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I will be honest with you. I am not a shopper. I do not like strolling through malls, hunting for bargains at outlet shops, or spending extended time under the fluorescent lights of department stores or chain boutiques. Yet I can hold my own at the supermarket, the pet store, or my local garden center. Why? I enjoy cooking, so the organized layout of the grocery store helps me quickly find what I need for weekly meals with room for seasonal extras. I am checking out with groceries in less than 30 minutes. When I visit the garden center, I know just where to look to find the right plants for my home's sunny outdoor gardens or indoor houseplants that can thrive in my classroom or home. I visit the pet store at least once a week because I have more pets than I care to name. I have a mental store map that I follow so I can swoop in, gather feeding supplies for the critters, and get out before my daughter discovers one more animal that needs a home with us.

What have I learned from my retail reflections? I discovered why certain stores appeal to me, and certain stores make me want to rush to the nearest exit and go home. The elements of personal interests, my shopping needs and purposes, and the organization of certain stores help me locate what I want and what I really need. I need shopping to be easy, fun, and fast on my terms. These same three design principles used in such crafty ways by retailers can also be applied to classroom libraries. My shopping attitude has helped me design a user-friendly classroom library that supports developing readers.

The design elements of organization, purpose, and interest help children as they search for books. More specifically, these design elements can organize the nonfiction section of a classroom library, supporting students' book selections, while sustaining their interests as they explore new areas of informational reading. Reflecting on my shopping life showed me how my classroom library can make a tremendous difference in how students select books, especially when they are exploring new nonfiction options.

Inequities in Classroom Libraries

I have been lucky enough to tour many classrooms during my 20+ years of teaching. I often quietly notice the design inequities of many classroom libraries. Teachers spend a great deal of time organizing and labeling the fiction and poetry sections of their classroom libraries, creating areas of interest with clear organizational elements in place.

However, when you look at the nonfiction offerings in the same classrooms, it is as if the teachers ran out of time and energy and placed all of the nonfiction books on a shelf or shelves without any organization or interest factors in mind. Searching for a particular book on these nonfiction shelves is like sifting through a one-acre site while hunting for fossils. Paleontologists have reasons to scrape away bits of dirt looking for fossils and other prehistoric treasures. They know what they hope to find and they have a reason to persevere.

Can we ask kids to be as patient as a paleontologist? For many children, they are just beginning to consider nonfiction resources as possible choices in their reading lives. They may not have experienced many informational reading opportunities in the primary grades. Intermediate children often have strong areas of interests such as soccer heroes, horses, or extreme weather events. Young nonfiction shoppers are often looking for "just the right resource." Sifting and sorting through a bookshelf, as if they are visiting a flea market, can lead to frustration.

I know how kids feel when faced with a packed shelf of nonfiction books lacking organization and areas of interest. When I stand at the entrance of a trendy boutique with loud club music and a perfume overload drifting over shoppers, peering inside the fashion cavern of darkness mixed with black lights and strobe lights, lots of glitter and a tornado design of clothing racks, the overload makes me stop . . . and walk away. I just do not know where to begin my shopping experience in a store like that. Kids viewing a disorganized nonfiction library face the same challenges, and retreating to the familiar side of the classroom's fiction library is a viable option for kids.

Yet retreat is not an option. Teachers want to support students' informational reading lives, so paying attention to organization, purpose, and interests is critical. Nonfiction deserves the same design time as fiction and poetry. Teachers can also capitalize on these elements of classroom design to simplify and expedite setting up and maintaining an organized, appealing, and inspiring classroom library.

Getting Organized with an Assist from Students

Visiting teachers and new students often ask me why and how I created my nonfiction library's format. They notice the four distinct areas of our nonfiction library, and I emphasize how the library's organization helps me as I efficiently plan units of study. The clearly labeled book tubs are evident, and I note how the labels focus my work with students as we search for special books during reading workshop and research projects. I point out that sturdy book tubs, library signs and book tub labels are helpful tools my students use as they independently find their favorite topics. I finally confess that I cannot take credit for the library's format. The highly specific book labels were happily created during an unexpected, unplanned teaching discovery as students helped me react to a teacher-nightmare moment. Here's what happened.

The year that I changed jobs and moved from my former school to my current school was hectic. I moved from a primary to an intermediate classroom. I moved from an urban to a suburban school. In addition to the job changes, my family and I moved into a new house. It was the summer of boxes.

Materials were moved for me by custodial staff between the schools. In the process, all of my nonfiction books were lost for a few weeks during the move, and finally showed up in the district warehouse. When they were located at last, I had only one day to organize the 40 boxes of books. I made a few quick calls to my new students that I'd met during our "Meet the Teacher" event earlier in the week. I was able to recruit five available kids, and they arrived the next day at 9 a.m. willing to help me get the nonfiction library arranged with the promise of pizza at lunch and the power to control the music on the radio. With pop music bouncing through the room, we got to work.

The kids studied the mountain of 40 boxes and we formed a plan. Two of us would unpack boxes, and another two would sort them into major science categories. The fifth student would work with me to divide books into smaller categories, such as placing the pile of life science books into subcategories. Within the four major categories of Life Science, Physical Science, Earth Science, and Our World, we would figure out a way to sort and label books into book tubs complete with helpful topic labels.

The boxes were jumbled in the middle of the room, and we sorted them into four different corners of the room, one for each category. Once the mass of books were broken into four groups, kids worked in teams to sort the categories into waiting book tubs and the kids wrote labels on post-it notes, marking each bin with temporary labels. We made tremendous progress by noon.

As we ate lunch, chatting about life, books, and our summers, the kids started flipping through the piles, calling out ideas for book tub categories. The major sorting was over, and now it was time to get picky. With renewed energy, the kids and I rifled through the four categories and developed book tubs and labels.

Here are some snippets of conversations we had that afternoon. As we looked at a pile of biographies, I chatted with a serious boy. "I don't like an alphabetized shelf of biographies," said Ryan. "I like to know how these people are important to us. The names don't always mean that much to me until after I read a book. I would read more biographies if I could easily find books about famous scientists." I agreed with Ryan and he got to work, sorting biographies into categories such as Famous Athletes, Famous Scientists, Famous Artists and Important Leaders.

Faced with a monstrous pile of animal and habitat books, two girls developed a plan. "I love animals, but especially farm animals," commented Heather as she sorted through animal books with Danielle. "Really? I like rainforest animals better . . . hey Mrs. Smith, why don't we put rainforest and rainforest animals together in one tub? This big tub would hold the pile of books perfectly," explained Danielle. "Why don't we sort all of the animal books by habitats and animals . . . it sure would make it easier to find what we like to read," added Heather as she counted out the number of tubs they would need.

"Don't you think Seymour Simon is the coolest writer? He should get his own tub," said Owen, flipping through a beautifully photographed book about wolves. I gave him a stack of my favorite Steve Jenkins books and watched Owen's eyes light up. "Cool Science Writers!" exclaimed Owen. We happily sorted piles of favorite nonfiction writers into an Outstanding Science Writers tub.

And so went our book conversations that afternoon. What started as an emergency unpacking session with a few kids turned into a teaching moment, and I was the learner. Designing the library with students gave me a priceless opportunity to listen to children. Our conversations resulted in a new, powerful, and productive view of our nonfiction library. I started with four major nonfiction categories and we refined the sorting process together, creating a system that meant something to children. Often our adult point of view is limited, and we need kids' ideas to ground us in the fact that a classroom library is for children who are shopping for books. I now had a library that matches the way kids would go about looking for books. I wanted an enticing library that would be noticed, and made sense to children and the way they viewed books. The kids' library ideas were the bridge connecting my goals to a functioning library that would encourage kids to read nonfiction.

I keep this experience with me each year as I plan, organize, and introduce our classroom library to students. I remember the thrill of discovering favorite topics, writers, and ways of sorting books on that emergency library day. I take that same energy with me as I explore our library on the very first day of school.

Sample Classroom Library Signs and Book Tub Labels
Life Science
The Life Science section of our library is broken into major categories. The biggest section of our Life Science library is organized by different habitats and animal categories. Here are the major sections:

* North America: Habitats on Land

* North America: Fresh Water Habitats

* North American Animals: Two bookshelves are dedicated to the kinds of animals kids would encounter in their local or North American lives.

* Local Animals in our Backyards

* Domestic Animals: Pets and Farm Animals

* Classroom Pets

* North American Mammals

* Bears and Wolves

* Insects

* Arachnids

* Turtles

* Birds: General Information

* Birds: Local Birds of Interest

* Birds: Birds of Prey

* Animal Babies

* Big Cats

* Animal Homes

* Endangered Animals

* Animal Adaptations: Camouflage, Body Design, and Senses

* Animal Adaptations: Behaviors, Migration, and Hibernation

* Body Parts, Camouflage, Special Features

* Animal Tracks and Signs

* The Animals of Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, and Neighbors): Marsupials

* Africa: African Habitats and African Animals

* South America: Rainforest Habitats and Rainforest Animals

* Deserts: Desert Habitats and Desert Animals

* Arctic Habitats

* Arctic Animals

* The Ocean: Habitats on the Shore and In The Sea

* Ocean Life: Fish and Sharks

* Ocean Life: Other Ocean Creatures

* Ocean Life: Ocean Mammals

Plants:

* Trees

* Plants and Seeds

* Flowers

* Gardening

The Human Body:

* Body Systems And How They Work

* The Five Senses And How They Help Us

* Germs and Illness

* Wonder Questions About The Human Body
Physical Science
* Energy

* Forces

* Inventions

* Experiments

Transportation:

* Vehicles Around Town (cars, trucks and motorcycles)

* Trains

* Airplanes

* Boats
Earth Sciences
* Our Earth: Rocks and Minerals

* Our Living Earth: Land Forms and Geologic Events

* The Solar System

* Stars

* Earth and Its Moon

* Space Travel and Astronauts

* Weather: Weather Forecasting and Extreme Weather

* Seasons

* Water: The Water Cycle and Water Changes The Earth

* Dinosaurs
Our World
The section of our library marked "Our World" is filled with books about people, where they live, and what we might discover about their daily lives. The purpose of this library section is to study our own lives, and learn about the lives of our global neighbors.

* Maps

* Ohio History

* United States History

* Cultures From Around The World

* Food From Around the World

* Languages and Translating Dictionaries

* Folk Tales From Around the World

* Immigration

* Special Buildings and Special Places

* Biographies: Leaders Who Changed Our Lives

* Biographies: Scientists

* Biographies: Artists, Writers, and Musicians

* Biographies: Athletes

* Important Issues and Challenges (Oil Spills, Pollution, Recycling)
Nonfiction Series
Even though many titles could be integrated into our topic tubs, I like to store some books as a series whenever it is possible. These series create familiar structures for developing readers, and they like to find nonfiction books with predictable elements. These are some of our favorite series.

* Life Cycles series by David Schwartz

* How and Why series

* Look Once - Look Again series by David Schwartz

* Exploring Habitats

* Exploring Animals and Plants

* Magic School Bus series

* Magic Tree House series

* Adventures of Riley series

* One Small Square series
Nonfiction Author Tubs
I group these talented authors together so students and I can explore the craft of these writers, or use their books for research and pleasure reading. Here are some of our favorite nonfiction authors and illustrators.

* Seymour Simon

* April Pulley-Sayre

* Steve Jenkins

* Anthony Fredericks

* Christopher Canyon

* Jeanette Canyon

* Lynne Cherry

* Chad Wallace

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Organizing a Classroom Nonfiction Library with Students

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Author I will be honest with you. I am not a shopper. I do not like strolling through malls, hunting for bargains at outlet shops, or spending extended time under the fluorescent lights of department stores or chain boutiques. Yet I can hold my own at the supermarket, the pet store, or my local garden center.

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Illustration by James Steinberg

A child enters the library, looking for something to read. She wanders the aisles, glancing at book spines, running her finger along the shelf, and lingering at a display of new titles. "Can I help you?" asks the librarian, following with more questions about her tastes: What was the last book you read? What was your favorite part? What TV shows or movies do you enjoy?

The librarian is engaging in readers' advisory-matching readers to books. Effective readers' advisers understand that their success depends on familiarity with a range of books, as well as with their patrons. The librarian may spend several minutes talking with a child, observing body language for clues, and walking together through the stacks while offering suggestions. Professionals know that readers' advisory doesn't end when a patron walks out with books in hand. The next time this librarian sees the child, she'll inquire about the selections, which titles the student enjoyed (or didn't), further refining understanding of the reader.

That process is often different from the hunt for "just right" books in classrooms and collections in which books are organized by reading level. Rather than having a conversation about interests, children in leveled classrooms and school libraries are often directed to color-coded bins or shelves labeled by level. "Your books have a green sticker on the cover," a student may be told.

In classrooms across the country, reading instruction, assessment, and labeling of material have impacted how people search for and engage with books, sometimes resulting in restricted reading choices-even for independent reading. That, as Betty Carter, professor emerita of children's and young adult literature at Texas Woman's University, noted in a July 2000 SLJ article, is a "formula for failure."

What's wrong with "just right" books?

The move toward leveled or "just right" books stems from research showing that children's reading comprehension improves when they read texts at-or slightly above-their reading level. What that level is, how it's determined, and how reading instruction is implemented varies from school to school, district to district, and state to state. Two of the most common methods for leveling books are Lexile and the "A to Z" gradient found in Fountas and Pinnell's Guided Reading system.

"Research says that students should spend most of their time in 'just right' or 'at their level' books, but that research does not say to limit students and what they would like to read," says Pernille Ripp, creator of the Global Read Aloud and author of Passionate Learners: How to Engage and Empower Your Students (Routledge, 2015).

Most educators and researchers agree that student choice is a huge part of reading motivation. Does restricting kids to a prescribed level do more harm than good? Yes, according to Ripp. "Those levels, to quote Fountas and Pinnell, are 'a teacher's tool, not a child's label.' But that's exactly what levels have become-labels that restrict our readers and tell them that their reading identity needs to be based on an outside influence-the teacher-and not their own intuition," she says.

Donalyn Miller, author of Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits (Jossey-Bass, 2013), has called leveling "educational malpractice." Schools have gone too far, she believes. "There is a lack of fundamental understanding by many educators about the limitations of leveling systems and their role in children's reading development," she says. "Matching children with books solely by reading level removes the teacher's responsibility for knowing much about children's literature or teaching children meaningful strategies for self-selecting books beyond level."

Helping youth develop the skills needed to find interesting, appropriate reading material, without leveling, was the focus of Linda Wedwick Haling's doctoral research and led her and coauthor Jessica Ann Wutz to write Bookmatch: How to Scaffold Student Book Selection for Independent Reading (IRA, 2008). Now an assistant professor at the Center for Reading and Literacy at the College of Education at Illinois State University, Haling believes that "the readability formulas have some usefulness. But ultimately, they never account for...what the reader brings to the experience. A reader's 'match' to a book is going to change with what prior knowledge the individual brings to that specific topic. What's most important is teaching kids how to match themselves to 'just right' books. In the real world, books are not leveled."

Bookmatch focuses on teaching children nine key criteria-collectively forming the acronym BOOKMATCH-to consider when selecting a title for independent reading: book length, ordinary language, organization, knowledge prior to book, manageable text, appeal to genre, topic appropriateness, connection, and high interest. It's a process that involves asking questions, interacting with the text, considering personal preferences, and allowing room for trial and error as kids strengthen their skills.

Carter agrees that more attention is needed on teaching children how to find books rather than relying on prescriptive reading systems. "If we are trying to help kids become independent learners, then they need to develop skills for finding their own books," she says.

Leveling the books, or the child?

In a 2012 article for Reading.org, "Guided Reading: the Romance and the Reality", Fountas and Pinnell cautioned that they "never recommended that the school library or classroom libraries be leveled or that levels be reported to parents." Using leveled texts in classrooms following the "A to Z" matrix, Lexile, or other systems, however, seems to contradict this advice, as educators report that more schools are leveling, with some districts mandating it. Teachers often discuss individual reading levels with their students, and some let students know one another's levels.

Miller says that this can be very damaging. "While children are learning the skills of reading, they must also develop a positive reading identity or they will not become lifelong readers," she says. "Removing, defining, limiting, or rejecting children's reading choices disempowers them and creates negative attitudes toward reading-and most likely, school."

Ripp agrees. "I think a few kids will be empowered by it, mostly if they are above grade level," she says. However, those with lower levels "would not be motivated," feeling so behind that they might never catch up.

Fountas and Pinnell advise against making reading levels known to individual students: "We level books, not children." Still, many lament leveling's overuse, to the detriment of literacy and considering the whole child. "Painting kids into a level can...break their desire to read," says Eric Neuman, a school librarian in New York City. "I have witnessed kids with low reading levels working their way through difficult texts because of how interested they are in the subject matter. I've also witnessed proficient readers mess up on passages that they're not interested in."

Supporters, however, view leveling as a motivator. It provides clear goals for improvement that can offer encouragement and structure. "[L]evels were instrumental in helping my eight-year-old overcome her reading struggles," says Jacqueline Miller of Darien, CT. "She could not read the [higher level] books that her friends were reading, and that was far more shame-inducing than knowing what level books were her 'just right' books," Miller says. "The leveled books didn't matter as much for my non-struggling reader. And they both read a huge variety of non-leveled books outside of school."

At the school library

Many school librarians have leveled collections to support curriculum and in response to mandates from district literacy specialists. Michael Bento, a school librarian in Burien, WA, labeled his books according to Fountas and Pinnell's "A to Z" gradient. It's a slow, time-consuming process, Bento notes, but he is pleased with the results. "Students and teachers now refer to this leveling system when looking for appropriate [material]," he says. "It makes it easier for us to help them if we are on board as well."

Neuman says that several years ago, he felt pressure from teachers to level the school library. He resisted and presented a compromise solution. Neuman installed Level It Books, an app for iOS that allows users to scan an ISBN and look up Lexile numbers for most texts. "If a student absolutely had to read something on their specific level, I could make that happen," he says. The New York City Department of Education also provides Follett's Destiny to school libraries to manage circulation, and Destiny includes reading levels for most titles, he adds. "So when kids check books in and out, I can see a level."

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), strongly discourages school librarians from labeling, according to the ALA Position Statement on Labeling Books with Reading Levels. "It is the responsibility of school librarians to promote free access for students and not to aid in restricting their library materials," reads the statement. It also notes that labeling by level can compromise student privacy and First Amendment rights as well as negatively affect browsing and motivational reading.

An ALA document clarifying the Library Bill of Rights states "While some parents and teachers may find housing books by grade or reading levels helpful in guiding developing young readers, a library should not use such labels as a classification system, or to promote any restrictive or prejudicial practice."

Public librarians have also reported requests from parents and teachers to adapt their collections to match classroom reading systems. Amy Martin, a children's librarian at Oakland (CA) Public Library, notes a scenario in which "a teacher brings [in] a class of 25 students, tells me a number or letter range for each one, and asks me to help each find one book at their level...in the space of a 30-minute class visit," she says. "This would not be difficult in a leveled collection....But in a public library, where books are categorized by type (picture book, easy reader, etc.), it's extremely difficult."

What's a librarian to do?

Martin focuses on creating a teachable moment-even for teachers-and doing her best to have her patrons leave satisfied. "When a parent or teacher asks me for books at a certain level, I start by explaining a little about how the public library organizes books and say something along the lines of 'Your school library may organize books by reading level; at this library, we organize them by book type,' and then give them a quick tour of the collection," she says. "I ask what kind of books they like, what other books they've read lately, and show them a couple samples and ask if they look too hard/too easy/just right. I get them to focus on one or two books, and then say, 'OK, let's see what level those are.' "

For school librarians in districts where leveling is the norm, supporting school practices and empowering student choice can be tricky. "The librarian ends up in a hard situation because they see kids who want to check out books that are above or below their perceived level," says Ripp. "Are they then supposed to go behind the teacher's back in allowing the students to check that book out?"

Haling says that it comes down to investing time in helping kids develop skills to select books independently. "We should trust kids when it comes to selecting their own books," she says. "They do have opinions and preferences, even if they're in first grade. They are capable of learning to match themselves to 'just right' books-without the teacher directing them to a labeled bin."

The key is more choice, not less, Carter believes. "Let them take out a lot of books so that somewhere in that pile they find something that satisfies them," she says. "But we have to keep that process going....When they come into the library the next time, talk about their choices: what worked; what didn't. They have to learn their own processes for selecting books, and if we keep narrowing the choices by artificial constraints, we aren't giving them that chance."

Pat Scales, past president of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and author of SLJ's "Scales on Censorship" column, denounced labeling library books by reading level in a March 2015 interview on the ALSC Blog. She advises public librarians to communicate with their school counterparts about reading lists, selection, and student privacy issues.

It's essential, Ripp adds, that librarians and educators step up as advocates for the freedom to read-even if that choice extends below or above a student's reading level. "If a child wants to check out a book, let them....Students are telling us in droves they don't like to read anymore because of these rules. So as school communities, we need to start listening to the students and let them read the books they want to read."

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Thinking Outside the Bin: Why labeling books by reading level disempowers young readers

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Illustration by James Steinberg A child enters the library, looking for something to read. She wanders the aisles, glancing at book spines, running her finger along the shelf, and lingering at a display of new titles. "Can I help you?" asks the librarian, following with more questions about her tastes: What was the last book you read?

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In this episode, Colby talks with writer, speaker, Nerdy Book Club co-founder, Book Whisperer, and former teacher Donalyn Miller about her book THE JOY OF READING, co-written with the late Teri Lesesne.
This episode is sponsored by READING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, written by Lester L. Laminack and Katie Kelly and published by Heinemann.
Heinemann Publisher of professional resources and a provider of educational services for teachers.

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#166 donalyn miller - the joy of reading unraveled

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‎The Yarn: #166 Donalyn Miller - THE JOY OF READING Unraveled on Apple Podcasts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In this episode, Colby talks with writer, speaker, Nerdy Book Club co-founder, Book Whisperer, and former teacher Donalyn Miller about her book THE JOY OF READING, co-written with the late Teri Lesesne. This episode is sponsored by READING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, written by Lester L. Laminack and Kati...

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The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast, Episode 84 Transcript

See a shorter recap of this interview in the blog post.

See all podcast episodes.

This transcript contains Amazon Affiliate links. When you make a purchase through those links, Cult of Pedagogy receives a small percentage of the sale at no additional cost to you.

This is Jennifer Gonzalez welcoming you to Episode 84 of the Cult of Pedagogy Podcast. In this episode, I interview teacher Pernille Ripp about how we can change our classroom practices to stop killing the love of reading.

If I had to pick one thing that makes the biggest difference in the quality of any person's education, the quality of their life, really, it would be reading. And I'm not really talking about basic literacy-not about the ability to read-I'm talking about reading for pleasure, to satisfy curiosities, to understand how people work and find solace in knowing we are not the only ones who think and feel the way we do.

That kind of reading.

And I try pretty hard to help my three kids become the kind of people who read that way. I taught them all how to read before kindergarten, the house is full of books, we keep TVs and devices out of everyone's bedrooms, and they see me reading quite a bit. But all five of us have multiple devices and we're on them a lot. We can stream just about any TV show or movie we can think of, at any time. My 11-year old daughter is obsessed staring at people who poke slime on Instagram. My 10-year-old son spends way too much time watching a YouTuber named Logan Paul get in fights with stop signs and dance to car alarms. My 13-year-old daughter keeps up a running dialogue on Snapchat with dozens of her classmates. And my husband and I spend way too much time on Facebook, the "old people's social network."

