For the first time ever, all of the summer reading books were housed at the Bethel Public Library. The circulation desk reports this as the busiest summer ever. Thanks to the incredibly hard work, dedication, and organizational strengths of Lynn Rosato, library director, Joanne Grumman, head of children's services and her staff, and Kate Byroad, teen librarian and her staff, our students managed to read 17,600 books this summer. Children read often and for extended periods of time. They read aloud, individually, in pairs, and in small response groups.
Teachers talk to students as fellow readers.
Teachers and students share and think aloud what they do in their reading and writing. Readers write in response to literature not by merely summarizing. Students talk in response to literature in whole-class situations, pairs, and small groups. Students ask questions and raise issues from their own reading instead of solely answering teacher-directed questions. This is a short lesson to move students into thinking about some aspect of reading before they go off to read individually.