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Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina, and Passion in Adolescent Readers
Book Love: Developing Depth, Stamina, and Passion in Adolescent Readers | Penny Kittle
22 posts | 13 read | 6 to read
"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 Penny Kittle wants us to face the hard truths every English teacher fears: too many kids don't read the assigned texts, and some even manage to slip by without having ever read a single book by the time they graduate. As middle and high school reading declines, college professors lament students' inability to comprehend and analyze complex texts, while the rest of us wonder: what do we lose as a society when so many of our high school graduates have no interest in reading anything? In Book Love Penny takes student apathy head on, first by recognizing why students don't read and then showing us that when we give kids books that are right for them, along with time to read and regular response to their thinking, we can create a pathway to satisfying reading that leads to more challenging literature and ultimately, a love of reading. With a clear eye on the reality of today's classrooms, Penny provides practical strategies and advice on: increasing volume, capacity, and complexity over time creating a balance of independent reading, text study, and novel study helping students deepen their thinking through writing about reading building a classroom library with themes that matter to 21st century kids. Book Love is a call to arms for putting every single kid, no exceptions allowed, on a personal reading journey. But much more than that, it's a powerful reminder of why we became English teachers in the first place: our passion for books. Books matter. Stories heal. The right book in the hands of a kid can change a life forever. We can't wait for anyone else to teach our students a love of books-it's up to us and the time is now. If not you, who? For information about the Book Love Foundation, which provides classroom libraries to deserving teachers and schools, visit booklovefoundation.org.
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bibliobard
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I thought you all might appreciate this. My students read for 10-15 minutes almost every day. Class sizes (26, 19, & 14 students) and reading ability varies. I have two girls who average about 300-400 pages per week. But all of these numbers are impressive and I am going to challenge them to go for triple or even quintuple these amounts! #teachersoflitsy

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bibliobard
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Not only did this book come in the mail (I now own three Kittle books), but I made one epic book haul at the CALS book sale. My excuse is that most of these aren‘t even for me, they are for my classroom library. #bookhaul #ilikebigbooksandicannotlie #teacher

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SarahBradley
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CoffeeNBooks
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Oh my goodness Jessica @Lovesbooks87!!! I am totally blown away by your generosity!! My students are going to be so excited to see all of these new books on Monday! I can't thank you enough!! And thanks for the m&ms for me! 😁#englishteacher #librarylove #booklove #teachersoflitsy

Lovesbooks87 Yay! I am so glad that they made it to you! I hope they enjoy them as much as I did and I wanted to throw in some goodies for you too as well! 6y
Joy0201 That is awesome! 6y
JoScho @Lovesbooks87 you are awesome! 6y
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LiteraryinPA @Lovesbooks87 What a wonderful thing to do! 6y
cassandraolea422 That is awesome! 6y
Velvetfur Wow! 6y
CoffeeNBooks @Lovesbooks87 There should be 2 packages from me that were delivered today. Enjoy! 📚 6y
Lovesbooks87 @CoffeeNBooks I just got them. Thanks so much! You didn't have to send me anything. I just love knowing that when I am done with the books and send them to you that they are being enjoyed again! 6y
CoffeeNBooks @Lovesbooks87 I know- but I enjoy picking a few books from your TBR list and then also sending a little something extra so you can pick out something else you want. I truly appreciate the books you send- your thoughtfulness is much, much appreciated!!! My students are checking those books out and reading them! 📚 6y
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CoffeeNBooks
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@Lovesbooks87 Some of your donated books are on display in my classroom!! My students loved hearing the blurbs on the backs of the books today, and some of the books already got checked out! 📚 After I put the rest of your books on the bookshelf, I ran out of space, so my principal is getting me another bookshelf! #ya #booklove #librarylove #englishteacher #teachersoflitsy

Lovesbooks87 Yay! This makes my book loving heart so happy! 💜📚💜📚💜📚 6y
gibblr That's awesome. I used to love adding books to my classroom library. What grade do you teach? 6y
JoScho So awesome! 6y
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CoffeeNBooks @gibblr I teach 12th grade English and AP Literature. What grade do you teach? 6y
AmyG Wow. I‘d have a fied day if I were in your class. (edited) 6y
Erofan 😍 6y
gibblr None anymore 😕 but for English I have taught PK, 6-8, 11-12. 6y
UCLAoso What a great classroom! 6y
tracey38 Loving this!!! 6y
103 likes10 comments
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ness
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Pickpick

This was an interesting one. I liked a lot of what Kittle had to say—and it was great to see pragmatic advice—but some of it was not great. Not all kids can read silently (hi, ADD brain). Screen reading is reading. Literature™️ is not inherently better than genre books. Telling nonreaders they haven‘t found the right book can be condescending and discouraging (despite our intentions). But overall it was good.

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ness
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Diving back into literacy class reading.

