On August 7th I was lucky enough to present at this year’s Edmodocon. While I was not able to fly out there due to pregnancy complications, I was able to be a part of this incredible event that reached more than 27,000 educators around the world.
My presentation is now live on Edmodo and I will say it turned out alright. So if you would like to hear more about the Global Read Aloud and how to do global collaboration in general view it here
I am a passionate 5th grade teacher in Middleton, Wisconsin, USA, proud techy geek, and mass consumer of incredible books. Creator of the Global Read Aloud Project, Co-founder of EdCamp MadWI, and believer in all children. I have no awards or accolades except for the lightbulbs that go off in my students’ heads every day. First book “Passionate Learners – Giving Our Classroom Back to Our Students Starting Today” will be released this fall from PLPress. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.
I keep stumbling across amazing reading ideas that I cannot wait to implement. The only problem is that since I am pregnant I keep also forgetting these amazing reading ideas and no matter how many times I bookmark them, I still cannot keep them all straight. SO why not make a list to help me and perhaps help others as a new school year gets ready to start?
Create a “Hot Books” bin in my library. This idea came from Choice literacy and I love it. Last year The Maze Runner, The Lions of Little Rock and anything by Adam Gidwitz were the must reads of the room. So why not acknowledge with its very own book bin? I think I may have to get a red colored one just for this purpose.
Create a “New Books” bin. I book talk all of the books we received and when you are addicted to books like I am, that means we get a lot of new books. But once they have been booktalked they seem to disappear in the many bins of books. SO this year I will have a bin specifically for the latest books to our library. I just need to figure out where I then want to put it. Thanks Choice literacy for this one too.
Doing a book meeting time. I love this idea from Ann of having students grab a whole bin of books and a sheet of paper and then sit on the floor looking through all of those books writing down comments and starting their to read list. I can see this being great at the beginning of the year especially, but also when reading slumps hit. I think it is a must for students to have several books to choose from next so that there never is a book lag.
Continue book speed dating. I love this idea from Colby Sharp of grabbing huge piles of some of my favorite books and then letting students browse through them. I set a time limit of a few minutes so that we stay purposeful. Messy and loud, sure, but totally worth it.
Sharing reviews on Mrs. Ripp Reads. I started a book review blog for my old students and have kept it going over the summer, now I think it is only natural if the kids who want to also get to add their reviews to the site. I cannot wait to see which books they want to review.
Figure out the “Just Right” book. I despise the way the term “just right” has been manipulated into being all about levels. Instead I want to lead discussions on what it means to find the just right books for ourselves. Just right can mean perfect interest, length, subject, theme, or anything else that makes a child gravitate toward that book. I want my students to be aware of their own book picking patterns so they can find more books to love.
Invite in Book Buddies. This year I will be opening my doors to parents who want to come in and read with the kids and for the first time it will not just be those kids who needs someone to read with them but open to any child. And where before we would book talk books, this year it will be all about sharing a great picture book or chapter book and developing a love of reading a book together.
Hype the picture books. I have been spending a lot of money on getting great picture books into the classroom, the only problem has been wrestling them out of Thea’s hands to actually bring them in. I think my students tend to forget how wonderful picture books truly are and so we will be carving out specific time every few days just to love a picture book and then share that love with each other. This will also be great for our 1st grade buddies who will have a lot more books read to them.
Create space for students to share the book love. My students last year loved showing off the covers of their books on a bulletin board but this year brings a new group of kids so I will be asking them how they would like to display their books read. Perhaps in their lockers? Perhaps on the wall? Perhaps Biblionasium or our blog? Wherever it ends up we need to find a place to show off how much we read.
Ask for donations. I have never done a DonorsChoose project before but when I added up all of the money I spent on books last year I realized now was the time. With our 4th child on the way and having my salary frozen, I need to stop spending so much out of my own pocket. So I am asking for books for our library to replace the ones we have lost, to get kids hooked on the right book, and to just make sure that every 5th grader that flips through it finds something to love. I am hoping someone will help us get more books.
Those are just some ideas bouncing in my sleepy head, I am sure there will be more to share soon.
I am excited to take part in the August Picture Book 10 for 10 event taking place all over the blogosphere today thanks to Mandy Robek and Cathy Mere. So as this list needs little explanation, here are the 10 picture books I cannot wait to share with my new students. (And, of course, there are about 100 more…)
Chu’s Day by Neil Gaiman – a more simple yet deep story is hard to find. I love this book for how simple its message is, ilove this book for how funny it is, and I love this book because before I read it aloud I get to tell my new students about how Thea giggles every time Chu almost sneezes.
Pete & Pickles by Berkeley Breathed – I fell in love with this book this summer after Carrie Gelson recommended it. A deep story of love and friendship with simply beautiful illustrations. I cannot wait to see how my students react to it.
