Wednesday, July 16, 2014

#CyberPD Is Going Wild! Week 2

Simply Wild About Reading! 
We're reading, Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller, @donalynbooks.  #Cyberpd is hosted by @cathymere at Reflect & Refine@laurakomos at Ruminate and Invigorate and @litlearningzone at Literacy Zone.  If you're interested in joining visit any of the blogs for more information! 
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"Children are made readers are the laps of their parents."  
(Loc 1158 eBook)

A recurring message in Reading in the Wild is that of developing readers who are independent of us as teachers or parents, reader's who self-select books, read in "edge" times and who have a reading community to share and discuss books.  As a first grade teacher my class is made up of (mostly) eager readers, who want nothing more than to learn to read, this seems like a very attainable task.  I pride myself on cultivating readers who are "Wild Readers."  When reader's leave first grade they seem to be right on track for a life of wild reading, so what happens? 


Embarrassed Readers~

Well, certainly no one reading this is guilty of letting reading fall out of fashion or move into the category of embarrassing, but it seems to be happening! 
Being surrounded by cultural forces that fail to support reading or diminish reading outright erodes students' interest in reading and prevents them from sustaining any reading motivation. (Loc 1779 eBook)
A recent National Literacy Trust Report found that 17 percent of children surveyed would be embarrassed if their friends saw them reading. (Loc 1787 eBook) 
Reading this forces me to think beyond my classrooms and beyond my  building when working to cultivate wild readers. The work we do in teaching our kids the value and benefits of being a part of a reading community needs to extend to the families and communities of our kids.  
In Chapter 3 Donalyn list several strategies for building and extending reading education.  

Donalyn's message is one that sticks with me outside of my reading day! I see readers leave our first grade classrooms excited about reading and then somehow along the way lose this joy! WHY?  Is it the over loaded schedules, video games or TV that has allowed reading to become that "luxury we can't afford" or has reading truly fallen out of fashion and become an embarrassment? Are we really doing all we can do to create "wild readers?"

Plan of Action! 

Well, this is a big task and it won't be accomplished alone. We will need to pull together and educate our children, our families and our communities on the benefits and how to be a member of a reading community. 

"Reading in the Wild" (a growing blog post with my class) We are collecting photos of people (yes, even strangers) reading in those edge times. I am amazed at how many people I see with books out and about!  I have also asked parents (via the blog and email) to send me pictures of kids "Reading in the Wild."  This is a small beginning in educating parents about edge time and wild reading, but with a little help we should have a nice display ready for back to school!  If you see "Wild Reading" please send pictures to me @deb_frazier so we can add them to our blog. (Out of respect to the readers, avoid faces and please ask permission ;-))

What's Next? 

@Litlearningzone and @AnnielOrsini plan to meet (virtually) to collaborate on ways we can flood our parents with the same message we teach the kids, I can't wait! If you would like to join us we would love to have you! 



How will you extend the reading community of your readers? I would love to hear your thoughts on educating parents and bringing back the pride in reading! 

18 comments:

  1. Deb,

    I can't wait to see your pictures of Wild Readers in Their Natural Habitat. I hope you'll be able to post some of them. This is a great way to help students and parents to become aware of edge times and always having a book. It is a scavenger hunt with a goal of personal edification.

    Best wishes,
    Suz

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    1. LitProfSuz,
      I love the idea of this quest being a scavenger hunt and thinking of readers in their natural habitat! I have two daughters, one a wild reader, one who still see's reading as an undesirable school job! I told both of them about my quest, they laughed. After reading your post I said "Girls, remember we on that scavenger hunt for readers!" My school reader piped up, "OH, I have dance tonight and between classes E always brings a book! I will take a picture for you!
      I am hoping this word change will make this a game that in turn shows her reading isn't a school job, it's enjoyable and something we all do!
      Thanks for reading and sharing!

