Walking the Walk
Welcome to week five of a seven week book study! Some blogging
friends and myself are sharing our thoughts each Monday until mid-November about the book “The Book Whisperer” by Donalyn
Miller. You can
get to the other ladies posts at the end of this one.
You can read my previous posts here:
In Chapter 5, Donalyn stresses the importance of reading frequently and talking about reading with your students. She says that students give her credibility because they know she’s talking about her passion, not just something they need to get done for marks. It’s our job as teachers to be reading role models for our students, so we’d better be reading ourselves.
Sadly, according to a study she shares, many teachers aren’t reading much. On average 4 books a year! How can we ask our students to read 40 (as Donalyn does, or 30 in my case) books a year if we are only reading 4? Don’t be a hypocrite! I know our lives as teachers are quite busy, and I’m sure you already know that too. So, honestly, I can see why teachers are only reading 4 books a year. I’m not sure exactly how many I read myself…. I can tell you it isn’t 30 or 40 though.
Miller doesn’t leave you hanging, feeling bad about your hypocritical self! She shares her tips on how to improve as a reader (for teachers, not students!) to be able to better serve as a reading role model for your class.
When I look at this list, it makes me feel better. It makes the task sound manageable.
I told you last week that I was reading the first book in the Fablehaven series. Well, I’m proud to say it is written on my book challenge sheet and I’m working on book two!
My students were really thrilled when they learned that I was also doing the book challenge. And I will be honest, some of them are beating me!
How do you serve as a reading role model for your students?
I’d love to know about it in the comments!
Want to read some more? Click the links to see more posts on Chapter 5!
That's kind of cool that some of your kids are beating you in the challenge! Imagine how great they'll feel 🙂
I know that my best way to get more reading time is to close my laptop. Maybe I need to institute a limit on screen time for myself!! Only joking a little bit.