Cultivating an Effective Reader is Raising

a Lifelong Learner

Ghassoub MustafaDubai Women’s College

ghassoub.mustafa@hct.ac.ae

Open Lecture SeriesSWC

7 Habits

Sow a thought, reap an actionSow an action, reap a habit

sow a habit, reap a character,Sow a character, reap a destiny

Sow a reader, reap a lifelong learner

Creating Reading as a Habit

Today’s Points

• Why our students DO NOT read???• Motivate: a horse and water• A lost great history of reading!!!!• Advantages of reading• Raising an effective reader - Cradle to Grave • 15 strategies• Reading material• Reading mission statement• Reflecting on teaching• I am addressing teachers and students

You will be the same person in 5 years as you are today except for the books you read and the

people you meet!Mandino

Strategy OneTestimonySayings

Asya testifies

• “after reading The Secret my life changed. I started being positive and read any book whether they are fiction or non-fiction. Because now I realized that all books you read, you learn from them, and you will think 'out of the box' after reading various types of books. You will have a general idea of such topics and issues”

Can you sell ice to an Eskimo?If you can, then you can sell reading to our students!!

Let’s sell them a book

• “When you sell a man a book you don't sell him just 12 ounces (340 grams) of paper and ink and glue - you sell him a whole new life.” Christopher Morley

Kindle 19x12. 240 gms - 1500

“Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere.”

- Mary Schmich

Reading and lying…!! loud• A teacher of religious studies said “..I plan to discuss the

sin of lying”. And “…….I want you all to read this book."• Two weeks later as the teacher and students met to

discuss the book:• The teacher asked for a show of hands:• He asked “How many of you have read Chapter17?” • Every hand went up. • The teacher shook his head smiled and said, • “This book has only sixteen chapters” • “Let’s discuss the sin of lying."

Strategy TwoGive shocking facts

serious situation

Reading in The Middle East

Reading - Death Bed • In 2008, a survey by the UN:• The average Arab in the Middle East reads

approximately four pages worth of literature a year – 5 words a day.

• 5 words – restaurant menu!!• American -11 books a year• Briton eight books.

http://epaper.khaleejtimes.com/KT/KT/2010/02/02/ArticleHtmls/02_02_2010_007_002.shtml

Arab Human Development Report 2002-2005 –Results – Gloomy facts

• N0 Arab countries………. Population: ……..• Arabs constitute 5% - Books output is only 1.1% (less

than Turkey -71m)• Print runs 1,000 and 3,000 copies only.• In 1996, Arab countries published 1945 books • Spain publishes 50,000 a year• Arabs translates 330 books – one fifth of Greece with only

11 m people. • Books translated since Al Ma’moun, 9th Century - 100,000• Book 5000 best seller. Da Vinci 60m. 44 lang.

http://www.ikoo.com/wikipedia-may-have-answer-for-arabic-advertisers

• Despite being the fifth most-spoken language in the world, there are only 128,610 Arabic entries on Wikipedia, ranking it the 24th language by number of articles. Wikipedia has more than 3.3 million articles in English.

• “Last year we noticed Arabic content on Wikipedia was pretty low. The Indonesian version had 60 million words, the Portuguese version had 140 million, but the Arabic version had only 22 million. This was a joke considering that 350 million people speak Arabic.”

What went wrong?

You put him to sleep you wake him up!!!!

Why Arab students do not read???• Powerful Rivals :TV , BB, Cinema, Shisha, Cars• Young people attitude - Tempt• Home culture - Oral culture• Childhood – wasted opportunity• Reading is a School’s task hateful - exams• limited First language reading • Censorship – writers handcuffed Distribution- bookshops• Authors’ Arabic vs. dialects• “Nobody reads in the house, school”• All of the above culminated in “a lost generation”

Obstacles to reading in English

• Lack schemata• Lack vocabulary• Author’s culture Vs students experience• Difficulty and give up • Top-down VS Bottom up• Grades The only motivator• Lack the habit

Reading is a hypnotistReading MPF

Memorize - Pass - Forget

library data - items borrowedtotal of student 2235 –

• 401 never taken an item = 17%• 333 have borrowed 1 – 5 items• 301 have borrowed 6 -10 items• 439 have borrowed 11 - 20 items• 688 have borrowed 21 – 50 items• 197 have borrowed 51 – 100 items• 62 have borrowed 101 – 199 items• 11 have borrowed 200 – 299 items• 4 have borrowed 300 – 399 items• 2 have borrowed over 400 items+ 0.089%

