Still Learning to Read: Organizing Assessments

This is one of a series of blog posts that continue the conversation around Still Learning to Read--teaching reading to students in grades 3-6.  This series will run on the blog on Tuesdays starting in August 2016 and continue through the school year.

"Try the Starbucks App. It's life-changing," my brother told me a few months ago. He was right. I can order my morning tea from my house right before I leave and it is ready for me when I arrive.  No more long lines. No more trying to predict how long my morning drive with tea stop will take. My mornings are calmer and more predictable now.  A small change, but life-changing nonetheless!

A similar thing happened a few years ago as I was trying (still...in my 28th year of teaching) to figure out how to manage all the assessments and things I wanted to save through the school year on each child.  I used to have file folders that worked fine but assessments have become a bit more complex.  And for assessments to be useful, I want to have access to them and full file folders are not always that easy to access! Even though much of what I keep, I can keep online,  I like to keep a lot of paper things. I've always believed that every piece of work can tell you something about a child and I know having lots allows me to see change over time.  When I moved to 3rd grade and tried to make sense of our 3rd Grade Guarantee Law, I had to figure out a plan for all the paperwork that went along with that, This new mandated paperwork, along with the daily classroom assessments I have always kept became a bit overwhelming (well, maybe more than a bit...).  I needed a new plan.  Our Literacy Coach, Gretchen Taylor, shared with me the system she had used the year before as a middle school teacher--she had a mailbox/file type slot for each child in her 5 middle school Language Arts classes. That way, when she wanted to add a new note, assessment, piece of student work, etc. she just dropped it in.  Easy and quick and very accessible at all times.

So, I set up the same thing and have kept it going ever since.  I have cabinets in my room for storage. They are above the student cubbies. I have taken over the front portion of 3 of those and house 8 student files in each one.

So each student has a file that I can toss things in when needed. I can also easily access anything I want. This helps me in a variety of ways:

• First of all, I don't have to spend a lot of deciding what to keep. I do that a lot--try to decide if something is worth keeping.   With this system, there is plenty of room to drop things in and there is no reason to keep them forever--I can keep them as long as I need to.  So any student samples that may be worth keeping, any quick checks I do, even a sticky note with an observation about a child can go right in these files.
• This is the perfect system for sharing information with others.  When I get ready for parent conferences, I can pull the pile of information out. I have lots to look at when finishing up comments for report cards. And when the Reading Support teacher or the ELL teacher comes in to look at some of the assessments or wants to add something new, they don't have wait for me or sort through my piles for what they are looking for. They have access to these anytime they need them.
• I rely a great deal on digital tools for collecting and reflecting on work but there are mandated assessments, test reports, reading plans and work samples that are better saved as paper copies--better for me because I can spread them out and look at them when needed. This system lets me look at individual work more easily. It also invites reflection across time.

Because I am a person who make piles and who likes to look again and again at student work, this is the perfect organization tool for me.  It is a simple idea that really changed my teaching life as it made all of the paperwork more manageable and more useful for me.

(You can follow the conversation using the hashtag #SLTRead or you can join us for a book chat on Facebook that began this week by joining our group here.)

Our new edition of Still Learning to Read was released last week!  You can order it online at Stenhouse!

Still Learning to Read: Tracking Our Thinking in Read Aloud

This is one of a series of blog posts that continue the conversation around Still Learning to Read--teaching reading to students in grades 3-6.  This series will run on the blog on Tuesdays starting in August 2016 and continue through the school year.

I want my students to have experience with a variety of ways to track their thinking during reading.  There are so many tools and right now, I just want them to see how powerful it is to stop and notice your thinking. I want them to be able to choose tools that work for them and I use the first 6-8 weeks of school to make sure they have experience with several ways to annotate.  Since our focus is on the thinking and process, the tool is really up to the child once they see some  possibilities. So for read aloud this time, I chose the book Lucy by Randy Cecil.  This is a book that I fell in love with this summer.  I chose it for several reasons.

• The illustrations in this book are key. There is a black and white illustration on each page and I want my 3rd graders to talk around both words and pictures. I find that often, at this age, readers are more apt to talk about what they notice or wonder in a visual than in text so this combination seemed perfect. I also know they will naturally find evidence in the illustrations as they talk and the "What in the book makes you think that?" type of conversation will grow.
• I was able to get 12 copies of the book from our public library.  This makes it possible for groups of 2-3 to share a book. 
• I assigned them a Thinking Partner for this read aloud. So they share their book with the same person and will think through this book with one person. Thinking with the same person across a book is different than thinking with different people every day.  There are benefits to both but as we build relationships and conversation skills, having the same partner through the book is important.
• There are 3 characters in the book whose story lines come together--Eleanor, her father, and the dog, Lucy.  As readers begin to read more complex text, I want them to think about characters and how characters stories and relationships are often key to narrative.

