we talk about selecting books.

We murder to dissect.
William Wordsworth


I can’t teach you how to do Text Selection in a blog post. It takes time and work to learn to do it well.

I can give you three principles that will help you become better at it.

Let me say two things to start.

I’m talking about choosing books for pleasure reading. I am not talking about direct reading instruction. Those are two totally different worlds.

Secondly, I’m talking about book selection. A good book is more than text. Remember why you read a book in the first place. It’s the story.

OK?, now let’s look at the three things that will help you with book selection.

Be purposeful - Understand the purpose of the book you are choosing, is it a read aloud, is it for information gathering, or is it for independent recreational/pleasure reading? Each of these requires a different approach to selection and to reading.

• Teacher read alouds
• Read aloud books work best when they are conversational. Long, complex sentences can be beautifully written, but they’re tough to read aloud and hard to listen to, especially for children. Ideally it should sound like you’re telling a story to your family. 
• If you’re reading a novel to your class, short self contained chapters are great, they give you a built in stopping place, and if it’s well written, leave you wanting more.
• In picture books, look for repetition. Great read alouds are predictable and invite participation by the audience, at least mentally reading along. Think Pete the Cat, The Old Woman Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything.
• Don’t skip the classics. They’re classic for a reason. If you want good material to practice with, use folk tales, they’re made for it.
• Beware the beautifully illustrated book as a read aloud. These books are treasures when your audience fits in your lap, but to read to a group of twentyfive, it’s just not the same. Some work, but it’s rare. And don’t be fooled by the “celebrity author”. I’m not saying they are all bad, but remember it’s the story that matters.
• If you’re reading aloud, be purposeful. If you are working in a small group, reading a book together and you want to stop and “think out loud”, that’s fine. You are teaching a skill set that you want kids to develop. It gives you opportunity to quick check how they’re doing, are they getting it? But if you’re reading aloud, perhaps during DEAR time, as entertainment: respect the narrative. Don’t stop and try to guess what’s next or study the illustrations for clues, or and this might be the worst, ask questions, bogging down the whole thing as kids mumble and stumble around. Remember the highest compliment we give books is that they are page turners, you can’t stop or put it down. When you interrupt that it’s like your students are sitting behind someone talking through the movie. Just stop it!
• Independent Student reading
• One reason that we allow students to check out five books is to allow them to create a balanced meal, if you will, when they visit the library. You can take advantage of this by encouraging, cajoling, requiring that the five books include a book that meets the standard for independent reading, and will be read. There is nothing wrong with you requiring they read a book.
• Sometimes it can be easy
• Remember we’re being purposeful here, these books are not for instruction, they’re for recreational/pleasure reading. So, if you’re expecting the student to read the book,  the student should be able to read it fluently. I’m a fan of the five finger rule, but that’s only one ingredient. Have the student read it aloud. A good choice can be read conversationally, moving at a pace that allows both comprehension and enjoyment of the story. It’s the story, remember, that matters. 
• Sometimes we complain that “they will finish that in a couple of days!” And the problem is? The library is open every day, they can visit all day, with the exception of twenty minutes in the morning, so  if they are really reading the books, let them come get another book.
• You defuse arguments and keep it pleasant by letting them use free choice for all except the one good selection you want them to read. 
• Sometimes it can be too hard
• It happens all the time. A student wants a book that makes them look like a reader (shouldn’t that tell us something?). Parents like to use their children’s reading choices as another way to keep score, you know what I mean.  Sometimes, as a kid, you just have to carry out the big book. Just be sure that it’s not the only “thing on the plate.”
• We do, occasionally, tell a student no when they want certain books. It’s usually because of content, not reading level. I might let a high first grade reader take a Vet Volunteer book, but not The Underneaths. Content matters. Is this book good for this child at this time?
• Non fiction
• By it’s nature non fiction is different, just different from how we choose and use fiction. The great thing about most non-fiction in an elementary library is that one can learn so much from the pictures, illustrations, charts and graphs. This can interest the student into wanting to know more, perhaps, reading! There’s so many ways to gather information from a nonfiction book that I suggest you not worry too much about reading level. Now, that said,  if you want the book for a research project, then that is direct instruction and all bets are off. Assign it and teach it. Be Purposeful. You know your kids, so it won’t be too hard to find books they can read well enough to gather information for a project.

Be personal When a kid asks for a book suggestion, I always ask, “what was the last thing you read you liked?” This helps me know what the kid has been reading, and just where their reading skills are, and it makes this a conversation. The student is working with me to find a book.