Historical Reasons- decline in Reading http://wishsubmission.wordpress.com/2007/08/14/the-fall-of-muslim-spain

Great civilizations annihilated The Fall of Cordoba – 14th CenturyDecisive blow to ArabicSetback Reading, literary, science In 1492, “the brutality of which I better not mention, except

that no less than a million books on theology, physics, chemistry, astronomy, philosophy and medicine burned”

Climax of reading in Islamic Spain Emirate of Córdoba (c. 750-1492)

• Cordoba the literary center of Middle Ages• Cordoba had 70 public libraries • The Caliph library 400,000-600,000 …

amounted to more books than all the libraries of the rest of Europe put together or France

• Introduced genre and catalogue• Christians, Jews and Muslims - Arabic • http://www.muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=454

The Fall of Baghdad – 12th 1258- Mongol invasion - decisive blow

• House of Wisdom – the Grand Library 9-13th C burnt

• Scholars from around the globe dispersed• Books flung into the river Tigris• Scholars, polymaths, scientists killed

The House of Wisdom – Climax in Reading

unrivalled centre for the study of humanities and for sciences

• A library -translation institute • Major intellectual center • Global academy Excellent research

educational institute • welcomed scholars

persecuted by the Byzantine Empire

• Al Khawarizmi – father Of Algebra, algorithm

Studied translated great minds

• Plato,• Aristotle, • Hippocrates,• Euclid, • Plotinus, • Galen, • Sushruta, • Charaka, • Aryabhata • Brahmagupta

The Printing Press Banned

• 1440 in Germany • Printing was banned by Islamic authorities

because religious men deemed it evil • Koran would be dishonored by appearing out

of a machine. • Arabs did not acquire printing

presses until the 18th century

Strategy ThreeArouse emotions

PrideSurprise them

Reawaken a dormant passionWael Al Sayegh

We Arabs must reawaken our passion for reading

ForA nation that does not read is one that

Will never succeed

And I add to Al sayegh…….

When Arabs were devoted Readers

They were world leaders

Great History

History of Reading authoring

An inspiration to Western Authors

Arabs and Islam Golden Age 8-13th Century – unrivalled

• The greatest university in the world was a collection of books

Had no rival!!!

• ‘The ink of the scholar is more sacred than the blood of the martyr'

The very first fiction novel In history– “Hayy Ibn Yagthan”

Latin: Philosophus Autodidactus

Best seller 17th C• An Andalusian Muslim • Arab THINKER• 12th Century

Hay Ibn Yaqdhan

–Direct impact on the Age of European Enlightenment• He depicted “the development of the

mind of a feral child "from a tabula rasa to that of an adult, in complete isolation from society" on a deserted island.

Inspired the creation of “Tarzan” the Lord of the Jungle” in 1912 – western version

Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy

Preeminent work of Italian literature1308 – great epic

• Derived A LOT from Ibn Arabi In 1264 , Night Journey

• The Resalat Al-Ghufran or “Epistle of Forgiveness” of Al-Ma'arri

• Confirmed In 1919, Professor Miguel Asín Palacios, a Spanish scholar and a Catholic priest

Majnun Laila – Romeo and Juliet

Romantic: Virgin love and never married

Abraham Lincoln and the Arabian nights

• The Arabian Nights…gave him a treasure trove of stories that he could entertain listeners with over the fire of an evening, and storytelling was a talent much prized in those days.

• http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2009/02/young-abraham-lincoln-child-of-the-american-frontier/

The very first verse Quran"Read, for your Lord is most Generous, Who teaches by

means of the pen, " (96: 1-5)

( خلق الذي ربك باسم إقرأ

read - resonance NOT fight or kill

“Indeed this very first word “READ”Gave the world, a nation, for 8 centuries, of READERS,

translators, scholars, doctors, etc..”

Strategy Five

Show visual Evidence• “When the Moors rules in Europe”• The Arabs of Spain brought paper to Europe

10th C• The Arabs love of books was legendary• Documentary by a British historian• Bettany Hughes • Cordoba the Reading and Cultural Capital of

the worldCordoba\Cordoba.VOB

Strategy SixTalk about advantages

What does Reading do to you? • Aware and informed• Critical Skills• Self-Esteem• Self-Confidence• Problem Solving• Reasoning• Decision Making• Child’s mental health. • Good writing ,proper spelling ,grammar• More articulate speaker – rich • Independence • Better future!!!!• Richer and richer• Healthy• Sociable• Old age ….. good memory

Decisions!!!

