#IMWAYR - Stop! It's #BookADay Time!

Be sure to hop on over to TeachMentorTexts.com for more great reads!

Summertime means extra time for reading, and joining in on Donalyn Miller's #bookaday challenge, in which I attempt to read a book a day throughout the summer. I know, you never would have gathered that from the hashtag title. I've been doing this since 2010, when I first read Miller's transformational book, The Book Whisperer. The best part is inviting my students to join in; we would make reading goals and book lists for each holiday break and then at the end of the year -- and there was something magical in the community we built around a common love of reading.

This year I didn't have my own class, and the multi-faced responsibilities of my job made it difficult to build a reading community. Next year, I aspire to be better about this. I have plans, my friends, solid plans. I'm hoping that next year at this time I'll be able to share what both my campus reading communities are eager to read over the summer.

For now, here's what I've read so far this summer:

All photos snagged from
Goodreads.com

 The Boy on the Porch, Sharon Creech
This magical story is told from the perspectives of John and Marta, a couple that find a small boy curled up on their porch one morning. Their entire lives are transformed by his appearance, even though he never says a word. It's a touching portrayal of how life changes once you find yourself responsible for a child. Best as a read aloud, I think, as young readers may struggle to connect with the story through the eyes of two adults, but a wondrous read for both the subject and Creech's as-always gorgeous writing style. So many of these sentences I wish I could claim as my own!

 The Miniature World of Marvin & James, Elise Broach, illustrated by Kelly Murphy
A fast, fun read for young readers ready for chapter books. I haven't read their original book, Masterpiece, but am adding it to my to-read list. In this book, James leaves for a vacation at the beach and Marvin is left behind and must find a way to pass the time. He ends up in a wacky little misadventure, worries that James may not miss him very much while he's gone, and learns a thing or two about friendship along the way.

Salt, Helen Frost
In Salt, Frost has created a story of friendship and the struggle that happens when cultural shifts threaten to tear those friendships apart. But more than that, she gives us a secret door into the world of pre-war 1812 in Indiana Territory, letting us glimpse a little of what life might have been like between Native Americans and the settlers that arrived there as traders and soldiers. An important book to add to any school or classroom library.

The Real Boy, Anne Ursu (currently reading)
This book was able to draw me in on the first few pages, something I've struggled with lately when reading fantasy. In The Real Boy, we find a world that is shifting, an orphan that seems destined for adventure, and magic running like a river through it all.
I'm eager to see where this story takes me.

#IMWAYR - Past, Present, Future Reading

Hop on over to TeachMentorTexts.com for more great readerly posts today!

Past

Photo Credit

Chan's debut novel broke my heart into pieces and knit each bit back together again with careful attention. The prose is achingly beautiful, the characters written so true that you will forget you are reading as you ache through their loss and confusion and stumbling attempts at healing right along with each of them. This haunting and magical story of how one family spins out of control before they can slow down long enough to truly see one another again is one I am eager to share with readers, young and old. It's the kind of exquisitely told story that lives on, long after you've lingered over the last sentences, said goodbye to the characters, and closed the book.

Present

Photo Credit

The Husband showed up yesterday with this book in his hands, and was repaid by having to watch me jump up and down and squeal in delight when he handed it to me. I knew about The Art of Neil Gaiman by Hayley Campbell, but hadn't seen it on shelves yet, and had no idea that it is such an expansive and complete work of art in it's own right. Not only are there photos from Gaiman's life, but sketches he created as well as other artists works -- but none of this even compares to the outlines and manuscript pages and oodles of notes from his published work. And then of course, there is Campbell's witty and playful narration of the life of Neil. I'm happily gobbling it up, dancing from section to section like a bid being fed breadcrumbs. Hopping, chirping, greedily pecking away until I've devoured every last morsel of information.

Future

Photo Credit

My class on crafting the short story begins tomorrow, meeting every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for the next five weeks. The Art of the Short Story by Dana Gioia and R.S. Gwynn is one of three books we will use as we write, rewrite, workshop, and revise together. I've peeked inside the cover already, and am even more excited than I was before to get started with class!

#EveryDayinMay - So What Are You Really Reading?

