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The Reading Zone: How to Help Kids Become Skilled, Passionate, Habitual, Critical Readers
Provides teachers with a method to help students develop into passionate, life-long readers.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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October 29, 2019
“If you had observed these students on any other occasion in their waking lives—say, yesterday at recess as they shot hoops, exchanged iPods, teased, and screamed—it might be hard to reconcile that noise with this quiet. But here, in reading workshop, it’s dead silent because my kids are gone. Each boy and girl has vanished into an invisible world. Each, as they put it, is lost in the reading zone.”
It’s a wonderful book for a teachers’ handbook, almost utopian. What’s the secret of a successful reading workshop? It seems simple: frequent and voluminous reading that requires undisturbed reading time. What’s the teacher’s role? Letting the kids read. Atwell quotes Robertson Davies:
“The goal is to read for pleasure, but not for idleness; for pastime but not to kill time; to seek, and find, delight and enlargement of life in books.”
In her classes, there are no worksheets, no vocabulary building exercises, no “reading activities”, only time and silence to read, free conversation about books, recommendations and encouragement.
Nancie Atwell understands what reading is. That simple.
I loved The Reader’s Bill of Rights: the right to skip pages, the right not to finish, the right to reread, the right to read anything, the right to read anywhere, the right to not defend your taste, etc., just as well the Rules for Reading Workshop.
In this book, Atwell reveals how she talks about book with her students (booktalk), how she communicates with parents, how she recommends books, the importance of one-to-one conversations, and she destroys the “boys-don’t-like-to-read” myth (I didn’t know it existed, but still…).
From all of the how-to-teach-reading books I’ve read it was one of the most inspiring one.
February 20, 2008
This book made me want to cry because it gave me permission to be the kind of reading teacher I want to be, the kind who helps kids find books that they will love so that they will grow to be reader! I tried this approach with my reluctant, below grade level readers this year, and I am thrilled to say that a majority who have hated reading all their lives now get upset with me when they don't have a chance to read. I've worked my hiney off to find books that they'll love, but it is so worth it! Thank you Nancie!
September 3, 2016
This is a book that describes how to create passionate readers. The focus in on students around middle school age. One section that I liked was the chapter specifically looked at boys. It provides an indepth look at one boy who many would not imagine could be passionate about reading. Cam comes from a working class family. He's an athlete, and loves dirt biking and racing. The author, his teacher, finds books that Cam loves and over time he becomes an avid reader and writer. Atwell dismisses a long list of stereotypes about boys and their disdain of reading. These include : boys don't like fiction because they find it hard to imagine fictional worlds; they prefer non-fiction; they think reading is a "sissy thing", they had to read magazines, comics and sports pages because they have a short attention span. It is important that Atwell challenges these stereotypes that unfortunately influence teachers' views of boys. Sadly, according to Atwell, when students enter high school, their joy of reading is soon squelched. Assigned reading, reading a chapter at a time and then having to answer questions or take a test. Atwell hopes that these students will be able to survive these 4 years and continue to love to read.
February 8, 2010
'The Reading Zone' sets itself up as a manifesto. The answer to its subtitle, 'How to Help Kids Become Skilled, Passionate, Habitual, Critical Readers,' could be neatly summed up with one word: 'choice.'
Following a quick tour of her hushed classroom—'nineteen students…reading nineteen books'—Nancie Atwell makes the declaration of principle that is this brief but powerful work’s raison d’etre: 'The only surefire way to induce a love of books is to invite students to select their own.'
Furthermore, 'starting in kindergarten and going straight through until the end of high school, free choice of books should be a young reader’s right, not a privilege granted by a kind teacher.'
And if you haven’t gotten the idea, Atwell explicitly states: 'this book is nothing less than a manifesto.'
Agree or disagree, Atwell certainly makes you examine your own priorities and those of our educational system.
While raising the caveat that perhaps there is no one 'surefire way' when it comes to children and literacy, I’ll join the cause. I’ve seen curiosity about, and enthusiasm for reading stifled by assigned books and reams of seatwork—from worksheets to dioramas. I’ve seen kids learn to hate books I love, as the joy of discovery is drained away by study guides and overanalyzation.
I agree with author Jon Scieszka (http://www.readingrockets.org/books/i...), picked by the Library of Congress to be last year’s national ambassador for young people's literature: 'It's so concrete that we can just give boys books that they enjoy and not try to force them to read other books that we enjoy.'
I came to 'The Reading Zone' after it was cited in a New York Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/boo... had me cheering, about the reading workshop approach that Atwell, and Lucy Calkins of the Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University’s Teachers College, have developed.
Although I’m dubious when the words 'research shows' crop up, or statistics are employed without citation, my gut, and common sense, tells me to buy into Atwell’s claim that 'the single activity that correlates with high levels of performance on standardized tests of reading ability…is frequent, voluminous reading.'
Atwell not only makes a strong case for giving kids choices. She also insists that teachers be readers themselves, and conversant with what kids are reading, so they can guide their students to the books that will engage them.
She helps guide those teachers with many references to authors and novels that pepper the text of 'The Reading Zone.' Additionally, she points to the reading lists (http://www.c-t-l.org/kids_recommend.html) put together by the students at her school, the Center for Teaching and Learning in Edgecomb, Maine. These are invaluable surveys of what is happening in children's and young adult literature.
Teachers will find lots of practical and down-to-earth advice on how to run reading workshops, from the logistics of classroom lending libraries to book talks and assessment methods.
Any book with a cover picturing a boy in the 'reading zone,' comfortably ensconced in a classroom overflowing with books, avidly reading one of the novels in one of my favorite series, the 'Tomorrow' books by John Marsden, has got to be basically all right.
