being me, books, Literacy, Reading, students

My 10 Favorite Nonfiction Picture Books Right Now

Pernille Ripp

I don’t remember reading much nonfiction as a child, perhaps I was too caught up in being a kid to notice.  I read biographies for a long time, but nonfiction picture books were not on my playlist.  Not so anymore.  The nonfiction picture books that are available to our students now are amazing and every year a few more settle into our library and hearts.  Here are the top ten favorites in our classroom library.

When Donalyn Miller recommends a picture book, I pay attention.  Tricky Vic – the Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower by Greg Pizzoli is a masterpiece.  A page-turning read that makes you shake your head in wonder.   This is a picture book for all ages.

Kelly Milner Halls can do no wrong in my eyes and her book In Search of Sasquatch is a favorite read in our classroom library.  The reporting style of the book, the pictures, and the flow of the text makes this a book that students come back to again and again.  Check out all of her other nonfiction texts too, you will be glad you did.

Loved by many, any of Elise Gravel’s Disgusting Creatures series such as The Worm is sure to suck readers in.  With its whimsical illustrations surrounded by the facts about these animals, readers don’t even know how much they are learning as they devour the pages.

I don’t think it is possible to have a top 10 nonfiction picture book list without Ivan:  The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate.  This beautiful book and story makes me cry every time I read it, but it is worth every sniveled tears.  This is also one of the most lost picture books in my classroom, I hope it finds much love in its new homes.

Anything by Seymour Simon deserves to be on this list, but Gorillas is one of our favorites.  With its stunning photography and accessible text, it provides my students with enough information to make them feel knowledgeable, as well as the desire to keep reading more.  Seymour Simon is a legend within the nonfiction universe, rightfully so.

I have mentioned Bad News for Outlaws:  The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshall by Micheaux Nelson on many picture book lists and there is definitely a reason for that.  This book provides students with a different historical narrative about the 1800’s than most.  Students cannot believe the story is true and it is often discussed for a long time after.

I remember reading the newspaper articles about George, and yet when Galapagos George by Jean Craighead George showed up at my house I still read it aloud to Thea not putting two and two together.  George does not have a happy ending, which I knew, but had forgotten about.  The shocked look on Thea’s face as I got to the end told me I should have probably prepped her, however, the tale itself is hauntingly beautiful and completely worth the shock.

Every time I receive one of these Did You Know  books by Laura Lyn DiSiena and Hannah Eliot  I cannot wait to read them aloud to my own kids and then get them into the classrooms.  these whimsical fact-bursting books are for kids of all ages and is sure to leave even the most knowledgeable reader in awe.

Manfish by Jennifer Berne tells the childhood story of Jacques Costeau.  I love filling my students in on this ocean explorer, and the illustrations are gorgeous.  A simple tale told about one of the great explorers of our time.

And for spot number 10, I can’t pick, so here are a few more of my favorite reads.

On A Beam of Light  by Jennifer Berne.

Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell

The Boy Who Loved Math  by Deborah Helligman

Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales

The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus by Jen Bryant.

The Noisy Paint Box by Barb Rosenstock

And finally, I just added these to my wish list

The Pilot and the Little Prince by Peter Sis.

Odd Boy Out by Don Brown

Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos by Stephanie Roth Sisson

Mr. Ferris and His Wheel by Kathryn Gibbs David

If you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students.  The 2nd edition and actual book-book (not just e-book!) comes out September 22nd from Routledge.  

advice, aha moment, being a teacher, new teacher, new year

6 Things New Teachers Remind Me to Do Every Year

Pernille Ripp

recite-15tsff

You can usually spot a new teacher a mile away.  There is just something about the way they talk about the upcoming year, how they hold themselves, and even the very air that surrounds them.  So much joy, so much enthusiasm, mixed with a certain air of fear.  Right now seems to be the time where people start talking about all the mistakes new teachers make their first year and pass on advice to them whether they need it or not.  Yet, every year I learn so much from the new teachers I meet.  Every year they teach lessons to me.

