March 28, 2024

Love & Literacy: A Sensible Information to Discovering the Magic in Literature (Grades 5-12) 
By means of Paul Bambrick-Santoyo and Stephen Chiger
(Wiley/Jossey-Bass, 2021 – Be told extra)

Reviewed via Rebecca Crockett

Within the vein of a lot of my summer season skilled construction studying, Love & Literacy: A Sensible Information to Discovering the Magic in Literature promised to lend a hand me in finding tactics to get my scholars extra engaged at school via main them to like studying and via extension examining, writing about, and discussing what they’d learn.

Despite the fact that as of this writing (August) I haven’t attempted out their concepts in a study room, the authors’ center of attention on sensible delivered. As I delved into this ebook, I used to be stunned to search out that this used to be a real information and workbook for lecturers to make the methods and strikes the authors give an explanation for a truth.

Bambrick-Santoyo and Chiger stroll readers via the primary priorities of literacy finding out (what it will have to seem like, why it is helping scholars), give examples of real-life educating moments (whole with the video hyperlinks or transcripts in case you choose), after which move step-by-step in serving to lecturers to put into effect it themselves.

The authors imagine that “children fall in love with what they know the way to do” and got down to lend a hand lecturers ensure their scholars know the way to learn and perceive complicated textual content so that they are going to really feel as passionately about literacy as their lecturers do (14).

Designed with restricted time in thoughts

There are 4 portions to the ebook, each and every with more than one chapters with a predictable setup. The authors give useful knowledge proper at the start on which chapters would be the maximum really helpful in line with the reader’s present educating enjoy and position in schooling, appearing that they know the way restricted our time and center of attention can also be.

Section One of Love and Literacy delves into the best way to design an adequately complicated curriculum. For individuals who assume this isn’t achievable of their environments, the authors give concepts for teachable strikes to lend a hand with the combat. They observe that we wish to train scholars the best way to maintain complicated textual content as an alternative of fending off it.

► Section Two explains the best way to make pupil working out visual. Bambrick-Santoyo and Chiger suggest for using annotation after which fast writes (‘forestall and jots’) after scholars whole the studying and prior to the dialogue. They write that “annotation with out goal is simply ornament” and urge lecturers to present time for writing after manageable studying chunks (119).

I really like the concept that scholars have brief, transparent instruction and a collection goal whilst they learn, resulting in a targeted writing suggested that is helping scholars assume via their concepts and lets in lecturers time to look what scholars have came upon on their very own and the place they want steering. This segment explains intimately what lecturers wish to do to arrange, the stairs they will have to take, and what the method looks as if for college kids as properly.

► Section 3 defines discourse as opposed to dialogue and lays out the best way to set scholars up for luck in speaking about their studying. Making plans forward, following a cycle and the usage of common activates are all a part of the keys given on this segment.

► Section 4 lays out the best way to put into effect this within the reader’s personal study room. They suggest for selecting a few key spaces, or behavior, in line with the self-assessments finished during the ebook after which designing a plan to paintings on one facet at a time. The ebook comprises detailed directions for making a year-long rollout this is workable and no longer overwhelming.

A probably transformative learn

I favored the core concepts that named and explored the methods described and the important thing takeaways on the finish of each and every bankruptcy. The ‘forestall and jot’ containers with guiding questions and the one-pagers to lend a hand us put methods to paintings in the study room in reality made this ebook.

Self-assessments on the finish of each and every segment and the gap to make an motion plan for implementation within the reader’s study room helped change into this ebook from merely helpful to in reality sensible – an tool in itself for designing a extra rigorous curriculum in line with annotation, research, and dialogue.

I discovered myself seeing studying and pupil working out in a brand new manner as I learn Love & Literacy, as an alternative of simply collecting new gear for implementation. The point of interest on research and the best way to in reality display children HOW to investigate complicated textual content (and no longer simply telling them to do it and modeling it slightly) supplied new insights.

I’m having a look ahead to rolling out my first behavior – studying for declare and studying for research – when faculty begins, and I do know it is a ebook I can reference time and again to lead me in doing so.

A number of credibility right here

The authors, Paul Bambrick-Santoyo and Stephen Chiger, have labored with lecturers in colleges during the rustic and feature been a part of different well-respected works similar to Train Like a Champion and Pushed via Information. Their nods to different notable minds in literacy and schooling, similar to Kylene Beers whose paintings I do know and appreciate, helped lend credence to their concepts.

The movies, one-pagers (anchor charts), and exemplars make the strategies visual, out there, and transferable. Even higher, the spouse website online gives printable variations of the posters for study room use and a workbook for simple get admission to.

Love & Literacy: A Sensible Information to Discovering the Magic in Literature could be really helpful for curriculum administrators, principals, and literacy coaches, however I imagine lecturers and even educating groups who’re designing and making plans their very own curriculum would in finding it essentially the most helpful.



Rebecca Crockett these days teaches English in north central Idaho. In her 16th yr in schooling, she has taught at each the basic and secondary ranges. She is an avid reader, curriculum planner, and from time to time creator – each for her personal enjoyment and to follow what she preaches. Summer time reveals her devouring skilled construction books to give a boost to her craft; and she or he has written many opinions for MiddleWeb.