The Art of Teaching Reading

The Art of Teaching Reading by Lucy Calkins is the most thorough and complete book on the reading workshop that I have found. It's written by someone who is passionate about both education and reading. It's also packed with ideas that real teachers actually use in their classes, conversations they have with their students, and complex thinking on what real readers do.

"Teaching reading, then, begins with helping children want the life of a reader and to envision that life for themselves." (p9) Lucy Calkins doesn't ignore that we now teach in an age obsessed with test scores. But she knows that teaching for high scores isn't enough. Reading well is more than the way to pass a test, or get A's on a report card. It is the key to a life of public opportunity and personal pleasure. When we teach, we need to be sure we're not passing on skills but destroying motivation. Reading workshop lets kids spend time reading books they've chosen, and share their reading with friends, so it helps develop motivation along with skills.

I read this book straight through twice, marking it and making notes both times. Part of that was because I found the structure awkward in a few places. There are two chapters on classroom libraries, but they are over 70 pages apart. A very useful chapter about teaching children to have deeper discussions about books pops up half way through; almost 100 pages later she digs deeply into the topic again. It would have made more sense to put all of this information together, and cover it earlier in the book. The fact that it is there at all, however, shows how thorough this book is. Also, there are a lot of specific ideas here, but they're hard to keep track of, so I appreciated the wide margins that gave me plenty of room to star and highlight things I might want to try in my class.

Calkins does a good job demonstrating how to start teaching reading in Kindergarten through Second Grade, taking several chapters to show the gradual introduction and development of reading instruction for primaries. She also gives an in-depth look into partner reading that really helped my understand the potential -- and potential problems -- with this. In the primary grades these partnerships are gradually transitioned into what Calkins calls Reading Centers. This is a poorly chosen name, as these aren't typical centers at all, but a more sophisticated structure for buddy reading.

Then she does the same for the upper grades. Her intermediate reading clubs are a different twist on literary circles. These clubs are groups of students who meet together over the course of several months, giving them a chance to develop a shared history of books and discussions. She also talks about book projects that the students come up with themselves, encouraging teachers to train their students, then release the reins and let them explore the world of books and writing independently.

Throughout this book Calkins makes clear the reasoning behind what she does, so the reader can make her own choices based on her situation and students. Always her intent is to show students how good readers interact with text. I wondered once or twice if she wasn't discarding some useful instructional ideas just because they didn't fit how adults read. After all, learning isn't always the same as doing. Some skills, like scales on the piano, have to be practiced in isolation. But few people are considered great pianists because they produce perfect scales. So I think some reading activities may be useful for learners even if they aren't "what real readers do".

One of the things I appreciate about Calkins is that she does not come across as someone who think she knows all there is about teaching reading. She doesn't insist you do it her way or else. She demonstrates, explains, and lets you in on her thinking. By doing this, she helped me to become a more reflective teacher myself.