  1.  Be enthusiastic.  The joy that comes with teaching  your very first year is one we should chase after every year.  We should love teaching, not take it for granted, not get caught up in the misery of all of the outside things that make teaching difficult.  Let’s all be excited that we have a job and that we will get to do what we love so much for another year.
  2. Ask questions.  New teachers know that they don’t have all of the answers so they ask a lot of questions.  As a veteran teacher, I sometimes think that I should know all of the answer so I feel stupid asking many questions.  Yet teaching is about learning and we stop learning when we stop asking questions.  Ask away and don’t be embarresed if you don’t know something, embrace that you are learning.
  3. Know their students names.  My first year of teaching I spent hours memorizing names with faces so that on the first day of school I knew all of my students by name.  This small gesture of respect went a long way in building classroom community.  As a middle school teacher, I have a lot more names to memorize – I think I am up to 136 students this year – and yet I have started looking at their pictures already.  I want to know all of their names by the end of the first week, no later.
  4. Say”Why not?” a lot.  First year teachers tend to question many things we see as established norms, and sometimes I think veteran teachers, myself included, can get a little bit offended when something we hold near and dear is questioned.  Yet it is in this questioning that we start to discuss new ideas, we find inspiration, and we change the way we teach.  we should all be asking “Why not?” a lot more than we are.
  5. Stay true to our noble intentions.  I became a teacher to help students become better people, yet within my first few years, I lost sight of that.  New teachers joining our profession may seem idealistic or delusional to some, yet within their dreams is something we should all be chasing; the belief that what we do matters.  The belief that we can make a difference.  That we can create schools that students actually want to be a part of.
  6. Make connections.  As a new teacher you don’t know that many people so all year you are trying to find your tribe.  yet, often, we settle into our patterns of who we speak to and shut ourselves off from the rest of our community when instead we should be continuing to make connections as often as possible.  why can’t you know all of the people in your school?  Why not reach out across your district?  While it is nice to have people that know you well, make sure you make connections with new people as well.  You never know who will become a part of your tribe.

If you are a new teacher reading this, welcome, this is truly the best job in the world.  May you love it this much or more each year you teach.  And if you are a veteran like me; I hope your year is filled with wonder, with laughs, and with joy.  We are lucky to be teachers, even if the world sometimes seems to be against us.

If you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students.  The 2nd edition and actual book-book (not just e-book!) comes out September 22nd from Routledge.  

assumptions, being me, books, Literacy, Reading, students

Can We Find A Better Term Than Struggling Readers?

Pernille Ripp
image from icanread
image from icanread

To struggle means to contend with an adversary or opposing force.  To struggle means to advance with violent effort.  To struggle means to cope with an inability to perform well.  Despite its relationship with these definitions, the term “struggling reader” has become one of the favored way to label our learners as we discuss their needs.  A term that means to advance with violent effort is somehow now associated with developing as a reader, and I cringe every time I hear it.

It is not that I don’t see children fighting with words when they are learning to read.  I see the tremendous effort.  I see the hard work that goes into becoming a reader.  And I see my older students still fight, sometimes word for word, as they process the text.  They are in a struggle at times, yes.  But they are not struggling readers.  They are not battling an epic foe that will take them down somehow, because I can’t allow them to identify that way.  I can’t allow that definition to define them in my own eyes.  they are so much more than struggling readers.

When we allow a term like this to permeate our instruction, to permeate the conversations we have about students, we are viewing the children we teach only through one lens.  We allow this term to overtake any other information we have on the child and the effort that they put into learning.  When we label someone as struggling, we have, in essence, given them a box to place themselves in and for the rest of their lives they can choose to stay within that box knowing that no matter what they do, they will never stop struggling.  That label becomes part of their identity.  In our own minds as teachers, we also create a neat box to put them in as we plan our lessons and our own assumptions about what they can or cannot do taints their future path.

When we tell a child they are developing rather than struggling, then there is hope.  Then there is a chance for them to think that some day whatever they struggle with will not be as hard for them.  That they are developing their skills and working through the process.  And yes, that process may take years and years, but that there will be success, however small, and that this learning journey is one they will be on for the rest of their lives.  We don’t give them that chance for hope when we call them struggling readers.

In fact, why label them at all?  Why not just call all of our readers just that; readers?  Almost every child reads in some way.  I see it in my own children when they pick up a book and point to the pictures, too young to process that there are words on the page as well.  I see it in Thea, my 6 year-old, who is reading from memory and developing systems to figure out words.  I see it in my 7th graders that slowly work through a page of text, exhausted by the end of it.  They are readers.  And yet, their path toward becoming better readers may be one that has obstacles, may be one filled with struggles, but that does not mean that they are the ones struggling at all times.  That does not mean that one label will define who they are human beings, and nor should we let it.  But that change starts with the very language we use to speak about our students.  That change starts with us.

What do you think?

If you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students.  The 2nd edition and actual book-book (not just e-book!) comes out September 22nd from Routledge.  

being a teacher, Literacy, Passion, Reading, student choice, student voice

Stop Feeding the Beast – The Reading Myths We Pass on As Truth

Pernille Ripp

“This is not a “girl” book even if the cover makes you think it is, boys can love it too…”And I stop myself.  And I cringe inwardly.  And I want to rewind time for just 10 seconds and tell myself to stop.  A “girl” book?  What in the world is that?  And since when did I label our classroom books by gender?

