Dr. Paulette P. Harris Literacy Center at Augusta University

06/01/2026

Get ready for Book Bash 2026!

Join us on Saturday, June 13, for a fun-filled celebration of books, reading, and family learning! Families can enjoy exciting activities, connect with community resources, and help kick off a summer of reading success.

Skip the line and start the fun sooner! Families who register before the event will enjoy a faster check-in process on Book Bash day.

🗓 Saturday, June 13, 2026
⏰ 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
📍 The HUB for Community Innovation
📖 Register today using the QR code on the flyer!

We cannot wait to see you there as we celebrate the joy of reading and help students build strong literacy skills all summer long.

05/29/2026

Stories have the power to connect, inspire, and create change. Join us at the 2026 Get Augusta Reading Annual Community Conference as we come together to advance literacy across Augusta through storytelling, collaboration, and shared learning.

🗓 Tuesday, June 2, 2026
⏰ 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
📍 The HUB for Community Innovation - 631 Chafee Ave, Augusta, GA 30904

We’re excited to welcome featured guest Tara Heaton, writer, speaker, trainer, and master storyteller! Light snacks and lunch will be provided.

📌 Register by May 27, 2026 using the QR code on the flyer.

05/28/2026

Mac Barnett on Why Children’s Literature Deserves More Respect, Not Less

In a recent NPR interview, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Mac Barnett reflects on his new book Make Believe and shares a broader argument about how we think about children’s books, and the kids who read them.

Rather than treating children’s literature as “simple” or secondary, Barnett pushes back on the idea that kids need stripped-down or purely instructional texts. Instead, he emphasizes that children’s books can be complex, imaginative, and artistically rich in their own right.

Key Ideas from the Conversation

Kids are not “future readers”, they are real readers now: Barnett challenges the idea that reading is only preparation for adulthood. Children deserve literature that speaks to their present lives and thinking

Picture books are a serious art form: He highlights how picture books combine text, illustration, rhythm, and page turns to create layered storytelling experiences that can be experimental and emotionally complex.

Kids can handle complexity: Barnett argues against the assumption that children need overly simplified narratives, suggesting that young readers are capable of engaging with paradox, ambiguity, and deeper meaning.

“Good books for bad children” mindset: Borrowing a phrase he reflects on, Barnett centers the idea that children’s books should meet kids where they are, not where adults think they should be.

Why This Matters for Literacy

This perspective reframes literacy instruction beyond skills and comprehension strategies. It pushes educators to consider the quality and artistic value of what students read, not just whether it is “appropriate” or “leveled.”

When students engage with rich, imaginative texts, they are more likely to develop curiosity, stamina, and a genuine identity as readers, not just test-takers.

Read the full article here: https://www.npr.org/2026/05/09/nx-s1-5704693/national-ambassador-for-young-peoples-literature-mac-barnett-talks-about-his-new-book

How do your current reading materials reflect what you believe about students’ ability to engage with complex or imaginative texts?

Celebrated author Mac Barnett is the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature and has a new, short book about writing for kids: "Make Believe." He talks with NPR's Elissa Nadworny about it.

05/27/2026

Helping Students Find a Reason to Read

A recent Edutopia article explores a key but often overlooked piece of literacy instruction: students don’t just need to know how to read, they need to understand why they are reading. When students have a clear purpose, reading becomes more engaging, meaningful, and effective.

The article emphasizes that shifting reading from a task to a purposeful experience can significantly improve motivation and comprehension across grade levels.

Key Takeaways for Instruction

Purpose drives engagement: Students are more invested when they know their reason for reading, whether it is to learn something new, solve a problem, or enjoy a story.

Comprehension improves with intention: Setting a purpose before reading helps students focus their thinking and retain information more effectively.

Teachers can explicitly teach “why” before “what”: Simple prompts like “What are you reading to find out?” help students approach texts with direction and focus.

Reading becomes more meaningful when connected to students’ lives: When students see relevance in what they read, they are more likely to persist through complex texts and engage deeply with content.

Why This Matters

Literacy instruction is often centered on decoding skills and comprehension strategies, but this article reinforces an essential truth: reading is most powerful when students see it as purposeful and personally relevant. Helping students develop a “reason to read” supports not only academic outcomes but also lifelong literacy habits.

Read the full article here: https://www.edutopia.org/article/helping-students-find-reason-reading

What strategies do you use to help students set a clear purpose before reading, and how has it impacted their engagement or comprehension?

When students reflect on their reason for engaging with a text, they can develop a stronger understanding of it.

05/26/2026

Building Strong Readers Starts With Building Strong Talkers

A recent Education Week article highlights something early childhood educators have long known: oral language is foundational to literacy development. Before children become strong readers and writers, they first need opportunities to talk, listen, question, explain, and play with language.

