Affiliate links may be present throughout this post to fund future book purchases. I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my own opinions.
When Scholastic contacted me to review a copy of Donalyn Miller and Colby Sharp's newest book Game Changer! Book Access for All Kids, I knew it would be an amazing read and resource, especially for my school. I loved it so much, I couldn't put it down!
The authors work together to weave ideas on how to get students more interested in reading in and out of school. The 10 chapters break it down in ways that are easy for teachers to understand and implement.
They begin the book by reminding us to have plenty of books in our classroom and libraries. And not just books, but books that are current and relevant for our students. Just because we have a lot of books in our classrooms doesn't mean our students will read all of them. We have to have books that students WANT to and can read. They remind of us of that throughout the book.
I teach in a high poverty school, which means our students live daily in a book desert. They rarely have any books in their homes they can read, yet they are required to read each and every night. While reading this book, I was constantly shown easy and simple ways we, as teachers, can make sure that every child has books to read each night and not spend a ton of money.
More than anything, we need to make sure our students have access to books they can and will read. The practical ideas in the book make it easy for us to do just that.
And they have some of their friends who are teachers, librarians, and administrators share those means for getting quality books into the hands of our students. They remind us that we can make it easy for every child to have access to awesome books all the time!
Setting up your classroom library should be feasible for students. Remember to use what works best for you, but don't level your students out of books. I see it way too often, and this is a reminder that really hit home for me. I wrote this post last year about how leveling students harms students.
Along with the book, you get online resources which include videos, other authors' views, and printable resources. The videos of Donalyn and Colby are fun and engaging as they tell more about different parts of each chapter. They help teachers better understand how they can make everything work out for their students to have access to books all the time.
My New Year's Resolution is to make sure that our low poverty students have access to books all the time in various ways. Not all of the ways in the book will help my students, but many of them will. I love this book so much that I plan to share it with my colleagues in any way possible. We are going to change our school and make sure our students have book access all the time, one step at a time!
You can purchase it from Scholastic {here} or Amazon through my affiliate link {here}.
Here's to an amazing 2019!
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I have seen this book before, but never really looked at it. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on it, because now I’m really excited to add it to my library!
ReplyDeleteYou will love it! It's such an easy read with so many simple ways to help your students want to read and love it! Good luck!
DeleteAndrea
I read out loud at least once a day, and I read with a lot of expression so that the kids want to listen.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to help students improve reading comprehension and learn so many important literacy skills! Your students are lucky to have you!
DeleteAndrea
I have a wonderful classroom library with a wide range of interests and levels and give my students time every day to read whatever they want.
ReplyDeleteWhat lucky students! They will learn so much more from that than any test prep book!
DeleteAndrea
I love the interactive read aloud component and so do my kids. It really deepens their thinking and allows for great conversation where students can show they are comprehending what they are reading. It also increases book joy which is a big part of kids learning to read. Classrooms must have books available that the kids CAN read and WANT to read!!!!
ReplyDeleteI started following Colby Sharp and Jillian Heise (classroom book a day) on twitter last year so started many of the ideas at the beginning of the year. It worked well since my professional growth plan this year is Building A Culture of Literacy. I ordered the book and my head was filled with even more wonderful ideas from Colby & Donalyn that will enhance my plan.
ReplyDelete