Love & Literacy - by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo & Stephen Chiger (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

When our students enter middle and high school, the saying goes that they stop learning to read and start reading to learn. Then why is literacy still a struggle for so many of our students? The reality is that elementary school isn't designed to prepare students for Othello and Song of Solomon: so what do we do?

Love and Literacy steps into the classrooms of extraordinary teachers who have guided students to the highest levels of literacy. There is magic in their teaching, but that magic is replicable. It starts with a simple premise: kids fall in love with texts when they understand them, and that understanding comes from the right knowledge and/or the right strategy at the right time.

Love and Literacy dissects the moves of successful teachers and schools and leaves you with the tools to make these your own:

• Research-based best practices in facilitating discourse, building curriculum, guiding student comprehension and analysis, creating a class culture where literacy thrives, and more
• Video clips of middle and high school teachers implementing these practices
• An online, print-ready Reading and Writing Handbook that places every tool at your fingertips to implement effectively
• Discussion questions for your own professional learning or book study group

Great reading is more than just liking books: it's having the knowledge, skill, and desire to experience any text in all its fullness. Love and Literacy guides you to create environments where students can build the will and wherewithal to truly fall in love with literacy.

From the Back Cover

What Does it Take for Students to Fall in Love with Literacy?

The saying goes that when our students enter middle and high school they stop learning to read and start reading to learn. Then why is literacy still a struggle for so many of them?

Love & Literacy steps into the classrooms of extraordinary middle- and high-school teachers who have guided students to the highest levels of literacy. With the right tools and moves, every teacher can help their students understand, and from there the love of literacy begins. Inside this book you'll find the answers to four key questions:

• What's my dream for kids? Creating curriculum that is challenging, comprehensible, and inclusive
• What does it mean to "get it"? Coaching students to understand and analyze text
• What will I hear when students "get it"? Facilitating student-centered discourse
• How do I build it? Building a literacy culture and getting started now

These insights are accompanied by an online, print-ready handbook that places every tool at your fingertips along with more than 20 video clips of literacy instruction.

Praise for LOVE & LITERACY

"If you believe -- as I do -- that understanding literature is not a destination but rather a life-long journey, this book will resonate deeply. Along with practical protocols for supporting young readers on the path to comprehension, the authors offer a model curriculum that 'whispers what the world is and what it might become.' Pedagogy by readers for readers."
--CAROL JAGO, author and past president, National Council of Teachers of English

"What's not to love? A resource for encouraging students to engage in productive conversations about texts? This highly-readable and practical guide shows you how to make this a reality in your classroom."
--DOUGLAS FISHER & NANCY FREY, authors and professors, San Diego State University

About the Author

PAUL BAMBRICK-SANTOYO is the Founder and Dean of the Leverage Leadership Institute and Chief Schools Officer for Uncommon Schools. He is author of several books, including Leverage Leadership 2.0, Driven by Data 2.0, Great Habits, Great Readers, and Get Better Faster.

STEPHEN CHIGER is a Director of Literacy for Uncommon Schools. Named 2015 Educator of the Year by the New Jersey Council of Teachers of English, Chiger taught high school English and journalism for more than a decade.