But there were some aspects of 'The Reading Zone' that troubled me. Shortly after making her initial bold argument that 'free choice of books should be a young reader’s right,' Atwell quotes Frank Smith: 'Children know how to comprehend, provided they are in a situation that has the possibility of making sense to them.'
Readers familiar with the 'reading wars' of past decades (they were supposed to be over, I thought) will recognize that Smith as one of the founders and chief proponents of the 'whole language' movement. It’s disingenuous of Atwell not to acknowledge this, and to implicitly dismiss, as she does at several points in The Reading Zone, the opposing school of thought.
The subtext of Smith’s words is that reading is, analogous to Noam Chomsky’s theory of universal grammar, a skill with which we are born. To say this is a view that has been discredited is perhaps too strong, but it is easy to make the case that in the last couple of decades much evidence has come forth that at the least puts such an outlook in serious doubt.
The reason why people began looking for that evidence was because, despite immersion in great literature from the earliest age, it is clear that some children still have difficulty learning to read. There has been a plethora of books and articles advocating more explicit and systematic reading instruction, from neuroscientists like Sally Shaywitz to educators like G. Reid Lyon and Louisa Moats.
Yet when Atwell rightly asserts that teachers should read about teaching reading, it is as if those works had never been published. Instead, her recommended list is very one-sided, including such paragons of whole language as Kenneth Goodman and Regie Routman.
My own experience over the last thirteen years helping poor readers overcome their difficulties tells me that throwing children into an ocean of books, and assuming they will swim, means that some will drown. Reading is more than a psycholinguistic guessing game.
'It’s wonderful how often children are able to put together all the clues,' Atwell tells us, 'and read the correct word the next time through.' For a poor reader who sees others automatically reading words the first time through, it can also be frustrating.
Atwell dismisses those who choose 'to define reading…as the pronunciation of nonsense syllables in isolation.' I’m not sure anyone defines reading that way. Learning how to decode print, however, which might involve reading nonsense words, can be liberating for a poor reader.
Beneath Atwell’s passionate and heartfelt thesis is a vein of dogmatism that is unsettling. She says kids should have choices, but won’t let them choose books of which she doesn’t approve, like “teen celebrity bios.”
Atwell is negative about teaching comprehension strategies for fiction, such as those in Ellin Keene and Susan Zimmerman’s great Mosaic of Thought. She refers to Louise Rosenblatt’s two modes of reading: efferent, where we are garnering specific information, and aesthetic, where we are living through a story. But as Atwell herself points out, these are 'parallel frames of mind, existing on a continuum.'
That gets at the crux of my problem with the otherwise excellent 'The Reading Zone.' The learning process is not black and white. There is a time and a place to read fiction in an efferent mode, and to read nonfiction in an aesthetic mode.
Children should be given freedom to choose books that lead to enthusiastic reading. Children should learn effective strategies to develop into good readers and critical thinkers. These should, and can be parallel avenues toward producing successful readers and successful members of society. If we limit education by restricting pedagogy to one correct school of thought, we are limiting learners and teachers.
Following a quick tour of her hushed classroom—'nineteen students…reading nineteen books'—Nancie Atwell makes the declaration of principle that is this brief but powerful work’s raison d’etre: 'The only surefire way to induce a love of books is to invite students to select their own.'
Furthermore, 'starting in kindergarten and going straight through until the end of high school, free choice of books should be a young reader’s right, not a privilege granted by a kind teacher.'
And if you haven’t gotten the idea, Atwell explicitly states: 'this book is nothing less than a manifesto.'
Agree or disagree, Atwell certainly makes you examine your own priorities and those of our educational system.
While raising the caveat that perhaps there is no one 'surefire way' when it comes to children and literacy, I’ll join the cause. I’ve seen curiosity about, and enthusiasm for reading stifled by assigned books and reams of seatwork—from worksheets to dioramas. I’ve seen kids learn to hate books I love, as the joy of discovery is drained away by study guides and overanalyzation.
I agree with author Jon Scieszka (http://www.readingrockets.org/books/i...), picked by the Library of Congress to be last year’s national ambassador for young people's literature: 'It's so concrete that we can just give boys books that they enjoy and not try to force them to read other books that we enjoy.'
I came to 'The Reading Zone' after it was cited in a New York Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/boo... had me cheering, about the reading workshop approach that Atwell, and Lucy Calkins of the Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University’s Teachers College, have developed.
Although I’m dubious when the words 'research shows' crop up, or statistics are employed without citation, my gut, and common sense, tells me to buy into Atwell’s claim that 'the single activity that correlates with high levels of performance on standardized tests of reading ability…is frequent, voluminous reading.'
Atwell not only makes a strong case for giving kids choices. She also insists that teachers be readers themselves, and conversant with what kids are reading, so they can guide their students to the books that will engage them.
She helps guide those teachers with many references to authors and novels that pepper the text of 'The Reading Zone.' Additionally, she points to the reading lists (http://www.c-t-l.org/kids_recommend.html) put together by the students at her school, the Center for Teaching and Learning in Edgecomb, Maine. These are invaluable surveys of what is happening in children's and young adult literature.
Teachers will find lots of practical and down-to-earth advice on how to run reading workshops, from the logistics of classroom lending libraries to book talks and assessment methods.
Any book with a cover picturing a boy in the 'reading zone,' comfortably ensconced in a classroom overflowing with books, avidly reading one of the novels in one of my favorite series, the 'Tomorrow' books by John Marsden, has got to be basically all right.
But there were some aspects of 'The Reading Zone' that troubled me. Shortly after making her initial bold argument that 'free choice of books should be a young reader’s right,' Atwell quotes Frank Smith: 'Children know how to comprehend, provided they are in a situation that has the possibility of making sense to them.'