So each pair of students was given a copy of the book and a stack of sticky notes and they have been jotting and talking every day before we come together and share thinking as a group. 

The book and conversation are inviting great talk and we are learning so much about tracking our thinking, backing our thinking with evidence in the text, character development and having good conversations. 

(You can follow the conversation using the hashtag #SLTRead or you can join us for a book chat on Facebook that began this week by joining our group here.)

Our new edition of Still Learning to Read was released last week!  You can order it online at Stenhouse!

Still Learning to Read: Deepening Our Conversations Around Books

This is one of a series of blog posts that continue the conversation around Still Learning to Read--teaching reading to students in grades 3-6.  This series will run on the blog on Tuesdays starting in August 2016 and continue through the 2016-2017 school year.

I received a review copy of A Bike Like Sergio's from Candlewick. I immediately fell in love with the book and was anxious to share it with my students. The picture book is perfect for inviting talk around important issues and decisions.  The book trailer is a good sneak peek into what kids might talk about.

When I shared the book with our literacy coach, Lynsey Burkins she reminded me that this author, Maribeth Boeltz also write Those Shoes , a favorite of mine from last school year. I looked up the author and then remembered that she also wrote Happy Like Soccer   I had never thought about the 3 books together but I pulled them out as Lynsey suggested and planned the week's worth of mini lessons around these three book.

My big goals for the week were to deepen our conversations around books and to begin to understand the ways books can change our hearts a bit. I also wanted my students to look across an author's work to deepen their understanding around individual books and issues across books. I knew we'd do rereading of one or two of the titles and I wanted to introduce the idea that rereading helps us deepen understanding. I knew those were my big goals and I also knew that I would have to listen to student thinking to move the conversation forward from where they were in their thinking.

On Monday I read aloud A Bike for Sergio. The big question throughout the book was whether or not Ruben would get the bike or not.  At the end of the book (SPOILER ALERT) when Ruben does not get the bike, my students were livid--I heard comments like "There must be a sequel!" and "That's the worst ending ever." and "He'll get the bike in the next book."  I left the conversation there and told kids that this was a book I'd been thinking about since I 'd read it last week and maybe they'd find themselves thinking about the book and the characters later too.  

The next day, I told my kids that I had been thinking about the book again and that there were some questions I had as a reader that I just didn't have answered yet. My biggest question was, "Was this a book with a happy ending?"  I put that on a chart and asked them if there were things they were wondering now that we had had time to think about the book. Our chart looked like this.

• Was it a happy ending?
• Did Ruben do the right thing?
• Was Sergio happy or sad that Ruben didn't get the bike?
• Is Ruben's family poor?
• Will he ever get the bike?
• Will the lady in the blue coat ever give him something as a thank you?

Each of these questions gave us a great deal to talk about and because there was no "right answer, we could agree, disagree, and change our thinking as the conversation moved on.

We moved onto the next two books by Maribeth Boelts.  We read Happy Like Soccer next and the children felt better about the ending. One child said, "When we read A Bike Like Sergio's, I didn't feel right at the end. When you read a book, you start to really like the character and I didn't feel good about how that one ended but I this ending seemed like a happy ending."

We read Those Shoes on Wednesday.  Our conversations before reading the book focused on what we might expect now that we knew Maribeth Boelts better as a writer. The kids predicted that family would be important in this book. They predicted that by looking at the cover, the child wanted something everyone else had like Sergio. They thought maybe the character would have to decide something important.  

After reading all 3 books, my students shared the following insights about Maribeth Boelts:

• She has a way of writing about characters who figure out how to solve their own problems.
• She writes about kids who want things that other people have.
• Her books are realistic.
• Family is important in her books.

And they still can't decide whether the families were poor or not.  This was a topic of conversation each day and they never came to an answer they were sure of--or what they actually meant by "poor".  

We reread A Bike for Sergio on Friday.  By Friday, the class had pretty much come to a consensus that the book did have a happy ending.  They still hope that Ruben gets the bike someday but they have a better understanding of the decision he was faced with. In this last read, kids stopped me on almost every page, asking me to reread a line that gave them a clue into something they were thinking about--lines they didn't quite get during the first read.  

Reading these 3 books together was a great idea (Thanks Lynsey!). We didn't do much writing or recording during these lessons as I really only wanted to deepen the ways in which we talked about books. Reflecting on the week, I think we certainly deepened our conversations and the ways we talk about books. We also changed our expectations of books and how they impact us. We learned to use what we know about an author to understand important ideas in  new ways.  And we know that there are some books and some things that we'll think about long after we are finished reading. This week, we came to love Ruben and Sierra and Jeremy, characters who I think will come into our conversations throughout the year.

