We are Changed Because of Our Daily Stories

Today was our 40th day of school.  After lunch, I read aloud our 40th picture book of the year. During that read aloud, it dawned on me that we were having natural conversation about the book during reading. I didn’t plan it out, prepare questions, or come in with learning targets or goals. I didn’t even ask my students to stop and jot, turn and talk, or to raise their hands. I simply started reading a wonderful book, and the rest took care of itself. But, this certainly didn’t happen overnight.

When you read a book aloud every single day with your class, this is what happens. A community of readers is fostered and continues to grow. When you take the time to seek out books for students to see themselves and then see others they may not meet in their daily lives, a community of thoughtful, kind, young citizens flourishes!

When I think about the simple things in my classroom that created our community of readers, I have to say there really is not one exact thing, but all other things are supported by the fact that we take the time to share a story together every single day. We do this no matter what- no matter the interruption, assembly, unexpected emergency drill, you name it. We read aloud every single day.

In today’s story, we looked out the metaphorical window into someone else’s life. We learned how stories shaped her life. We related to her through the power of books, love, and recognizing that we are all human beings who come from somewhere else with stories to share. We developed a bit of empathy for others in our community and around the country. It was beautiful.

Our community of readers was created because…

We shared stories… everyday.

We ditched the reading log and worksheets.

We started conversations.

We recommended impactful stories to each other.

We wrote our own stories.

We created meaning together.

We laughed together,

teared up together,

and even questioned together.

We shared stories… everyday.

Thank you to Jillian Heise, Donalyn Miller, and my 5th grade colleague Jennifer Ford for the inspiration to share stories everyday.  Thank you to Yuyi Morales for sharing your story with us today in my 5th grade classroom. We are different people because of your story.

Friends, I encourage you to share stories with your classes and families as well. It changes everything. 

Our stories so far this school year…

My first book for teachers, To Know and Nurture a Reader: Conferring with Confidence and Joy, cowritten with Kari Yates, is now out and available from Stenhouse Publishers. Our goal with this book was to help teachers make the important practice of conferring with readers manageable, effective, and joyful!