Don't laugh, but I actually took a book with me for the backpacking extravaganza this weekend. I also took a journal. It was waterproof, you guys. I mean, talk about dedication to my craft. Let's take a moment to admire my preparation, shall we?

No, really. Picture it. Me in the brilliant green forest, surrounded by doting little woodland friends, quietly reading and penning my genius thoughts into a journal as a soft morning rain shower covers everything in a gentle glow.

Yeah. Except, no.

So I wasn't absorbed in a rich work of literary text this weekend. Nor did I create any wilderness-inspired poetry. The most creativity I was able to muster was narrating my travels as an inner-monologue as I considered how I would write about it later. Even that took some effort.

I did this while shuffling across rocky trails, stepping across fallen trees and overgrown brush, and generally tripping my way toward the finish line.

There was plenty of reading, however. Much of our time was spent attempting to decipher which trail to follow as we moved deeper into the woods and away from society, so brushing up on my map skills was a necessity! I am now a much better topographic map reader, and can even untangle a maze of equestrian trails on a trail map if needed. These aren't skills I ever thought would be particularly important for me, and yet having the ability to analyze all those little squiggles and shaded spots on the map became vitally important late Sunday afternoon as our water supply ran low on a poorly marked trail.

The Trail Angel that gave us the equestrian trail map scoffed at our topo map,
saying it was nice, but hers could save a life. I'm apt to agree.

I was struck by how this type of reading might not typically be considered actual reading, but I applied many of the same skills we ask our young readers to use when analyzing a text. The first time I looked at the topo map, I noticed only the superficial -- the trail I intended to follow, the miles to each waypoint, and any water sources along the way. Once we were actually on the trail, I had new questions. I needed to pay attention to other trails that intersected my trail, to make sure I didn't accidentally end up on the wrong path. Elevation became important when we did end up off-trail, due to some important information we didn't find out until we were halfway into our hike: a fire and recent tornadoes had obliterated a part of the trail. There was a poorly marked detour, and that's where the second map came into play. Now we had two maps (or texts) to compare, from which we needed to draw knowledge. Not much different from students that analyze different texts to draw comparisons and conclusions.

In the end, we wouldn't have been able to make it out of the forest and onto a road if it weren't for our ability to read, reread, and compare our two maps very closely. These are skills I gained as a reader, that became essentially lifesaving outside the academic arena. More on that later this week!

Who knew close reading could potentially save a life, or that I would end up with a story to share in the classroom when a student asks, "Okay, but when will I ever use this in my real life?"

#EveryDayinMay - Poetry with Flora & Ulysses

Today's post was planned and ready to go when all of a sudden it was altered by a very unanticipated occurence.

We reached our first poem in Flora & Ulysses during reading club, and decided we should write some poetry, too. It's a poem that begs to be used as a mentor text, and since our very short time together was ending, I hurriedly gathered up some markers and chart paper and modeled how to use the poem to write my own. We noticed how the poem was organized, and then I thought aloud about how to brainstorm my own list of ideas modeled after Ulysses' first poem.

After I wrote my poem on the chart paper, I invited my little poets to continue brainstorming their own words and begin their poem. We just happened to have paper and pencils handy -- before reading we had brainstormed what a superhero's sidekick would look like and they drew sketches of what their sidekick would look like. They kept the paper and pencil out while I read, to continue their sketches, write down words they liked as I read, and draw pictures to go with the story.

It is always a good idea to be ready to write while you're reading!

Their poems were lovely, as children's poems often are, and we shared what we wrote before leaving for the day.

Response to Flora & Ulysses on Vimeo.
I brought the book home tonight and finished it. Flora & Ulysses would easily be a classroom read aloud I would add to my class library, and I'm happy to have three copies on each of my campuses in our school libraries. I know it will be a book not often on the shelves, but happily in the hands and hearts of our young readers.

#EveryDayinMay - Flora & Ulysses For The Win!

If you know who this cute little guy is,
we can be BFFs! Photo from the PDF Teacher
Resource file found here.

