My Current Reads

What I have recently finished:

• Mindsets and Moves by Gravity Goldberg: This is a fantastic professional text all about teaching readers strategies and helping guide them all while building independence and ownership. There are QR codes scattered through the book that lead to video clips of instruction and conferring. 
• The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez: I JUST finished this book (seriously, like 5 minutes ago). Maria Luisa (her friends call her Malu) has just moved to Chicago with her mother. She misses her dad and feels totally disappointing to her mother, who wants Malu to embrace her culture and be more of a senorita. Malu wants to wear her punk band t-shirts and Doc Martens and create her zines. She is figuring out who she wants to be...and realizes that sometimes, being who we are isn't just one thing. I absolutely LOVED this book and can't wait to get it in the hands of my students. 

What I am about to begin:

• A Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds: I thought All American Boys was incredibly thought-provoking. A few months ago I watched a lecture Jason Reynolds gave, and he talked about the importance of finding our own voices and reflections within the books we read. This reminds me so much of what Donalyn Miller says about books being windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors. We need to see our reflections in books and learn about others in the books we read. See We Need Diverse Books. 

What I am currently listening to:

• Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow: I am going to see Hamilton this spring (!!!!) so I am bound and determined to finish listening to this before I go. I have 30 hours to go. 

What I am reading with my kids:

• The Swiss Family Robinson: I am reading this aloud each night and it is great! My kids enjoy listening to this adventure and all of the animals they find (and usually eat) and how this family survives and thrives. It makes being shipwrecked on an island sound kind of magical.