Members of the Long Beach Public Schools Administration and faculty attended a Book Summit with Donalyn Miller on Nov. 4. They have been studying her work on effective reading practices for approximately two years, and enjoyed an in-person workshop and conversation about her strategies. 

Ms. Miller is a teacher, author and professional development leader based in Texas. She wrote the Book Whisperer, Reading in the Wild and Game Changer, as well as numerous articles, and runs a blog about cultivating readers. 

During her presentations in Long Beach, Ms. Miller concentrated on the goal of having all students read more in general and how time, access, choice, responsibility, structure and community all play roles in making this a success. She discussed synthesis, independent reading time, finding opportunities for reading and other important steps for engagement. She noted that reading should become a regular habit, and allotting even ten minutes a day to literacy is beneficial. She also advised that children and adults alike have reading materials on hand for when time windows present themselves.  

“Kids who have books they want to read will find more time to read,” Ms. Miller said. “The best use of our time and expertise is to ensure that every one of them is matched with a book they can read and are interested in reading.”