If the last thing they liked was a Ramona book, I’m probably not, probably not, going to suggest Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. If they just moved up to Ramona, perhaps more by Beverly Cleary is a good choice. CLICK Amber Brown is very similar but a bit more contemporary and Alvin Ho is perfect for a student at this stage.

Listen to them read a bit. We tell kids to use a page for the five finger rule as a self check, but you can tell by listening to a paragraph, sometimes a sentence, if the kid can read the book or not. Don’t be afraid to tell the child “this one is too hard right now, but with some practice, we’ll get there. Now let’s find something a little easier.” Check back with them. Ask them if they are liking it, how they’re doing reading it, how’s their pacing, would they recommend it to others? Keep the conversation going.

Be persistent It’s time to read and instead of hearing pages turning, you hear “I can’t find any books I like! I didn’t like this one, can I get another one? I don’t like to read. Can I go to the bathroom?” These are the tools children use to get out of work. Reading is curriculum, it’s not a choice. We’ll give you pretty wide latitude in what you read, but you will read.

Students need to try other things too! That’s what education is, learning things you don’t already know. We want our students to be open to new things. Reading a book you don’t like is really a pretty low-cost event when balanced against the world of possibility that it offers.
Finish what you start. Look, it’s ok to turn in a book after a chapter or two if you don’t like it. We do this, sometimes what looked like a good choice doesn’t turn out how you wanted; so you bag it and start another. But you, as a student, can’t do that with two in a row. So if you bring back Book A cause “you didn’t like it”, you’re going to keep Book B until you finish it.


Use DEAR to learn the literature
OK, there’s no shortcut to getting really good at helping kids find good books. You have to know the books, you must read them. DEAR is not only great for your students, but it’s a real opportunity for you to learn the literature. There’s a lot to be said for students seeing you read a book of your own, what you read for pleasure. But I think we gain more if they see you reading books on their level. If you’re reading their books, it helps you suggest books, helps you evaluate if they really read something when you talk with them about it, and places real value on the books we have available to them. If students see you reading Minnie and Moo and cracking up at the story (and you will), it’s value just went through the roof. What’s important to them is that you’re reading.

The good news is that you can sometimes knock out four or five picture books in one DEAR session. It will take longer to read the novels that our older students read, but your goal here is to learn the authors. Children’s authors, just like adult authors, usually write with a consistent style and subject. You don’t have to read all of the Beast Quest books to have an idea of what they are like. If you’ve read any books by Gary Schmidt or Jewell Rhodes, you’ll know who can and should be reading these authors.

Let's just suppose we mean what we say about Reading.

Reading is the most important thing a student can learn in elementary school. Ever heard that one? I'm sure you have, probably you've said it yourself. You might, and I might, even believe it. But if you step back and look at how we spend our day, where we focus our attention, how we encourage our students to use their time, are we backing up our convictions?

We had a literacy expert visit us recently and point out that our children weren't in texts very much, and didn't seem to have much access to text in the classroom. Well, let's put aside for a moment that this visitor basically took a snapshot of our school, not a film, freezing a moment in time and using that to make judgement. I won't judge the judgement, just want to point out that like a "walk through" evaluation of a teacher, this judgement seriously lacks context. I think it's a little absurd to bemoan or pretend our students' suffer a lack of opportunity to get texts when they are in a building with a library with no walls or doors, open from before school until after, and with most teachers allowing students to visit anytime, any day.

It does, however, point out something important. Not in what the expert saw, but in what she was looking for when she walked through the building. You see, a classroom teacher must make reading as natural as breathing in their class. We celebrate that nothing has more influence on students than having a good teacher, but that brings great responsibility. Are we doing enough to encourage kids to pick up text and read?

My colleague (and great teacher) Heather Hess and I worked for years to develop a Gospel of Reading. Commandment number one follows:

We believe reading is curriculum. It’s the most important curriculum we teach. Kids don’t get to opt out of math by saying they don’t like it, they shouldn’t get to opt out of reading either. We believe reading is first a verb, then a noun. Reading should first be what your class does, not a forty-five minute block you teach. You have to model it, you have to be a reader.

How do you do this? Let kids know that free time is reading time. Finish your spelling early? read your library book. Already done those math problems? Good time to finish that chapter you're on. Packed up early? Find out what happens on the next page in your book!

