1. Welcome…
Walk with a Champion

2. Who is Mrs. Smith?
Teacher
Student
Teaching Consultant
Mom

3. “Reading changes your life
“Reading changes your life. Reading unlocks worlds unknown or forgotten, taking travelers around the world and through time. Reading helps you escape the confines of school and pursue your own education. Through characters- the saints and sinners, real or imagined- reading shows you how to be a better human being”
(Miller, 2009, p.18).

4. Allowing students time to read in school increases their motivation to read as well as their interests in reading (Miller, 2009, pp. 3-4).
Miller, D. (2009). The book whisperer: Awakening the inner reader in every child. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

5. Independent Reading & Response
Each class period begins with 15 minutes of independent reading… Students read self-selected books followed by responding and sharing. While students are reading, I am reading or conferencing.
My classroom library has over a thousand titles, and one of my greatest joys is connecting the students to books that are perfect for them.

6. Got books? I’ll gladly accept donations of any kind of books.
Have books packed up for GoodWill? I’ll take ‘em. If they are inappropriate for the classroom, I can trade them in for ones that work!

7. Teen Read Week Activities
Students created bulletin board: my favorite part is they were very intentional with the titles they selected for the board.
Prize patrol (Think Publisher’s Clearinghouse)– Students entered the reading sweepstakes committing to read each evening. They wrote the title of a book they hoped to win on the entry form. Three students were drawn. Teachers and administrators arrived at the winners’ home with a bouquets of balloons, two-liter sodas, and their books!
Door competition honoring a book. My students are posed with their favorite reads.

8. Southeastern Young Adult Book Fest
CJ Redwine
Linda Sue Park
Gwenda Bond ,Alan Gratz, Carrie Ryan

9. Words from the students:
1.   Reading at the beginning of class is imperative because it allows students to enjoy something of their taste before they have to work.  Writing and talking about what we read inspires others to read more and different books.  It also widens our vocabulary and imagination.
2.   I think independent reading helps me read and get interested in books because I have 15 minutes to get hooked in a book.  It also helps me understand harder books that I couldn’t read before.
   
3.   Independent reading is worth every minute of it.  It allows you to improve comprehension and can give various vocabulary in the texts.  Sometimes, they open your mind to possibilities.
4.   I think that reading in the morning is helpful because it made me realize how much I like reading.  In some of my books, I learn new vocab. That I can later use in writing to get better grades.  Reading in the morning also helps me with comprehension which helps with other things in class.
5.   Enjoyment and fun:  How do you expect to incorporate this in a normal school day?  Every day in reading, many find the beginning of class to be most effective.  Why?  Because every day we start by we reading. Reading is a safe haven, a place to escape the real world and climb into a new one.  I love that many students enjoy the world they read and have fun connections.
6.   The reason it is good for you is because it helps you in comprehension.  I used to hate reading until I started reading books I want in class every morning.  Now, I love to read.  Reading is good for you!
7.  I think independent reading is a great thing to do, and it helps me with my fluency and comprehension.  It also helps me understand other things.  Some books I read talk about real world problems, and they give me advice on how to solve them.   
8.   Fifteen minutes of independent reading is important because not only does it improve your reading skills, but it is fun and entertaining.  Reading can make you see things in a different way and make you feel like you’re in your character’s shoes.  In the end, independent reading affects a lot of things such as:  grades, attitude, and point of view.

10. My 1st period read 97,144 pages independently
My 1st period read 97,144 pages independently. Most of these students were identified for Tier II RTI.
The lowest number read was 1034 by a young man who spent quite some time with Eragon, but I think this is an increase for him from previous years.
At the beginning of the year, I challenged my students to read at least 40 books (at least 100 pages each). The average number of pages read by my students is over 5000!

11. I encourage my students to read with writers’ eyes and to write with readers’ eyes. Reading with writers’ eyes leads the students to think critically about what they’re reading. When students write with the reader in mind, they are encouraged to consider their words and audience which motivates them to take ownership of their work. I strive to plan authentic writing experiences for my students. My goal is to have them see that our work in school matters that when they can read, write, and express their ideas or seek answers to burning questions- they have a power that no one can take away.

12. Research Project Information
Inquiry is at the heart of learning in all subject areas.
Harvey Smokey Daniels

13. This research, What is the correlation between student behavior and school achievement scores, was conducted by a student who believed her future career would be in counseling.
This project was inspired after the student read about the silent flight of owls. He hypothesized that is propellers were notched to resemble owl feathers then they would be quieter.

14. What about:
Grades
Homework
Communication

15. Questions?