What Are You Reading: April 2015

One. Barb recently finished listening to I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. Amidst plenty of YA-style drama, Nelson uses some amazingly beautiful language to describe the relationship between twins, Noah and Jude. I'll Give You the Sun would appeal to high school students, especially those struggling with sibling relationships and sexuality. The book is set in contemporary California, and both main characters are artists.

Two. Lisa, Andrea, and Barb recently read Professional Capital: Transforming Teaching in Every School by Andy Hargeaves and Michael Fullan. The authors describe their work as being "about a collective transformation of public education achieved by all teachers and leaders in every school." Hargreaves and Fullan believe in the power of educator expertise to transform learning for every student, writing, ". . . transforming our public school system isn't magic: It comes from supporting all educators to 'teach like a pro.'"

Three. Barb also read Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. Barb explains, "My favorite kind of fiction is a book with many perspectives about the same situation that all come together in the end. This quick novel did just that. Set in the 1970s, Everything I Never Told You, explains the events leading up to the death of a Chinese-American teenager. It delves into the secrets of families, feminism, and pressures faced by immigrants."

Four. At the recommendation of Donalyn Miller, Heather just started The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. Heather says, "The story is about a gorilla who lives in a cage at a mall.  I just started the book, so I do not more much more than that yet."

Five. Heather is also reading Better Learning Through Structured Teaching, 2nd Ed. by Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey. Heather writes, "Fisher and Frey discuss the framework for the gradual release of responsibility.  Our district is focusing on GRR this year and I especially wanted to see what they they said about collaborative learning and homework."

Six. Jaimie is reading Linda Dorn and Carla Soffos's Teaching for Deep Comprehension.

Jaimie says, "I just started reading Linda Dorn’s,  Teaching for Deep Comprehension.  I picked up this book after attending the Waukesha School District presentation at WSRA on how they are using Linda Dorn’s Comprehensive Literacy Model.  I am most interested in the use of 'Thoughtful Logs.'"

Seven. Carrie is reading a blog! She says, "Recently, I've been reading a blog resource focusing on close reading by author Christopher Lehman (Falling in Love with Close Reading). The blog is a compilation of close reading resources. This discovery is thanks to a WSRA tweet!!"

Eight. Julie is reading In Defense of the Read-Aloud by Steven Layne. Julie writes, "This book reinforces readers’ confidence to continue the practice of reading aloud and presents research to defend the practice in grades K-12."

What are you reading? Use the comments to join the conversation.