Bookin'!

What a crazy week for school and reading!

We had TWO days off this week - Monday was planned (President's Day), but Thursday was wicked cold! What a great day to stay inside and finish Mindset, while beginning Noggin by John Corey Whaley. I had received my next professional book (gratis) in my school mailbox Wednesday, and I really wanted to finish it, but I had to finish Mindset first. It was grueling for a couple of chapters, but then there was a chapter on parents, teachers, and coaches, so I did get something out of it. My notes from Mindset are on this Google Doc. Noggin is a young adult science fiction book - not a lot of science fiction, really, but his head WAS frozen and brought back five years later...

Here is my updated spreadsheet, as well - an average of 66.7 minutes per day this week, and it's only Sunday afternoon as I write this! (Meaning - I have much more time to read today...) I can attribute this high average to two extra days of no school!

Nonfiction is much harder...

I've switched gears this week. Once I finished Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay (WOW - I LOVED IT! My review is here...), it was time for Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck. This one's been on the list for awhile, and it finally came in at the local library.

Notice the bookmark is flip flops... I needed something to help me stay warm!

This book is a thinker... And I really have no motivation to get to the end of it, because each chapter is a different type of situation. For example, there is a chapter on sports and another on business, and they go so slowly for me. So... this book might last awhile. I might need a fiction book in the middle of this one to help me feel successful, even though my average is still good! This past week I'm at 28.7 minutes a day... I'll still call it a successful week, but I'd better keep it up!

I Think I Can, I Think I Can...

I shared my results of the first week with students. Again - SHARING is KEY. Why don't I allow more time for this in class? I shared, and although I didn't read for one day last week, Michael figured out my average time each day. It came to 33 minutes a day. I can handle that. I'll keep it up - I wonder if it will change when I finish this book - I have 60 pages left...

Can I Do What I Ask of Students? Week 1...

I ask my students to read 20 minutes a night. Not too tough. They've got lives, I know, but so do I. Sometimes reading gets put on the back burner. There are days, however, when they can make up that 20 minutes, if they missed a night (or two). I read a TON. It was time for me to make sure I actually DO read 20 minutes a night!!

Tuesday, February 3rd - I began this documentation. I'd just finished The 20time Project by Kevin Brookhouser. Time to grab something that's fiction - Kevin gave me too many ideas about Genius Hour that are churning through my head! Picked up Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay - historical fiction. I was heading to bed, and brought it with me. Thirty pages later, and it took me 28 minutes. Goal accomplished! I'm so glad Mrs. J. donated this book to our classroom library!

I decided to not write about my reading EVERY night. Instead, I created this...

spreadsheet

I'll be using this spreadsheet to collect my data. This week, I've been totally enjoying Sarah's Key, because the only thing extra I've done to keep data is put a sticky note in the book and jot down times, pages, and dates. Easy-peasy, and it still lets me enjoy reading, instead of making it a chore because of this experiment.

My current book, along with the sticky note I'm ready to replace.