On Friday, I had the chance to attend the MRA Conference. That is the MA Reading Association Conference; it was the first time in a long time that it was back in person. I always love going to this conference because I feel like I am with my people...all kind of literacy loving people just like me! On Saturday, I spent some time listening to some speakers online as part of the #EdCollabGathering. (You can watch many different sessions related to literacy online.) One of the sessions I listened to was all about play as a tool for standards based learning. And the other was about cultivating a reading culture amongst staff. Yes, I admit it, I am a reading and writing nerd. I can't help it! As we quickly head towards the end of the school year, I think it's important to think back on the reading work we have done this year. It's also important for us to think about what the reading work we are still able to do over the next few weeks. I was looking back over the 11 Guiding Principles in the MA ELA standards. We have certainly done a lot of work around many of the principles, especially in the area of explicit instruction in foundational literacy skills. We have also done work around vocabulary (still thinking about planning a Vocabulary Themed Spirit Week later this month!). And we have definitely done beginning work around writing about reading and writing in general. But Guiding Principle 3 jumped out at me and I want us to think about how we can focus on this principle over the last weeks of school. Here's what it says: Guiding Principle 3 Educators should help students develop a love of reading by: • Selecting high-quality works of literature and nonfiction. • Reading aloud in class. • Providing students with ample opportunity and encouragement for sustained independent reading, both for school and on their own. What have you done to help your students develop a love of reading this year? I know you have been working hard on teaching them specific foundational reading skills as well as comprehension skills, but what have you done to develop their love of reading? As we begin to start the ordering process, what high-quality literature and nonfiction do your kids already have access to and what do we still need to add to our classroom libraries? What amazing read alouds (picture books and chapter books) will you be sharing with your students over the next several weeks? Do you need new read alouds? I continue to purchase picture books and chapter books to add to the reading nook in the office. You are all welcome to come browse and borrow books anytime! My goal is to get into every class to do another read aloud with the principal before the end of the year. Whether you have kindergarten and 1st grade early readers or 4th grade readers, are we giving all of our readers "ample opportunity and encouragement for sustained independent reading"? Since we have been working all year on helping our students at every level develop skills to work independently or in small groups for a short period of time, this is the perfect time of year for you to pull up next to a student and listen to them read, buddy read with them, let them read with partners, read together in small groups or book clubs, and celebrate their reading growth by giving them time during the day to enjoy books! You have been telling me how impressed you are with your readers. Whether it's kindergarteners blending sounds to read words or third graders making amazing gains in fluency and comprehension, your hard work in reading instruction is evident. Now it's time to let them practice all of those reading skills and foster that love of reading that we want for all of our students. Of course I came home from a reading conference with more books! And then Saturday was Independent Bookstore Day so I took my kids to Word on the Street, an awesome independent bookstore in Marlboro that we had never visited. Jarrett Lerner was there and he gave a talk about how he illustrates and comes up with his characters. And then we bought...more books! Jarrett actually has a book coming out this week which I pre-ordered a long time ago. He gave me an advanced copy and I proceeded to read it in one day. It's a book written in verse with lots of his sketches in it. And it's a book based on his experience in elementary/middle school with body shaming and an eating disorder. It's a book that teachers should read and upper elementary and middle school students should read as well. It's called A Work in Progress. I also started reading an historical fiction book called How To Find What You're Not Looking For, which takes place in 1967. The topic of interracial marriage comes up in it as well as antisemitism and the main character struggles with a learning disability. The author wrote one of my favorite books, The Night Diary, another historical fiction book. And at the conference, Mr. Schu, national librarian ambassador, gave out a bunch of books and I was lucky enough to get a picture book called Loud Mouse. It is a great picture book written by Idina Menzel and her sister. When I posted about the book on Twitter, Idina actually liked the tweet so now Emerson thinks Idina and I are besties! ;)
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