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May Stage 3-  Choose your Edchat Group (Responses)

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A list of who is in each group.

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May Stage 3-  Choose your Edchat Group (Responses)

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Locating Additional Books with Similar Topics 

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Locating Additional Books with Similar Topics 

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Book Wizard: Find and Level Books for Your Classroom | Scholastic

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Level your classroom library, create book lists, and find the right book at just the right reading level for students with Book Wizard.

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SUMMARIZING STRATEGIES

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Listen to this post as a podcast:
When I worked with student teachers on developing effective lesson plans, one thing I always asked them to revise was the phrase "We will discuss."
We will discuss the video. We will discuss the story. We will discuss our results.
Every time I saw it in a lesson plan, I would add a note: "What format will you use? What questions will you ask? How will you ensure that all students participate?" I was pretty sure that We will discuss actually meant the teacher would do most of the talking; He would throw out a couple of questions like "So what did you think about the video?" or "What was the theme of the story?" and a few students would respond, resulting in something that looked like a discussion, but was ultimately just a conversation between the teacher and a handful of extroverted students; a classic case of Fisheye Teaching.

The problem wasn't them; in most of the classrooms where they'd sat as students, that's exactly what a class discussion looked like. They didn't know any other "formats." I have only ever been familiar with a few myself. But when teachers began contacting me recently asking for a more comprehensive list, I knew it was time to do some serious research.

So here they are: 15 formats for structuring a class discussion to make it more engaging, more organized, more equitable, and more academically challenging. If you've struggled to find effective ways to develop students' speaking and listening skills, this is your lucky day.

I've separated the strategies into three groups. The first batch contains the higher-prep strategies, formats that require teachers to do some planning or gathering of materials ahead of time. Next come the low-prep strategies, which can be used on the fly when you have a few extra minutes or just want your students to get more active. Note that these are not strict categories; it's certainly possible to simplify or add more meat to any of these structures and still make them work. The last group is the ongoing strategies. These are smaller techniques that can be integrated with other instructional strategies and don't really stand alone. For each strategy, you'll find a list of other names it sometimes goes by, a description of its basic structure, and an explanation of variations that exist, if any. To watch each strategy in action, click on its name and a new window will open with a video that demonstrates it.

Enjoy!
a.k.a. Chat Stations
Basic Structure: Stations or posters are set up around the classroom, on the walls or on tables. Small groups of students travel from station to station together, performing some kind of task or responding to a prompt, either of which will result in a conversation.

Variations: Some Gallery Walks stay true to the term gallery, where groups of students create informative posters, then act as tour guides or docents, giving other students a short presentation about their poster and conducting a Q&A about it. In Starr Sackstein's high school classroom, her stations consisted of video tutorials created by the students themselves. Before I knew the term Gallery Walk, I shared a strategy similar to it called Chat Stations, where the teacher prepares discussion prompts or content-related tasks and sets them up around the room for students to visit in small groups.
a.k.a. Values Continuum, Forced Debate, Physical Barometer, This or That
Basic Structure: A statement that has two possible responses-agree or disagree-is read out loud. Depending on whether they agree or disagree with this statement, students move to one side of the room or the other. From that spot, students take turns defending their positions.

Variations: Often a Philosophical Chairs debate will be based around a text or group of texts students have read ahead of time; students are required to cite textual evidence to support their claims and usually hold the texts in their hands during the discussion. Some teachers set up one hot seat to represent each side, and students must take turns in the seat. In less formal variations (which require less prep), a teacher may simply read provocative statements students are likely to disagree on, and a debate can occur spontaneously without a text to refer to (I call this variation This or That in my classroom icebreakers post). Teachers may also opt to offer a continuum of choices, ranging from "Strongly Agree" on one side of the room, all the way to "Strongly Disagree" on the other, and have students place themselves along that continuum based on the strength of their convictions.

Basic Structure: Students are divided into 4 groups. Three of these groups are assigned to represent specific points of view. Members of the fourth group are designated as "provocateurs," tasked with making sure the discussion keeps going and stays challenging. One person from each group (the "speaker") sits in a desk facing speakers from the other groups, so they form a square in the center of the room. Behind each speaker, the remaining group members are seated: two right behind the speaker, then three behind them, and so on, forming a kind of triangle. From above, this would look like a pinwheel. The four speakers introduce and discuss questions they prepared ahead of time (this preparation is done with their groups). After some time passes, new students rotate from the seats behind the speaker into the center seats and continue the conversation.

Variations: When high school English teacher Sarah Brown Wessling introduced this strategy in the featured video (click Pinwheel Discussion above), she used it as a device for talking about literature, where each group represented a different author, plus one provocateur group. But in the comments that follow the video, Wessling adds that she also uses the strategy with non-fiction, where students represent authors of different non-fiction texts or are assigned to take on different perspectives about an issue.
a.k.a. Socratic Circles
Basic Structure: Students prepare by reading a text or group of texts and writing some higher-order discussion questions about the text. On seminar day, students sit in a circle and an introductory, open-ended question is posed by the teacher or student discussion leader. From there, students continue the conversation, prompting one another to support their claims with textual evidence. There is no particular order to how students speak, but they are encouraged to respectfully share the floor with others. Discussion is meant to happen naturally and students do not need to raise their hands to speak. This overview of Socratic Seminar from the website Facing History and Ourselves provides a list of appropriate questions, plus more information about how to prepare for a seminar.

