Thoughts on Teaching & Learning: Summer Reading

Over the past several weeks, I have found myself doing a lot of reflection trying to get this online teaching right.  I keep meaning to get my thoughts on paper but then get caught up in the day-to-day work of teaching in this pandemic era.  I know if I can catch my breath, there is a lot to learn and reflect on during this time. So, I decided that every day in May, I will share my thoughts on Teaching and Learning.  This is Day 10.

As we go into our last full week of school/remote learning, I am thinking about Summer Reading. In the classroom, I always dedicate a lot of time these last few weeks helping students create a summer reading list.  And I always do the same. We preview books, we share titles, we read reviews, we visit websites, we take recommendations from others.

For the past several summers I've participated in Donalyn's summer #bookaday and I spend time counting the days and thinking about books I'll start with.  Summer is always a great time for me to catch up on so much reading and I make it a priority.

But I am finding that I am not reading as much these days. When this stay-at-home started, I figured I'd read a book a day.  I have plenty of books at home and plenty of time.  But I've really been struggling with reading. I've managed about a book a week most weeks but those are mostly read in spurts.

When I talked to my students about their reading, I am finding similar things. They are missing reading as much as they did, but they are not able to read as much.  And without being in school--having access to our classroom library, the school library and our amazing  public libraries, they are a little lost.  

We've spent some time over the last few weeks talking about this-how and what are we reading during this time. And I've noticed that for so many of my students, reading habits are changing. Some students aren't making the time for reading and are in a reading slump. But others are discovering new things.  Students who would never reread a book are now rereading books they have at home. Books they love.  Students who were adamantly opposed to eBooks have given them a second chance and realized that checking out and reading an eBook from the library is better than not having new books to read at all. My own 20-year old daughter has discovered audiobooks during this time at home. 

I'm wondering about these reading habits--which ones are just getting us through this crisis and which ones will stick. And I'm wondering how best to help my 5th graders think about summer reading during our last week together.   I'll still share some books and some sites for finding new books, but I think much of our talk will be around our habits and how we might have to build new reading habits during this time.  

As I think about summer #bookaday, something I've been committed to for years, I wonder how that might work this year.  Typically, I pick up a stack of books each week from the local library, but this year, that is not possible. So, I am rethinking what "counts" as reading. We are so lucky to have hundreds of authors reading their books aloud online. Does watching a video of that "count" toward my bookaday?  And I've never reserved picture book eBooks from the library--is that even a possibility? If so, I need to learn how to do that. And I wonder how I might build audiobooks into my life with so little driving (I typically listen to audiobooks on the drive to work but am wondering how I build those into my life at home.)

This week, when we talk about summer reading, I want my students to think about options.  Temporary options--through this crisis.  know my summer reading life may not look like it has in the past and I have to assume theirs won't either.  And I don't know what it will look like--if libraries will open, if I can learn to love eBooks, if I will stick with summer #bookaday.  I know as readers, many of us are talking about our changed reading habits during this time.  As adult readers, we know that we are still readers, and that we'll get our "normal" reading lives back. I want my students to know that too, 

So, I think this year, as we prepare for summer reading, I'll continue to talk to kids honestly about their changing habits and the reading challenges so many of us are facing during this pandemic. I'll throw out some resources and hopefully help them expand on the possibilities. Rather than creating a summer reading list, maybe we'll talk about building in some new habits as readers --or at least building in the habit of trying new things as readers as we navigate this pandemic.

My Stack for #cyberPD 2017

Dynamic Teaching for Deeper Reading
by Vicki Vinton

MUST read.

Disrupting Thinking
by Kylene Beers and Bob Probst

MUST read.

No More Telling as Teaching
by Cris Tovani

Probably more secondary and probably preaching to the choir, but MUST read because we get so caught up in galloping toward the test that sometimes we forget. (We...meaning I.)

The Teacher You Want to Be
edited by Matt Glover and Ellin Oliver Keene

Yes, next year I'll be entering my 32nd year of teaching and I'm down to less than one hand before retirement, but I'm STILL trying to be the teacher I want to be. Why stop now, right?

Summer #bookaday Begins!