Readers familiar with the 'reading wars' of past decades (they were supposed to be over, I thought) will recognize that Smith as one of the founders and chief proponents of the 'whole language' movement. It’s disingenuous of Atwell not to acknowledge this, and to implicitly dismiss, as she does at several points in The Reading Zone, the opposing school of thought.
The subtext of Smith’s words is that reading is, analogous to Noam Chomsky’s theory of universal grammar, a skill with which we are born. To say this is a view that has been discredited is perhaps too strong, but it is easy to make the case that in the last couple of decades much evidence has come forth that at the least puts such an outlook in serious doubt.
The reason why people began looking for that evidence was because, despite immersion in great literature from the earliest age, it is clear that some children still have difficulty learning to read. There has been a plethora of books and articles advocating more explicit and systematic reading instruction, from neuroscientists like Sally Shaywitz to educators like G. Reid Lyon and Louisa Moats.
Yet when Atwell rightly asserts that teachers should read about teaching reading, it is as if those works had never been published. Instead, her recommended list is very one-sided, including such paragons of whole language as Kenneth Goodman and Regie Routman.
My own experience over the last thirteen years helping poor readers overcome their difficulties tells me that throwing children into an ocean of books, and assuming they will swim, means that some will drown. Reading is more than a psycholinguistic guessing game.
'It’s wonderful how often children are able to put together all the clues,' Atwell tells us, 'and read the correct word the next time through.' For a poor reader who sees others automatically reading words the first time through, it can also be frustrating.
Atwell dismisses those who choose 'to define reading…as the pronunciation of nonsense syllables in isolation.' I’m not sure anyone defines reading that way. Learning how to decode print, however, which might involve reading nonsense words, can be liberating for a poor reader.
Beneath Atwell’s passionate and heartfelt thesis is a vein of dogmatism that is unsettling. She says kids should have choices, but won’t let them choose books of which she doesn’t approve, like “teen celebrity bios.”
Atwell is negative about teaching comprehension strategies for fiction, such as those in Ellin Keene and Susan Zimmerman’s great Mosaic of Thought. She refers to Louise Rosenblatt’s two modes of reading: efferent, where we are garnering specific information, and aesthetic, where we are living through a story. But as Atwell herself points out, these are 'parallel frames of mind, existing on a continuum.'
That gets at the crux of my problem with the otherwise excellent 'The Reading Zone.' The learning process is not black and white. There is a time and a place to read fiction in an efferent mode, and to read nonfiction in an aesthetic mode.
Children should be given freedom to choose books that lead to enthusiastic reading. Children should learn effective strategies to develop into good readers and critical thinkers. These should, and can be parallel avenues toward producing successful readers and successful members of society. If we limit education by restricting pedagogy to one correct school of thought, we are limiting learners and teachers.
December 21, 2016
A couple hesitations.
1. The Center for Teaching and Learning, home to Atwell & Merkel, boasts class sizes of 16-18. This will shoot teachers' hands to over their ears if the proposal of two-way letter essays hasn't already tuned them out.
2. NO mention of school librarians or school libraries until page 125 (of only 160!).
3. I have a problem with children's publishing empire Scholastic charging $34.99. Did the jaw dropping photos of voluminous classroom libraries really need to be in four color to make us further green with envy?
4. I would have liked to have seen more attention to technology enhancing reading workshop since this is a Second Edition. Ex: Biblionasium, Goodreads, QR codes to reviews and trailers, Evernote for record keeping.
The Reading Zone didn't include any research I hadn't previously seen though I never get tired of sticking Richard Allington's quote on spending under Administrator noses.
"If I were working in a high-poverty school and had to choose between spending $15,000 or more each year on a books for classrooms and libraries, or on one more teaching assistant), I would opt for the books...." (2012).
And I wonder why I'm sometimes labeled a troublemaker? ;) Then again, I fantasize about going down in flames fighting for school library funding, which isn't entirely unlikely in 2017, but please don't tell my husband.
1. The Center for Teaching and Learning, home to Atwell & Merkel, boasts class sizes of 16-18. This will shoot teachers' hands to over their ears if the proposal of two-way letter essays hasn't already tuned them out.
2. NO mention of school librarians or school libraries until page 125 (of only 160!).
3. I have a problem with children's publishing empire Scholastic charging $34.99. Did the jaw dropping photos of voluminous classroom libraries really need to be in four color to make us further green with envy?
4. I would have liked to have seen more attention to technology enhancing reading workshop since this is a Second Edition. Ex: Biblionasium, Goodreads, QR codes to reviews and trailers, Evernote for record keeping.
The Reading Zone didn't include any research I hadn't previously seen though I never get tired of sticking Richard Allington's quote on spending under Administrator noses.
"If I were working in a high-poverty school and had to choose between spending $15,000 or more each year on a books for classrooms and libraries, or on one more teaching assistant), I would opt for the books...." (2012).
And I wonder why I'm sometimes labeled a troublemaker? ;) Then again, I fantasize about going down in flames fighting for school library funding, which isn't entirely unlikely in 2017, but please don't tell my husband.
August 18, 2008
I wish all curriculum coordinators and administrators would read this book! I want to go to her school and teach there! She advocates for frequent "voluminous" reading with students choosing their own books and reading at their own pace. This is how I want to teach reading, but find it difficult due to time constraints and administrator constraints!! I think what she says makes perfect sense --- you become a better reader by reading, just like you become a better basketball player by playing basketball. My copy of the book is punctuated with YES!, Right On! Absolutely! all over the margins, and I've highlighted all the research she refers to. I especially appreciate some of the techniques she's used in her own classroom, and why she's modified some of them from her early teaching days.