Variations: If students are beginners, the teacher may write the discussion questions, or the question creation can be a joint effort. For larger classes, teachers may need to set up seminars in more of a fishbowl-like arrangement, dividing students into one inner circle that will participate in the discussion, and one outer circle that silently observes, takes notes, and may eventually trade places with those in the inner circle, sometimes all at once, and sometimes by "tapping in" as the urge strikes them.
a.k.a. Affinity Diagramming
Basic Structure: Give students a broad question or problem that is likely to result in lots of different ideas, such as "What were the impacts of the Great Depression?" or "What literary works should every person read?" Have students generate responses by writing ideas on post-it notes (one idea per note) and placing them in no particular arrangement on a wall, whiteboard, or chart paper. Once lots of ideas have been generated, have students begin grouping them into similar categories, then label the categories and discuss why the ideas fit within them, how the categories relate to one another, and so on.

Variations: Some teachers have students do much of this exercise-recording their ideas and arranging them into categories- without talking at first. In other variations, participants are asked to re-combine the ideas into new, different categories after the first round of organization occurs. Often, this activity serves as a good pre-writing exercise, after which students will write some kind of analysis or position paper.
a.k.a. Speed Dating
Basic Structure: Students form two circles, one inside circle and one outside circle. Each student on the inside is paired with a student on the outside; they face each other. The teacher poses a question to the whole group and pairs discuss their responses with each other. Then the teacher signals students to rotate: Students on the outside circle move one space to the right so they are standing in front of a new person (or sitting, as they are in the video). Now the teacher poses a new question, and the process is repeated.

Variations: Instead of two circles, students could also form two straight lines facing one another. Instead of "rotating" to switch partners, one line just slides over one spot, and the leftover person on the end comes around to the beginning of the line. Some teachers use this strategy to have students teach one piece of content to their fellow students, making it less of a discussion strategy and more of a peer teaching format. In fact, many of these protocols could be used for peer teaching as well.

Basic Structure: Another great idea from Sarah Brown Wessling, this is a small-group discussion strategy that gives students exposure to more of their peers' ideas and prevents the stagnation that can happen when a group doesn't happen to have the right chemistry. Students are placed into a few groups of 4-6 students each and are given a discussion question to talk about. After sufficient time has passed for the discussion to develop, one or two students from each group rotate to a different group, while the other group members remain where they are. Once in their new group, they will discuss a different, but related question, and they may also share some of the key points from their last group's conversation. For the next rotation, students who have not rotated before may be chosen to move, resulting in groups that are continually evolving.

Basic Structure: Two students sit facing each other in the center of the room; the remaining students sit in a circle around them. The two central students have a conversation based on a pre-determined topic and often using specific skills the class is practicing (such as asking follow-up questions, paraphrasing, or elaborating on another person's point). Students on the outside observe, take notes, or perform some other discussion-related task assigned by the teacher.

Variations: One variation of this strategy allows students in the outer circle to trade places with those in the fishbowl, doing kind of a relay-style discussion, or they may periodically "coach" the fishbowl talkers from the sidelines. Teachers may also opt to have students in the outside circle grade the participants' conversation with a rubric, then give feedback on what they saw in a debriefing afterward, as mentioned in the featured video.

Basic Structure: One student assumes the role of a book character, significant figure in history, or concept (such as a tornado, an animal, or the Titanic). Sitting in front of the rest of the class, the student responds to classmates' questions while staying in character in that role.

Variations: Give more students the opportunity to be in the hot seat while increasing everyone's participation by having students do hot seat discussions in small groups, where one person per group acts as the "character" and three or four others ask them questions. In another variation, several students could form a panel of different characters, taking questions from the class all together and interacting with one another like guests on a TV talk show.
a.k.a. Pyramid Discussion
Basic Structure: Students begin in pairs, responding to a discussion question only with a single partner. After each person has had a chance to share their ideas, the pair joins another pair, creating a group of four. Pairs share their ideas with the pair they just joined. Next, groups of four join together to form groups of eight, and so on, until the whole class is joined up in one large discussion.

Variations: This structure could simply be used to share ideas on a topic, or students could be required to reach consensus every time they join up with a new group.

Whereas the other formats in this list have a distinct shape-specific activities you do with students-the strategies in this section are more like plug-ins, working discussion into other instructional activities and improving the quality and reach of existing conversations.

One of the limitations of discussion is that rich, face-to-face conversations can only happen when all parties are available, so we're limited to the time we have in class. With a tool like Voxer, those limitations disappear. Like a private voice mailbox that you set up with just one person or a group (but SOOOO much easier), Voxer allows users to have conversations at whatever time is most convenient for each participant. So a group of four students can "discuss" a topic from 3pm until bedtime-asynchronously-each member contributing whenever they have a moment, and if the teacher makes herself part of the group, she can listen in, offer feedback, or contribute her own discussion points. Voxer is also invaluable for collaborating on projects and for having one-on-one discussions with students, parents, and your own colleagues. Like many other educators, Peter DeWitt took a while to really understand the potential of Voxer, but in this EdWeek piece, he explains what turned him around.

A backchannel is a conversation that happens right alongside another activity. The first time I saw a backchannel in action was at my first unconference: While those of us in the audience listened to presenters and watched a few short video clips, a separate screen was up beside the main screen, projecting something called TodaysMeet (update: TodaysMeet has shut down. Use YoTeach! instead.) It looked a lot like those chat rooms from back in the day, basically a blank screen where people would contribute a few lines of text, the lines stacking up one after the other, no other bells or whistles. Anyone in the room could participate in this conversation on their phone, laptop, or tablet, asking questions, offering commentary, and sharing links to related resources without ever interrupting the flow of the presentations. This kind of tool allows for a completely silent discussion, one that doesn't have to move at a super-fast pace, and it gives students who may be reluctant to speak up or who process their thoughts more slowly a chance to fully contribute. For a deeper discussion of how this kind of tool can be used, read this thoughtful overview of using backchannel discussions in the classroom by Edutopia's Beth Holland.
a.k.a. Accountable Talk
Talk moves are sentence frames we supply to our students that help them express ideas and interact with one another in respectful, academically appropriate ways. From kindergarten all the way through college, students can benefit from explicit instruction in the skills of summarizing another person's argument before presenting an alternate view, asking clarifying questions, and expressing agreement or partial agreement with the stance of another participant. Talk moves can be incorporated into any of the other discussion formats listed here.