It's Monday! And we're reading! I love that my 4th Grade Reading Club meets every Monday afternoon -- it's a terrific way to start out the week. We're only on our third week together, and don't have much time left, so I'm hoping to get through as much of Flora & Ulysses as possible. You may remember that we've been reading it; if not, hop on over to the Poetry Friday post where I first announce my love for all things DiCamillo!

#IMWAYR hosted by Teach Mentor Texts

So here's the basic idea behind Flora & Ulysses: Flora is a cynic (oh man, have we had fun in our reading club trying to decide what that word means!) who witnesses the birth of a rather unlikely superhero -- Ulysses. Hilarity ensues. And perhaps Flora's cynicism will melt away a bit, too?

We're excited to find out.

Last week before we read, I asked club members to draw a two-panel comic book predicting what might happen next in the story. Afterwards, they drew a 2-panel comic of what actually happened. Today they'll be creating their own superhero through brainstorming, writing, and sketching. We're having tons of fun with this book -- I'm only sad we won't get to finish it together before school ends!



One thing I just love about DiCamillo's books (You do recall Because of Winn Dixie, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, and my all-time fave, The Tale of Despereaux, right??) is her word choice. Flora & Ulysses is no different -- rich, full words that give a young reader a mouthful to relish and think about deeply. I love guiding my readers to discovering meaning for themselves -- no dictionary necessary -- and they seem to enjoy it as well. It's amazing what a reader will do for themselves when they are enjoying the learning because it is fun!

Time to go read up on my favorite superhero's adventures! What are you reading this week?

Crystal and I are blogging together every day in May!

#SOL14 - #IMWAYR - The Summer of Letting Go

Last November I found myself in Boston for the annual NCTE conference. I love this conference, but let's be honest -- one of the huge perks of going is so I can fangirl all over the place like a... uh... fangirl? (Shut up, it's Monday.)

Anyway, because of Teachers Write! I already knew that Gae Polisner was a seriously rockstar kind of chick -- like, you guys, she may be one of the few remaining reasons I even use FaceBook. I prefer Twitter, but since all Gae's funniest moments seem to happen on FaceBook, I've decided to stick around a while. She makes me laugh, and I can use more laughter in my life.

Also, she is a brilliant YA author. (I'm a little jealous.) How do I know this?

Let's go back to Boston at NCTE, shall we?

I posted on some form of social media (I've slept since then, give me a break) that I was sad to have missed Gae's book signing session, you know, because she's awesome and maybe if I stand close enough to her I can pick up on some of her wondrous writing juju.

She posted back that she happened to have one little ol' arc of The Summer of Letting Go still, and would I like it.

Um, yeah!

Luckily we both happened to be hanging out in the hotel lounge (I was working, she was rubbing elbows with hoity-toity's because that's what rockstar authors do), and after spinning around and around each other crazily we managed to bump into one another.

The stars in the heavens sang, y'all.

Okay, well maybe not. (No really, they did.)

We talked about our boys and our dogs and I'm not even sure what else, and she said she'd bring the arc to her session the next morning for me.

Each word, every interaction, speaks to the heart of what it is like to grow up a mixed-up teen in a very mixed-up world.

And she did, with additional Polisner scribbles added as a lovely bonus. I consider it a work of art. And not just because it's so stinking cute, either.

Gae is as empathetic a writer of Young Adult fiction as she is in person. She is kind and true and all the very best bits of her sing out in her writing. I gobbled up The Summer of Letting Go on my plane ride home to Dallas, Texas, only setting it down long enough to walk off the plane and begrudgingly talk with my husband on the ride home because really -- Just let me read! (Sorry, Husband, you know I love you.)

In this book, Francesca (known as Beans to her family), was supposed to be watching her little brother, Simon, at the beach, when he drowns. Afterward, her family begins to drift apart and Francesca blames herself. Then she meets Frankie Sky, a boy that seems all too similar to the brother she lost, and her life may never be the same.

Although Francesca is hurting and feels as if she is also losing her parents and her closest friend, Frankie Sky is so full of life and mischief that his rolling antics add just the right lightness to this achingly beautiful and memorable story of loss and grief and life and learning how to tread water again after all the trauma begins to wash away. Polisner's treatment of Francesca and each of her relationships with the other characters in this story are powerful. I found myself reliving those confused days of trying to navigate friendships, boyfriends, and parents that seem too far away to help, and cried right along with Francesca through it all. 

