The amazing thing was the Scholastic Reading Summit. Evidently they have hosted this for several years, but I just happened to hear about it from my next seat buddy at NCDLCN (NC Digital Leaders Coaching Network - another amazing thing!)
I went into complete fangirl mode when I was able to meet Donalyn Miller, The Book Whisperer, and John Schumacher, Mr. Schu Reads. I even had Donalyn Miller sign my copy of her book. I also reconnected with Pernille Ripp, who I'd met when she presented at NCTIES the year I was conference chair.
The first session I attended was Pernille Ripp's Creating Passionate Readers.(http://www.pernillesripp.com) These are the things that I took away from her session:
-How often do we base our own reading instruction on what we knew/ need as readers?
-We had books, but we didn’t speak books.
-We can’t tell students we need to read if we don’t model that behavior.
-Students know when you take the time to read what they are reading. I care so much about your reading life that I read what you read.
-Students read what we bless
- What are we recommending?
- What displays - themed displays?
- Books about resilience, family, character.
- What are you book talking?
-Kids hate all of the stuff they do with reading, not just reading.
-WOW!!!! - If students are not motivated to read research shows they will simply not benefit from reading instruction.
My thoughts
Pernille's session reinforced what I was trying to do with the Summer Reading Challenge for teachers. There were a couple of things that stuck out with me. 1) Do I speak reading? Have I been modeling the behaviors I want to see in students? My answer was - not really. I could converse about a few books - especially in the fantasy realm, but not much beyond that. I'd share books I saw being checked out a lot or books from popular authors. I didn't have the reading clout to go beyond that.
2) Kids hate the stuff they have to do with reading, not just the reading. If students are motivated to read they won't benefit from reading instruction. This was my "holy cow" moment. We beat stories to death - worksheets, reading logs, vocabulary tests, and a million filler activities. But really, by doing all of that, we are killing the joy of reading. When we kill the joy of reading, we throw up all sorts of road blocks that prevent students from learning. That was my WOW moment! My theme for this year - Just Let Them Read!
Engaging Middle School Readers - Donalyn Miller
-Are we communicating the fact that reading is fun - only if you can do it well?
-No matter how much we change the test, the kids that read the most will always outperform those who don’t on the test.
-Celebrate Sneaky Reading! - instruct students in the art of sneaky reading.
- Kids can take books with them wherever they do - every single class.
- Other teachers in other subjects can support reading when you’re finished .
-Access to books for kids was more important the level of education of their parents.
If they don’t have consistent book access they aren’t going to achieve their full promise.
-How are we using/ misusing systems
- Leveling systems were meant for the books, not the children
- Fountas and Pinnell - say their leveling system is now harming children - meant for guided and instruction reading, not children
-Look at the representation of books in your library - are they positive or do they perpetuate sterotypes
-Teachers who are engaged with reading themselves they are statistically better reading teachers.
-The act of reading is not finished until I’ve had the opportunity to share with someone else.
My thoughts
Donalyn showed us several graphics that show how much of a difference it makes in test scores when we provide time to read at school. The longer the time, the higher the scores. I have those cued and ready to share once school starts to push for independent reading time during class.
There were two main points that really kind of slapped me up beside my head. The first was how we use leveling systems. When Donalyn said, "Fountas and Pinnell - say their leveling system is now harming children - meant for guided and instruction reading, not children." This is one I want to share with my teachers. We don't need to label our kids and limit their reading levels.
The other point was when Donalyn asked us to look at the representation of books in your library. Both she and Pernille talked about making sure we had diverse books. Making sure that all of the students in our school had books with characters that allowed them to see themselves in books. This has made me be more intentional when I purchased books this summer.
Overall thoughts
The Scholastic Reading Summit was and amazing thing and one of the best literacy professional development workshops I've attended in a long time. I left reassured that I was on the right track with where I wanted to take the library and ultimately our school with building a community of readers. I left challenged. Challenged to build a collection that reflected all of our students. Challenged to make sure I modeled reading and encouraged our teachers to do the same. Most of all, I left excited. Excited that it's not too late for our students. That we can still help grow their love of reading and that I had strategies, ideas, and experts to use and go to to help accomplish that goal!
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