Whole Brain Teaching is a set of teaching and classroom management methods that has grown in popularity over the past 10 years. One of WBT's foundational techniques is Teach-OK, a peer teaching strategy that begins with the teacher spending a few minutes introducing a concept to the class. Next, the teacher says Teach!, the class responds with Okay!, and pairs of students take turns re-teaching the concept to each other. It's a bit like think-pair-share, but it's faster-paced, it focuses more on re-teaching than general sharing, and students are encouraged to use gestures to animate their discussion. Although WBT is most popular in elementary schools, this featured video shows the creator of WBT, Chris Biffle, using it quite successfully with college students. I have also used Teach-OK with college students, and most of my students said they were happy for a change from the sit-and-listen they were used to in college classrooms.

An oldie but a goodie, think-pair-share can be used any time you want to plug interactivity into a lesson: Simply have students think about their response to a question, form a pair with another person, discuss their response, then share it with the larger group. Because I feel this strategy has so many uses and can be way more powerful than we give it credit for, I devoted a whole post to think-pair-share; everything you need to know about it is right there.

TWO MORE YOU'LL LOVE

Since writing this post, I have learned about two more discussion strategies that teachers are finding to be incredibly effective and powerful for getting students to talk, especially about books and other texts:

This protocol has students come up with their own Thoughts, lingering Questions, and Epiphanies from an assigned reading. Teachers who have used this method say it has generated some of the richest conversations they have ever heard from students!

This strategy places students into one-on-one conversations, getting them to learn each others' names better and create a track record of what they talked about. Excellent for classes where you want to assess for discussion and help students get more comfortable with each other.

So what else do you have? I would like to think this is a pretty complete list, but I'm sure more strategies are out there. If you use a discussion strategy that's not mentioned here, please share it below.

Come back for more.
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The Big List of Class Discussion Strategies

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Here they are: 15 formats for structuring a class discussion to make it more engaging, more organized, more equitable, and more academically challenging.

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Best Books for Kids | Common Sense Media

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Find the best books for kids: Whether you're looking for classic kids' books, best-sellers, or great new book recommendations, these are the best page-turners!

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TeachingBooks.net | Author & Book Resources to Support Reading Education

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By resource types (lesson plans, author movies, etc.)

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Action Plan Due June 9

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Back to: Grants And Events / Read Across America / Reading All Year Long / Finding Free Books for the Classroom

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Reading Resources and Helping Students to Choose Books

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Reading Resources and Helping Students to Choose Books

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When it comes to summer, reading may not be the first thing-or even in the top ten things-kids have in mind! But reading can be the ideal summer activity. It's fun, portable, can involve the whole family, and will help your child academically. These resources can help you put good books into kids' hands and connect them to vibrant summer learning adventures.

All about summer reading

Summer reading resources and activity ideas (that won't have you spending half your summer at the craft store)

Ways to challenge kids to read this summer

Summer reading recommendations for kids

Great web resources to help raise readers

AdLit.org supports the parents and educators of struggling adolescent readers and writers with multimedia information and resources

Colorin Colorado provides resources for educators and families of English language learners (ELLs) in grades PreK-12

NAEYC for Families helps parents understand how children ages 0-8 learn and offers creative learning ideas to try at home

National Summer Learning Association focuses on closing the achievement gap through high-quality summer learning for all children and youth

Reading Rockets offers strategies, lessons, activities and ideas designed to help young children learn to read

ReadWriteThink provides access to the highest quality practices and resources in reading and language arts instruction

ReadKiddoRead is the biggest get-your-kids-reading movement on the web

Understood helps the millions of parents whose children, ages 3

reading tips

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When it comes to summer, reading may not be the first thing-or even in the top ten things-kids have in mind! But reading can be the ideal summer activity. It's fun, portable, can involve the whole family, and will help your child academically.

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We Need Diverse Books™ is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and a grassroots organization of children's book lovers that advocates essential changes in the publishing industry to produce and promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people.

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We Need Diverse Books™ is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and a grassroots organization of children's book lovers that advocates essential changes in the publishing industry to produce and promote literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people.

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From booklists to tips for reading out loud, find what you need to inspire students to pick up a book and become lifelong readers.

Each year, NEA's Read Across America program creates a colorful calendar of books and reading lesson ideas for our members, highlighted here. Join us as we celebrate children's literature and work to cultivate good reading habits that will last a lifetime. Learn about diverse books from this year's 20th Anniversary Read Across America Calendar.

NEA is committed to celebrating reading and literacy throughout the year by showcasing popular children's authors and trends in children's literature. NEA Today, NEA's flagship publication, honors that commitment with News and Features from the World of Reading.

"Watch Me Read" HMS Choir, Hyattsville, MD, presents Watch Me Read to the tune of the Whip and Nae Nae in honor of Reading Rally Day.

We Need Diverse Books!

