Reading Rules We Need to Break

As a librarian, building a library that meets the needs of the reading lives of all of my students is a top priority – in fact it is my #1 priority.  This weekend, however, I was reminded of the continued struggle students face as they try and navigate the difficult world that lies between their school library and their classroom.

I recently began following Pernille Ripp, a classroom teacher who simply began blogging to create a space for reflection and growth.  Her most recent post “Reading Rules We Need to Break in our Reading Classrooms” struck a chord with me and I wanted to share the link to her post as well as focus on just one of the 11 rules she contemplates “breaking” in her classroom.

Rule #5 – You Must Read Books at Your Level

Students come from their classrooms, having completed reading assessments, and are faced with the daunting task of finding “books at their level.”  The DBE Library has 10,000+ books and less than 10% of them have a Fountas and Pinnell/Guided Reading Level letter associated with them.  In addition, teachers are often too quick to pull a book from a student’s hands or ask them the very frightening question, “is this at your level?”   Ripp suggests that, “If our goal is to create students who identify as readers outside of our classrooms then they need to know themselves as readers.  They need to know what they prefer, what they can read, and also what type of book they need at that very moment.  That changes based on their life, and not just their growth, just like it does for us adults.  Having students select books based on a level robs them of the chance to figure this out, and in turn, counteracts everything we are trying to teach them.”

Rm 220, along with Ms. Forselius and I are attempting to find a balance between classroom/assessment constraints and pedagogies that fly in the face of what we know to be true – we need to nurture the reading lives of our students.

Lois Lowry when accepting the Newbery Award for her book, The Giver, said:

“The man that I named the Giver passed along to the boy knowledge, history, memories, color, pain, laughter, love, and truth. Every time you place a book in the hands of a child, you do the same thing. It is very risky. But each time a child opens a book, he pushes open the gate that separates him from Elsewhere. It gives him choices. It gives him freedom. Those are magnificent, wonderfully unsafe things.”

It feels risky to trust our students to make choices that will help them grow but it is a risk I am willing to take – a risk that teaches them to listen to their hearts, challenge themselves and celebrate the freedoms that come with healthy, whole reading lives.

Digital Learning with Ks

Rm 103, along with Ms. Norton and I, are practicing what her Ks have described as “iPad Training.”  While the phrase itself does, indeed, capture the essence of the time we are spending together each week it does fall quite short of the goals we have for our students during this time.  Each week, Ms. Norton’s class comes to the library for 40 minutes.  Our time together is intended to:

  • teach, model and practice Digital Citizenship
  • practice personal responsibility and independence
  • navigate digital environments

Ms. Norton and I are very excited about some of the future plans we have the students of Rm 103.  We are building a solid foundation for her students – a foundation that will serve them this year as Ks and well into their digitally rich futures.

Nourishing our Reading Lives

For a couple of weeks now, the students of Rm 220, Ms. Forelsius and I have been thinking about our reading lives.  Specifically we talked about out book selection in relation to the choices we make about food.  We compared some books to treats or desserts and we talked about how books can feed/fuel our brains.

On our return trip to the library today, Ms. Forselius and I had an opportunity to conference with students about their most recent book selections.  Sometimes guidance is in order but the conferences most often serve to celebrate the reading lives of our students.  They have the opportunity to share their choices and talk about reading.  This was the first time in my 3+ years at Bagley that I have had the opportunity to build reading relationships with students at this level.

We have created Bingo Boards to help students set reading goals.  The game simply provided a structure and suggestions for readers.  Each student can decide the path that they choose.  Next week Rm 220 will be back to learn more about the Bingo Boards AND share more about their reading choices.

DBE Library on Twitter

For a couple of years now, Mrs. Wynkoop (DBE Librarian), has been using IMG_7553Twitter as a professional development tool – connecting with other professionals in her field.  Over time, however, the use of Twitter has also proved to be a very useful tool for communicating with DBE Families.  For example, this week on @dbelibrary:
  • 30 Questions to Ask Your Kid Instead of “How Was Your Day.”
  • Helping Ms. Adriance connect with classes worldwide for Global Read Aloud
  • Ms. O’s room settles in for Friday afternoon reading
  • Helping Ms. McNeer rethink her teaching space and technology use
  • “On Deck” Booklists and our library’s catalog with Vonderlage, Hoyer, Manley and Stackhouse
  • Collaborating with Ms. Adriance to support initial research projects
  • Day 2 for Ms. Norton’s Ks as we learn to use technology as a tool for learning
  • A fun reminder that even storm troopers know that literacy is important!
If you are already on Twitter you can simply follow our school library @dbelibrary.  If you just want to visit, now and then, you can 1) see our feed on the library’s blog https://dbelibrary.edublogs.org 2) visit @dbelibrary on Twitter https://twitter.com/dbelibrary

4/5s study David Hockney

IMG_7506One of the joys of the new flexible schedule in the DBE Library is that I can directly support students in their classrooms!  Ms. McNeer and I have teamed up to give students an authentic experience that allows them to create Still Life as David Hockney has – using an iPad drawing App.

Bagley 4th and 5th grade students are working with paper and pencil first and then moving their art experience to the iPad and, in particular, the Colored Pencils App.  In addition to the more obvious connections to art and the art of David Hockney, students also are using technology in ways that build strong understanding of technology as a tool to support and enhance learning.  In addition to the art goals for the unit, students are also learning about file structures, naming conventions, sharing cloud spaces, how to troubleshoot technological glitches when things don’t work as planned.