Calendar 2008=9 - The School District of Philadelphia

April LITERACY“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”Harry S. Truman, the 33 rd President of the United States, offered that thought.Indeed, reading is the building block for all learning, and literacy has never been more important than intoday’s competitive, fast-paced world.Parents, educators and employers all know that students need a solid foundationof reading and writing skills to prepare them for future studies andproductive lives. Here at The School District of Philadelphia we areconsistently using the most effective strategies that we can offer forteaching reading and writing.Salute to Philadelphia AreaChildren’s Authors and IllustratorsDid you know that many celebrated children’s book authors andillustrators live and work in the Philadelphia area? Here are just a fewof these talented artists and some of their best-known works:Stan and Jan Berenstain – The Berenstain BearsSandra Boynton – Barnyard Dance, The Going To Bed BookPeter Catalanotto – Mr. Mumble, Ivan the TerrierSulayman Clark – The RainsDerrick Gantt – Hey, Pop-Pop!, The Story TellerDiane Kolb – My Father is a Clown,A Star to Guide Me: A Journey at SeaJerry Spinelli – Maniac Magee, Space Station Seventh GradeBetty Tatham – Penguin Chick, How Animals PlayBOOK OF THE MONTH for AprilElementary (K-2): Miss Rumphius by BarbaraCooney.Great-Aunt Alice Rumphius promises hergrandfather that when she grows up she will live bythe sea, visit faraway places, and do something tomake the world more beautiful. She accomplishesthe first two but is stumped by the third until shebecomes the Lupine Lady.Elementary (3-5): Anansi the Spider: A Tale from theAshanti by Gerald McDermott.!n this traditional tale from West Africa, the spiderAnansi sets out on a long journey. Threatened byFish and Falcon, he is saved from terrible fates byhis sons. But which of his six sons should hereward? The solution to his predicament is also anexplanation for how the moon was placed in thesky.Middle School (6-8): The Ruby in the Smoke byPhilip Pullman.Sally Lockhart finds herself a penniless orphan atage sixteen in Victorian England. Her fathermysteriously murdered, Sally decides to find outexactly what happened to him. This adventuregives readers a good picture of life inVictorian England.High School (9-12): The Crying of Lot 49by Thomas Pynchon.The extravagances of 1960s popularculture are parodied in this tale ofsymbolic meaning and meaninglessness.Characters sport satiric names,and the action is broad, includingmature situations and elements ofsurprising subtlety.20