NEA's Read Across America is proud to partner with We Need Diverse Books, the collaborative effort by diverse authors and illustrators and literacy advocates to support diversity in children and young adult literature. We participated in their Tumblr and will work with We Need Diverse Books and FirstBook for greater diversity in classroom and school libraries and book lists that celebrate diversity of all kinds. We are revamping our own booklists and finding more for you to share with students. Go to www.weneeddiversebooks.org.

Looking for Books?

If you serve a high needs student population and are in need of books for your reading event, there are organizations that can help. They have books by Dr. Seuss and many of your favorite authors for free or at significant discounts.Find out more about these Read Across partners.

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Each year, NEA's Read Across America program creates a colorful calendar of books and reading lesson ideas for our members, highlighted here. Join us as we celebrate children's literature and work to cultivate good reading habits that will last a lifetime. Learn about diverse books from this year's 20th Anniversary Read Across America Calendar.

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e-Book Reading and Response: Innovative Ways to Engage with Texts - ReadWriteThink

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Students in grades 5 through 12 read and respond to electronic books by using e-book tools and features, including digital note-taking capabilities.

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                     Additional Professional Resources

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                     Additional Professional Resources

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                         Discussion Protocols

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                         Discussion Protocols

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Interview with Donalyn Miller

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Nanocasting Radio Network is property of Jackstreet Media the leading new madia company that developed the Nanocasting system for hypertargeting an audience and delivering information directly to those who are most interested in it.

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              Published Book Lists                  Reading Inventories/Student Reflections

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              Published Book Lists                  Reading Inventories/Student Reflections

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Collaborative Conversations:  The Role of the Coach in Fostering School-wide Reading

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Collaborative Conversations:  The Role of the Coach in Fostering School-wide Reading

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Just Read, Florida! Summer Literacy Adventure Information

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Just Read, Florida! Summer Literacy Adventure Information

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                                                            Research Articles:  Creating Readers

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                                                            Research Articles:  Creating Readers

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4. Tatum

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3. Coombs

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Choices: A Brief History

In 1974, the International Reading Association (now International Literacy Association) and the Children's Book Council (CBC) launched Children's Choices: an annotated list of high-quality books written for readers in grades K-6 (ages 5-12). For more than four decades, approximately 12,500 children from different regions of the United States read hundreds of new titles donated by North American publishers and selected up to 100 of their favorites for inclusion on the reading list.

Sister projects Young Adults' Choices and Teachers' Choices were introduced in 1986 and 1989, respectively; the former highlighted approximately 30 books for teenagers, while the latter identified the same number rated by teachers, school librarians, and reading specialists as outstanding for curriculum use.

A New Beginning

The three lists served as trusted and anticipated resources until 2020, when the COVID-19 virus created conditions that rendered the volunteer-driven project untenable. As a result, ILA paused the program for the first time before ultimately deciding to rehome it with long-term cosponsor CBC.

In May 2022, CBC announced that it was relaunching the reading lists under a new name: Favorites. The inaugural set of lists -Children's Favorites, Young Adult Favorites, Teacher Favorites, and Librarian Favorites-were released in spring 2023.

Learn more about the Favorites Lists.

Choices Archives

ILA members may obtain archived lists by contacting choices@reading.org. The three most recent reading list booklets-each an annotated compilation of all three Choices lists-may be accessed by anyone through the links below.

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The Choices reading lists once produced by the International Literacy Association (ILA) have shifted over to the project's former cosponsor, the Children's Book Council, and have been rebranded as the Favorites Lists. Visit the CBC's website for more information.

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6. Miller

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Creating Readers: Part I - Education Week Teacher

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Donalyn Miller, self proclaimed "book whisperer" and sixth grade teacher, answers your questions on inspiring and creating "real" readers and writers in the classroom. First of three parts.

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2.  Cambria & Guthrie

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25 Ways Schools Can Promote Literacy Independent Reading
contributed by Kimberly Tyson, Ph.D.

In the age of the Common Core and its emphasis upon having students take on more challenging text, independent reading and student choice can easily take a back seat to the demands of increased rigor. However, in a balanced literacy program, they remain important.

Motivation and choice play key roles in reading.

And, strong and capable readers are those who read widely and diversely in a wide variety of genres and text types.

In the quest to build capable readers, promoting independent, self-selected reading remains key. Creating ravenous, lifelong readers doesn't just happen, it takes a schoolwide culture to help reach that goal.

We want kids to read more. We want them to enjoy reading. We know that reading builds vocabulary, fluency, and background knowledge. So let's do our part to promote and encourage independent reading across our schools. Below are 25 ways schools can create a reading culture for independent literacy.
25 Ways Schools Can Promote Independent Reading
1. Set aside time for independent reading. Time for reading independently doesn't just happen. Plan for it by making it a priority in schedules across K-12 classrooms. You may need to get creative by stealing minutes here and there, but find at least 15 minutes a day (20 recommended) for self-selecting, independent reading.

2. Create Literacy-Rich Environments in every K-12 Classroom. A literacy-rich environment - full of print, word walls, books, and reading materials - not only supports the Common Core standards, but also provides a setting that encourages and supports speaking, listening, reading, and writing in a variety of authentic ways - through print & digital media. Make it a priority for every K-12 classroom to be an inviting, print-rich environment that supports independent reading and student learning.

3. Support High-Quality Classroom Libraries. Students need access to interesting books and materials - both in print and online. When students are provided with well-designed classroom libraries, they interact more with books, spend more time reading, exhibit more positive attitudes toward reading, and exhibit higher levels of reading achievement (NAEP, 2002). Additionally, research-based classroom libraries support balanced literacy instruction. Support teachers in building classroom libraries through budget dollars, grants, and book drives.