This is a book I want to put in the hands of every teenage reader, if only to let them know that there are authors out there who get it, there are adults out there who can help, and there are books out there that sometimes (just sometimes) can help us understand that we aren't alone, even when we are hurting.

Go. Read. Cry. Laugh. Live.

Isn't that what all good stories are supposed to help us do?

Week 4: So What Do They Really Know?

So it's the end of week 4 and I've just wrapped up my reading of Tovani's So What Do They Really Know?

So much of this book resonated with me! I struggle daily with the decisions I make, especially now that I am in more of a traditional school that requires weekly percentage based grades be entered in an online grading book. I definitely miss the days when my narrative reports, portfolios, and mastery-based grading were the norm! But reading Tovani's book helped me to think about why my beliefs matter, and gave me the extra push I need to continue assessing and grading in a way that I feel accurately shows my learners' understanding and progress.

Here are some highlights that spoke to me from the last three chapters!

Chapter 5
Favorite quote:

The inability to annotate something related to the reading alerts learners that their minds have wandered, which gives them an opportunity to go back and reread before their thoughts stray to far from the text.

 There were several great quotes in this chapter, but this one in particular brought some important reflections about my own learners. Often, I find that they don't even seem to realize that they have checked out, let their mind wander, or are confused about the text. I've used annotations to look at mentor texts for writing, and when we look at a shared poem or other small text -- but not to the extent that I would like. In Tovani's classroom, she pairs an anchor text that the whole class reads with several shorter texts that students can choose from -- this is how she offers choice in her classroom. I'm still struggling to find a way to have more texts we can annotate together, as my learners are reading novels during their independent reading time. This is something I need to think through. I would love to offer more engaging texts to go alongside their Texas history textbook, but these have been difficult to find. One thing I think might work is offering texts that are companion pieces to the read alouds from class. We just finished Applegate's The One and Only Ivan, which appealed to everyone in class! During the reading, I found several articles about the real Ivan -- the gorilla the book is based on. We did annotate one of these texts together, which proved to be a wonderful learning experience. In the future, a little more forward planning could help me be better prepared to offer this type of companion piece texts -- and I can let them do some annotating on their own, after some modeling, of course! I'm eager to see how this works in my 4th grade classroom.

Chapter 6
Favorite quote:

Conferring is a talent that can take years to develop. Don't get discouraged, though. To kids, even a teacher who confers badly is better than one who doesn't do it at all.

This is a quote I want to pin in every teacher's classroom all around the globe. I can't even begin to recall the many conversations I have had with teachers of all grade and experience levels about the difficulties when conferring. They are afraid to say the wrong thing, not sure what to say, not sure how to be effective. But the truth is, any help is better than no help at all -- as long as we are mindful that the learner is a person first -- each of them deserves the same amount of kindness we would give a friend in the same situation. When I talk to a friend about a book or a piece of writing, I listen first and comment second. I nudge for more information. I encourage. I give a snippet of advice. And that's pretty much it.

That's how I think about conferring with learners, both as readers and writers. I want to know what they think, where they struggle, what questions they have, and where they want to go next. I can't know these things unless I am clued in to what they are thinking, and this means meeting with or offering feedback to my learners daily.  The "History of the Mob" graded social studies test that is shared on page 124 just about broke my heart. Whenever I sit and talk with a child, the most important thing in my mind is, "First, do no harm."

I often find myself guilty of something mentioned in this chapter, though. Not wanting to interrupt a reader that is "in the zone" I will look over his or her shoulder, see where they are in the reading and what they are writing, but not stop to talk. This is my area to work on! I also think I could use some purposeful thought when it comes to planning some mini-lesson time during conferences. I often bog myself down with worry about how to find time for mini-lessons on all the skills I feel are needed by my learners -- but I can reduce my own stress by doing some of these lessons as conferences with the students that need it most.