So yeah, the reading culture in our house isn't quite where I'd like it to be, and I know that's on me. We're working on it.

But something else has happened in schools, too. When I see what my kids do in school for "reading," it doesn't really look like reading. I ask them what books they are reading in school, and a lot of times they give me a blank stare. What they do in reading, they tell me, is mostly worksheets about reading. Or computer programs that ask them to read passages, not books, and answer multiple-choice questions about those passages.

Knowing this has bothered me a lot, and it led me to Donalyn Miller's book, The Book Whisperer, and then to Kelly Gallagher's book, Readicide. Both of these books show us that the reading programs and activities schools are using don't work very well to raise students' reading proficiency, especially if they are there as substitutes for real interactions with real books. And they certainly don't do anything to turn our students into people who love to read.

The only thing that can do that is books. Reading actual books alongside other people reading actual books.

What baffles me is that the message still hasn't reached so many schools. Schools are still shelling out thousands of dollars on expensive programs, putting pages and pages of passages and comprehension questions in front of our kids every day, sending them through the system without ever having them read a real book. Just excerpts. Just passages. Just reading-related "activities," but little to no time with actual books.

So in this episode, I'm going to do what I can to get the message out there by having my friend Pernille Ripp on the podcast. Pernille is a seventh grade English language arts teacher in Wisconsin. She has been blogging for years, she speaks all over the country, and she has written several books about teaching. Her most recent one is called Passionate Readers, where she writes about her own journey from teaching reading through programs and activities to teaching in a way that honors books and develops a love of reading in every child. It's an awesome book. The best thing about it is how transparent Pernille is about her own doubts and struggles in this process. In our interview we're going to talk about why she made the change, what her classroom looks like now, and how other teachers can change their own practices. To find links to everything we talk about in the interview when you're done listening, come over to Cult of Pedagogy, click Podcast, and go to Episode 84.

Before we get started, I want to thank you for the reviews you've left on iTunes. I read these every week and I absolutely love them. I'd like to send out a special thanks to Pdubya tech for his detailed review, and Matthew Todd G and veglizzie83 for their enthusiasm. If you'd like to support the work I'm doing here and you think other teachers need to be listening, please recommend the podcast to a friend and take a minute to leave a review on iTunes-it really helps get it out in front of more people.

I'd also like to thank this episode's sponsor, Kiddom. Kiddom is a free platform that allows teachers to plan, assess, and analyze student work, and now, more teachers are using Kiddom to collaborate with each other. Using Kiddom's free curriculum planning tools, teachers can plan in the cloud, so you can put your heads together no matter where you are. And when we work together, our students reap the rewards. Visit cultofpedagogy.com/kiddom to learn more about co-planning and sharing your best work with each other.

Now let's talk to Pernille Ripp. In a few places you'll hear a kind of scratching sound - we couldn't figure out what was causing it, but ultimately decided to ignore it. This is good stuff, so hopefully you can get past the scratching, too. Okay, here we go.

GONZALEZ: So hi, Pernille.

RIPP: Hi, Jenn.

GONZALEZ: Hi. I am so excited to have you on. I mean, I really have waited for a while for just the right time, and now that Passionate Readers came out, it has just, it's just come at just the right time, and I read it quickly, and I loved everything you had to say, and so I feel like this is the time. And so our focus is going to be on how to stop killing the love of reading in schools, and you are the perfect person to talk to about that. So tell us a little bit about, let me start with your teaching life first, and then we'll talk about the writing.

RIPP: Well I've been teaching, I'm now about to round 10 years here in January, and it has been an amazing roller coaster of a journey, which I think many can attest to once they start teaching. You think you are doing pretty well and then as you get into your teaching further and further, you start realizing just how many things you still have to learn, and you also start looking back on all of the things that you shouldn't have done, and you hope you could go back and apologize to all of your former students as you grow. And I think that's the mark of a reflective teacher, right? Just always looking back and looking at what you're doing, and going, "How can I be better? How can this be better for students?" And I think that's just been my drive forward when I realized I wasn't going to quit teaching, but I needed to severely change the way I was teaching, because otherwise I was just going to be crushing the dreams of children, and that was going to fall on my shoulders, and I was not going to live with that for the rest of my life, all in the name of kind of protecting the system of teaching that I had been sucked into.

GONZALEZ: That is one of my favorite things about you is that you are so reflective. I mean I sometimes I think you're too hard on yourself, but I think it's such a good model for how I wish all teachers, if all teachers were this reflective, we would have just wonderful classrooms. You're currently teaching middle school language arts, but then before you moved to the middle school level, you were teaching, I think it was fourth and fifth grade for a couple of years?

RIPP: Yeah. I started as a math resource, and then moved into fourth grade and loved fourth-graders and kind of this just huge development they were a part of, and then when the chance opened up for fifth grade, I moved into fifth grade just to see what happened to these amazing fourth-graders and completely fell in love with fifth-graders, who are just in this amazing developmental stage of kind of trying on these new tween identities and getting ready for their teenage years but still in elementary.

And then I was ready for another change, and I took the terrifying leap to middle school, and it truly was terrifying. I did not think I was going to love being a middle school teacher, but I wanted a challenge, and I really wanted to see, you know, what was the buzz all about, because I had friends that were middle school teachers that just loved it. And it has been incredible. It has been terrifying and challenging and yet teaching my seventh-graders has been one of the biggest honors of my life, because they really come to you at times with their heart on their sleeve hoping that you'll just see them as a person, and then at other times their walls are completely up. And so I just think of all the truths that they have willingly shared with me over the years, and sort of my fourth-graders and my fifth-graders, but really my seventh-graders just so loudly wanting to be heard and so loudly wanting instruction that was about them and their journey and just how easy it was to start the conversation yet how hard it was to actually do. And so I love middle school. I totally, it's just, and my heart is there with these seventh-graders that turn into these big kids, and it's such a honor to be with them.

GONZALEZ: That's my background too. It's funny, because I have a seventh-grader at home with me now, and that was my grade level. And it is, it's such a special set of years, because they're shutting a lot of people out at that time, so if you can form a relationship with them as a teacher, you may be one of the only adults that they're willing to talk to.

RIPP: Yeah, and I think that's something to really protect, right, and to really nourish and cherish and not take for granted. I walked into seventh grade being so green and feeling like a completely brand new teacher, and I still feel that way every year when these seventh-graders show up and just remembering that the words that they entrust us with are really meaningful and can be really hard for them to share. And so the least we can do is listen, and then anything we can do beyond that is only going to cement the relationship that we may have with them throughout the years.

GONZALEZ: Yeah, yeah. And so you have been blogging for a number of years about your teaching, and you've also written a couple of books. And the one that we're going to focus on today is Passionate Readers, and that's your most recent book.

RIPP: Yeah. I started writing my blog in 2010, and it was my husband that kind of pushed me in the direction of getting my thoughts out there, and I think honestly it was just because he was kind of like, why do you keep talking to me about these things? But for me too, I needed to get the thoughts out of my head, and I think that's still the heart of my blog is just whatever I'm thinking of and that needs to be out of my head so that I can step back and reflect on it, and sometimes it's hard to write, sometimes it's really hard to hit "publish." But I think one of the things that I fell into was that I kept looking for the perfect teacher, and I kept looking at my colleagues thinking that they were the perfect teacher and they had everything figured out because that's what it looked like.

And I realized just how harmful that can be for new teachers, and veterans alike, because there's no such thing as a perfect teacher. And so I wanted to make sure that my blog was a representation of everything that happened within a classroom. Yes there are days where we are triumphantly driving home, going, "Oh my gosh, today was just such a great day," and then also the days where we go home and we're just upset with ourselves or something fell apart or blew up in our face or we need to go back and apologize to a kid the next day. I wanted to put that out there too, because it was so important for the reality of what teaching really is to be out there for others and also for myself. This is truly my way of reflecting, of writing it out, it's always a first draft that I publish, which is why there's sometimes grammar and spelling mistakes and stuff, and then going back and going, "OK. Now process it as if I'm an outsider, and then where's my solution? Where am I going with this?" I never expected anyone to read it, but the - I didn't. Like, why would you, right? It should be called Pernille's Random Thoughts, because that's really all it is.

But then when I realized that I felt so free having this way of getting the thoughts out of my head, I turned to my students, fourth-graders at the time, and just said, you know, what do you want to share with the world? And to hear these kids and these ideas that they have for education and how they were just waiting for someone to come around and ask them really motivated me to get them blogging and then that also is what turned into the books that I've written. I've written four different books, and all of them are just a way for me to say, listen to my students. Listen to what these kids have. And yes, here's all my practices and my mistakes and the research and all of that, but really just listen to my students, because they have shaped who I am as a teacher.

What's Wrong with the Way We Teach Reading Now?

GONZALEZ: So we are going to, we're going to focus this time, and I would urge anybody who has not read your blog to go and read it. It's going to be a breath of fresh air. But we're going to really hone in on how reading is typically taught in classrooms today, and what you discover, because you used to teach reading the way that a lot of people are still teaching it, and you have completely changed the way you teach it now. And so we're going to just sort of follow along that journey and talk about why you changed and what your successes have been now, and just then give people some sort of practical advice for how they can make the same change.

So let's start by talking about, you know, how reading is taught nowadays in our current-and we're basically talking about the United States, although I think unfortunately, a lot of countries are starting to model their reading instruction from what we're doing right now. But talk a little bit about what you're seeing right now in terms of trends in reading instruction.

RIPP: So what I've been seeing, and this is not anything new, is just this distancing ourselves from common sense reading instruction, and I get it. I think we are all kind of facing the pressure of our districts and our government and our testing and our parents and everybody's focus kind of on the data at the end of the day or the data at the end of the year to show that these children can comprehend and compete with this global market economy that we're a part of.

But unfortunately, what that has led to within our classrooms and you know is just this further step away from what we know works within reading instruction, and this is nothing new. We have so many years of really great reading research out there, and yet it seems to be forgotten. And so I think about what Louise Rosenblatt said so many years ago where she talked about the two types of reading that were needed for children to become readers, that we needed both aesthetic reading and we needed efferent reading. So one is reading for skill, and one is reading for pleasure, yet what are we doing in our classrooms? We're constantly reading for skill, we're constantly asking kids to do something with their reading, and then wondering why they're choosing to leave us and never picking up another book, or they can't wait to get out of school so that they don't have to read.

And so what I see is a lot of teachers actually standing up and going, excuse me, this is not going to work. Where is our time for independent reading? Where are my times for having conversations with kids? Where's the money for classroom libraries and school libraries and having actually certified librarians in our schools? And instead, we're buying all of these programs, and we're saying, well, these experts - and many of them are truly experts - have a program and you're going to teach it with fidelity, and that's going to bring every kid up, but within that program, we lose the very essence of the kids that we're teaching, and it becomes this race to teach the program in a perfect way.

But the thing is, none of us will ever be the masterminds behind those programs. None of us will ever sit with those kids that these programs were developed around, and so when districts rush out to buy programs, to buy computer programs or scripted curriculum so that we can all be on the same page, we're forgetting that that's not what education is about. Education, and especially with reading and writing, is about becoming even better as human beings. And where is that in the experience we're creating for our kids?

And so when I think of common sense reading instruction, it's nothing new that I write about. It's, again, time to read. If we're saying that we're valuing reading, then kids need to be doing it in our classrooms every single day. People ask me, "How do you know your students read?" I see them, every day, and I see the kids that aren't reading, and I see the kids that are struggling to find a good book, right? The kids that, you know, are kind of faking it through. That's how I know my students are reading. I don't need a reading log to show that.

We need to give them access to books, and we need incredible books in their hands at all times, and yes I spend a lot of money on books for my students, but I figure it's my contribution to the future of America, but it shouldn't be that way. I love technology, for example. I mean I created the Global Read Aloud, which really depends a lot on technology to be as big as it is, and yet I see so many schools go out and invest in incredible technology and not invest in classroom libraries, or they're cutting librarians, or they're cutting reading specialists or any of that, and it's like, I get that a book isn't as flashy as an iPad or a Chromebook or virtual reality or Sphero or whatever, insert whatever technology, right?

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: But the thing is that book can change the life of a kid.

GONZALEZ: Yep.

RIPP: And those other things can too, but it's just like, we need that balance. And then of course choice. We know that choice matters. Whenever I ask kids, and I've been asking this for many years now, any kids that I can come across, what's the one thing you wish all teachers of reading would do? Choice. And yet, what do we do time and time again? We take away choice from kids, either because we're told to by programs or administration, and obviously, usually, it's because of well-meaning intentions. I've yet to meet a teacher that actually has set out to kill the love of reading, maybe they're out there. I don't think they are though. But we make these weird decisions, especially for kids who are vulnerable readers, so kids who might not be where we would hope they would be at this time. We end up with these limited choices for them, and then we wonder why they're the ones that distance themselves from reading the most, because they never get to develop their reading identity. They never get to go through the selection process. They never get to just read and struggle with text and have meaningful conversations and sometimes yes, make the wrong choice. We're so eager to go in and go, "Oh, here's your level," or "Here's your Lexile," or "Here's this pile of books." And so we need to give choice. We need to foster reading community. We need to be having conversations, real conversations about reading.

I think about what Teri Lesesne and Donalyn Miller talk about, how often we as readers don't want to do anything other than just sit in silence when we're done with a book. I think about the book experiences that I have. For example, after I read Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, which just came out here in October, I just sat there, right, and soaked it in and just sat there with the book for a long time, and then I turned to a friend and said, "Oh my gosh, you have to read this book." I didn't go and write a one-page review. You know, I didn't go and make a wordsearch or a crossword puzzle or a book report on it.

And the thing is, I say those things because I've had kids do those things in the search of thinking that this is what real reading instruction looks like. And so I think for so long because of all the pressures of these kids becoming readers and apparently readers only means that we can take, you know, tests and do really well on comprehension, we've started looking for the quick and easy. And what else is easy than computer programs that make all the decisions for us? We don't even have to talk to kids about their books, right?

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: We can just shove them in front of a computer, and then the computer will tell us whether they understood.

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: We put them into short, chopped up programs, and we do scripted curriculum, and it kills me.

GONZALEZ: Yeah. The passages are what bother me so much is that I think we're now starting to push kids through the education system who never actually read an entire book. They only ever read passages, and sometimes they're not even passages that are excerpted from real books. They're sort of mediocre, not very well written, dry passages so that there's no wonder that they're not really loving reading, because they're reading fairly dry stuff. Where, you know, there's shelves and shelves of these really amazing books that are going to touch them emotionally that they never get a chance to read, because they're reading passages all the time.

RIPP: And we assume that they're reading these amazing books outside of class, and yet some of my kids, like, they had a really busy last week, and a lot of them were saying, "Mrs. Ripp, I barely got to read, because I had so much to do for school."

GONZALEZ: Yep, yep.

RIPP: Right? And then we're like, "Why aren't you reading?" Well, because you had me do all this work.

The Catalyst: What Prompted the Change

GONZALEZ: So let's go back, let's scroll back a little bit to when you used to teach this way. What made you start to change?

RIPP: My students. It always comes back to them, and there's, like, these moments now in retrospect, like, this is where it changed. It started with my students, but it also started with my own, you know, lacking qualities as a teacher. We were a balanced literacy curriculum district. I Googled, you know, I'd seen it in college, I knew what it was, but I didn't know what it was really.

And then I just kind of followed the components of what it meant to be balanced literacy, and balanced literacy is fantastic, except for how I was implementing it, which was all teacher-centered, and it was exhausting, right? When we did book clubs, it was all about me, and I was reading five different books and coming up with all of the questions and all the kids had to do was show up, read aloud. There was no discussion about which book we were going to read or anything like that. It was just all teacher-centered, teacher-centered all the time, book reports just to prove they had read rather than doing meaningful work after they had finished the book.

And so I just remember, and it's so clear to me, and I've written about it too, that moment when I was doing the "reading is magical" lesson that I think we all do at some point in the beginning of the year, and a kid in front of me whispered to his friends, "Reading sucks." And instead, you know, I just, I wanted to jump on him and be like, "Oh, you just haven't found the right book," because how often have we said that? But luckily I was like, "Tell me more about that. Like, what do you mean? Why does reading suck?" And he just sat there with complete, you know, deer in the headlights kind of expression, because he was like, "Oh my gosh my new teacher is now, like, she heard me," right?

GONZALEZ: Yeah, yeah.

RIPP: "This is not good. She's now not going to like me." But his friend had the courage to raise his hand, and he was like, "Well, I don't like sitting still." And then we created an anchor chart, and that's where the change really started. It was this, like, "Hang on. I've been dismissing their reading identities as they've been coming in. They tell me they're not readers, and I tell them they haven't found the right book yet."

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: "They tell me they don't like reading, and I said, 'Oh just wait. I'm going to make you love reading.'" Well some of my kids, like, I'd say that, and they'd be like, "Ha. I'm going to prove you wrong just because you said that," right?

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: Which makes sense. Like, that's how I would react if somebody said that to me. But I also didn't speak books with my kids, with my students. I read a lot. I was an avid reader, I've been for years, but I didn't read children's books, and so when kids would come to me and say, "What should I read next?" I would say, "Harry Potter." And when they'd say, "Well I've already read that," then I'd say, "Go ask your friends." And it became so obvious when they left my classroom in droves to go see our fantastic school librarian Mr. Powers during our independent reading time, and I'd say, "Why are you going there? We have a classroom library." And they'd say, "He speaks books." I didn't speak books. I couldn't, because I didn't take the time to actually read anything, so I'd never gone through our library and really looked at what I was telling kids to read.

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: And so it was all these little things that just started going, "God, there's got to be more than this." Or the reading logs, I used to do the reading logs. Those kids that didn't have parent signatures? Well guess what, they didn't get the celebrations, they didn't get the rewards, and the kids that were getting the signatures were the ones that I already knew were reading, right?

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: I mean, so it was just like, I just started just practicing this questioning of each practice, because I think of that so often in education, and in life too, how many of the things that we do are simply routine that we've never questioned because either we've picked it up somewhere or somebody passed it onto us, and I think that's what happens in school a lot. New teachers come in, whether they're veteran or completely brand new, and they have these new ideas and quickly they're kind of told, "Well, you can't do that, because this is how we've always done things." And I think that that's what's killing the education experience for a lot of kids, because we're not questioning, we're not sitting down and going, "Well, when was the last time we looked at these practices?" And when someone comes to us, which is the big thing now and say, "Well this is best practices, and it's research-based." Instead of going, "OK. We should be saying, 'Great. Show me the practices and show me the research, because then I'll show you mine.'"

GONZALEZ: Yeah. Some of the research that I've seen that comes from these companies, it's their own research, and it's based on their own data from their own tests that they give. I'm sort of quietly trying to fight that battle right now with the school that one of my children is going to, and it's, they said it's research-based, and I'm looking at it and I'm thinking, wait a second. This is a test you did with your own tests. You're showing that students made improvements on your tests after a year of doing your program. Well yeah. But does that mean that they're good, better readers? No, I don't know.

RIPP: Right. And I think often too what those programs, and I'm thinking of some specific computer programs as well, that where they've pushed the research and what they're not discussing is that besides their computer program being put and placed, is there was also given more time for independent reading, book selection, and bigger classroom libraries. Those are three research proven things that will improve kids' reading comprehension as well as their experiences with reading. And so then when you add on a computer program onto that and then say, "Look. They grew as readers."

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: You can't really say that, because you have too many variables going on. And so that's why some of the research is being questioned, and rightfully so, because here's the thing too: How much money are we spending on these programs? You know, I think of some of these programs that are $10,000 a year.

GONZALEZ: My gosh.

RIPP: How many books could we be putting in the hands of kids instead?

GONZALEZ: Right.

RIPP: How many incredible reading experiences could we be putting in their hands, and I think about some of the programs, whether scripted or computer, and how many of them are not geared towards having more complex reading experiences. So when we think about, what do we need as a society? We need kids that become, that are or become critical thinkers, problem solvers, creative individuals and we also have, we need people that have stamina and have the internal drive to sit down and do things over a long period of time. None of these programs, or not many of them, are actually addressing that. Instead, it's, like you said with the passages, it's these short comprehensions, it's these short, kind of chopped up things all to see if they understood it. None of them are saying, "Oh, by the way, we're going to help you become more, you know, be better at critical thinking."

GONZALEZ: Right.

RIPP: And so it's interesting. We have this push for all these standards of how we need to grow as human beings, and yet then we bring in these curriculums that actually don't help us do that, but they'll help us maybe score higher on a test.

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Toward a More Common-Sense Approach

GONZALEZ: So let's talk a little bit about what your reading instruction looks like now. And one of the things I want to make sure that we really get at are the scary parts of it, because I think, you know, we can describe it and a teacher can hear it and say, "That sounds nice, but - " and I want to just nail every single objection or question that they might have about it, because I'm sure you met all of those as you developed this new way of teaching reading.

RIPP: Well I think the fantastic thing is that I'm not alone in this work. Like, I think back to the pioneers, all of those that came before me who were great, just amazing human beings and put their work out there. So I think of, like, Atwell and Allington and Stephen Krashen and Kylene Beers and Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher and Donalyn Miller and all of these people that said, "Here's what I'm doing. Take it. And then here's the research behind it and make it better and make it your own." And so I can tell you that stepping away from curriculum and stepping away from everything being teacher-centered is terrifying, especially if you are within a time confinement like I am. I teach 45-minute blocks of English, and that's what I did for three years. And so to say, "Okay. Every day we're going to have independent reading," I'm then taking about a quarter of my 45-minute time with students and giving that back to them, and that is really hard when we then look at, "Well, here are all the things that I'm supposed to also be doing with these kids during this year."

Time to Read

But I went back to the common sense approach. What do kids need to become readers? Well, first they need time. Okay. Every child, every day, 10 minutes at the beginning of class. And it is sacred time, it has been amazing. Yes, the first couple of days, etc., sometimes week, can be rough, but the big thing is just that habit every day, every child, and if I had more than 45 minutes, they would be getting more than 10 minutes, because that is when I see them reading. That is when we are planting the seed for outside reading as Allington has researched, it's when we're book-shopping, and it's when I'm doing reading check-ins with my kids. I'm sitting down and I'm simply saying, "What are you working on as a reader?" And it gives me that two-, three-minute connection with a child if they need to book shop, if they're not doing well, to see what their reading identity is, where are they on their journey, and then I kind of pull all this information to think about what I still need to teach them. That doesn't happen during those 10 minutes.

Choice

The next thing that I know they need is choice, and they need real choice, and they need choice that actually makes them want to read, and so we talk a lot about free book abandonment and how we should be celebrating in the beginning when we abandon a book because we know ourselves enough as a reader to know that this will not provide us with a reading experience that will matter to us. And we need to start, you know, building up that stamina, so we need books that work for us at that time, and that's really important for my students to remember, and to know and to recognize that what they need at this moment might be different than what they need in a month from now. And so they're constantly evaluating their book choices just either through conversation or self reflection or just their habits.