Cleopatra in Space: Target Practice

by Mike Maihack

Scholastic, 2014

review copy purchased for my classroom library

Cleopatra in Space: The Thief and the Sword

by Mike Maihack

Scholastic, 2015

review copy purchased for my classroom library

School's out -- let #bookaday begin! And what better way to begin than with a fun new (to me) graphic novel series!

Columbus College of Art and Design grad Mike Maihack has plucked Cleopatra out of history and sent her to the future as the hero prophesied to save the galaxy from the evil Xaius Octavian who destroys civilizations by deleting all their electronic data and simultaneously stealing it for himself and his uses. 

Maihack's action and battle scenes are spectacular -- very cinematic. He is masterful at using flashbacks and flashforwards. At the end of the first book, her school/training academy is planning a winter dance, and at the beginning of the second book, the dance is in full swing. The second book ends with a more dramatic cliffhanger (think massive fleet evil army spaceships in close pursuit of the tiny spaceship our main characters are on) that will leave readers anxious for the next book in the series!

#bookaday -- Two (more) For My Classroom Library

Cinderella Smith
by Stephanie Barden
illustrated by Diane Goode
Harper, 2010
review copy purchased for my classroom library

I'm really good at keeping my readers going in series books. I love them (you might have noticed that if you were paying attention on Wednesdays in April and May), and most of my 4th graders love them. But when a student is ready for a stand-alone novel, or when I'm ready for a student to break into stand-alone novels, I sometimes have a hard time suggesting books. Cinderella Smith will be at the top of my pile of recommendations next year.

Cinderella got her nickname NOT because she has a wicked stepmother or awful stepsisters, and NOT because she sleeps on the floor by the fireplace, and NOT because she had to do lots of horrible chores. She got her nickname because she loses her shoes. In this book, Cinderella has more problems than just lost shoe problems -- she has new teacher problems, sitting at the smart boys' table problems, and friendship problems. But she's got lots going for her, too. For one thing, she understands how to use a PROCESS to solve a problem, so she sets out to help the new girl, Erin, figure out if the two step-sisters she has not yet met will be wicked.

Cinderella Smith is a great new character, perfect for 8-10 year-old girls.



Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie
by Julie Sternberg
illustrated by Matthew Cordell
Amulet Books, 2011
review copy purchased for my classroom library

This novel in verse is another great book to have on hand for readers transitioning to stand-alone books. Eleanor has lots of adjusting to do in an August that's "As bad as pickle juice on a cookie. / As bad as a spiderweb on your leg. / As bad as the black parts of a banana." She manages to have a good end to her summer, giving readers hope that their own pickle-juicey problems will get better.

Franki reviewed this book earlier this month.

#bookaday -- Mal and Chad

Mal and Chad: The Biggest, Bestest Time Ever
by Stephen McCranie
Philomel, May 2011
review copy purchased for my classroom library

One of the last things I heard as I walked my students to the bus last Friday was, "Can I come back and visit you next year and check books out of your classroom library?" It was a rhetorical question; my students have seen 5th graders coming back to browse my shelves all year long. I have the best books, that's all there is to it. It's my goal: something to tempt every reader and if I don't have it, I'll scour the library and bookstores to get it.

My graphic novel readers are going to LOVE Mal and Chad. A reviewer on Amazon puts it this way, "Imagine "Dexter's Laboratory," "Jimmy Neutron," and a dash of "Calvin & Hobbes" and you've got a pretty good idea of what "Mal and Chad" is like." Mal is the super-brilliant inventor boy, and Chad is his talking side-kick dog. Their adventures include a time machine and dinosaurs, underwater exploration in the kitchen sink thanks to a mini-mega-morpher and some magic lollipops, and a little bit of a crush on a girl who can throw a flaming dodge bomb in dodgeball.

At the beginning of the book, Mal's teacher is trying to get him to write a short essay on what he wants to be when he grows up. What Mal finally comes up with is this: 

"I spent the whole week trying out different jobs, but I couldn't figure out what I wanted to be when I grow up. Then I realized that finding a job wouldn't answer the question of what I want to be...it would only answer the question of what I want to do. In the end, I found out that being the person you want to be is more important than getting the job you want to get. And if that's the case, why wait until I'm an adult? I'm going to try to be the person I want to be right now." 

Yes, I'll be using this book in our study of theme. (It's stated, not implied, but it's a good one, isn't it?!?)