Next (and this is the most unpopular thing I'll ever write) stop showing movies for rewards. Not only does this present some interesting copyright/public performance licensing issues, it also reinforces the behavior we claim to despise: kids watching a screen instead of reading, running, or talking with one another. Just as I have real trouble finding a good reason for homework in elementary school, I cannot see reason to show a movie as a reward. Use video to teach, you bet! But to park children in front of a movie when we constantly complain about not having enough time to teach our curriculum is just awful teaching, terrible classroom policy.

Lastly, let your students see you reading and talking about books. Yup, put up or shut up. Not much to say about that, except you need to do it.

Now here's the bonus on this little bit of the Gospel. It doesn't cost us anymore than we are already spending. Don't think you can buy an answer to this problem of kids not reading. It takes good teaching, and good teaching is mainly hard work.

Let's just suppose we step back a moment and think about this.

We are talking (again) about creating a "reading culture" in our building. I say again because in twenty years I seen this issue come in as reliably as the tide, if not quite as often. I want to write my thoughts about this, thoughts I've developed over years of watching, teaching, discussing and learning from and with some great teachers. First, let's talk about teaching in general...

Reflection is the single most effective personal professional development one can do. Done humbly, honestly, and hourly (ok, not hourly but it just tripped off the tongue) reflection on your teaching and your students' learning will focus your efforts quicker and more accurately than a year's worth of make it, take it sessions at any conference.

Be aware, though, of reflection's crippling power. It's really easy to leave work feeling like a failure if you focus too tightly on your own teaching in your own space on one day, one lesson, one group of kids. Reflect, but keep a balance in your thoughts.

All that said, reflection is the first step to becoming a good teacher.

Next, you're in charge. Yep, that's right, you are not there to be a scout troop leader, cheerleader, or room mother. You are not there to be everyone's friend, especially your students' friend. You are the expert. You know the curriculum and how to teach it. You are trained to understand your students intellectual and developmental status and progress fairly and accurately.

Everyone smiles and nods when speakers come to school and say you should just facilitate learning, be on the sidelines while the kids wander about their academic day, magically arriving at understanding just in time for the next concept in the pacing guide.

Well, no. Not only does the State of Virginia (or wherever you are) pay you to be all of the things I mentioned above, the kids need and expect it. They are there to learn, whether they acknowledge it or not. I cringe when I hear teachers tell kids, "yeah, I have to sing the abc song every time too!", or "Is this too hard? I know I have a hard time with it." I'm in an elementary school, if either of these two things are true about your curriculum, call your teacher education program and check about getting some of your money back. That is a little harsh I know, but seriously folks, we're licensed professionals here.

This leads directly to my next point. If you're talking, they're listening. I love to hear from teachers that they are reading aloud to their class. But when they tell me they are reading while the kids pack up, or clean up, or whatever, I want to tell them just to stop. If it's important enough for you to say it, if you thought it was worth reading, they need to listen. Don't give me all that nonsense about multitasking. It's a myth, you know it, especially for kids. When we let them do something else while we're reading/talking, we are teaching and reinforcing a crippling habit that is so destructive that it may doom our kids' academic and economic futures.

Lastly for today, learn the deniers and cast them out like devils from a person possessed. When a kid says "I didn't like that book." or "I can't find any books I like." see it for what it is, an excuse that has got them out of work in the past and they expect it to work now. Just as you have to learn, and learn quickly as a colleague told me, when the second kid asks for a tissue or to go to the bathroom, most of the time it's just bogus. It's a time honored way to get out of work. Do not let them get away with it, see above, you're in charge!

we connect the disconnect.

Wow, I spent yesterday rearranging our school library. With the generous help of my paraprofessional and her family, some faculty, and the custodial staff, we moved five ten foot long book shelves, over 3,000 individual volumes, one hundred boxed sets, and three or four hundred videotapes.

The videos are the story.

We finally took the leap as a library/school to remove videotapes from our collection. The reasons for doing so are many.

• The technology is old and failing, both the tapes and the players. We're certainly not going to buy a replacement vcr in these tight budget times.
• Most videos are available to be streamed, or a newer, perhaps better alternative video is online.
• Realistically, most of the time, the videotapes were poorly disguised time-killers and baby sitters while teachers did other things. Not the best use of instructional time...

Which leads me to why I felt compelled to write these notes. We made the removed videos available to teachers to come pick out what they couldn't live without and then keep in their own rooms. While I was moving books, one teacher (sadly a veteran) was picking through the tapes. She's telling me how she likes to have some of these to play when the kids earn lunch time with her in the classroom.