A Robust Classroom Library

And so choice and then of course access to books. So we have a beautiful school library that my students get to go to and many of them utilize, and then we also have several thousand books in my classroom, but I can tell you several thousand books, it didn't start out that way.

GONZALEZ: That's, yeah, I want to underscore that you just said "several thousand," and that is going to just make a few people's -

RIPP: Yeah...terrify most people...

GONZALEZ: Well, right. And then how did you build that up, and you're going to get the pushback here of, like, people say, "Well, why, why? Why several thousand?" Sounds amazing to me, but, you know, why?

RIPP: Well "Why?" Good question. There's a lot of reasons why, but the easiest one is simply I need a book for every reader, and I teach kids that read from about a second grade level to a college level. I teach kids with lives that share no similarities at times and others whose lives are very much like my own. And so I need to make sure that every child has a chance of finding a book that will speak to them. There is a lot of research out there, and it kind of always just depends on, like, where you go. But all I know from the research is just you need a lot of books, and you need them both in your classroom and in your school, because it's definitely not an either/or at all.

GONZALEZ: Okay.

RIPP: Yeah.

GONZALEZ: So why in both places? Because you cover that in the book, but I think you make such important points.

RIPP: I do.

GONZALEZ: Yeah. Why is it important to have both?

RIPP: Because the kids need to see the books staring at them at all times, and I think that has made the biggest difference for some of my kids who would go through the motions of going to the school library and they would even check some books out, but then when it came down to actually sitting down and read it, they didn't feel that same need or urge to read it. And I had a seventh-grader come back to me my first year at the end of the year, and he said, "You know what made the biggest difference? The books were always right there staring at me." And I think about that too and Donalyn Miller and Terry Lesesne have said this too when I saw them present at NCTE a couple of years ago, they said, "You know for some kids, even if the school library's right outside your classroom door, that's too far away." And I think about that with my own readers and their habits. Those kids that are reading okay-ish books, so not the fake readers, not the ones that can't find a book, but the ones that are like in the seven out of 10-star books, they need to know that there are better options kind of screaming their name visually all around them. And there's research on it too. Morrow and Neuman have both done research on it, and it says that students read 50 to 60 percent more in classrooms with libraries than classrooms without them. But like I also said, it didn't start that way. I inherited a classroom library, I was really excited, I had several bookshelves, but I didn't make the realization that when someone leaves their classroom library behind, they don't leave you all the good stuff. They take that with them.

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: And so I didn't really know what fourth-graders would like, and I figured my titles were fine. But then, again, after about a year's worth of use, when the kids weren't really using it, I realized that I needed to do some really hard weeding, and actually I think it was even a couple years in. And I remember how scary it was to sit down and really go through the books and go, keep or toss. And I threw, I think, gosh, three quarters of my library out, because it was not anything that would entice the kids.

GONZALEZ: Wow.

RIPP: And I ended up with this short little bookshelf -

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: - of books, and I was like, "Oh my gosh. What do I do now?" Like, I have three kids at home, you know, on a teacher's salary. I was like, I can't go out and spend thousands of dollars on books, and my school didn't have a lot of extra money, and I had to have this realization of, "OK. I would rather that a child can go up to this bookshelf and find a high-quality book pretty much any time they go there rather than have to dig through the junk and hope they find something." And so it just became my mission that instead of buying things to make our classroom prettier or anything like that, like, I bought books, and I used Scholastic, and I went to library sales and parents donated books, and I was always really picky. It was big for me that the books were good, and then I just purchased books. And so it has been an ongoing process, and it continues to be, and I continue to weed in my library too, books that I thought that maybe kids would connect with, they haven't. Well maybe it's not that they need to get tossed, maybe they just need to go to a different classroom where they'll access them. And so for me, that is one of the biggest things that I can give these kids is just to say, "Look at all these books. Look at all these choices that you have." And I want them to feel enticed to touch them, to pick them up. And we also have audio books, like Overdrive for the kids and whatnot, and I have a few kids that like to read on devices. But it's interesting to see how many kids gravitate towards that very tactile experience of sitting with a book in their hands, also so that they can hand it to a friend or hand it to me, and do that physical recommendation. And so that was this long-term commitment of, "I need better books and I need all sorts of books." And I think about that too, and my students constantly push me on this too about how we evaluate our classroom libraries. And for me there's kind of three questions that I always ask, and the first one is, you know, not just who is represented by how are they represented and who's not? And I think that that's so important. That came from a student too. Last year he looked at me and he said, "Mrs. Ripp, why are all the picture books featuring African Americans always about slavery or civil rights?" And I was looking around my classroom, I was like, "Yep. Where are all the picture books and the regular books about, you know, people of color or people anything other than, like, white cisgender, you know, whatever kind of core family doing anything?"

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: And so that needs to come from us, because we're the ones purchasing these books, and so we need to go out and say, "We need better books."

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: "We need more diverse books and we need own author's books, own voices books."

GONZALEZ: Right.

RIPP: And so that's the other question too: Am I purchasing books where own voices authors are writing them, and so own voices came out of the We Need Diverse Books movement, and it just was, you know, the marginally represented author writing about their marginally represented culture or set in that culture. And so I think about out our LBTQ students or our gender nonconforming students or our Hispanic, Latinx students or anything that is not the norm so that kids can find themselves within the book. And then of course I also think about what am I displaying? Because whatever we're displaying is what kids are going to gravitate towards. So when I was asked at one point what I was going to do for picture books for Black History Month, and I said I'm not going to do anything, because I've been displaying those books all year, right? And that's so important. Like, we can't do Black History Month displays, and then only show slavery and civil rights picture books. How is that just a celebration? And that shouldn't just be one month out of the year. That should be all the time.

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: And so those are the things that I think about when I look at my own classroom library, but again, that took several years to kind of realize what my book gaps were, because my book gaps, the books I'm not reading, I'm passing those book gaps on to students.

GONZALEZ: Right. Was it in the book that you had talked about, like, sort of fantasy books that you just were never really into those, and kids would sort of ask about it, and it was like, "I don't really know"?

RIPP: Sports. I love fantasy. I hate sports.

GONZALEZ: Okay. It's sports books. Okay.

RIPP: Sports and dogs and mermaids, and those three, like, and those three books are like some of the most, maybe not mermaids, but like dogs and sports -

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: - are massively popular in my classroom, but they weren't in my classroom library because I was like, "Why would anyone ever want to read about sports? That's so dumb." But again, that came from students, right?

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: They were like, "Where are these books?" And that's because I ask them. I'm always asking them, "What books do I need?"

GONZALEZ: Right.

RIPP: "What book gaps do we have? What can't you find here?" And I also, to teachers who are like, "OK. Well I don't even have any money to go out and buy books," partner up with your librarian. Maybe you can become a satellite library where you can have 50 books on display from your school library, and then tell the kids, like, go down and see the school librarian. You can go check this out -

GONZALEZ: So you sort of just rotate them into your classroom for a while just to display them?

RIPP: Yeah.

GONZALEZ: That's a great idea. Yeah.

RIPP: Yeah. And then that way, you know, they need to go down and check them out. I have a friend who goes to the public library, and she brings in 50 books from the public library, and the kids know they have to sign them out.

GONZALEZ: Oh, yeah.

RIPP: But she's, you know, again, like I think about how can we get books in the hands of these kids?

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: Or go to conferences like NCT or ILA where publishers will hand you books.

GONZALEZ: Right.

RIPP: My students are blown away. They're like, "What books are you going to bring back for us?"

Including Picture Books

GONZALEZ: Can we talk for a second about picture books? Because you mentioned that, and I know that that's a really important piece and people who are teaching, you know, middle and high school need to know what your stance is on picture books.

RIPP: Oh my gosh. I couldn't do my job without picture books, and I wish I had realized that a long time ago. I remember being really annoyed by students when they would ask to borrow my picture books, because they were behind my teacher desk, because I had them as mentor texts. And I finally started realizing, "Oh hang on. Okay. Picture books. The kids really like reading them." And then I started diving into it more myself, especially when I moved to seventh grade, and I was like, "Where are all the short stories?" And by "short stories," I mean like two- or three-page short stories that need to have, like, incredible, you know, character change or anything like that, and I all of a sudden looked over at my picture books, and I was like, "There they are."

And it's like, picture books have changed and transformed the way our reading community feels, because if you can imagine if you walk into our classroom, yes there's all those books, the chapter books and all of that, but then all around us are picture books. And it's just a vibe, right? You feel it when you walk in that this is a classroom where you can have fun and where you get to read and you can choose whatever you want, and it's so funny, because some of my kids come in and they're like, "Picture books are for babies." And then I pull out, you know, like picture books like Bird, which is about drug addiction, or you pull out a picture book like I Never Knew Your Name, which is about teen suicide, and they're just like, "Hang on." I'm like, "I know. Is this for a baby? Would you ever read this to a 4-year-old?" But it's also this community thread that brings us together.

And so for my students I think about, and this goes for any age, but especially with older kids, right, where there's so much stigma attached to what they can and cannot do as readers and how often some of our vulnerable readers come in, and they're just like already so defeated because, "Here I am in a classroom again filled with chapter books, and of course none of them are going to actually be available to what I can do, and now they're going to have to go and find special books, and I'm going to look like an idiot again." And I think about how picture books just become this great equalizer for all my students. No one cares what you're reading in our classroom, because you can pick up picture books at any time. And so it really removes a lot of the stigma that my kids come in as far as who they are as readers, and we read them and we laugh about them and we cry over them and we talk to picture book authors and illustrators because we quickly realize, like, it is hard to write a picture book that has to carry some sort of emotional value within such short amount of pages.

And so, and I think too of, like, the kids that come in who are not where they should be as readers for whatever reason, and you can pull something like a wordless picture book and put it in front of them and all of a sudden they're on the same playing field, right? They don't have to go through the decoding of language, and instead, sometimes they are some of the ones that have the best ideas, the most creative, abstract thinkers, and yet they haven't seen themselves in that.

And so I just think of all of the benefit I get from pulling picture books in, and just how they are such an untapped resource for middle school and high schools, and thankfully there are amazing people out there pushing picture books too, like, Paul Hankins and other people that are like, "This is why I use picture books." But, you know, we cannot tell kids that some books are for younger kids or are for babies when it's so far from the truth.

What About Grades?

GONZALEZ: Right, right. So 10 minutes at the beginning of every class is independent reading, and then I know the biggest question that people are going to have when they listen to it is how do you hold them accountable? How do you turn this into a grade? And so, and I know that there are a lot of philosophies out there about grading. The reality is that a lot of teachers are still in schools that will require them to give a grade of some sort. So how have you navigated that?

RIPP: And I'm in one of those schools where, I mean, I still, I have a system of grades and so on, and standardized testing. So what I've been on a big kick on for the last couple of years is that we can't actually grade their independent reading, because that's practice.

GONZALEZ: Okay.

RIPP: And so you wouldn't grade someone's practice. And so when I'm looking at what my kids can actually do as readers, it's the skill of reading. And so for me, the 10 minutes at the beginning of class is always with nothing to do except to read. I want them to fall into the pages. I want them to reach flow. I want them to be silent and in this moment of their book. When they come back to me, we then do a mini lesson on reading or writing or whatever it is we're doing, and it is truly a mini lesson, 10 to 15 minutes. And then they go and do something, and that's where I assess them. And so when I think about my students, for example, they just handed in this two-week long project they were doing on character development where they were just tracking a character throughout their own self-selected stories, and they were giving evidence and analyzing it, telling me all about this character. They were working on that after the mini lesson, after this protected reading, and that's when I can assess how are they growing as readers? The other thing I can assess too is when I sit down and actually pull small conversations with them or small groups, and I can see how they're progressing, and I can ask pointed questions about who they are and what they can do. And I think that that's really important, because we do have to be accountable in some way as teachers of readers, and we do have to know how are these kids progressing, and what do I need to support them? And so we just have to be careful that we're not constantly doing it. One of the things that my students say over and over and over, it's not that they hate reading, it's that they hate all the things they have to do once they've read.

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: And I get that, like, as adults, and I've written about this too, like, the reading rules we would never follow as adults. Like, we would never want to sit down and write something after every single book we have read. Well, a couple of adults would maybe, but not all of us.

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: You know. We would never want to do all these tasks, and if we did, we would probably start to read less and less and less, because we would be dreading the task after.

GONZALEZ: Right.

RIPP: And also the other thing that I have to be careful of particularly is that I'm not assessing their reading skills through their writing skills, because that's also really, really problematic. I have kids who can comprehend at a really high level, who can speak beautifully about it, but the minute you tell them to write it down, it becomes a mess. And so I need to get to know my students to know how I can assess them. And so sometimes I give the students an option of, "OK. You can either write about your understanding," let's say we're doing theme or something like that, "Or you can record it in, like, Flipgrid or some other video, and you can send it to me." And so once in awhile I'll say to kids, "OK. I do need you to write this, but I'm also assessing your written skills based on it." And other times, it's just like, I just need to see where you're at and because I have 29 students, I can't sit down with all of you within 45 minutes. We'd be doing this assessment for three days. So instead I'm going to send you over in this corner. You can record it. (My kids usually have their own phones.) And so you make it work, and it can be scary and sometimes like "Oh, I should have more."

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: I should have more stuff to show how they're progressing. But then I turn it back to the kids, and because we just ended a quarter, I asked my students, "How have you grown as a reader?" And they struggled with that question, some of them, but then what they ended up writing, it was really remarkable to read. "I have grown as a reader, because I have tried new genres, and I now feel more comfortable picking books that I wouldn't have picked before." Or "I have grown as a reader now, because I notice that I'm not understanding vocabulary, and I know I'm supposed to reread, but instead, I'm doing these other things." And so it's like, all of a sudden, all of those words that I've been kind of spouting at them, they're taking on and taking ownership of, and I think that's the best type of reading instruction we have, and I think that's like what Nancie Atwell, right, has been talking about for years now.

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: It's just like that ownership of learning, handing that back to students and saying, hang on. If I need accountability, that needs to come from the students. Where are they in their reading journey? Because we are so busy doing all the work for them. We're setting the goals. We're telling them where they are. We're telling them where they should go. And instead, we should be going, "Okay, this is what I see, but what do you see?" And get their voice as part of the conversation.

GONZALEZ: Now in the, in your book you definitely sort of dig into a lot more of the sort of practical aspects of it, because I mean, gosh, I would love to sort of keep asking you all of these different questions like, how do you manage, like, the 29 conversations? How do you even look at the Flipgrid and all of that? But I'm going to trust that people are going to go and read about all of those.

What about Accelerated Reader?

GONZALEZ: Let's talk for just a second about Accelerated Reader and what you're thinking about that. I know that you do not use it, and that you strongly advocate that people stop using it. So let's talk a little bit about that.

RIPP: I always get in trouble. People get so upset. Okay. So here's my main problem, right?

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: And there's a couple. One, we tend to do programs like this for short term gain. We have completely lost sight of the end game, which is these creative, critical thinkers, problem solvers who actually want to read books. And for some kids, Accelerated Reader or programs like it works. They get really excited. I have a friend who's like, "I loved Accelerated Reader," because she was really good at it, so she would get all the points and she would get the reward. If those kids love it, by all means, let them do it. But the problem is we're taking programs like Accelerated Reader and shoving our most vulnerable readers in front of it, and then we're telling them, "You can't choose that book," or "That book is not at your level," or "You failed this test, and so now you're not going to be given these privileges that other kids are given."

And I think about how we take reading, and we turn it into a task, and that's exactly what a program like Accelerated Reader does: read a book, take a quiz. And yes, I know that they've changed their program, and now there's more critical thinking and deeper thinking, but the thing is, teaching reading is not supposed to be quick and easy. Teaching reading is supposed to be about human connection, and I think about how my students would feel once they're done with a book if I said to them instead of "Tell me about it" or "Tell a friend about it" or "Tell the world about it," I said, "Go tell this computer about it, and then I'll tell you whether you've really had a deep reading experience with it or not based on your score."

But I get it, right? We're always searching for data, and Accelerated Reader presents itself as a beautiful program that can give us tons of data. The thing is though, we can get that data in other ways. If we really want kids to have, you know, comprehension quizzes, then give them comprehension quizzes, but my god, that cannot be the heart of our reading program. And I think about teachers who are very adamant in their defense of Accelerated Reader because they've seen it improve kids' comprehension scores or even kids' reading lives. There's other things that don't cost thousands of dollars a year that will allow us to do that while also create the one-on-one experience that kids need and deserve in our reading classrooms.

And here's the thing too. I think about my own children. I want my kids, I have four of them, I want for all of my kids to have the best reading experience as possible, and you cannot tell me that that's going to come from a computer who pretends to know my child through the questions that it asks them. And then bottom line too: If authors are failing their own Accelerated Reader quizzes, that should tell us something about the program, right? I mean, I just did an Elephant and Piggie quiz because I was like, I don't know, this would be fun on an airplane, right? I failed it. I've read this picture book, like, nine times, because of course the questions were not deeper level. They were not, "What is the lesson you want to learn from this book?" or anything like that. It was, "What did Gerald say to Piggy when this happened?" Like when did sheer memorization become the skill that we value above all?

So before people are like, "Oh, there she goes again bashing other teachers," question it. Ask parents, ask students, ask is this really the best use of our money? Can we get these same results in other ways where we might not be killing the love of reading for some parents and some kids? I mean, I have parents that tell me that their kid hates reading because of these programs. Just like we have to question our own decisions, and we should be asking, you know, starting courageous conversations in our districts when we see programs being implemented or brought in that we know are going to do harm. We need to become the people that stand up and speak up, because often parents trust us. And so they're not going to question, unless we tell them, "Whoa. This is what's happening. How do you feel about it?"

Handling Large Groups of Students

GONZALEZ: So I guess, probably the only other question that I think is really pressing, because I know I've got a lot of middle and high school teachers listening, and I think they're probably thinking what I would have been thinking, which is, "I have 130 students," you know, up to, gosh, if you're in California, up to 40 in a class. And so they're thinking, okay. Two things. No. 1: What do I do with the kids who don't feel like reading or are being disruptive? And then the other question is, if I can't handle this through some sort of a computer system, how do I manage to have these conversations with so many of them? Is it a matter of just, just not as many as you would think, that you're sort of touching base maybe once a week with each kid or how are you actually managing the bulk of kids?

RIPP: Right, great question, because that's my reality too.

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: I typically teach 130 kids, and like I said, 45 minutes. It's one conversation at a time, and you stop beating yourself up so much. I check in with my students, I would say on a good schedule, every three to four weeks is when I have that one-on-one conversation with kids, because that's how long it takes to get through 30 kids when you're doing two to three kids a day, because there's always an interruption, right? There's always that kid that's like definitely not reading, so you need to go check in with them. Or that kid that desperately needs to book shop but is completely lost and doesn't know how to book shop so that's where you start with them. And you just keep going, and I think about, especially moving to middle school from elementary where I felt like I knew my students really well. Like, man, by October, we were jiving, right? It was a community. I knew all those kids. And by middle school, I'm starting now, and now we're two months into the school year going, "Oh, okay. That's who you are."

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: Like, it takes forever, and so I think sometimes we get this false sense of security when we do computer programs or other programs where we're like, "Oh, I know this kid is a reader." But I just wonder, like, do we know this kid as their data, or do we really know them as a reader? Because those are two different things. And while the data is definitely part of the conversation, I need data just like everybody else does, it can't be the whole conversation. So what it looks like in my classroom, like I said, is just check-ins, two to three kids, a day, every day during those 10 minutes of reading. I take very few notes, because I just, I just need the most important, and I always put it back to them, like "What is hard with reading?" And that kind of becomes my inspiration for any kind of mini lessons. And then, you know, the kids that aren't reading, you just keep having more patience. You keep having more hope than they do. I think of a kid last year, he fought me till the last day of school, and that's the thing too: We cannot go in there and expect every child to change, but we can go in there hoping that we can help. But the reality of it too is, and I tell my students this, I'm not here to make you love reading. I'm here to make you hate it less. And if you already love it, then I'm here to protect it with all of my might. But I think of sometimes we are just the tourniquet. We are just the person that comes in and stops it from growing even bigger, and hopefully we are passing on a child that the next year's teacher can maybe move further with.

GONZALEZ: Right.

RIPP: You know, maybe we are just planting seeds but we will not actually see them fully grow. And I think of this one kid, you know, it was like some days he flat out refused. Some days he was disruptive. Other days I could just slide a stack of picture books, and he would actually read a couple of picture books, and whenever he did, in my head I was like, "That is a victory right there."

GONZALEZ: Yeah, yeah.

RIPP: He read more than he would have if I didn't do anything.

GONZALEZ: Right.

RIPP: And I think, that's it with the programs, right? Like, kids can fake their way through it, or kids can kind of get through it, but then if they still leave us hating reading -

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: - then we haven't changed them.

GONZALEZ: Right, right. And I'm thinking too, the super reluctant, lower level reader, they may, they could get through a full year of the programmed instruction and still not have had really any success. Before we wrap up, because I'm going to just keep urging people, because this is really 10 percent of what your book covers, is there anything that we sort of left out that you really wanted to make sure that we touched on?

RIPP: I think the biggest thing, and you can do this without anyone's permission or any kind of money is go back in your own classroom and ask kids, why does reading suck, you know? And when is reading amazing?

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: And then finally ask them, how can I be a better teacher for you? because that bottom line is everything that has changed me as a teacher, has been the truth that my students have so graciously given to me, and said, "Here. I don't know what you're going to do with this, but maybe you can do something about it." Because that's the thing: We don't need better systems, necessarily. We just need to start listening to the kids that are sitting right in front of us -

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: - going, "We can do better," and then we can work with them to figure this out.

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: And the thing is, we have to bring those voices in.

GONZALEZ: Thank you so much. I'm just - there are times when I have people on this podcast for their ideas and then there are times when I just want amazing people to be heard and to serve as just great role models for the way we should all be looking at our jobs, and you are doing both, so that's just fantastic. People can find, so the book is Passionate Readers, and I'm going to provide links to everything on this site, and then they can find you at pernillesripp.com. Anything else you want in terms of how people can find you online?

RIPP: No. I think I'm the only Pernille Ripp in all of North America, so I'm fairly Google-able. And the thing is too, like I'm not at expert, and I know that sounds really self-deprecating, but it's like I'm just someone who's on a journey to make what I'm doing better. And so I think it's really important that people feel empowered by learning from others just like I feel empowered having learned from so many others. And if I can help anyone question their practices or move forward or try an idea, please reach out, because we only get better together. And I think that's what's so incredible with social media is just, like, how much we can learn from each other.

GONZALEZ: Yeah.

RIPP: And not to idolize people but just to say, hey, we're all in this journey, we're all trying to make it better for kids.

GONZALEZ: Thank you so much, Pernille.

RIPP: You're welcome. Thank you.

For links to all the resources mentioned in this episode, visit cultofpedagogy.com, go to Podcasts, and click on Episode 84. To get weekly updates on all my newest blog posts, podcast episodes, and products, sign up for my mailing list at cultofpedagogy.com/subscribe. Thanks so much for listening, and have a great day.