July 14, 2008
I had the great pleasure of having to read this book for one of my graduate classes at NYU, and it has since become somewhat of a Bible for me to which I still constantly refer (the creases in the cover prove it!)
It is an absolute must read for English teachers, Reading teachers,librarians (particularly those of the YA variety), or anyone interested in discovering how to reach the mind of the adolescent reader, providing ideas, templates, and a complete breakdown of how Atwell, a true master, organizes and implements her reading classroom.
Although it does provide some of the same information as Atwell's opus "In the Middle" (and written in the same refreshing, intimate, narrative style that I adore of Atwell), "The Reading Zone" is considerably shorter, more focused, and a quick yet incredibly informative read.
It is an absolute must read for English teachers, Reading teachers,librarians (particularly those of the YA variety), or anyone interested in discovering how to reach the mind of the adolescent reader, providing ideas, templates, and a complete breakdown of how Atwell, a true master, organizes and implements her reading classroom.
Although it does provide some of the same information as Atwell's opus "In the Middle" (and written in the same refreshing, intimate, narrative style that I adore of Atwell), "The Reading Zone" is considerably shorter, more focused, and a quick yet incredibly informative read.
October 26, 2011
Thank you, Nancie Atwell, for recharging my batteries. This book had a lot of philosophical similarities to Donalyn Miller's The Book Whisperer, but it had enough differences to make it interesting... can't wait to discuss it w/ my PD group. What it comes down to is this: if your reading instruction isn't creating lifelong passionate readers, it's not worth much.
The part I find the hardest is that I'm expected to have grades in the gradebook, and it's not always easy to translate this philosophy of teaching reading with getting grades in the gradebook. Creativity and flexibility will be my guides!
The part I find the hardest is that I'm expected to have grades in the gradebook, and it's not always easy to translate this philosophy of teaching reading with getting grades in the gradebook. Creativity and flexibility will be my guides!
January 7, 2017
Let me start by saying that I absolutely adore and idolize Atwell. The Reading Zone is a workshop staple; her words are inspirational and encouraging. I feel like she is continually pushing my thinking, stretching my pedagogy as a teacher. She sets a high, yet certainly attainable, bar for reading workshop, and the lexicon her students embrace is always impressive. Many excellent take-aways for my G8 classroom as I too strive to nurture students to become skilled, passionate, habitual, critical readers.
April 30, 2013
Where to begin? In 2007, the economy of the United States crashed, beginning what is now commonly called "The Great Recession." In 2008, the federal government borrowed hundreds of billions of dollars as a part of the "Investment and Recovery Act," or something like that (it's ususally called 'the Stimulus'). Many of these billions of dollars were then put on a baited hook known as "Race to the Top," (RTTT) which is a menu of Washington-approved educational reforms that states could adopt if they wanted some of the this stimulus money. My state, of course, bit down hard, as eventually did 45 other states. One of the most important parts of RTTT is a national curriculum called "The Common Core." The Common Core is revolutionary: for the first time in American history, we have a national set of reading and math frameworks that each and every child in public school will be expected to learn. We will all be taking common tests, and having apples-to-apples comparisons with regard to reading and math scores across states. (Teachers will also have some percentage of their evaluations reflect the test scores of their students, which is another RTTT initiative, as is the expansion of charter schools).
As an ELA teacher, the biggest shift for my colleagues and I is the de-emphasis on teaching and using fiction in our classes. At my grade level (6) about 50% of what my students are expected to read now is nonfiction. By the time my students are in 12th grade, they will be assigned around 70% nonfiction. Reading instruction K-5 is changing, too, and becoming much more rigorous and challenging. In my district, same-grade teachers are increasinlgy expected to teach the same books, use the same curricular units, and create common tests and assessments.
Now, maybe you like all of this. After all, American public schools are not doing a great job, right? Kids are leaving school and going on to do terribly in college, if they make it to college at all. And, really: think about the teens and young adults that you know in your life. Would the terms "intellectually curious" or "really knowledgeable" honestly apply to them? Most likely not. So in a great quivering fit of "Someone do something!" the federal government has given us this package of reforms.
And now here we are, being told that 'reading' is really a science, that the key to developing good readers is standardization, and that fiction is far less important to the future of our country than nonfiction. Hope and change, my people. Welcome to the United States of Omerica.
Nancy Atwell, the author of this book (as well as the brilliant In the Middle, which helped me decide to become a middle school teacher to begin with), disagrees. Crazily, Ms. Atwell thinks that--in order to develop adolescents into 'skilled, passionate, habitual, critical readers' we should (hang on, here is comes...) let them read a lot. Of books. Mostly fiction. That we as teachers should read a lot, too, and be knowledgeable about the kinds of books kids might like. That would should have large libraries in our classrooms, and in our schools, and in our communities, so that kids have lots and lots of books to choose from. And--radical idea here--Ms. Atwell seems downright convinced that if you like to read, you'll read more and get better at it. She says (I'm going to whisper now so no one hears me) that kids can pick their own books to read, and that they will be more likely to become lovers of reading if they are allowed to actually do so. In school. During the day. This so-called 'love of reading' will help them in all of thier classes. It's better for our democracy. It helps us to become human. Reading books. A lot of books.
Revolutionary.
I have put many of Ms. Atwell's ideas in place in my classroom over the years, and I have been rewarded, time and time again, by parents and students telling me that they (the children) finally enjoy reading. There is nothing more gratifying to me as a teacher. That's why I am here. I am the Johnny Appleseed of reading. I love to read, I love to talk about books with my students, and I know that Ms. Atwell, and I, are right. Unfortunately, we live in Omerica now. Welcome to the Collective. You WILL be assimilated.
