Doing Reading Right

Great Ideas from Donalyn Miller

Building Up Your Book Muscle

By Donalyn Miller on June 17, 2012 10:06 PM

There are several bookcases in my house storing books I plan to read someday. My goodreads' to-read shelf contains a staggering 1515 titles on it. No matter how much I read these piles never shrink. Author Maud Casey said, "I was born with a reading list I will never finish," and I can relate.
Keeping up with all of the books I want to read for my personal enjoyment or to share with students is daunting and unmanageable at times. Reading a book every day of summer break and at least two or three a week during the school year, my students still out-read me and often ask me about books I haven't heard of or read.
Thinking back to my first few years of teaching, I recognize that I have expanded my book knowledge a great deal over the years, though, and every year my understanding and appreciation of books for young readers grows. Accepting that I will never know about every outstanding book or lauded new author, I feel confident in my abilities to recommend titles to readers who need suggestions.
Many teachers, librarians, and parents ask me how to increase their knowledge of children's books and remain current about outstanding and engaging books for their students and children to read. Here are my tips for building up your book muscle in ways that maximum your efforts:

• Dedicate daily time for reading. If you want to increase your book knowledge, you must set aside time for reading. Tell yourself you are doing research!
• Read books on your district lists and curriculum documents. If a text is required use for your grade level, you should read it before sharing it with students.
• Explore your school's book closet. Many schools have sets of books squirreled away in department or grade level closets--often forgotten or unused.
• Read winners from major award lists. Begin by exploring the American Library Association's Book and Media Award lists . Most state library associations create recommended reading lists of children's and young adult literature each year, too. These lists offer an entry point to the authors and high-quality texts available for your students to read.
• Befriend a librarian. Librarians know things. They are tapped in to the latest books and resources for using these titles in your classroom. A savvy librarian can recommend grade level texts and help you find books that match students' interests and your curriculum, as well as websites, technology tools, and response ideas.
• Ask your students what you should read. If I see several students in my class reading the same book and I have not read it, I will move it up the pile. A book that already has proven kid appeal is a guaranteed must-read.
• Browse bookstores and library shelves. Investigate books by authors you recognize or new series books. Check out books in genres you may not know well like poetry and nonfiction, too.
• Check out "Readers who liked this, also liked..." recommendations. Books selected by other readers with similar tastes often lead you to books that connect by theme, topic, or author.
• Start a book club. Find a few colleagues who share your interest in children's literature and schedule regular meetings online or in person to discuss the books you read.
• Follow reviewers' and authors' blogs. Authors often provide sneak peeks and advance information about their new books as well as resources for their titles, and there are hundreds of book reviewers online who review children's books. The Nerdy Book Club blog, which recently won an Independent Book Blogger Award for the Best Young Adult and Children's blog, has an extensive blog roll if you need a place to start. In addition to Nerdy, some of my favorite blogs are:
Watch. Connect. Read.
Sharpread
100 Scope Notes
The Goddess of YA Literature
The Nonfiction Detectives
A Year of Reading
The Brain Lair
In addition to these great book review sites, investigate Anita Silvey's Children's Book-a-Day Almanac where Ms. Silvey offers a love letter to one beloved children's book each day. I look forward to reading her entries every morning.
• Attend professional development training about children's literature. When attending conferences or workshops, I always look for children's and young adult literature sessions that can introduce me to interesting or new books I might have missed, or show me interesting ways to use books with my students.
• Join reading groups and book-related chats on social networking sites. I mentioned several online reading communities in an earlier blog post. A great place to start is the monthly #titletalk chat on Twitter this Sunday at 8 pm ET.
• Read book review publications. Ask your librarian if your school subscribes to book review publications such as Booklist Magazine or School Library Journal, or look for discounted subscription rates on publication websites.
Whether you are new to a classroom or library, changing grade levels, or want to ramp up your knowledge, these suggestions will provide you a starting point. Pick one or two suggestions and see how many books and authors you discover.
It isn't necessary or possible to read every book that your students read or a popular author writes. Select the first books in series, the touchstone works by notable authors, or the hot book seven kids in third period are reading. Balance your reading life with adult books and professional titles, as well as children's literature. Show your students what a well-rounded reader looks like through your example.

 

Reading More Effectively

These are great suggestions from Kevin Eikenberry. 

Six Ways to Read More Effectively

by Kevin Eikenberry on March 3, 2008

in Books,Leadership,Leadership Blogs,Leadership Communication,Learning,Reading,Setting Goals,Solving Problems

