Showing posts with label #bookaday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #bookaday. Show all posts

Sunday, May 10, 2020

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.

Monday, May 15, 2017

Summer #Bookaday!

Well with nine days of school left, it is time to get ready for the Summer #bookaday Challenge invented by Donalyn Miller.  If you missed Donalyn's Facebook Live event where she kicked off this 9th Annual event, you an watch it on her Facebook Page.

To get started, I counted the days of summer. If I counted correctly, we have 80 days of summer so I will try to read 80 books. I try to read a book every day but sometimes that doesn't work out so it works for me to have a total number goal that matches the total days of summer. So 80 is my number this year.  I need this because I have gotten very behind in my reading lately.

I will be moving to a 5th grade classroom next year and I am excited to catch up on books for 5th grade readers. Thanks to lots of friends I am building a stack and a list of books that are popular with 5th graders today. There are stacks all over my house, just waiting for Summer Bookaday Reading time. I hope to fit in a few YA and adult fiction and of course I'll be reading lots of picture books!

I'd love any suggestions as I move from 3rd grade to 5th grade.

Here is one of my stacks!


If you have never participated in Summer Bookaday, I would highly recommend it. A fun challenge and a great way to catch up on your reading!

Monday, August 29, 2016

88 Instruments by Chris Barton


I loved getting a copy of Chris Barton's new 88 Instruments last week (direct from the author himself!) I got the package on Monday and read it for our #classroombookaday on Tuesday!  It was definitely a hit as a read aloud.

The book is simple and different from many of Chris Barton's other books. I love when an author has a variety of books as it will make for interesting conversation and study.  

The story is about a boy going into a store trying to choose an instrument that he wants to learn to play. There is quite a bit of humor in the decision as the parents give him a few limitation. Kids chuckled at some of the dialogue.  It made for a fun read aloud because Chris Barton created lots of original words to describe the instruments as the boy in the story tried them out. They were fun to read and fun to hear.  

The thing I loved most about this story is how it tied into the things we've been talking about these first few days of school.  We've been talking about so many things connected to learning, including growth mindset. This book is perfect for talking about growth mindset in a fun way--the last few pages of the book that include the decision of instrument and the plan for learning are simple yet powerful for conversations around learning and growth mindset.

This is a fun read and was a great #classroombookaday. I imagine it will be one that kids revisit often and one that they have fun reading together.


Monday, August 24, 2015

It's Monday! What are you Reading? and Summer #Bookaday



I love Donalyn Miller's idea of #Bookaday Challenge. Each summer, she puts out a challenge to herself and to others to read an average of a book-a-day over the summer.  I know I read a lot, but I also know that many of my teacher friends read far more than I do.  And summer is a good time for me to catch up. This summer was a busy one so I knew lots of my books would be short reads. I counted the days of summer and set my goal for 82 books.  I met that goal easily once I got started.  Last week, I was at 99 books. (For the most recent list, you can check out my goodreads account.) Here is how my numbers ended up last time I checked:

57 Picture Books
2 Wordless Picture Books
1 Poetry Books
16 Middle Grade Novels
2 Young Adult Novels
2 Adult Novels
16 Nonfiction Children's Books
3 Graphic Novels

Since Donalyn started this challenge years ago, I have realized how important summer and vacation reading are to me as a teacher and a reader. That extra time to read is critical and it takes far less time every day than I imagine it will.  Setting a goal of a book each day was overwhelming at first but I've discovered that it is very doable.  I have used the library lots and I spent many mornings reading a stack of new picture books.  It doesn't take long to get through a stack of picture books and discover a few gems. At the end of this summer #bookaday, I am reminded again of how important it is for me to read and keep up with new books, I believe strongly in the power of Teacher as Reader and always have.  I need to be a reader myself in order to teach reading, but I also need to read lots of children's books so that I have a menu of books to share with students each year.  (Lucky for me, I LOVE reading children's books as I believe they are the best books out there!) As I choose books and share books with students, I know that knowing 99 more books will help me be a better teacher. It is probably the most important work I do each summer.

Even with all of this summer reading, I still have a huge TBR stack. Seems like the more I read, the more I want to read! But I have so many more possibilities when I make choices about books to share with students in read aloud, mini lessons, conferences and small groups. I can't imagine going into the year without all these new titles in my head.

Some highlights from my summer #bookaday that I haven't blogged much about already:


Picture Books




Little Elliot, Big Family (coming October 6!)




Early Chapter Book



Nonfiction





Middle Grade Novels















Graphic Novel



Wordless Picture Book







Thursday, June 04, 2015

Summer #bookaday Begins!



by Mike Maihack
Scholastic, 2014
review copy purchased for my classroom library



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!

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Spring Break Reading Possibilities

I am looking ahead to spring break reading and am hoping to get to lots of books on my stack. There have been so many great middle grade novels that have been released recently.  Many are by authors whose work I love. I doubt I'll be able to read a MG novel a day over break but this is my Spring Break wish list--the stack I am hoping to get to.



Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan


Wish Girl by Nikki Loftin


The Imaginary by A.F. Harrold


Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai


Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper


Hero by Sarah Lean


Paper Things by Jennifer Richards Jacobson

Monday, May 26, 2014

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?



Jen at Teach Mentor Texts has the link-up. Go check out what everybody's reading!

I'm getting ready for the summer edition of #bookaday and Mother Reader's 48 Hour Reading Challenge. Here are my three stacks:

General TBR


Fish Finelli (Book 2): Operation Fireball (you know me...I'll have to find
the first book in the series before I can read this one...)


Professional Reads/Annual Re-Reads


I'm sure I'll add more to this stack as the summer goes by. I can't wait to dig into



For the NCTE Excellence in Poetry Committee


I've already read a couple of these. I'm most looking forward to