Race to the Top represents everything I hate about Washington DC, the federal government, the Democratic Party, and collectivism. Many states are already trying to pull the RTTT hook out of their mouths (my beloved Commonwealth of Massachusetts will not join them, I am sure) but it may be too late. Elections have consequences, my friends, and you get what you vote for. The GOP, to their credit (which isn't saying much in this day and age) has already put an anti-Common Core plank in their platform. I don't have high hopes that any of this will change, and I will continue to do what I think is best for the students I teach each year.
Reading books. Books that you like. Enter into what Atwell calls "The Reading Zone." Let freedom ring.
As an ELA teacher, the biggest shift for my colleagues and I is the de-emphasis on teaching and using fiction in our classes. At my grade level (6) about 50% of what my students are expected to read now is nonfiction. By the time my students are in 12th grade, they will be assigned around 70% nonfiction. Reading instruction K-5 is changing, too, and becoming much more rigorous and challenging. In my district, same-grade teachers are increasinlgy expected to teach the same books, use the same curricular units, and create common tests and assessments.
Now, maybe you like all of this. After all, American public schools are not doing a great job, right? Kids are leaving school and going on to do terribly in college, if they make it to college at all. And, really: think about the teens and young adults that you know in your life. Would the terms "intellectually curious" or "really knowledgeable" honestly apply to them? Most likely not. So in a great quivering fit of "Someone do something!" the federal government has given us this package of reforms.
And now here we are, being told that 'reading' is really a science, that the key to developing good readers is standardization, and that fiction is far less important to the future of our country than nonfiction. Hope and change, my people. Welcome to the United States of Omerica.
Nancy Atwell, the author of this book (as well as the brilliant In the Middle, which helped me decide to become a middle school teacher to begin with), disagrees. Crazily, Ms. Atwell thinks that--in order to develop adolescents into 'skilled, passionate, habitual, critical readers' we should (hang on, here is comes...) let them read a lot. Of books. Mostly fiction. That we as teachers should read a lot, too, and be knowledgeable about the kinds of books kids might like. That would should have large libraries in our classrooms, and in our schools, and in our communities, so that kids have lots and lots of books to choose from. And--radical idea here--Ms. Atwell seems downright convinced that if you like to read, you'll read more and get better at it. She says (I'm going to whisper now so no one hears me) that kids can pick their own books to read, and that they will be more likely to become lovers of reading if they are allowed to actually do so. In school. During the day. This so-called 'love of reading' will help them in all of thier classes. It's better for our democracy. It helps us to become human. Reading books. A lot of books.
Revolutionary.
I have put many of Ms. Atwell's ideas in place in my classroom over the years, and I have been rewarded, time and time again, by parents and students telling me that they (the children) finally enjoy reading. There is nothing more gratifying to me as a teacher. That's why I am here. I am the Johnny Appleseed of reading. I love to read, I love to talk about books with my students, and I know that Ms. Atwell, and I, are right. Unfortunately, we live in Omerica now. Welcome to the Collective. You WILL be assimilated.
Race to the Top represents everything I hate about Washington DC, the federal government, the Democratic Party, and collectivism. Many states are already trying to pull the RTTT hook out of their mouths (my beloved Commonwealth of Massachusetts will not join them, I am sure) but it may be too late. Elections have consequences, my friends, and you get what you vote for. The GOP, to their credit (which isn't saying much in this day and age) has already put an anti-Common Core plank in their platform. I don't have high hopes that any of this will change, and I will continue to do what I think is best for the students I teach each year.
Reading books. Books that you like. Enter into what Atwell calls "The Reading Zone." Let freedom ring.
March 23, 2018
There are so many snippets of wisdom that I underlined in this book! I completely, fully agree with everything Nancie Atwell has to say about developing passionate lifelong readers. Just some of her thoughts:
"Do not risk ruining the reading of stories by teaching children to focus on how they're processing them."
"For students of every ability and background, it's the simple, miraculous act of reading a good book that turns them into readers, because even for the least experienced, most reluctant reader, it's the ONE GOOD BOOK that changes everything. The job of adults who care about reading is to move heaven and earth to put that book into a child's hands."
"If educators can agree that a goal of education is for children to become skilled, passionate, habitual, critical readers, why does so much of what goes on in the name of teaching reading PREVENT such reading from happening?"
"Abandoning a book that a reader isn't enjoying is viewed as a smart move, not a character defect."
Discussing chunk-at-a-time reading assignments: "Imagine the impact on us if this were the way we had to endure another narrative art form, the movies. Instead of disappearing into the black cocoon of a theater, living inside a film, letting the experience of it settle within us, then formulating a response to the vision of its writer and director, what if we had to anticipate the approach of an authority figure who, every fifteen minutes, turned off the projector, threw up the houselights, gave us a quiz, and called on us to participate in a discussion of the movie so far? I don't think many of us would come to appreciate the emotional and intellectual power of a great visual story."
"Do not risk ruining the reading of stories by teaching children to focus on how they're processing them."
"For students of every ability and background, it's the simple, miraculous act of reading a good book that turns them into readers, because even for the least experienced, most reluctant reader, it's the ONE GOOD BOOK that changes everything. The job of adults who care about reading is to move heaven and earth to put that book into a child's hands."
"If educators can agree that a goal of education is for children to become skilled, passionate, habitual, critical readers, why does so much of what goes on in the name of teaching reading PREVENT such reading from happening?"
"Abandoning a book that a reader isn't enjoying is viewed as a smart move, not a character defect."