Chapter 7
"Grading is Killing Me" is such a fitting title for a chapter on grades! I feel this way all the time. I struggle with assigning numbers to writing, toil over how to best reflect the progress of my readers in a grade, and wind myself up into knots every time I sit down to grade. This chapter gave me some great points to remember as I plan for assessments and grading.

Favorite quote(s):

When the top consideration for grading is how easily it can be managed, we lose what matters most -- understanding and the ability to think critically.

Art Costa, founding director of the Institute for Habits of Mind, has said: "What was educationally significant but hard to measure has been replaced by what is educationally insignificant and easy to measure. So now we measure how well we've taught what isn't worth learning."

These two statements, along with the following information on how Tovani assigns grades throughout the year, were the exact words I needed to read this year. Learning matters. Growth matters. Understanding matters. And recording that progress in the most accurate way possible? Yeah, that matters too.

So when I'm questioned about my grading policies and beliefs, I'm pointing to these quotes. And I can tell anyone asking that I grade in the beginning of the year for how my learners "attempt and complete" the work. It was refreshing to read this section! I nearly flung the book at my husband and shouted, "I do this!! At the beginning of the year I was in tears and frustrated and this is what I came up with! Woohoo!"

Grading is still a struggle, and it will continue to be. But at least now I feel a little more confident about my practices. And I have a plan to carry me forward throughout the rest of the year.

Final Thoughts
Much of the material in this book is aimed at middle and high school teachers. With a little thought and creativity, I believe that these same principles work in the elementary classroom. In fact, Tovani herself says that many of her assessment beliefs came with her from her years in the elementary classroom.

I'm thankful I came across this book through the Stenhouse Summer Blogstitute. This school year is challenging everything I believe in -- I need a staple of strong mentor teachers to look to so that I can continue to say, "Yes! That's exactly why I am doing what I do!"

This is definitely a book I will go to again and again, whenever I find myself getting lost in the politics of school. We all need a little affirmation to keep us headed in the right direction. Encouragement isn't just for our learners -- we need it too!

Week 2: So What Do They Really Know?

Guys! I have to tell you that I love this book. (Okay, if you haven't been following along, I'll tell you -- Cris Tovani's So What Do They Really Know? Assessment That Informs Teaching and Learning)

Go check out Book Journey for more reading awesomeness!

I'm finding a good balance between moments when I think, "Yes! Why haven't I thought of that before? I'm doing that tomorrow!" and "Woot! Tovani and I could be teaching BFF's! I do that all the time!"

Okay, I never promised you a well-structured stuffy book review when I said I wanted to use this for a book study. Suffice it to say, when I'm excited about something, it shows!

Chapter 3
Favorite quote:

Whether learners are struggling, gifted, or in between, they all deserve a year's worth of growth.

I think she may have written this quote just for me. This year I have two classes -- my morning class consists mainly of students that struggle in several areas, receive Special Education services, or are somewhere in the middle of the RTI process. My afternoon class has students that are typically high achieving and/or in the Gifted and Talented program. And of coure I have my kiddos that are sitting right in the middle academically but each have their own set of special gifts and skills.

So. Yeah. I wholeheartedly believe they each deserve every ounce of growth I can help them achieve. I work hard to make sure none of our time or efforts are wasted.

I enjoyed the overview of the workshop model -- I mean, sure, I've seen it before. I believe in its effectiveness. But the truth is, as I get busy with meeting timelines and upcoming tests and the system in which we all must live, I often start to veer off-course. This was a good reminder of why I believe in this mode of instruction: the students do the work! It makes sense that when students are the ones working, they are the ones learning! I need to make sure I give them enough time each day to do the hard work of learning.

The curriculum flow map she shares on page 43 was also helpful to me. Since this is my first year as a departmentalized teacher, I'm really struggling to reign in my schedule and routine! I have less than two hours each day with my guys for reading, writing, and social studies. Although the system she has in place for her high school students won't quite work for me in 4th grade, I do want to try making a special bookshelf or area in the room where I can include supplemental texts for students to read and share in a similar way.

So my first goal is to stay on-track with the time to work that I give my students! I'll report back on how I do this week in my next reflection.