This podcast is a proud member of the Education Podcast Network: Podcasts for educators, podcasts by educators. To learn more, visit edupodcastnetwork.com.

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Episode 84: How to Stop Killing the Love of Reading

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The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast, Episode 84 Transcript See a shorter recap of this interview in the blog post. See all podcast episodes. This transcript contains Amazon Affiliate links. When you make a purchase through those links, Cult of Pedagogy receives a small percentage of the sale at no additional cost to you.

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What reading experiences have inspired you, helped you to see your own life more clearly, or connected you with others? How do we teach to those experiences?

Today on the Podcast we're joined by Donalyn Miller to tell us more about her newest book The Joy of Reading.

The Joy of Reading is a guide for teachers, librarians, administrators, and families to create the conditions for joyful reading. Co-authors Donalyn Miller and Teri Lesesne draw from their decades of work to provide practices that nurture joy while identifying factors that dissuade joy, all with a clear understanding of the realities of today's classrooms and libraries.
Below is a full transcript of this episode.
Steph: Today we are joined by Donalyn Miller. Donalyn is a new author to Heinemann, but she is not new to our listeners. I'm sure she has a long and robust teaching background, an award-winning teacher, author and staff developer. Donalyn has primarily taught fourth, fifth, and sixth grade language arts and social studies, and some of you may know her as the co-founder of the Nerdy Book Club and the founder of the annual summer #bookaday Challenge. Donalyn has also written The book whisperer and Reading in the Wild. So welcome Donalyn.

Donalyn: Thank you for inviting me to talk with you today, I'm excited to be here.

Steph: So as I mentioned, you have a couple if books out previously, but we are here to talk about your newest book that you co-authored with Teri Lesesne, The Joy of Reading. So can you tell me a little bit about The Joy of Reading?

Donalyn: Well, Teri Lesesne and I were dear colleagues and friends for many years, we often gave conference presentations to together. Some of our listeners may have seen us at a conference present together. We collaborated on articles together. Teri was a big supporter of Nerdy Book Club, and was often the pinch hitter that we would call if someone was not able to turn their post in on time, we had a gap in the calendar, we used out that she was the fifth nerd, we could always call on her. So we had a long relationship and we actually started working on this book in 2014. The first folder in my computer for the book is labeled 2014. The Engagement Manifesto is what it was titled at the time. That was Teri's title. And Teri and I really worked on this book, it was a whole journey of seven years of everything that we have learned as teachers, as people who work with adults, as readers ourselves, as parents, and as grandparents, everything that we knew that engaged kids with reading.

Teri and I believe, and many other teachers, of course believe that you can teach kids how to read without killing their love of reading in the process, and in fact, we feel that it's more successful when engagement is something that's a concern. Sadly, over the years, I've heard colleagues say, "It's not my responsibility to make my kids love reading. Am I supposed to teach them how to read? It's their parents' job," or various other read on why joy should not be a concern. But when I talk with young people of all ages, and if you will sit down and talk with them, they will tell you, that when teachers listen to them and engage with them about their interests and care about their reading lives, they feel seen. That when teachers give them time to read, they read more. That when teachers give them some choice in what they get to read, they like reading more.

There's an incredible amount of high stakes pressure on teachers, to make sure children perform on standardized tests. Although we can persuade colleagues that investing in students reading lives long-term will improve their test performing short-term, and let's be clear, it's a short-term concern, their reading lives are a long-term concern, that we can invest in their reading lives and their test scores will improve. And there's many studies that back that up, there are other researchers and teacher practitioners who talk about the link between engaged invested reading, and an increase in students reading performance. I just think there's a lot of pressure on teachers to make reading a performance, and kids aren't given time necessarily to cook reading lives.

And access means, I've talked about this with my friend Colby Sharp in our book, Game Changer!, and we were able to bring in other people who were sharing what they were doing about access in their communities too, because it is a pervasive issue. But it starts with that physical access piece. Do kids have books on hand to read? I don't care how motivational your summer reading program is, if kids don't have a book to read after that conversation, I don't the program's going to be a success.

So we have to make sure kids have the physical books. eBooks, audio books, paper books, and then if kids need assistive technology in order to access that book, that they have the technology too. And that access is inconsistent from community to community, and honestly, from family to family inside the same school.

So that's a system-wide conversation, that challenge is a challenge that's difficult for an individual teacher to overcome without, let's say, a classroom library resource. Many schools are losing their school librarians, which undermines access for children, but it also causes teachers to lose a valuable colleague that would help them locate the resources that they would need to support their students. So when you lose a school librarian, everyone in the school community suffers from that. So that access piece is a big piece that I think a lot of school districts, a lot of school leaders would benefit from an engaging with, with teachers and with community members. Talking to families. Public library is another aspect. And then that time piece, because there's so many demands on the school schedule, but if we don't set aside time during the school day for kids to read, then how can we say we prioritize reading, if we don't make time for it?

We know that kids read more when they see other people reading, which means that beyond just the time of... I mean, you and I would love it if we had 10 minutes to read every day, just set aside for us. But beyond that, the community piece, when that happens is important, we've found kids. So you may think, "Oh, 10 minutes isn't very much reading, it doesn't really matter." Well, yes, because if kids aren't reading at school, it's unlikely they're picking up the habit at home and going, "Oh, reading. I didn't do it all day, but I'm going to do it now." That doesn't happen.

We just open up the library door, throw kids into the library, "Be free, pick whatever you want." "You don't like to read, it's because you haven't met the right book yet." I've taught middle schoolers, they don't believe us anymore. When we say, "Oh, you haven't met the right book yet," they don't believe us. Where is this mystical book? Why is it so hard to find? It's like Atlantis, it might not really be there. But choice we know is so empowering. So what our students need are lots of opportunities to preview, share and talk about books they might read, because that's where their ability to choose comes from. We spend a lot of our conversations talking with kids, as teachers, I know, conferring with readers, "What are you reading right now? Talk to me about what you're reading right now." Or, "Oh, you just finished the book, talk to me about that book you just finished."

We prioritize or we lean into the books they're currently reading and the books they've recently finished. But there's benefit, real power in talking with kids about the books they might read in the future, because one, they can visualize themselves as readers in the future. But helping them learn how to choose their own books is one of the best ways we have to ensure that they will read in the future without us. Unfortunately, we complain if kids aren't reading the right things, sometimes adults often complain that kids don't read, and then we bemoan their choices when they do, "Oh, we want you to read Tom Sawyer, not The Lightning Thief." Actually a parent had a conversation with me about those two books one time, it was not a made up example.

So I think we have to value the reading lives of children, the books that are written for them are not written for us, it's a time in their lives where it's appropriate for them to read them. If a kid will read anything, I can challenge them to grow. If they won't read anything, we're kind of stuck there in that spot. Yes. So I think that's where we put our effort. Can we get them into anything they'd be interested in reading? We can take them from there.

Steph: In the spirit of modeling, reading joy, what is bringing you reading joy right now?

Donalyn: Oh my goodness. Okay. So I'm moving, and so many books are being packed, and it is so painful. But if you've gone through your books, what happens is, you find things. So I have a pile now of books I discovered that I need to read, that have been on my shelves all this time.

Steph: Oh yes. I have those piles too.

Donalyn: I'm also not a hoarder necessarily, but I am sentimental, and I hold on to things. So I found a book on organizing, that's called, Organize Your House, Keep Everything. So it's the exact opposite of all these books that tell you to get rid of your belongings. Basically, I think it's a coffee table book that shows you how to artfully design all of your collections into things. But, yes, that's what I'm reading right now. Books on organizing and the picture books I've discovered on my shelf. Oh, and I did just finish Kelly Barnhill, who won the Newbery award for her book, The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Her latest book, The Ogress and the Orphans just came out and it is so lovely. A Beautiful book about what it means to be a neighbor, what it means to be a good citizen, and what it means to be a family. It's really good.

Steph: Well, Donalyn, thank you so much for joining us. The Joy of Reading will be out next month, but listeners, I believe you can pre-order now, so head to heinemann.com and look for The Joy of Reading. Thank you so much.

Donalyn: Thank you.

Donalyn Miller's work champions self-selected independent reading, providing guidance and resources that foster children's love of reading and the development of positive reading identities. A national and international consultant and bestselling author, Donalyn's published works include T he Book Whisperer (Jossey-Bass, 2009), Reading in the Wild (Jossey-Bass, 2013), and Game Changer: Book Access for All Kids (co-written with Colby Sharp, Scholastic, 2018) as well as articles in Gifted Child International, Education Week Teacher, The Reading Teacher, Voices From the Middle, Educational Leadership, Horn Book, School Library Journal, and The Washington Post.

Donalyn is also a co-founder of The Nerdy Book Club, an online community which provides inspiration, book recommendations, resources, and advice about raising and teaching young readers. Donalyn and her husband, Don, live in Texas atop a dragon's hoard of books. You can connect with her on her website BookWhisperer.com, or on Twitter at @DonalynBooks

Teri Lesesne's long and influential career was devoted to readers. Author of several books, including Reading Ladders and The Joy of Reading (co-authored with Donalyn Miller), she was known for the passion she brought to connecting readers with books. Teri was a middle-school teacher, a Distinguished Professor the department of Library Science at Sam Houston State University, Executive Director of ALAN (the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English), a National Book Award judge, and recipient of the 2007 ALAN award for her significant contributions to the field. Known to many as "Professor Nana," Teri's legacy lives on in the librarians and teachers her work has nurtured.

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Podcast: Harnessing the Joy of Reading with Donalyn Miller

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What reading experiences have inspired you, helped you to see your own life more clearly, or connected you with others? How do we teach to those experiences? Today on the Podcast we're joined by Donalyn Miller to tell us more about her newest book The Joy of Reading.

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#240 diverse libraries instill a love for reading (billy allen pt.2)

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‎Teach Me, Teacher: #240 Diverse Libraries Instill a Love for Reading (Billy Allen pt.2) on Apple Podcasts

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Hello everyone! We have talked a lot about the power of making learning relevant for students. It gets kids engaged and excited to be in class. But what happens when we look at ourselves? Are we staying relevant with the kids? Do we know that they like?

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Hello everyone and welcome to part 2 of our season finale episode!If you missed part 1, check it out here.

If you have been a fan of this show for any amount of time, you know that I am a mega fan of Donalyn Miller. Not just because she is an amazing person and educator, but because her work changed how I taught.

In this episode we discuss:

The legacy of Teri Lesesne The importance of having diverse books in schools Fighting against programs and initiatives that are bad for readers Reclaiming book joy for students and ourselves

You DO NOT want to mis the season finale to season 6 of Teach Me, Teacher.

This episode is sponsored by Heinemann-the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators-and their new book, The First Five: A Love Letter to TeachersBy Patrick Harris II.

We all have stories. We all have experiences to share. A memoir with a call-to-action, The First Five affirms the humanity of all teachers. Patrick inspires you to dream big about what you want for yourself, our students, our schools, and our educational system.

In The First Five, Patrick brings to light the realities of teaching, especially in the first five years. He immerses you in his world with personal stories that lead to lessons, questions, and exercises to help you reflect on your own journey. Each chapter includes interviews with a diverse group of educators.

Creating change in our education system is a process. It will happen from the ground up and the inside out. If we want to make a long-lasting impact we need to know more than just what to do; we need to start sharing our stories, not just our strategies. The work we do together throughout this book and beyond will leave you feeling hopeful, empowered, and challenged. No matter where you start, know that this work is ongoing. Give yourself grace. We are in this together, for the long haul. Here's to the next five years.

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#269 the joy of reading (season finale with donalyn miller pt.2)

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‎Teach Me, Teacher: #269 The Joy of Reading (Season Finale with Donalyn Miller pt.2) on Apple Podcasts

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Hello everyone and welcome to part 2 of our season finale episode!If you missed part 1, check it out here. If you have been a fan of this show for any amount of time, you know that I am a mega fan of Donalyn Miller.

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Hello everyone and welcome to part 1 of our season finale episode! If you have been a fan of this show for any amount of time, you know that I am a mega fan of Donalyn Miller. Not just because she is an amazing person and educator, but because her work changed how I taught. FULL STOP.

So, it was an absolute pleasure to invite her back to the show to talk about all of her latest work and the soft censorship happening in schools right now that is getting in the way of book joy.

If you have never heard Donalyn Miller speak before, you are in for a treat. If you have, then you are still in for a treat because this episode is all about book love, choice, voice, and the problem with censorship today in schools.

This episode is sponsored by Heinemann-the leading publisher of professional books and resources for educators-and their new book, The First Five: A Love Letter to TeachersBy Patrick Harris II.

We all have stories. We all have experiences to share. A memoir with a call-to-action, The First Five affirms the humanity of all teachers. Patrick inspires you to dream big about what you want for yourself, our students, our schools, and our educational system.

In The First Five, Patrick brings to light the realities of teaching, especially in the first five years. He immerses you in his world with personal stories that lead to lessons, questions, and exercises to help you reflect on your own journey. Each chapter includes interviews with a diverse group of educators.

Creating change in our education system is a process. It will happen from the ground up and the inside out. If we want to make a long-lasting impact we need to know more than just what to do; we need to start sharing our stories, not just our strategies. The work we do together throughout this book and beyond will leave you feeling hopeful, empowered, and challenged. No matter where you start, know that this work is ongoing. Give yourself grace. We are in this together, for the long haul. Here's to the next five years.

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#268 the problem with soft censorship with donalyn miller (pt.1)

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‎Teach Me, Teacher: #268 The Problem with Soft Censorship with Donalyn Miller (pt.1) on Apple Podcasts

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Hello everyone and welcome to part 1 of our season finale episode! If you have been a fan of this show for any amount of time, you know that I am a mega fan of Donalyn Miller. Not just because she is an amazing person and educator, but because her work changed how I taught.

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We've partnered with Downtown Bellefonte to host a variety of National Parks-themed activities during the first "Friday in the 'Fonte" celebration of 2022! Join us for trivia night or stop by Talleyrand Park on May 27th to engage in a variety of fun stations related to this year's theme!

National Parks Trivia Night Flyer.pdf

Check out our 2022 Bellefonte READS Bitmoji Classroom to access all activities related to this year's books!

Please see below for information about our 2022 program! We are so excited about this year's National Parks theme!

2022 One Book, One Bellefonte Flyer.pdf

Check out personalized videos made by the authors/illustrators of some of this year's titles!

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We've partnered with Downtown Bellefonte to host a variety of National Parks-themed activities during the first "Friday in the 'Fonte" celebration of 2022! Join us for trivia night or stop by Talleyrand Park on May 27th to engage in a variety of fun stations related to this year's theme!

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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How to Build a More Diverse Classroom Library

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If one of your professional goals this year is to add more diversity to your school or classroom library, we’re here with some inspiration to get you started. In the following blog post, orig…

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Mirrors, Windows and Sliding Glass Doors Reflection

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Setting the Stage for Independent Reading

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This link also contains the supplemental resources described throughout the book. You will need to provide the access code from your copy of the book in order to view the materials.

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When children have access to books, they read more and they read better. Period.

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Across the country, middle and high school teachers often lament, "My students don't read!" Their complaint is not that teenagers are unable to read but rather that they are unwilling. One obvious culprit, as I see it, is the smartphone.

Survey data from the Pew Research Center documents the ubiquity of these devices in teenagers' lives: 95 percent of teens have access to a smartphone and 45 percent report being online almost constantly (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). But instead of wringing our hands over students' preference for Fortnite over Fitzgerald, we would do better to focus on making our classrooms distraction-free zones where books travel from hand to hand and teenagers talk about what they are reading every day. This will entail more than simply telling students that reading is fun. We need to ensure that in our emphasis on what students should know and be able to do-the mantra of the standards movement-we remain focused on what we want students to be, readers who choose to read.

Smartphones are here to stay. Americans now spend more time looking at a mobile device than watching television (Pavia, 2019). Moreover, these devices will continue to become smarter. But so can we. Neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf suggests that today's students need to develop a biliterate reading brain, one that can navigate digital spaces with confidence without losing the ability to read slowly, deeply, and reflectively. In her book Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World, she writes:

What concerns me as a scientist is whether ... after multiple hours (and years) of daily screen reading, [we] are subtly changing the allocation of our attention to key processes when reading longer, more demanding text. Will our quality of attention in reading change inexorably as our culture transitions away from a print-based culture toward a digital one? (2018)

She goes on to warn that critical analysis and empathy could become the unintended collateral damage of our culture's move from print to screen.

What is a teacher to do? How can we encourage students to become more invested in books and to read them deeply and thoughtfully? I have a few suggestions. Although none of them are wildly original, taken together they can help students discover the place of reading in their lives.

Provide Students with Easy Access to Books

Many students grow up in book deserts. Just as growing up in a food desert can impact what kids eat, so limited access to books can affect students' attitudes toward reading. School and public libraries-staffed with caring librarians-are essential, but students need culturally relevant books even closer at hand. Classroom libraries allow for easy browsing before, after, and even during class.

Education leaders can establish better funding for teachers to be able to stock their shelves with new and enticing titles. Dogeared library discards won't attract a reluctant reader's attention, but a fresh, attractive cover just might. At their best, classroom libraries can be wonderfully idiosyncratic, curated to reflect the reading preferences and lived experiences of the individuals who share this space.

In my classroom library, I never tried to imitate a library's organization but instead grouped books by theme. George Takei's graphic memoir about growing up in Japanese internment camps might sit alongside historical fiction like Traci Chee's We Are Not Free. A novel like Colson Whitehead's The Nickel Boys might rest on the shelf next to Kiese Laymon's memoir Heavy. I organized texts this way in hopes that a reader drawn to one title would also pick up another.

A well-stocked classroom library sends an important message to students: we are readers here. Do I nag students to return a book that has been out for months? Of course. Do more than a few books never return to the shelves? Most certainly. My hope is that these books are so beloved that students can't give them up.

Talk About Books

Some students know few people who read for enjoyment. As an educator, you can be one of them. Begin every day with a short comment about what you are reading or by reading aloud a few pages from a book as a teaser. Greet students in the hallways with, "So what are you reading?" Carry a book with you at all times.

Talking about books provides the yeast that makes enthusiasm for reading rise. When thinking about how to pitch a book to students, I look for something that will grab their attention. For example:

"I just finished Angie Thomas's new book On the Come Up. You won't believe this, but it is even better than The Hate U Give. Want to borrow my copy?"

"You know Trevor Noah, the host of The Daily Show? He wrote a memoir about growing up in South Africa under apartheid. The title- Born a Crime -refers to the fact that his birth was actually a crime. His father was white and his mother was black."

"Remember how much you liked Kwame Alexander's The Crossover? He wrote a backstory about the twins' basketball-playing dad."

As educators, we often invest too much energy threatening students with the consequences of not becoming good readers and not enough enticing them to read for their own purposes and their own pleasure. When teachers tell stories from their own reading lives about books they have read again and again, about books they have abandoned, about books that made them cry, students will wonder if there might be something between those pages for them.

Teach Students How to Talk About Their Own Reading

The book talks that have the greatest effect are those given by other students, especially ones who are not particularly known for their love of school. Teachers need to help students do this efficiently, though. Nothing is worse than a long-winded recap of the plot. Begin by modeling book talks, or if you are lucky enough to have a school librarian, invite him or her in to give a few sample book talks. Then deconstruct with students what made these short introductions to a book effective. How does a good book talk make you want to know more? The best ones successfully illustrate why a reader might choose to invest time with a story.

Once you have modeled the process, it helps to offer the class a few book talk guidelines to get started:

As students hear one another talk positively about books, their interest rises. Books begin to change hands. Students are reading what they want to read.

Discount Formal Accountability

Think about the last time you finished a good book. As you turned the last page did you say to yourself, "Gosh, I'd like to answer a couple of multiple-choice questions (or write an essay)?" Neither did I. The first thing I want to do is talk about the book. Yet for students, in the name of accountability, teachers have unintentionally turned a pleasurable act into an onerous task.

Many teachers avoid independent reading because holding students accountable for their progress can be both unreliable and time-consuming. But what if we inspired readers to hold themselves accountable? Teenagers can set their own reading goals whether it is so many minutes a night, so many pages a week, or so many books a month. If they resort to SparkNotes or copy another student's reading log, they are only cheating themselves. Rather than playing the role of a warden, policing students' reading, I want to be their guide. Guides do more than simply sit back and hope students will follow their lead. For example, I routinely discuss how phones can distract us in the course of our reading and suggest ways to avoid interruption (like putting one's smartphone in another room). Reading requires focused attention.

However, I am much less interested in catching students who do not do what I expect than I am in promoting joyful reading among those who do. Point systems for keeping track of students' progress always seem to get in the way. Should I allot more points to a long, easy book or to a short, complex novel? Should students who read slowly be punished for the pace at which they turn the page? Should I give credit for rereading a book? No system I ever came up with seemed entirely fair. Nor did any point system ever properly reward what I care about most-that students become and remain readers.

I am not a believer in the "one magic book" theory-that even the most reluctant reader has simply not found the right book. In my experience, there have always been students who remain resistant to my wiles. I console myself with the thought that I have sown seeds that might not be ready to grow this school year but maybe next.

Help Students Learn How to Choose a Book

Choosing books requires the confidence to follow your instincts and take risks. I never discourage a student from a title because I think it may be too difficult for him; if it is, the student will discover that independently.

The "book pass" is one effective classroom activity for helping students learn how to browse for a book. To prepare, you need about three times as many books as you have students. The wider the variety of titles the better: novels, biographies, poetry, graphic novels, memoirs, and so on. Make sure there is also a wide range of difficulty in the pile. Randomly place a book on every student's desk and tell the class they have one minute to peruse the book and either to pass it on or hold onto it for possible reading later.

Quickly offer students who have chosen to retain a book another one to pass along. After a few passes, call for a timeout to talk about how students are making decisions about books to read. Did they check out the author's picture? What could they tell from the covers? Did the opening sentences intrigue them? Was the book jacket summary enticing? Did length matter? How much? Let students know that you hope they will find a book that seems promising over the course of the next 10 book passes.

I never insist that each student select a book, because a reader may already be in the middle of a spellbinding text. My goal is to expose students to books they may otherwise pass over and to increase their familiarity with the process of browsing books. Avid readers possess a whole set of habits of which they are mostly unaware. For instance, they are familiar with certain authors and are always on the lookout for the next Rick Riordan or Neal Gaiman volume. They aren't afraid to check out a book on account of its cover. And they invest time choosing the right book. I want to help every student develop as many of these book-browsing habits as possible.

A Life Skill

Bemoaning the ubiquity of technology is pointless. Devices will become ever more present in our students' lives. The larger problem is that too many students are choosing not to read. As a result, they are less informed, less articulate, and unfortunately, less understanding of others. Teachers need to help students learn what books, in print or online, can offer them that social media and video games do not. Reading is not simply meant for school; it is a life skill. Eighty-five years ago, a teacher in Brooklyn sent my mom home for the summer with a grocery bag full of books. At age 93, she is still reading voraciously. We can do this.

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Across the country, middle and high school teachers often lament, "My students don't read!" Their complaint is not that teenagers are unable to read but rather that they are unwilling. One obvious culprit, as I see it, is the smartphone.