The article shares five practical ways educators can intentionally strengthen oral language skills in young learners throughout the school day.

Strategies That Support Oral Language Growth

Use books as conversation starters: Read-alouds become even more powerful when students discuss characters, predictions, emotions, and story events together.

Value both planned and spontaneous conversations: Simple exchanges about a student’s interests, experiences, or ideas help expand vocabulary and confidence with language.

Practice “serve and return” conversations: Rather than ending after one quick response, educators can extend conversations with follow-up questions and deeper discussion. Research shows these back-and-forth interactions support language development and even brain growth.

Protect time for play: Collaborative play encourages children to negotiate, problem-solve, describe, and imagine, all essential oral language skills.

Use science and social studies to spark discussion: Content-rich subjects naturally encourage students to ask questions, describe observations, and explain thinking using new vocabulary.

Why This Matters

In many classrooms, literacy instruction understandably focuses heavily on reading and writing skills. But oral language is not separate from literacy, it is the foundation beneath it.

When children have frequent opportunities to engage in meaningful conversation, they strengthen vocabulary, comprehension, critical thinking, and confidence as communicators.

Read the full article here: https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/5-ways-to-build-oral-language-in-young-learners/2026/05

What activities or routines have you found most effective for encouraging rich conversation and oral language development in young learners?

Hearing and practicing language leads to stronger literacy skills.

05/25/2026

Does Listening to an Audiobook “Count” as Reading? Research Says… It’s Complicated.

A recent Psychology Today article explores a question many educators, parents, and readers have debated: Is listening to an audiobook as beneficial as reading a physical book?

The answer from researchers is nuanced. Studies show that reading and listening activate many of the same language-processing areas of the brain, meaning audiobooks can absolutely support comprehension, storytelling, and engagement with text.

At the same time, researchers note that traditional reading may strengthen certain cognitive skills differently, especially when readers pause, reread, annotate, or slow down to process complex ideas.

What the Research Suggests

Audiobooks are excellent for:
• Increasing access to stories and information
• Supporting busy readers or reluctant readers
• Encouraging engagement with books students might not otherwise read
• Supporting some learners with dyslexia, visual impairments, or attention challenges

Traditional reading may have advantages for:
• Deep comprehension and analysis
• Vocabulary acquisition through visual word recognition
• Studying complex or information-dense material
• Retaining details when rereading and annotation are important

Attention matters either way

Researchers also point out that multitasking while listening, driving, scrolling, cleaning, exercising, can reduce retention and depth of processing.

What This Means for Literacy

Perhaps the bigger takeaway is this: engagement with stories matters.

Audiobooks can open doors for learners, increase access, and help foster a love of books. Print reading still offers unique cognitive benefits. Rather than treating them as competitors, many educators see them as complementary tools that support different readers and different purposes.

In the end, the goal is not just decoding words, it is building curious, thoughtful, lifelong readers and learners.

Read the full article here: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evidence-based-living/202605/is-listening-to-an-audiobook-as-good-as-reading

Do you think audiobooks should “count” as reading, and how do you use audio storytelling in literacy instruction or at home?

Americans are increasingly listening to audiobooks, but many people don't believe listening to an audiobook is the same as reading. Here's what the research says.

05/22/2026

For Young Children, Screen Time Isn’t Just a “Home” Conversation Anymore

A recent article from The 74 highlights an important shift in the screen-time conversation: for many young children, digital media exposure isn’t happening only at home, it’s also part of early learning and childcare environments.

The article explores how screen use can vary widely across preschool and childcare settings, from fully screen-free classrooms to programs that use tablets or videos intentionally as learning tools. One major challenge? Families and educators often are not communicating clearly about how much screen exposure children are getting across different environments.

Key Takeaways from the Article

Communication matters: Parents and educators may each assume the other is limiting screen exposure, leading children to spend more time on devices than intended.

Intentional use is different from passive use: Some educators are using technology briefly and purposefully, such as pairing nursery rhymes with visual demonstrations or reinforcing concepts through short interactive activities.

What screens replace matters most: Experts interviewed in the article stress that the concern is not simply screens themselves, but what children may losewhen screen use replaces conversation, movement, hands-on exploration, and play.

Balance and consistency are key: Healthy boundaries, clear expectations, and coordination between home and school can help children develop a more balanced relationship with technology.

Why This Matters

Technology is now part of many children’s daily lives, but young learners still need abundant opportunities for play, interaction, storytelling, creativity, and human connection.

This article is a reminder that literacy and child development are strengthened not only through instruction, but through the everyday experiences that help children talk, wonder, imagine, and engage with the world around them.

