fbpx

Chapter 2: Wild Readers Self-Select Reading Material

Hey Y’all!

We are continuing the awesome book study of Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller.
If you haven’t picked up a copy, it is a MUST.

I love everything this woman stands for and I absorbed so much while reading her book!

Let me just say, I LOVE read alouds in every way possible. It is my favorite way to introduce different language/reading skills.

#1

When books are read together, the entire class connects as the characters journey unfolds. It is a great way for us to reference a character trait or reading skill and have the entire class have the same connection.

#2

I read a few historical fiction books aloud to my class (which remained untouched at first), the kids were so enthralled with these children and adults that accomplished so much that I found them diving into the cob web infested book bin after I read this genre. It was great to get my kids away from typical fantasy books.

#3

Miller explains that you don’t have to read the entire book. She writes, “Frequently I read the first chapter, article, or poem from a book and place it on the whiteboard rail. The book rarely lasts until the end of the day before an eager reader claims it”.

#2
Why did I not think of this? I read articles online all the time, why not give students a chance to also?! 
Miller writes that she’s uses Wonderopolis, which offers video, nonfiction text, discussion questions, and vocabulary words relating to one engaging question everyday like, “Who is Uncle Sam”.
If you are looking to get your hands on more online non-fiction text. I came across this awesome iPad app called, “News-O-Matic“. It is the FIRST online daily newspaper for kids! They are exposed to the latest current events (kid friendly of course) AND given a choice at what they read! 
Check our their promo video:
Invite students to share their favorite read alouds 


When you have a guest teacher, leave a read-aloud different from the one you are already reading to the class. 


Participate in World Read Aloud Day 


Invite students to select your next read aloud


Post a list of texts you have shared. 
Miller suggests that you display a running lists of shared texts. 
Mhmm….I don’t think I have enough wall space for that to be beneficial. 

As students to sign their favorite read-aloud selections from the year. 
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea and will definitely do this next year! At the end of the year, ask your kids to vote for their favorite read aloud of the year. When a book has been chose, invite your kids to autograph the books end papers like a yearbook! You classroom leaves their legacy and you have a keepsake! 

Throughout the year I receive numerous free books from scholastic and when books come I either have a lot of children wanting to read the books, or none at all.

The every so creative Donalyn Miller has a remedy for that…Book Drawings.

In order to increase interest AND introduce new books, Miller presents each new book with a book commercial (this means that she gives a brief preview of the books content and her personal experience with the book along with connections to other books).

THEN, she asks her students to record the book Title on their, “Books to Read” list.
After that, they write their names and book title on 1/4 of an index card.
Miller draws names for who get the chance for the book next. The fact that it’s a drawing just entices more children to enter regardless of whether they wanted to read the book in the first place or not.

Miller compares it to economics. It has nothing to do with the book itself, what happens when the supply is low, demand goes UP! You are a smart woman 😉

In order to be fair Miller allocated some rules:
1. You must be present to win
2. You may not have more than one book from a drawing at a time.
3. You have one week to finish the book.
4. You must return books offered in drawings to Mrs. ______.

Did you know that Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Fahrenheit 451 have the SAME lexile?!
As a third grade teacher, I never would’ve guessed. 
When designing my classroom library, the thought of separating books by lexile crossed my mind. However, I felt like I was limiting my students to only certain areas of my gigantic library. Thus, secluding the strong from struggling readers to their individual islands. 
Miller discusses that those that rigorously enforce lexile levels (yes it does have its benefits), prevent children from reading books that aren’t their lexile level. 
Miller jokes that we might as well tattoo their lexile on their body to make library trips easier 😉 
I remember as a young reader devouring books that were “above level”, it wasn’t the level that influenced me…it was the content. We need to give our children a chance to pick their books independently. When she wrote this paragraph all I could think about was “OH EM GEE DAILY 5 iPICK!” 
Although we want students to be able to choose their books independently, it is normal for students to flock to their teacher for recommendations. We must be careful not to heavily influence their opinions too much and take away their ability to choose freely. 
Miller chooses a STACK (her picture showed 10) books for her students. They can choose one or reject them all. Her thought process is, “Even if they do not select books from the preview stacks…they practice previewing and evaluating books and build up their book knowledge. 
Here are some questions to ask your children as you are building a preview stack for them:

Student’s in Miller’s class have Reading notebooks, and in it they document every book they read. These reading lists in the beginning of the year serve as an accountability tool.

This would’ve been SO GREAT for me to be able to spot my children that were going to need that extra push and help to generate a love of books.

On this sheet title and author name are listed align with, genre, date start/finished, and star rating.

I created printables that correspond to Miller’s Wild Reading Handouts
Click {HERE}

Also, have you entered in the awesome giveaway celebrating Sarah fro FramptonsFundamentals?
Click the picture below to enter!

Thanks for stopping by! 

Amber

You Might Also Like

previous post
next post

4 Comment

  1. Reply
    4th Grade Racers
    July 3, 2014 at 3:52 pm

    Reading online stuck out to me too! This year my class read a lot on dogonews.com. It is all current events for kids. It was a great place for my students to start making connections on a broader scale.

  2. Reply
    Amber Calderon
    July 3, 2014 at 3:55 pm

    Hello Hello!

    That sounds awesome! I am so glad that you shared that website, I just wrote it down in my Summer Notes and I'm going to share it with my team! 🙂

    Amber

  3. Reply
    Chelsea
    July 3, 2014 at 5:08 pm

    We just received ipads at my school and I've been in need of some great apps. Thanks for sharing the app "News-O-Matic"! I can't wait to have my students use it in the classroom.
    Chelsea
    Fifth Grade Wit and
    Whimsy

  4. Reply
    Think, Wonder, and Teach
    July 4, 2014 at 1:35 am

    Thank you for the great list of websites!

    Misty
    Think, Wonder, & Teach

Leave a Reply