This is the presentation Lindsay Grady, Amanda Canterbury, and I presented at the Fenton High School/Grand Blanc High School/Flushing High School 2015 summit.

1. How to Build a Community of
Readers in a High
School Classroom
Sarah Andersen
Email: sandersen@fentonschools.org
Twitter: @yaloveblog
Amanda Canterbury
Email: amanda.canterbury@flushingschools.org
Twitter: @am_canterbury
Lindsay Grady
Email: lgrady@fentonschools.org
Twitter: @lmgrady

2. Why??
“I believe each of my students must
craft an individual reading life of
challenge, whim, curiosity, and hunger,
and I’ve discovered that it is not too late
in high school to lead a non-reader to
reading. It’s never too late.”
~Penny Kittle, Book Love, 2013

3. Points of Discussion
Read Aloud
Book Talk
Book Pass
Independent Reading Project
Silent Sustained Reading (SSR)
LT: Implement strategies that will build a community of readers

4. Read Aloud
★ A high interest, no stakes reading
experience
★ A dedicated reading time(8-10
minutes)most class periods
★ Wonder, Boy 21, The Giver, Stolen
★ The landmark report, Becoming a Nation of
Readers,primarily recommends that the
practice of reading aloud should continue
throughout the grades. http://www.trelease-on-reading.com

5. Book Talk
★ Teacher/student shares a recommended
title and a brief summary of the book
★ Can take place at regular intervals
throughout the school year
★ Every Day, Liars, Inc., Dead to You,
Before I Fall
★“The positive outgrowth of book talks is
that my students read because they want
to, not because I ask them to.”
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/strategies-reading-success-rah-rah-reading

6. Book Pass
★ A way in which students familiarize
themselves with available books
★ Each student samples a book for 3-5
minutes and passes it to the next person
★ A book pass will be demonstrated in part
2 of this session
★ “I just wanted to say a quick thank you
for the books you shared with us in
class. They were important to me and I
thought you should know that.” scholar.lib.vt.edu

7. Independent Reading Project
★ Culminating choice project created by
students that showcases their reading
experience
★ Poster, book trailer, art work, book
review, poetry, musical piece, soundtrack
★“Authentic interest is generated when
students are given the opportunity to
delve deeply into an interesting idea.”
~Kelly Gallagher, Readicide: How Schools are Killing Reading and What you Can Do About It

8. Ind. Reading Project Examples

9. Silent Sustained Reading
★ Recreational reading time where students
read silently in a designated time
period, daily.
★ Times vary based on class schedule
★ Winger, Eleanor & Park, Elsewhere,
Unwind, All the Rage
★ “...the best way to develop reading
ability is to provide abundant
opportunity for experiencing reading.”
~Richard Allington, If They Don't Read Much, 1977

10. Book Displays & More

11. Books Displays & More cont.

13. Closing Thoughts
“I cannot expect all students to love
reading, but I can help them hate it less.”
~Pernille Ripp, creator of the Global Read
Aloud

14. Helpful Resources
★ Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of
the NCTE (ALAN)
★ Read aloud recommendations
★ Class library book recommendations
★ Recommended Graphic Novels
★ Book Trailers
★ Penny Kittle’s Book Love Grant

15. THANK YOU!
★Little, Brown & Co.
★HarperCollins
★St. Martin’s Griffin
★Candlewick Press