What? Wait! The kids have earned some personal time with the teacher, which they must really want because they worked for it, and you are playing a video? (Cue the sarcastic old grump voice I'm trying to suppress) I've got an idea, why not spend time talking with your kids. Model good conversation, show them appropriate social behavior, give them some attention after all that's what they want. How many times do we complain about the social behavior of our students? Well, let's show them how to act.

I don't think this teacher is a bad person, bad teacher, or thoughtless. It's really more of a case of just not thinking about what we're doing, not being deliberate. It reminds me of a meeting I was in years ago, planning Dr. Seuss day activities, when a  reading specialist suggested we have Seuss videos running all day so classrooms could watch. So... on a day dedicated to celebrating reading, we're telling the kids to watch TV! Aarrgh!

A valued colleague of mine told me once that good teaching is hard. It is. One can make it a little more manageable by being deliberate, planning carefully and thoughtfully about how time is spent with children. Someone's class may appear to be doing something really outlandish, but if the teacher has a plan, a good play, then give them some space to work.

Our district is pushing teachers hard to be deliberate, writing unit plans, developing an awareness of the enduring understandings and essential knowledge of what we teach. Typically folks complain about the extra work, but I'm finding it useful, and refreshing. Giving your instruction a clear direction, a well thought out direction, is good.

So what does this have to do with my videotape/lunch rant? We must remember that the entire day is instruction. Kids are always learning something, it's just a question of what they're learning. They may not pay a bit of attention to your directions, you might set the whiteboard on fire and half of them not notice, but speak harshly to another person, use your phone while they're doing desk work, watch a video while you grade papers and they will soak up every move you make.

It's a standing joke with me and my friends, but you have to go Gandhi on them. Be the change you want to see.

That's enough for today.

Let's just suppose it was hard for us...

A couple of things have me thinking about this idea of role reversal and it's impact on teaching. I attended a very good day of professional development last week (you don't hear that often!), and came away considering how to know when the kids just aren't getting it. Also, I've been reading my son's posts about his teaching and his reflection on how it's going.

One of the hardest things for teachers to do is relate to the struggling student, be those struggles with curriculum, discipline, or social. Most teachers were successful in school, usually in all three, that's one big reason why they enjoyed it and wanted to be teachers. For instance, personally I have real trouble with kids who complain that they hate to read. That's totally foreign to me, I have always loved reading. It's hard to reach those kids, although I try, when I can't really be where they're coming from.

So what I was supposing was, what if a teacher took a class in something they knew nothing about, something they would have some trouble with, a different area of interest for them. Would this lead to more awareness of what it's like to struggle? Would it lift the veil from our eyes to see our students' struggles more clearly, more sympathetically?

Time is always the issue, however, it might be worth trying.

Let's just suppose it was all new to us.

Today I had the opportunity to read to a group of kids who are starting Kindergarten this year. They're part of a program to "kickstart" their school experience by getting them in the building for a week or so in the summer and showing them the ropes. I always enjoy this. They are excited about being in the school, and let's face it, is there anything more cool than being in the library and finding out that all those books are there for you to read!

Harry the Dirty Dog on Amazon

Today we read the classic Harry, the Dirty Dog. The story is older than me, but it holds up. They were smiling and talking along with the story the entire time. It just validates one of the major portions of the "gospel" that a friend and I have developed for reading instruction. We believe in the power of story. If you read a good story or give a kid a good story they'll listen or read it.Nothing is worse than some of the instructional reading material we give kids, text that works so hard on the "blend of the week", that the story just doesn't matter. Who'd want to read that stuff!

Our county has adopted the Superkids reading curriculum for grades K-2 and I'm very pleased about it. I listen to and read with a lot of kids every year and I think they have made great progress with this program. And the kids love it! The stories are just that, stories. The kids learn the characters and what makes them tick, and they feel like they know them. It builds a connection to the text, to the story, and to wanting to read. Win, win, win.

So as we begin another school year, I'm really watching with interest to see how our kids do after a year of Superkids under their belt. I expect great things and another bit of the gospel is...You have to have high expectations.

Let's just suppose we start over.

I'm returning to the blogging platform after a absence of several years. Life and work just got too complicated to do it well and I felt that I was perhaps doing more harm than good. I'll get going again, using the blog to discuss whatever is sticking in my mind. It's a good way to work through some thoughts and share some ideas. These are thoughts of mine and do not represent anyone else. At times posts may be bewilderingly vague as I feel the need to write about current events in my community, but don't want to start a war in the county. We'll see how it goes.