Reconsidering Read Aloud

Includes the following information: Classroom vignettes that demonstrate how read-aloud conversations are teachable moments, Suggestions for choosing books, Examples of teaching strategies that work especially well during read-alouds, and Discussion of the role of evaluation and assessment in read-aloud.

TEACH YOUR STUDENTS TO READ WITH PRECISION AND INSIGHT The world we are preparing our students to succeed in is one bound together by words and phrases. Our students learn their literature, history, math, science, or art via a firm foundation of strong reading skills. When we teach students to read with precision, rigor, and insight, we are truly handing over the key to the kingdom. Of all the subjects we teach reading is first among equals. Grounded in advice from effective classrooms nationwide, enhanced with more than 40 video clips, Reading Reconsidered takes you into the trenches with actionable guidance from real-life educators and instructional champions. The authors address the anxiety-inducing world of Common Core State Standards, distilling from those standards four key ideas that help hone teaching practices both generally and in preparation for assessments. This 'Core of the Core' comprises the first half of the book and instructs educators on how to teach students to: read harder texts, 'closely read' texts rigorously and intentionally, read nonfiction more effectively, and write more effectively in direct response to texts. The second half of Reading Reconsidered reinforces these principles, coupling them with the 'fundamentals' of reading instruction—a host of techniques and subject specific tools to reconsider how teachers approach such essential topics as vocabulary, interactive reading, and student autonomy. Reading Reconsidered breaks an overly broad issue into clear, easy-to-implement approaches. Filled with practical tools, including: 44 video clips of exemplar teachers demonstrating the techniques and principles in their classrooms (note: for online access of this content, please visit my.teachlikeachampion.com) Recommended book lists Downloadable tips and templates on key topics like reading nonfiction, vocabulary instruction, and literary terms and definitions. Reading Reconsidered provides the framework necessary for teachers to ensure that students forge futures as lifelong readers.

This compendium of outstanding read-aloud choices for grades pre-K–3 will enrich and extend content area instruction, helping busy teachers to meet curriculum requirements within the confines of their busy schedules. It's a familiar and unfortunate story: educators everywhere are being asked to do more teaching with less—less money, less staff, and less time. One easy way to provide more content area instruction to very young readers is by scaffolding beneficial learning subjects within memorable read-aloud activities. This augments the instructional curriculum and keeps learning fun—without adding to the educator's already-full plate. Read-Aloud Scaffold: Best Books to Enhance Content Area Curriculum, Grades Pre-K–3 offers teachers and librarians over 700 content area connections through carefully selected, recently published children's trade books. These selections include fiction and non-fiction titles that represent outstanding read-aloud choices that will augment the instructional curriculum, covering subjects ranging from history to holidays to special events, and from biographies and memoirs to poetry and character education. "A Closer Look" suggests outstanding read-aloud choices related to key units in the curriculum and features discussion points, cross-curricular activities, writing prompts, and related online and print materials.

Authors Franki Sibberson and Karen Szymusiak are back with an updated version of Still Learning to Read: Teaching Students in Grades 3-6, 2nd Edition. In the years since the first edition, prevalence of testing and Common Core State Standards have redefined requirements and what is expected of both teachers and students.This new edition focuses on the needs of students in grades 3-6 in for the following areas: reading workshops, read-alouds, classroom design, digital tools, fiction and nonfiction, and close reading. The authors examine current trends in literacy and introduce a new section on intentional instructional planning, as well as a new chapter on scaffolding for reading nonfiction. Expanded examples of lessons and routines to promote deeper thinking about learning are also included.In Still Learning to Read, you'll also find online videos that provide insight into classrooms. Students make book choices, work in small groups, and discuss their reading notebooks. Finally, updated and expanded book lists, recommendations for digital tools, lesson cycles, and sections for school leaders round out this foundational resource.

