Creating An Engaging Reading Culture

Donalyn Miller

www.bookwhisperer.com

www.slideshare.net/donalynm

@donalynbooks

www.nerdybookclub.com

“The single factor most strongly associated with reading achievement—more than

socioeconomic status or any instructional approach—is

independent reading.”

— Stephen Krashen, The Power of Reading

Frequent readers possess 200%-400% higher knowledge levels than less frequent and less active readers.

--John Guthrie and Donna Alvermann, Engaged Reading

For students of equal ability, the more avid reader will receive higher grades

in all subjects than the less avid reader.

--John Guthrie and Donna Alvermann, Engaged Reading

“Reading books is the only out-of-school activity for 16-

year-olds that is linked to getting a managerial or

professional job in later life.”

—University of Oxford, 2011

“Regular reading not only boosts the likelihood of an individual's academic and economic success -- facts that are not especially surprising -- but it also

seems to awaken a person's social and civic sense.”

— “To Read or Not to Read,” NEA, 2007

11

• Time• (Access)• Choice• Responsibility• Structure• Community

Workshop

Components

Time

How much time do you spend reading (books) in an average week?

1-4 hours5-7 hours8-11 hours

12 or more hoursOther

Average Weekly Reading

1-4 hours5-7 hours8-11 hours

12 or more hoursOther

Average Weekly Reading

How do we know a

student is faking or

avoiding reading?

Access

Books in the home are as important as parents’ educational level in determining level of

education children will attain. –Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, June 2010

“Giving kids access to books may be one of the most overlooked solutions

to helping ensure kids attend school with the tools they need to succeed.”

“Where Books Are All But Nonexistent”—The Atlantic, July 14, 2016

How can we guarantee

that all of our children have

physical access to book 365

days a year?

Access to a full-time, degreed

school librarian increases students'

test scores, closes the achievement gap,

and improves writing skills. (Lance, 2012)

Students read 50-60% more in

classrooms with adequate libraries. (Allington, 2007; Morrow, 2003; Neuman, 1999)

What would you look for when

evaluating a classroom library to

determine if it was adequate?

Working in groups of 3-4, create a

classroom library checklist of at least four

criteria you would look for when

evaluating a classroom library. You will

have 8 minutes.

Diversity

Currency

Organization

Quantity

Quantity

Fountas and Pinnell: 300-600 books

Richard Allington: 1000 books

ILA: 5-7 books per child

In a 2013 Scholastic survey of 3,800

teachers, only 40% had at least 300 books in their classroom

libraries.

Diversity

#WNDB

weneeddiversebooks.org

Rudine Sims-Bishop, 1990

Mirrors

Windows

Sliding-Glass Doors

Books can be…

ALA Awards Honoring Diverse Books

Coretta Scott King (African-American)

Pura Belpre (Latinx)

Asian/ Pacific American Award for Literature

Schneider Family (Disability)

Stonewall (LGBTQ)

 We did not intend for levels to become a label for children that would take us back

to the days of the bluebirds and the blackbirds or the jets and the piper cubs. Our intention was to put the tool in the hands of

educators who understood their characteristics and used it to select appropriate books for differentiated

instruction.

--Irene Fountas

Lexile Bands(CCSS 2012)

6th                       860L to 920L7th                        880L to 960L8th                       900L to 1010L9th                       960L to 1110L10th                     920L to 1120L11th & 12th     1070L to 1220L

570

(Second Grade)

Content?

730

(Fifth Grade)

Writing Style?

1030

(Ninth Grade)

Vocabulary

Leveling Accuracy?

Informational Nonfiction

Graphic Novels

Picture Books

Poetry and Novels in Verse

Instructional Context

Text-Level Accessibility Who Does the Work

Read Alouds Substantially above grade

level

Probably frustration level for most students

The teachers does all of the print work. The students and teacher

work together to make meaning.

Shared Reading

On or a little above grade

level

Probably frustration level for many

students

The teacher and students do the print and meaning work

together.

Guided Reading/ Small Group Instruction

On reader’s individual level

Instructional level for each student

The student does most of the print and

meaning work.

Independent Reading

From below grade level

through above grade level

Multiple texts for each reader varying from

independent to frustration level

depending on the amount of productive

effort and reader stamina

The student does all of the print and meaning work.

Burkins & Yaris, 2014

Motivation Background Knowledge

Reading Level

Motivation Background Knowledge

Reading Level

Currency

CREW Weeding Criteria(Larson, 2012)

M Misleading (and/or factually inaccurate)

U Ugly (worn and beyond repair)

S Superseded (new edition or better book on subject)

T Trivial (of no discernible literary or scientific merit)

I Irrelevant (of no interest to your community)

E Elsewhere (may be obtained easily)

Organization

Choice

Allowing students to choose their

own texts fosters engagement

and increases reading motivation

and interest. --Gambrell, Coding, & Palmer (1996); Worthy &

McKool (1996); Guthrie & Wigfield (2000)

Three Text Classroom(Judy Wallis, University of Houston)

Whole ClassBook ClubsIndependent Read-ing

“…students are not reading more or better as a

result of the whole-class novel. Instead,

students are reading less and are less

motivated, less engaged, and less likely to read

in the future.”—Douglas Fisher and Gay Ivey, "Farewell to Farewell to Arms: De-

Emphasizing the Whole Class Novel"

Whole Class Novel Benefits

Provides a common text for instructional purposes and reference.

Assures that students read at least a few books.

Exposes students to works with cultural, historical, or literary significance.

Whole Class Novel Concerns

No single text can meet the reading levels or interests of the wide range of readers in a classroom.

Novel units take too long. Students cannot read enough to develop strong literacy skills.

Extensions and fun activities reduce authentic reading, writing, and thinking.

How can we reap the benefits of teaching a whole

class novel, and minimize the concerns?

Shorten the amount of time you spend reading the book.

Strip units of activities like projects and vocabulary work.

Alternate whole class novel units with independent reading

units.

Provide students time to read in class and receive support from

you.

Differentiation(Tomlinson, 2003)

Content

Process

Product

Learning Environment

Book Commercials/ Book Talks

Read Alouds

Preview Stacks

Responsibility

Reading List

To-Read List

Status of the Class

Goal

Goal

Response Letters

Structure

What does conferring look like?

What is your biggest conferring challenge?

What obstacles prevent you from conferring?

Golden Gate Bridge method

Three Types of Reading Conferences

oContent/Standards-BasedoComprehensionoReading Habits

Evernote

Reading Habits Conference

Reading Conference Recapo Golden Gate Bridge methodo Focus on one skill or concept.o Keep records.o Each person in the conference walks

away with something to do.o It’s about the reader, not about the book.

Community

“Children read more when they see other people reading.”--Stephen Krashen (2009)

“Students should have guidance and frequent opportunities to work with teachers and other

students as a community of learners, observing their teachers as readers and

writers.

—NCTE Position on the Teaching of English

“Reading Teacher (RT): a teacher who reads and a reader who

teaches” Commeyras, Bisplinghoff and Olson (2003)

Who is in your reading community?

Create opportunities for students to preview, share, and talk about

books.

Literate conversations with peers

(as little as ten minutes a day)

improve students' reading

motivation, comprehension, and

test scores.

( Cazden, 1988; Nystrand, 2006)

Reading Graffiti

Find an epicenter reader.

Epicenter Readers in Our Classrooms

Commit to reading more.

Bring your reading life into the classroom.

Goodreads

“I have long been convinced that the central and most important goal of

reading instruction is to foster a love of reading.”

–Linda Gambrell, “Creating Classroom Cultures that Foster Reading Motivation”