The Book Whisperer - Chapter 7

This week is Chapter 7, the last chapter, of our book study on "The Book Whisperer" by Donalyn Miller. 

If you don't have the book already,  you can grab it here.  It's not too late to grab the book and read back through the wonderful posts from everyone.

This chapter is called "Letting Go". 

The one thing that stuck out to me in this chapter was this line, "I have been told many times, both to my face and through comments on my blog, that I am not preparing my students for the "real world" by letting them read whatever they want" p166.  

This rang so true to me.  We (my EA's and I) have throughout the years not been supported (at times) in our views on reading instruction.  

Does a child need to know the whole alphabet in order to learn how to read?

  If a child is not "getting" certain letters do you drill, drill, drill until they do?  

Because part of our mandate is to take children who have just had surgery. I have had older students come to me for a short time.  Often, they have been unable to read even level one books (and hating it) and having not mastered the alphabet yet (I'm talking grade 3 or 4).  

Each year on their IEP is "knows 15 letters working on the rest",  then the following year "knows 17 letters working on the rest" etc. You get the picture. They would be in high school before they knew the whole alphabet.

  Do we start teaching them how to read then?  

In the 8 weeks of reading instruction in my class these children often jump to level 4 or above and are actually asking to choose books and to read to me. 

 Unfortunately I only have these students for a short time  after surgery before they return to their home schools. 

I know the endless drills are not working.  Does that mean that I don't work on the alphabet or phonics? No, but I work on them in the context of activities and books and real time practice.   We read, read, and read the sight words we have practiced in real books.

Each of my students have the opportunity to choose a book they want to read and then read it to me everyday. They then take it home and read it to parents.  This takes up a huge amount of my time and I've often wondered if I should stop and just have the children take the book home or maybe even pick the book for them and send it home to save on time.

 I now realize that I can't do that.  That the time they spend reading in my class has an impact on their reading levels and their motivation.   I know that the children argue about who comes to read to me first.  I hope this means I'm doing something right.

I hope you have enjoyed our reflections on the book.  Here are more links to chapter 7.

Last one:

An InLinkz Link-up

The Book Whisperer - Chapter 6

This week is Chapter 6 of our book study on "The Book Whisperer" by Donalyn Miller. 

   

If you don't have the book already,  you can grab it here.  It's not too late to join in.

The fifth chapter is called "Cutting the Teacher Strings" and is all about examining what you are doing with reading instruction in your class and deciding whether or not you are doing it because it's good practice or just because it's always been done that way.  

Miller offers a variety of ways to change traditional methods to achieve the same better results.

A large part of my reading program is taken up by just reading and sending books home every night.  I do get parents to fill out "reading logs" but it's really so that I can keep track of books that are read (kindergarten children tend to want to take the same book home every night). 

What do you do to change things up a bit?

For more tips from Chapter 6, see below.

An InLinkz Link-up

The Book Whisperer - Chapter 4

This week is Chapter 4 of our book study on "The Book Whisperer" by Donalyn Miller. 

   

If you don't have the book already,  you can grab it here.  It's not too late to join in.

The fourth chapter is all about reading freedom.  

It is so important to allow children to make choices about what they read and Miller makes it a point in her classroom to put the kids in the drivers seat.

Miller also states that she has a 40 book reading requirement in her class.  Have you ever 40 books in one year?  Do you think it's too much?

I loved "The Right of the Reader" that Miller quoted in her book.

Several of these hit home with me, like number 2.  I'm an avid reader and I'm always skipping pages.  I don't really like pages and pages of descriptions of scenery.  I prefer to just get on with the story, so I will often skip those pages.

Which of these points describe you?

Don't forget to check out the other blogs with thoughts on Chapter 4.

An InLinkz Link-up

The Book Whisperer - Chapter 3

This week is Chapter 3 of our book study on "The Book Whisperer" by Donalyn Miller. 

   

If you don't have the book already,  you can grab it here.  It's not too late to join in.

The third chapter talks about different places to read and how to find "reading" time.

I read at the doctor's office, while I'm in the car,  waiting in the ER (you could be there forever), and at hockey practice.

Where could you find time at school?

  In the morning when children are coming in, waiting in line for picture day,  rainy day recess or any time that is "wasted" time.

  Where do you have "wasted" time?