(You can follow the conversation using the hashtag #SLficuciaryTRead or you can join us for a book chat on Facebook that began this week by joining our group here.)

Our new edition of Still Learning to Read was released last week!  

You can order it online at Stenhouse!

Still Learning to Read: Sticky Notes!

This is one of a series of blog posts that continue the conversation around Still Learning to Read--teaching reading to students in grades 3-6.  This series will run on the blog on Tuesdays starting in August 2016 and continue through the 2016-2017 school year.

This was my favorite weeks so far because routines are set and I am just beginning to confer with kids beyond the initial assessments and reading interviews. We are also starting to build routines around reading behaviors that are part of reading communities. I love this time of the year when I can slowly begin to teach based on some of the information I've gathered and think together about ways to move forward as readers. And it seems that we've already gone through our year's supply of sticky notes!

I had a conference with a student who was reading "fat chapter books". She told me that she knew they were just right because if she missed one word on the first page, the book was too easy, if she missed two words, the book was just right and if she missed three, it was too hard.  This is so typical in the upper elementary grades--readers thinking reading is about "getting the words right".  When I met with her about the book, even though she was halfway through, it was obvious to me that she struggled with comprehension since the beginning. I never "fix" things like this for a child because I am interested in helping the reader grow--I am not worried about whether they understand a specific book. I believe strongly in building agency and I know that if I swoop in in September and tell her the things she is misunderstanding, she will not build the skills she needs to build understanding herself. Instead I file the  information and know where my instruction needs to go. I kept my eyes open during independent reading time and a few days later she was ready to start a new book.  We conferred for the first two days of her reading the new book--one to preview and think about what we knew and wondered from the blurb, etc. Then she started reading with sticky notes placed every few pages to help her keep track of her thinking while she read. We talked about the need for readers to take their time during the beginning of a new book because there is so much to take in and understand in those first few chapters. We've met briefly a few times and this strategy is working well. It is slowing her down and also giving her a tool to hold onto a longer story over time (by rereading the stickies before she starts reading the next day). It is evident that she is comprehending better and she is in LOVE with the book and reading.  

Readers love to share books and some readers LOVE books that are "hot off the press". I am one of those readers. I love to get books the day they are released and I love to read them before anyone else. So when I saw Dog Man from Dav Pilkey was due out,  I preordered it so it arrived on August 30. I knew they would be excited about this book--even if they weren't familiar with Dav Pilkey, this cover and idea would draw them in. They'd know the excitement of getting a book the day it is released! I shared the book and the blurb with students during our mini lesson and everyone wanted to read it.  I typically have bookmarks  that kids can sign when they want to be on a list to read a particular book, but at this time in the school year, I am not that organized. So I grabbed a sticky note and introduced the idea of being on the wait list for a book and that it would make its way around our room. Currently we have 5 books with sticky notes just like this being read by someone.  This idea is one that caught on quickly and is building lots of conversations as kids pass books along.   (I may transition to what Stacey Riedmiller does --raffles off books to first reader of new books--you can read about that here.)

Finally, I discovered this strategy last year.  I met with a reader who was struggling with finding a book he loved and with sticking with a book once he found one.  Sometimes kids are overwhelmed by the choices they have and they have trouble sticking with a book because (in the midst of reading) they see another one that they might like better.  I've found that it's sometimes helpful to plan with the child and to use sticky notes as visual reminders. Many of our kids don't have "next read stacks" as we do and they aren't thinking that maybe they can read a book that looks good in the near future. A simple sticky note on the front of the book with a number, helps students like this prioritize reading and begin to finish books. By deciding which book to read 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th, the child can commit to finishing one book, while taking comfort in the fact that the others can be read soon afterward.

Really, what did we do before sticky notes!  Even with all the digital tools my students will use for thinking and annotating, sticky notes are still the most important tool in our classroom.

(You can follow the conversation using the hashtag #SLficuciaryTRead or you can join us for a book chat on Facebook that began this week by joining our group here.)

Our new edition of Still Learning to Read was released last week!  

You can order it online at Stenhouse!

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Still Learning to Read: So Much More than a Single Test Score

This is one of a series of blog posts that continue the conversation around Still Learning to Read--teaching reading to students in grades 3-6.  This series will run on the blog on Tuesdays starting in August 2016.


I love getting to know my students early in the school year.  There is so much to learn and so many things to get to know about each child. The first six weeks of school is definitely not easy, but taking the time to get to know each student as a person and as a learner is so important.

