MargaretBolingMullin

6/6/11 ** Day 10 Book 12 ** What can I say? Read this book! If you're interested in fostering a love of reading among your students,
- give them time to read books that they choose;
- don't give them lots of arts & crafts or 'sheets' to do after they read;
- let your own passion for reading shine through everything you do;
- if you aren't passionate about reading, start nurturing your own reading habit.

6/4/11 ** Ch. 5 "The instructional edge goes to the teacher who sees reading as a gift, not a goal" (p. 109).

6/3/11 ** I enjoyed 'meeting' Brian Cambourne and the Conditions of Learning in ch. 2. His work is so important, and yet he seems to be under recognized.

6/2/11 ** This book is nothing like what I expected, but I'm not sure I'll be able to articulate what I expected: I guess I thought it had a series of anecdotes about kids and books, something more ephemeral. Instead, Miller has crafted a very practical book about setting up a Readers' Workshop and creating conditions under which kids will both have opportunities to read and choose to do so. Powerful stuff.

5/31/2011 ** I have to admit that I've owned this book since 6/09, but hadn't yet done more than read a page here or there. Since Donalyn Miller and several colleagues are coming to brunch at my house in several weeks (wow!) I thought I should actually read it.

So far, the best line (well, paraphrase) - "Yes, I really do buy all these books (for my classroom library) with my own money." I appreciate the blunt acknowledgement that these purchases are so important and that it IS possible. Thanks Donalyn. I'm looking forward to reading the rest.