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| Donalyn Miller: The Book Whisperer |
The second chapter discusses Miller's third year teaching when she began giving students free choice for their books.
At the beginning of her third year, her students were interested in her classroom library. Miller explains how she then let students dig into her books as they discussed who has read which books and which books they would recommend. She says that she now begins each year with this "book frenzy."
Miller then points out that in those first days of school, she never:
* Preaches to her students about the need to read.
* Brings up the fact that some people do not like to read.
* Discusses the possibility of choosing not to read in her classroom.
Miller says that by showing students her enthusiasm over books and her excitement to share her books with them, she proves to them that she sees her students as readers. This is what leads them to believe that they are readers as well.
One of my favorite parts of this chapter was Miller's discussion on abandoning certain terms for her readers. She no longer uses the terms "struggling reader" or "reluctant reader." Instead, she uses three new terms to describe the different readers in her classroom: developing readers, dormant readers, and underground readers.
Developing readers, commonly referred to as struggling readers, are the readers that are not on grade level. We commonly refer to the Matthew Effect with these readers. Developing readers can be taught skills, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, and more. However, this instruction will not have much of an effect if these readers are not reading.
Dormant readers are the readers that teachers do not focus on as much as their developing readers. Dormant readers take up the largest portion of our class, but they usually just read in order to pass their classes and state tests. "Dormant readers might become engaged readers if someone showed them that reading was engaging."
At the beginning of her third year, her students were interested in her classroom library. Miller explains how she then let students dig into her books as they discussed who has read which books and which books they would recommend. She says that she now begins each year with this "book frenzy."
Miller then points out that in those first days of school, she never:
* Preaches to her students about the need to read.
* Brings up the fact that some people do not like to read.
* Discusses the possibility of choosing not to read in her classroom.
Miller says that by showing students her enthusiasm over books and her excitement to share her books with them, she proves to them that she sees her students as readers. This is what leads them to believe that they are readers as well.
One of my favorite parts of this chapter was Miller's discussion on abandoning certain terms for her readers. She no longer uses the terms "struggling reader" or "reluctant reader." Instead, she uses three new terms to describe the different readers in her classroom: developing readers, dormant readers, and underground readers.
Developing readers, commonly referred to as struggling readers, are the readers that are not on grade level. We commonly refer to the Matthew Effect with these readers. Developing readers can be taught skills, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, and more. However, this instruction will not have much of an effect if these readers are not reading.
Dormant readers are the readers that teachers do not focus on as much as their developing readers. Dormant readers take up the largest portion of our class, but they usually just read in order to pass their classes and state tests. "Dormant readers might become engaged readers if someone showed them that reading was engaging."
Underground readers are our sweet darlings that we have to force to put a book down in order to listen to our lessons. They would just rather the teacher leave them alone so that they can get back to their book.
The end of this chapter is when I became very excited/inspired. Miller describes how she uses reading interest surveys at the beginning of each year. I have always known about reading interest surveys, but I have never given one in my classroom because I didn't think it was necessary. However, I LOVE how she uses them. She reads each of her students' surveys and uses them to recommend books. She also uses general interest surveys to get to know their interest a bit more. After reading each survey, she goes through her books and chooses one to place on the student's desk as a recommendation. How much fun would that be?
Below is the link to my FREE student survey that combines general interest and reading interest questions to help you recommend books to your students.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Student-Interest-and-Reading-Interest-Survey-for-the-Beginning-of-the-Year-3266061
Below I have attached some links of student interest surveys and reading interest surveys.
Student Interest Surveys
http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/PencilsandMagicWands/student-interest-survey
https://www.scholastic.com/content/collateral_resources/pdf/student_survey.pdf
Reading Interest Surveys
http://nrcgt.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/953/2015/06/Reading-Interest-A-Lyzer.pdf
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/2b/78/aa/2b78aa154635591113b46dae1bd8f00b.png
The end of this chapter is when I became very excited/inspired. Miller describes how she uses reading interest surveys at the beginning of each year. I have always known about reading interest surveys, but I have never given one in my classroom because I didn't think it was necessary. However, I LOVE how she uses them. She reads each of her students' surveys and uses them to recommend books. She also uses general interest surveys to get to know their interest a bit more. After reading each survey, she goes through her books and chooses one to place on the student's desk as a recommendation. How much fun would that be?
Below is the link to my FREE student survey that combines general interest and reading interest questions to help you recommend books to your students.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Student-Interest-and-Reading-Interest-Survey-for-the-Beginning-of-the-Year-3266061
Below I have attached some links of student interest surveys and reading interest surveys.
Student Interest Surveys
http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/PencilsandMagicWands/student-interest-survey
https://www.scholastic.com/content/collateral_resources/pdf/student_survey.pdf
Reading Interest Surveys
http://nrcgt.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/953/2015/06/Reading-Interest-A-Lyzer.pdf
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/2b/78/aa/2b78aa154635591113b46dae1bd8f00b.png
I'm interested in using the reading interest survey you have listed (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/2b/78/aa/2b78aa154635591113b46dae1bd8f00b.png) but I'm unsure who to cite as the author. Is this something you created yourself or could you direct me to where you retrieved it?
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