The stereotypes of reading seems to be a beast in itself.  We feed the beast whenever we pass on hearsay as fact.  We feed the beast whenever we fall victim to one of these stereotypical sayings without actually questioning it.  Through our casual conversation we teach our students that there are books for girls and books for boys.  We teach our students that a strong reader looks one way, while a struggling reader (God, I hate that term) is something else.  We say these things as if they are the truth and then are surprised when our students adopt the very identities we create.

So what are the biggest myths that I know I have fed in my classroom?

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Thank you Debbie Ridpath Ohi for this image

“This is a girl/boy book.”  I have said this many times as I try to book talk a book.  I say it when I think the boys, in particular, will not give a book a fair chance because of its cover.  I say it when I think the girls will find a book to be too violent, to have too much action.  And every time I say it, I am teaching these kids that certain books are only meant for certain genders.  What I forget is that I read all sorts of books.  That I, as a female reader, like a good violent book.  That I gravitate more toward “boy” books than “girl” books.  So why do I continue to pass this on to my students?  It stops now.

“This is an easy read.”  Another common statement I have made while book talking.  What I mean by it is that for most students the text will not prove difficult to understand, yet I know now that ease of reading looks very different from student to student.  That what I may think is easy, even when I pretend to be a 7th grader, is not easy at all.  That even if a book is short does not make it easy.  Even if a book has a manageable story line does not make it easy.  That “easy” means different things to different readers and therefore does not provide a good explanation to anyone.  It stops now.

“He/she is a low or high reader.”  Our obsession with classifying students based on their data does not help our students, it only helps the adults when we are discussing them.  There is an urge in education to group kids according to data points so that rather than take the time to discuss each student, we can discuss them as a group.  Yet the terms “low” or “high” make no sense when discussing readers.  They make sense when we are discussing data points, but is that really all our students are?  How many of us have taught students who were amazing readers, yet scored low on a test?  What would we call them?  We need to discuss students using their names and their actual qualities, not these shortened quantifiable terms that only box them in further.  It stops now.

“Most boys don’t really like to read.”  I don’t know how many years of teaching boys I need to finally stop saying this.  Many boys like to read – period – but when we say that most don’t, we are telling them that what they love is not a masculine thing to do.  That boys loving reading is something strange and different.  If we want this to come true, we should just keep repeating this over and over.  Our male readers will soon enough get the message that reading is for girls.  It stops now.

“The older they get, the less they love books.”  I used to believe this, until I started teaching middle school.  Then I realized that it is not because students want to read less as they get older, they read less because we have less time for independent reading, and we dictate more of their reading life.  Homework builds up as do other responsibilities outside of school.  Compare a 5th grader who has 30 minutes of independent reading most days to my 7th graders that get a luxurious 10 minutes – who do you think reads more in a year?  Also, I wonder if anyone would want to keep reading if they did not get time for it in school or had choice over what they read for several years?  Sometimes I think it nearly a miracle that students’ love of reading can survive what we do to them in some educational settings.  It stops now.

“But they are not really reading…”  I used to be the hawk of independent reading, watching every kid and making sure that for the entire time their eyes were on the text.  If they stopped I was there quickly to redirect.  Independent reading time was for independent reading and by golly would I make sure that they used every single second of it.  Yet I don’t read like that myself.  When I love a book, I pause and wonder.  When I love a book, I often look up to take a break, to settle my thoughts.  When I love a book, my mind does not wander but I still fidget.  That doesn’t need a redirection, that doesn’t need a conversation, that simply needs to be allowed to happen so I can get back to reading.  Our students are not robots, we should not treat them as such.  Re-direct when a child really needs it, not the moment they come up for air.  It stops now.

“They are too old for read alouds…picture books…choral reading…Diary of Wimpy Kid…”  Or whatever other thing we think our students are too old for.  No child is too old for a read aloud.  No child is too old for picture books.  No child is too old for choral reading.  No child is too old for books like Diary Of A Wimpy Kid.  Perhaps if we spent more time showcasing how much fun reading really is, kids would actually believe us.  It stops now.

The myths we allow ourselves to believe about reading will continue to shape the reading lives of those we teach.  We have to stop ourselves from harming the reading experience.  We have to take control of what we say, what we do, and what we think because our students are the ones being affected.  We have a tremendous power to destroy the very reading identity we say we want to develop.  It stops now.  It stops with us.

If you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students.  The 2nd edition and actual book-book (not just e-book!) comes out September 22nd from Routledge.  

being me

I No Longer Want to Be Just A Witness

Pernille Ripp

I have been thinking a lot about the inherent racism that my life is seeped in lately.  Mostly because I do not face racism.  Sexism yes, but racism, no.  Mostly because I see the news and I am dumbfounded, saddened, and outraged.  Mostly because I am a witness to how my students are treated outside of our school and the lives that they have.  I am merely a witness but I don’t want to just witness anymore.  I want to stop being a part of the problem and become part of the solution.   But I don’t know how.

