State professor, discussed the tie between pop cultures, such as comics and movies, and literacy. He started by surveying the group of third- to fifth-graders about what they like to read. Comics, graphic novels, novels, chapter stories, series books: Hands rose as the list went on.
“I’m impressed,” Trimble said after someone offered “The Hunger Games” books. “You’re a very young crowd to be reading stuff like that.”
He then solicited reasons why we read — to amuse ourselves, to expand horizons, to strengthen language, to learn about the world — and discussed the importance of literacy.
“Suppose, for instance, you don’t know something and want to find out about it. Reading is the skill that will help you find it and analyze it,” he said, later noting that literacy means students “will always be expanding on that ability to learn,” independent of teachers and classrooms.
“You’ll be the one doing the learning, and you’ll be the one always in control of determining what is important to know.”
Turning to comics, he said we read them not only to be entertained, but also to develop “a visual literacy,” seeing how the artist views the world and learning about cultural values. Comics, he said, are a great way to begin exploring storytelling.
As examples, he showed vintage images of Little Orphan Annie and The Katzenjammer Kids, discussing what they represented for readers of their era. Annie was popular in part because she represented thrift and pluck — virtues that Depression families desired.
“You’re not simply shutting your mind off,” Trimble said of comics. “Of course not. You’re mind is engaging. Now you’re reading on two levels.”
There wasn’t much complexity to Karla Schmit’s story — just some animal sounds and a lot of laughs.
Schmit, a Penn State education and behavioral sciences librarian and the assistant director for the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, spun a tale of George the puppy and his concerned mother.
George won’t bark like other puppies, instead mimicking other animals, so she takes him to the vet. Using a puppet, Schmit showed how the vet discovered George’s problem — several, actually — pulling out various stuffed animals.
When it came to the surprise ending, a girl blurted it out ahead of Schmit.
“Oh, you know the story,” Schmit said before urging her audience to check out the book in their library.
At her session, school board director Dorothea Stahl, who read “Green Eggs and Ham,” asked students for their favorite Dr. Seuss stories.
“You guys were such a good audience,” she said. “I just want to applaud for you.”
At a concluding school assembly in the gym, Deidre Bauer, the district’s K-6 curriculum director, urged a round of applause for Brackbill for organizing the festival. Before calling out a list of popular series books, asking for hands from fans but getting cheers instead, she made a plug for reading and writing in general.
“Hopefully after today,” she said, “each of you have made some connections to help you take your next step in literacy.”
Chris Rosenblum can be contacted with SCASD story ideas at 272-8699 and jcr19@scasd.org. Follow him on Twitter @CRosenblumNews.