Maybe you are a voracious reader. Maybe reading has never been your favorite thing (though if that is the case, you’re probably not reading this!) Either way – whether you read a book a week or struggle to finish one a year – it would be helpful to gain more value from the time you do spend reading.
First, recognize that I’m not talking about reading novels or the classics. Reading those is purely for pleasure, and, for the most part, the suggestions below don’t apply.
But if you are reading to learn something and to make your life better in some way – to improve your professional results, lower your weight, or learn a hobby – these suggestions will make a real difference in the enjoyment and benefits you gain from reading.
Have a goal. When you pick up any nonfiction book you should know why you are going to dive into it. Maybe you are trying to broaden your knowledge, or improve in a very specific way, or solve a problem? You could have a wide variety of reasons for reading something – any any of them are valid. The key is having a goal and recognizing it. Once you set in your mind your purpose for reading, your subconscious mind will help you reach that goal. Keeping a clear goal will keep you from getting lost in a section or spending too much mental energy on the writing style, etc. Give yourself a clear picture of success and consider the book as a tool to reaching that success.
Do a scan. Once you know what you want to get from the book, spend a few minutes looking it over. Read the table of contents. Flip through the sections. Allow your mind to notice the sections or parts that seem to best help you reach your goal. Perhaps you’ll determine that the whole book isn’t ever relevant to your goal. Which leads me to the next point…
Read only what you need. If you’re like me, you grew up with the idea that once you start a book, you finish it. But guess what; sometimes one chapter is all you need. Sometimes the book loses steam and become repetitive after the first few chapters. Sometimes the writing doesn’t speak to you. If you aren’t enjoying it, or benefiting from it, stop reading it. You will become a more effective and efficient reader when you stop feeling the need to finish every book to the last page.
Be active. Reading, like learning, is an active process. And since in this context you are reading to learn, you will gain more by being an active participant in the book. Keep a journal with you. Write in the margins. Use a highlighter. Unless the book belongs to a friend or the library (and if you are reading for learning, I suggest you really do need your own copy) you should feel free to write in it! Ask yourself questions. Agree or disagree with a point. Jot down your own examples to support an idea. In short, when you become actively engaged with the book, you will glean more from it.
Make it yours. Until you begin to own the material and ideas, they still belong to the author. You must own the learning. The best ways to do that are to write about and/or talk about the ideas, concepts, lessons and examples. This may be as simple as sharing parts of what you read with a friend or colleague. It might be writing about it in your journal for private consumption only, or writing about it on a blog to share with the world. If you are sharing it with others, not only do you benefit, but so do they! But even if you are simply taking notes and writing your ideas on a scrap of paper that gets lost, the act of writing is an act of synthesis and learning.
Try it. Remember, the book is a tool to help you reach a goal. Once the book has aided you in that journey, you must take the most important step. You must take action! Try what you read. Apply it in some way. That could mean using that new technique, starting on the prescribed diet or buying the necessary items for the new hobby. To get the ultimate value from the book, you must write your own chapters with your actions.
These are all actions that I take as a reader. They have made a difference in my life and in my results. They can make a difference for you as well. Regardless of what, how much or how often you read try these suggestions and you will be pleased with the results.
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Potential Pointer: Reading is an important life skill. No matter how often you read, you need strategies to gain the most from your reading experience. You must have a goal for your reading and engage yourself with the book to maximize the benefit you gain from the time spent reading.

How to Create a Culture of Achievement

The book I chose for June 2012 is How to Create A Culture of Achievement in your school and classroom by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Fey, and Ian Pumpian. 





The pillars to remember are:
Pillar #1:  Do No Harm  (Preventative)
Key idea:  Rules don't teach responsible and ethical behavior.  People do. 
Take away idea:  Develop a courtesy policy.
Three dimensions: 

• Take care of yourself
• Take care of each other
• Take care of this place

It's important to look for the motivation for the behavior, not just the inappropriate behavior.

Pillar #2:  Choice Words
Great resource: the book Choice Words by Peter Johnston
We are shaped by the language we use about ourselves, and by the language used by others about us. 
Great resource: the book Mindset by Carol Dweck
The power of "if" and "and" are more positive than "but"
When students (or teachers) are solving a problem ask, "What would be the next right thing to do?"

Pillar #3:  It's Never Too Late to Learn
Presume competence:  The presumption of competence requires a belief that a person possesses the basic ability to do something, however imperfectly. 
View teaching, not remediation, as the primary focus.
Resource:  the book Understanding by Design by Wiggins & McTighe

1. Identify desired results
2. Determine acceptable evidence
3. Plan learning experiences and instruction

Recognize competence, not compliance.  Grades don't teach--people do!  Students can retake competencies to demonstrate mastery, and their grades can change accordingly.

Pillar #4:  Best School in the Universe
Rather than competitive comparisons, this pillar is about internal accountability.  This will require a reflective practice. 

• The Best Place to Work--People love their jobs when they feel their work is meaningful and that they are making a difference.  The best schools focus relentlessly on communication. 
• The Best Place to Teach--Teachers have the tools, supplies, and resources that are necessary to do their job well. 
• The Best Place to Learn--Monitor student achievement and post data about student achievement and have conversations about it to develop and implement an action plan.  Celebrate!

Pillar #5:  Enacting the Culture of Achievement
There is a natural tendency for systems to regress to the mean.
It is the leader's responsibility to purposefully and continually assess and develop the culture of the school and dvelop an "attitude of gratitude."  The crux of leadership is developing others--support and retain high achievers, develop those with promise, and redirect those who are not a value-added asset to the school's mission. 
A culture committed to student learning must be equally committed to the learning of teachers.  Teachers need to see themselves as lifelong learners.

An added bonus to this book are the great templates in the appendix.