In Reading in the Wild, reading expert Donalyn Miller continues the conversation that began in her bestselling book, The Book Whisperer. While The Book Whisperer revealed the secrets of getting students to love reading, Reading in the Wild, written with reading teacher Susan Kelley, describes how to truly instill lifelong "wild" reading habits in our students. Based, in part, on survey responses from adult readers as well as students, Reading in the Wild offers solid advice and strategies on how to develop, encourage, and assess five key reading habits that cultivate a lifelong love of reading. Also included are strategies, lesson plans, management tools, and comprehensive lists of recommended books. Copublished with Editorial Projects in Education, publisher of Education Week and Teacher magazine, Reading in the Wild is packed with ideas for helping students build capacity for a lifetime of "wild" reading. "When the thrill of choice reading starts to fade, it's time to grab Reading in the Wild. This treasure trove of resources and management techniques will enhance and improve existing classroom systems and structures." —Cris Tovani, secondary teacher, Cherry Creek School District, Colorado, consultant, and author of Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? "With Reading in the Wild, Donalyn Miller gives educators another important book. She reminds us that creating lifelong readers goes far beyond the first step of putting good books into kids' hands." —Franki Sibberson, third-grade teacher, Dublin City Schools, Dublin, Ohio, and author of Beyond Leveled Books "Reading in the Wild, along with the now legendary The Book Whisperer, constitutes the complete guide to creating a stimulating literature program that also gets students excited about pleasure reading, the kind of reading that best prepares students for understanding demanding academic texts. In other words, Donalyn Miller has solved one of the central problems in language education." —Stephen Krashen, professor emeritus, University of Southern California

“Whole-class reading instruction has the power to harness the collective knowledge of the reading community that will foster independent readers and thinkers as they move through their literate lives.” What is the true purpose of whole-group reading instruction? Is it possible to teach standards and skills while also creating a community in which students are free to bring their whole selves into the work of reading? And how do we make this vision an everyday reality in our grades 3-6 classrooms? Elementary educators Lynsey Burkins and Franki Sibberson answer these questions and more in In Community With Readers: Transforming Reading Instruction with Read-Alouds and Minilessons. Burkins and Sibberson invite us into their classrooms as they redesign read-alouds and minilessons to support readers in whole-group reading instruction. Inside this book you’ll find: ● Ideas for co-creating a community aligned to standards and grounded in readers’ identity, independence, and agency ● A day-by-day look into what read-alouds and minilessons look like across a reading unit ● Practical and meaningful routines for helping students co-construct an understanding of the standards, the books they read, and one another’s ideas ● Planning and note-taking templates designed to center both the standards we teach and the ideas our students bring to these standards ● An illustrated step-by-step guide to the first eight weeks of whole-group reading instruction In this book, Burkins and Sibberson push back on the idea that whole-group reading instruction must be teacher-centered skill and drill, and instead offer us a way to create a truly meaningful whole-group reading community.

In Beyond Leveled Books, Second Edition, Franki Sibberson, Karen Szymusiak, and Lisa Koch provide even more resources to help teachers understand and meet the needs of transitional readers. The key topic of series books has been revised and enlarged, with charts outlining new series with the challenges they pose and supports readers need. New lessons have been added, and most chapters now include a related article from a literacy expert. Some of the contributors include Kathy Collins, Larry Swartz, and Mary Lee Hahn.Leveled books are an indispensable tool for teaching children to read, especially for emergent readers, but the authors of Beyond Leveled Books are sounding the alarm about the overuse and misuse of leveling and the way it restricts teacher autonomy and undermines student choice and reading engagement. The authors lay out a blueprint for using leveled books effectively within a student-centered and differentiated approach that is designed to motivate all readers, particularly transitional ones. Teaching Transitional Readers: Beyond Leveled Books is packed with resources to help teachers understand and meet the needs of transitional readers, including examples of classroom instruction, sample mini-lessons, strategies for small-group instruction, assessment techniques, and articles by literacy experts Resources for K-5 Classrooms: The book explores the uses and limitations of leveled texts in primary reading instruction, including ideas for how to organize your classroom library and a list of great books and series to use alongside leveled text in supporting new readers Gateway to Independent Reading: The authors provide explicit tools for helping students consolidate their skills and reading strategies, to read widely and deeply, to increase their vocabulary, and build critical thinking Making Reading Fun: Teach students to experience joy from reading through deeper comprehension and application Beyond Leveled Books is an essential resource for K-5 teachers looking to help all readers, including budding readers, struggling readers, transitional readers, and readers who have plateaued.

Explains how teachers and librarians can steer students to the literature they love by focusing on three key areas: knowing the readers, knowing the books, and knowing the strategies to motivate students to read.