I have been
a loyal stalker fan of Donalyn Miller and Teri Lesesne for years. I’m
not sure how I was unable to see them present in person for so long, but I was.
FINALLY my first opportunity to hear them speak was at the NTCTELA conference
in Hurst on June 13. The title of their presentation was “E = MC2
(Engagement = Meeting Conditions Too).”
Donalyn and
Teri have not kept it a secret that they are busily writing a book together
(along with 20 of their closest friends.) They shared that the working title of
their book is The Engagement Manifesto.
The book will include information on what engagement is, what it is not, and
how we can tell if students/readers are truly engaged. Teri went on to explain
that engagement truly is “the unconscious delight of getting lost in a book.”
(LOVE that definition!)
The entire
presentation was built around Australian researcher Cambourne’s Conditions of
Learning: immersion, demonstrations, expectations, employment, responsibility,
approximations, and response (feedback.) Donalyn and Teri also shared dozens
(dare I say “hundreds”?) of book recommendations. That alone was worth the
price of admission to the conference.
I took nine pages of handwritten notes
during their lecture. Here are just a few of my favorites:
Donalyn on
technology: What is the iPad offering the learner?
Teri on how
to start a read aloud: Begin reading picture books with the cover.
Look at the fly pages. Notice everything you can, all over the book.
They
reminded us that the number one way to improve reading proficiency is through
independent reading. The number two way is through read aloud.
The more striving
readers you have, the more read alouds you should do. It is the great equalizer. DM
RIGOR is not about
levels and lexiles. It is about how complex the text is. COMPLEXITY is how an
author does things in interesting ways that are accessible to the reader. TL
“Reading belongs to
the reader.” DM
Value reading
preferences. True preferences come from wide reading. DM
Striving readers
become stronger subsequent readers with each book in a series. DM
Donalyn and
Teri were definitely in their element—discussing literacy practices and books with
educators. Some of the books they recommended that are now on my Amazon Wish
List (come on, pay day, Mama needs some new books!) include:
I Kill the Mockingbird (Paul Acampora)
The Knife Of Never Letting Go (Patrick Ness)
Absolutely Almost (Lisa Graff)
One for the Murphys (Lynda Mullaly Hunt)
Jane, The Fox, and Me (Fanny Britt)
I cannot
wait until the next time I’m able to hear the Dynamic Duo of Donalyn and Teri
in person again!
I enjoyed their presentation and learned a lot. Can't wait for the book to be published.
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