In Ohio, we have a 3rd Grade Guarantee Law. No matter where you live, you are most likely living with some mandates that require an emphasis on standardized tests. When you are dealing with mandates and laws like these, it is easy to forget all of the things we know and understand about literacy and learning and to go through the motions of the paperwork required and to rely on standardized test scores alone.  The test scores tell us something about a child, but they do not tell us everything we need to know to plan good instruction.  I decided a few years ago that I had a choice as a classroom teacher. I try to do the best I can to meet the requirements of the law while working in ways that make sense for young children. It takes a bit of extra time and intentional planning but I know that meeting a child's needs requires more than a single test score.

In Ohio we give a state reading test in the fall and the spring.  Districts also have the option to give alternate tests for kids to show what they know. Our district provides each teacher with the Developmental Reading Assessment and I always sit down with every child to chat about their reading in an informal Reading Interview. I also spend the first weeks of school taking anecdotal notes about things I notice during independent reading time, mini lesson time, and read aloud time.

Each time I assess a child (with a standardized or more informal assessment), I try to pull out the most important things from the assessment-the things that seems to be the most important thing to know about that child right now. Then I look across all of the assessments to notice patterns and ask myself questions like:

• Are there any outliers in the assessments? Something that doesn't fit the rest of the information?
• Does the child do better with long text or shorter text? Can he/she hold onto a story/idea of time?
• Are there patterns across strengths and weaknesses across assessments?
• How does this child define reading?
• Is this child an engaged reader?
• What strengths does this child have that can be built on?
• What is the one thing that seems to be most critical for this child to move forward as a reader?

To do this I use what I call an Assessment Web.  I want to look across several pieces of information about my students in order to plan for instruction that matters for them. I can't look at a level or a test score or an area of weakness and know what to do or how best to support a young reader. Instead I need to look hard at all types of data and information to determine what is the most important next step for a child. In our book Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop, I shared the way that I create an Assessment Web for each child.  The Assessment Web lets me think about all the pieces of information I gather about a child as a learner during the first few weeks of school and for me, the web allows me to see how they all work together, without one being more important than the other. I often use this web to share with parents at conference time. My categories change a bit based on the assessments we are required to give or the patterns I see but overall my web usually looks something like this:

Some years, instead of an assessment web, I compile the data on a form that is on page 83 in the second edition of Still Learning to Read.  This one is a bit easier and allows me to more easily look across grouping of students and patterns across the class.  But it doesn't give me a single page on each student that I can use as the year progresses and add changes, updates, etc.

Of course, the form doesn't matter--it just helps me make it easier for me to look across multiple pieces of information on a child.  In order 'to move forward with targeted instructional planning after these first few weeks of school, this step has always been critical for me. Since I started using a form like this over a decade ago, we've had new standards, new tests and new mandates. But the idea of the form continues to work for me as I try to look at all the data and information I have on a child in order to make the best instructional decisions possible for a child.

(You can follow the conversation using the hashtag #SLficuciaryTRead or you can join us for a book chat on Facebook that began this week by joining our group here.)

Our new edition of Still Learning to Read was released last week!  

You can order it online at Stenhouse!

Still Learning to Read: Book Preview

This is one of a series of blog posts that continue the conversation around Still Learning to Read--teaching reading to students in grades 3-6.  This series will run on the blog on Tuesdays starting in August 2016.

Read Aloud is one of my most important teaching times. It is comfortable and joyful with great stories and great talk. My role is to find books that invite conversations that I know will help my students grow as readers.  My plan before school started was to begin our read aloud with 4-5 short chapter books and then to move to something longer. But after reading Lulu and the Brontosaurus and Mercy Watson to the Rescue, I decided this group needed a bit more to talk about in order for them to learn to talk deeply around books. So I changed my plans a bit and moved to a longer, more complex series book.  Last week we started Dog Days (a book in The Carver Chronicles Series) by Karen English.

Why I Chose This Book:

I chose this as our next read aloud for several reasons. I thought the kids were ready for a book with more to talk about. Many are in the transitional stage of reading and they struggle a bit with keeping track of a story, keeping track of characters and sticking with books. This book is probably beyond what many of my kids could read on their own but the teaching focus I have for this book will support readers at a variety of levels. The book will invite conversations about characters and characters who change across the book. I also liked that this book had lots of good features like a Table of Contents, a back blurb that sets up the story, etc. that will help us begin conversations about previewing books before you read.

Setting Up the Preview:

I am a strong believer that transitional readers must learn to "introduce themselves" to a book.  I think to be able to chose the right books, a preview is critical. As a reader, I need to know lots about a book before I decide it's the book I want to read next.  But previewing is about more than choosing books. Previewing a book sets the reader up for more engagement.  Kids are always amazed at how much you can learn BEFORE you even start the book if you take the time to preview a bit.  So, on the day we were to begin Dog Days, I had this chart ready in our read aloud area. I set it out before the school day began knowing a few curious kids would give it a look and start thinking about and wondering what it was.