Chapter 4
The first thing that popped out at me in Chapter 4 was the learning targets and assessments table. In my school district, we have to post daily objectives and products. The objective is what we will learn together and the product is how the student will show their learning before they leave class. I like doing this because it keeps us all on track, so it was neat to see it in Tovani's book!

I haven't used the inner voice sheets yet, and honestly, I'm not a big fan of making that many copies. We do have reader's notebooks and my students keep notes about their reading, but I call it our reading palette. Whenever I do a read aloud they keep notes, but it looks a little different from the Figure 4.2 on Annotation in Chapter 4. My class creates a table with 4 boxes. Each box is for a different thing, and sometimes I vary what I have them title the boxes, but normally it looks like this:

•  Questions
• Connections
• Predictions/Thoughts on what is happening
• Word Love (a place to capture words, phrases, sentences that their writing ear appreciates)

Alternatively, I tell my kiddos to sketch pictures with captions of what they see in their mind as I read. So I guess we are doing something similar to her inner voice sheet! I go back and forth on having them do this during their own reading, because I really want them in "the reading zone" (gotta throw out a little Atwell love, of course). I felt better about this after I read about her work with Raymond, who didn't want to stop and write while he read. She struck a compromise with him and he writes a little during the last five minutes of reading time. This way he gets to stay in the zone, and she can still get an idea of where he is as a reader. Great balance!

The other part that jumped out at me in this chapter was about debriefing. I am guilty about cutting out the debriefing when we are running short on time. In the future, I'm making a note to myself to try partner debriefing! In the beginning of the year my students hadn't experienced much time working cooperatively with other students, so we have worked very hard to get to a place where we can have conversations about our learning. I think we are ready to try debriefing this way! We also have a Twitter Wall for exit tickets, but I think I need to be a little more deliberate in what I ask them to write each day before they leave. I like Tovani's idea to have students write one question they still have before leaving. Another idea to try this week!

And here's my favorite quote, although it may not seem very important to anyone else!

The evidence I collect isn't very fancy.

This seven word sentence says so much! My evidence is not fancy -- I have sticky notes, pictures, audio clips, scribbled bits of conversations, conversation calendars, conferring notes saved in Evernote -- just bits and pieces of our days, held digitally and on paper. But this is real. Real kids, real moments, real work, real learning.

It doesn't have to be fancy for it to matter. Just keep it real!

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

This is book fair week at school, and as usual my "wish list" pocket on the teacher display is slightly embarrassing. No matter, a girl can never have too many books!

I finished reading Starry River of the Sky last week. Although it took me a few chapters to settle in, I ended up falling in love with Rendi, Mr. Shen, Peiyi, and Madame Chang and their story. And it may be true that I'm a little envious of how well Grace Lin wove everything together by the end of the book. Lin's writing brings Chinese folklore to life. Themes of kindness and forgiveness, along with peace and balance flow easily through the story. An added bonus is Lin's beautiful artwork sprinkled throughout each chapter. I was very eager to hand this book into the waiting hands of a student the day after I finished it, and she has been gobbling it up ever since. After reading Starry River, I added Where the Mountain Meets the Moon to my to-read list.

My next must-read was In a Glass Grimmly, Adam Gidwitz' follow up to A Tale Dark and Grimm. Now, you should know I never actually read A Tale Dark and Grimm -- I'm not even sure why -- I always wanted to read it, but it just never happened. Enter October 2012, and I'm hunting new reads for my kids and along comes In a Glass Grimmly. I read the introduction to my class and they were beside themselves begging me to hand it over to them. I told them I'd be happy to pass it along... after I read it. And so I planted myself on the couch this weekend and read. And read. And read. Honestly, I had so much fun with this book I just couldn't put it down. Granted, some of the parts were a little nose-wrinklingly gruesome to a girl that won't even open her eyes during the scary movie previews! But it was a great twist on some oldies but goodies, and I really enjoyed how all the stories eventually wound back together. Tomorrow I will hand this over to my kiddos, and watch some magic take place.