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Have you heard about First Chapter Fridays yet? They're taking over the (bookish) world! First Chapter Friday is a fun, super-simple way to bring modern voices into your English curriculum each and every week and encourage your students in their independent reading. Plus, they work easily whether you're remote or in person.

How do First Chapter Fridays work?

The concept is simple. On First Chapter Friday (or Meet a Book Monday, We Read Wednesday, etc.), you pull an engaging book off your shelf and read the first chapter to your students. Then you make it available for them to access online or check out. Watch it fly out of your hands once they're hooked, and be prepared for them to beg you to make an exception just this once and read chapter two!

Supplement your curriculum

First Chapter Friday is a great time to read books that you're having trouble fitting into your full class curriculum. Maybe you can't get funding for a class set of Born a Crime or All American Boys, but you can share it with everyone by getting just one copy and introducing all your students to it in one go on a Friday. Or maybe you're getting a lot of pushback from administrators who feel you need to stick with canonical book choices, but you know your students are dying for more diverse voices and more YA. First Chapter Friday is an easy way to incorporate new books as they come out every single month. Grab Angie Thomas's latest, Concrete Rose, or Elizabeth Acevedo's Clap When you Land.

Wondering if your voice will hold up to all that reading?

Make it easier for yourself by batch-recording first chapters on video or audio, then sharing them during each class period. That way you can read the first chapter of one of your favorites one time, then play it for all five of your sections, AND send it to your remote students. Then, you won't be drinking lemon tea with honey every Friday night! You can set up your phone or camera in a sunny corner of your house and get six first chapters done at once.

For an even bigger shortcut, have famous authors read their first chapters to your students for you! Let John Green read from The Fault in our Stars, Jason Reynolds read from Ghost, or Neil Gaiman read The Graveyard Book.

Keep the fun going by making a special display of your First Chapter Friday books in your classroom, or try putting up a QR code bulletin board that links out to first chapters read by you or by their authors ( make a free copy here ).

Keep your students engaged

You may be wondering how to keep your students focused as they listen. We've all dealt with zoned-out-looking audio-listeners and heads down on desks. That's not the dream. Try inviting your students to sketchnote as they listen instead. A simple guided template ( like this one) helps the art-wary as they approach this new task. Invite students to doodle and jot down key ideas related to what they're hearing, then save their sketchnotes together in one place so you can encourage them to look back over the books they've explored with you when it comes time to check out a new book in your independent reading program.

Are you ready for action? Friday's coming soon, so grab a book you love and hit record!

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First Chapter Fridays Are an Awesome Way to Introduce Students to New Authors

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Entice your students to read even more when you leave them with a chapter cliffhanger on First Chapter Fridays.

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"Share Your Reading Life" School Challenge

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"Share Your Reading Life" School Challenge

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Pledge to be an advocate for every child, everywhere.

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The Commonsense Guide to Your Classroom Library

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Literacy champions Donalyn Miller and Colby Sharp provide teachers with the advice they need to transform the classroom library into a true instructional partner. They show how to procure and weed books based on quantity, diversity, currency and relevance, and organization and use.

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What reading experiences have entertained you, provoked you, taught you, inspired you, helped you to see your own life more clearly, or connected you with others? As teachers, librarians, school administrators, and caregivers who love reading, we know what it feels like to fall into a book and let the world fall away. We have joyous reading memories, and we know how reading can sustain and inspire us.

Now consider: When talking with children about their reading lives at school, are you likely to hear about this transformative reading joy? Or are you more likely to hear about reading logs, book reports, and standardized tests? For too many young readers, reading is joyless. It is something that is required of them, but not something that they choose to do.
Here's the truth: It is possible to teach children how to read well without killing their love for reading in the process.
The Joy of Reading is a guide for teachers, librarians, administrators, and families to create the conditions for joyful reading. Donalyn Miller and Teri Lesesne draw from their decades of work with students, teachers, and librarians, providing practices that nurture joy while identifying factors that destroy joy, all with a clear understanding of the realities of today's classrooms and libraries.

There's more to life than school and work. There's more to reading than school-based value systems for it. We can aim higher than short-sighted measurements and, instead, become reading encouragers, supporters, and role models for lifelong, joyful reading.

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What reading experiences have entertained you, provoked you, taught you, inspired you, helped you to see your own life more clearly, or connected you with others? As teachers, librarians, school administrators, and caregivers who love reading, we know what it feels like to fall into a book and let the world fall away.

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Independent reading is the right of every student. It is an indispensable foundation for solid reading instruction yet, is too often viewed as a luxury. Overly prescriptive, culturally irrelevant curriculum does not provide spaces for students to develop a sense of agency as readers or for teachers to make decisions that reflect the needs of the students in front of them. When teachers trust themselves and trust their students to create reading experiences that matter, they positively impact student growth.

Trusting Readers puts the independence back into independent reading-and bolsters that independence with collaboration. Jen and Hannah offer a clear definition of independent reading. Their vision of conferring supports teachers as they support young readers. They help teachers craft reading experiences for students that are centered around their engagement, instructional needs, and identities as readers.

Trusting Readers is an essential and accessible guide that provides teachers with the inspiration, information, and tools needed to grow enthusiastic independent readers.

Jen and Hannah outline practical steps for teachers to implement independent reading time or to enrich their current practice with multiple entry points whether you've been teaching one year or twenty. In addition, they provide a model for reading conferences that support tailored instructional choices and keep students at the center.

In Part 1 of Trusting Readers, Jen and Hannah define independent reading as based on the principles of time, choice, talk, and teacher support. Each chapter keeps student independence and reading identity development at the forefront, while leading teachers through the process of setting up classroom routines that safeguard time and space for independent reading in any environment. Part 2 focuses on conferring during independent reading using The Cycle of Conferring, a framework that teachers can use to help students set meaningful reading goals that not only build their skills, but also support their growth into joyful, purposeful, engaged readers.

Dig into Trusting Readers and consider new possibilities for vibrant independent reading to thrive in your classroom in visible and invisible ways. What is the best that could happen when you trust yourself, your students, and the power of independent reading?

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Independent reading is the right of every student. It is an indispensable foundation for solid reading instruction yet, is too often viewed as a luxury. Overly prescriptive, culturally irrelevant curriculum does not provide spaces for students to develop a sense of agency as readers or for teachers to make decisions that reflect the needs of the students in front of them.

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Amazon.com : reading conferences jennifer serravallo

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How do we inspire students to love reading and discovery? In Passionate Readers: The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child , classroom teacher, author, and speaker Pernille Ripp reveals the five keys to creating a passionate reading environment. You'll learn how to...

Use your own reading identity to create powerful reading experiences for all students

Empower your students and their reading experience by focusing on your physical classroom environment

Create and maintain an enticing, well-organized, easy-to-use classroom library;

Build a learning community filled with choice and student ownership; and

Guide students to further develop their own reading identity to cement them as life-long, invested readers.

Throughout the book, Pernille opens up about her own trials and errors as a teacher and what she's learned along the way. She also shares a wide variety of practical tools that you can use in your own classroom, including a reader profile sheet, conferring sheet, classroom library letter to parents, and much more. These tools are available in the book and as eResources to help you build your own classroom of passionate readers.

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Passionate Readers: The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child

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Passionate Readers: The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child

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Special Offer: We are dedicated to teachers. Use coupon code TAW23 to receive 30% off the list price and free shipping within the U.S. Valid only on online orders paid by credit card. Restrictions apply.

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Special Offer: We are dedicated to teachers. Use coupon code TAW23 to receive 30% off the list price and free shipping within the U.S. Valid only on online orders paid by credit card. Restrictions apply.

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Five ideas on how to get students to really read books-and enjoy themselves while doing so.

All English teachers want their students to develop a love of reading, but this is anything but a simple endeavor. Although I used to give students time to read once a week in my English classes for several years, I always knew I wasn't making the impact I was aiming for.

After a few years, I was able to get the whole class to be silent during the reading period, but I realized that not all of the students were actually reading-and that my reading program was anything but a success.

A few summers ago, I read Donalyn Miller's The Book Whisperer, and it made me rethink everything I did when it came to choice reading. Now, not only do I have far fewer students "fake reading" but I've had several students tell me that they've read their first book ever by themselves in my class.

While I'm still constantly on the lookout for better ways to help my students find books they love and develop a habit of reading, I've put together a toolbox of concrete ways to make choice reading work in my class.

5 Tips to Get Students Really Reading

1. Make time for what's important: One crucial understanding I gleaned from Miller is that real readers read every day. Of course I knew this from my own reading life, but somehow I had failed to realize that I was ignoring this essential fact when it came to my students. I meet with my students for 54 minutes every day, and every last second of instructional time is precious. But making the decision to give my students 10 to 15 minutes a day to read choice books was easy once I thought about my priorities for learning.

Without a love of reading and the opportunity to practice reading skills, nothing else in my curriculum matters, and choice reading every day is one of the most effective ways I've found to support students in developing these skills.

2. Give students ready access to books: There's something powerful about having a good book immediately available to hand a student. I'm constantly on the lookout for books from yard sales, thrift stores, used bookstores, and student donations, but last year I discovered DonorsChoose.org, and it has vastly improved the health and appeal of my classroom collection of books.

I asked my students to list books they'd like to read on my classroom whiteboard and tapped into the young adult book recommendations of my teacher friends on social media. In less than half an hour, I set up a DonorsChoose project, and with a little bit of social media sharing and the help of some generous donors, I had boxes of crisp, new books for my students to open with great anticipation.

3. Make reading visible: Students don't always see the reading that's going on all around them, so I've made it my mission this year to make reading more immediately visible.

At the back of my room, there's a whiteboard labeled "Books We've Read" that's divided into four sections. There's one each for the three periods of sophomores I teach, and one for the teachers-me, my student teacher, and the resource teacher who assists in one of my classes. Everyone adds the titles of books as they finish them.

Recently, a student from one of my two sections of AP English asked me why their class wasn't up on the board. These more advanced classes don't have as many struggling readers as my sophomore classes, but it's just as important to celebrate reading with them, so I'll be adding two more sections to my board.

At the start of each month, I take a picture of the previous month's books and then clear the board to begin again. Students are getting a little competitive-even though I've told them we all win in this scenario-and they're very interested in what my co-teachers and I are reading.

They're also fascinated with a bulletin board in my room covered in pictures of educators on our campus holding some of their favorite books, from the shop teacher with his copy of Catcher in the Rye to the vice principal holding Stephen King's Christine.

4. Talk about books: Another way to make students aware of the reading all around them is to talk about it in the classroom. In addition to regular book talks, I make it a habit every day to ask the class, "How many people finished a book last night?" and "How many people read their choice books yesterday?" Although I know this isn't a scientific measure of growth in my classroom, it does give students a quick, daily opportunity to see the reading happening among their classmates, and it's a reminder of how much we value reading.

I've also started conferencing individually with students about their reading. Before we start our daily reading, I ask students to tell me what page they're on in their book. Since I write this down each day, I can quickly assess which students may want to discuss a book they've just finished and which students aren't making much progress in their reading-we'll discuss their thinking about their book, and if necessary I can suggest another that might better engage them.

I meet with approximately two to four students per day during our reading time. These discussions not only help students enjoy their reading more but also help me develop stronger relationships with them.

5. Be patient and relentless: The most valuable realization I've had in this decades-long endeavor to help my students learn to love reading is to just keep trying. There are so many brilliant teachers out there with so many good ideas for making things better in our classrooms, and if we stay connected and keep suggesting new books, talking about books, and trying different techniques-both new and old-our students will respond.

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Five ideas on how to get students to really read books-and enjoy themselves while doing so.

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Today, we managed to pull off the unimaginable; every child walking out of room 203 with a book in their hands that they are willing to try tomorrow, which will be our first day of independent reading.

How did we do it? Well, a few things had to happen.

We gave it some time. While our students have certainly been surrounded by books these past few days, we have worked our way slowly toward book shopping. Some kids have checked out books because they asked but many looked more warily at the books surrounding them. Taking it slow, for us, has worked because we can offer up an opportunity to establish some trust and community before we dive into book shopping.

We read aloud. Read alouds tie us together as a community which is why I love to use picture books often with our students. It also allows us to dive into conversations about consent ( Don't Touch My Hair), how we feel about reading ( I hate Picture Books!) and the expectations we want to function under in our room ( We Don't Eat Our Classmates). Read alouds ease us into the important work we are doing while exposing us to others' stories.

We had some powerful conversations. Starting with our beginning of the year reading survey which gave me a sneak peak into how the kids see themselves as readers. While many are okay or even great with books and reading, some are decidedly not and the survey starts to let us see that. We then move to discussing the feelings and experiences tied in with reading as detailed in this post. This year the students decided to share when reading is dope and when it is trash. This then laid the groundwork for revealing the 7th grade reading challenge, as well as setting a meaningful reading goal to begin the year.

They determined their reading rights. After we have discussed their past experiences with reading, both the good and the not so good, we brainstorm which rights we would like to have for our independent reading time together. While there is not an option to not read, the students have great ideas for the type of reading experience they would like to be a part. After all three blocks of kids brainstorm, I created our chart which the students then approved today.

Reading Rights for 2019 -the yellow post-its are my notes from their conversations in order to make sure I stayed true to their hopes.

We have reading loving staff members. And not just this year. I am fortunate to work in a district that emphasizes the joy of reading in many place and I am part of a chain of people who spend a lot of time trying to match kids with books and also protect how their readers feel. While kids come in with many different experiences when it comes to reading, many also speak of the great moments they have had with reading throughout the years. And this only furthers the work we get to do in 7th grade.

We have lots and lots of books. While my district funds books, which seems to be a rarity these days, I have also spent a lot of money on books throughout the years, I wish this wasn't the case, but it is what it is. However, our district also funds our school library and has staffed it with an amazing librarian and library aide. This provides our kids with the opportunity to not only look for books in our classroom, but also in the library and other places that have book collections. It is a powerful partnership between many of us that only continues to expand.

We took the time today to discuss how to find a book. While book shopping and book selection is not something new, centering our book shopping in what they already know and discussing the habits they have provide us with a place to start. It introduces our classroom library as well as our check out policy. It also helps us remind kids that they have a lot of strategies to try a book on, as well as to remind them that to cease reading a book is always an option at any point. We would much rather have them spend a lot of time selecting a potential great book than just rushing through the process.

So we gave them time. As much as they needed to touch the books, to browse the books, and to discuss the books with each other. I had pulled several stacks of books, one per table, to get their interest but they knew that they could browse the entire classroom. They could check out whichever book(s) they wanted and all of the other potential titles they put on their to-be-read lists. And it worked. Every child was up and moving, every child left with a book or more. To see so much book excitement was frankly a major highlight of this whole week.

What were big interest books today?
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas On the Come Up by Angie Thomas Anything by Jason Reynolds Guts by Raina Telgemeier Until Friday Night by Abby Glines Twilight by Stephanie Meyer Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
Now don't be fooled, the work is far from over. But this is a start, a seed that will continue the work we do as we try to help some of our students go from kids who see little to no value in reading to kids who do. As we help kids continue the already positive relationship with reading that they have. But it also work that is shrouded in privilege. Our kids have access to books. Our kids have access to teachers who love reading. Our kids have time to read. Every child deserves that as an educational right.

For me the best part is; I am not alone in this. Our school and district is filled with people pursuing the same goal that I am; helping kids find books that matter, helping kids see themselves as readers. Today was a start and I cannot wait to see how it continues to evolve.

Tomorrow we read.
If you like what you read here, consider reading my newest book, Passionate Readers - The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child. This book focuses on the five keys we can implement into any reading community to strengthen student reading experiences, even within the 45 minute English block. If you are looking for solutions and ideas for how to re-engage all of your students consider reading my very first book Passionate Learners - How to Engage and Empower Your Students. Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

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Planting the Seeds for Our Year of Reading Together

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Today, we managed to pull off the unimaginable; every child walking out of room 203 with a book in their hands that they are willing to try tomorrow, which will be our first day of independent reading. How did we do it? Well, a few things had to happen.

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More and more teachers are using “book tastings” as a way to hook students up with books they’ll love. We asked …

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She told me that her goal was to find more time to read. That life had been busy and so reading had gotten lost. That while she liked it, sometimes, there just wasn’t enough time in the day. …

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Questions to Ask When the Kids Aren’t Reading

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You may have noticed that this blog is slowing down a bit, while life continue to churn, I am slowly starting to work on a new book potentially. This means that there may be less brand-new writing …

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Leveled reading systems are popular in many school districts but are they doing more harm than good?

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I was taught in college that to be a teacher reading role model, I should read infront of my students; not just read aloud, but actually sit down and read in front of them so they could see how much reading meant to me. So when I embraced independent reading, I did just that; pulled my own book out and read diligently next to them. It didn't matter that I was not reading books they could actually read, but instead that they saw me in the physical act of reading. Yet, something felt inherently wrong. I was distracted by my own book at times, not picking up on what kids were actually doing. I didn't feel like I was actually teaching them anything during that time, and, most importantly; very few of my students actually saw me as a reading role model, which baffled me for a long time. It turns out that simply seeing someone read does not make them a reading role model and so I knew I had to change my ways.

It turns out, though, that I was not the only one that was taught this method of teacher-as-reading-role-model; when the kids read, you read right alongside them. I was reminded of this just the other day when a brand new teacher told me that when her kids were reading so was she. I immediately thought, "What a waste of time," but then also realized why this seems like a great idea on the surface. After all, we know that kids will read more when they see others reading, we know that adults as reading role models are a powerful tool, and it also legitimizes independent reading time; "See how important this is by me doing it as well..."

And yet; we need that independent reading time to meet with kids. To confer when we can. To do reading check-ins with as many kids as possible to further enhance our own instruction. To build relationships and community. To truly understand the learners that are in our care. Not to work on our own reading. So how do we establish ourselves as reading role models without physically reading in front of the kids?

We give it time. The first step is to make sure there is time for independent reading. After all, if we value something then we must give it the thing we have the least of; our time. So every day we should find the time for self-selected choice independent reading for all of our students, no matter their needs and abilities.

We read aloud. At all ages and whenever we can. Kids will understand the importance of shared book experiences by actually participating in them and so we must model what it means to be a fluent read-alouder, what it means to be carried away in a text, to be emotionally connected to a piece of literature. We do this by reading aloud stories, poems, and other pieces that move us and then invite students into the experience.

We speak reading. My students know a lot about my reading life because I speak about it often. I book talk books I just finished or abandoned, I talk about the latest book I cannot wait to read. I talk about how I sneak books with me everywhere, how I trained myself to read in the car without getting sick so it would give me more reading time. We speak books and how they matter whenever we can, not just on the days it is our teaching point.

We showcase our reading. Outside of our classroom, I have a display of all of the books I have read so far. My students know my reading goal and see the poster fill up as the year progresses. My students can see that I spend time reading outside of class because they see the covers get added. The visual representation is also a constant reminder as they enter our classroom that in here the books we read is something to be proud of, not something to be ashamed of.

We procure more books. The first thing most people notice when they enter our classroom is the sheer amount of books. The collection and its placements speaks to the importance of reading in our community. Having books front and center means that reading is front and center.

We sometimes read with them. If I cannot wait to finish a book, if the classroom is particularly still, or sometimes just because it is Friday, I will sit down and read with my students. Not because I have to but because I want to. It is not every week, we have much too little teaching time for that, but once in a while, they might see me reading, that is if they actually look up from the pages of their own book.

Being a reading role-model is something I take quite seriously, as do many of my colleagues. Our schools speaks books because we feel the urgency with which we lose our middle schooler's interest in reading every year. So every minute matters, every minute counts, and while reading in front of my students would be lovely, that is not my main job in the classroom as they read. Speaking to them is. How have you become a reading role model in your classroom?
If you like what you read here, consider reading any of my books; the newest called Reimagining Literacy Through Global Collaboration, a how-to guide for those who would like to infuse global collaboration into their curriculum, was just released. I am currently working on a new literacy book, called Passionate Readers and it will be published in the summer of 2017 by Routledge.If you are looking for solutions and ideas for how to re-engage all of your students consider reading my very first book Passionate Learners - How to Engage and Empower Your Students. Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

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How to Be A Teacher Reading Role Model - Without Actually Reading In Front of Your Class

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I was taught in college that to be a teacher reading role model, I should read infront of my students; not just read aloud, but actually sit down and read in front of them so they could see how muc...

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This presentation was a state-wide webinar we offered in the fall of 2022. This presentation provides an overview of the key conditions that foster a love of books in kids.

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Fostering a Love of Independent Reading (KSLA Webinar)

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Curating Diverse & Inclusive Classroom Libraries

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Curating Diverse & Inclusive Classroom Libraries

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This presentation was a state-wide webinar we offered in the fall of 2022. In this session, participants learned the importance of curating diverse and inclusive classroom libraries.

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KSLA Northeastern PA Webinar: Curating Diverse & Inclusive Classroom Libraries

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My job as an English teacher is to empower my students to discover, identify, locate, rediscover, find, and fall in love with the books that speak to their souls and their hearts.

In order to make that happen, I have to have a dynamic classroom library. A year and a half ago, I didn't have anything on my shelves in my classroom, but because my school, my family, and my colleagues are on board with the vision of robust classroom libraries, my library looks a whole lot better than it did then.

We've raided the school book room, collected our main library's discards, purchased books off of facebook and other "garage" sale type of venues, and we bring back hundreds of pounds of second hand books in our suitcases at every opportunity. (I live in Nicaragua, which complicates the book buying at times.) We spent our entire English department budget on classroom libraries last year, so this fall we felt like kids in a candy store when we were setting up our new classroom libraries.

Each time we are blessed a new influx of books, we have to think about storage, and more importantly, organization. It's essential that we store and organize our books so that students will be drawn to the shelves and compelled to read new books.

I haven't had any experience that tells me that labeling and micro-leveling books is what makes my students want to read. Quite the opposite. What I read also tells me that labels aren't for public display on the spines of books or on the front of organizational book baskets. They are tools for teachers to use, which may help them with a cursory understanding of texts before they can get to know them better.

My job as an English teacher is to empower my students to discover, identify, locate, rediscover, find, and fall in love with the books that speak to their souls and their hearts.

My experience and observations tell me that organizing my books by general level and genre is what works best for my classroom library. That rotating book displays pique student interest in titles they might not have noticed or cared about in the past. That topic, passion, and enthusiasm can sell a book to a student a whole lot more convincingly than a level or a label can.

My classroom library is split into four basic sections:

1. middle school fiction

2. young adult fiction

3. contemporary fiction

4. nonfiction

I do this out of necessity: I teach three sections of seventh grade English and two sections of AP Language and Composition. It's important to have some distinct sections for these students so they at least have a starting place when they browse for books. They do tend to meet each other in the young adult fiction shelves, and there isn't much that stops them from "shopping" on all of the shelves.

Within those four sections I have subsections, however.

I have grouped some middle school fiction into some general categories: magic/fantasy, mystery/scary, realistic fiction, historical fiction, books in a series, sports, and shorter/easy reads.

In the young adult fiction section I caved to a student who really wanted a romance section ( why not? I thought). I've also grouped some of these books into a "books in a series" section, a mystery/horror section, dystopian, and a sci-fi/fantasy section. The section on World War Two shelf was created because I have a number of students who are gravitating towards that topic right now. It's not comprehensive, and it mixes middle level, young adult, contemporary fiction, and nonfiction, but it is what's working for my students right now, so it will stay for at least a while.