Then during our read aloud time last Thursday, we previewed the book.  We have a 25 minute read aloud time each day and the whole class preview took the entire read aloud time on Thursday.  Tougher we looked at the cover, read the back cover, read the table of contents and read the first page of the first chapter.  After each feature, we stopped to talk about the things we knew, the things we predicted and most importantly the questions we had.  The kids were amazed (as they usually are the first time we do this) that they had so much thinking before we even started the book!   I have learned that kids won't instantly begin previewing the books they read independently after a few read aloud previews but my goal is for them to eventually see the power of a preview in their reading.

We actually began reading the book on Friday and before we started a student mentioned that he'd been thinking about the book. Several kids agreed.  Such a great way to start a read aloud with kids thinking about the book between readings. Throughout the first day's reading, we referred back to things we had read in the preview--thinking that was confirmed, thinking that we changed with new information and questions that were answered. Every time we went back to a feature we had previewed, we found the exact line that we were thinking about which always raises the level of talk. I can tell this is going to be a great read aloud! I am anxious to see where the talk goes.

(You can follow the conversation using the hashtag #SLTRead or you can join us for a book chat on Facebook that began this week by joining our group here.)

Our new edition of Still Learning to Read was released last week!  You can order it online at Stenhouse!

Still Learning to Read: Reading Notebooks Early in the Year

This is one of a series of blog posts that continue the conversation around Still Learning to Read--teaching reading to students in grades 3-6.  This series will run on the blog on Tuesdays starting in August 2016.

I am never quite sure if I am doing the right thing early in the year when it comes to reading notebooks. When I taught 4th and 5th grades, reading notebooks were such an important tool to my students' understanding around their reading. The things they were able to discover and understand and the high levels of talk around text were supported with the notebook. I've never been strict about a notebook--it is really a tool that my readers can use if it helps them understand. When I moved to 3rd grade a few years ago, I realized early on that most kids needed more time to build talk and oral language around books so the notebooks became a bit less important early in the year.

This year, I did the same thing that I did last year--I started read aloud off with a very tiny spiral notebook and an invitation to stop and jot several times each day during read aloud. I found last year that the tiny spiral notebook was inviting and much less intimidating than a regular notebook. and that it was a good tool to introduce the idea of writing around reading.

A Word About Modeling

I almost never model something right off for my students.  My thinking is that modeling right off gives them the message that I don't think they know how to do it and that is not an assumption I want to have about my students.  So I wait and watch. Instead of modeling, I pay attention to what it is they can do and build on that. Then if needed, I'll model something new later--once I know they need modeling.

Starting Reading Notebooks

So, when it comes to Reading Notebooks, handing out notebooks to record thinking during read aloud was all I did before we started Lulu and the Brontosaurus last week.  Then I listened and watched.  When we stopped to talk during read aloud, I paid attention to the ways kids were comfortable talking, thinking and writing about books. At the end of the week, as we were almost finished with the book, kids looked through their notebooks and we talked about the kinds of entries we had-the kinds of thinking we did. This year, kids writing included writing about characters, predictions, visualizing and wonderings. (This changes every year.)

I scanned the notebooks for examples of each and we built the following chart about the ways we think, talk and write about books in our reading.

As we started our 2nd read aloud (Mercy Watson to the Rescue), we looked at the chart and reflected on new kinds of thinking we could each try as we read.   We talked about the fact that we might add new ways of thinking to the chart over the next few weeks. And kids seem excited to try new thing.  One thing that you may not be able to see on the chart is a student sample that is divided into columns. A student made 2 columns labeled W and S to stand for Wonders and Surprises. The idea of a 2 column table to track different kinds of thinking appealed to a few students.

As we move forward over the next several weeks of read aloud, I know this list will grow as we notice new ways of thinking. As we move to different kinds of books, we'll see that different books invite different kinds of thinking and the conversation will continue to grow.  I've found that building  slowly from where children are is key to making this kind of writing purposeful and powerful for students. 

(You can follow the conversation using the hashtag #SLTRead or you can join us for a book chat on Facebook starting September 1 by joining our group here.)

Our new edition of Still Learning to Read was released last week!  You can preview it online at Stenhouse!

Still Learning to Read: 100 Things About Me as a Reader Revisited

This is one of a series of blog posts that continue the conversation around Still Learning to Read--teaching reading to students in grades 3-6.  This series will run on the blog on Tuesdays starting in August 2016.

In 2010, I wrote a post about a lesson I did that I called 100 Things About Me as a Reader.  

