The Book Whisperer

My reading teacher idol is Donalyn Miller.  I am slowly but surely trying to morph into her.  I agree with her ideas on real reading 100% and have found myself reading more and more Young Adult literature, thanks to her ideas.  If you haven't read her book, The Book Whisperer, I strongly recommend you do.  I think that you will find yourself shaking your head yes and will be excited to come back from winter break to get your students reading.

Also of interest is Miller's blog, which can be found on Education Weekly's website.  I love to read her posts as she continually motivates me to strive to create real readers in my 5th grade classroom.  Most recently, she shared about how her students were preparing for their reading over winter break.  I love it that they actually plan out their reading for the break.  While I do have a list of books that I plan on reading during break, I haven't had my students plan out their reading.  Duh.  Why wouldn't I expect that my students plan their reading ahead.  I now know what we are working on tomorrow morning!