Reflections From the Scholastic Reading Summit

This week I attended the Greater Washington, DC Scholastic Reading Summit. Each session that I attended could have its own blog post, but I wanted to provide an overview of the awesomeness!
Breakfast with Mr. Schu
     First, I would like to point out that this man had a broken clavicle and STILL presented his new favorite books like a champ! We heard book talks on many titles and discussed our answers to the question, "What do you love reading right now?" Great idea: EVERY faculty meeting should begin with a book talk!
     Then it was off to the Book Fair!! It was wonderful to watch teachers, librarians, administrators, and college students get so excited about BOOKS! These were definitely my people! 😊
General Session-Ernest Morrell
     Mr. Morrell spent time explaining the 7 Strengths from Every Child a Super Reader, which he coauthored with Pam Allyn (Belonging, Curiosity, Friendship, Kindness, Confidence, Courage, Hope). Read this book! There is a lot of great information in it! He also recommended following #SuperReader to join the movement!
Some favorite quotes:
     *"Kids don't show up to school saying, "I can't wait to struggle at reading!"
     *"Every child WANTS to do well. Every child CAN improve."
     *"We don't have STRUGGLING readers...we have INEXPERIENCED readers."
     *"A diverse classroom library is a window to the world."
     *"Hope is a basic human need. When we lose our hope, we lose our humanity."
Booktalking-Brad Gustafson
     This session focused on WHY we book talk, as well as how we can make our book talks even more engaging. Some of the "Hooks" that were discussed included asking a question, reading the first line or chapter, drawing a comparison, making an author connection, and typecasting ("If you enjoy books like Lord of the Flies, you'll want to check out Scar Island.") 
Twitter hashtags to check out:
     #6wordbooktalk
     #familybooktalk
     #booktalkin40
Why should we Book Talk?
     *Genre Introduction
     *Pairing Texts
     *Don't Judge a Book by its Cover
     *Don't Judge a Book by its Title
Favorite quote: (which Mr. Gustafson made up on the spot) "The only bad book talk is the one that didn't happen."
Personal Takeaway: I really need to book talk more nonfiction!!
Independent Reading Panel
     Facilitated by Donalyn Miller, the panel included elementary principals Stephanie Brant and Nicole Paylor, middle school principal LaQuita Outlaw, and Professor Ernest Morrell. I was so happy to see secondary represented!! Topics discussed included current books and action research, how to get caregiver buy-in, and reading identities (both student and caregiver). On a personal note, they discussed research behind NOT using incentives to reward reading! 💗💗💗
In order to build a culture of reading, we need TIME, ACCESS, CHOICE, COMMUNITY.
Some favorite quotes:
     *"You yourself have to be a reader."-Dr. Outlaw
     *"Value has to be placed on independent reading."-Dr. Outlaw
     *"I read to my college students. We don't age out of loving to hear a fluent reader."-Mr. Morrell
     *"(A reading gap) is not a gap between other students; it's a gap between the child and his/her best self."-Mr. Morrell
General Session-Jewell Parker Rhodes
     This was absolutely the BEST way to end our day of learning. What an inspiring, beautiful human being! Ms. Parker Rhodes told us her personal story, and how it led her to become a writer. After she read us an excerpt from Towers Falling, we heard about how she researched for the book. On writing about such a tough topic, Ms. Parker Rhodes said, "Students want to know our history and we need to share it with them. They're going to be running our country." 
I am VERY excited for her upcoming book, Ghost Boys! Keep this title on your radar.
Some favorite quotes:
     *"Always, eventually, the universe shines down with love."
     *"I hope that when the world forgets to love you that you remember to love yourself."
     *"We can change a civilization by raising critical thinkers."

How We Read Matters

Sometimes building empathy in middle school students feels like climbing a long flight of stairs after a heavy meal. 

These children are at that very special age when the entire world revolves around them, and their focus is often limited to their immediate needs and desires. Oh, and lest we forget, they have opinions about EVERYTHING. How do we get them to understand the bigger picture, to really look at what is happening around them, to see that our lives and experiences are small parts of a much larger story?

Enter my new favorite professional book, Disrupting Thinking, by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst. I am excited to facilitate a book study with our staff in the fall, and can NOT recommend it to other educators enough. 

Beers and Probst want us (and our students) to be responsive, responsible, and compassionate readers--to read with our heads as well as our hearts. 

Responsive: "...if (the reader) doesn't let the text awaken emotion or inspire thoughts, then she can barely be said to be reading at all" (29).

Responsible: "...not only a willingness to acknowledge and defend one's own thoughts and values, but to change thinking when evidence or reason dictates" (37).

Compassionate: "But if we can convince our students to read with compassion, perhaps they will begin to act with compassion. And perhaps, as adults, they will enter into conversations with one another with more civility, with more generosity, with more kindness toward one another" (51).

My sketchnote of the BHH Framework

I started with baby steps this year. I read aloud to the class and asked them to write in their journals about what was going on in their heads and/or hearts ("What were you thinking?" "What were you feeling?"). Some of our best discussions came from Wonder, All-American Boys, Ghost, and Out of My Mind. And as an added bonus, several students were inspired to read the books during independent reading time. Score!

We used the framework with nonfiction as well. One of our units focused on the importance of clean water. After reading about conditions in other countries as well as the effects of drought in the US, our question became, "So, what can we do about it?"

I am so excited to continue using the framework with our students in the fall! If you have not read Disrupting Thinking yet, please add it to your TBR list. I promise you, it's worth it!