That's the whole point. Our classroom library organization is based on what works for my students. It wasn't prescribed by any "experts" or mandated by anyone outside of my classroom. It's authentic, preserves student emotions and privacy, and the shelves are open to whomever would like to browse them.

There is a tiny bit of leveling - three levels plus nonfiction, but this leveling is more about maturity and content than text leveling. It's certainly not the microlevels of Lexiles, A-Z, or AR that some libraries employ. It's helpful rather than restrictive.

Because the books are organized into these smaller topic or genre sections, students have a helpful place to start looking that isn't rigid. I feel like it's the best of both worlds because it gives students a direction and a guide, but not rules or rails they have to live between.

Simply because of the space and shelves that I have in my room, I've added a subgroup of poetry, plays, and picture books section in the nonfiction corner.

This is a corner that needs some work. As I add titles to my classroom library, I will deliberately look for poetry and drama, as well as relevant picture books to add to these shelves.

While I have these semi-permanent organizational ideas, I also have some rotating book displays.

Right now, my AP Lang class is starting a research project. One of their sources needs to be a book with either endnotes or footnotes, so I've collected many of my classroom library books that meet that requirement and put them on display.

This display changes about every week or so, sometime with deliberate purpose like this one, and other times it's just whatever comes to mind. Some recent displays have been around the topics of time travel, aviation, The Great Depression, and sports. Anything goes when it comes to displaying a collection of books.

Another way of displaying and organizing books is by what is popular with students, what the teacher is currently reading, and what's been book talked in the last day or so.

These are all examples of rotating book displays, and they rotate between every other day, and every couple of weeks. It's a matter of doing what makes sense for the type of display it is, and what the current needs of the classes are.

So once the books are organized and on display, students actually start to look at them! It's a miracle, and a wonderful feeling when they get interested and excited when they haven't been in the past.

At that point, a check out and return system becomes key.

Mine is old-fashioned and easy to navigate. It's a spiral bound notebook and a pen. Pretty simple.

Just because it's low-tech doesn't mean it doesn't work. Quite the opposite. Students know to check out books and put them in the return basket when they are done. Sometimes they cross out the original entry of their returned book, but mostly all they have to do is put the book in the return basket and I'll find their name and cross it off and then re-shelve the book.

The return basket is right next to the check out notebook and this sign which reminds students that the honor system is what makes this whole thing work.

The classroom libraries in our hall are open to all of our students, so often students from other classes wander in to my classroom looking for books. The system is the same for them as it is for the students I currently have in my classes. All of the students at our school are our students; all of the students have access to all of our classroom libraries.

If some students have books out for a long time, and we don't see those students on the regular because they aren't in our own classes, we rely on each other to ask those students about those titles, which means we often get books returned promptly with that simple system. Our department has a shared google doc and we list the students' names and titles that are checked out, so we all have that information at our fingertips.

Our organizational and check-out systems are thoughtful and simple, and can be adopted by almost anyone. There may be other better, different, or more complicated ideas and systems out there that work for people, but I wanted to share ours because of its simplicity and effectiveness.

How do you organize your classroom library, and what philosophical beliefs to you hold that are behind these practices? I'd love to read your thoughts in the comments.
Julie has been teaching secondary language arts for more than twenty years, spending the first fifteen in rural Central Oregon, four in Amman, Jordan, and the most recent school years in Managua, Nicaragua. Follow her on twitter @SwinehartJulie

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Organizing Classroom Libraries - One Teacher's Answers

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My job as an English teacher is to empower my students to discover, identify, locate, rediscover, find, and fall in love with the books that speak to their souls and their hearts. In order to make that happen, I have to have a dynamic classroom library.

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Thanks to teacher Ashleigh Rose for sharing her classroom library refresh with us! Keep reading to see WHY she decided her classroom library organization wasn't working, and then read the rest of the posts in this series to learn what changes she made and how you can make similar changes in your classroom.

"Ms. Rose, you don't have any good books."

Despite the whirlwind that was my first year teaching sixth grade at my current middle school, it was these eight words-more than any other-from any given student that irked me to my core.

Thus would commence a sophisticated back and forth argument in which I showcased my robust vocabulary and excellent command of argumentation skill:

(Figure 1: Me and students debating the merits of my old classroom library.)

The reason that I found these words the most rage-inducing was that I was well aware that there were plenty of things I was not getting right in my first year at my school. However, I was confident that the books I was putting into my classroom library was not one of those wrong things. I was buying, Donors Choosing, and coaxing my assistant principal into purchasing books that I knew were pure gold that my students needed and loved.

After these exchanges, I would walk over to my library to prove them wrong. But time and time again, I couldn't even quickly access the books I was looking for. Even when kids knew a title they wanted, which R or S or T bin did it even live in? Had one of my 92 students moved the books into a different bin? Or maybe it was actually a U book...

And here is my moment of vulnerability.

I'm saying it out loud: I used to organize my classroom library book bins with Fountas and Pinnell level labels.

My kids couldn't find the amazing books in my classroom library, because they were scattered and shoved into Fountas and Pinnell-leveled bins. That is what the teacher before me had done. That is what all teachers just did, right?

I quickly realized that what my students meant when they hurled those most-jarring words at me, was that they couldn't locate appealing books that were in my library. They didn't know- physically- where to start. I love my kids and I will tell you that impressively and intuitively, they did NOT spend any time entertaining the notions of restricting themselves to leveled bins. Because they were smarter than me, they rightfully felt that they had full reign over and access to all of the classroom library.

So instead, when it came time to book shop for a new independent reading book, they stared at the classroom library-shelves and shelves of bins and bins of books with seemingly random letters on the front of each bin. They had no idea where to go. They would pick a random bin, look at some covers, read some backs, toss books back into a different bin, and eventually after three to five bins, they would throw their hands up with exhausted rage and march to me:

But when they grumbled, "Ms. Rose, you don't have any good books."

"Ms. Rose, your obtuse way of organizing these books by levels is preventing me from locating an enjoyable text and developing the habit and agency of self-selecting reading materials which will ultimately support me in developing a reading identity that will last me through the remainder of my school and adult life."

Even before Fountas and Pinnell got so horrified at how us teachers were using their levels in our classrooms and reminded us to use their levels only as teacher tools, rather than student levels , I realized that organizing my library by levels had to go.

I needed a new system.

So I found one. And I found it WITH my students. And I'm proud of what we created. It turned a chaotic classroom library into OUR classroom library.

If you too have ever felt frustrated that your amazing books are somehow not making their way into kids hands, backpacks, homes, and ultimately hearts and minds, I hope this process might ignite some ideas for your classroom.

In my next three posts I will share:

How We Reconfigured Our Library:

1. Brainstormed mood/theme they wanted to see.

2. Used kid-created names for the bins.

3. Initially placed many books in the bins. (And got rid of some MUSTIE books in the process!)

How We Re-Introduced Our Library:

1. Had students share the process we implemented with the class.

2. Continued to place books into bins after book talks and conversations in class.

3. Let kids suggest new bin ideas.

4. I modeled using the library as a resource when kids asked for book suggestions.

What Happened After We Re-Claimed our Library:

1. Less time looking in the library = more time reading!

2. Less ME in the book finding process-the library became a built-in book recommender.

3. More conversations about books.

4. Kids recommended and located books for each other.

5. Students began to push outside of favorite genres because they got hooked on favorite bin themes.

6. Library stayed cleaner!

7. Solidified my place as THAT teacher kids come to for books.

Read the rest of this series at the links below!

Ashleigh has been teaching middle school literacy in Washington, DC for the last eight years. She currently teaches 7th and 8th grade Writing in Southeast DC and leads her school's Project LIT chapter. She is lifelong learner and book nerd who is always trying to up her educator game. Ashleigh is a fierce advocate for giving kids voice, choice, and access to books that are both culturally affirming and representative as well as books and learning experiences that create a culture of curiosity and disruption of the status quo. You can most often find her nerding out on Twitter (@betweenmargins) and from time to time on Instagram (@betweenmargins).

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Why My Kids "Couldn't Find Any Good Books" In Our Classroom Library (and How We Flipped the Script Together)

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Thanks to teacher Ashleigh Rose for sharing her classroom library refresh with us! Keep reading to see WHY she decided her classroom library organization wasn't working, and then read the rest of the posts in this series to learn what changes she made and how you can make similar

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This is the second post in a series on classroom library organization by middle school literacy teacher, Ashleigh Rose. If you missed it, be sure to read her first post, Why My Kids "Couldn't Find Any Good Books" In Our Classroom Library and How We Flipped the Script Together.
After finally deciding my classroom library needed a drastic overhaul, I realized that the smartest way to make sure our Classroom Library 2.0 was a success was to enlist the people who I wanted to best serve-my students.

I gathered a group of volunteers-avid book nerds, as well as kids who just wanted to help make the library a better place for our classroom. Because I teach multiple periods of different homerooms and it always feels like we never have enough time to do everything in class, I decided to do this work on a Saturday that my building was open. This way, we could dedicate a few hours of brain space to getting this done that wouldn't interrupt kids' in-class access to the library for independent reading. Looking back, this could very well have made an excellent class project over the course of a few class periods.

We kind of made it up as we went, but (spoiler alert) it worked!
Step 1: Brainstorm mood/theme options that kids want to be able to find.
On chart paper, we brainstormed the kinds of books we want to be able to easily locate. Our aim was to make these universal. For example, we specifically avoided bins that only applied to a slice of society-whether by gender/racial/sexual/cultural identity. I call this our mood/theme brainstorming because I know it wasn't genre-naming, but I don't know that a specific term applies to it all. I gave kids a few examples and provided some thinking frames:

Kids came up with some amazing and hilarious stuff...

Step 2: Create short, catchy, kid-created titles for the bins.

One of my students wrote, "...reminds me of things I liked when I was younger."

Me: "Oh, cool, maybe we call that bin 'nostalgic?'"

Student: "Huh?"

Me: "You know what, we'll just go with your words."

After kids created the groupings of books that they wanted to be able to quickly locate in our library, I asked students to come up with catchy, short bin titles that would encapsulate the ideas from our brainstormed list. Some bins came from kids combining several items on the list they realized were similar, and sometimes they realized gaps we needed titles for.

My students loved this process and still, three years later, are quick to point out the titles they came up with.

Step 3: Place the books we know.

With bins made, students started placing the books they knew well. Students felt that sometimes books could straddle multiple bins which brought great conversation. Ultimately we realized we had to zoom in on these questions:

It also never hurt to read the book jacket or the back to see what professionals had said that might help us distill what was most important about this book, but we always opted to go with what we felt.

During this process we also came across some books that just needed to go. We abided by Donalyn Miller's MUSTIE criteria for culling book collections below:

Read my next post, How We Re-Introduced Our Classroom Library After the Refresh, to see how we rolled this out to the rest of my students who were not yet involved in this process.
About the Author:
Ashleigh has been teaching middle school literacy in Washington, DC for the last eight years. She currently teaches 7th and 8th grade Writing in Southeast DC and leads her school's Project LIT chapter. She is lifelong learner and book nerd who is always trying to up her educator game. Ashleigh is a fierce advocate for giving kids voice, choice, and access to books that are both culturally affirming and representative as well as books and learning experiences that create a culture of curiosity and disruption of the status quo. You can most often find her nerding out on Twitter (@betweenmargins) and from time to time on Instagram (@betweenmargins).

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How to Renovate Your Classroom Library So Kids Can Find Books They Will Love

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This is the second post in a series on classroom library organization by middle school literacy teacher, Ashleigh Rose. If you missed it, be sure to read her first post, Why My Kids "Couldn't Find Any Good Books" In Our Classroom Library and How We

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Thanks to teacher, Ashleigh Rose, for sharing her classroom library refresh with us! This is third post in her series. To see how and why she got started, be sure to read her first two posts, Part 1: Why My Kids "Couldn't" Find Any Good Books in Our Classroom Library and Part 2: How to Renovate Your Classroom Library So Kids Can Find Books They Will Love.

On Monday, it was time to share our process with the rest of the classes. For this to work for everyone, everyone needed to know about it. I also hoped this would be a living and breathing library that other students would continue to improve.
1. Students explained our library revitalization process to their peers.
Students who volunteered to reshape the library briefly explained the process to whichever homeroom they were in. In hindsight, I wish my students had taken pictures to explain the process to their peers-could be a cool student opportunity!

The students in the class then discussed a few questions we had for them, like:

Which bins sounded most interesting to them?

Which bins might be good for them to try to push themselves to read outside of their usual book selections?

2. We book talked new titles and chose where to place them as a class, not just on that day, but moving forward.

In class that day, we book talked a few books and collectively decided where it sounded like that book should best fit in the library. I told students that if most of us didn't have knowledge of a book we could place it in the bin that seemed most appropriate, but down the line we could always argue for a location swap if it turned out the heart of the book aligned better with a different bin.

Moving forward, daily book talks ended only when we'd briefly discussed where this book should end up in the library. Sometimes the student book talker had a preset notion about a bin home and they explained a little about why. On the other hand, sometimes I book talked a book and let kids talk through where they most thought it should end up.

3. I put up our brainstorming poster by the door in the class so kids could add more bin suggestions.

For kids who were unable to help reshape the library that Saturday, I left a door open for them to be involved and continue to improve our library. I made it very clear that this was an experiment with our library that could constantly evolve with their input. I put up our brainstorming poster by the door so that kids could, as inspiration struck, add other mood/theme categories that were lacking from our classroom library. Several students recognized gaps in their library as the next month or two went on and added ideas that we could add to our list. (For example, there was a great outcry for books that were just all romance, all the time. That became our "Heart Eyes Emoji" bin.)

4. I modeled using the classroom library as a resource any time a kid asked for a book recommendation.

Out of habit and sometimes necessity, some students still came up and asked for a book recommendation for independent reading. I modeled asking them questions I hoped they could begin to ask themselves when they went to the library:

We would then locate one or a few bins that seemed to align with their interests and together we would quickly create a preview stack they could peruse. Fewer and fewer students came to me for recommendations as they realized that they didn't really need me as the middle-man to do that work in the book selection process. You know what they say: give a sixth grader a book and they read for a day, teach a sixth grader to use their resources to book select independently...

Thanks for reading! My next post, The Results: What Happened After We Re-Claimed Our Classroom Library, reflects on the positive results of this massive shift in our classroom library.
About the Author:
Ashleigh has been teaching middle school literacy in Washington, DC for the last eight years. She currently teaches 7th and 8th grade Writing in Southeast DC and leads her school's Project LIT chapter. She is lifelong learner and book nerd who is always trying to up her educator game. Ashleigh is a fierce advocate for giving kids voice, choice, and access to books that are both culturally affirming and representative as well as books and learning experiences that create a culture of curiosity and disruption of the status quo. You can most often find her nerding out on Twitter (@betweenmargins) and from time to time on Instagram (@betweenmargins).

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How We Reintroduced Our Classroom Library After the Refresh

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Thanks to teacher, Ashleigh Rose, for sharing her classroom library refresh with us! This is third post in her series. To see how and why she got started, be sure to read her first two posts, Part 1: Why My Kids "Couldn't" Find Any Good

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Thanks to teacher Ashleigh Rose for sharing her classroom library refresh with us! This is the fourth and final post in her series. Start reading the first three here !

The results to the change we made in our library were overwhelmingly positive. Below, I will share a few major outcomes.

1. The library became a built-in book recommendation system: way less TEACHER in the book selection process.

Because I modeled using the library to find books when kids asked me for a recommendation, they quickly realized they could instead ask themselves the questions that the library could answer. Most of my sixth graders recognized they didn't really need me to find a book. Instead they began to ask themselves, What am I in the mood for? How do I want to feel while I'm reading? What kind of theme am I looking for? It was easy to find the bins that answered those questions for them. I also could easily say, "Oh you like scary books? Let me connect you with student x that I have seen in that bin a lot. I bet they'll have a great rec!"

2. Kids recommended and located books for each other.

I'm happy to report that most of my middle schoolers grumble about sacrificing any of their independent reading time. Before our library was set up this way, if a kid wanted to help a peer locate a book, it might take them forever to find it because our library was so haphazard and difficult to navigate. Kids were less likely to embark on that uncertain journey.

After our revamp, however, kids seemed to be able to heat-seeking-missile their way to the book they wanted to recommend in our library. As a result, students were way more likely to help each other find a loved book or to recommend a few books to a friend in their favorite bin because it was so much easier.

3. Students spent less time looking in the library and more time reading books!

As mentioned above, kids found books faster! That means that kids spent more time reading! Let's say our library only saved students 5 minutes a week (though I would argue, especially for those kids who are in the library every 2-3 days, that it saved them much more!) My students spend about 48 weeks in school.

48 weeks x 5 minutes saved per week = 240 minutes a year kids could spend READING instead of looking for a book.

240 minutes x 93 kids = 372 hours.

My highly scientific calculations 😁 show that in one year with my 93 6th graders, they got back a bare minimum of 372 hours of independent reading time IN CLASS because of our library re-configuration. It's no surprise kids read far more books this year than any of my kids before.

4. We had more authentic and higher-quality (and *cough* Common Core Aligned *cough*) class conversations about books.

Post book talk discussions about which bin this book should live in were fascinating.

Sometimes it was hard to say where the book should go without spoiling it. ("Just trust and believe it goes here." "You should read and find out why.")

Sometimes students who had both read a book disagreed about where it should go and we prodded them with questions ("But what do you think the author would say it is really about?" "How did you feel most of the time you read it?" "What do you think the character would tell us to do?")

Kids were sneakily getting tons of at-bats identifying theme and central idea and justifying claims with evidence. Would you look at that, Common Core standards...

And because WE had created this system, there was freedom in knowing we knew we could always adjust a book's home down the line. Though these discussions were quick, they served as powerful modeling and opportunities to engage in group discussions about texts.

5. Students pushed outside of their go-to genres and formats of books because they got hooked on themes/moods that resonated with them.

When my library was a hot mess, many students who felt overwhelmed or some of my more risk-averse readers were doing a lot of rereading. But it wasn't the good kind of rereading-the kind that comes with reflection or looking for new insite or appreciation of a text. Rereading was happening because it was easier to just grab a book they knew wasn't going to be a total bomb. It was low-stakes rereading without love, because that was safer than trying to locate anything in the mass of leveled bins.

Now, I could say, "What does this book make you feel that you enjoy about it?" Or I could push when a kid asked where the graphic novels bin was (it was nowhere - graphic novels are a format!) I would respond, "I love graphic novels too, but they're a format, not a specific mood or theme. Tell me some of your favorite graphic novels and let's think about what you loved about them, and I bet we can find a bin you'll love."

It's hard to take reading risks in a classroom library when you have no idea what you'll get from one of the three level V bins. It's natural and, honestly, smart that many of my kids were just sticking with what they knew in our old disaster of a classroom library. Our new library gave them a taste of what they were getting into. It made it less scary for them to read outside of their typical genre or format to grow as more well-rounded readers. Our bins contained a variety of formats (graphic novels, chapter books, novels in verse) and genres (fantasy, realistic fiction, mystery) because our bins were thematic. Moods and themes of friendship, or not fitting in, or adults ruining everything are not exclusive to one type of format or genre. This new system had kids in love with themes and they would read widely in genre and format of that theme.

6. The library stayed cleaner.

I know it seems like our previous letter system would make it easy to keep things sorted but it never did. I suspect this more had to do with kids valuing the library and being invested in maintaining its usefulness.

Kids knew where to return books, and if they didn't, they would drop them off in the return bin. Myself or another student who had read the book could easily place them in the proper bin when they saw it needing to be returned or ask someone who had read it. I often observed kids stumble across a book in and out of place bin and they would put it to the side to fix it or ask me where it should go.

7. I solidified my place as THAT teacher kids come to for books.

Word got out and 7th, 8th, and 5th graders would come into class, sticky note pass in-hand to get a book. My old kids continued to come back the next year and the next. They could easily locate what they were looking for even when I was teaching or working with a class.

Their new complaint? "My teacher doesn't have any good books." I often pointed out to my old kids that they used to say the exact same the same thing about this very library they were coming to visit. "Yeah but like, that's because you couldn't find anything." Yep, and probably because I was harmfully tying your reading identity to a level, I would think to myself.

I don't know if I found the best system for organizing a classroom library, but I know I found one that I and my students love. I don't doubt that it is mostly because we created it alongside one another.

About the Author:

Ashleigh has been teaching middle school literacy in Washington, DC for the last eight years. She currently teaches 7th and 8th grade Writing in Southeast DC and leads her school's Project LIT chapter. She is lifelong learner and book nerd who is always trying to up her educator game. Ashleigh is a fierce advocate for giving kids voice, choice, and access to books that are both culturally affirming and representative as well as books and learning experiences that create a culture of curiosity and disruption of the status quo. You can most often find her nerding out on Twitter (@betweenmargins) and from time to time on Instagram (@betweenmargins).

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The Results: What Happened After We Reclaimed our Classroom Library

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Thanks to teacher Ashleigh Rose for sharing her classroom library refresh with us! This is the fourth and final post in her series. Start reading the first three here ! The results to the change we made in our library were overwhelmingly positive. Below, I will share a few major outcomes.

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Small Ideas for a Better Organized Classroom Library

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With 12 days left of the school year, they trickle in. Some worn and tattered, others still as crisp as the day they entered our room. Found in lockers, backpacks, discovered under beds and pulle…

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A bingo card can tell teachers a lot about the people and genres that are represented in their class library-and the ones that are missing.

Aron Vellekoop León / Ikon Images

We know that representation matters, that in order for our classrooms to be spaces where everyone is affirmed and included, young people must see themselves and their lived experiences in our curricula. Do our classroom libraries reflect this knowledge? Bookshelves offer a powerful litmus test of the experiences and identities we honor and include in our classrooms.

Books as Windows and Mirrors

"She's from Pakistan, just like me."

"He has dark skin like mine."

"I'm adopted, too."

"Look, that main character uses a wheelchair like mine."

What happens to students' self-efficacy and self-concept when they see their lives positively reflected in the curriculum? Even very young children recognize the importance and delight in finding themselves in a book:

Books become transformative when they shift our perspectives, alter our worldviews, and deepen our relationships with others. Let's implement practices that make reading from many different experiences, worldviews, and cultures part of the social fabric of our schools.

To build on this idea, I created a simple bingo card that educators complete with book titles. I hoped it would challenge teacher groups to think more critically about representation and diversity in their classroom libraries and foster new conversations about reading. It did that and more.

The Bookshelf Equity Audit

A key objective of this exercise is to foster school conversations about the books we read and teach. I have used this activity in professional development workshops. I think it also has the potential to be used as a faculty or school-wide reading challenge.

Rules of the exercise: Everyone needs their own bingo card (there's a downloadable pdf below). While you may be tempted to start with the books you teach, resist that and start instead with the books you read. Like friendship, literature is a powerful entry point for exposure to diverse experiences. What and whom we read matters.

Round 1: Using a black pen, fill out the bingo card with books you have recently read, putting one title in each box. You can start with classic bingo, looking for five in a row, but consider eventually challenging yourself to complete the whole card. Filling it out will likely be more difficult than you expected.