READING

WRITING

SPEAKING

VOCAB

GRAM

Listening

How do we cultivate and raise an effective reader to be a lifelong

learner?

Effectiveness Defined

P PC

The Golden Egg MentalityP = PC

Learning at young age, carving in stone

CuriousExplorerIntrinsicCritical PersistImitatorsScientist Edison

Reading starts at home

How can you raise a Reader? Sow a reader…..

• Sow - start at 3 years old• Be a model to your children/students• Set family/ class Reading time • Shared enjoyable activity – not a chore• Respect their TV, games, other class activities• Surround them with books/ shelves/ tables• Wide variety of reading – fiction -non fiction• They participate in building a home/ class

Library

Continue

• Habit: Shopping for books – books budget• Books as gifts • Read aloud sometimes • Bed reading/ class groups • Use salting techniques - be Shahrazad• Stick interesting quotes• Listen attentively to their stories

Continue

• Get them to recommend books for others

• D something from a book:a recipe. Eg. Starts ‘F’

• Instructions in a book• They give books as gifts• Influence others

Passion for Reading• Desire• Hunger• Thirst• Craving• Appetite

Children Décor Designers - Librarians

• “I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.

• ~Anna Quindlen, • New York Times, 7 August 1991

A house or a school without books- a house without windows

In mother’s tongue First

The dilemma: MSA vs Dialect – Children

What are you saying?

Arabs in Israel

• "We are an entire people who do not read," "Reading is not properly encouraged anywhere in the Arab world. It will solve all our problems. Children need to read of their own accord, not to pass a test, and parents must encourage them."

» Iham Halon-Hana, the head of a committee encouraging reading in the Arab sector.

The Reading Mother remains a common sentiment on Mother's Day Strickland Gillilan (1869–1954

The Reading Mother I had a mother who read to me

Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea.Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth;"Blackbirds" stowed in the hold beneath.

I had a Mother who read me laysOf ancient and gallant and golden days;

Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,Which every boy has a right to know.

I had a Mother who read me talesOf Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,

True to his trust till his tragic death,Faithfulness lent with his final breath.

I had a Mother who read me the thingsThat wholesome life to the boy heart brings-

Stories that stir with an upward touch.Oh, that each mother of boys were such!

You may have tangible wealth untold;Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be --I had a Mother who read to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strickland_Gillilan

• You may have tangible wealth untold;

Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be --I had a Mother who read to me.

Reading Mother = Reading childReading culture = Reading generation

Reading child

Students Comments -authentic

• She is acting like her mom when she read for her story before sleeping.

• She don’t have a sister or brother so she think of the dog like her sister or brother and read the story for the dog before sleeping.

• A dog is a better listener than a human being.• She likes to create her own world• The dog is bored

A study in California:Children with poor reading skills often:

• Receive poor grades • Are easily frustrated • Have difficulty completing assignments • Have low self-esteem • Have behavior problems • Have more physical illnesses due to stress • Don't like school • Grow up to be shy in front of groups • Fail to develop to their full potential

– http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/improving_reading.shtml

• You are participating in creating an effective lifelong learner

Primary school Role • Be welcoming - friendly• Library – variety of material• Classroom environment; groups, books, Rawi• Bulletins: News Bulletin; put pupils’ news• Their Reading news • Curriculum: variety• Take books home – little research• Involve parents – discuss – create communication

• No exams• Observation only – create a sheet• Reading competitions• Swapping books

Matthew Effects – children’s Reading

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 2 3 4 5 6

Average Struggling

-

• The more words a child knows, the more complex text that child will be able to read.

• The more complex texts a child can read, the more words they will learn.

• The reverse is also true.• Thus, the “rich get richer

and the poor get poorer.”

Vocabulary

• Native English child by 6 – 10,000 words (Anglin1993)

• Has acquired 90% adult language structure (Daniels 1998)

• Arabic: unaware of rules, no research• English teachers :(3000) High Frequency words• No exams: fun, block busters, games, pictures• Learn how to teach vocab

You

I

WE

Reading Growth Continuum

School Teacher Reading Mission Statement

• Reading at home = joy, comfort, happiness • The classroom is attractive library• Reading time a constitution • Bed time reading- Class as well • Find interesting relevant material• Daily journal – class reading• Peer influence

Reflection on Teaching

Plato: Life without reflection is not worth living

One of the killers in education

The ishfeek teacher!!