4. Encourage Read Alouds. In the Becoming a Nation of Readers report (1985), experts reported that "the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children." Not only did the experts suggest reading aloud in the home, but they also suggested reading aloud in schools. Read alouds not only allow teachers to model that reading is a great way to spend time but also expose students to more complex vocabulary than they typically hear or read.

And, that doesn't exclude reading to older students, too. Occasionally reading more difficult text aloud provides opportunity for rich discussion and vocabulary development. And, reading young adult selections such as The Fault in Our Stars (affiliate link) by John Green provides the background and context for meaningful discussions about current topics, too.

5. Create a "Caught Reading" Campaign that features Teachers as Readers. Creating a schoolwide reading culture is important to promote reading as a lifestyle. Students need to see their teachers as readers. Create posters of teachers and staff reading their favorite books and display them in hallways throughout the schools. You can also produce bookmarks that feature teacher's favorite book picks to help guide students as they select books for independent reading.

6. Invite Guest Readers into Classrooms. What better way to promote reading than by having guest readers read aloud to students. Invite parents and community members to select a book or article to read aloud and discuss with students. You can even make it fun by announcing them as "mystery readers" and providing clues during the week to create anticipation for the guest reader.

7. Encourage Students to Read Widely. Sometimes students get in a rut and don't read beyond their favorite genre or author. Encourage students to read outside of their preferred genres. To build a wide vocabulary and broad background knowledge, students need to read in a wide variety of genres and text types. Through book talks, read alouds, and book displays, open students' eyes to new authors, genres, and text types.

8. Create a Twitter Hashtag for Sharing Books. Move beyond traditional books reviews by creating a schoolwide Twitter #hashtag such as #GESTitleTalk or #PS41FavBooks where students and teachers write super short reviews and highlights of recently read books. In addition, the librarian can create interest in books by posting new titles on the school hashtag. Teachers can create a classroom hashtag, too, such as #4thReads.

9. Host Book Clubs for Students and Parents. A community of readers sometimes happens naturally; however, book clubs are a perfect way to foster connectivity around books and reading. Students can even host their own book clubs within a classroom, grade level, or school.

Reading is important for parents, too. Host a book club at school or online to help create an adult community of readers and build strong parental support for reading. "Books and Bagels" can be a perfect duo for an early morning book club.

10. Financially Support School Libraries. In an era of tightening budgets, the school library/media center needs to continue receiving financial support. While classroom libraries are vitally important to a balanced literacy program, media centers are as well. Each serves a distinctly different purpose in supporting readers. And, media centers should be staffed by licensed librarians who are experts in both children's literature and how to build and maintain a high-quality collection that supports independent reading, research, and instruction.

11. Collaborate with the Local Library. Work with the local library to learn about and support their programs, services, and resources for students. Invite them into your school so students can easily obtain a library card and learn about how the public library can support their reading and research needs.

12. Provide Opportunities for Summer Reading. The summer reading slide is real. Schools can play an important role in providing opportunities so that students read over the summer. Ranging from giving away books to providing summer library hours, there are many ways that schools can support independent reading during the summer months.

13. Support Author Visits. Students need to learn about how writers get their ideas and turn those ideas into books. Author visits help make those connections visible for students. If your budget is tight, work with a local library or another school district to help financially sponsor an author visit.

14. Sponsor a Young Author Conference. Along with author visits, a "young author" conference provides a venue for readers to showcase their writing. Some schools invite an author and illustrator while showcasing student books. It's a perfect opportunity to connect reading, writing, and illustrating. And, parents and community members can share in the celebration of literacy.

15. Read what Students are Reading. Creating a culture of reading includes teachers, too. Students need to read, and so do you. As classroom teachers and librarians, it's important to help students find books that grab their attention and interest them. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to keep your book knowledge current.

It's not easy keeping current with new books in children's and young adult literature; however, there are many excellent book lists, reviews, websites, and blogs to steer you in the right direction. In a previous post, I compiled several of my favorite go-to sources. As you explore book lists, websites, blogs, and twitter feeds, I'm certain you'll find several that will become your favorites! And, students will benefit from your first-hand knowledge of books.

16. Host a Read-In. A combination of books, pizza, and p.j.'s party can be lots of fun! Be inventive. Invite parents, community members, and sports figures to be mystery readers read each hour. Wrap up new books and unveil them during the read-in. Invite a local author. A fun way to liven up reading.

17. Solicit Donations from Local Book Stores. In a day of tightening budgets, building classroom libraries can be a financial strain on schools and individual teachers. Local bookstores such as Half-Price Books often willingly donate books to schools. It can be a cost-effective way to build classroom collections of books to support students.

18. Share Books through BookTalks. Readers need to share books with one another. Book Talks are a perfect way for teachers and students to share books with one another.

19. Create a Readbox to Promote Schoolwide Reading. A new display can do wonders to highlight favorite books, new releases, and best-loved authors. The 'readbox' is, of course, a play off of 'redbox.' It's a creative way to display books, create interest, and support reading choice. For more ideas, see this recent post featuring the readbox.

Another possibility? A movie poster (using a movie poster template) but for books.

20. Host Reading-Related Events at School. Many schools host Scholastic Book events as a way to promote reading and to bring affordable books into the hands of readers. How about coupling the book event with a school play since many parents will be visiting your school?

Or, host a "Book Blast and Bar-B-Que" as Regional School District No. 6 in Connecticut recently did. According to Language Arts Coordinator Tracy Keilty @TraKeilty, the "Book Blast & Bar-B-Que" event recognizes K-8 students for the volume of reading completed over the summer as part of the Connecticut Governor's Reading Challenge. Superintendent Ed Drapp @edrapp joins in on the fun (see image) as parents, students, and community members eat, dance, and celebrate reading!