Reading = Thinking

Think about the learning that you’ve done as an adult. My guess is that it has consisted of reading books or articles and responding in some fashion—through dialogue, a presentation, a written response, or on social media. I'm guessing that the reading itself was done in a quiet place, free from distractions, so that you were able to concentrate and truly engage in what the author was trying to articulate.

Since we are in the business of educating our citizens (and future voters), we must allow our students quiet time to practice reading, reflecting, and making informed decisions. They need to be able to unplug, slow down, think for themselves...and not have to rely on someone else to solve a problem for them. 

I encourage you to follow some of my heroes like Pam Allyn, LeVar Burton, Penny Kittle, Kelly Gallagher, Kylene Beers and Bob Probst. Check out the work that Jarred Amato and Project LIT Community are doing in Nashville. These people GET it. They believe that literacy is the great equalizer. They understand that the ability to THINK through a text and respond with empathy and compassion for others is what strengthens society.

I try every single day to take a page out of their books (see what I did there? 😉).

Happy Reading! 📖

Thank you, Jason Reynolds

We all have this student in our classrooms. You know the one I'm talking about. He is frequently heard saying things like:
"I HATE reading!"
"Reading is BORING!"
"I don't CARE if this is reading class...I don't WANT to read!"

So...
I did book talks.
I performed read alouds. 
I allowed students to "speed date" books and add titles to their To Be Read lists. 
I gave them TIME to read the books that they chose. 
(And just for the sake of full disclosure, I MIGHT have repeated, "Unless you are on fire or trapped under something heavy, do not attempt to move from your seat" a few times.)

And after months of doing everything short of standing on my head to engage this student, when independent reading time rolled around, he raised his hand and asked..."Can I go to the bathroom?" 

Excellent.

So, with track season upon us, I did a book talk on Ghost by Jason Reynolds. (I read aloud the part where Ghost HAS to run for the very first time). While the book was still in my hand, this self-proclaimed "reading hater" said, "I want to read that one!" We shared reading together; he wrote in his journal; he caught me up when I asked, "OK, remind me what was happening last time we read." He discussed the book with visitors to our room. And when he finished, he exclaimed, "This is my favorite book!" Seizing the moment, I did a short book talk of All American Boys. After just a brief description, he asked to go the library. Unfortunately, there were no copies available, but he came back to the room with When I Was the Greatest, recommended by our Library Media Specialist, and another title which he had chosen for himself. 

Next year this student will not remember what his Lexile is, and he will not be concerned with his score on the state reading test. But he WILL remember his experience with Ghost, which he now calls his "favorite", and he is looking forward to reading Patina when it comes out. 

Jason Reynolds, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.💗

Recipe for a Successful Book Club

I adore my book club. 

When we first started this journey together, we weren't entirely sure WHAT we were looking for in a monthly gathering, but we knew (from a past experience) exactly what we did not want. We did NOT want it to be a "Mommy's Night Out" group.**

**Disclaimer: if you need a night out to open a bottle of wine, discuss work and the exhausting things your kids did this week, and not so much as mention a book you've read lately, I'm all for it. Go nuts. But please, don't call what you're doing a "Book Club" because frankly, it sullies the name for proud book nerds such as myself. 😉

So, a few of us got together and proposed, "We should try it THIS way...." And I'm happy to say it's been working for us for seven years.

1. We keep it a small group gathering of six people, and always meet in the same location. We found that with large numbers of people in the room, there are often 37 million different conversations going on (hello hyperbole, my old friend), so we found it difficult to manage. And six people fit beautifully around a dining table!! However, our members that have moved away know that there will ALWAYS be a seat available for them. 😊

2. We take turns choosing the book...it rotates to a different member each month. At the beginning, there was some pressure, like, "What if they don't LIKE this title?" But...we got over it. One of the best things about our group is the exposure to titles that we might not otherwise have picked up on our own.  

3. Each member is responsible for one of the menu items. The person who has chosen our title for the month brings the main dish, and everyone else signs up for the other items...appetizer, salad, side dish, dessert, drinks.

4. We kind of fell into a "schedule". As everyone arrives we enjoy drinks and appetizers, and catch up with each other. Then we sit down to dinner (or sometimes brunch). Usually this is the quietest time, because let me tell you, this group can COOK! When we have pushed back from the table, the person who chose the book pulls out the discussion questions and we get to work. Do we sometimes go off script? Sure. But this portion of our time together is strictly focused on the book. As we enjoy our dessert, the next member in the rotation reveals next month's title. 

In seven years, we have read a fine assortment of titles. Listed below are a few of my favorites:

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan
The Fault in our Stars by John Green
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

A Lifetime of Reading

At the beginning of the school year, I attended a professional development session where we were asked to create a Reading Timeline. We received paper and markers, and outlined the continuum of our earliest reading experiences all the way to the present. 

My earliest memories were of reading with my parents and grandparents. I had story time before bed, received hand-me-down books from an older neighbor, and loved to entertain Grandma with the poems of Shel Silverstein (she especially enjoyed the one about "the girl who won't take out the garbage"). I always received books as gifts on special occasions. 

I loved books by Judy Blume (Superfudge) and Beverly Cleary (Ramona the Brave). A teacher once asked me, "Does your mother know you're reading this?" when I was "caught" with a book from the Sweet Valley High series. I responded, "She bought it for me." And nothing more was ever said! Further reading included titles from Lois Duncan, R.L. Stine, and Christopher Pike, which became my gateway to reading Stephen King. 

As a colleague and I explored our timelines, we slowly began to realize that our students don't have these rich reading experiences. When I ask them to name a favorite book or author, many can't. I believe that there is that ONE book for every student, a "homerun" book as Jim Trelease calls it, that will inspire a lifetime of reading. My mission during the time that I have with my students is to help them find it.