Teaching from the Heart

Skill

Conscie

To achieve

Need

Passion

The passionate teacher

A teacher

• A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary. ~

• Thomas Carruthers

• Many teach because of three reasons:• What are they?

• - June, July, and August.

Judge Vs teachers

Teaching Reading to College Bachelors

Challenges• They are a product of a no reading environment• Adults resist molding – fossilization• Obsessed with grades• Lack basic skills• Cannot work under pressure• Extrinsic motivation• No passion• Skeptical about the value of reading • Improve writing through writing• MPF• Exams’ impact• Reading rivals; gadgets

Debate with them

• The smallest bookstore still contains more ideas of worth than have been presented in the entire history of television. ~Andrew Ross

Our students’ attitude to reading

• “I divide all readers into two classes; those who read to remember and those who read to forget”

William Lyon Phelps

Reading Aloud- important strategy

• Reading aloud with children (now adults) is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read.”

Marilyn Jager Adams

Advantages of loud reading

• Stress intonation• Sound and spelling• Can motivating them• Reflect and correct own writing• Remedy for the very shy… present • Create self confidence to speak• Engagement with the text• Students test themselves in private• Stimulus to read more• A trick – starts loud ….ends silent • The trick read loud from a book

Short Jokes

little girl came home from school and said to her mother, "Mommy, today in school I was punished for something that I didn't do." The mother exclaimed, "But that's terrible! I'm going to have a talk with your teacher about this ... by the way, what was it that you didn't do?" The little girl replied, "My homework."

Short Poems• Forever Friends• Together forever until the end

Facing the worst with my very best friend

To count on for comfort with a hand to guide Standing forever side by side

Problems arise but disappear Whenever I see that you’re near

Laughter, sorrow, secrets, to share Always showing your passion and your care

When in doubt my saddening will stay Until you’re there with a kind word to say

Facing the future until the end Standing together forever friends

FunnyPoor old teacher, we missed you so,

When in hospital you had to go.For you to remain there is a sin,

We're sorry about the banana skin.

Short Stories - InspirationalSand and Stone

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the

face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: "TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE."

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one, who had been slapped, got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but

the friend saved him. After the friend recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: "TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE."

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?"

The other friend replied: "When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something

good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it." LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND, AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE

Create Own literature – be published in class –Notice Board

• Something I have read!!!• A funny thing happened to me• A story from my mother, grand…• Personal story• My first day at school• Let me tell you about myself• Recipe• Restaurant menu

Institution literature

Recipe: Preparation of Mutton Biryani recipe

• Grind ginger, garlic, mint and coriander leaves to a fine paste along with yogurt.

• Wash the rice and meat pieces. Heat oil and fry all the spices and onions. Fry them till they turn to golden brown. Now add the ground masala paste and finely chopped tomatoes. Fry this out till it is cooked well. Now add the washed meat and water. When it starts to boil add salt, turmeric, chilly powder. Add the rice and allow it to cook for about 15 minutes.

• Cover the half cooked biryani and over this keep red hot coal for about 20 minutes. Stir in-between once. Keep it close till it is served. Serve it hot with any spicy curry and raitha.

Favorite SongHOW MANY ROADS MUST A MAN WALK DOWN LYRICS

How many roads must a man walk downBefore they call him a man

How many seas must a white dove sailBefore she sleeps in the sand

How many times must the cannonballs flyBefore they are forever banned

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the windThe answer is blowing in the wind

Bob. Dylan

Speed Reading

Practice Speed Reading

• Watch a video : Speed Read fish• Exercise:One familiar passageOne less familiar passageDiscuss

Salting strategy in Reading

You can Lead a horse……

A Farmer said “you can” by …

The Salting TechniquesShahrazad Secret- 1000

The Salting Techniques. PP. 204-207

Steven K. Scott

handouts

Do you want to know the secret of happiness? Emotional

• Promote the book 65m• Paulo Coelho stylePage ??????

