There is a lot of professional development going on this summer. For me, I planned to read some of the books that the 5th and 6th graders read. I used to read a lot, whatever my own children were reading and I can make recommendations based on my own reading. However, now I am not quite up to date with my students.
I headed over to the public library and borrowed a few books: The Red Pyramid, Sisters Grimm, Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie, and a few fun books for me. Summer is the only time that I read what I want to read! I'm even going back to re-read The Great Gatsby so I can have that discussion with my daughter as she was determined to re-read it after seeing the movie.
But then... while blog stalking, I noticed the discussion on The Book Whisperer. I love this book and tried to incorporate the ideas into my teaching. My biggest problem is that every time my schedule changes, and since I teach upper, that happens more often than it should, I take time out of the student's reading time to make up for that missed time. I am back to re-reading The Book Whisperer so I can re-think my reading/writing block and make that dedicated time for reading.
After reading The Book Whisperer, someone asked me to read Nancy Atwell's book, The Reading Zone, which truly helped me to streamline my reading program and validate giving time for students to read. It also helped me to release my students from the drudgery of the reading response to a weekly letter and book talks.
Off to my summer reading that now includes professional development reading, The Book Whisperer and The Reading Zone.
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