#011: Instilling a Love of Reading in Kids and Families with Michelle Dunham
My guest today is Michelle Dunham from Ruby Reads. She's a mom of 3, a book aficionado, an educator and the creator of Ruby Reads where she supports families and kids by instilling a love for books and reading.
As you know, I'm a book lover and passionate about literacy and teaching students to love books and reading. I first found Michelle and Ruby Reads on Instagram @rubyreadsbooks. If you don't follow her account, do it now! You won't regret it!
We talk about how to simply create a culture of readers and book lovers in your classroom by what you read, how you pair books and the conversations you start with your students. The steps are truly simple. Like anything new, it's not always easy at first, but the more you prep and practice the easier it becomes. It all starts with a love of books, a few paired books and the heart of a teacher.
Click here to listen to the podcast.
Here's a peek at what's inside this episode:
- Who is Ruby and the history of that cute little red bird.
- What Ruby Reads is all about.
- How to engage students in read alouds.
- How to choose books for kids.
- How to pair books and use that to teach early literary analysis without a worksheet in sight.
- Why you need to be creating a culture of readers in your classroom and how doing that is easier than you think.
- How Ruby Reads can support families in their reading journey.
Click here to listen. If you need a little extra help getting a game plan ready, I have a free checklist for you in the links below and a links to books below to get you started. In addition, there's a link to Ruby Reads so you can check out their fabulous posters and book boxes.
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Links from this episode:
Website: RubyReadsBooks.com
Instagram: @rubyreadsbooks
You can grab the following free resources:
*Just a few great books about libraries:
- The Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen
- The Storyteller's Candle by Lucia M. Gonzalez
- Miss Dorothy and Her Bookmobile by Gloria Houston
- The Library by Sarah Stewart
- Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora
- Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk
- Ron's Big Mission by Rose Blue
- The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce
- Wolves by Emily Gravett
- Librarian on the Roof! A True Story by M.G. King
- My Librarian is a Camel: How Books are Brought to Children Around the World by Margriet Buurs
Books with different or multiple points-of-view [and sometimes multiple story arcs]:
- Chloe and the Lion by Mac Barnett
- Black and White by David Macauley
- Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne
- Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
- Seriously, Cinderella Is SO Annoying!: The Story of Cinderella as Told by the Wicked Stepmother (The Other Side of the Story)
- Hey Little Ant
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*Books listed are linked with affiliate links. I may receive a small fee at no cost to you if you purchase with one of my links. Your trust is important to me. I NEVER recommend anything I don't fully believe in.