Read the full article here: https://www.the74million.org/zero2eight/for-young-kids-screen-time-isnt-just-an-at-home-issue-anymore/

How can families and educators work together to create healthier, more intentional technology habits for young children?

Young children may be logging more screen time than parents realize, because of a communication gap between home and school.

05/15/2026

Hooking Teens on Books, One Chapter at a Time

What if getting students excited about reading was as simple as… reading to them?

A recent Edutopia feature highlights a powerful (and surprisingly simple) strategy: First Chapter Fridays, where teachers read the opening chapter of a book aloud to students each week.

Why It Works

• Low pressure, high engagement: Students experience reading as something enjoyable, not just an assignment. Many even describe it as a calming break in their day.

• Exposure to new books & voices: This approach introduces students to genres, authors, and perspectives they might never choose on their own.

• Builds curiosity and momentum: Ending on a compelling first chapter often leaves students wanting more and reaching for the book independently.

• Brings back the power of read-aloud: Even older students benefit from being read to, supporting comprehension, listening skills, and a shared sense of community around stories.

What This Means for Literacy

As students grow older, read-alouds often disappear, but they may be more important than ever.

Strategies like First Chapter Fridays remind us that engagement is the gateway to literacy. When students are invited to enjoy stories first, they are far more likely to become readers by choice.

Watch the full video here: https://www.edutopia.org/video/getting-teens-hooked-on-books-with-first-chapter-fridays

What’s one strategy you’ve used to spark reading interest in older students — especially those who don’t see themselves as readers?

By reading aloud in middle and high school, teachers can expose students to new ideas, genres, and authors—and get them excited about books.

05/14/2026

Are Students’ Attention Spans Shrinking, and What Can We Do About It?

A recent article from the Hechinger Report explores a growing concern among educators: students are struggling to sustain attention in the classroom, and teachers are working creatively to build that focus back up.

In fact, a large international survey found that 88% of teachers believe students’ attention spans are getting shorter, a shift many link to increased screen time and fast-paced digital content.

What Teachers Are Doing

Rather than lowering expectations, educators are adapting instruction to rebuild focus over time:

• ⚡ “Brain breaks” — short bursts of movement (like jumping jacks) to reset attention

• 🧘 Mindfulness & meditation — helping students regulate and refocus

• ⏱ Shorter, more engaging lessons — breaking content into manageable chunks

• 🧩 Hands-on learning — puzzles, projects, and interactive activities that sustain interest

• 📵 Reducing screen reliance — encouraging deeper, sustained engagement with tasks

What This Means for Literacy

Attention is foundational to reading. Without sustained focus, students struggle to build comprehension, follow complex ideas, and engage deeply with text.
This article offers an important reminder: attention is not fixed, it can be taught, practiced, and strengthened. Just like reading itself, it develops over time with the right supports.

Read the full article here: https://hechingerreport.org/kids-attention-spans-teachers-are-trying-to-build-them-back-up/

What strategies have you seen successfully help students stay engaged and focused during learning?

In addition to limiting screen time, some schools are building in ‘brain breaks,’ shortening lessons, adding more hands-on learning and practicing meditation.

05/13/2026

A Simple Balloon, A Powerful Story: Why Imagination Matters in Children’s Books

A recent piece from NPR highlights Picture This: Balloon, a playful and thought-provoking collaboration between author Bruce Handy and illustrator Julie Kwon.
At first glance, it’s a simple concept, a balloon drifting through different scenes. But the story becomes something much more: an invitation for children to imagine, interpret, and participate in meaning-making as the balloon transforms across contexts.

What Makes This Book Stand Out

• Open-ended storytelling: Rather than telling readers exactly what to think, the book leaves space for interpretation, encouraging children to ask questions and build their own understanding.

• Visual literacy in action: The illustrations do more than decorate the text, they drive the narrative, helping readers practice observation, inference, and connection-making.

• Playful, layered meaning: What begins as a simple object becomes a storytelling thread, showing how imagination can transform the ordinary into something meaningful.

What This Means for Literacy

Books like this remind us that literacy is not just about decoding words, it is also about interpreting images, engaging curiosity, and thinking creatively.

When children are invited to wonder, predict, and imagine, they are doing the deep cognitive work that supports comprehension and lifelong engagement with reading.

Read more here: https://www.npr.org/2026/04/26/nx-s1-5602905/picture-this-balloon-bruce-handy-julie-kwon

What’s a picture book that has sparked imagination or rich discussion with your students or children?

When author Bruce Handy's son was young, he loved and lost an orange balloon. He and illustrator Julie Kwon talk about a child's singular devotion to a lost object in their nearly wordless kids' book.