The Book Whisperer and Me!

So here's my take...

Most teachers are familiar with Donalyn Miller as the "Book Whisperer" 

and probably devoured her book like a piece of chocolate cake.

Well, I was one of those teachers who after reading the book

 was ready to implement everything Donalyn was prescribing! 

So, can you imagine my reaction when I found out that 

Donalyn was presenting a seminar in my area this month!!! 

She just came out with a new addicting book called, Reading in the Wild.

I immediately ordered the book and read the whole thing in time for her seminar.

Her new book is a complement to the Book Whisperer and much more. She gives you five habits of life long readers with ideas and suggestions on how to cultivate these habits. 

The book will leave you eager to inspire all your students to become wild readers! 

I know it did for me!

Donalyn's presentation that I attended went beyond my expectations. She is humble, humorous, and above all a REAL person who loves reading!

What I enjoyed the most out of her seminar and her new book 

were the numerous statistics she would quote to support wild reading habits. 

Richard Allington and Anne McGill-Franzen (2013) assert, "...We reduce the effectiveness of reading interventions when we don't provide our lowest-performing students reading time and encouragement. Developing readers need more reading, not less."

Quoting research helps me to feel confident that 

my philosophy and instructional practices are sound. That feeling is priceless!

My inner dork is beaming!

I highly suggest you put this book on your summer reading list...

or just binge one night on it because it is worth it! 

Donalyn also loves to share her work. She has a slideshare account where she puts her seminars, conferences, workshops, and book recommendations for everyone to see. 

Check them out!

Here is the link to the seminar I attended

I will leave you with my favorite quote from Donalyn's seminar:

Reading and writing floats on a sea of talk!

Happy Learning!!!

Using Music to Engage Students

So here's my take...on the use of Music & Video to teach a math concept.


     My class finished our long division unit three weeks ago, but I still have a group that hasn't caught onto the steps.


    While I was pinning this week, I found Mr. Duey! He is a middle school teacher who raps instruction!


     I first came across his song/video of improper fractions. The song was catchy and Mr. Duey was quite a believable entertainer! Of course I pinned that video because I will be teaching improper fractions in a few weeks!

   I then went over to the Mr. Duey website and found a video for long division. I was so excited because I had a feeling that these students might really connect with the song and be more engaged when having to solve the problems. I pinned it right away!

     I played Mr. Duey's Long Division lesson all week during homeroom when the students were completing their problems! Sure enough, the students were completely engaged. It was so cute to hear some of them sing the song to themselves as they completed their work!

Thank you Mr. Duey!!!

    Do you have a lesson where music is a key component to your instruction, student's engagement, and understanding? If so, I would love if you would share in the comments below!