Bluebird by Bob Staake– I never got wordless picture books until last year. Now I love this book for how the students will be able to go beyond the pictures and tell the story in their own words. And the message? Oh my, what a message.
This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen– we love all of his books but this has been a favorite for a while now. I think my students will find it just as funny as Thea does.
Open This Little Book by Jesse Klausmeier – we were lucky enough to see Jesse in person this summer and the way she pointed out all of the details in the illustrations and made the story come alive made me want to share this early with my new students. I cannot wait to see which discussions this will lead to.
The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman – I love Neil Gaiman but there is a reason for that. He writes such a variety of books, he is brilliant, and this book is scary and funny at the same time. I use this as an all school secret read aloud every year and there is a reason it continues to be a favorite.
Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman – I have been slightly obsessed with this book for about a year now, I don’t know what it is but it just makes me smile. And it makes my students smile. So one day very early on we will all settle in for the story of a beautiful friendship between a boy and a robot.
It’s a Book by Lane Smith– This book crack sme up every time I read it and I think my blog savvy students will as well. I love the message of this book as it shows the power of a book and cannot wait to share it.
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein – This book takes on a deeper meaning every time I share it with someone. I once had a student call me the giving tree and I cannot help but tear up a little every time I think of that. I have yet to decide whether the tree is foolish or simply in love, I cannot wait to discuss it with my students.
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes– My great friend gave me this book shocked that I did not own it or know it. After I read it, I saw why this is a classic for any classroom as we build community and try to see how we all fit together in this new constellation.
These 10 books barely scratch the surface of what I cannot wait to share with my students, but these represent some of the first ones I will pull off the shelves as I ask them to enjoy a tale, to sit back and listen, to discuss and explore the deeper meanings of these books. Another year awaits, a new groups of kids await, and I can’t wait.
I am a passionate 5th grade teacher in Middleton, Wisconsin, USA, proud techy geek, and mass consumer of incredible books. Creator of the Global Read Aloud Project, Co-founder of EdCamp MadWI, and believer in all children. I have no awards or accolades except for the lightbulbs that go off in my students’ heads every day. First book “Passionate Learners – Giving Our Classroom Back to Our Students Starting Today” will be released this fall from PLPress. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.
I have always been slightly nerdy, ask my oldest friends and they will tell you stories of eye rolls whenever I discussed the latest sci fi flick I couldn’t wait to see. Or get me started on a favorite author and watch. I haven’t ever been a geek, I would have to be really good at math for that, but a nerd, that I could embrace. My adulthood didn’t change my nerdy ways but only sophisticated them. I could now pass ubernerdy things of as cool and stand behind them tall. And when being a nerd became kind of cool, I was so nerdy, that even my husband still laughed a little bit at me when i got too out there.
So when I fell into the Nerdy Book Club I knew I was at home. All of these book lovers in one group, oh and the hashtag and the chats; I was home. And yet even I could not have realized how much the Nerdy Book Club would change me and the way I teach.
So The Nerdy Book Club taught me that
It is okay to get really, really excited about a book and want to give it to everyone I meet. I am thinking of you “The One and Only Ivan.”
It is ok to want to talk books with friends, even if those friends are 20 years younger than you.
It is ok to bring in my books to school and perhaps sneak a chapter or two during recess.
It is ok to weed out my library and finally get rid of the books that no one has touched, no one will touch, and to give them to others who might.
It is ok to not do book talks.
It is ok to not do whole group books unless it is so deep and so rich that the whole class will actually stay engaged.
It is ok to tweet out pictures of new books you have received because you are so gosh darn excited about reading them.
It is ok to tweet authors and hope they will respond to you.
It is ok to have your class tweet authors and hope even harder that they will respond to them.
It is ok to have a pile of books beside your bed that never quite seems to diminish and yet entices you to sit down and read every time you pass by it.
It is ok to change from a clothes shopaholic to a bookaholic as long as you don’t go broke.
It is ok to watch your home library start to bleed into your classroom library because some of your kids are ready for a bigger challenge.
It is ok to do book challenges as long as they do not suck.
It is ok to not love a book and tell students that.
It is ok to make book trailers rather than book projects.
It is ok to think books, breathe books, talk books even if no one is listening or cares.
It is ok to have the reading taste of a 5th grade boy.
It is ok to think that reading and loving books is the most important thing we can ever model for our students and our own children.
I have never before cared about what my students read over the summer, sure, I cared whether they were reading or not but I figured it was no longer my duty to ensure they had great books to read. I certainly never assigned reading over the summer and would never do that. This year though with our increased passion for reading, my students have been telling me they just are not sure what to read and asked for my help. So behold; what we will be doing in the final weeks of school to create massive reading lists with awesome book suggestions for each student.