Discussing chunk-at-a-time reading assignments: "Imagine the impact on us if this were the way we had to endure another narrative art form, the movies. Instead of disappearing into the black cocoon of a theater, living inside a film, letting the experience of it settle within us, then formulating a response to the vision of its writer and director, what if we had to anticipate the approach of an authority figure who, every fifteen minutes, turned off the projector, threw up the houselights, gave us a quiz, and called on us to participate in a discussion of the movie so far? I don't think many of us would come to appreciate the emotional and intellectual power of a great visual story."
January 30, 2013
I agree wholeheartedly with the basic premise of reading workshop: kids need dedicated time to read and to talk about reading with their peers during the school day and a teacher who knows their book interests and can get them into the reading zone without the distractions of "reading comprehension strategies". It is preaching to the choir, almost makes me want to leave the library for the reading classroom. However, I have a few concerns about this book. The author is working in the safety of a private school with the freedom to create schedules and make curricular decisions that isn't often found in public schools, especially large urban districts like mine. There is no mention of how to work this type of instruction around mandatory state testing, which many of the readers may have to contend with. I am also concerned about her emphasis on fiction and her opinion? that readers can't find the reading zone in non-fiction books. I have a few friends here on goodreads that read primarily non-fiction and appear to be often in the zone. I am uneasy with the fact that her 7th and 8th graders are reading adult authors, I wonder if they are mature enough for even some YA books. I made several notes wondering if her school has a library as much was emphasis was put on the classroom libraries. School libraries get a sentence on the next to the last page, mainly to gather and lend collections of books to the classroom. For a more practical look at the reading workshop classroom, read "The Book Whisperer" by Donalyn Miller.
October 8, 2008
It is important to note that this is an academic book and my rating is based in that line of thinking. The Reading Zone is a great book that addresses the way kids actually learn to read, identify, and think abstractly. Continual testing and and analytical approaches to reading do help kids, but what they really need to do, in the opinion of the author, is get large chunks of time to read what they want, where they want, and have a teacher on hand to follow their progress give them help with words or ideas and make sure they are enjoying what they are reading.
This is a good book for anyone interested in reading as a learning skill, which fits into almost any subject. Even the theoretical elements of mathematics and science require upper level reading and understanding skills. I read this because I am interested in learning how to teach better and keep kids engaged and accountable for their learning.
This is a good book for anyone interested in reading as a learning skill, which fits into almost any subject. Even the theoretical elements of mathematics and science require upper level reading and understanding skills. I read this because I am interested in learning how to teach better and keep kids engaged and accountable for their learning.
July 18, 2019
Another day, another book about reading! I'm 3 for 3 this week!
Along with Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle, Nancie Atwell is one of the G.O.A.T.s of the English teacher world. The Reading Zone was especially interesting to read after Readicide since Gallagher openly takes issue with Atwell's negative view of "doing English" in that one. But these three books definitely build on each other: Gallagher and Kittle's work owes a lot to Atwell, and my work owes a lot to all three.
This was another one that I planned to skim for research purposes and ended up reading cover to cover, taking tons of screenshots along the way. (I mean, I did skim parts, but as Atwell herself would tell her students, good readers know when to speed up, slow down, skim, look ahead, and abandon books.
Along with Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle, Nancie Atwell is one of the G.O.A.T.s of the English teacher world. The Reading Zone was especially interesting to read after Readicide since Gallagher openly takes issue with Atwell's negative view of "doing English" in that one. But these three books definitely build on each other: Gallagher and Kittle's work owes a lot to Atwell, and my work owes a lot to all three.
This was another one that I planned to skim for research purposes and ended up reading cover to cover, taking tons of screenshots along the way. (I mean, I did skim parts, but as Atwell herself would tell her students, good readers know when to speed up, slow down, skim, look ahead, and abandon books.
December 27, 2016
Nancie Atwell has some great advice, ideas and insight into getting students to read and what it takes for the to fully immerse themselves in the world that lies between the pages of a book. She shares her experiences and feedback from her students. While it may not be applicable for all classrooms, reading this book has definitely provided a springboard for things I can do to help foster a community of readers in my ELA classroom. The key is to have students read frequently and voluminously and the key is to help them find the right book. She finds ways to get students on the track of becoming readers and enjoying it. Thank you, Nancie!
January 4, 2019
Great practical ideas to develop habit and love for reading with middle school kids. I particularly liked the concepts of booktalking (1-2min pitching why you recommend a book for other students), classifying books in 3 simple categories (holidays, just right and challenge) and the tips to ensure kids have choice in what to read and that teachers allow for in-class reading. Only challenge is that some ideas in the book depend heavily on having an amazing teacher who knows many many books and can inspire kids to be book lovers.
August 24, 2012
Interesting approach to reading education--fantastic ideas. One thing that leaves me troubled is the focus on a final grade determination based in part on effort. All the effort in the world does not constitute a grade earned (in my opinion). What can the student do? What can the student show he/she is capable of. Effort will help get you there, but it should not figure into the grading process of what a student knows at the end of a term.
December 4, 2007
It's sad that this book seems revolutionary. Her premise: children become better readers if they're allowed the time to read books they enjoy. Reading is a pleasurable act and students should be introduced to the wonderful feeling of entering the "reading zone." Brilliantly obvious, and yet missing from our schools.
June 12, 2009
This is a fine, fine book that works on its own or as a compliment to all of her earlier work. What to add to the previous review? I, too, found Atwell's challenge to teachers at the high school level - and by extension, their parents - to be especially powerful. Students are so loaded with vocabulary words and double-entry journals and literary minutia and book reports that they avoid reading anything beyond assigned materials, and too often learn to abhor all that falls under the `English' umbrella. Whose interests are served by a curriculum that proscribes experimentation, curiosity, and exploration?