Some Great Websites for Summer Reading

This week, Loren Scully from the Dublin Library visited our library to talk to our students about the summer reading program offered there. She was accompanied by Miss Val of the library's Homework Help Center.  Our kids are excited and I think many of them will participate.  The program is a great one and one way that we encourage our kids to read over the summer.

As so many of us are getting ready to help our students think about their summer reading, I am trying to expand my own thinking about what "counts" and how to value a variety of reading over the summer.  Along with encouraging the Summer Reading Club, I am sending home information about a variety of summer reading.  I have been thinking about this idea a lot and have recently updated my reading interview to include online reading, etc.  (I wrote about this at Choice Literacy a few months ago.)  As I talk to students about their goals for summer reading, I am trying to make sure that I focus on reading beyond traditional books.  Conversations have included magazine reading, comic book reading and online reading.  I have worked over the year to add several websites to our library site.  I've added websites that give students a place to go for reading.  This summer, I am hoping the students utilize this list of resources for their summer reading.

Nonfiction reading seems to be the one that kids need help with for the summer. So, I've tried to compile a short list of good sites for nonfiction reading--sites kids will want to revisit.  We've spent a bit of time learning to go beyond skimming and to build stamina with nonfiction.

I'll be sending home a paper with each student as part of their summer reading packet. The packet will include information from the Dublin Library as many of our students participate in the library's summer reading program. The packet will also include a few pages of information on websites worth visiting over the summer. For some of our subscription sites like Tumblebooks and PebbleGo, students need the username and password so these papers will compile all of these.

But the page will also include some screen shots of a few other sites that I hope kids visit over the summer. I have found a few that they have explored a bit this spring in hopes that they revisit them regularly.  Below are some of the sites I'll be including in my students' summer reading packets:

Wonderopolis's tagline states, "Where the Wonders of Learning Never Cease". Each day on Wonderopolis, a new wonder or question is answered. The questions cover a variety of topics and many come from kids. The wonders are accompanied by related videos and a solid article about the topic. Related links and other wonders are included.  The fun of this site is that you never know what you will find when you get there. A favorite question on Mother's Day this week was, "Do Moms Have Eyes in the Backs of Their Heads?"  The site is very kid-friendly and interesting to kids of all ages.  Readers can visit each day to read an article per day or they can visit the archives to find topics of interest.

DOGOnews is one of my favorite current events sites for kids.  The site adds a new article almost daily. A few articles are accompanied by videos but most are text and photos.  The headlines and topics engage kids. Some topics are world topics that you'd find on any news site and others are topics that might be specifically interesting to kids.  This site has an interesting feature in that you can search news on a map --kids can see the news happening on a map feature.  As with Wonderopolis, kids can also read by topic and visit the archives.

Meet Me at the Corner has grown incredibly over the past year.  This site is filled with great videos for kids and done by kids.  The site defines itself as "Virtual Field Trips for Kids takes you to meet fascinating people from all over the world."  Each short video (about 5 minutes long) takes us to learn about an interesting topic complete with interviews.  This is a favorite site for our students.  The videos give so much interesting information.

TOONBOOK Reader is my favorite part of The Professor Garfield Site. This reader allows kids to read and reread favorite graphic novels.

I think I've shared the site KidsReads before. It is a site I have loved for years. This site gives kids information on books, authors, series, upcoming titles, etc.  A great resource for finding new books and other things connected to reading. This site is packed and updated regularly. It is not only a great site for kids to keep up with books-it is also a great site for teachers to get the latest information on books.

What are "The Sisters" and Cris Tovani Reading?

"The Sisters", Joan Moser and Gail Boushey, authors of The Daily Five just started a new website that you might want to check out. Gail and Joan visited Dublin this week and let us know what they are reading.

Gail has 3 daughters and this summer, Gail, her three daughters and Joan are having a family booktalk on the TWILIGHT series by Stephenie Meyer. They are all loving it!

Joan is also reading Anne McGill-Franzen's book KINDERGARTEN LITERACY. She is also reading The Western Guide to Feng Shui: Creating Balance, Harmony, and Prosperity in Your Environment. Her book "for fun" is ONE THOUSAND WHITE WOMEN: THE JOURNAL OF MAY DODD.