Round 2: Using blue ink, continue filling out the bingo card with books you have recently taught. This means you could have two titles in each box: one for a book you have recently read and another for a book you have recently taught. It's very rare that someone can fill out the bingo card so completely.

Teachers often have one or two books in their curricula that fit several of the categories on the card, but each title can appear only once.

Round 3: Once we start listing titles, we can see more clearly what we're missing. Get up and talk to your peers about books. Write down new recommendations for the empty squares on your card in red ink, and make sure to read them.

The bingo exercise reveals some gaps in our reading and teaching, but it also shows us that collectively we have the resources and knowledge to start addressing these gaps. What if a copy of the book that might change your teaching practice is already waiting for you in the classroom down the hall?

Teachers have frequently told me that this activity taught them to pay attention to the lived experiences of the authors they read and teach. Considering background information and author positionality is a valuable close reading strategy that supports us in our work of showing students that their stories matter.

Many teachers have found that until they took a true audit of what they were reading and teaching, they tended to overestimate the number of books by and about people of color on their shelves.

As expected, the exercise reveals our reading preferences, as well as the fact that many of us don't read as much as we would like. While it's OK to have preferences, it's important to be aware of the gaps in our understanding and to actively try to address them. This requires reading outside of our cultural or genre comfort zone, which is why the third round is essential-it requires us to talk about books, to seek suggestions from our peers, to ask young children and folks two generations older than us for book recommendations. It affirms that reading can be a social journey, and I've found these conversations to be incredibly helpful.

The bingo card is a call to pay attention to who we are reading, who we are teaching, who is represented, who is missing, and why.

As we read more broadly and talk about books more intentionally, we're able to shine light on more experiences. We can begin to increase representation in our classrooms in ways that tell young people that many experiences matter, representation matters, and most importantly, they matter.

Here are four book lists to start expanding representation on your classroom bookshelf:

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How to Audit Your Classroom Library for Diversity

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A bingo card can tell teachers a lot about the people and genres that are represented in their class library-and the ones that are missing. Aron Vellekoop León / Ikon Images We know that representation matters, that in order for our classrooms to be spaces where everyone is affirmed and included, young people must see themselves and their lived experiences in our curricula.

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A Few Favorite Books from Our Classroom for Teens Who Say They Can’t Find a Great Book

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One of the many benefits there is from being an educator who reads a lot is that I get to create many different reading lists in my head. From the child that asks me to find another book just like …

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My family took a big plunge five years ago, and made the decision to move from our placid, beautiful Central Oregon to Amman, Jordan. So much about Jordan was wonderful, but part of our decision to move away from our home, from Oregon, was about traveling the world. So after four years in Amman, we decided to move away from Jordan, to Managua, Nicaragua.

Between making the decision in January to move to Nicaragua and actually arriving this July, Nicaragua's travel advisory from the US State Department went from level 2 to level 3 because of civil unrest, crime, and limited healthcare availability. Of course that travel advisory rating, combined with what we were reading in the news and hearing from people who lived in Managua gave us pause, and we carefully considered the choice we were making. Ultimately, we decided to move to Managua, and we are happy with our choice.

I share this background because I want to point out that while private schools often don't share exactly the same issues and concerns found in public schools, private schools are not always utopian. Our school is wonderful, students are eager, teachers are welcoming and caring, and our facilities are beautiful. But with the current situation in Nicaragua, some families have chosen to leave the country, which ultimately means revenue from student fees is down, and the budget reflects that situation.

Everywhere I have ever taught has had budget concerns, public or private. I'm sure all teachers can relate to budget issues, which is why I bring it up.
Even in a time of budget concerns, my classroom library grew from empty shelves to full shelves in a matter of weeks, and it didn't cost me an extra dime.
I walked into a nice, big, but empty classroom. The bookshelves were beautiful, but bare.

Within a day or two of being in my new space, at my new job, in my new city of residence, I was having conversations with administrators and coworkers about how to build classroom libraries.

Our first step was to visit the book room. I think most schools have a book room, and in my experience they are full of books that are rarely in the hands of students for any length of time. We decided to gather a copy of each book for each of our five classrooms, and if a teacher needed one of those copies for teaching a whole-class-novel, we would give it to that teacher to use during that particular unit.

There were also books in the book room that were not being taught as whole-class-texts, and that weren't available in high enough numbers to be used in that way. They might be titles that could be used in future book clubs, but we decided that getting these books in the hands of students sooner rather than later was the right choice, so they were distributed as well.

My classroom library was greatly improved by visiting the book room and reimagining the uses for all of the wonderful reads that could be found there.

I found some small white boards in the closet in my classroom and repurposed them as book displays so that I could highlight titles that might be especially interesting to my students. I think the same thing could be done using repurposed cardboard and printer paper, so I want to encourage others to use what's available in order to highlight high-interest books. There are many other ways to focus attention on desirable titles, but sometimes simple is easiest.

After raiding the book room, it was time for step two. We checked in with the main library at our school. The shelves in our library were packed tight, full of great titles, and because shelves were so full, we had the ability to pull books out of the library and redistribute them to our classroom libraries.

Our librarian has spent the last several days pulling titles from the shelves and delivering them to our classrooms. Every other day or so, a basket of books arrives, and we never know what we are going to get. What we do know is that we will have more and more books as this process progresses. There will be additional books in our classroom libraries and more room on our school library shelves. Reallocation of resources is working in a very positive way in our school.

Once I received the books from the book room and the library, I implemented step three. I organized the books. I don't think it matters how the books are organized, just that they are organized.

I categorized my books into the following sections, and used markers and printer paper to make my labels:

As you can see, I didn't spend a dime on any books. I didn't ask anyone else to spend any money, either. I used what was already in my school and simply helped to redistribute resources.

In some schools or districts, asking students to bring in books, applying for grants, and asking the parent-teacher groups to support classroom libraries will be great options. However, I wanted to share that sometimes, maybe often, classroom libraries can be built with what we already have.

What do you do to help build your classroom library? I'd love to see your ideas in the comments below.
Julie has been teaching secondary language arts for twenty years, spending the first fifteen in rural Central Oregon, and the last four in Amman, Jordan. She's thrilled to report that she and her family have moved across the world to Managua, Nicaragua this year, where a new adventure has begun. Follow her on twitter @SwinehartJulie

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My Classroom Library Shelves went from Empty to Full . . . and Yours Can, Too!

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My family took a big plunge five years ago, and made the decision to move from our placid, beautiful Central Oregon to Amman, Jordan. So much about Jordan was wonderful, but part of our decision to move away from our home, from Oregon, was about traveling the world.

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It's ALL Here! All the links from our Easy PD Webinar Series, all in one place!

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If you missed any or all of our recent Easy PD Webinar Series, you're in luck. We've compiled the replays, slides and free printables from Parts 1, 2 and 3 so you can access these resources now! We designed this webinar series to help educators build inclusive classroom libraries and promote a positive classroom community where all readers feel seen, heard and understood.

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All students must be able to access, use, and evaluate information in order to meet the needs and challenges of the twenty-first century. These abilities are a necessary precursor to a sound education and healthy democracy. Reading in all its dimensions-informational, purposeful, and recreational-promotes students' overall academic success and well-being. Furthermore, when students possess the skills necessary to access, select, use, and effectively evaluate their reading materials, their ability to become engaged members of their communities and productive citizens is enhanced. A large body of research demonstrates that equitable access to books promotes reading achievement and motivation (Allington, 2002, 2009; Krashen, 2011; Nystrand, 2006; Wu & Samuels, 2004).

Classroom libraries-physical or virtual-play a key role in providing access to books and promoting literacy; they have the potential to increase student motivation, engagement, and achievement and help students become critical thinkers, analytical readers, and informed citizens As English language arts educators, we know that no book is right for every student, and classroom libraries offer ongoing opportunities for teachers to work with students as individuals to find books that will ignite their love for learning, calm their fears, answer their questions, and improve their lives in any of the multiple ways that only literature can.

For these reasons, we support student access to classroom libraries that 1) offer a wide range of materials to appeal to and support the needs of students with different interests and abilities; 2) provide access to multiple resources that reflect diverse perspectives and social identities; and 3) open up opportunities for students, teachers, and school librarians to collaborate on the selections available for student choice and reading.

Administrators, teachers, students, parents, and community leaders are all essential in promoting, building, and maintaining classroom libraries, but teachers play an especially critical role. They are uniquely qualified to select books that supplement and complement curricula and address the needs, interests, and concerns of their students. The National Council of Teachers of English supports efforts to provide teachers with the ability to exercise their professional judgment in developing and maintaining classroom libraries and to support them with financial resources to do so. The National Council of Teachers of English further strongly recommends that stakeholders do everything in their power to financially support teachers in their efforts to build classroom libraries.

Thus, as members of the National Council of Teachers of English, we recognize the specific educational benefits of classroom libraries to students because they

motivate students by encouraging voluntary and recreational reading

help young people develop an extensive array of literacy strategies and skills

provide access to a wide range of reading materials that reflect abilities and interests

enhance opportunities for both assigned and casual reading

provide choice in self-selecting reading materials for self-engagement

strengthen and encourage authentic literate exchanges among young people and adolescents

provide access to digitized reading materials that may help to foster the development of technological literacy skills

facilitate opportunities to validate and promote the acceptance and inclusion of diverse students' identities and experiences

create opportunities to cultivate an informed citizenry

Furthermore, because classroom libraries serve the overall goals of education, the National Council of Teachers of English encourages teachers and other education professionals to

recognize the importance of rich and diverse classroom libraries that offer students access to a wide and extensive repertoire of accessible reading materials

promote students' right to read while recognizing teachers as curriculum decision makers in promoting their students' repertoire of literacy skills and strategies

recognize that classroom libraries improve reading abilities for all students

increase literacy resources for teachers through access to diverse mentor texts and opportunities to differentiate literacy instruction

enlist other interested parties-administrators, support personnel, parents, and community leaders-to assist in the effort to financially support, build, and maintain diverse classroom libraries at all levels

Thus, the National Council Teachers of English supports, encourages, and defends the significance and preservation of classroom libraries in all disciplines in our nation's public schools and urges their continuation and implementation by classroom teachers, school administrators, and community leaders.

References

Allington, R. L. (2002). What I've learned about effective reading instruction from a decade of studying exemplary elementary classroom teachers. Phi Delta Kappan, 83(10), 740-747.

Allington, R. L. (2009). If they don't read much . . . 30 years later. In E. H. Hiebert (Ed.), Reading more, reading better (pp. 30-54). New York, NY: Guilford.

Allington, R. L. (2012). What really matters for struggling readers: Designing research-based programs (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Guthrie, J. T., & Wigfield, A. (2000). Engagement and motivation in reading. In M.L. Kamil, P.B. Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Reading research handbook (Vol. 3, pp. 403-424). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Guthrie, J. T., & Humenick, N. M. (2004). Motivating students to read: Evidence for classroom practices that increase motivation and achievement. In P. McCardle & V. Chhabra (Eds.), The voice of evidence in reading research (pp. 329-354). Baltimore, MD: Paul Brookes.

Jacobs, J. S., Morrison, T. G., & Swinyard, W. R. (2000). Reading aloud to students: A national probability study of classroom reading practices of elementary school teachers. Reading Psychology, 21(3), 171-193.

Krashen, S. (2011). Free voluntary reading. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.

Nystrand, M. (2006). Research on the role of classroom discourse as it affects reading comprehension. Research in the Teaching of English, 40(4), 392-412.

Reis, S. M., McCoach, D. B., Coyne, M. Schreiber, F. J., Eckert, R. D., & Gubbins, E. J. (2007). Using planned enrichment strategies with direct instruction to improve reading fluency, comprehension, and attitude toward reading: An evidence-based study. Elementary School Journal, 108(1), 3-24.

Scholastic.com. (n.d.) Access to books: Family and community engagement research compendium. Retrieved from http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/face/pdf/research-compendium/access-to-books.pdf

Taylor, B. M., Pearson, P. D., Peterson, D. S., & Rodriguez, M. C. (2003). Reading growth in high-poverty classrooms: The influence of teacher practices that encourage cognitive engagement in literacy learning. Elementary School Journal, 104(1), 3-28.

Teresa, E. C. (2017). Kids and family reading report (6th ed.). Scholastic, Inc. & YouGov Parchilitam Kids and Family Reading Report 2017, Emily C. Teresa, Corporate Communications, January 30, 2017. Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/readingreport/files/Scholastic-KFRR-6ed-2017.pdf

Trelease, J. (2001). Read-aloud handbook (5th ed.). New York, NY: Viking-Penguin.

Wolpert-Gawron, H. (2015). The importance of a classroom library. Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/classroom-library-importance-heather-wolpert-gawron

Wu, Y., & Samuels, S. J. (2004, May). How the amount of time spent on independent reading affects reading achievement. Paper presented at the annual convention of the International Reading Association, Reno, Nevada.

The NCTE Standing Committee Against Censorship, 2016-2017

Chair: Jeffrey Kaplan, University of Central Florida, Orlando
Christina Berchini, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire
Joan Bertin, National Coalition Against Censorship, New York, NY
Jean Brown, Rhode Island College, Providence
Annamary Consalvo, University of Texas at Tyler
Brooke Boback Eisenbach, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA
Barry Gilmore, Hutchison School, Memphis, TN
Wendy Glenn, University of Connecticut, Storrs
Paula Greathouse, Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville
Yvette R. Hyde, Covington Education Center, Covington, LA
Sarah Willens Kass, Westland Middle School, Bethesda, MD
William D. Kemp, Albany, NY
ReLeah Lent, Morgantown, GA
Risha Leigh Mullins, Chandlersville, OH
Connie Nagel, Bettendorf, IA
Gretchen Oltman, Creighton University, Omaha, NE
Jonathan Rogers, Iowa City High School, IA
Kym Sheehan, Charlotte County Public Schools, FL
Approved by the NCTE Executive Committee, May 2017

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All students must be able to access, use, and evaluate information in order to meet the needs and challenges of the twenty-first century. These abilities are a necessary precursor to a sound education and healthy democracy. Reading in all its dimensions-informational, purposeful, and recreational-promotes students' overall academic success and well-being.

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Research clearly demonstrates that a robust, high-quality classroom library impacts student achievement. Students who have access to an extensive, exemplary classroom library read more, read more widely for a variety of purposes, demonstrate more positive attitudes toward reading, and score higher on standardized tests of reading achievement. In this way, students are more likely to achieve the goals of college and career readiness.

Successful skill-building classroom libraries do the following:

Support literacy instruction.

Help students learn about books.

Provide a central location for classroom resources.

Provide opportunities for independent reading and curricular extensions.

Serve as a place for students to talk about and interact with books.

Here are the 11 essentials every classroom library must have to be effective:
1. A minimum of 750 books in good condition.

2. Thirty books per student.

3. 30% of the books in your classroom library have been published in the last 3-5 years (at a minimum).

4. 5 new books per student are added to your classroom library each year.

5. 50-70% of your classroom library consists of nonfiction books.

6. 10% of your classroom library consists of reference books (at a minimum).

7. 25% of your classroom library consists of multicultural books (at a minimum).

8. The reading level of your classroom library expands to cover two to three years above and below grade level. ( Here's a handy link to book lists for every guided reading level.)

9. Multiple copies of popular titles and text sets appear in your classroom library so multiple students can read these at the same time.

10. A rich variety of genres is included in your classroom library so children are exposed to: realistic fiction, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction, biography and autobiography, stories, classics, myths and legends, picture books, reference, poetry, comic books and graphic novels, and more.

11. Digital texts, ebooks, and multimedia such as interactive whiteboard technology.

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11 Essentials for a Highly Effective Classroom Library

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Research clearly demonstrates that a robust, high-quality classroom library impacts student achievement. Students who have access to an extensive, exemplary classroom library read more, read more widely for a variety of purposes, demonstrate more positive attitudes toward reading, and score higher on standardized tests of reading achievement.

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An Introduction to Booksource’s Inclusive Classroom Library Checklist

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This blog post is part of Build Your Stack,® a new initiative focused exclusively on helping teachers build their book knowledge and their classroom libraries. It was written by NCTE member Shervette Miller-Payton.
As English teachers, we often wonder how we can get students to love reading outside of mere class assignments. In Griffin, Georgia-a small town forty miles outside of Atlanta-high school English teacher Onessia Mosby has opened the world's doors for students through her classroom library. As a district curriculum coordinator, I visited her class for a brief formal observation and saw teenagers enthralled in reading various novels-some silently reading, some discussing with partners. I learned from her four tips that fostered this level of engagement.

1. Devote Class Time to Independent Reading

Teachers have so many things to manage in each class period-homework check, attendance, assignments, assessments, student behaviors, and more. Stopping to read silently may seem like a wasted diversion from the business of school. But Onessia Mosby recognizes the importance of silent reading as an integral activity that can build upon other skills that she wants students to learn. As soon as her students walk in the door, they all begin reading for the first ten minutes of class a book or magazine that interests them. She joins them in reading silently. No one shares or discusses yet. She notes, "I'm not just walking around monitoring them because it's not about that. I have found things that I love to read as well, so I'm modeling how good reading looks." After reading, each student jots down the date, title, and pages read on a bookmark. She does not attach reading log requirements that have been hotly debated among teachers. Ms. Mosby posts her reading log on a wall chart so students can see that the same expectations she has for them she also has for herself. Seeing the teacher read along with students helps students focus and connect as a community of readers. Reading is not seen as just an assignment, but as a vital daily routine.

2. Manage a Personalized Check-Out System

When a student wants to borrow a book from the classroom library, Ms. Mosby emails the student a picture of the book along with a personalized note, which can start a casual conversation about the book and again bring students into the community of reading. Teachers could also use a free electronic tracking system such as Booksource Classroom Organizer.

3. Turn Conferences into Conversations

Reading conferences are an essential part of understanding readers' needs and interests. In addition to being an assessment, conferences can hook students into loving book discussions. When students finish books, they notify Ms. Mosby and she asks a variety of comprehension questions about their reading process such as Why did you pick this book? Which character in the book do you like the most? Which event or character reminds you of something else you have read or experienced? She also shares ideas about the book she is reading. She adds, "The conversation allows me to see that they're actually making connections and that they truly enjoyed the book because our main purpose here is to enjoy reading." During the conversations, teachers can record notes about students' understanding of standards in order to inform future instruction.

4. Chat and Pitch Books
If you were to visit Ms. Mosby's class, you might think that the students were naturally advanced learners who always loved reading, but that love was spurred by a teacher devoted to authentic reading-reading that thrives with conversation and connection. Shervette Miller-Payton leads secondary English language arts curriculum development and cross-curricular literacy training in a Georgia school district. She can be reached on Twitter at @shervettemiller. O nessia Mosby is a National Board Certified Teacher in her 19th year of inspiring young scholars. She is currently teaching American literature at Griffin High School.
"When a student finishes a book," Ms. Mosby says, "I ask them to take a sticky note and basically pitch their book to future students. On that sticky note, they write in their own words a quick persuasive message to convince a specific audience that the book would be interesting to them. This gives students an opportunity to practice rhetorical techniques and allows other students to get a peer's snapshot of the book." Students also engaged in literature circles and online book discussions on Goodreads or Google Classroom. I was impressed with a chat and pitch that Ms. Mosby gave for Sharon Draper's Forged by Fire. A student immediately asked to read it next. These personal recommendations go beyond basic summaries on book covers. Students want to experience what others have experienced with books.

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Build Your Stack: Four Ways Teachers Can Build a Community of Readers through Classroom Libraries

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This blog post is part of Build Your Stack,® a new initiative focused exclusively on helping teachers build their book knowledge and their classroom libraries. It was written by NCTE member Shervette Miller-Payton. As English teachers, we often wonder how we can get students to love reading outside of mere class assignments.

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Surface-level Diversity

by Debbi Michiko Florence, Middle grade: The Only Black Girls in Town by Brandy Colbert, Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen A Dash of Trouble by Anna Meriano

Ignoring Intersectionality

Three decades ago, legal scholar and civil rights activist Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw coined the term " intersectionality " as a way of examining how courts failed to account for the overlapping forms of discrimination faced by Black women. Today, the term is used more broadly to refer to the way race, class, gender, sexuality and other characteristics overlap and shape individuals' experiences. "We like to think about people being one thing or the other when you can be Asian and queer and an immigrant," said Martin, the University of Washington professor. While a decade ago it may have been hard to find books by and about people whose identities sit at those types of intersections, that's increasingly less true, Martin said. "You can find those books if you are looking."

Sidekick Syndrome

: Picture books Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell, illustrated by Rafael López, The Patchwork Bike by Maxine Beneba Clarke and illustrated by Van T. Rudd, Niño Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales

Middle grade: Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez, Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia, Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel José Older

Treating Groups as Monoliths

by Jewell Parker Rhodes, Young adult: Black Brother, Black Brother The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar, Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America edited by Ibi Zoboi

Excluding #OwnVoices

by Traci Sorell and illustrated by Frané Lessac, Picture books: by Matthew A. Cherry and illustrated by Vashti Harrison, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga Saturday by Oge Mora

Stopping at the Text

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Diversifying Your Classroom Book Collections? Avoid these 7 Pitfalls | KQED

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Keeping your book selection relevant means making sure it includes meaningful experiences of different kinds of people, especially from marginalized communities. Here are some strategies and book titles that can help students grow from what they read.

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Research validates what we already know, that time spent reading improves reading achievement (Anderson, 1985; Anderson, Wilson, & Fielding, 1988; Fielding & Pearson, 1994; Taylor, Frye, & Maruyama, 1990). It sounds simple, but I've never had a class in twenty-four years where students would just go get a book and read on the first day of school.

I think this is what frustrates teachers who want to implement independent reading as the primary focus of the day, but are fearful of fake reading, sleeping, bathroom trips or chaos. Independent reading needs to be taught and nourished with a gentle hand-and these alternatives to reading logs can help.

A component of independent reading success is accountability! But it's not just students who need to be held accountable. We teachers, too, must be accountable! We need to be accountable for making this part of the day non-negotiable. Rain or shine, fire drill or assembly...independent reading must go on! If we are to impress upon our students that reading creates success, then we must prioritized actual reading. It should be the constant. We teachers must also hold ourselves accountable for conferring with our students, every day. I've noticed throughout my career that my energy subsides after lunch-and conferring takes focus and energy. I noticed that if independent reading is in the afternoon, not only will the students be tired, but so will I. Mid-morning was my sweet spot.

Students, too, must be held accountable for independent reading. But, as I once read on a blog, proving to me that they read a book will not inspire or motivate students to keep reading. Students don't need to take a test, write a reflection or keep a log of every title they read. Here is a list of some different and authentic ways to hold students accountable for independent reading. I think you're going to enjoy these ideas for alternatives to reading logs.

Reading Log Alternative #1: Talk

People talk about books they read. We share the stories and emotions of the characters and make connections to our own lives. Students will want to do this too! Students will talk with you during reading conferences, but they should also be encouraged to talk with each other. They can turn and talk with a partner or talk with the group. I've used microphones in the past, and together with a share chair, they create a fun sharing stage.