Her critique of reading programs and `skill building' instruction is also sobering. With countless dollars and many instructional hours devoted to building reading skill from Kindergarten through community college, it is worth remembering that reading is an art best crafted through habitual, passionate, thoughtful practice. Although teachers have an arsenal of A.R., DOL, SQ3R, and all the rest, there is precious little evidence that students learn to read because of these tools (for further evidence on this point, look into Stephen D. Krashen's The Power of Reading, Second Edition Insights from the Research).
Once again, Atwell swims against the educational currents in which most of us blithely bounce. The greatest challenge presented by her oeuvre is that she is highly self reflective and attuned to her professional responsibilities. Atwell holds nothing sacred beyond what is best for her students. Her work cannot be copied because it continues to evolve. Her stance may be digested, but each teacher must then engage with his or her unique students in their particular context. I, for one, hope to be up to the challenge "The Reading Zone" presents to all of us in the teaching profession.
Her critique of reading programs and `skill building' instruction is also sobering. With countless dollars and many instructional hours devoted to building reading skill from Kindergarten through community college, it is worth remembering that reading is an art best crafted through habitual, passionate, thoughtful practice. Although teachers have an arsenal of A.R., DOL, SQ3R, and all the rest, there is precious little evidence that students learn to read because of these tools (for further evidence on this point, look into Stephen D. Krashen's The Power of Reading, Second Edition Insights from the Research).
Once again, Atwell swims against the educational currents in which most of us blithely bounce. The greatest challenge presented by her oeuvre is that she is highly self reflective and attuned to her professional responsibilities. Atwell holds nothing sacred beyond what is best for her students. Her work cannot be copied because it continues to evolve. Her stance may be digested, but each teacher must then engage with his or her unique students in their particular context. I, for one, hope to be up to the challenge "The Reading Zone" presents to all of us in the teaching profession.
June 21, 2009
I can remember reading IN THE MIDDLE by Nancie Atwell, thinking, "Well, all this reading workshop would work in HER school, an exclusive private school, but in the REAL world, this would never fly." Then I started my Reading for Pleasure class...then the class evolved, and then I read Atwell again. Oops! I'm teaching reading workshop. The biggest difference, tho, is my class is an elective, not THE English class.
So, I approached this new book with interest and curiousity. Would I find myself in these pages? Not really, but there are still so many connections and places to agree. Her definition of the 'reading zone' is similar to "flow" defined by Csikszentmihalye (YES, that's a real name!) as the 'serenity that comes when the heart, will, and mind are on the same page' -- when we are 'in the zone.' Jeffery WIlhelm and Michael Smith have also written a book about flow...
Atwell is again setting out her readers workshop, with updates from the 1998 book, with what works and what doesn't. She's very honest about her dabbling with reading comprehensions and connections, and states these are content skills, not skills to be taught to kids who are reading for pleasure.
I love that I find much to nod in agreement, and find times I roll my eyes...one written assignment every three weeks? Oh, yeah! that'll fly in public education. But I now see more ways to take her ideas and adapt them to my class...hers is a year-long class, mine is a semester. Hers is THE English class, mine is an elective.
Her passion and commitment to her dream and vision are inspiring. I would love to sit down and really talk books with her. I still have much to learn from Nancie Atwell.
So, I approached this new book with interest and curiousity. Would I find myself in these pages? Not really, but there are still so many connections and places to agree. Her definition of the 'reading zone' is similar to "flow" defined by Csikszentmihalye (YES, that's a real name!) as the 'serenity that comes when the heart, will, and mind are on the same page' -- when we are 'in the zone.' Jeffery WIlhelm and Michael Smith have also written a book about flow...
Atwell is again setting out her readers workshop, with updates from the 1998 book, with what works and what doesn't. She's very honest about her dabbling with reading comprehensions and connections, and states these are content skills, not skills to be taught to kids who are reading for pleasure.
I love that I find much to nod in agreement, and find times I roll my eyes...one written assignment every three weeks? Oh, yeah! that'll fly in public education. But I now see more ways to take her ideas and adapt them to my class...hers is a year-long class, mine is a semester. Hers is THE English class, mine is an elective.
Her passion and commitment to her dream and vision are inspiring. I would love to sit down and really talk books with her. I still have much to learn from Nancie Atwell.
November 27, 2012
I really liked Ms. Atwell's style of writing and found this to be a very user-friendly book. I shared this with my sixth grade class as I was reading, and they were thrilled to hear that Atwell is not a fan of sticky notes :). I have most definitely changed my view of teaching reading...I have always provided silent reading time for students, but I am rather embarrassed to say I had not (to this point) allowed them to reread books. This I will change, among other facets of my reading program.
I somewhat disagree with her position against a chapter-by-chapter analysis. While I have never been a proponent of dissecting books, I do think it's valuable (especially for young readers) to discuss text in chunks. Atwell compares this to interrupting a movie, but the two are too dissimilar for that. I know as an adult, I have no problem getting back into "the zone" each night, and I don't think it's practical in a school setting (or a book club) to have readers finish the book before discussing any of it.
I greatly appreciated the specific tips and strategies in this book. I would have liked to see the actual study/studies showing that reading is the most important predictor of academic success...Atwell alludes to this research several times throughout the book, and while it certainly makes sense and I believe it, I think it would be more powerful to have cited the actual study, especially in a letter to parents or conversations with administrators (and students).
I somewhat disagree with her position against a chapter-by-chapter analysis. While I have never been a proponent of dissecting books, I do think it's valuable (especially for young readers) to discuss text in chunks. Atwell compares this to interrupting a movie, but the two are too dissimilar for that. I know as an adult, I have no problem getting back into "the zone" each night, and I don't think it's practical in a school setting (or a book club) to have readers finish the book before discussing any of it.
