Okay, so you have been reading far more than I have! I am finally getting into a routine that includes lots of reading time again. It took me a while to settle into summer mode:-) I just finished FAIRIES OF NUTFOLK WOOD by Barb Bentler Ullman. I really liked it. It was a sweet story with characters that I loved. It got a starred review from Booklist and I think it was well-deserved. It is one of my 06 favorites SO FAR. A possible read aloud, depending on the class I have this year.
I also finished SKINNY DIP by Carl Hiaasen. It was OKAY. Everyone I talked to loved it so maybe I was just not in the right frame of mind. It is a fun book. I liked it okay. Just not a favorite.
And I just read RETHINKING RUBRICS IN WRITING ASSESSMENT by Maja Wilson. LOVE IT! It is a bit of an uncomfortable read--making me rethink some things about my writing assessment that I was pretty comfortable with before I read the book. But Maja Wilson seems to be a brilliant new voice in writing. Can't read it without thinking hard about practice and assessment. As Randy Bomer says in a blurb about the book, "This book will create the conversations educators desperately need: about accurate assessment, quality writing, and informed teaching." I worry that lately we have had lots of books that tell us what to do. But, this book really gets us back to the professional roles that we have--really thinking about what matches our beliefs about students and learning--the conversations that seem to have become lost over the last few years. I'd highly recommend this one.
So, I read a children's book, a professional book and an adult fiction book. I am feeling almost balanced!
I'll put the Sisters Grimm on my stack of next reads. I keep hearing about it and your last post convinced me!
I am debating reading the whole Series of Unfortunate Events. I am not in the mood but I don't want to miss the fun of reading the last one this fall. What do you think? Is it worth of week or two of my reading?
I'll be reading VICTORY by Susan Cooper and the new book by Carolyn Parkhurst called LOST AND FOUND: A NOVEL (same author as DOGS OF BABEL). They are next on my stack. I'll keep you posted!
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Franki,
ReplyDeleteI'm interested by your comment that conversations about our professional roles (what we believe and how that translates into our practice) have been lost in the past few years. I'm relatively new to the professions (I've taught eight years) and I'm curious if you could say more about what has been lost and why you think that has happened. Email me offlist if you like. maja384@yahoo.com
Hi Franki,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip on the professional book about rubrics. I'll need to read that very soon. Perhaps we can discuss the book once I read it - maybe a group at school will be interested in discussing it.