Where is the strangest place you have read?  I love the idea of making comfortable, unusual areas in the classroom to read.

I've had these chairs in my class before:

Beanbag chairs are awesome and come in so many shapes and sizes.

We have lots of sensory seat cushions.  Children can take them to "just the right spot".

I love the idea of using a laundry basket.  Add a few pillows and you have an instant cozy reading spot.

I hope I've given you a few ideas to make reading fun.

You can find more thoughts on Chapter 3 on the blogs below.

An InLinkz Link-up

The Book Whisperer - Chapter 2

This week is Chapter 2 of our book study on "The Book Whisperer" by Donalyn Miller. 

   

If you don't have the book already,  you can grab it here.

The second chapter talks about the different types of readers.  

Miller changed the negative labels of "struggling readers" and "reluctant readers" to "developing readers", "dormant readers" and "underground readers".

 In the chapter she describes each of these types of readers and how each of them can be successful lifelong readers.

As a child, I was the "underground reader".  I hid the book I was reading in my desk, I raced through the book I HAD to read to get to my book and I read wherever I was.

I really like that the author gives the children a survey about their interests to find out what types of books might interest them.

Since I teach kindergarten I offer my students lots of types of books and have them "look at" and pick books that peak their interest.

Hopefully I can instill the love of reading in them for an early age.

For my thoughts on Chapter 2, check out the posts below.

The Book Whisperer - Chapter One

I'm so excited to be doing a book study on "The Book Whisperer" by Donalyn Miller with a few of my friends.

   

If you don't have the book already,  you can grab it here.

I read "The Book Whisperer" a few years ago and it was a nice refresher to reread it.

The first chapter talks all about the author's first experiences with teaching reading. My parents were readers and I think I got my love of reading from them.

 In the chapter she describes exactly how I was taught as a kid.  I hated all the books we had to read for high school;  anything Shakespeare, Wuthering Heights, etc.  I just didn't get the draw to the "classics".

For someone who can read a book a night, these books were just torture to me.  I hated having to pick apart every little detail and symbolism in the books.  For me, it ruined the purpose of the book.  

Why was I reading it?  In school, because I HAD to.  Not because I enjoyed it or wanted to.  I was the kid that rushed through my work so I could get to my book.  The book I WANTED to read, not the book I HAD to read. 

If it wasn't for my parents who instilled the love of reading in me, the school system certainly wouldn't have made me a reader.  It would have turned me off reading altogether.

Like the author, in examining how I became a reader and what I experienced in school, it made me think about how I wanted to teach my students. 

Since I teach kindergarten, I will usually be the first experience they have with formal teaching.  I have to instill the love of reading in them from the beginning.  

I found the chart on page 16 to be helpfully when examining what I'm doing with my reading program.  

What about your reading program? Does it incorporate any of the 5 key components?

Click on any of links below for more posts on chapter one.

The Book Whisperer Chapter 7

In light of this very rough week, I've done one thing that provides relief from the "real" world.  At least for a bit.  I've read.  Mindless dribble at times but that is what I've needed this week.  A good easy read, that didn't require a lot of thinking and that had a happy ending.  I also finished The Book Whisperer.  An easy read because it's so inspiring.

The one thing that stuck out to me in this chapter was this line "I have been told many times, both to my face and through comments on my blog, that I am not preparing my students for the "real world" by letting them read whatever they want" p166.  This rang so true to me.  We (my EA's and I) have throughout the years not been supported (at times) in our radical views on reading instruction.  Does a child need to know the whole alphabet in order to learn how to read?  If a child is not "getting" certain letters do you drill, drill, drill until they do?  I have had older children come to me being unable to read even level one books (and hating it) and having not mastered the alphabet yet (I'm talking grade 3 or 4).  Each year on their IEP is "knows 15 letters working on the rest",  then the following year "knows 17 letters working on the rest" etc. you get the picture. They would be in high school before they knew the whole alphabet.  Do we start teaching them how to read then?  In the 8 weeks of reading instruction in my class these children often jump to level 4 or above and are actually asking to choose books and to read to me.  Unfortunately I only have these students for a short time  after surgery but they return to their home schools. I know the endless drills are not working.  Does that mean that I don't work on the alphabet or phonics? No, but I work on them in the context of activities and books and real time practice.   We read, read, and read more of the sight words we have practiced in real books.
Each of my students have the opportunity to choose a book they want to read and then read it to me everyday (they then take it home and read it to parents).  This takes up a huge amount of my time and I've often wondered if I should stop and just have the children take the book home or maybe even pick the book for them and send it home to save on time.  I now realize that I can't do that.  That the time they spend reading in my class has an impact on their reading levels and their motivation.   I know that the children argue about who comes to read to me first.  I hope this means I'm doing something right.