I greatly appreciated the specific tips and strategies in this book. I would have liked to see the actual study/studies showing that reading is the most important predictor of academic success...Atwell alludes to this research several times throughout the book, and while it certainly makes sense and I believe it, I think it would be more powerful to have cited the actual study, especially in a letter to parents or conversations with administrators (and students).
December 23, 2012
The focus of this book is on allowing students plenty of choice in their reading and promoting time for this reading in the elementary and English classroom so that students get "into a zone of reading" in which they are deeply engaged with their books. Her exposition explains why it is okay to have students reading all sorts of different texts, and it helps as a defense for teachers who worry that their courses aren't rigorous enough if there aren't constant comprehension tests or book reports.
I felt this book was lacking concrete examples of how this reading is helping students and what she does during her mini-lessons since she does not focus on reading strategies. Maybe I just need to read In the Middle , which she also authored, for specific information about her assessment strategies and the conversations that she has with readers. It would be great if she provided testing data to support her statements about how beneficial this workshop format is. I know that passing tests is definitely not the ultimate goal, but it is what many teachers worry about when it comes down to evaluation time.
I felt this book was lacking concrete examples of how this reading is helping students and what she does during her mini-lessons since she does not focus on reading strategies. Maybe I just need to read In the Middle , which she also authored, for specific information about her assessment strategies and the conversations that she has with readers. It would be great if she provided testing data to support her statements about how beneficial this workshop format is. I know that passing tests is definitely not the ultimate goal, but it is what many teachers worry about when it comes down to evaluation time.
August 28, 2015
While I have a hard time believing the truth of Atwell's claims, I find hope in believing in her methods. Supposedly she is successful at getting middle school students to become voracious, "voluminous readers" and she describes average 8th graders in the "reading zone" devouring Slaughterhouse Five, for example. She's anti "Strategies that Work" (the method of reading instruction that requires post-its all over text with connections, predictions, questions, etc.) as the killer of potential readers, but that was a strategy I believed in and is one deeply ingrained in me and my colleagues as we instruct our students in reading every year. Granted, I didn't always have success in reading instruction either, so I'm open to this. I learned quite a bit about how our methods of teaching with novels in high school tend to be lethal to a teen's desire to read AT ALL, and I'd like to be like Atwell. I just don't know if I buy it. Ironically, this was required reading in my summer class, but in my Fall class, I'm having to read.....you got it: Strategies that Work.
September 29, 2012
This book inspired me. I think it's the best book I've read on reading so far because it encouraged me to keep on doing what I do, and realize that reading really DOES make a difference. I love it when the my reading students are "in the zone." I've seen many kids pretend to read, pose as readers, move their eyes on the page like readers do, but when they're actually fully engaged in a text that they connect with and are interested in, it's a beautiful sight to behold. It doesn't happen everyday, but after reading this book today, I feel like it COULD happen everyday.
I got so many ideas as a reading teacher from this book, including specific book titles, strategies for organization, posters, hooking boys more readily, modeling, etc. Every teacher should read this book, especially reading teachers.
I got so many ideas as a reading teacher from this book, including specific book titles, strategies for organization, posters, hooking boys more readily, modeling, etc. Every teacher should read this book, especially reading teachers.
July 21, 2013
This was one of those PD books written like a narrative that just flowed and flowed like a smooth running river. :)
It's all about having a reading workshop WITHOUT the STUFF that we sometimes feel we need to include. She actually debunked the use of comprehension strategies with fiction because she said it takes them out of the zone.
Choice, Book talks, literary essays, and more choice-these were the main themes.
It really focused on just letting the kids read EVERYDAY to be immersed in their reading and develop a habit as well as a love for it.
It was my kind of book-even though I'm still hesitant of letting go of my comprehension strategies. I do understand her point of view about the interruption of a good read though. I'll be pondering on this for awhile!
LOVED the book!
It's all about having a reading workshop WITHOUT the STUFF that we sometimes feel we need to include. She actually debunked the use of comprehension strategies with fiction because she said it takes them out of the zone.
Choice, Book talks, literary essays, and more choice-these were the main themes.
It really focused on just letting the kids read EVERYDAY to be immersed in their reading and develop a habit as well as a love for it.
It was my kind of book-even though I'm still hesitant of letting go of my comprehension strategies. I do understand her point of view about the interruption of a good read though. I'll be pondering on this for awhile!
LOVED the book!
February 28, 2023
I loved this book. I want someone to finance a trip for me to Maine to visit Atwell and see her ideas in action.
Atwell believes all readers need to become good at reading is good books and time to read. A simple idea, but one that is backed up by research.
I want to push this book into the hands of every teacher I know, especially junior high and high school teachers. I want to give it to administrators and to politicians. I want to talk to parents about it. I want to try it. I think I can.
Atwell believes all readers need to become good at reading is good books and time to read. A simple idea, but one that is backed up by research.
I want to push this book into the hands of every teacher I know, especially junior high and high school teachers. I want to give it to administrators and to politicians. I want to talk to parents about it. I want to try it. I think I can.
March 15, 2011
Yes, this method of teaching reading has been around a while, but this book completely excited me, and I'm dying to try this next year with my middle school students. Excellent questions brought up about what we're doing to our kids in terms of killing their love of reading and the true benefits of teaching one text that doesn't speak to our groups of reluctant readers. I highly recommend this book to all middle and high school English teachers.
June 26, 2016
This is such a wonderfully validating book. Giving students choice and time to read are the cornerstones of quality literacy instruction and anyone who tries to tell me anything different will have this book handed to them!
February 1, 2011
Wow. My brain is full. I'll get back to you on a review.
July 30, 2011
One of my favorite books about teaching reading of all time. If you like The Book Whisperer give The Reading Zone a try.
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