The Reading Zone, 2nd Edition - by Nancie Atwell & Ann Atwell Merkel & Atwell Merkel (Paperback)

About the Book

Long advocates of frequent, voluminous reading in schools, the authors draw on evidence gathered in 20 years of classroom teaching to make the case for reading workshop more powerful than ever. The book establishes the top ten conditions for making engaged classroom reading possible for students at all levels and provides the practical support

Book Synopsis

Decades of expert teaching and thoughtful observation of readers inform this expanded second edition of The Reading Zone. Dynamic teaching and writing partners, mother and daughter Atwell and Atwell Merkel show how to teach reading as a personal art-a way to develop passionate, critical readers for life-and how to build a schoolwide reading culture on self-selected, voluminous reading. The authors describe the top ten conditions for making engaged classroom reading possible for students at all levels and share the ideas and structures that have helped their own students succeed.

Review Quotes

"Donald Graves sits on the shoulder of every teacher of writing. Nancie Atwell sits on the shoulder of every teacher of reading. Every book, blog, or tweet about reading in our classrooms has its roots in Nancie's work. With eloquence, Nancie and Anne continue to show the commitment, the joy, and the intellectual energy students bring to, and take from, reading when offered choice." --Linda Rief, Middle School English teacher and author of "Read, Write, Teach"

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"Excellent approach to reading strategies especially for children between 5 and 10. They also have ideas for older kids, but the main focus would be elementary, especially around 3rd grade, which is the most important grade when it comes to reading. This is a great text for educators and parents alike. I'd suggest you reading it!" --Benjamin

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"For those of us who think schools have been culpable in killing young readers, The Reading Zone is an essential resource. Nancie Atwell and Anne Atwell Merkel offer a clear, concise blueprint to building reading lives that last: surround students with good books; give them choice; give them time to read; and stop drowning them in silly worksheets and quizzes. If we are serious about inspiring young readers, our first step is to have every teacher, administrator, and school board member read this book." --Kelly Gallagher, High School English Teacher and author of "In the Best Interest of Students"

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"Nancy Atwell has long been on top of the reading instruction world. I remember studying her in school over ten years ago. The Reading Zone continues her work in reading instruction and focuses on specific techniques primarily for primary schools. Focusing on independent reading, Atwell fights to include time for students to just sit down and read. Included are parent letters with arguments for why this quiet reading time is essential for students of all ages. On top of that, there are strategies, especially with questioning and inferring that help to focus the young reader on staying involved in the literature that they are reading. Not only does Atwell help to guide a student into the reading zone, but also makes a strong case for leaving them alone once you find them immersed in a book that they love." --Jennifer Miller

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"Over and over, Nancie and Anne make us believe that they literally couldn't survive without books. They read insatiably and share their love of books with their students. And those lucky kids catch their passion for a lifetime of reading. Run, don't walk, to grab this book. Take the plunge, dive in deep. You will be happy you did." --Steph Harvey, Literacy Consultant, co-author of "Strategies That Work"

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Hurry! Don't let one more minute pass without reading this new edition of The Reading Zone. This book will change your teaching, it will give you hope, it will plant the seed for deep conversations, it will inspire you to invite your students to fall in love with reading for real purposes and real reasons. This is an essential book for us all-- a treasure! -- Georgia Heard, author of Heart Maps and literacy consultant

Read this book and you will come to the conclusion that there is no nobler, no more enjoyable, and no more satisfying profession than teaching middle school language arts. I wish I had read this book in 1958. . . . Maybe it's not too late. . . . --Stephen Krashen, Professor Emeritus, University of Southern California, author of Free Voluntary Reading

The new edition of The Reading Zone does not just celebrate the joy of independent reading in our classrooms; it is a no holds barred, knock-down-drag-out, hugely effective takedown of any argument to the contrary, full of examples and explanations of classroom practices, questioning guides, charts, parents letters, and more. You leave the pages feeling a sense of urgency and the faith that you absolutely can make reading possible for all students. Nancie and Anne's impassioned, well-researched, and practical new edition should be required reading for every educator, school board member, and parent--our children need us to throw politics and personalities aside and create this kind of lasting change. -- Christopher Lehman, Founding Director, the Educator Collaborative, consultant, author

About the Author

A teacher since 1973, Nancie Atwell founded the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) in 1990. She is the recipient of the inaugural Global Teacher Prize, and is the first classroom teacher to receive the major research awards in the field of language arts, the M.L.A. Mina P. Shaughnessy Prize and NCTE's David H. Russell Award. Atwell is the author of the classic text for teachers In the Middle.



Anne McLeod Merkel, is a teacher of grades 7-8 writing, reading, and history with the Center for Teaching and Learning since 2013. Merkel taught sixth grade in the Washington, D.C. public school system and taught grades 6-8 at Friends Community School in College Park, Maryland

Ann Merkel has been teaching at the Center for Teaching and Learning since 2013. Merkel is a Graduate from Amherst College. She coordinates the Center for Teaching and Learning's intern program for visiting teachers who wish to adopt the CTL's award-winning methods for teaching and writing. Merkel presents about her work across the country.