Conferring

I thought Ripp's post was very helpful and I appreciated her links to the files. I had two thoughts. First, my negative thought, which is, what to do with the bad attitude students who refuse to do any work, let alone read a book. I know they are out there and my mind always goes to them. Is it possible that the conferring and the wonderful book suggestions just suck them all in and they become voracious readers? I have no experience with this so I don't know. I just observe these students and hear teachers tell about them. I know that building personal relationships with students is the first step to success. I just wonder what happens when a teacher hits a seemingly immovable wall with a student. It worries me.

One thought I had about adapting Ripp's suggestions with middle school students is that from my experience students this age love to share the books they enjoy with others. I feel like the conferring sheet could be adapted to a sheet that could be made public if a student chooses. The sheet shows the reader's progress, what skills they worked on, and how they ranked the book from beginning to end. This information is rarely shared in a book promo. I wonder if being able to relate to a book's readers would add another enticement for a student to choose the book. 

My Space

My favorite place to read is in a hammock under the trees in my backyard. As a child, I loved to read while lying in the grass under the trees. It is a wonderful memory to think back on. Just like then, my backyard hammock allows me to be alone with my thoughts. Sometimes my dog Zane is with me, but he never says much. My husband is an indoor person so I know I won't be interrupted too. There are always a lot of birds singing to each other above me and I find it comforting rather than annoying, as their chatter sounds friendly. I always read using my Kindle because I can adjust the brightness of the pages and the size of the font. Unfortunately, I am getting older so this is now needed. When I read good books I find there are passages that make me stop and think and my hammock is a good place to close my eyes and ponder over what I just read. I admit that sometimes come close to falling asleep. I believe my backyard hammock is my favorite reading place because it is very peaceful and I find a lot of peace in books. I feel that books help me understand more about the world, the good things and the bad, and I am always looking for more understanding.