So when I see an infographic like this from The Sentencing Project

Lifetime Likelihood Race

Or when I hear a Podcast like this “The Problem We All Live With” from This American Life and I shout at the radio at the injustice of it all, I cannot help but wonder; what can I do?  Or more importantly, what can we do as educators?  What can I do as a white educator who does not live this every single moment of my life?  What will change in our classrooms so that we all become part of the solution rather than a continuation of the problem?  How do we stop racism from flourishing rather than disappearing?

What do we do?  Because we have to do something.  And it has to be more than what we are doing now.
I am a passionate teacher in Oregon, Wisconsin, USA but originally from Denmark,  who has taught 4th, 5th, and 7th grade.  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.  The second edition of my first book “Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students” is available for pre-order now.   Second book“Empowered Schools, Empowered Students – Creating Connected and Invested Learners” is out now from Corwin Press.  Join our Passionate Learners community on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.
being me, books, Literacy, Reading

My Favorite Reads of This Summer – 2015 – Part 1

Pernille Ripp

While summer still has a few weeks left in it, I have been surrounded by so many amazing reads that I felt I needed to share some of the incredible books I have been reading.  We are so lucky to have such incredible books to share with our students (and ourselves!)

I just finished MiNRS by Kevin Sylvester last night and couldn’t believe how good it was.  I love a great science fiction book and this one does not disappoint.  Best part is that I can see handing this book to so many students to read, with it’s accessible language and action scenes, this is sure to be a crowd favorite for 4th graders and up.

It is completely appropriate that The Blackthorn Key is released the very same day that I go back to school.  Why?  Because this is the book to give to students to read.  This is a book for anyone who loves a good mystery, fantasy, action, and hopefully something that will turn into a series.  This book, which again was an ARC given to me by Scholastic, will be a great book to hand to those students that loved Harry Potter or The False Prince.  And it will be one that I cannot wait to read aloud.

Bottom-line: 5th grade (or mature 4th graders due to the murders in it) and up.

I have loved Jennifer’s books for many years.  The False Prince and it’s sequels have been must-reads in my classroom for a long time.  To me she is such a fantasy writer, one that weaves tales that sucks us in and leaves us wanting more.  Imagine my surprise when I saw her new book A Night Divided.  Long gone are the tales of battles, kings and queens, instead replaced with a stark narrative of what happened when the Berlin Wall was erected over night.  It seemed so unlike her, but it is not.  Her masterful story telling shines as we enter the would of Gerta and Fritz and their quest to have their dream survive.  I was sucked into the story, needing to read just one more page until I sadly found myself at the end.  Well done Jennifer.

So this book is a must add to 4th grade and up.  There is shooting and death in it, after all it is historical fiction, but it is not graphic.

This is the post where I admit I have never read Wonderstruck. I have never read the The Invention of Hugo Cabret.  I had watched the movie and marveled at the beautiful story.  I have handed the books to students and told them to fall in love with them.  But I had never read them myself.  And I am not sure why.

So when I was handed The Marvels after standing in line at ILA for more than an hour, sharing the delightful company of Alison Hogan, I knew I had to read it.  And it was worth every minute of standing in line.  The book is beautiful, the story captures your imagination and leaves you pondering.  I cannot wait to order this for my classroom and this time when I hand it to students really mean it when I say, “This is a must read.”

For 4th grade or perhaps even 3rd grade and up.

 

A favorite student of mine handed me a Barnes & Noble giftcard at the end of the year.  I was surprised because I was pretty sure middle school teachers do not get gifts and yet she handed me one of the best things in the world; a chance to get more books.  I therefore knew the books had to be special and I was not disappointed; Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan is a masterpiece.  All 500+ pages of it.  Once again she weaves a tale so masterful that you have to just read one more page, even if it is past midnight and you know tomorrow will be a long day.    What I also loved about this book is it ageless and timeless quality, I immediately could think of 4th grader and 7th graders that needed to read this book.  I am so thankful this book was recommended to me and now I am recommending it to you.

This is the book that took my breath away.  This is the book that I read in less than 2 hours and then passed it on the very next day.  This is the very first book that is a Global Read Aloud contender for 2016 for middle grades and up.  Gut-wrenching, beautiful, and still resonating weeks later for me.  Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt is a book that will resonate across our continents.

I had the honor of meeting Erin Soderberg at Nerdcamp and get a copy of her book.  I loved The Quirks, funny, lighthearted, yet with an universal theme that many kids will connect with, Erin has written a great book for 3rd grade and up but also appropriate for middle schoolers.