Originally posted 6/22/2018 under That Happened In The Library tab....
I know one thing I have learned as a regular classroom teacher, a teacher librarian, and a person in general is that kids and adults alike are not reading. I think much of it has to do with we, as a majority, have not created a culture for reading. We, as adults, have convinced ourselves we don't have time or we aren't that good of a reader (practice makes better). We, as teachers, have crushed students' desires to read by giving them read-this-because-I-said-so-even-though-you-hate-and-despise-it books. We, as teachers, have not planted seeds of reading, or if we have, we have not nurtured or cultivated them. We, as adults and students, have labeled those that like to read "nerds" or "bookworms" or "smarty pants". I proudly embrace my booknerdness. Yes, I just made up a word. I graduated with an English degree which means I can do that (okay, okay, probably not, but my professors used to say the same thing). I am here to tell you that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a reader. In fact, there is everything right with being a reader. Reading takes you places. I have been a doctor, a scientist, hunted down serial killers, gone to carnivals, traveled the world, been a princess, a hero, fought wars, nursed the wounded, joined the circus, traveled through time, and so much more in books. I have done things that I would have never done in "real" life. I have been people I could never actually be. I have met people who have passed. I have lived 1,000 lives. I have escaped my reality. I have found an endless supply of gold and jewels. And guess what? I don't just want to keep it to myself like some heavily guarded secret treasure. No way! I want to share it with the world. How do I do that? By sharing what I am reading, creating videos using silly Snapchat filters and posting them on my library Facebook page, by printing off the book covers and hanging them on the wall outside the library in the section for "Mrs. Reed's Reads", by asking students in the hallways or the cafeteria or going into their classrooms during independent reading time and saying, "Hey! What are you reading? Tell me what you love about it? What has happened? Who is your favorite character?" or some other question about what they are reading in an enthusiastic and passionate way, by forming Connected Book Clubs (#connectedbookclub) with my librarian friend Ronda Hughes (@rondahughes10). I ask teachers what they are reading as well, and it does wonders for the students to see them reading and hear them talk about what they are reading. I told some high school students one day that our principal was a reader. They were shocked. I mean SHOCKED! Why? Because he had never mentioned it to them before. But you know what it did? It opened the door for him (who happened to be standing right there) to talk to them about books. When we care about something we talk about it. When we are selling something, we advertise it. When we are passionate about books and changing lives, we should want to shout that from the rooftops too. Don't be a stick-in-the-mud closet reader. Get out there and share, share, share. Oh, and let students choose what they want to read. Instead of confining them to a box, find out their interests and help them find books that they want to read....I will stop there because that is a soapbox for another day. Until then, be a radical reader. ***************************************************************************************** Two professional texts that I highly recommend for any educator wanting to increase literacy and promote reading are: Sparks in the Dark: Lessons, Ideas and Strategies to Illuminate the Reading and Writing Lives in All of Us by Travis Crowder and Todd Nesloney Lead with Literacy: A Pirate Leader's Guide to Developing a Culture of Readers by Mandy Ellis Also, follow @TechNinjaTodd @TeacherMannTrav and @mandyeellis on Twitter! ***************************************************************************************** Share your ideas for promoting literacy here: https://flipgrid.com/6f828b Grid Password: Readbooks
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I am a reader for the Arkansas Teen Book Awards. Zero Day by Jan Gangsei is one of the books on my list to read for it this summer. Two of my favorite genres are fantasy and mystery. I love anything that keeps me on the edge of seat wondering "whodunit" and anything that helps me escape from reality. I am a library media specialist, a mom, a wife, and more. I have always loved to read. I get so engrossed in books that I become part of the story and often have to be physically shaken to be snapped out of the trance I enter when reading.
I absolutely loved this book. From the moment I looked at the cover and read the short synopsis, I was hooked. I had to know what happened, what this story was about, and how it would end. I was not prepared for some of the events that unfolded. The main character, Addie, was kidnapped 8 years ago. Her family searched for her, but never found her. One day, she just shows back up. Everyone and everything has changed so much since she disappeared including the fact that her dad is no longer the governor but President of the United States. Now they all have to figure out who she really is, where she was, and why is she suddenly back. Who are the good guys and bad guys really? Threats are made, attacks happen, people die. I would say more about the plot, but you can read the Goodreads summary here. I give this book 5 stars, and will definitely be recommending it to students! Last week I saw on Twitter that a new book had been released titled Lead With Literacy: A Pirate Leader's Guide to Developing a Culture of Readers by Mandy Ellis. Since I am a library media specialist and have had the conversation with more than one administrator, LMS, and teacher in the recent weeks, I did not hesitate to hop on Amazon and purchase it. It was delivered to my house today. I was a bit upset at first because I knew I was going to have to wait a few hours to get started on it. Since I am an educator and we do all of our yearly checkups during the summer, I had gone to the optometrist this morning and they, being a little old school, dilated my eyes. If you have never had your eyes dilated, there is no pain involved, but it makes it nearly impossible to read anything for a few hours afterward. By the time my vision cleared up to where I could read, it was time to go to the dentist. I finally got done with appointments, home, and curled up in the recliner with the book and some pizza...and I read it all. Let me start by saying this book is real. It is not full of a bunch of extremely time consuming ideas or ones that will suck even more out of your already slim bank account. The ideas mentioned can pretty much be done for free or with donations (and people will donate books or to causes such as literacy). It is not full of ideas that sound great but are not easily implementable or feasible. It is not full of a bunch of ideas that someone put down on paper for the sake of publishing a book. Mandy Ellis has implemented what she has written about at the school at which she is an administrator, and attests to their success. They are tried and true ideas that will help you create a culture of readers at your school. Some of them you may already be doing, but I promise there are some you are not. They are ideas that she believes in. They are ideas that other educators believe in. They are ideas that I believe in. And, they are ideas that students believe in. They are ideas that need to become realities and the way of life in schools everywhere. Reading is so very important. It is my personal belief that there is a reader inside everyone. Some just haven't had the right help to find that our yet. I believe that the content presented in this book will help with that. I know, I know. Most of us hear "professional text" and we cringe. I promise that you will LOVE this book. I am very happy that I have added this to my collection of professional texts. In fact, I am so happy that I ordered a couple of copies this evening and had them shipped to some of the ones I had mentioned having earlier conversations with about this very subject. I also know that this is not the only time I will read this book, and it will be the last time it looks "new". I am fixing to make all kinds of notes and marks on these pages! Here is some of what I shared on Twitter:
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