A few years later Scholastic included it in their amazing collection, Open a World of Possible and repurposed it on their blog.  I've always shared lots about myself as a reader and  this week I started by sharing my 100 Things About Me as a Reader list. I shared the one from my blog that I had printed off.  Then I sent the kids off to begin to create their own lists.

Here are some of the lists that they started:

Starting Conversations

When we pulled back together to share, kids had pencils in hand. I let them know that when someone shared a list and it reminded them something that they didn't think to write down yet, that they could add it to their list. So sharing helped us learn about each other and think about things in our reading lives that we may not have thought about before.  I know that this is the first day of a yearlong conversation about who we are as readers and the conversation opened up so many possibilities.

Thinking About Ourselves as Readers

The conversation was casual and fun. When one child shared that she liked to read on her Kindle, another asked her what a kindle was and why she liked it. When a child mentioned her favorite chair for reading, another mentioned a little reading loft area that he had created to have a quiet spot for his books and reading.  My goal in this conversation is for kids to begin thinking about themselves as readers, knowing classmates as readers and beginning to build on one another's conversations.

Readers Grow and Change

I took a turn to share and shared a few things I had added to my list. I wanted my students to know that as an adult reader, I am always changing and growing.  I want them to know that all readers change and grow throughout their lives.  I shared the new things I realized about myself as a reader.  Some things I added to my list on this day were:

• I read on my Kindle and there are certain kinds of books that I read on my Kindle.
• I read the news on my phone daily. I have 2 apps (CNN, Local News) and I subscribe to The Skimm.
• I keep track of my reading on Goodreads.
• I read lots of online reviews when deciding on what to read next.
• I am on the Charlotte Huck Award committee and love reading with that lens.
• I tend to buy more than one copy of books I like.
• I reserve books with my Columbus Library app and pick them up weekly.
• I LOVE to tell others about great books I've read recently.

Then I revisited my old list with my students and told them how much I had changed and that I am constantly revising my list.  

I quickly talked to my kids about the things that I realized had changed about me as a reader and that I knew this list would continue to grow and change:

• I've realized that I love fantasy and some of my favorite books are dystopia fiction and rewrites of fairy tales.
• I'm getting better at enjoying audiobooks and paying attention better. My friend, Teri has helped me find narrators that I enjoy and I know how to choose audiobooks better now so that I can enjoy them on long car trips.
• I get recommendations from friends but I also pay attention to recommendations that I see on Twitter or Goodreads.
• I love to share my favorite books, even though my friends know that my very favorites need to be read quickly--I don't like to be without them for long!
• I have learned to love Graphic Novels and they aren't hard for me once I understood how they worked.

Seeing Patterns: What Did I Notice That Would Help Me in my Teaching?

As a teacher, this is one of my favorite beginning-of-the-year mini lessons. Although it takes a long time, it sets the stage for talk about Reader Identity for the whole year. It sets us up to talk to other readers and to continually reflect on our own reading. It gives kids the message that readers always change and grow and that things that are hard or boring for readers one day might be different for them in a few weeks. 

This time also gives me the opportunity to listen for patterns and to find out what I can learn about the class as a whole.  I saw several patterns in the talk last week. I discovered that:

• Several students had favorite authors whose names they knew. I want to help them build the number of authors they know and love and that now seems like something I can do starting soon.
• Several kids have experience reading on Kindles or tablets.  Others are interested in giving that a try. Once our BYOD policy is explained to parents, I'll be able to support kids reading ebooks.
• A few kids stated that they did not enjoy poetry and others agreed verbally.  That will inform how I introduce poetry this year.
• Graphic novels are popular although most students who loved graphic novels couldn't name authors or series that they enjoyed.  We read Beekle on Friday so I took that as an opportunity to intro Dan Santat and his amazing graphic novel, Sidekicks.
• No one had trouble thinking of a few things about himself/herself. Some years I have a few kids who are hesitant to write anything. This group seems confident in this kind of thinking.
• Most kids enjoy fiction over nonfiction. Very few students mentioned nonfiction books, authors or topics. That will be something I need to address soon.  I'll build in more nonfiction early.
• Many kids had something on their list that implied that they talked to others about books ("I read to my little brother." "I borrow books from my friend." etc.)
• Very few (if any) mentioned any online reading that they do. (Luckily, that was already in the plans for next week-I'll begin introducing reading sites on our classroom website.)

Next Steps

We talk a lot in the book about having other adults come in to talk about their lives as readers. Next week, adults from our school will be starting to come in to talk to our class about their reading lives with us. We have 3 adults coming in this week and a few more after that. Later this fall, I'll invite parents from our classroom to do the same. I'll be listening in to see the kinds of questions the kids ask, the connections they make, and the new ideas that the readers bring into our conversation.  As readers visit, kids will sit on the floor with lists and pencils in hand in case they have something new to add to their list.  