First of all; this is by choice. I am not dictating what students should read but simply creating opportunities for them to get as many recommendations as possible. Second of all; they will be making a list of possible books they would love to read and this list will be passed to parents, but I will not be checking up on them. There is no incentive, no punishment, no have to. Just hopefully a way for them to continue to stay passionate about reading.
So in the next few weeks, we will:
Start out with our initial reading plan survey. This gave me an idea of where students are at with their ideas for what they will read and also gives me something to compare to at the end.
Continue our speed book dating – 1 minute per partner as students recommend books to each other.
Try the teacher book dating as detailed by this awesome post by Colby Sharp. In fact, I brought in my stack of to read books from home so that they can add those to the mix as well.
Skype with other classrooms to get book recommendations. Short, simple Skype calls where 5 students each get to do a short book recommendation of either a favorite book from this year or a book they are currently reading. I have asked students to think of the audience as we may be skyping with other grade levels than 5th. If you want to Skype with us please fill out the contact form located on the right!
Collect all ideas in our note book so that we can create a master list that can be typed up and emailed/printed.
Continue tweeting out our book recommendation survey on Twitter and checking in to see which books people are recommending there. If you haven’t taken it – please do!
Interview teachers around the school for their favorite young adult books.
Read several book recommending blogs connected through our Kidblog account.
Create an Animoto sharing our reading plan with the word and posting it on our blog. Thanks for the great idea Shannon from Van Meter – here is the post she wrote!
I have always been a passionate reader and this year was no different, what was different though was that I finally unveiled this to my students. I don’t quite know what took me so long. So as I go into my second year as a reading classroom – and by that I mean, a room where reading takes center stage, students cannot wait to read, and there are books being passed around every single day – I am thinking of how to create that. Here are some of my ideas:
Showcase your reading – this year through the inspiration of Jillian Heise I did a Mrs. Ripp reading display. I cannot tell you how many book discussions this sparked with not just my students, but many students who just walked by the room.
Invest in great books – I lost count of how much money I poured into books this year and while I wish teachers didn’t have to pay so much out of pocket for things, it seems to be just the way it is. One great thing that happened was that my students would give the classroom giftcards for more books when they saw my passion – now that was awesome.
Give your library space – I have always had a decent sized library but it was more tucked in a corner and not fully getting the attention it deserved. While it is still in a corner, it is nice and open with short shelves and all of the books in labeled bins. I label them by genre, author, or interest, it just depends on the book. Books are easy to find and put back, which I think is a must as well and students take ownership over it. They want it to work well for them so they can spend more time reading.
Give choice – nothing will kill reading faster than constantly requiring students to read certain books. I hate it, my students hate it, so I had to find a way around doing small group instruction without using chapter books. I now use short high-interest articles instead to accomplish the same thing with my students and when they are done they get to read whatever they want.
Challenge them – I love the concept of some sort of a book challenge and am contemplating doing the 40 book challenge by Donalyn Miller. I love the idea that it is not about succeeding or failing but rather pushing yourself as a reader.
Give reading priority– the first thing I would sacrifice in our busy schedule was always independent reading time. Now it is the last thing to go; students crave uninterrupted reading time and many of them need it as a way to work on their skills. All students get this every day, after all, to become a better reader you need to read!
Read great picture books – I have always loved a great picture book but I had never really used them jus to hook kids. Now we start many days with a picture book and then cherish the story-telling. What I discovered is that every picture book can teach us something about reading or writing, thus making them both entertaining and purposeful.
Make it authentic – ask adults; when we read a great book we cannot wait to tell others about it so that they may read it as well. Students are no different, so many of them cannot wait to recommend a book to a classmate or me but you have to give them the time to do it. We did through blog writing, speed book dating – 1 minute book recommendations – and informal conversations. Students always had a to-read list going which made their next book selection so much easier.
Read the books yourself – this is a must for any teacher that want a great reading classroom. You have to read the books! Students need to know whether the book is a great book or not and the person they trust is you. So take the time and read the books; I have and I love discovering all of these incredible books that I need to get into the hands of students.
Talk about it – I book-talk books all the time, I show students my to-read list, I rush in excited about a new book I cannot wait to read and I created the Global Read Aloud. I even created a book review blog so my students can see what I am reading after they leave my classroom. I live the life of a passionate reader! Be a role model for the students and show them that it is okay to really love reading.
Don’t diminish reading – I ask students to read 30 minutes every day outside of school but what they read is completely up to them: magazines, books, websites, or whatever they think. I do not check whether they do it, I assume they do. I do not want them to think that they can only get better at reading by reading what I think is worthy, they need to see the power of any kind of reading (and we need to honor that).
Plant the seed early – I had my students create book bins with favorite books for the incoming 5th graders. These bins will be sitting on their desk the very first day of school and that is what we will start with; a discussion of why reading is the most incredible thing in the world – I cannot wait!
Pernille Ripp 