Reading Revealed: 50 Expert Teachers Share What They Do and Why They Do It~ Sneak Peek!

Diane Stephens, Jerome C. Harste, and Jean Anne Clyde joined forces, alongside a nifty fifty expert teachers, to write Reading Revealed: 50 Expert Teachers Share What They Do and Why They Do It. In the Introduction, Diane Stephens states, This book is based on the premise that no matter how long we have been teaching, no matter how good we are as teachers, we can always do a better job tomorrow than we did today (p.11). So true! As a Reading Specialist and Literacy Coach, I am always seeking manageable ways to continue learning, growing and improving as an educator in order to support student growth in all areas of literacy. 

If you were to peek into the Table of Contents, you'd notice four parts, Part I: Knowing Reading, Part II: Knowing Readers, Part III: Engaging Readers, and Part IV: Knowing the Language to Use, which include thirty eight *engagements*, or instruction and assessment actions to engage students in a variety of ways, such as Reading Interviews, Book Clubs, Strategy Sharing, Written Conversations, Class Journals, and more.

Each *engagement* provides a Why? (advantages), Who? (those who may benefit), How? (materials needed & step-by-step procedures), Closure/Stepping Back (conclusion), and How's It Going? Informal Assessment section to support educators in diving deeper into its implementation. Examples of student work, classroom vignettes, photographs, and more are also displayed throughout the pages. The *engagements* can be implemented straightaway because they are well organized and explicitly explained. 

Furthermore, the book provides readers with an online, password-protected site containing videos and downloadable resources that accompany the *engagements*. Below are images of what the site has to offer. 

For this post, I also wanted to highlight some quotes and tips taken directly from the book to give you better insight into Reading Revealed: 50 Expert Teachers Share What They Do and Why They Do It.

• The authors show the deep, intentional thinking that all students can engage in when their teachers understand that comprehension is the end-all and be-all of reading, and when they understand that reading must always make sense and sound like language (or it's not reading) (p.9).

• In the hands of expert, responsive teachers who have fingertip access to classroom and school libraries brimming with beautiful books that kids want to read- and who know reading, know their students, and know how to engage them- all children will discover the joy and power of reading (p.10).

• As you learn, share what you know and, as you bring the ideas of others into your classrooms, make your ideas become parts of other people's classrooms (p.18).

• Teachers who are kidwatchers understand their students as people, which makes it possible to plan more responsively, see more clearly, and appreciate students in ways that percentages and letter grades simply don't allow (p.30).

• It would be hard for students to learn that reading is about meaning-making if, in school, reading is about getting the words right (p.82).

• Independent reading works when we create a context in which the focus is on meaning, students are reading books they want to read and with which they feel successful, and students consider reading to be pleasurable (p.84).

• As students become more experienced in talking about books, you can help them develop and awareness of the power of conversation by asking, "What did you learn about reading and what readers do from talking about books?" (p.135).

• We strongly believe that teachers need to know kids and get kids engaged with books- two responsibilities that work hand-in-hand (p.224). 

• We learn the most about kids when they are engaged (p.224).

• No matter the size of the group, we need to get to know our students and identify their strengths and needs (p.224).

Thanks for taking a sneak peek. Leave a thoughtful comment for a chance to win a copy of the book for yourself!  :)