The name alone makes me want to join the reading celebration.

21. Create Video Book Commercials. Creating videos is easier than ever and people love to do it. Have students, teachers, staff, and community members create book commercials promoting a favorite book or author. Display them on your school website or on a dedicated page for the library. If you have morning announcements through a production system, you could feature live book commercials or show recent entries.

22. Create Attractive Displays of Books. Feature attractive book displays throughout your school. Create book displays in likely and unlikely places such as the front office, principal's office, in classrooms, labs, display cases, and the school library.

23. Encourage Students & Teachers to Write Book Reviews. Readers need to share books with each other in the form of book reviews. Experiment with the form. For example, short book reviews or snippets can be featured on a series of bookmarks. Longer book reviews can be displayed in the school library or classroom library or hosted online.

24. Partner with Parents. Schools can do their part to support and encourage reading; however, parents play a key role as well. Support parents by informing them of school library hours and resources available at the school and public library.

25. Host a Mystery Check-Out Day. Create a little mystery around books. Wrap selected books in brown paper and encourage students to check out a mystery book. After they check the book, they can unwrap it to reveal their selection. Mystery selections can encourage students - in a fun way - to venture further and try a new genre, author, or series.
25 Ways Schools Can Promote Literacy And Independent Reading

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25 Ways Schools Can Promote Literacy And Independent Reading

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25 Ways Schools Can Promote Literacy Independent Reading contributed by Kimberly Tyson, Ph.D. In the age of the Common Core and its emphasis upon having students take on more challenging text, independent reading and student choice can easily take a back seat to the demands of increased rigor.

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1.Fisher & Frey

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Last week, I posted 20 End of the Year Reflection Questions for Students. This week, the focus is on teachers. Here are 20 questions to ask yourself about your school year. Some of these would also make good discussion questions for a staff debriefing or for student teachers/interns.

1. What are some things you accomplished this year that you are proud of?

2. What is something you tried in your classroom this year for the first time? How did it go?

3. What is something you found particularly frustrating this year?

4. Which student in your class do you think showed the most improvement? Why do you think this student did so well?

5. What is something you would change about this year if you could?

6. What is one way that you grew professionally this year?

7. Who amongst your colleagues was the most helpful to you?

8. What has caused you the most stress this year?

9. When was a time this year that you felt joyful and/or inspired about the work that you do?

10. What do you hope your students remember most about you as a teacher?

11. In what ways were you helpful to your colleagues this year?

12. What was the most valuable thing you learned this year?

13. What was the biggest mistake you made this year? How can you avoid making the same mistake in the future?

14. What is something you did this year that went better than you thought it would?

15. What part of the school day is your favorite? Why?

16. What were your biggest organizational challenges this year?

17. Who was your most challenging student? Why?

18. In what ways did you change the lives of your students this year?

19. Pretend that you get to set your own salary for this past year based on the job that you did. How much do you feel that you earned? (The number you come up with should be in no way based on your current salary - rather, come up with a number that truly reflects how you should be compensated for your work this year.)

20. Knowing what you know now, would you still choose to be a teacher if you could go back in time and make the choice again? If the answer is "no," is there a way for you to choose a different path now?

Want to share your reflections or have more to add? Please comment!

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20 Teacher End of the Year Reflection Questions - Minds in Bloom

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Last week, I posted 20 End of the Year Reflection Questions for Students. This week, the focus is on teachers. Here are 20 questions to ask yourself about your school year. Some of these would also make good discussion questions for a staff debriefing or for student teachers/interns.

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Here are 20 questions to help you and your students reflect on the school year. You could use these informally for discussion when you have a few minutes, or, for a more personal reflection experience, take a few of your favorites to use for a survey or as writing/journal prompts. There is also a list of reflection questions for teachers here.

PIN THIS PICTURE SO YOU'LL BE ABLE TO FIND THESE QUESTIONS LATER!

1. What is something we did this year that you think you will remember for the rest of your life?

2. What is something you accomplished this year that you are proud of?

3. What was the nicest thing someone in our class did for you this year?

4. What was the most challenging part of this year for you?

5. Where is your favorite place in our classroom (or school)? Why?

6. If you could change one thing that happened this year, what would it be?

7. What are three things you did this year to help your classmates?

8. What are the three most important things you learned this year?

9. What is something that was hard for you at the start of the year but is easy now?

10. In what area do you feel you made your biggest improvements?

11. What is your favorite part of the day in our class? Why?

12. What is something you taught your teacher or classmates this year?

13. Of the books you read this year, which was your favorite? Why?

14. What was the best piece of writing that you did this year? Why do you think it is your best?

15. What person at our school has made the biggest impact in your life this year? Why?

16. What is something the teacher could have done to make this year better?

17. What are six adjectives that best describe this school year?

18. Knowing what you know now, if you could write a letter to yourself that would travel back in time so that you would receive it at the start of the school year, what advice would you give your younger self?

19. When you consider the rest of your life, what percentage of what you learned this year do you think will be useful to you?

20. What advice would you give students who will be in this class next year?

Looking for more open-ended questions to ask your students? You can find 200 of them in easy-to-use card format right here.

I recently found out that Laura Candler of Corkbord Connections has posted this terrific freebie called School Year Reflections that could easily be used with the questions on this post. I just love those fluffy clouds! Hop on over to her site to download this fun printable!

We love to connect with teachers! Leave any ideas you have in the comments!

