2011 National Reading Recovery & K-6 Classroom Literacy Conference

February 5-8  ●  Columbus, Ohio

Biography
 

Joy Cowley
Joy Cowley’s first published works were short stories and novels for adults. In the late 1960s, when one of her sons had difficulty learning to read, Joy began writing for him and children with similar difficulties. By the late 1970s, Joy and editor June Melser were working on Wendy Pye's Story Box reading program. Since Story Box, she has written more than 600 early reading titles. Joy now travels the world attending conferences and events where she meets teachers, children, parents and other story lovers. She enjoys mentoring writers and is a patron of Storylines, an initiative to promote awareness of the importance of reading for all children, and support writers and illustrators of children's literature in New Zealand. She also runs writing workshops for people whose culture is not adequately represented in their children's books, and has edited stories to make them accessible to new readers. She believes that children need to see themselves and their own culture in their literature. She has run these workshops in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Brunei, South Africa, Iceland, and the United States.

Session Title

What Makes an Effective Early Reading Book?

Description
Five common errors in published texts, and how we can learn from them to produce books that children will want to read.  The presentation covers child-centered content, language levels, story basics, editing, illustration and layout.  It will help teachers evaluate books and to write effective materials for their students.