Gail is reading WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN FLUENCY by Richard Allington. She is also reading COMPREHENSION INSTRUCTION: BEST PRACTICES IN LITERACY INSTRUCTION.



Cris Tovani, author of I READ IT BUT I DON'T GET IT and DO I REALLY HAVE TO TEACH READING?

I am reading this really cool book about the brain. It's called BRAIN RULES by John Medina. He's a develpmental molecular biologist but don't let that scare you. The book is very readable. Medina's target audience is the business world and educators. On the plane a couple of weeks ago, I read about the book in USA Today and was intrigued by the author's 12 Principles for surviving and thriving at work, home, and school. Rule four happens to be: We don't pay attention to boring things. That alone hits home for my own learning as well as my teaching.

What are Ralph Fletcher and Aimee Buckner Reading?

From Ralph Fletcher, author of BOY WRITERS, THE SANDMAN, WHAT A WRITER NEEDS, and FIG PUDDING:

THE POST-BIRTHDAY WORLD by Lionel Shriver (finished a month or so ago)

THE MOTHER TONGUE by Bill Bryson

THE SLEEPING DOLL by Jeffrey Deaver (a guilty pleasure)

LUSH LIFE by Richard Price

From Aimee Buckner, author of NOTEBOOK KNOW-HOW:


THE BOOK OF AIR AND SHADOWS by Michael Gruber. I found this book at the bookstore - I liked the title and was intrigued by the blurb. It's about a lost manuscript by Shakespeare. The book starts off as a flashback alternating between two different characters and how they came to be involved in looking for this manuscript. Eventually their lives collide and the book moves from flashback to present day. It's like a literacy treasure hunt with bad guys chasing the good guys, murder, lies, twists and turns. It took me awhile to 'get into' the book, but once I did, I was hooked.




ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY by David Sedaris. This is a collection of essays by Sedaris. He's a humorist who writes about his family and life in general. His essays are funny but do have some 'language.' I first found Sedaris listening to one of his books on my ipod. Now I can't get enough of his work. It's a nice book to read between novels.


LITERATURE AS EXPLORATION by Louise Rosenblatt. Her work is timeless. I'm reading it for a project I'm working on. It reminds me of how kids learn to read - the theories of language acquisition and what it looks like in the classroom. It's a book you'd most likely read for a college graduate course, but I'm loving it.

What are Katie Ray and Brenda Power Reading?

From Brenda Power, author of LIVING THE QUESTIONS and Founder of Choice Literacy.

For fun - WHEN YOU ARE ENGULFED IN FLAMES by David Sedaris

It's a collection of his essays - I read many when they were originally published, but he's my favorite author so it's always a treat to see them collected in one place.

Professionally, I'm reading more business books than literacy education books this summer.

From Katie Wood Ray author of WONDROUS WORDS, STUDY DRIVEN, and ALREADY READY.



Funny you should ask... I'm headed out to the bookstore this morning to get THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE. I read a review of it and have heard a good bit of buzz about it and I want to take it on vacation with me next week. It fits into my own little reading club (as Kathy Collins calls them) stack of books about people and dogs that change their lives. As part of this reading journey, I've read A THREE DOG LIFE, MOSTLY BOB, A DOG YEAR, MARLEY AND ME (of course), and 10 SECRETS MY DOG TAUGHT ME. Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Outside of this "canine" reading club, I recently finished a book Ralph [Fletcher] recommended to me, THE POST-BIRTHDAY WORLD (very interesting way this book is crafted), and I read TWILIGHT so I would know what all the teenagers are talking about. I also have a stack of new professional books I bought while at Lakota that I'm anxious to dig into but haven't started yet.

What are Shelley Harwayne and Terry Thompson Reading?

From Shelley Harwayne, author of LASTING IMPRESSIONS, GOING PUBLIC, and LOOK WHO’S READING.

I just finished THE WHISTLING SEASON by Ivan Doig

My bookclub members suggested this novel. It is quite a tribute to the one room schoolhouse told by a young boy who grows up to be the superintendent of schools in his childhood locale.

I am also reading FATHER KNOWS LESS by Wendell Jamieson
This non fiction book. It is a collection of real children’s questions with responses offered by experts in the field. The author was inspired by the questions his young son asked.