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20 End of the Year Reflection Questions - Minds in Bloom

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Here are 20 questions to help you and your students reflect on the school year. You could use these informally for discussion when you have a few minutes, or, for a more personal reflection experience, take a few of your favorites to use for a survey or as writing/journal prompts.

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5. Miller

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March 2010 | Volume 67 | Number 6
Reading to Learn Pages 30-35

Donalyn Miller

"Well," I tell her, "scientists' study of infectious diseases like yellow fever has occurred over time, and years ago, we didn't know what caused many illnesses or how to treat them. There is a great nonfiction book called An American Plague by Jim Murphy (Clarion, 2003) that can give you more information about the 1793 yellow fever epidemic. Would you like to read it? We have a copy in the school library."

Emily agrees to read Murphy's book next and heads off to science class, where her newfound interest in infectious diseases will serve her well. During the 10 minutes between the first bell and the second, I discuss the Japanese invasion of Burma during World War II with Brian, who is reading Roland Smith's Elephant Run (Hyperion, 2007); debate the negative consequences of time travel explored in Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me (Wendy Lamb, 2009) with Hanna; and define and pronounce crenellated for Grant, who declares that Christopher Paolini overuses the word in Eragon (Knopf, 2003). None of these students is in my first period language arts class, but their books provoke questions that cannot wait. As a reader, I enjoy these conversations, but as a teacher, I appreciate the intellectual power these students are gaining through reading.

The Need to Read

Numerous studies prove that wide reading improves children's comprehension, background knowledge, vocabulary, fluency, and writing (Krashen, 2004). Unfortunately, in many schools the poorest readers read the least, often as much as three times less than their peers (Allington, 2006). Many students identified as struggling readers early in their educations continue to receive reading intervention and tutoring throughout their school lives, never catching up with their peers. No matter what instructional methods we employ, students must spend substantial time applying the reading skills and strategies we teach before they develop reading proficiency. To become good readers, students must read and read and read.

The challenge for many teachers lies in motivating and inspiring students to pick up a book in the first place. Developing or struggling readers often lack the experience and confidence to choose books for themselves, read for extended periods of time, or consistently apply reading strategies across texts. Dormant readers, who possess the reading skills needed for academic tasks, see reading as a school job-not as an activity in which they would willingly engage outside school. How do we instill lasting reading behaviors in all our students?

Lifelong readers possess certain habits that we can explicitly model and teach our students. By redesigning our classrooms to support young readers as they practice and internalize the behaviors of avid readers, we can increase our students' engagement in reading and reap the benefits that prolific reading engenders.

Making Time

When I announce, "Ladies and gentlemen, come to a stopping spot," my students groan. Their complaints are music to my ears. I learned long ago that the only way I could guarantee that my students read was to dedicate time for them to read in class every day. The Commission on Reading's report Becoming a Nation of Readers (Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, & Wilkinson, 1985) recommends two hours of silent sustained reading a week, but increasing curriculum demands and the need to prepare students for standardized tests have made independent reading time a luxury in many classrooms. Knowing that voracious readers make time to read every day, how do we carve out more reading time for students?

I set aside as much as 30 minutes a day for my 6th grade students to read in class. During this time, I confer with students about the books they are reading, ask students to read to me while I assess their comprehension and fluency, and work with students in small groups.

If dedicating chunks of your instructional day for independent reading seems difficult, you can still find time for students to read more. In my own school, I realized that there was a lot of wasted time spent waiting in lines for picture day, field trips, the bus, and assemblies-time when my students could read. After all, adult readers carry books with us for those times when we must unexpectedly wait. We read at the airport, at the doctor's office, and on the train.

Teach students to carry a book wherever they go and to enjoy a few minutes of reading time. Those stolen moments add up over a year. Young readers learn what committed readers know- keeping a book with you alleviates boredom! My students have even learned to pull out their books whenever visitors at the door, phone calls, and technology glitches interrupt classroom instruction.

Maximizing wasted moments in the school day may garner as much as an hour each week of reading time for students, but we can allocate more reading time by eliminating warm-ups and "when you are done" activities. At a recent conference, I asked the crowd to identify the true purpose of warm-ups and bell ringers, those activities that we have ready for students to complete when they enter our classrooms. Embarrassed, most teachers admitted that these activities were designed so that they could take attendance or make sure students are working as soon as class begins.

Common warm-up activities in language arts classrooms, such as editing sentences, vocabulary study, or journal prompts, may yield limited instructional benefits; but none produce the same level of academic power as 15 minutes of reading time. The same could be said for "when you are done" activities and enrichment folders. I tell my students that they are never done: When they finish class work, they read. Students can gain as much as 20 minutes of extra reading in class each day when teachers designate reading as the only activity for any class time not used for instruction and practice.

Having time to read in class motivates my students to read more at home, too. Captivated by the books they're reading, they cannot wait until the next school day to continue their books. Recently, I received an e-mail from a mother who discovered the night before that her son had fallen asleep while reading Scott Westerfeld's newest science fiction epic, Leviathan (Simon Pulse, 2009).

Every morning and after school breaks, students swarm me to share how their love of reading seeps over into their personal lives. As teachers and parents, we know that people who read when no one requires it are truly readers.

Giving Freedom

Although providing my students with more time to read dramatically increases the amount of reading they do, no single practice inspires my students to read as much as the opportunity to choose their own books. Learners who lack input into decision making feel powerless and unmotivated-this is true for adults, for teachers, and for our students (Cambourne, 1995).

