I’m so excited to start this book study! There are some AMAZING bloggers and non-bloggers joining in over the next 7 weeks! Join us each week by linking up your posts/ideas if you are a blogger. If you’re not a blogger, that’s okay! You can read/follow and comment. We want to hear your advice, thoughts, and ideas for the classroom, too. The more teachers we have joining, the more amazing our classrooms will be this fall!
Today, these friends are hosting Chapter 1: Wild Readers Dedicate Time to Read-
Make sure to visit them, as well as the other fabulous teachers that have linked up (you’ll see the others at the end of this post).
After reading the first section of chapter 1, this quote came to mind:
We cannot expect our students to be lifelong readers, or “readers in the wild” if we aren’t ourselves! I’m totally guilty of the I’m-so-busy-excuse, but we have to make time, just as we expect our students to make time.
One way to show them how important it is to carve out reading time each day is to show them at school. You can tell them how you read daily at home, but they just have to take your word for it… but demonstrating it at school will help it sink in. For me, I have 15-20 minutes at the end of the school day that is “sacred” read-aloud time. I don’t let anything take it away- even if we don’t finish an activity. We HAVE to read whatever chapter book we are reading at the time every day in my room. My kiddos are able to see that I have carved out that time and I won’t let anything take it away. Of course, this is not the only time we read, but that read-aloud time is “OUR” time.
Donalyn Miller, the author of Reading in the Wild, also emphasizes the importance of teaching students that reading can be done in any of those spare minutes you have- because students like to say “I was too busy,” and yes, our students today are super busy… daycare, sports, church, homework, appointments, dinner, etc. But if they bring a book with them wherever they go, they could read in those spare minutes! Waiting for the dentist? Read in the waiting room instead of playing Angry Birds on your older sister’s phone. Read in the car. Read while you wait for mom to get off the phone…
Again, showing them how to do this starts in the classroom- they should leave a book on their desk all day so that when they have time, they should read. My kids know not to ask me what to do when they are done. They know the answer by the end of the first day of school- “READ.”
This section included soooo much more, and I could go on and on for days, but what spoke to me the most was making time to read. I am committing to reading every day this summer, and not just professional teacher books! :o)
Here are my questions for you: Do you read daily? What good books have you read lately?
Next week, Mrs. Allen and I will host Chapter 1: Creating a Workshop Schedule (June 26th). *This is a SUPER short section (only 4 pages), but a great chance to share/showcase your workshop schedule and sneak a peek at classrooms all over the world!*