The Book Whisperer Chapter 1

Jennifer over at Rowdy in First Grade is co-hosting Chapter 1 of the Book Whisperer.  Here are the questions (and my answers) that she posed.  Head over to her blog for more discussions on the book.


1) What quotes stood out to you and why?


On page 12 she talks about the child who said "I am done with my work; may I read my book now?".  That was so me in school.  I remember reading through the things I HAD to in order to get to the books I WANTED to read.  I hated all the books we had to read for high school; anything Shakespeare, Wuthering Heights etc.  Boring.  For someone who can read a book a night (if it's a nice easy read), these books were just torture.   I hated having to pick apart every little detail and symbolism in the books.  For me, it ruined the purpose of the book.  Why was I reading it?  In school, because I HAD to.  Not because I enjoyed it or wanted to.  If I was not a reader already,  it sure would not have made me one.   It would have put me off books altogether.
2) What did you do in your classroom this past year to show enthusiasm for reading?

In my classroom I do a take-home book program.  The children get to CHOOSE a book (at their level) to read to me, then read to someone at home.  If it's too hard or they are just not into it, they pick another one.  Even with only seven children, this takes up an incredible amount of my time.  Lately I had been thinking that maybe I need to change this; somehow speed it up.  But after reading this book I got to thinking that maybe I'm on the right track.  That the time we spend READING is paying off in the long run.   I see a huge difference in the reading levels of the children whose parents follow through with the reading program at home.  Of my verbal children, 80% of them were reading at least 3 levels above the benchmark level.  The two that did not meet benchmark for kindergarten were only in junior kindergarten and still have another year to reach the benchmark


3) Is there something you want to try or want to change in order to get your students more excited about what being a reader can do for you?

With all of this being said, I think we still need to do more reading in class everyday.  I want the books to me more accessible and want designated times when everyone is reading.  I love reading stories to the class and I think I need to find way fit more books in.  I also need to instill this into my coop students so that if they see a child is not doing anything, they know they can grab a book and read to them.

I need to figure out a way to address my non-verbal students.  How do I get the same results when they can't "read".  They are still very young and we are working on literacy skills, but how do I address the "read-to-self" or "read-to-peer".  How do I ensure that they are following along the same path as their peers?



Only 2 days left of school.............

Book Whisperer Pre-linky Party

Mrs Lyons is hosting a pre-book question and answer quiz linky party for the "Book Whisperer". Only a few more days until we start the book study.

 

Here are my answers to the questions.

1) What is your favourite book (or series) from childhood?

Wow, I read so much as a kid I don't know if I have a favorite.  Probably something by Judy Blume.  By 6th grade I was going through about 3 Harlequin Romance books a week.


2) What is your favourite book (or series) now?


I love the Tunnel series from Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams.  Also anything by Margaret Peterson Haddix.




3) What is your opinion of e-readers?

I don't have one . I've only just seen one, once.  I don't know if I would like them or not.



4) Finish this sentence: "On Sundays I like to..."

relax



5) Describe yourself in 5 words!


Hockey mum, wife, teacher, reader


6) Hardcover or paperback? Why?


Doesn't matter to me.  Paperback are cheaper but if I can't wait for a sequel then I will get hardback. I usually get hardcover from the library.


7) Coffee or Tea?
 
Neither. I'm a diet Pepsi gal.

Head over to Mrs Lyons blog to link up with your answers or to see other people answers.

The Book Whisperer

My book finally arrived and I'm so excited to be participating in and hosting Chapter 4 of this book.
Have you got your book yet? There is still time.

We will be starting to read along on Monday, June 27th so make sure you have your book by then. We are planning to discuss the chapters together, host some contests and giveaways, and generally enjoy the experience of reading this book together as a teaching community. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule and details.