I have found that agency and identity are two of the most important things for readers in grades 3-6.  When a child does not see him/herself as a reader, it is hard to engage and to grow. So I spend a great deal of time throughout the year helping children know themselves as readers and to see the ways they are changing. These first steps are so important.   As Peter Johnston says in his book Choice Words, "Building an identity means coming to see in ourselves the characteristics of particular categories (and roles) of people and developing a sense of what it feels like to be that sort of person and belong in certain social situations."

Even though to an outsider, this "100 Things" list might look like  a "cute" getting to know you activity,  we know that it is far more than that. It is a powerful activity that begins a yearlong conversation around reader identity.

*For more ways to nurture Reader Identity, read Paula Bourque's recent post at Nerdy Book Club.

(You can follow the conversation using the hashtag #SLTRead or you can join us for a book chat on Facebook starting September 1 by joining our group here.)

Our new edition of Still Learning to Read was released this week!  You can preview it online at Stenhouse!

Still Learning to Read: Filling Book Bins on the First Day of School

This is one of a series of blog posts that continue the conversation around Still Learning to Read--teaching reading to students in grades 3-6.  This series will run on the blog on Tuesdays starting in August 2016.

Reading Workshop is one of the first things I want to have up and going by the end of the first week of school.  We get started with Reading Workshop on the first day of school and I want every child to have books for independent reading time. I want them to know right away that they own their reading.  

Our Reading Workshop is in the afternoon, so sometime before that time, we'll build our book bins.  I have empty 24 book bins set up in a few places around the room. (I purposely do not put them all in the same area to help with traffic.)  These bins are waiting to be filled!

I make sure that the first day of school is fun, slow and happy.  I want kids to have time to know the room, know each other and play a bit to transition into the routine. So for the first few days of school we have about an hour to explore various things in the classroom--Legos, Math Games, Straws and Connectors, Apps on iPads, Pixie on Laptops, etc.  During this exploration time, I meet with 3-5 kids at a time at a table to build book bins.  Each child finds a book bin in the room that they'd like to claim for their own.  We label it with a sticky note--knowing that our photo will be printed to label it later in the week.

Then we do a quick tour of the library--just to get the basics--picture books, series books, nonfiction, graphic novels, author baskets, etc  Kids often see a familiar book to add into their bins, others seem to have a specific book in mind that they'd like to read. Still others have no idea where to begin when it comes to choosing a book to read.

I take time with each group of children, pointing out books, asking about old favorites and what they read in the summer, suggesting titles. I suggest that kids have a variety of books in their bins--short books, long books, fiction, nonfiction, familiar books, new authors, etc.  My hope is that each child has 3-4 books in their book bin before our first Reading Workshop.  I'll take a picture of the child and their books to keep as our first piece of assessment.

This is a great time for me to listen in. It is my first conversation with individual readers and their first time talking to me about books. It is an important time. I know that every child will not have the right books in their bins--that is all part of the process.  My big goal is for them to know that they choose the books--that they are in charge of their own reading and that I will support them along the way.

As the week goes on, we'll have lots of reflection about our book choices. Many of our share sessions during those first few weeks of school will be about the books they are choosing. We'll reflect on questions like:

Did you have enough books to keep you reading the whole time?

Which book had you hooked?

Which book didn't seem right for your right now?

What kind of book did you wish you had in your bin today?

Did you find yourself sticking with one book or moving between books?

Is there a new book or author you discovered today that you are excited about?

Did anyone read a new book by a familiar author?

My rule for the independent reading portion of the Reading Workshop those first few days is that everyone Stays Quiet and Stays Put. It sounds a bit harsh but it starts as only a 10-15 minute time period. I want kids to feel what it is like to find a spot with books. I want them to determine how many books they might need. I want them to get used to not getting up and down for drinks or restroom breaks or even new books during this time. (Later I loosen up but these first few days are important to establish a routine that we can build on.

This means that kids can trade out books when they arrive in the morning. I'll also have many mini lessons around book choice and they'll be able to switch out books between the mini lesson and independent reading time. I'll confer with kids during this time to help them refill their book bins.  

I'll also be keeping an eye on kids who are comfortable with the books they chose.  I'll watch their engagement and behaviors with the books they have.  I'll ask them how it is going? I'll do a lot of observations during this time.

Throughout the year, the student book bins remain critical. Kids have their daily reading in these bins but they also have books they hope to read next. The book bin becomes a visual reminder of each child's current life as a reader.  After the first few weeks, readers change out their book bins whenever needed. After the first few weeks of learning what a 30 minute independent reading period feels like, reflecting on which books keep us engaged, meeting with me about the books in their bins and mini lessons around book choice, kids choose books very naturally. The lessons on book choice are critical and the book bin helps so much with this learning.