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CoffeeNBooks
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Successful 1st week of school! I spent waaay too much💲adding books to my classroom library this summer, but I'm so glad I did. I've had several students borrow books already. I thought maybe I'd be done buying books when school started, but this year's students like to read so much, they've asked me to buy specific books they want to read that the school library doesn't have. Now I have a great reason to buy more books, lol! 📚 #englishteacher

CoffeeK8 Great shelves & display 6y
Lovesbooks87 That's amazing! The kids are so lucky to have an amazing teacher! 6y
MicrobeMom Looks great! I wish I had a teacher like you when K was young! 6y
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Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick If you're in the US, and don't mind sharing the wish list, I'll check for good copies at a couple of local thrift stores. If they have them, I'll donate them to your class room. 6y
Andrew65 What a great job you are doing. 🙌 6y
LittlePixels I can't see well enough to tell what grade level these are for, but did you see Scholastic is having their "50 books for $50" sale for educators again? My kiddo has outgrown them, but we did it a few years ago. What a great deal! 6y
Ash.on.the.line This is so awesome! I wish I had teachers that did this when I was in school! 💜👏🏼 You‘re a great teacher! 6y
ReadZenRites That looks like a terrific library! What a fun start to a new year!😊💕 6y
CoffeeNBooks @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick That's so kind! Thank you!! The books they've requested are: the Delerium Trilogy by Lauren Oliver (Delerium, Pandemonium, Requiem), the Matched Trilogy by Ally Condie (Matched, Crossed, Reached), the Crank Series by Ellen Hopkins (Crank, Glass, Burned, Identical, Impulse, Tricks), and The Princess Diary series by Meg Cabot. 6y
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick I'll let you know how I make out at the stores amid follow up. 6y
CoffeeNBooks @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick Thank you! 📚🍎📓 6y
Leftcoastzen Wow , that is wonderful, I feel bad for your budget but do admire your generosity and commitment to the education of your students. 6y
tracey38 This is wonderful! 💕 6y
Crewgurl That‘s awesome that you do that for them!!!! 6y
Joy0201 Book Love is a great book. I started implementing SSR of choice every day in my 12th English classes last year. Doing it again this year. I love it! (edited) 6y
CoffeeNBooks @Joy0201 I love Penny Kittle! How long are your class periods? I have 45 minutes, which never seems long enough to include SSR, so I take my students to the school library one day a week for SSR for the entire class period. Our school librarian sometimes does book talks for the first few minutes. 6y
Joy0201 @CoffeeNBooks ours are 45 minutes too. I just made it work. I was always behind everyone else on my team, but I made it work. 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks That‘s awesome! What grade do you teach? 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @CoffeeNBooks I‘ll be on the lookout for these!! 6y
CoffeeNBooks @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thanks! I teach 12th grade. 6y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @CoffeeNBooks I think you‘ve told me, but I forgot!!! 🤦🏼‍♀️ 6y
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick @CoffeeNBooks I was able to find 2 Ally Condie books (Matched & Crossed) and 3 Ellen Hopkins (Crank, Identical, & Impulse). I wish I was able to find a complete series but no luck. Email me at KellySchnorrbusch (at) gmail.com and let me know where to send them. 6y
CoffeeNBooks @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick Thank you so much!! I just emailed you. 6y
128 likes24 comments
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CoffeeNBooks
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Yay! More of the classroom library books I ordered got here today! Whiskers (who is usually too shy for pictures) wanted to be in this one. 🙀 #ya #librarylove #booklove #englishteacher #teachersoflitsy #catsoflitsy

vkois88 LOVE Eleanor & Park and Aristotle & Dante!!! 6y
rubyslippersreads 😻😻😻 6y
CoffeeNBooks Those were two that I read and couldn't wait to buy for my classroom! 6y
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Leftcoastzen Awwww! 😻😻 6y
AJones He/She likes the smell of books too! 😺💙📚 6y
CoffeeNBooks @AJones Yes he does! 6y
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CoffeeNBooks
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Yay! More of the classroom library books I ordered got here today! Smoky approves of all of them. 😸 #ya #librarylove #booklove #englishteacher #teachersoflitsy #catsoflitsy

elizabethlk I read American Street last year, and it is a great choice for a classroom library! 6y
CoffeeNBooks @elizabethlk Yes! I thought it was a great book. I'm going to use excerpts of it to teach from, also. 6y
jmtrivera I'm in the middle of Ghost right now and it's so good! Seriously considering it for my own classroom library. 6y
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CoffeeNBooks @jmtrivera I haven't read that one yet, but it's highly recommended, as are all of Jason Reynolds' books. I'm hoping to read it before school starts, but if not, I'll borrow it from my classroom library. 😃 6y
jmtrivera @CoffeeNBooks I started it this morning and I'm already 60% through it! It's quick and super readable. 6y
CoffeeNBooks @jmtrivera I might get to it soon, then! 6y
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CoffeeNBooks
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I bought several new books for my classroom library, and some of them got here today!! #ya #librarylove #booklove #englishteacher #teachersoflitsy

