Grand Opening! Celebrate and Collaborate Book Discussion Groups

    I felt like I really wanted to remember the day we had our first book discussion group. I just felt like Alicia and I were on the verge of something: BIG. (If you know me well, you know I always feel like I am on the verge of something BIG). However the first day of our book discussion group was very special. Any time you have several Literacy Nerds...umm, I mean Literacy Divas ... in a room discussing reading and what is best for kids, you know it's going to be lively.
    Alicia and I birthed the idea for these book discussion groups out of dire need to be together. We had spent the past year working in separate districts, after 4 years of sharing a classroom (and a brain) teaching Team 2nd. We missed our long talks over lunch about how to make our teaching more effective. We missed celebrating even the tiniest whisper of success we had seen in our students. We missed grabbing hold of a book we had heard about and chewing on it for a bit...then, discussing...then, chewing a bit more. We missed that accountability that you have when you work two feet from your co-teacher.  We figured there were other teachers on the planet besides us longing to have their 'over the top' passion about literacy and education matched and stretched, too. Out of this necessity, Celebrate and Collaborate Book Discussion Groups were born.
      One of the beautiful parts of this first group is that attendance was not compulsory. No one was forced to attend these meetings. There was no contract or commitment. Educators just came of their "own free will". That felt a little reckless..almost rebellious, but that is how this group of wildly passionate literacy fanatics rolls. We were teachers from various backgrounds, years of experience, and training. We had taught in a variety of schools and districts, with various differences in expectations, materials, and we taught diverse students. (In case you are wondering about those who could not attend, many were at, you guessed it: Staff Development).
    A few thoughts from our group about the books we are discussing

   1) The Next Step in Guided Reading by Jan Richardson  pp. 1-46
*SO user friendly
*We love how the philosophy/work of Marie Clay and Reading Recovery are echoed in this revamped/extended way to look at Guided Reading
*Richardson presents a more individualized way to look at Guided Reading
*The reading/ writing connection/reciprocity is finally part of Guided Reading
*The book is explicit and even answers teachers' FAQs
*The Next Step  gives choice--can be integrated with work stations/literacy stations/The Daily Five, etc. --a big win with our teachers across districts

 2) The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller (The first chapters)
* Miller captivated us
*The book was full of invitations to students to read
* Some had ideas about how to integrate this into a technology rich classroom
* We love the integration of student interest surveys (Surveys are Alicia and Heather's favorites)

* None of us can wait to read more--to see the nuts and bolts of setting this beautiful thing in motion

What do you have to say about the first sections of these amazing books? We would love for you to share!

 Can't wait for our next meeting June 30th!  

Happy reading!  As you will learn , I am not short on words or passion!

Heather