This week I'm focusing on Cris Tovani's first two chapters of So What Do They Really Know? and will post my reflections this weekend. I posted about this last week, inviting readers to join me and post your own thoughts each week as we read our way through this book. I had started this book around the beginning of the year and loved what I read, but the beginning of year doldrums grabbed ahold of me and I didn't keep going. But it definitely seems to be a book worth reading -- I am currently using the Conversation Calendar mentioned in the first chapter and love how effective it has been to direct conversations. I'll post a longer reflection of these two chapters, so watch for that at the end of the week!

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (And a challenge!)

It's Monday! Huzzah! It's Monday and I'm sitting at home on my big comfy couch, surrounded by books.

You just gotta love a three day weekend, right?

I've been reading oodles of books lately, partially in hopes of finding the just right way to reach my new students in my new school where I feel a little like Alice and a little like Goldilocks, and a lot like Mr. Magoo.

So between the bumps and bruises of adjusting to my new school home, I read.

Recently, I've read quite a few fabulous middle grade novels, with a stack of promising reads to keep me busy for at least another month. Here's a sample of what I've read so far:

Somehow, between having students with really good taste, and some excellent timing, I've managed to read (or reread) a few delightful books by Sharon Creech throughout the month of September. Love That Dog will always remain a favorite for me -- combining poetry with dog love and a boy learning to love words? Yeah -- you got me. I hadn't planned to read it to my classes so early in the year, but they prodded me and it ended up being a perfect beginning for us. Afterwards, a student handed me Granny Torrelli Makes Soup, which I hadn't read before. I love how Creech weaves together past and present in this short but touching tale of friendship. I'll definitely be passing it along to more students!

Love That Dog * Granny Torrelli * The Great Unexpected

And finally, I picked up a copy of the recently published The Great Unexpected. Interestingly, I heard a little bit of Rosie's voice from Granny Torrelli piping through in Naomi's best friend, Lizzie. I'm curious if anyone else heard that, as well! In The Great Unexpected, Creech tosses together folk tales with a little magic realism and a lot of love to create a story that any Creech follower is sure to appreciate. I know exactly which student I'll be handing this book to first thing tomorrow morning!

Almost Home

I also just finished Joan Bauer's Almost Home, which is as heartbreaking as it is endearing. I quickly fell in love with Sugar Mae Cole, the 12-year-old main character, and her tag along puppy, Shush. Exploring themes that perfectly spark #chooseKind conversations, Bauer also employs a variety of text genres. Readers will quickly understand how important words are in Sugar's world, while seeing models of letter writing, poetry, memoirs, and more. Within minutes of book talking this new title to my students, I had kids scrambling to be the first to read it. And now it's being passed from hand to hand. Almost Home is a beautiful story that any child with family struggles can relate to, and learn from.

Starry River of the Sky

Currently, I'm splitting my time between Grace Lin's Starry River of the Sky (I'm just on page 43) and an unwieldy stack of profession development books. My husband also keeps nudging Patrick Rothfuss' Wise Man's Fear at me, and on a good day, I read maybe a page of it at a time. I loved the first book in this trilogy, The Name of the Wind, but making time for this type of epic fantasy is hard for me these days! And even with as much as I am reading these days, my to-read stack just keeps growing... I need a vacation to catch up on my reading! Does this sound familiar?



The thing I love about reading this much is how it seems to effect my students. Each Monday we sit together and set a reading goal -- they hold me to mine, and I hold them to their goals, too. And when the following Monday arrives, if anyone hasn't met their goal they are expected to know why and have a solution. If they don't have a solution, our class community of readers offers suggestions. It's powerful to watch them transform each week from this simple conversation. So for as long as my nightly reading seems to inspire them to keep chugging along, I will keep reading. I don't know how many reader role models they have in their lives, but at least they can't count on me as one.

So What Do They Really Know?

While I have all these books spinning wildly about, I feel like I need to do something to ground myself in what I'm learning through my PD books. From October 14 through November 11, I'll be reading Cris Tovani's So What Do They Really Know? and posting each week to reflect on my reading. I'd like to invite you to join me. Comment if you're interested -- I'll post details tomorrow! (Be thinking weekly posts, twitter chat opportunities, and maybe even a google hangout to chat n' learn!) What say you, readers? Do you have time to spend a minute filling out this form so we can read and share together?