Author of the best-selling The Book Whisperer, teacher, kidlit blogger, and literacy expert Donalyn Miller has an unconventional approach to motivating young readers. She dispenses with the reading logs, drills, and worksheets that make reading a chore. Instead, she helps students navigate the awesome world of children’s literature and gives them time to read books they pick out themselves.
You can watch the interview below, view the interview transcript, read a short biography of Miller, or see a list of her books.
Biography
Donalyn Miller has taught 4th, 5th, and 6th grade language arts and social studies in the Fort Worth, TX area and was a finalist for 2010 Texas Elementary Teacher of the Year. In her popular book, The Book Whisperer, Donalyn reflects on her journey to become a reading teacher and describes how she inspires and motivates her middle school students to read 40 or more books a year.
In her book Reading in the Wild, Miller explores whether or not we are truly instilling lifelong reading habits in our students and provides practical strategies for teaching “wild” reading. Based on survey responses from over 900 adult readers and classroom feedback, Reading in the Wild offers solid advice and strategies on how to develop, encourage and assess key lifelong reading habits, including dedicating time for reading, planning for future reading, and defining oneself as a reader.
Donalyn currently facilitates the community blog, The Nerdy Book Club, and is the founder of the annual #bookaday event and co-host of the monthly Twitter chat, #titletalk. Her articles about teaching and reading have appeared in publications such as Education Week Teacher, The Reading Teacher, Educational Leadership and The Washington Post.
[Reprinted from Miller’s Book Whisperer website.]
