Education Friday - "How Comics and Graphic Novels Can Help Your Kids Love to Read!"

Raising a Reader is a comic book subtitled
with the title above. For a real mouthful,
try saying the name of the publisher
(Comic Book Legal Defense Fund)
ten times fast, or just go to the link
and read the short pamphlet (published/
formatted as a comic book).
The comic suggests several reasons why
graphic novels help reading 

• Short Bursts of Text
• Fun Fonts
• Text Paired with Images

All of the above are elements that 
often help readers with autism.
Raising a Reader also discusses ways
graphic novels can be used for book clubs, 
to meet common core standards, and
to improve a variety of skills, such as

• Memory
• Sequencing
• Language
• Critical Thinking

If you're interested in this topic, you can click 
Raising a Reader to read more. CBLDF also
offers monthly columns on graphic novels in
education with teaching and discussion suggestions
and correlations to the common core.

Back to the Book Club

As promised, more on the book clubs.
I think it's significant that the teen 
reader with autism I mentioned months 
ago also liked Paulsen.
I'm curious as to the different dynamics
of the clubs that include all disabilities and
those that just have members with autism.
Does anyone have any Next Chapter
Book Club experience?


The majority of our book clubs are diverse in terms of age, reading level, and ability/disability.  However, we do have a couple local Next Chapter Book Clubs specifically for young people on the autism spectrum.  These clubs were formed in collaboration with “Aspirations”, a social and vocational support program for adolescents and young adults with high-functioning autism and Asperger’s.  Aspirations was also founded at Nisonger; you can find out more at http://www.aspirationsohio.org/.  I  know that Hatchet and The River (both by Gary Paulsen) have been successful.

Jillian Ober, MA, CRC

Program Manager

The Ohio State University Nisonger Center

Book Lists (& Clubs) for Teens with Autism

Today is a guest post from an expert,

Jillian Ober, the Program Manager

for Next Chapter, the book clubs I

posted about last week.

When I emailed her asking for more

information she sent a wonderful

response and gave me permission

to share all with you. She's also 

happy to respond to further questions.

See below for a link to a book list

and a description of the books they

use, etc.

I'll post more of her email about the book 

clubs (including info on book clubs 

specifically for young people with autism) 

Friday.

You can find the current list of 80+ titles in the Columbus, OH Next Chapter Book Club Library at http://www.nextchapterbookclub.org/about/library.asp.  We serve as a lending library for our 25 local book clubs and for some of our NCBC affiliates (affiliates are organizations operating NCBC programs outside of Columbus, OH) as they work to establish their own libraries.  

For the most part, our books fall into two categories: adapted classics (approx. third/fourth grade reading level) and popular fiction (these books are not adapted, but are generally written for a younger audience).  We are also working on a project that will provide literature with adult themes (i.e. employment, relationships, health, families) written at an accessible reading level for NCBC members and other adults with intellectual disabilities.

 If you’d like to learn more about the program, you can find our book, Next Chapter Book Club: A Model Community Literacy Program for People with Intellectual Disabilities on Amazon.com.  

__________________

Jillian Ober, MA, CRC

Program Manager

The Ohio State University Nisonger Center

Join the Club!

I love book clubs. So I'm delighted to find (read in an email
from Leisa Hammett actually) that there are book clubs
especially for teens and adults with autism or other 
developmental delays.


Ohio State University Nisonger Center launched
the Next Chapter Book Clubs to provide a social
group especially for people with developmental disabilities. 
You can find out more at 
www.nextchapterbookclub.org
Contact them to see if there's a book group near you or to start one.
A quick look showed a Midwest cluster (Indiana, Illinois, Ohio)
If you are in Nashville, instant gratification-here's the flyer from my email:

JOIN TODAY!

NASHVILLE-WHITES BRIDGE ROAD AREA BOOK CLUB FORMING NOW

What is the Next Chapter Book Club?

Adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities reading and learning, making friends, and enjoying a fun community gathering place.

How does it work?

Members will meet Tuesday Evenings from 7:00 -8:00 p.m. at the café inside Target on White Bridge Road.

Who can participate?

Anyone can participate, no matter their reading or ability level.

NCBC members improve literacy skills, make friends, take part in the community, and have a lot of fun doing it!

If you are interested in participating please contact Sharon Bottorff at HYPERLINK "mailto:sbbarc@bellsouth.net" sbbarc@bellsouth.net or Rita Dozier at ritad@wcs.edu

(Funded by a grant from the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities)

www.nextchapterbookclub.org

Fun     •     Lifelong Learning     •     Friends

Ms. Bottorff says that the participants select the books. The other groups picked Black Beauty and Oliver Twist. Contact her or Ms. Dozier about Nashville or other Tennessee groups.


Let's get together and talk books!
-Spectrum Mom