Reading Log Alternative #2: Status

I've adapted Nancie Atwell's writing workshop status of the class for independent reading. While it is more difficult with students reading picture books, taking a status check takes just a couple of minutes. On a checklist, as you call of each student's name, they can offer you the title and page number of what they are reading. Chapter books will often take more time, so it isn't necessary to write a new title each day. It also gives students an opportunity to listen to what their classmates are reading.

Reading Log Alternative #3: Booksource Classroom

Booksource Classroom , a free online classroom library management tool, offers a student check-out system that keeps tracks of all the books students read, the dates and leveling information. It will even graph this for you! At a glance, students can view their progress with pride and teachers can keep track of the titles all students are reading.

Create a free Booksource Classroom account and start tracking today!

Reading Log Alternative #4: Reviews

With online shopping at full speed, what would we do without reviews? Creating a simple review gives other students an inside look at what their peers think about a book. Similar to a reading response, this is practical and authentic. Reviews can be published on a class website or Booksource Classroom, so others can take a peek before checking out their latest book.

Reading Log Alternative #5: Tableaux

A tableau is a freeze frame shot of a scene in a movie, play or book. Students reading the same book can create a tableau demonstrating the meaning of a section of the book. Each person must represent a character or prop in the story. It's also fun if you suddenly announce, "PLAY"! Students then need to move the scene forward until you, or someone, yells, "CUT."

Reading Log Alternative #6: Group Discussions

Group discussions can be intimidating. If the purpose of the discussion is accountability, then how do you hold students accountable for talking on topic? Color Me Communications are the answer! This technique can be used with students of all ages. Each group of 4 or 5 students shares one paper, with each student in the group using a different color. You can use bingo daubers, crayons, markers or even stickers. Each time a group member shares, they add their color. The goal is to have everyone equally contribute.

Encouraging others helps the colors form a pattern, so at a glance, you can see how the discussion is going. I've also used small bingo boards with chart stickers and called it Discussion Dots. This works incredibly well!

Reading Log Alternative #7: Sketch Something

Sketch Something gives students an opportunity to sketch something that represents the last chapter or page that they've read. This is less threatening and less prove-to-me than a log or reflection. Students have 3 minutes to sketch, using only a pencil, and three minutes to have their neighbor decipher the sketch. The best part of the activity is the discussion that comes out as they talk about the sketch.

Reading Log Alternative #8: Further Inquiry

When students show an interest in a subject, take advantage of this to guide them towards additional research. Research and producing a digital book trailer , website or argument supporting their inquiry gives them opportunities to share with others. There are numerous free templates available online. Check out for creating digital slideshows, for recording students' voices, Voice Thread for a combination of the two and for designing free websites.
What do you use as alternatives to reading logs to hold students accountable for their independent reading? Please, share your ideas!

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8 Alternatives to Reading Logs for Holding Students Accountable During Independent Reading

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Research validates what we already know, that time spent reading improves reading achievement (Anderson, 1985; Anderson, Wilson, & Fielding, 1988; Fielding & Pearson, 1994; Taylor, Frye, & Maruyama, 1990).

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Let’s talk about reading logs for a moment. Yes, I know I have gone down this path before, but it bears repeating because not a week goes by without someone asking about them. Asking how th…

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Simple Starts: Making the Move to a Reader-Centered Classroom is out now. Heinemann's newest offering is author Kari Yates ' getting-started guide to creating the reading classroom of your-and your students'-dreams. In today's post adapted from the book, Kari gives you five ways to find time for independent reading within your already packed daily itinerary.

By Kari Yates

There's no question that running is good for me. It keeps me healthy, gives me energy, and helps me clear my head, process ideas, and just plain feel good. But if I didn't push back against a long list of competing demands, my running shoes would never see the light of day.

The same thing can be true in K-5 literacy classrooms. It's not enough to agree that independent reading is good for kids; we have to push back against the long list of competing demands to make sure independent reading gets the time it deserves.

As Mike Schmoker points out in " The Crayola Curriculum" (2001), the unfortunate reality in many literacy classrooms is that way too much other stuff is taking place in the name of literate activity: worksheets, crossword puzzles, word searches, cut-and-paste activities, coloring pages. None of these activities honor what study after study has concluded about how kids learn to read: they need books in their hands, books they can and want to read.

To become strong independent readers, students need to spend big chunks of uninterrupted time reading independently every single day. For that to happen, teachers and administrators need to work together to get independent reading on the schedule; keep it there; and honor it every day as sacred.

Simple Starts is packed with smart steps for transforming independent reading into a truly reader-centered, joyful time of day. But before you can begin to provide reader-centered instruction, you're going to have to find time for generous amounts of daily independent reading.

Kids can't learn to read at the level required for success if they are not spending the majority of the time authentically reading real texts and talking and writing about their reading. The formula for learning to read is clear:

TIME + GOOD-FIT BOOKS + THINKING, TALKING, AND WRITING = SUCCESS

Everyone who ever found more time for independent reading started off wondering where the time could possibly come from. The good news is, thousands of teachers have figured it out and so can you. Here are five simple starting points to help you reclaim precious minutes:

1. Tighten up transitions. You can "find" an extra ten to twenty minutes each day by sticking to the schedule and making clean transitions. Trim three minutes from bathroom break, another two when the kids get back from music or art, and a few more by shortening the snack break, and you've already grabbed an extra six or seven minutes.

2. Trim some fat. If there's no single activity you can completely eliminate, trim five or ten minutes from several. This adds up quickly.

3. Integrate social studies and science with reading. Supplement your science and social studies instruction by reading aloud high-quality historical fiction, biographies, and expository texts. Integrate content area learning into independent reading by stocking your classroom library shelves with nonfiction related to social studies and science.

4. Have kids read while you are working with small groups. You are probably already working with guided reading groups or providing other small-group instruction. Rather than have kids work in centers or at stations, gradually introduce independent reading as the primary activity for the rest of the class.

5. Eliminate artificial activities. Reclaim any time spent filling out worksheets and workbooks. These are not authentic tasks. By substituting real independent reading, you'll not only help your kids grow as readers but also have a whole lot less "correcting" to do at the end of the day.

Saying yes to daily independent reading will require the courage to say no to something else. But something you truly value is worth fighting for.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

Kari Yates is a program manager for literacy and English learners, helping teachers and administrators plan literacy instruction. Visit her web site and follow her on Twitter at @Kari_Yates.

Simple Starts: Making the Move to a Reader-Centered Classroom is out now.

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5 Ways to Reclaim Time for Independent Reading

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Simple Starts: Making the Move to a Reader-Centered Classroom is out now. Heinemann's newest offering is author Kari Yates ' getting-started guide to creating the reading classroom of your-and your students'-dreams. In today's post adapted from the book, Kari gives you five ways to find time for independent reading within your already packed daily itinerary.

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It probably comes as no surprise that teachers want more emphasis placed on independent reading. According to the International Literacy Association's 2020 What's Hot in Literacy Report, 70% of educators say there isn't enough time set aside for this task. If we all believe in the importance of independent reading, why are we failing to make it a priority?

The benefits of independent reading are clear

Independent reading is associated with higher reading achievement . When students read something that interests them, it boosts their engagement. Increased free reading improves fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. As students become more proficient readers, they want to read even more. With wide reading comes background knowledge that will help them across varying content areas and in future reading. Essentially, free choice reading creates a cycle of better and more advanced reading.

But the barriers are real

If self-selected reading is valuable, why isn't it on the schedule daily? Respondents to the survey overwhelmingly answered that there just isn't enough time, given other curriculum goals. Others felt that their administration and/or teachers didn't value independent reading. The absence of an independent reading component in the literacy curriculum and a lack of books for the classrooms were also concerns.

Who has the time?

According to ILA's report, 82% of teachers said students should read independently for at least 20 minutes a day. However, only 33% were actually able to block off that amount of time, with 4% reporting no time for free choice reading at all. This, despite the fact that 40% of respondents said that making time for student-selected independent reading during the school day was the best way to help students become strong readers.

What can teachers do?

Systemic change is necessary, however, there are ways to reclaim independent reading time even if free reading is not currently part of your school culture or curriculum. Here are some ideas:

Make it part of your morning routine. Skip the entry task and have students read at their desks after they've checked in and put their backpacks away.

Nix the "early finishers" work. Build into your classroom expectations that students read a book of their choice when they finish their work.

Use guided reading time. When you are working with a small group, allow the rest of the class to read on their own.

Streamline your transitions. The act of moving from one classroom or activity to another eats up a lot of time. If you tighten transitions, you'll have more minutes to allocate to independent reading.

Use choice books to teach skills. You don't have to use an anthology to teach theme or setting. Any fiction book will do.

How do you find time for independent reading? Come share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook. Plus, check out our article on passion projects for independent reading.

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70% of Educators Say There Isn't Enough Time Set Aside for Independent Reading

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It probably comes as no surprise that teachers want more emphasis placed on independent reading. According to the International Literacy Association's 2020 What's Hot in Literacy Report, 70% of educators say there isn't enough time set aside for this task. If we all believe in the importance of independent reading, why are we failing to make it a priority?

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American students have never had more access to digital devices for reading in and out of school. Now emerging research and troubling results on the test dubbed the Nation's Report Card raise questions about what effect all this digital access could have on students' longterm reading skills.

A little more than 1 in 3 American students read proficiently in grades 4 or 8, according to the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress, released at the end of last month. Reading scores in both grades declined significantly across states, races, and income levels, in public and private schools.

Students have actually lost ground since 2017 on both of the NAEP's main reading content areas: literary experience, such as fiction analysis, and reading for information, such as finding evidence to support an argument. Both grades declined significantly in both areas from 2017 to 2019, but the drop was larger for literary skills. In fact, 8th graders perform worse now than they did in 2009 in literary experience.

The results have spurred a flurry of questions about what could drive such a broad-based drop. The 2019 administration marks the second time most students have taken a digital version of the NAEP itself, but Peggy Carr, the associate commissioner for the National Center for Education Statistics, which administers the NAEP, said the neither the testing mode nor changing demographics explain the drop in performance.

"I really think it's important to just take a look at that and say, well, maybe it's more something in the culture rather than specific policies," said Nat Malkus, the deputy director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, noting that states' demographic and policy changes in education do not explain the widescale declines.

"My suspicion rides on the ubiquity of screens and our attempts to make those useful in educating kids, and the concomitant increase in their use outside of school," Malkus said. "It could just be that actually technology is not the answer for education, but that it's sort of the enemy ... wearing down the attention span that it takes to develop a sense of reading for pleasure."

Getting Into the Habit

The nonprofit Common Sense Media's annual census of children's media use, released the same week as the NAEP, found that 94 percent of English/language arts teachers surveyed said they used digital programs for core curriculum activities several times a month. And 8- to 12-year-olds-the age group that includes grade 4-spend on average five hours a day outside of schoolwork on screens. The report also found that fewer children were developing a habit of reading, with only 38 percent of students reporting they enjoyed reading "a lot"-down from 41 percent in 2015.

The concerns come amid a broader debate over children's increasing screen time, from television and video games to online and mobile devices. In the journal JAMA Pediatrics, a new analysis of 58 studies covering more than 480,000 children and teenagers found more television, video game, and leisure internet time were linked to lower performance in reading and math, though screen time across the board did not hurt students' academics.

In a 2018 Education Week survey, a wide majority of American principals reported students spending too much time on screens, though they were more likely to report a good balance for using digital platforms in their own schools.

"Children have become much more immersed in their technologies than we ever thought they would be," said Patricia Alexander, an education professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, who studies print and digital reading development, "And yet essentially what we're doing ... is to put tablets in the hands of kindergartners and assume they will know how to regulate their use of them. And none of that sits well with the data."

Heavy Digital Users

According to background information collected with the NAEP, more than 9 in 10 U.S. students in grades 4 and 8 have access to a computer, tablet, or smartphone for reading at home. The vast majority have more than one.

An Education Week analysis of NAEP background data found that in both grades 4 and 8, spending more time using a computer or digital device for English and language arts work was associated with lower reading proficiency on the test. For example, students who used digital devices for reading work less than 30 minutes a day scored on average 8 scale points higher than those who used computers in language arts for longer periods of time. These light digital users scored 26 scale points higher than the students who spent the longest reading periods on digital devices, four hours or more a day. To put that into context, one year of school equals roughly 12 points on the NAEP's 500-point scale.

That translates into twice as many heavy digital users as light users scoring below basic on the NAEP, and nearly twice as many light digital users scoring at NAEP's advanced proficiency level. It's not clear whether using more digital reading platforms lowers students' reading skills, or poor readers are receiving more hours of remedial work via computers, or both.

And the link between more digital time and lower scores in language arts was even stronger, based on a separate study of 2017 NAEP data from high-poverty schools.

"Schools have spent millions and millions of dollars installing and updating and maintaining technologies because they believe they are critical for students to do well and learn," Alexander said. "The problem is that what we're finding now is all of this digital is actually changing the minds of students, the habits of students in a very broad way that is not necessarily facilitative of deep learning."

Studies have found higher screen time linked to worse sleep habits and eyesight, poorer attention, and lower academic progress-but in general, these studies have looked at screen exposure more broadly, rather than reading habits in particular.

However, three research analyses in the past two years have coalesced concerns around differences in how students read in print versus online.

For example, students at all ages tend to favor reading in print more than online, and report growing tired more quickly when reading digitally, which some studies have credited to increased eyestrain from reading smaller or backlit text. But the biggest difference between digital and print reading seems to come from digital interactivity. Including hyperlinks, videos, and other interactive elements encourages students to jump around on the story and among texts on different pages, rather than reading linearly.

One meta-analysis comparing digital and traditional storybooks found some attention-getting elements, like sound effects, improved comprehension for young children, but that interactive features like pop-up dictionaries or sidebars distracted students and hurt comprehension. Both the potential good and bad effects were stronger for disadvantaged students.

Differences Across Platforms

A study of reading behavior changes found that as students move to reading online, they tend to read faster, browsing and skimming more and looking for key words. They read less of a longer text and tend to reread less, and as students spend more time reading digitally, they become more likely to read print text in the same way. By contrast, the habits associated with print reading, such as deeper and more concentrated periods of reading, with students annotating and highlighting as they read, did not transfer to reading digital text as easily.

In three separate meta-analyses in the last two years, researchers have found the habits associated with reading digitally can decrease students' skills in following a narrative, and comprehending text deeply-exactly the skills measured under NAEP's literary experience content.

But that electronic libraries have given low-income students vastly more access to reading materials than most poorly resourced families and schools have without them. And Alexander noted, while computers have been used in schools for decades, widescale, extensive use of computers and tablets in reading classrooms has boomed only in the last decade, meaning that it's still too early to tell how learning to read on digital devices may change children's reading skills and habits in the long term.

"Here's what we do know about reading: You read better when you read in print, meaning you remember more of what you read, you understand it deeper. ... We keep trying to understand why, because in study after study, this is happening," Alexander said.

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Screen Time Up as Reading Scores Drop. Is There a Link?

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American students have never had more access to digital devices for reading in and out of school. Now emerging research and troubling results on the test dubbed the Nation's Report Card raise questions about what effect all this digital access could have on students' longterm reading skills.

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NCTE's Position Statement on Independent Reading

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NCTE's Position Statement on Independent Reading

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Independent reading leads to an increased volume of reading. The more one reads, the better one reads. The more one reads, the more knowledge of words and language one acquires. The more one reads, the more fluent one becomes as a reader. The more one reads, the easier it becomes to sustain the mental effort necessary to comprehend complex texts. The more one reads, the more one learns about the people and happenings of our world.

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When Michelle Martin thinks back on her teaching career, she identifies its starting point as second grade-not when her students were second graders, but when she was. Earlier this year, sitting in her office full of children's books at the University of Washington, Martin told me that her first pupil was a classmate, a little girl whose family had moved into Martin's neighborhood in Columbia, South Carolina, and who "had had a turbulent childhood." Upon noting that her classmate was having trouble reading, Martin simply told their teacher not to worry-she'd take care of it. Martin remembers few specifics of the exact teaching strategy she used, but says her teacher later remarked to Martin's mother, "She taught that child to read!"

Decades later, as a professor who specializes in children's library services at the Information School at the University of Washington, Martin is still turning children into readers, and her mission has expanded to educating teachers and librarians about how to make students of all backgrounds eager to explore books.

Martin's day job is teaching graduate students, most of them future librarians, about children's and young-adult literature. (Her professorship is named for the librarian turned beloved children's-book author Beverly Cleary.) Martin's philosophy is that all children can become lovers of books, but that it's an educator's job to help them find the stories in which they can see or imagine themselves. In 2017, a study published by the American Library Association indicated that in the United States, some 87 percent of librarians were white. The pool of American teachers, meanwhile, is about 80 percent white, and children's literature as a genre is also overwhelmingly written by, and about, white people. Yet only half of American children are white -and Martin has taken note over the years of the ways in which the whiteness of school libraries and classroom book collections can alienate students of color, resulting in missed opportunities to foster a love of reading.

So Martin co-founded Camp Read-a-Rama, a summer program that started in South Carolina and then moved with her when she relocated to Washington. She's also a trusted resource for librarians, teaching them how to incorporate books by and about people of color into their libraries and story times.

Despite the ultimate shape of her career trajectory, Martin says she spent a good chunk of time resisting the idea of becoming an educator. Her parents and grandmother were teachers, and Martin was hesitant to do anything she felt might just be mindlessly falling in line. But she ended up teaching anyway: After graduating from college as an English major in 1988, she wanted a break from school before pursuing a Ph.D., and she found a job as an outdoor educator near California's Sequoia National Forest.

Upon accepting the role, "I had to do a little bit of PR work with my mother," Martin remembers. "She was like, 'Black people have been trying to get out of the woods for [generations]!'" But Martin fell in love with outdoor education. She taught kids about animal life cycles and the night sky, having them write haiku out on the trail and learn songs Martin herself had written about how to identify different kinds of animal poop. After two years, Martin left and got a master's in outdoor education. She spent the next two years working as a naturalist in South Carolina's Sesquicentennial State Park, 10 minutes from where she grew up.

Martin returned to school to earn her Ph.D. in children's literature in 1993. She began her classroom teaching career four years later and eventually ended up at Clemson University, a move she welcomed because it meant living in her home state of South Carolina. (Martin taught at Clemson for 12 years before taking on her current role at the University of Washington in 2016.) At Clemson, she told Rachelle D. Washington, an education professor she'd befriended, "about this idea I had of taking my [outdoor education] passion and my children's-lit passion and putting them together," Martin told me. "And she said, 'Let's do it.'" In 2009, they launched Camp Read-a-Rama.

Camp Read-a-Rama has been held in libraries, churches, schools, and affordable-housing complexes for formerly homeless families; Martin aims to "find the kids who really need to be there, and make sure that they can afford camp." Kids who attend also get books to take home, as research has demonstrated how important it is to childhood literacy to have a home library.

Often, local teachers who hear about the program reach out to Martin to recommend particular students who could benefit from attending. But kids who need the extra help, she added, are everywhere. Several years ago, when the camp was still in South Carolina, she pulled into her driveway on a 100-degree day while some workers were repairing her roof. "I heard, 'Papa, Papa! Can I get out of the truck?'" Martin remembered. A little boy was waiting in the car, and when Martin approached, he told her his grandpa was on the roof. "Papa and Grandma were raising him, Dad was in jail, and they couldn't afford child care. So Papa had to take him to work." Martin had him at Camp Read-a-Rama the following Monday.

Martin emphasized that what she and her staff teach at Camp Read-a-Rama is less reading and more the enjoyment of reading. In Martin's experience, reading becomes a more appealing prospect to kids when "you put them in an immersive environment where they're surrounded by books that they like," she said. "You've got a book that all of a sudden becomes an activity: You read about the wet dog, and then you're acting it out on the stage, or you're outside splashing around just like the wet dog did, for example." Martin refers to this approach as "reducing the distance between books and life."

Lauren Rizzuto, a former student and research assistant of Martin's at Clemson, worked with Camp Read-a-Rama in its early stages, an experience that informs how she teaches now as an adjunct professor of children's literature at Simmons University in Boston. "I kept a lot of that hands-on experience in mind when I was designing my course so that it wouldn't be purely reading books in a vacuum," she said.

In addition to teaching children and graduate students, Martin routinely advises librarians who want their libraries to better serve children and families of color. She has seen firsthand what she considers to be an ideal library setup: On a recent visit to Australia, she visited a library and was greeted by "rows and rows and rows of [books in] all the languages of the people who would be visiting that library-videos, magazines, from all these different countries," as well as in the indigenous languages of the aboriginal people of the area. "What a welcome, you know?" she recalled. "Structurally, it's already saying, You belong here. "

But Martin thinks it's important not just to have books that feature people who look and sound like their young readers, but to teach those books, too. To make this point, she is fond of reading books to librarians, such as Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James's Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, a children's book about the power of an artful barbershop haircut to boost self-esteem, with illustrations that star young black boys. She tells the librarians, "You might not know from experience [what some of the haircuts are], and some of the kids might not know, but you can do your homework and find out." It's okay, Martin adds in her workshops, for white educators to admit to kids that they're not familiar with certain things that might come up in books for diverse readers. "You can learn from kids," she said, "and they can teach you a lot of stuff, if you're willing to listen."
Read: Where is the black Blueberries for Sal?
Martin says participants in these workshops often tell her afterward that she got them thinking for the first time about how certain books might resonate differently, or fail to resonate at all, with kids of various backgrounds. Rizzuto, too, counts this among the key lessons she's learned from Martin: "She showed me that childhood doesn't look the same across cultures, classes, or races."

When Martin isn't teaching in a classroom (or writing children's-book reviews in her office), she's often swimming, biking, or hiking. She continues to mentor kids from diverse backgrounds in the outdoors, leading a troop of Girl Scouts (most of whom are girls of color) and doing "Girl Scout stuff" such as hiking and camping with her own daughter, who's 16 and extending a matrilineal line of Scouts into its fourth generation.

The field of nature conservation-like the fields of librarianship and children's literature-is overwhelmingly white. "Michelle was one of the first black people I met who understood what I was doing and what my passion was," said J. Drew Lanham, an ornithologist at Clemson who is black and a friend of Martin's. Lanham spoke highly of Martin's career-long passion for exposing kids of color to the outdoors, noting that this exposure is good for environmentalism, too, since it can foster a lasting love of nature and win over more converts to the cause.

What Lanham has seen Martin do outdoors is what many of her colleagues and students have seen her do at Camp Read-a-Rama and in her classrooms and workshops: enable kids to venture into any space-be it a library or a classroom or a mountain preserve-and feel empowered to explore.
This article is part of our project "On Teaching," which is supported by grants from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Panta Rhea Foundation.

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specifics of the exact teaching strategy

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When Michelle Martin thinks back on her teaching career, she identifies its starting point as second grade-not when her students were second graders, but when she was.

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Creating Passionate Readers Through Independent Reading

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Creating Passionate Readers Through Independent Reading

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This brief from the International Literacy Association (ILA) describes recommended practices for independent reading.

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Real Stories About the Joy and Power of Reading

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Real Stories About the Joy and Power of Reading

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This document is a compilation of short stories told by well-known authors and educators about the joy and power of reading.

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This document from Scholastic provides a summary of recent research and expert opinion related to the joy and power of reading.