Law of Attraction

Pictorial emotional stories on

Reading the skill that performs

miracles

Og Mandinofailure into success

Og Mandino – suicide - Part 1

Part 2- Reading the Miraclegreat author

Great Writers Read First

Al Rawi Circles- Shahrazad Classroom

Al Rawi version in Cuba

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8406641.stm

Reading while rolling Cuba's famous cigars

Story telling • A Time to kill – the lawyer tells the jury

Peer Teaching and Retention

FVR program • Students select different articles• Read and prepare • Presents and teaches peers• Peers give feedback • Interesting, useful, inspiring interactionResults:Reading more – writing – speaking - knowledgeSeeing the advantages of reading

Read and teach others- Slogan : Improve a weakness, enhance a strength

1. Maryam: What is social anxiety?2. Wafa: 5 quick tips to successful stress reduction.3. Sareea: How to stay cool when speaking in public?4. Jameela: improving your memory: tips and techniques for memory

enhancement.5. Shaikha : 8 tips to create your internet business.6. Reeham: the 6 daily habits of highly successful people.7. Hessa: Teen and smoking tobacco.8. Nada: How to build self confidence?9. Fatma: Ten ways to improve your quality of life.10. Khalood: Motivation to achieve your goals.11. Alia: How to be a good presenter.12. Salma: Get the respect you deserve.13. Shaikha : Development communication skills in children.14. Khulood: Personal development and self discipline are the secret to enjoying a

terrific life. •

Teach two words – illustrate -

Optimistic• Hopeful about the future or

expecting the best possible outcome

Pessimistic

• feeling that things will turn out badly

Iman

Mariam MarzouqiApril, 2008

“Reading is your chance to better Speaking”

• Assemblies -Students talk about books • Articles, any material• Toast master • Reader of the year, semester, week, century• Award books• Good readers influence

Peer Influence

Advice: The same author

Khalood Abdulla – Year 2 DWC

Fatma Al BanniaThe Sheikh Mohd Bin Zayed Scholars

Program in cooperation with NYU

“I believe one of the main factors that helped get me into the program is that they saw my passion for reading, which

is one of the requirements to get into the program because there is a lot of

reading”

Fatma: Books I read in Childhoodthe same author

Fatma: Early Teen Years

Fatma: what I am reading at Present

Award BooksFrom rejection to dedication !!Hi sir, hope you are doing well sorry for replying you late what to do sir i was busy

well the book which im still reading is called "The Secret"

it tell us the power of our thoughts that we are not aware of. also it says the there is a connection between our thoughts and the nature.

sir its my first time im reading a book like this before i didnt liked to read a book or story this type. but im glad that im reading this secret and being aware of what i didnt know before.

"Think positive things positive will happen" best wishes, Asya Mh00016312HD3

Students recommend books

Rescue approach to IELTS Reading

• IELTS demon, ghost• Passages informative – general knowledge• Pre teach vocab• Pre teach information• Let them appreciate• Allow dictionary

Sample IELTS interactive lesson

• Sustainable architecture – lesson from the ant

• Accidental rainforests Neurology

Ecology

New Directions

• Read• Research – discuss – present - write• Student master of time• Teams• reflection

Library Exploration

• Journals and magazinesPeriodicals.xlsx• Biographies

After visiting the Library: Example of success – Noora

Actually I discover many things in this magazine and I try to find a copy for myself to get a knowledge of it For example :

1. The kind of food should we give to the children throw the age 2. Overcome the diffi culties we faced such as a stubbornness kids and what is the common health

problems the faced. 3. How the pregnant take care of herself and baby .

I register in their website and they send me regularly about the magazine http://www.parents.com/parents-magazine/

Bin BattutaAl-Jazari describes fifty mechanical devices

Aljazari – (1174-1200 CE

“the father of modern day engineeringhttp://www.muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=848

http://gloriousancient.blogspot.com/2007/06/muslim-engineer.html

Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen, 965–1039 AD)Al Basri – father of obtics

Relevant Literature

Um Jassim and Aboud the dog

Reading list

Al chemist Who moved my cheese Who moved your cheese Men are from Mars Women are from

Venus Teacher Man Angela's Aches The Secret

Final Thoughts!!• In Primary, you are putting foundations, shaping• Sow reader, reap a leader• Sow a memorizer, reap an exam taker: MPF!!!• Change the system• Invent suitable and more appealing literature• Involve parents• Be an action researcher• Liaise with higher institutions• Think of reading Week, Day, Fair, any event• Integrate with other teachers• Be a reader yourself, self improvement, e.g. • Market books, a small bookshop at school, on consignment• Award, reader of the month, week, century• Students inspire each other

Are you ready to sell ice to an Eskimo?

Last Advertisement

• “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers”

Charles W. Eliot, The Happy Life, 189

Favorite Poem - email

• God forgive me when I whine• The world is mine• With feet to take me where I'd go,

With eyes to see the sunset's glow,With ears to hear what I should know:I'm blessed indeed, The world is mine;

• Oh, God, forgive me when I whine• I have everything…

• I am from Palestine

ghassoub.mustafa@hct.ac.ae