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  2. Because of this book, I have been noticing more Wild Readers myself. I try to decide if they are simply wild reading (like the girl in the cafe today reading while she ate lunch) or emergency readers (like me when my kids are busy watching TV in the afternoon!) It sure would be nice if reading was not a nerdy activity. I suspect we an help fix that if we, the obvious cool kids, make more of an effort to be transparent readers rather than at home readers.

    I will be teaching grade 2 for the first time in September. What do you think you do that helps your 1st graders, beginning readers, fall in love with it?

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  3. Deb, your enthusiasm and excitement just shines through your words!

    After first, second, even third grade, where does it all go wrong? Why are we losing enthusiastic readers? I'm asking myself those same questions. This is our answer though:

    "Plan of Action!
    Well, this is a big task and it won't be accomplished alone. We will need to pull together and educate our children, our families and our communities on the benefits and how to be a member of a reading community."

    I love love love your idea of a scavenger hunt (thanks Suz!) of wild readers!! I'm in and I'll see what's out there! I hope your students and families share some great pics too!

    I am excited to partner with you in developing ideas to foster the home-school reading community. I think there will be many others that will join in this quest as well! A hot topic for sure!

    Thanks for sharing!
    Michelle

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    1. Michelle~
      Your words are kind and make me smile! I am looking forward to collaborating with you and bringing reading back! If Justin can "Bring S—y Back" then together we can all bring reading back!

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  4. Deb,
    I'll be right there with you. Love your idea for capturing your wild readers. I may have to see if I can get that going with my students from last year.

    Cathy

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    1. Cathy wouldn't it be great if this grow into the library and includes the entire building?

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  5. Hi Deb,

    I love the idea of catching wild readers! It is a wonderful way to help students to see reading as something that goes beyond school. Let's pick a date/time for our virtual collaboration soon!

    Annie

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    1. Annie! I am so excited to connect!! Can you DM a few dates that are good for you, once we find a mutual date we will see what works for Michelle. #soexcited

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  6. Oh, I'm so happy to read this Deb. You've capped the day of terrific reading of everyone's posts! I'd love to keep in touch, as I told Cathy also. I didn't see about the collaboration you've already set up. I love your idea of gathering photos of 'reader in the wild' ready to inspire your first graders. I don't think we have the issue of embarrassment at school, but perhaps there are students who won't read in other places with friends? This is something I need to find out about my school. I do know that my grandson will be entering 8th grade & last year there were so many restrictions about what he could read, when, etc., that he was so upset. And they took so-o-o long to read one book. It's the wrong thing to do to kids. I'm always hopeful that he will have a wild reading teacher, but so far, not much inspiration, sad to say. Thanks for all your ideas!

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  7. Linda~
    Your kind words are the perfect place for mr to end this great day! I am flattered to be invited to keep in touch, your work is inspiring!
    Collecting wild readers has been such a great event! are you also collecting this pix, we could connect our collections! So sorry to hear about your young reader. My oldest daughter has had similar experience with reading at the secondary level, so sad really. She often keeps her voracious reading life private even at the age of 20-
    Let's change this for all our kiddos!

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    1. Thanks again, & no, I am not collecting pics, but now I'll start. Maybe reading at the beach (leaving Saturday).

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  8. Great thoughts! I love your collection of "Reading in the Wild" images. Last year for Halloween I took pictures of all my third graders with either their favorite book or their Halloween character's favorite book and we made a "Read Every Day!" poster. What if you asked parents to all send in pictures of themselves 'caught reading' ? Think about the powerful message that would send!

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    1. Katie,
      Truly powerful for kids to see their parents reading! I am happy to to include anyone who finds a wild reader, reading in their natural habitat, I want to bring reading back like JT brought s**y back!
      I would love to see your Halloween posters if you have any pics!

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  9. Great comments. I too would love to join in as you think about ways to flood parents with news about reading.

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    1. YAY! Christine I have added you to our small but growing group!

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  10. Deb,
    I love the way you are helping to grow our learning!! Your collection of photos of readers in the wild is going to be fabulous, and I hope to be able to collaborate with everyone on the parent education component. Your first graders are so lucky to have you as their lead reader!

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