We may spend weeks designing the perfect novel units, carefully selecting interesting texts and crafting meaningful activities, only to discover that our students merely plod through the book and our assignments. In addition, no one text or activity can possibly meet the needs of the diverse range of reading levels and interests found in the typical classroom.

So how can we accomplish our instructional goals and ensure that our students will be engaged? I have done away with whole-class novel units and allowed my students to choose their own books. A recent conversation I had with students about Suzanne Collins's futuristic novel The Hunger Games (Scholastic, 2008) confirmed my belief about whole-class novels. I never assigned The Hunger Games to my students, but after I mentioned it in book talks and offered it to my afterschool book club, the book's popularity spread like wildfire. Of my 93 students, almost 60 of them have read or plan to read this book.

When I asked one student, Adam, why this book was so popular, he told me, "You made the book sound so exciting, and I decided to read it because I thought I would be missing out. The book was amazing! I loved the action and terror of the Games, and I thought that Katniss [the protagonist] was a great character. When she volunteered to take her sister's place in the games, I thought it was so brave."

Curious, I asked, "Adam, knowing that this book is worth reading, with lots of topics we could discuss in class, what would you think about my assigning this book to the entire class? Most of you are reading it, anyway. Obviously, many students would enjoy it."

My question sparked a wave of head shaking and protests from Adam and his classmates who were discussing the book with us. "No, no, please don't! When teachers tell us we have to read a book, we hate it. We like it that we get to choose what we read." Even though I could use heartfelt recommendations, thought-provoking discussions, probing questions, and many other techniques I was using in book talks and small-group discussions when teaching a novel to the entire class, my students' reactions revealed that the most important factor for them was having the choice to read the book. (See the list on p. 33 for some of my students' favorite books.)

Options and Requirements

Asking some students to read devolves into a struggle to get them to pick up a book in the first place, so I don't provide students with the option of not reading. Instead, I ask students what book they will be reading today. I move the opportunity for choice to book selection. Allowing students to choose what they will read gives them power and removes the opportunity to refuse to read at all. That will be enough to motivate some students.

I require my students to read 40 books each year, in a mix of genres from nonfiction to fiction to poetry. Requiring my students to read widely exposes them to more genres, authors, vocabulary, and background knowledge than I could ever accomplish by teaching a few texts each year; and it helps students discover and develop their own reading tastes.

My instruction is focused on the knowledge and skills students must learn to meet state and district requirements. All students learn how to infer a book's themes, predict resolutions, identify figurative language, and so on, but each student chooses his or her own books to practice and perfect these skills.

For students who lack reading experience and confidence in choosing books, I introduce a wide range of books and authors through readalouds and shared reading, where all students follow along as I read. Shared reading provides support for developing readers because the teacher scaffolds texts that students may not be able to read on their own. By following a more fluent reader, students can focus on comprehension instead of decoding. Students frequently seek out books and authors that we share in class. I often use the first chapter of a book as a teaching piece, then place the book on the chalkboard rail for students to enjoy. The book rarely lasts the day before a student checks it out to read.

When students select books on their own, I condone their choices. Books like the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and the Bone graphic novels are popular with young readers, but teachers often denounce such books because they are short, are said to lack literary merit, or contain too many pictures. But consider that any girl who reads the entire Twilight series has read over a thousand pages of text. Surely, this is a powerful reading accomplishment! I celebrate any reading my students do.

When students see that I value their reading choices, they begin to trust themselves to select their own reading material and trust me to suggest more books. I tap into this relationship to move students toward more challenging, meatier books over time. For example, when I noticed that Shayla loved books about animals, particularly horses and dogs, I used her interest in Laurie Halse Anderson's Vet Volunteers series to suggest more challenging books like Anna Sewell's classic Black Beauty.

I work closely with students who struggle to select books or commit to a reading plan; I help them set short-term goals, such as reading so many pages per week or finishing one book. I encourage and praise these students for every step they take toward their reading goals. For students who resist trying anything, I have assigned a book as a last resort, choosing a title that I think the student might like and be able to read.

The Gift of Reading

The more students read, the better readers they become. By dedicating reading time, recommending books, exposing students to a variety of texts and authors, and validating their reading choices, I've seen students' interest and motivation to read increase. Students' background knowledge, understanding of text structure and features, vocabulary usage, appreciation for authors' craft, and performance on a wide array of assessments improve tremendously because of the reading they do. For it is only through volumes and volumes of reading that many students internalize the comprehension skills and gain the reading experience they must acquire for academic success.

Of course, hours and hours spent reading and the freedom to choose their own books also leads many children to discover a love of books and reading-a path to enjoyment and learning that lasts long after schooling ends. This is an immeasurable gift.

References

Allington, R. (2006). What really matters for struggling readers: Designing research-based programs. Boston: Pearson.

Anderson, R. C., Hiebert, E. H., Scott, J. A., & Wilkinson, I. A. G. (1985). Becoming a nation of readers: The report of the Commission on Reading. Washington, DC: National Institute of Education.

Cambourne, B. (1995). Toward an educationally relevant theory of literacy learning: Twenty years of inquiry. The Reading Teacher, 49(3), 182-190.

Krashen, S. (2004). The power of reading: Insights from the research. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Donalyn Miller teaches 6th grade language arts at Trinity Meadows Intermediate School in Bedford, Texas. She is the author of The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child (Jossey-Bass, 2009); thebookwhisperer@gmail.com.

KEYWORDS

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March 2010 | Volume 67 | Number 6 Reading to Learn Pages 30-35 Donalyn Miller "Well," I tell her, "scientists' study of infectious diseases like yellow fever has occurred over time, and years ago, we didn't know what caused many illnesses or how to treat them.