AngelHelen Lucky pupils! I always used to spend a fortune on books for my classes! Xx 6y
Bookwomble As a British person, I'm bemused at the thought of teachers in the USA having to pay themselves for the educational materials to stock their classrooms. Is this for real, or have I misunderstood? 6y
Tomigirl44 @Bookwomble Sadly it truly is for real - teachers routinely buy their own supplies and books for their classrooms 6y
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APLitlife Where did you buy? 6y
Bookwomble @Tomigirl44 I'm really floored! I can't even begin to understand the rationale or mindset of a First World country that so undervalues both the teacher and the pupil. Do construction workers have to supply the bricks for the buildings they work on? 🤯 6y
CoffeeNBooks @APLitlife I usually order from Amazon- used if I can. Surprisingly, these hardcovers were less expensive than the paperbacks. I checked several other book websites, but Amazon had the best prices. And I have prime, so most had free shipping. 6y
CoffeeNBooks @AngelHelen Yep! I don't mind buying books, because at least they'll last for more than 1 school year. I add as much as I can to my classroom library every year. 6y
Kayleigh12 @Bookwomble sorry for butting in but I‘m a teacher in England and everything in my classroom I have paid for out of my own pocket due to funding. It is not only in the US 6y
Bookwomble @Kayleigh12 Good grief! I'm truly shocked! I'm not asking what school you're at, Kayleigh, but wondering what general part of the country you're in and what age range of children you teach? 6y
Kayleigh12 @Bookwomble I teach 16-18 year olds in the north east. We hardly get any funding in FE anymore. It‘s sad really but I don‘t mind having to buy stuff. If my students will benefit it I‘m happy to buy it but I know not all teachers are able to do the same. 6y
Bookwomble @Kayleigh12 I guess this is what nearly 40 years of neoliberal government brings us to 😕 I think your dedication is wonderful and your pupils are blessed to have to as a teacher 💗 That's for you, too, @CoffeeNBooks - I'm sorry I've hijacked your happy thread with my pessimistic astonishment 💗 6y
Kayleigh12 @Bookwomble thank you so much for saying that. I, and I know many others, just give whatever we can for them. 6y
CoffeeNBooks @Bookwomble Lol, you're fine. I've been curiously reading all of the responses. 🙂 Teaching is truly something you do because you absolutely love it, regardless of the financial strain and purchasing of classroom supplies. I'm fortunate enough to not have to get a second job in the summer, although I know many teachers who do to make ends meet. 6y
Bookwomble Dedication to a vocation does seem to leave one open to exploration. As a society, we pay the most to those who seem to deserve it least. Best for me to leave it there as I'm winding myself up before bedtime! 😀 6y
ephemeralwaltz Your students are very lucky! 6y
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APLitlife
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What my Sophomores have read so far with SSR. #teachersoflitsy

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GatheringBooks
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Pickpick

So. The Straits Times (leading newspaper here in Singapore) was just in my home to take a photo for a feature they are doing on my research and higher degree course. Of course I did not dress up like this (hehe), so this was taken a few days back.

BarbaraBB Wow. How many books do you have?! 7y
julesG Impressive personal library! 7y
Chachic It's like a warehouse of books! 7y
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emilyhaldi 😱 7y
GatheringBooks @BarbaraBB definitely not enough - still building this personal library hehehe 7y
GatheringBooks @julesG awww. thank you! 7y
GatheringBooks @Chachic gawa ni tatay the bookshelves para customized hehehe 7y
GatheringBooks @emilyhaldi 😍😇💕 7y
BarbaraBB Obviously 😂 7y
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MaleficentBookDragon
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Another pile to #unhaul #donate #purge or #readitforward
I would love to book swap, but that defeats the purpose. I have a problem. 🙂

rubyslippersreads Don't we all? 😄 7y
tpixie I just bought some stickers and ribbons to set my books free in the wild! http://ibelieveinbookfairies.com/ 7y
MaleficentBookDragon @tpixie I have done BookCrossing. I'll probably take these to the coffee shop and set them free. http://www.bookcrossing.com/ 7y
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MaleficentBookDragon @tpixie I couldn't resist. I just ordered some Book Fairy stickers. 7y
tpixie @MaleficentBookDragon 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻💚💚💚 i'm going to wrap a couple mine up today and send them off into the wildwhen I take the dogs for a walk in a nature center!! 7y
tpixie @MaleficentBookDragon yes! I've done bookcrossing too ! The fairies reminds me of that! I've also just put my own stickers on books reading 'take me home and read me'! 7y
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cathysaid
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❤️

LeahBergen Love this. ❤️ 8y
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NikkiSmith
Pickpick

Must re-read this every year before school starts.

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NikkiSmith
Pickpick

Must re-read this every year before school starts.

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Vanessa
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Finally got around to printing a BOTNS bingo card! Since there are like 17 people on this cover, I think I'm good. 😜

NatalieR Awesome! I'm doing the BOTNS book bingo too! 8y
Vanessa Usually takes me all year to get bingo 😆 @NatalieR 8y
NatalieR Yeah, me too. I'm still working on last year's card...trying to read all the books that fit my squares. 😅 8y
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Vanessa
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"A book isn't rigorous if students aren't reading it. Every student must become a reader who *can* read Jane Austen. How? We start where they are."

ReadingEnvy Scaffolding! (When you build to reach your reader and help them climb on their own.) 8y
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cristij78
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📖📓❤️