Creating Readers - Must Read Article

Teacher Donalyn Miller prides herself on turning her students into readers who devour an average of 50 to 60 books a year. In the first-part of a three-part series, she offers her secrets. Here is an excerpt.

How do you find the right books for your students?
As for finding the right books, I read tons of children's literature and am familiar with most of the big name authors. I can usually read one or two children's books a week and still have a life! This provides me with a large pool of books that I can recommend to students. Often if I have not read a certain book, I have at least read something by the same author.

Please give us a list of the top 5 things that you do to inspire children to read.

1. Assume all children are readers and that they can be successful as readers from the first day.
2. I share my personal love of reading, model my reading, and talk about the books.
3. Choice is a powerful motivator for students! Although I do have genre requirements for the reading in my class, students get to choose which books they would like to read in order to meet these requirements.
4. In addition to regular readers' workshop time, I give students time to read their independent books in class.
5. When students come into to my room, they know that they have to get out their books and read until I start the instruction for the day.

Read the entire article, entitled Creating Readers: Part I, for even more inspiration. I can't wait to read the next two installments.