Who's Doing the Work?

I finished reading Who's Doing the Work? - How to Say Less So Readers Can Do More by Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris.  I think this is a must have book for new teachers and student teachers.  It really anchors and describes reading workshop through the tools of read aloud, shared reading, guided reading and independent reading.  I think this is the perfect book for anyone looking to change their practice.  If you need nudges, descriptions, encouragement and guidance then this book is for you.  As a reader, you will also feel prepared by understanding what makes each tool special for your classroom.  Sections about implementation, misconceptions and what might be tricky when trying these tools is full of guidance.  I found myself feeling blessed for when I began my journey in teaching.  My studies were anchored in these tools and have remained integral in my reading workshop.  So, as I read this book I found myself agreeing with many ideas and breathing a bit easier that these ideas remain important for our students to be successful readers.  However,  any good reader and learner finds things to take away from their reading.  

These are the nudges I found to ponder for the upcoming school year.

- increase read aloud text levels as the year progresses for our chapter book reads

- bring more shared reading into my classroom, how does it look different from my K classroom

- think about library choices and the decisions behind them

- how can I help foster those decisions when I'm not there

- align teaching points more between read aloud, shared reading, and guided reading

These are some quotes that are sticking with me and might interest you in looking at this book more.

-"It's important that students have plenty of opportunity to practice processing their ideas about text and to make their productive effort public."

-"Shared reading primes students with upcoming vocabulary and text features while also helping them formulate visions of their reading futures."

-"Throughout the guided reading session, the teacher makes anecdotal notes about students' reading processes and looks for patterns of difficulty to address in shared reading."

-"Well intentioned, strict definitions of "just right" (and right adherence to them) can seriously limit student choice and ultimately rob students of reading energy."

Right now there is a great opportunity to converse with the authors on the next to Thursdays via twitter.  @DrMaryHoward is hosting and the hashtag is #G2Great.