(You can follow the conversation using the hashtag #SLTRead or you can join us for a book chat on Facebook starting September 1 by joining our group here.)

Our new edition of Still Learning to Read will be released on August 15 but you can preview the entire book online at Stenhouse!

Still Learning to Read: Setting Up the Digital Classroom Library

This is one of a series of blog posts that continue the conversation around Still Learning to Read--teaching reading to students in grades 3-6.  This series will run on the blog on Tuesdays starting in August 2016.

School starts in a little over a week. My classroom set up is coming along (of course there is always something to do when it comes to setting up a room!)  This weekend, I worked on revising and updating the digital classroom library that will start our school year.  For kids to make intentional decisions, they must have choice.  I used to introduce a few sites for reading at a time and built over the first few months of school but last year I created a page on our Weebly with all of the sites kids could read. This year I revised it a bit by adding new sites and getting rid of those that were outdated or no longer active.

The Reading page of our Classroom Weebly is here.  I've found that Weebly is an easy website for young children to navigate because of the design and the visuals.  I am certain it will grow and change as the year goes on and I have no idea which of these sites kids will be most interested in this year (every class is different). But this is where we'll begin so kids know that digital reading is an option during Reading Workshop. They'll also have access to these sites at home by accessing our website. 

These are the sites that my 3rd graders can access from our website:

A few years ago, our class created a Symbaloo of Authors We Love.  We created this one day when we were playing with Symabaloo and it's become a great resource.  This Symbaloo links to many authors that kids love. It DEFINITELY needs updated and it seems like a good project for us once the year is started.  

Kidsreads is one of the best sites I know for kids to learn about books, authors, and series.  The website is packed with book reviews, announcements for new books and author interviews and it is perfect for middle grade readers.

Wonderopolis is a favorite source for shared reading and independent reading.  If you don't know this site, you should spend lots of time exploring!  There is a new wonder posted each day along with an article sharing the answer and more.   The site is searchable so kids can find past wonders that match their current interests. 

LivBits is a new addition to the Weebly this year.  Olivia has videos, Instagram post and more sharing her thinking about books, authors and reading. These are great videos by a reader close to my students' ages.  Love this site!

SI Kids, the Sports Illustrated site for kids has a variety of great reading material for kids.  The site is full of articles, videos, interviews and more and is easy for kids to navigate.

DOGONews is a kids's news sites. Articles are accessible to kids and most are about topics they are most interested in.  There site also includes book reviews "for kids, by kids".

Pebble Go is a membership site that is one of the best nonfiction sites I've seen for primary readers. There are several categories of nonfiction and kids learn to navigate for information in an authentic way.

Toon Book Reader shares early graphic novels with kids. We have many of the hard copies of the books in our classrooms.  Readers can choose to read on his/her own or to have the books read aloud. There are options to change the language from English to Spanish, French, Russian and Chinese also.

Friends with Fins is one of our favorite video sites for informational videos.   I know that learning from videos is important to digital reading so sites like this are critical for my students.  Watching videos to learn (as opposed to for entertainment) is new to many of them. The focus of this is on Ocean Conservation and the videos are the perfect length for middle grade readers.

I could spend all day on ZooBorns. The site focuses on baby animals in zoos around the world.  Each day there is an update about some baby animal somewhere in the world. So it is fun site to check in with on a daily basis. Or, readers can search by animal or zoo which adds to what is possible.  The photos on this site are fabulous!

Big Universe is another site that our school subscribes to for nonfiction reading. Students have an account and can read ebooks on a variety of topics.  They can log their reading, add books to their to-be-read shelf and more.

NewsELA is a site filled with news articles, text sets on current issues and more. There is so much to explore here! 

Animals for Smart People is another site of informational videos by author, Jess Keating.  These are a perfect length and the visuals she includes are supportive to understanding the topic.

Smithsonian TT Junior has daily news, photos audio and video. This has a good variety of interesting information for readers.

We discovered Emily Arrow last year and created a Padlet of her videos. This became one of our most popular sites as Emily Arrow is the best and the way she interprets books through song is fabulous!

I feel like this part of my "classroom library" set-up is as important as the bookshelves in my room. Knowing sites that are accessible to my middle grade readers and expanding what they "count" as reading is an important early-in-the-year message. I feel like we'll be off to a good start.

Are there any other sites you include in your digital classroom library?

(You can follow the conversation using the hashtag #SLTRead or you can join us for a book chat on Facebook starting September 1 by joining our group here.)

Our new edition of Still Learning to Read will be released on August 15 but you can preview the entire book online at Stenhouse!

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