From Terry Thompson author of ADVENTURES IN GRAPHICA
Professionally, I'm reading 3-MINUTE MOTIVATORS: MORE THAN 100 SIMPLE WAYS TO REACH, TEACH, and ACHIEVE MORE THAN YOU EVER IMAGINED (Paterson, Pembroke), The ORACY INSTRUCTION GUIDE: LINKING RESEARCH AND THEORY TO ASSESSMENT AND INSTRUCTION (Gentile, Dominie Press), THE VOCABULARY BOOK: LEARNING AND INSTRUCTION (Graves), and I'm rereading 6+1 TRAITS OF WRITING: THE COMPLETE GUIDE GRADES 3 AND UP (Culham, Scholastic), .



In children's literature, I'm reading various picture books and Jerry Spinelli's book, MILKWEED (Random House), set in Nazi occupied Warsaw, and Katie DiCamillo's book, THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE (Candlewick Press).

I do most of my pleasure reading in the summer, and I'm a big historical fiction buff. So for fun, after I finish reading Elizabeth Kostova's novel THE HISTORIAN (Bay Back Books) about a historian's search for the origins of the real Vlad Dracula (a rather intelligent vampire novel), I plan to read THE EMANCIPATOR'S WIFE, a novel about the interesting life and personality of Mary Todd Lincoln by Barbara Hambly (Bantam Books). Then, if there's any summer left, I want to start reading THE OBSERVATIONS by Jane Harris (Viking) that's set in Scotland in 1863 and is about a hilarious, sharp-tongued Irish maid and her psychotically suspicious mistress.



Yea...well...I left off the JANE AUSTEN CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE BOOK!

Sort of embarrassing to admit I'm reading it, but you can't get better mindless summer reading than that!!!

What are Debbie Miller, Jen Allen and Kelly Gallagher Reading?

Every day this week, we'll be letting you in on what some of our favorite literacy educators are reading this summer. We thought it would be fun to get the reading gossip from our favorite experts in the field of literacy education. So, check out the blog each day for the scoop on what people are reading and to get some great new titles for your summer reading!



Debbie Miller, author or READING WITH MEANING
This summer our book club has been reading WHAT IS THE WHAT by Dave Eggers. It's a novel based on the life of Valentino Deng, and thousands of other boys (the so-called Lost Boys) who were forced to leave their villages in Sudan. It's eye-opening and amazing!

Also just started REREADING FLUENCY by Bess Altwerger, Nancy Jordan and Nancy Rankie Shelton. This one, too, is eye-opening and amazing! So much great information in a tiny little book. And so much to think about. I can't wait to share it with teachers.

I'm also reading PUNISHED BY REWARDS by Alfie Kohn. I love his work and this one really speaks to me.

For my birthday my husband gave me the book GRAPHIC WITNESS--Four Wordless Graphic Novels. I'm inferring my little heart out trying to understand this one!

Next up? THE BRIDGE OF SIGNS by Richard Russo and THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE by David Wroblewski.


From Jen Allen, author of BECOMING A LITERACY LEADER




I just finished reading THE BOOK THIEF. I read this for the book club that I am in. I just picked up THEN WE CAME TO THE END by Joshua Ferris at Powell's book store.


From Kelly Gallagher, author of DEEPER READING, READING REASONS, and TEACHING ADOLESCENT WRITERS

I just finished reading THE COMMISSION: AN UNCENSORED HISTORY OF THE 9/11 INVESTIGATION by Philp Shenon. Great book.
Am currently reading NEGRO LEAGUE BASEBALL: THE RISE AND RUIN OF A BLACK INSTITUTION by Neil Lanctot.
Next to be read is Tom Perrotta's THE ABSTINENCE TEACHER.

What Are Our Favorite Literacy Educators Reading?

Next week, we'll be talking to several of our favorite literacy educators--Debbie Miller, Ralph Fletcher, Shelley Harwayne and more. We thought it would be fun to find out what some of them are reading this summer. Kind of like the US WEEKLY of Literacy Teachers--getting the scoop on our favorite mentors and what they are reading.

So, each day next week, stop by to see what people are reading. It is just fun to be nosy and see their summer reading list. But we think we'll also get great titles for our own rest-of-summer reading.