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!!!

Comfy Classroom Library Organization!

So here's my take...

Can you find what is comfy but organized in my library?

Look closely at the bottom of the bookshelves. 

The cute zebra pattern is really standard sized pillow cases!!!

Click here to go to the Target website

I bought these 3 tiered bookshelves from Target when they went on sale for $16.99. I love how easy (no tools) they are to put together and how sturdy they are! 

They have just enough space at the bottom to fit standard sized pillows!

Brilliant!

Over the summer I saw this pin of how students used chairs as great reading nooks and thought, I have to do that! 

Unfortunately my pin does not go through to a blog or website so I don't have a particular person to thank and give credit to for this fantastic idea! 

If you happen to know, please let me know!

My class has loved the pillows and "chair nooks" this year! I am really proud of how well they share them...of course quietest students get first pick!

Students like to spread out all over the classroom to read and jot their thoughts!

I love using pillow cases instead of store bought pillows. 

They are easy to keep clean and so versatile. 

They easily can be brought home to wash and best of all...when I get tired of the zebra print (I don't foresee that happening anytime soon) I can easily find something else!!!

Well, as always, if you have a comfy library idea I do wish you would share! 

Happy Learning!

Before a Close Read...Use THIEVES!

So here's my take...

I have a great group of students this year. However, one of my challenges is that more than 75% of my classroom reads below grade level. Beginning this year I knew that I would need to incorporate more reading instruction in my content areas.

My research
turned 
up 2 great resources!

I am in Va and we don't follow the Common Core (yet!) but I have noticed that this standard (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.10) has caused confusion & concern for many of you. These two books explain and show you how to address this standard.

I highly recommend reading both these books! I especially found Sunday Cummins book, Close Reading of Informational Texts especially helpful in how to explicitly teach students to read complex informational texts.

In Ch. 5 of her book, Cummins takes you step by step through teaching students to strategically preview text prior to a close read. Using the mnemonic THIEVES helps students to activate their background knowledge and prepares
 them to make in-depth predictions.

Cummins recommends having groups work together to preview the text, which helps support readers at every level! I found that my students were more focused, confident, & ready to do a close read with the text because they had used THIEVES beforehand. 

Click Here for a Copy

Click Here for a Copy

THIEVES is a great way to set the purpose for reading!

While doing my research, I also came across an EXCELLENT video that modeled a close read. Not only did it model close reading but how to seamlessly incorporate & use Learning Targets (which I love too!). 

Enjoy!

Lastly, I started a Pin Board to collect resources & more ideas 

on Close Reading & Text Complexity. 

Click Here to Visit the Pin Board

If you happen to have ideas or resources on the subject, I would love to hear from you!

Happy Learning!

Visualization + Poetry = Comprehension

So here's my take...


     When I introduce the reading strategy of visualization/creating mental images I use a lot of poetry!  Poetry makes great mentor texts because they are short and engage the reader quickly.


     My class loved the poem Colors by Shel Silverstein. While I read the poem the students illustrated their mental images. 


     After drawing we conducted a "museum walk". We sat in a circle with our card in front of us. One by one we went around and explained how we interpreted the poem.

It is always interesting to see the unique interpretations.

     I especially liked this student's question about whether this poem was describing a person or not. 

     Most students used their background knowledge of human characteristics to infer the poem was describing a person...obviously an imaginary one! This card spurred a great discussion as did the last line of the poem!

How do you use Poetry in your classroom?

Happy National Poetry Month!

Classroom Library on a Budget

So here's my take...on Building a Classroom Library

     I know there are lots of ways to find books to supply your library for free or cheap. Scholastic book orders, ebay, and donations are to name a few. Today, I want to offer my take on your local used bookstore! 

     Google used bookstore and see what your search comes up with. Get out there and check it out! If you are a book eater like myself you could spend more than half the day in a place like this! Which, this is my favorite used bookstore haunt!!

Located in Manassas Va.

This is what I call heaven!

3 Reasons Why I Love the Used Bookstore...

1. The Price is Right! Yup, can't argue spending 65 cents per book! Most books seem to be in like new condition! On this trip I found more books for my favorite author collection of Dan Gutman!!! (Really, every book in this pic. is 65 cents!!! I only spent $10!)

2. Out of print or hard to find books pop up in these stores! Haven't you come across a book you would like to use as a mentor text but are sad to find that it is no longer in print? Many times I have giggled with delight in the store because I found a book I had been searching for!

3. Multiple copies...at a cheap price! This reason encompasses the first two but cannot be overlooked. I am a fan of Beth Newingham's Reading Partnerships and so I pick up as many copies of a great book as I can!

Bonus reason:
     I totally enjoy the process, walking in with hope and leaving giddy with new found treasures that I can't wait to take back to my class! 

     On a recent trip to McKay's Used Bookstore, I took my daughter (pictured left) with her bestie (who's mom is a teacher too!). Afterwards we walked across the parking lot to a Starbucks to have a snack. While I was getting our drinks and snacks I saw the most heart warming sight! Those two girls without any prodding from me were lost in their treasures! They couldn't understand why I was taking their pictures and about crying at the same time! It was a great Mommy/Teacher moment!!!